The Manual on “Integrating Local Environmental Planning and Management (LEPM) in Comprehensive Land Use Planning” (CLUP) was a significant product from the experience of Cagayan de Oro, which integrated L-EPM into its comprehensive development planning process, and how as a result, a community has gained greater strength and impetus in pursuing sustainable development.
Introducing SCP-EPM boosted the city’s local understanding of sustainable development, and in particular fostered an significant attitudinal change regarding local information management, by formally recognizing and
making use of an integrated data base including GIS-EMIS.
The Cagayan de Oro L-EPM Project was able to leverage additional funds to mainstream solid waste management from the European Union, becoming a national model for replication.
Currently, the Cagayan De Oro City Local Environment and Natural Resources
Office have seconded staff from various Departments and Divisions of the
City government to ensure its continued integration within the LGU administrative
framework, with steps to make it a regular unit of the City Government
in the next year or so.
In coordination with the Liceo De Cagayan University, the Center of EPM
studies for Mindanao (CEPMSM) was recently established to train prospective
key local government officials on good governance as well as to serve as
a venue for laying-out networks and building- up broader partnerships among
institutions and LGUs. The center also constitutes the city’s first information
hub. Although still early to predict impacts, the CEPMSM may be taken as
a good case of transforming EPM experience into need-driven postgraduate
program such as EPM. City EPM practitioners in Southern Philippines have
this institution as ground for integrating practice with teaching and research.
(http: // www.dilg.gov.ph/blgd/lepm.htm)
