Usbong San Remigio: Local Growth for Global Goals

Abstract

This article aimed to present the progress of the Municipality of San Remigio, located on the northeastern coast of Cebu Island in the Philippines towards sustainable development. The featured local community development campaign “Usbong San Remigio” is discussed to exemplify a transformative local governance approach to fulfilling the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this case, the article further provides analyses and practical tips on how to relate and integrate local community initiatives to the 2030 Agenda. These contributions are relevant for developing an argument in the position paper which is to: “analyze and discuss a case study that shows how local, people-centered, and sustainable initiatives relate to and work toward the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.”The term “usbong” (or the process of germination in Cebuano language) was chosen to represent the ways by which San Remigio Municipality advances its local sustainable development within and beyond the parameters of the global SDG framework. San Remigio’s community participation in local governance (SDG 11.3), mangrove reforestation, conservation of marine resources (SDG 14) and natural and cultural heritage (SDG 11.4), and people’s participation in local-level planning, among others, are recognized as its strategic flagship campaigns. The municipalities’ mangrove reforestation and marine conservation drives (13 and 14), livelihood and skills development (8), environmental education and culture (4, 11.4), as well as people’s participation in planning and decision-making processes (11.3) are underscored as key thematic priorities that San Remigio has been undertaking in sync with both the global SDGs as well as the local cultural, historical, and demographic features of this place. The contextualized use of local language, identity, and traditional indigenous values within these campaigns, as well as citizens’ leadership in these local sustainability drives, are also featured. The featured case study supports the paper’s position of the need for localizing the SDGs and the importance of citizen ownership over global development targets. The examples and analyses on San Remigio’s “usbong” (sprouting) initiatives are used as pointers on what local, developing municipalities can learn and apply from one another in terms of heritage, innovation, and international solidarity in local sustainable development practice.