Building Consensus and formalizing the Alliance
The formation of IBAMO is based on previous programs in the field of coastal resource management. Thus, building partnerships and consensus with “outside” institutions (including NGOs and civil society groups) and catalyzing the improvement of fisheries governance in the target sites was achieved within two years. In 2012, all eight LGUs entered and signed a new Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to constitute IBAMO, along with the provincial government and regional offices of several government agencies Northern Mindanao.
• strong commitment of the LGUs and Local Chief Executives beyond party lines
• the multi-stakeholder composition of IBAMO includes national government agencies
• “champions” from the LGUs - mostly the Municipal Planning and Development officers and/or Municipal Agriculture or Environment officers – who also serve as members of the Alliance’s technical working groups
• Provincial Government of Misamis Occidental serves as Secretariat
• Building on past gains from similar project such as coastal resources management
• Building on existing institutions i.e., multi-agency governance arrangement, rather than creating new ones including presence of fishes organizations;
• Mobilizing support from national government agencies (e.g., BFAR, DENR, DOST) to link up with the LGUs and provides technical as well as financial support
• Partnerships with “outside” institutions (including civil society groups and academe) and catalyzing the improvement of fisheries governance in the target