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2012/ISTWG/WKSP/008

National Climate Change Action Planning: Experiences from the Philippines

Submitted by: Manila Observatory

Workshop on Climate Change Adaptation in the Asia-Pacific: Observations and

Modeling Tools for Better Planning Singapore

16-17 August 2012

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National Climate Change Action Planning:

Experiences from the Philippines

C. Kendra Gotangco Castillo1,2,

Jessica Dator-Bercilla3

Inez Ponce de Leon1

1Manila Observatory

2Department of Environmental

Sciences, Ateneo de Manila

University

3Ateneo School of Government

Complementary to local government initiatives:

�Building the supporting institutional

infrastructure:

�Legal instruments and frameworks

�Funding sources

�Facilitating capacity-building

National Government Initiatives

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NFS

National CC Action Plan

Climate change considerations

as “mainstreamed” into rather

than additional to current

sectoral and development plans.

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� RA 9729: Climate Change Act of 2009

� National Framework Strategy on Climate Change 2010-2022

� National Climate Change Action Plan 2010-2028

� Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016

� RA 10121: Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010

� Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Issuances

� Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (BLURB) Revision of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Guidelines

� National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) development of DRM-CCA manuals and VA tools

Climate Change and Related Policies

Challenges: Mitigation

�Research:

�More basic research on carbon fluxes and feedbacks

�Need for observational data (e.g. carbon flux towers)

�Need to calibrate and validate ecosystem models

�Practice:

�Capacity-building:

�Need for more inventory experts

�Technology transfer

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Challenges: Adaptation

�Research:

�Application of ecosystem-based research paradigm

(crucial: collaboration and data-sharing)

�More comprehensive basic research on historical

trends and variability on all fronts (issue of

attribution)

�More scenarios/storylines and ensemble modeling

for future projections (crucial: need for boundary

conditions, collaborations and data-sharing on a

regional to global scale )

Challenges: Adaptation

�Science - Policy, Practice Nexus

�Building inventories of resources (including data, research and experts) from various governments agencies, state colleges and universities, and other related institutions for stakeholders to use in the planning process.

�Providing data in a useful form (e.g. resolution).

�Translating the science: Communication of actionable information to support evidence-based policy and planning

Evidence-based Approach:

Manner by which planning and budgeting are

informed by community realities, traditional and

indigenous knowledge, history, culture, social,

political, economic experiences and challenges,

environmental transformation and state of

resources, and scientific information.

(Jessica Dator-Bercilla)

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Context of Communication Challenges:

Emphasis on Climate change Adaptation (CCA) –

Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Mainstreaming

“We want to produce CCA-DRRM compliant LGUs

with enhanced CCA-DRRM mainstreaming

capacity” - Local Government Academy

Executive Director Marivel Sacendoncillo

Some GapsDRM is better understood – the challenge is moving away from response models to proactive models.

But with CCA…

� What sort of actions or policies qualify as adaptation?

� How do we evaluate adaptation options?

� Adaptation is context-specific – What roles do national government units (e.g. CCC play)? �Development of tools (issue of consistency), capacity-building

� Some local government units fall back on the typical “clean and green”, tree-planting and recycling programs.

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Media Confusion

“According to

[national gov’t

official], climate

change played a role

in the Manila Bay

storm surge that

caused flooding in

some establishments

along Roxas

Boulevard, including

the US Embassy and

the Sofitel Plaza.”

Is DRM = CCA?

Challenges: Adaptation

�Communication Challenges:

�Identifying the message (e.g. from a range of

possible futures).

�Packaging results and communicating

uncertainties to stakeholders.

�Clarifying the differences between DRRM and

CCA, and hence, the different types of actions.

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Packaging the Message:

c/o Dr. Bruce Hewitson

DRM and CCA: Points of Convergence and

Difference

Climate Change Adaptation:

Reduce risk to:

Disaster Risk Management

Reduce risk to:

Gradual changes in

climatic parameters

Extreme weather events

with increased

frequency and severity

Changes in

mean

temperature

Changes in

precipitation

patterns

Sea level rise

Climate- and

weather-related

events

Geophysical

events

Ecological

events

Direct connection Other events (e.g.

technological,

terrorism)

Hazards that are

associated with changing

climate “normals”

Hazards that are

associated with extreme

events

Gotangco 2012, adapted from Gotangco Castillo 2007; thanks also to

IRDR FORIN Faculty Dr. Alan Lavell

DRM and CCA as “fraternal

twins” rather than

“identical twins”-Jessica Dator-Bercilla, ASOG

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Types of Actions (Brooks et al. 2011. Tracking Adaptation. IIED Working Paper No. 1)

Conclusions

� Policy trends towards mainstreaming of CC action planning (mitigation and adaptation) need to be supported by:

�Broad-based ecosystem research drawing on multiple lines of evidence

�Collaboration, networking and data-sharing both horizontally (e.g. among research groups, practitioners, national government agencies) and vertically (top-down initiatives complementing bottom-up)

�Interdisciplinary actors to ensure translation of evidence into appropriate actions