Philippines: Over coordination
Inter-ministerial coordination is clearly a pre-requisite for effective and efficient formulation and implementation of policies of sustainable development. Too much coordination, however, can produce diminishing returns. In the Philippines, institutional bodies overseeing the drafting and implementation of sustainable development policies have proliferated to the extent that the roles and functions of the bodies have begun to overlap with individual government agencies or other coordinating mechanisms. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), for example, oversees environmental policies and the implementation of certain MEAs, while the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) is involved in drafting policies related to biodiversity and atmospheric issues. While each body can clearly complement the other, poorly defined roles can also lead to overlap and inefficient policymaking and implementation. There is also concern among some government circles that the PCSD duplicates the inter-ministerial coordination leading to the Philippine Medium-Term Development Plans.
Too much inter-ministerial coordination can produce administrative fatigue among government officials. At one point, for example, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), who chairs the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development, was involved in close to 400 inter-agency committees.
