The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to finalize next year a framework that incorporates sustainable solutions in state policies to fight climate change, protect the environment and preserve natural resources.
The DENR said it would complete its draft nature-based solutions(NbS) framework for the country in 2025 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.
Elenida Basug, director of the DENR Climate Change Service, said NbS must interoperate within an ecosystem of policies, such as in the Philippine Development Plan 2022-2028, the National Adaptation Plan 2023-2050 and the Philippine Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP) 2015-2028.
UNDP Philippines deputy resident representative Edwine Carrie also said the Philippines cannot discuss the climate crisis without acknowledging its interconnection with environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.
“Given the complexity and interconnected nature of these challenges, interventions must address them simultaneously and equitably. UNDP is dedicated to championing gender-responsive nature-based solutions as a viable and cost-effective approach to combating the climate crisis while restoring and protecting the environment,” he said
John Lok, head of cooperation of the Canadian Embassy, noted that NbS defend and restore natural areas such as forests and wetlands that are essential in protecting people from climate change impacts and reversing wildlife decline.
“It uses the features and complex system processes of nature—such as its ability to store carbon and regulate water flows—and provide innovative and resilient alternatives in the context of constrained fiscal capacity. Nature-based solutions also offer opportunities to empower women, indigenous peoples, and their communities to lead initiatives that will tackle climate change impacts,” Lok said.
Canada is funding two NbS-specific initiatives in the Philippines, namelyThe Accelerating Green and Climate Finance (AGCF) project, implemented by the UNDP, and the Philippines-Canada Partnership on Nature-based Solution for Climate Adaptation (PCP4NbS) with the Forest Foundation Philippines.UNDP Philippines News
