THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has received another badge of honor as the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) lauded the agency’s Project LAWA (Local Adaptation to Water Access) and BINHI (Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished) for invaluable contribution to climate resilience initiatives.
“In a Linkedin post by UN’s Assistant Secretary-General Reena Ghelani, she mentioned our LAWA and BINHI project, citing it as among the best practices in response to the prevalent issues related to climate crisis and El Nino,” said Irene Dumlao, DSWD Assistant Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG).
The UN post lauded the implementation of Project LAWA, saying it has “developed as a sustainable solution to water scarcity caused by the El Niño drought.”
The post was shared by the official page of the UNDRR.
“LAWA, which means “pond” in Tagalog, was the first of its kind and built on the success of previous government-supported cash-for-work programmes. The project provided temporary employment and empowered disadvantaged communities to build small farm reservoirs to ensure access to water for irrigation,” the Ghelani’s Linkedin post read.
The UN executive also praised the Project BINHI that tapped irrigation water to maintain vegetable gardens and climate resilient crops.
Ghelani was also impressed by the Cash-for-Work (CFW) mechanism of the program, citing it as a leverage to community-involvement in addressing scarcity in food and nutrition.
The DSWD lauded the UN’s positive remarks, saying that under the leadership of Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the agency will continue to implement LAWA and BINHI projects, as well as empower vulnerable communities to address climate and disaster resilience.
“On behalf of the entire DSWD community, we appreciate your favorable remarks on our project. What makes this extra special for us is it is from someone who has travelled the world – one who has witnessed competitive climate change responsive mechanisms,” Dumlao said.
The UN commendation is another reason to boost the agency’s commitment in securing that the LAWA and BINHI projects will be sustained and will remain among the DSWD’s active risk resiliency efforts, according to Dumlao, who is also DSWD spokesperson.
Project LAWA and BINHI are designed to maintain agricultural productivity during dry periods and manage excess water in times of heavy rainfall associated with La Niña.
The project is among the DSWD’s innovations that focus on mitigating the impact of food insecurity and water scarcity caused by the El Niño while preparing for the potential effects of the rainy season.
Project LAWA and BINHI were cited by President Marcos in his 3rd State of the
Nation Address (SONA) last July 22, prompting the DSWD chief to say “our small idea has become a SONA program.”
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “DSWD projects cited by UN official as best practices vs. climate change.”
