Municipal execs tackle climate change adaptation

MANILA, Philippines – The LGU Summit on Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) in the Philippines for Municipal LGUs held in Davao City gathered local government officials, scientists and other development partners to share practical information addressing the challenge of climate change.

Initiated by the National Economic and Development Authority and in partnership with the Climate Change Commission (CCC), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the provincial government of Albay, and the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, the Summit presented tools on how LGUs can assess their communities’ vulnerability, as well as successful practices of CCA at the local level.

Similar with two previous legs of the Summit in Albay and Iloilo, the Mindanao leg of the Summit aimed to increase local awareness and commitment to climate change adaptation.

Working group sessions focused on three areas – measuring the LGUs’ vulnerability to climate change, integrating disaster risk reduction and CCA in local development planning and decision, and CCA practices at the local level.

Secretary Mary Ann Lucille Sering of the CCC stressed the importance of integration between CCA and DRR to minimize the threat to human security. The Philippines is now experiencing the brunt of climate change as the number of disasters linked to floods, droughts and other climate-influenced events have increased the vulnerability of communities.

“The impact of these disasters has been significant, inflicting devastation due to environmental degradation, reduction in water and food availability and unimaginable loss of fortune and lives in our country. The amount needed for reconstruction and recovery after super typhoon Ondoy alone is $4.42 billion over three years,” she said.

According to Sering, the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) of the CCC provides key strategic actions that give importance to coordinated efforts on DRR and CCA to develop human capabilities in the face of change and uncertainty.

LGU officials presented the manifesto of commitment and pledge of support to the CCA during the said Summit.

The manifesto enjoins LGUs to prepare their communities to be more resilient and adaptive, incorporating vulnerability assessment and CCA schemes as part of their development planning process, and implementing CCA measures to attain the Millennium Development Goals.

The LGU Summit is supported under the MDG Achievement Fund (MDG-F) 1656 joint program on strengthening the Philippines’ institutional capacity to adapt to climate change, which is funded by the Spanish Government and supported by the United Nations. –(The Philippine Star)