Australia gives RP P123 million for climate change mitigation projects

MANILA, Philippines – The Australian government donated yesterday P123 million to finance three new projects that aim to further strengthen the country’s capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Australian ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith said the Philippines is one of the two countries in Southeast Asia that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The other is Indonesia which the Australian government is also assisting in its disaster risk reduction programs, Smith said.

Peter Jensen, Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) Development counsellor, said the Philippines is “very good” in terms of implementing disaster risk reduction programs.

Smith said the projects that will be implemented by various government and non-government agencies include: “Improving Disaster Risk Reduction Knowledge Management Systems in the Philippines,” “Strengthening Natural Hazard Risk Assessment Capacity in the Philippines,” and “Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in Local Development Planning and Decision-Making Processes in the Philippines.”

 “Australia supports the Philippine government’s effort in disaster risk reduction. While disasters cannot be avoided, we can significantly reduce the exposure and vulnerability of our people by increasing their knowledge and understanding of natural hazards,” Smith said during the 13th Asia Pacific Policy Forum at the Renaissance Hotel in Makati City.

Smith said the Australian government will work with the National Economic and Development Authority and the United Nations Development Program on the implementation of the project dubbed “Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in Local Development Planning and Decision-Making Processes in the Philippines.”

Smith said the project will help integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in local development planning.

He said the Australian government will also work with different stakeholders in enhancing the National Action Plan on Climate Change that will focus on disaster risk reduction.

The project will receive a funding of P87.5 million and will be implemented this year until 2011.

Smith said they will provide additional funding of P500, 000 to the National Disaster Coordinating Council for the continuous implementation of the project “Strengthening Natural Hazard Risk Assessment Capacity in the Philippines.”

The project – which is being undertaken by the NDCC along with the Collective Strengthening of Community Awareness of Natural Disasters and Geoscience Australia – includes technical assistance on introducing climate change vulnerability modeling and enhancing the Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (REDAS) tool developed by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

The program will also provide assistance to other scientific agencies such as the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, National Mapping and Resources Authority, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration to increase understanding of how risk and impact can be assessed for other natural hazards and how these can be integrated into the REDAS.

“Australia will provide technical assistance to NAMRIA to improve the quality and timeliness of geospatial information. NAMRIA will work with other agencies involved in disaster risk management and to produce more accurate and timely information to emergency stakeholders and threatened communities to assist them to better prepare for natural disasters,” Smith said.

The third project entitled “Improving Disaster Risk Reduction Knowledge Management Systems in the Philippines,” will be implemented by Oxfam-Philippines, an international non-government agency that works on livelihoods, education, work in disasters, and ensuring poor communities have access to and control of their assets.

The project will be given a P19-million funding and will be implemented in one and a half years, Smith said.

“Australia will support Oxfam to ensure that good community practice and knowledge on disaster risk reduction informs national policy,” Smith said.

He said many communities in the Philippines have developed coping mechanisms that can be replicated more broadly. –Helen Flores (philstar.com)