LGUs need upgraded technical skills to fight climate change — professor

SCIENTIFIC proficiency at the local government unit (LGU) level is required to help them deal with climate change, an academic said.

In a presentation at the 6th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum held at the Asian Development Bank on Wednesday, Juan M. Pulhin, a professor and former dean of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) College of Forestry and Natural Resources, said LGUs need to be capable of employing technology to come up with proper assessments in their jurisdictions.

“Science has the ability to look forward which may be beyond the local knowledge experience. The challenge is how integrate science tools and local knowledge to improve assessments,” Mr. Pulhin said.

“The LGU is at the forefront in battling climate change at the local level. They’re the intermediary between the national government on one hand and the community on the other,” according to Mr. Pulhin.

In an interview with BusinessWorld, Mr. Pulhin said capacity development should be implemented in all LGUs by giving technical training and increasing the number of specialist staff among the LGU’s regular job holders.

“On one hand, we have to use science, and some of our LGUs are not really trained on that aspect… At the same time, you also have to integrate it with local knowledge and experience and again some of our LGUs do not have the capacity to do that,” Mr. Pulhin said.

Mr. Pulhin said continuous capacity development among LGUs is needed to keep up with scientific developments to help LGUs assess their vulnerability to drought and flooding.