Investing in climate change benefits Filipine economy
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Investing in climate change adaptation (CCA) can boost economic growth and the Philippine province of Albay proves that this is what sustainable development is all about.
The provincial government of Albay set up institutions needed to cope with climate change, and engaged communities in protecting the environment to limit the damages wrought by flooding, strong typhoons and volcanic eruption.
This "climate proofing" development produces many benefits. Businesses will invest, flourish and create jobs. More than that, climate proofing also sends children to schools, puts food in the table and keep everyone in good health.
"There's no conflict between economics and environment. By being more eco-friendly, you get more growth," Albay Governor Joey Salceda said in a meeting with members of the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists (PNEJ).
For Salceda, adaptation is an "investment and not a cost." This is why in 2009, 9 percent of the province's 804 million pesos (17. 8 million U.S. dollars) went to CCA and disaster risk reduction. Last week, Salceda also signed an agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a 1.3 billion pesos ( 28.8 million U.S. dollars) grant which will finance the construction of more evacuation centers, purchase of Doppler radar and establishment of a flood forecasting center.
Salceda also established the Center for Initiative and Research Center for Climate Adaptation (CIRCA). CIRCA is an agency that develops and implements CCA projects and programs which includes mangrove planting, cleaning up of rivers and canals and sustainable agriculture.
"Climate change adaptation begins with disaster risk management. Climate change mitigation is integral to environmental protection. They are all just means to an end which is to reduce poverty," he said, adding "as far as Albay is concerned, it's a good platform for governance."
Concrete gains support such confidence. From 2007 to 2010, Albay raked in over 30 billion U.S. dollars worth of investments. The province is also on track in meeting most of its commitments to Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) such as reduction in infant and maternal mortality rates, lower incidence of malaria and expanded access to potable water.
Albay has also gained global recognition. In 2008, the World Bank and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) declared Albay as a global model for CCA. The UN-ISDR also named Salceda as "Senior Champion" of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
This is no mean feat for a province that has been known to be a magnet for calamities.
Albay, which is about 500 kilometers southeast of Manila, is one of the Philippine provinces most vulnerable to disasters and ultimately to the harsh impact of a warmer planet. Of the 20 typhoons that hit the country every year, five typhoons hit Albay directly. From 1994 to 2006, these typhoons killed over 1 million people and damaged properties and farm produce worth over 153 million U.S. dollars.
Albay faces the Pacific Ocean and its coastal communities are vulnerable to tsunami. The province is also home to Mayon Volcano, known worldwide not only for its perfect cone, but also for being one of the most active volcanoes. The volcano erupted 49 times in the past four centuries, the worst was in 1814 when it buried the town of Cagsawa in about 30 feet of ash and killed 1,200 people.
Albay also has a very high poverty incidence, with nearly 40 percent of its 1.2 million people subsisting on less than two U.S. dollars a day. It's the poor, with their limited resources, who suffer most from disasters.
It is against this backdrop that in 1995, years before climate change became such a huge issue, the provincial government has created the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office ( APSEMO), which is directly under the office of the provincial governor and is the nerve center for the province's disaster preparedness, response and recovery programs. The provincial government allocates 2 percent of its annual budget to APSEMO, while 5 percent of the budget goes to the calamity fund.
"Through APSEMO, communities, non-governmental organizations, local and international groups, national and local government, media, academe and other stakeholders, all came together and played a common tune with the end in view of building resilience and putting people away from harm's way," the U.K.-based Oxfam said in its report.
Oxfam personnel went to Albay late last year to assess APSEMO's performance during the recent Mayon eruption. In its report published this year, Oxfam noted "this living evidence-based advocacy is APSEMO's enduring contribution to the international disaster risk reduction and management discourse for a more lasting change in policy development."
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