The government has completed the resilience road maps for 16 vulnerable areas, which will serve as a guide in managing disaster risks and climate vulnerabilities in the Philippines.
The road maps and their corresponding investment portfolios for risk resilience (IPRR) are for 12 climate-vulnerable provinces and four major urban cities.
The road maps were recently turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center under the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) last December 19 in Quezon City.
Developed under the Risk Resiliency Program (RRP) of the Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation, and Disaster Risk Reduction, each road map with IPRR contains recommended actions to manage the risks and vulnerabilities in the climate-vulnerable areas in the form of specific resilience measures.
Key findings and relevant experiences were also presented by the study teams that conducted the risk assessments in the climate-vulnerable areas, during the turnover ceremony.
“These planning documents will definitely help inform both local and national investment programming, resulting in more efficient and climate-responsive programs that make better use of our limited resources,” DENR Undersecretary for Finance, Information Systems, and Climate Change Analiza Rebuelta-Teh said in a news statement.
The road maps were developed for the provinces of Siquijor, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sulu, Lanao del Sur, Apayao, Kalinga, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Catanduanes, as well as the urban centers of Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Iloilo, and Metro Davao.
The initiative is implemented by the Neda-PPP Center and the DENR under the project “Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships in the Philippines” with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of the United Kingdom, through its Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund.
Key officials who witnessed the turnover were DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas Leones; PPP Center Executive Director Cynthia Hernandez and Director Lerma Advincula; ADB’s urban climate change resilience specialist Dr. Ramon Abracosa; and Jacques Miel-Soliguin, Climate Change, and Energy Attache of the British Embassy.
Biotech option
Biological technology offers powerful solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.
As climate change compels expeditious and wise action toward biotechnology, the DENR is committed to building opportunities in biotechnology to help address this global phenomenon and achieve sustainable and inclusive growth for all Filipinos, DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning, and International Affairs Jonas R. Leones said in a statement.
Leones spoke on behalf of DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga during the 18th Biotechnology Week last November 21 in Pasay City, wherein he declared the agency’s full support and commitment to biotechnology.
Leones said climate change “compels us to act expeditiously and wisely, especially since the answer to the climate catastrophe requires a systematic transformation in the fusion of various disciplines.”