DENR roadmap to lessen impact of climate change
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it has released a “roadmap” that will serve as an important guide in helping lessen the impact of climate change and disaster risks in the country.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, chairperson of the Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction, said the overall goal of the CCAM-DRR Roadmap is “to attain the climate and disaster-resilient communities supporting equitable and sustainable development.”
He explained that the roadmap has four outcome objectives such as increasing adaptive capacities of vulnerable communities; ensuring adequate supply of clean air; increased resilience of critical infrastructure; and enhanced knowledge, access to information, and institutional capacities.
“Enhancing the climate and disaster-resilient communities in 22 vulnerable provinces, 822 coastal municipalities, and the major urban centers (Metro Manila, Cebu, Iloilo and Davao) is the overall goal of the roadmap by 2022.”
The DENR turned over to President Duterte this roadmap for climate change adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction for the next four years.
The turnover of the roadmap is part of the overall plan for five other Cabinet clusters to turn over their respective roadmaps to the country’s chief executive: Participatory Governance, Infrastructure, Human Development and Poverty Reduction; Security, Justice, and Peace, and Economic Development.
The CCAM-DRR Cabinet Cluster is a cross-departmental body, composed of 20 government agencies as members under Executive Order No. 24, which serves as a venue to harmonize, align, complement, and synergize the programs, activities and projects among departments and other government agencies in delivering the national vision on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and disaster risk reduction.
Lawyer Analiza RebueltaTeh, DENR’s undersecretary for climate change and mining concerns, said that a formal resolution to adopt the roadmap was issued last January.
One of the strategies for implementing the roadmap is through the Risk Resiliency Program. “The RRP is the framework program to assist the Philippines in strengthening the resiliency of natural ecosystems and the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities to short and longterm risks,” Teh said.
The criteria for selecting the first priority geographical areas of focus were based on “high poverty incidence, high susceptibility or exposure to hazards, and provinces’ location in critical or degraded watersheds.”
“The RRP also aims to contribute to the attainment of the Philippine Development Plan goal of inclusive growth by minimizing the impacts of climate and disaster risks,” Teh added.