TRIP model: An option to access PSF
Background and context
TPart 1
HE People’s Survival Fund ( PSF) is the government’s flagship climate finance program. It is the resultant program of the 2012 PSF Law ( Republic Act 10174), which addressed the lack of climate finance provisions in the 2009 Climate Change Act ( RA 9729). It intends to finance climate change adaptation projects proposed by local government units and accredited local community organizations. It also supplements the annual appropriations allocated by relevant government agencies and local government units for climate change-related programs and projects.
By law, the fund has an annual rolling minimum budget allocation of P1 billion in the national budget appropriated through the Climate Change Commission. This amount shall not be reverted to the national treasury regardless of its utilization and can be further augmented through additional - nancial grants and donations.
fund should be strategically aligned with the National Strategic Frame- work for Climate Change and the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP). They should have met selection criteria and undergone the evaluation process by PSF the board and secretariat.
Requirements
There are four basic requirements in the submission of a proposal: 1) a letter of intent; 2) PSF template; 3) Any one of these four documents (Enhanced Comprehensive Land Use Plan, Enhanced Comprehensive Development Plan, Risk/ Vulnerability Assessment, Local Climate Change Action Plan); and 4) AIP.
Issue and concern
It has been a dilemma for the local government units (LGUs) and accredited local community organizations to access the funds because the proposals need to be science- based. This primary concern was identified by the National Panel of Technical Experts ( NPTEs) who review the proposals and by consultants ( e. g. Global Green Growth Institute, or GGGI, GIZ, and other development partners) who provide technical assistance to the Climate Change Commission in the operationalization of PSF.
Recommendation
Since some local government units have no background in developing science- based proposals, one of the options or solutions should be to empower the LGUs through training and scientific capacity development programs. And this is where TRIP (Track-Risk-ImpactPolicy) Framework comes in. It is a very practical approach in order to help the proponents in project development.
The Trip approach is only one of the options in order to develop science-based proposals. (See Table 1.)
Importance of TRIP Framework
In the context of climate change, the Track- Risk- Impact- Policy ( TRIP) Framework explicitly addresses interactions and feedback between human and natural systems that are supported by technical approaches and science- based policy solutions. It focuses on the resource base, including both biophysical and socio-economic resources, on which people depend to achieve social, environmental and economic goals. It also tackles the future of climate conditions in a certain area of region that will help the policy- makers and other stakeholders to adapt to the changes. It helps to identify and manage the risks and impacts using international and local frameworks, strategies, and policies. And it also provides an avenue for governance structures and processes, cultural and societal beliefs and behaviors, and other substantial information to achieve climate smart or resilient region.
Part 2 will focus on the details of each element of the TRIP framework.