DENR, DPWH to expedite Mindanao resilient infra programs

Mindanao-wide resilient infrastructure programs will be expedited amid recent disasters in the region, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

President Marcos ordered the DENR and the Department of Public Works and Highways to expedite the programs, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia YuloLoyzaga said over the weekend.

Marcos also wants local communities to directly benefit from the implementation of the National Adaptation Plan, she added.

The impact of temperature increases, rainfall changes, sea level rise and typhoons could increase to P1.4 trillion in 2030 or around eight percent of the 2020 gross domestic product (GDP), Loyzaga noted.

“Our goal is to build transformative climate resilience, minimize losses and damage and achieve sustainable socio-economic development by 2050. The strategies and outcomes address impacts specifically on food security, water resources, health, ecosystems and biodiversity, population migration and the preservation of cultural heritage,” she said.

The World Bank estimated the country was losing up to 1.2 percent of GDP annually in the last decade beginning in 2011 due to the rapid onset of typhoons alone, she added.

“This figure did not include the impacts of prolonged periods of drought, which we considered slow onset disasters especially during El Niño years, and the impacts of extreme rainfall events on lives, livelihoods and infrastructure,” she said.

The country also needs to make adaptation and disaster risk reduction priorities, she noted.

“We are hosting the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference this year – a golden opportunity to learn and do more. We urge you to adopt your host ecosystems and communities beyond your fence lines, as stewards and partners,” Loyzaga said.