DENR, USAid forge partnership | The Manila Times

THE Philippine government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) entered into a partnership to establish climate resiliency projects in the country.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Friday that the five-year project, amounting P836.5 million ($15 million), will enhance the adaptive capacity of key cities in the Philippines to the impacts of climate change.

The DENR and USAid will collaborate toward capacity building and development programs in partner cities under the project. They will also reform national or local level policies related to climate change and nature-based solutions, host events, and promote information materials and knowledge products.

“As cities increase in number and size, it underscores the need to enhance resilience capacities to withstand climate-related shocks and stresses,” said Environment chief Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga.

The DENR said cities slated to benefit from the Climate Resilient Cities (CRC) Project are Batangas, Borongan, Cotabato, Iloilo, Legazpi and Zamboanga.

These cities will be able to adapt, mitigate and endure the impacts of climate change through knowledge-enhancement and improving access to climate change financing, the department added.

“The specific interest of DENR is to enhance anticipatory action, which can be aided by the purpose of this project which is to allow technical capacity to be built in local government units to understand climate data and analysis at a granularity that they can actually use to take focused and direct action,” said Yulo-Loyzaga.

Yulo-Loyzaga and USAid Mission Director Ryan Washburn signed the memorandum of understanding for the project on October 25.

“Through this project, the US government is helping local governments and other stakeholders better understand, use and disseminate climate information to communities,” said Washburn.

The CRC Project also contributes to the US government’s goal of addressing global crises by working with its partners such as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, conserving 100 million hectares of critical landscapes, and helping millions of people worldwide to prepare and adapt to climate change.

The DENR, meanwhile, will monitor the proper implementation of the project, ensuring that outcomes focused on the use of climate data in local climate change planning, accessing climate finance and implementing nature-based solutions are aligned with the Philippine climate change agenda.