Butuan City, February 24 2016 — A workshop on local economic development was held in the City of Butuan, Agustan del Norte Province, from 22-24 February 2016, as part of UN-Habitat’s Achieving Sustainable Urban Development (ASUD) project.
The workshop aimed to integrate local economic development (LED) issues and opportunities into the city’s LED Strategy and Implementation Plan, as well as contribute to the improvement of the city’s 2016 – 2025 Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), currently being formulated. Key city government representatives, regional and national government stakeholders attended the event.
The workshop facilitated discussions on value chain analysis, key local economic development clusters and strategic locations, as well as enabled city government officers to draft models of spatial growth, and brainstorm spatial economic development tasks and projects.
Butuan City Planning and Development Coordinator, Mr Antenedo E. Milloren, said the technical workshop is important for the city when considering physical land use planning, particularly as it relates to the socio-economic sector.
“Land-use planning is a very powerful tool for socio-economic development,” added Mr Milloren. “The workshop has helped us to make a justification for LED in our CLUP.”
The city’s investment promotions and development officer, Ms Susan Pacaran, said the workshop has helped her better understand planning for economic development.
“I am thankful as my counterparts in the City Government also can see the wider perspective on how economic development can be supported through land-use planning.”
Following the workshop, UN-Habitat will continue to provide technical assistance to the City as they revise and reformulate their comprehensive land use plan.
