DILG to LGUs: Use Climate Change Lens in Economic Planning

Local governments are no longer strangers to planning for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Management (CCA-DRRM).

However, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)—as the champion for business-friendly and competitive governance—gathered its regional and provincial focal persons in Region 7 this week in Cebu City for a training on mainstreaming CCA-DRRM in the LGU’s economic development planning.

The training aimed to raise awareness on adaptation planning processes, with particular focus on tourism as well as provide easy and practical tools for LGUs to integrate adaptation and risk considerations in their tourism plans.

From the training, DILG is expected to help LGUs find entry points for integrating CCADRRM in other LGU planning processes such as the Comprehensive Development Plans (CDP) and Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUP).

Participants of the CCA-DRRM Planning for LED held at Marco Polo Hotel, Cebu City from November 5 to 7, 2014.
(Photo credits to Tina Abella)

DILG upholds LGUs as the front liners of inclusive growth especially that, according to DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero, 94.6% of MSMEs operate at local levels. With business-friendly and competitive LGUs, investments will be made, more jobs will be created, and growth can be guided to become accessible to more Filipinos nationwide.

Since 2008, DILG has been building competencies of LGUs to be more conducive for economic growth through its Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED), a program supported by the Government of Canada.

LGSP-LED has consistently worked to mainstream crosscutting themes in its projects with LGUs and this included environmental sustainability, particularly CCA-DRRM in tourism development initiatives.

This led the program to come up with a course for LGUs on using CCA-DRRM lens in local economic development (CCA4LED modules), which was developed through the Local Government Academy (LGA) and with the help of planning experts from Canada.

This led the program to come up with a course for LGUs on using CCA-DRRM lens in local economic development (CCA4LED modules), which was developed through the Local Government Academy (LGA) and with the help of planning experts from Canada.

In fact, CCA-DRRM planning consultants Beate Bowron and Gary Davidson will lead the CCA-DRRM training this week. Bowron and Davidson have visited key sites in Northern Cebu prior to the training for a rapid assessment of the LGU’s present systems, local industries, and the effects of Yolanda in the area. They have provided studies and recommendations to previous LGSP-LED project sites as well.

After pretesting, DILG hopes to finalize the CCA4LED modules this year and offer the course to more LGUs through LGA’s regular programming.

Experience made DILG and its partner-LGUs, such as Leyte and Bohol, further realize that apart from preparing for disasters, business recovery was an essential part of creating competitive and sustainable local industries.

Just last month, DILG in collaboration with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry launched the Eastern Visayas Business Recovery Center, a hub that offers consultancy for entrepreneurs in the whole lifecycle of businesses, from registration to expansion and recovery.

This year, new LGUs were engaged in LGSP-LED, which included communities hit by super typhoon Yolanda: Northern Cebu, Northern Iloilo, Northern Palawan, and Northern Panay. Business recovery centers are to be established in these areas as well.

Photo above: Residents help put the sign back up in Palompon, Leyte, after Yolanda. Leyte is one of DILG’s partner-LGUs in its Local Governance Program for Local Economic Development. (Photo credits to Raoul Bacalla)