𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝟑𝐏𝟑 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 – 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝟑

May 23, 2025 – On May 21-23, 2025 Mr. Louie RM Bacomo, Director of Climate and Forced Displacement and former Regional Director of Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific (JRSAP), conducted the official 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝟑𝐏𝟑 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 – 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝟑. As the international funder of the initiative, Mr. Bacomo’s engagement underscores the continuing commitment to fostering 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

During the two-day assessment, Mr. Bacomo met with the Indigenous Peoples of the 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐢 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝, Talon-Talon, representing the coastal component of the project. He also visited the 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐚𝐧, 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧, which comprise the upland areas. These consultations provided an in-depth look into the progress and impact of the project on the ground.

In close partnership with the Ateneo Center for Environment and Sustainability (ACES) through its 𝐒𝐈𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐑𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 (Stewardship and Indigenous Environmental Management for Biodiversity and Resilience Action), the C3P3 initiative aims to rehabilitate and enrich a total of 𝟏𝟎 𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝— upland and coastal—by planting 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭-𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬. More importantly, the project champions the role of indigenous peoples in safeguarding biodiversity and fortifying the resilience of their ancestral domains.

The assessment not only highlighted the ecological gains of the reforestation efforts but also affirmed the significance of 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲-𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩. The active participation and leadership of the 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 stand as a testament to the project’s vision: empowering indigenous communities to be frontliners in the care for creation and the sustainable management of their natural heritage.