Loyzaga bats for localized data to fight climate change impacts

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The Philippines reiterated its full support of the Comprehensive Disaster and Climate Risk Management (CRM) program of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).
DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, head of the Philippine delegation to the 27th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP27), served as a panelist in the event “Scaling Up Comprehensive Risk Management to Avert, Minimize, and Address Losses and Damages” where she discussed the adoption of the CRM approach in mitigating the disastrous effects of climate change.
The CRM program seeks to integrate risk-centered approaches into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and climate/forecast information into national and subnational disaster risk reduction strategies, aligning them better with the national adaptation goals.
UNDRR said that disasters do not have to be devastating to both environment and society, and countries must come to a solution in reducing its vulnerability and exposure to rapidly growing climate-related hazards, such as cyclones and floods.
According to UNDRR, the CRM program will serve as a tool to integrate disaster and climate-related strategies, plans and financing to avoid extreme events and disasters that could lead to substantial losses and damages.
The CRM approach considers a number of factors to purposively strengthen synergies between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, including the identification of mutually beneficial opportunities across policies and programs, and the development of government capacities for cross-sectoral planning.
The program also focuses on studying short, medium, and long-term risks through information gathered from weather, seasonal and climate forecasts and predictions, and translating this information to enable comprehensive planning and implementation.
Loyzaga said the Philippines supports the CRM approach as a way to reduce intersecting vulnerabilities and address complexities in managing compound and cascading risks. She said that there must be an apex plan to achieve this, noting that understanding the risk is part of a charting a resilient development trajectory.
“We need to unpack the systemic risks, and invest more in prevention,” Loyzaga said, adding that investments that recognize the intersectionality of vulnerability and the links between climate change impacts and with disaster risks need to be made across all sectors.
The Philippines, she noted, will be reframing its climate change and disaster risk management plan based on a science-based, data-driven and systems approach. This will be part of the chapter the DENR is leading in the drafting of Philippine Development Plan for 2023-2028.
The environment chief also noted the critical role of government at the various decision-making levels in order to break the cycle of risks. ###
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has issued a certificate of registration for the three-year Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) between the management of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Kalipunan ng mga Kawani sa Kagawaran ng Kalikasan (K4).
K4, duly recognized as the sole and exclusive negotiating representative of all DENR rank-and-file employees across 16 regions nationwide, received the CNA registration certificate from the CSC on October 24 at the DENR Central Office in Quezon City.
Each of the 16 chapters of K4 is represented by the president of the DENR Employees’ Union in the regional offices and bureaus.
The conferment of the registration certificate comes after the evaluation and review of the CNA pursuant to Executive Order No. 180, Series of 1987, or the Amended Rules and Regulations Governing the Exercise of the Right of Government Employees to Organize.
The CNA, signed in June 2022, will be binding until 2025.
Major agreements in the CNA include the representation of employees in various committees concerning their welfare and benefits, and the commitment of management to provide facilities, programs, and activities that will help respond to the needs of special groups, such as persons with disabilities, pregnant women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Other agreements include a housing program that employees will be able to access through various DENR offices nationwide; health and wellness programs and medical services; learning and development and scholarship programs to support the career advancement of the employees; and the CNA incentive that is granted every December.
The CNA incentive is a rationalized cash incentive granted to government employees who have contributed either in productivity or cost-savings in an agency. It shall be sourced solely from savings generated as a result of the cost-cutting measures or systems improvement as agreed upon by the employees’ union or the management.
In line with this, DENR Undersecretary for Legal, Administration, Human Resources and Legislative Affairs Ernesto D. Adobo Jr. said the DENR management continues to nurture its relationship with its rank-and-file employees and values human resources as lifeblood of the organization.
“It is through our employees that we are able to carry out the mandate of this agency,” Adobo said.
Adobo added that the commitments of the DENR management “will not be confined to the provisions of the CNA.”
For her part, CSC Field Office-DENR Director Fe P. Lacaba congratulated the agency for the registration of its CNA.
Lacaba clarified that the registration of the CNA will “not validate any of its provisions which is contrary to law, morals, good customs, public policy, or public order.”
“The DENR is opening its doors to anyone who may want to share thoughts and elevate concerns toward the improvement on how we do things,” Adobo said, echoing the words of DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga during her first day in the agency last July.###
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has bared its major thrusts and directions on environmental protection and natural resource conservation under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
“The DENR is committed to ensuring that our programs and policies are evidence-informed based on stakeholder consultation, and bolstered by appropriate current, emerging and practical technologies,” Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said in her presentation during a Senate panel hearing on the proposed 2023 DENR budget last October 11.
“We are committed to integrating scientific, technological, and traditional knowledge and expertise and innovation into the DENR’s strategies, policies, and processes,” Loyzaga told members of the Subcommittee “B” of the Senate Committee on Finance.
The DENR is seeking a P23.041 billion budget for next year, which Loyzaga said would support the agency’s directions and priorities toward resilient and sustainable development.
Loyzaga said the DENR will continue to perform its duty of protecting the country’s environment and natural resources, which provide ecosystem services to the people.
“Our work is from ridge to reef, and the DENR is cognizant of its role as protector of the natural systems that provide food, water, and energy needed by our people. As a result, water security, energy security, and food security are our priority,” Loyzaga said.
Another thrust of the DENR under the Marcos administration is the adoption of “climate risk lens” in national planning and policies where a National Natural Resource Geospatial Database is expected to be established.
The conservation of protected areas and biodiversity will also be pursued through the conservation of 248 protected areas, management of 400 inland wetlands, and protection of 864 classified caves for biodiversity conservation.
This also includes the management of 33 marine protected areas that is aimed at supporting fish productivity and biodiversity-friendly livelihood enterprises for coastal communities.
The DENR will also prioritize the improvement of air and water quality and waste management. It will strengthen the management of 22 airsheds designated across the Philippines, including five geothermal airsheds, as well as the operation of 109 air quality monitoring stations.
Around 40 water quality management areas will be made functional and 942 water bodies classified based on its beneficial use will also be pursued. On solid and hazardous waste management program, the DENR will provide assistance to local government units.
Also included in the DENR’s priorities is the sustainable and responsible management of mineral resources where the 1:50,000 geologic maps generated from the geologic quadrangle mapping project will be used as basis for potential development of minerals, energy, and water resources.
In order to support the small-scale miners, the DENR will also strengthen its “Minahang Bayan” program and ensure benefits to the communities, while putting in place environmental safeguards.
Moreover, DENR will also continue reforestation efforts to protect the 7.2 million hectares of forest cover and is hopeful on further increasing the country’s forest cover as the Philippines saw a 5.65 percent increase within 2010-2020.
On its land management initiatives, the DENR aims to promote effective land management and governance, and focus on the 400,000 hectares of alienable and disposable public lands which remain to be untitled.
It will also embark on ensuring water security and resilience in high water-stressed areas. ###