DILG Pledges Support to First Green Climate Fund Project in the Philippines

Four hazard-prone cities and municipalities stand to benefit from the country’s first Green Climate Fund (GCF) project worth USD10-million that will establish a multi-hazard impact-based forecasting and early warning system (MH-IBF-EWS) in the said local government units (LGUs), according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año says Tuguegarao City, Legazpi City, the town of Palo in Leyte, and New Bataan in Davao de Oro will be the target local government units (LGUs) of the multi-million dollar GCF project approved by the Green Climate Fund Board during its recent meeting in Songdo, Korea.

“The DILG thanks the GCF Board for approving the project as it will complement the efforts of the government to ensure that our LGUs are equipped with the right risk information that will enable them to act promptly and decisively on impending hazards,” says Año.

The DILG Chief says that as one of the project’s implementing agencies, the DILG embraces its responsibilities to lead in the advocacy, outreach, and public awareness on the MH-IBF-EWS as “our little contribution to our country’s battle against climate change.”

He says that the Department will also head the project’s capacity building initiatives for the LGUs, and the updating of disaster preparedness and response protocols using impact-based early warning system.

“Climate change has been a global issue that we can’t just take for granted. We must acknowledge it and fortify our country with safety measures like the MH-IBF-EWS. As one of the most vulnerable countries that can fall victim to climate change, we should be proactive in developing counter-measures,” he explains.

He says that the MH-IBF-EWS aims to translate hazard forecasts into warnings that convey location and specific impacts, providing tailored climate risk information directly to the LGUs and communities on the ground.

The said project, according to Año, will implement four outputs namely: generate science-based multi-hazard weather and risk information; establish an MH-IBF-EWS supported by a knowledge and decision support system; and improve national and local capacities in implementing a people-centered MH-IBF-EWS and forecast-based early actions.

It will also mainstream climate risk information and MH-IBF-EWS in development policy and planning, investment programming and resilience planning at national and local levels and institutionalizing a people-centered MH-IBF-EWS in the Philippines.

The MH-IBF-EWS was spearheaded by the Climate Change Commission (CCC) and Deputy Speaker and Antique representative Loren Legarda who is also an alternate member of the GCF Board.

According to CCC, target LGUs will lead all activities in project sites, such as building the exposure database with population and economic variable; housing and building data and gathering data in the field; identifying forecast-based actions and financing mechanisms; adopting and implementing early action protocols; identifying alternative resilient livelihood options; and integrating MH-IBF-EWS and forecast-based early actions in their respective local resilience plans.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration will be the project’s executing agency together with the DILG, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Office of Civil Defense, World Food Programme, and the target LGUs. (DILG PR)