ILOILO CITY—Participants in a dialog here recommended nature-based solutions (NbS) that can be adopted by local government units and national government agencies in responding to the threats of climate change.
Among the proposed interventions were tree and mangrove planting along rivers and coastal areas, and the installation of waste traps to prevent solid waste from clogging waterways and drainage systems.
Neil Ravena, chief of the General Services Office of the city government here, said Project TRANSFORM (Transdisciplinary Approach for Resilience and Sustainability through Multi-stakeholder Engagement) is a project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) being implemented here.
Participants in the dialog that ended last week included members of the academe, environmentalists, civil society organizations, people’s organizations, private sector and vulnerable sectors.
Flooding was identified as the top hazard. There others are drought, water scarcity and fire.
“We will combine green, gray and blue projects for the identified problems,” Ravena said in an interview.
“Mainly, this is to address the climate change threat, so we need to collaborate with them and identify all the risks and hazards brought about by climate change.”
Outgoing Mayor Jerry Treñas, in his message during the opening of the activity, said the city government is fully supportive of Project TRANSFORM and will continue to look for ways to make Iloilo greener.
The DENR is finalizing a framework that incorporates sustainable solutions in state policies to fight climate change, protect the environment and preserve natural resources. With PNA
The DENR said earlier it would complete its draft nature-based solutions(NbS) framework for the country this year and replace the current general Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) principle in place.
“The DENR has undertaken initiatives to institutionalize NbS. We are developing a mother policy to strengthen NbS integration within the department,” said DENR Undersecretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh.
“With support from UNDP, we are finalizing the Forest Carbon Policy Roadmap and conducting NbS stocktaking studies to map the current landscape of NbS implementation across the environment and natural resources sector, non-profit, and the private sector,” she added.
The DENR official made the commitment in a recent forum with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Canadian government that tackled NbS and the crucial role of ecosystems in achieving mitigation and resilience from climate change and biodiversity loss in the Philippines. With PNA
