ESSC is a Jesuit research and training institute that promotes environmental sustainability and social justice through the integration of scientific methodologies and social processes.
The LUCID project aims to investigate the socio-economic dynamics and social justice implications of corn cultivation in the Philippines. It also seeks to understand the dynamics of farmer-level decision making in the context of local opportunities and threats in corn cultivation, as well as to look at the issues under the lens of social justice and philosophy and how the unequal distribution of wealth and opportunities are perpetuated by a small group of rich people who take advantage of supplier perks and discounts while imposing high interest rates on farmers.
In September 2017, ESSC and Forest Foundation Philippines began a collaborative project to contribute to enhancing forest ecosystem services in the Pantaron Mountain Range, a mountain range straddling across provinces of Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Norte, and Davao del Sur where one of the last remaining primary forest blocks in Mindanao can be found.
Flights for Forests is a voluntary carbon accountability scheme started by the Jesuit Conference Asia Pacific (JCAP). Flights for Forests seeks to generate commitment amongst Jesuits and Jesuit institutions globally to support natural resource management at the local level and contribute to helping rural communities affected by global, economic, and climate changes.
Today we have a small gathering of practitioners, local government officials and academe who are all on the ground humbly seeking ways forward in their different roles. It is a young group, in general, the generation now taking up the challenges of living a normal life and the hopes of growing opportunities.
