The National Economic and Development Authority has underscored that the next medium-term Philippine development plan (MTPDP) presents a new opportunity for pursuing green growth in the country.

“The preparation of a new MTPDP presents a new opportunity for us to incorporate green growth strategies into our development policies and plans,” said NEDA Deputy Director-General Rolando Tungpalan.

Tungpalan said the government should be able to draw from the rich available resources of information on green strategies, referring to program initiatives on environmental sustainability.

The current MTPDP ends in 2010 and NEDA is starting to prepare a successor MTPDP for the next six years under a new administration.

“With climate change at the center of the world stage these days, there is a mad rush for available resources aimed at green growth and sustainable development,” Tungpalan said.

He however noted that the government should be able to have a “smarter” way of using these available resources to fund the country’s development priorities and produce results.

Tungpalan said that foreign-aided projects should be characterized by strong country ownership and transparency and accountability, as well as streamlined and in harmony with other projects.

Among the UNDP-funded programs and projects were the NEDA-led projects of “Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in Local Development Planning and Decision Making Processes (Integrating DRR/CCA)” and “Strengthening the Philippines” Institutional Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change (MDG-F)."