UN to Asia: Be ready for harsher impacts of climate change

MANILA, Philippines—Asian countries have to be more resilient to the expected harsher impacts of climate change, a ranking United Nations official told Asian Ministers, asking them to include adequate climate change adaptation responses in their development programs.

Jacqueline Badcock, UN Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in the Philippines, was one of the opening speakers the Third Ministerial Forum of the ongoing East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress at the Philippine International Convention Center.

In a statement read by Badcock, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark stressed that Asian countries must deal with the effects of climate change with more urgency.

“Dealing with climate change takes even more urgency in the face of increasing frequency of meteorological disasters in the region, such as those which hit the Philippines and Vietnam,” Clark said, adding that the UN has continued to provide support for humanitarian and early recovery, but incrementally higher because of the bigger damage.

Meanwhile, Clark also recognized the continuing partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which has significantly strengthened local capacities to countries attain their development aspirations.

Hosted by the Philippine government, the EAS Congress 2009 focuses on real actions and initiatives from the local level that contribute to the achievement of international and regional environmental targets and objectives, as well as issues that confront local governments, communities, and other stakeholders.

The 2009 Congress also reviews and identifies future actions on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA). Among the issues being discussed in the week-long congress are foreshore development and coastal reclamation, waste management, pollution reduction and water use, local coastal and marine governance, and good practices at the local level.

UNDP’s role as implementing agency for the GEF has enabled it to provide more meaningful assistance in addressing issues of global significance, such as climate change and biodiversity conservation, which are central concerns of the Partnerships for Environmental Management of the Seas of East Asia (Pemsea), which is the coordinating mechanism for coastal management concerns in the Asian region.

The EAS Congress is organized by Pemsea and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, with the support of GEF, UNDP, United Nations Office for Project Services, and Coastal Management Center. –INQUIRER.net