To ensure a more holistic approach towards resilience and sustainability, Senator Loren Legarda underscored the need to carry out disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and environmental conservation at all levels—from global down to the smallest community.
Legarda, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, made the statement during 10th anniversary conference of the International Climate Initiative in Bonn, Germany.
“Despite all our laws and these programs, there is still much to be done,” she said.
The greatest challenge, Legarda said, is not even funding these laws and programs, but to convince both the national and local governments on the urgency of taking action to address disaster risks and climate change impacts.
Disaster loses have continued to mount because the resilience of communities remain a great challenge to local government units because many have not yet incorporated DRR initiatives in their poverty alleviation programs.
“The protection, monitoring and assessment on the impact of the exploitation of protected areas in the country are great challenges. We must keep in mind that their preservation is critical to sustainable development, which is our fundamental goal for our society—beyond any revenue, profit, and economic gain,” she said.
Legarda was joined in the panel by Sonia Medina, Executive Director for Climate Change of the London-based Children’s Investment Fund Foundation; Professor Dirk Messner, Director of the German Development Institute; and Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, Director General, Global Issues- Sector Policies and Programmes of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Hoven, for her part, stressed the need to join forces across sectors and ministries, instead of working in isolation, to address the climate crisis, which is a cross-cutting issue.
“Countries need the right regulatory framework, the right set of policies, the right coordination among industries. When you have these in place, it is easier to seek financial support and sources including from the private sector,” Hoven said.