Stakeholders from different regional and provincial government agencies met at the DFS Training Room for the CITIZEN-SDSS Regional Co-Design Workshop on “Using Citizen Science Approaches and Spatial Decision Support Systems to Foster Nature-based Solutions to Sustain and Expand the Remaining Forest Landscapes of the Philippines.”

Various participants attended the event where they came together to ideate regarding the adoption of methods that will foster citizen science, participatory planning and use of science and technology to facilitate decision-making aimed at achieving forest sustainability and expansion. The meeting was opened by Dr. Hernando L. Mondal. He extended a warm welcome to the attendees and reminded them of the need to collaborate in order to achieve the best solutions for managing forest landscapes and ensuring that the country’s remaining forest land use is managed sustainably.

Mr. Prince Asare and Dr. Renezita S. Come facilitated a discussion on issues related to the environment, including ecosystem services, degraded land, drivers of land use change and NbS, among other aspects. Participants shared their views and expertise on the subject matter. They also identified solutions that could be considered in managing land use. Scenario building and back casting were handled by For. Samuel O. Bernaldez Jr. and Engr. Martin Jan E. Mercurio.

In addition to developing three scenarios for the future of land use, including conservation, production, and a mix of both, they engaged the stakeholders in a participatory workshop. The scenarios were developed to identify preferred options for regional landscapes by 2045. The CITIZEN-SDSS regional co-design workshop is a valuable initiative that will enable people from different backgrounds to work together towards finding the best ways for managing and conserving the environment. It brings out the importance of engaging stakeholders in a process that will identify citizen science approaches and use of Spatial Decision Support Systems.