On February 10–11, the City Government of Isabela, led by Mayor Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman and the Local Circular Economy Action Team (LCEAT), held a two-day session at JB Dans Hall to develop its Circular Economy Portfolio and Work Plan. This milestone shifts the city toward a sustainable “reuse-refurbish-recycle” model, moving away from traditional waste-heavy practices.
The workshop is a vital part of the EU-Philippines Green Economy Partnership Project, funded by the European Union and co-funded by Germany’s Ministry for Environment. As part of the EU’s Global Gateway Initiative, the project is implemented by a global consortium including GIZ, Expertise France, GGGI, and the IFC. Locally, the initiative is co-led by the DILG and implemented by the UNDP in partnership with the DENR.
The program empowers local actors to co-create solutions that regenerate ecosystems and reduce waste through community-rooted practices. Key focus areas included mastering the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting, and Learning (MERL) framework to ensure measurable results and identifying “big-ticket” investments. These investments target a “triple bottom line” of environmental protection, social inclusivity, and robust economic returns by engaging civil society, the private sector, and marginalized groups.
