ALM UNDP

Summary:

The Philippines has always been subject to natural hazards like tropical cyclones, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, ranking highest globally in terms of deaths and third in terms of people exposed annually. An average of 20 cyclones traverse the country yearly causing annual property damage of PHP 13.4 billion or 0.4% of gross national product, especially in the 43 provinces in the eastern seaboard, also proposed to be the focus of this programme. Climate change is expected to increase risks from climate related hazards, intensifying the vulnerabilities of the poor and threatening to compromise the country’s attainment of the millennium development goals.

The projected changes in precipitation patterns will significantly affect water supplies, especially in the wake of increasing sectoral water requirements. Climate change will adversely affect the country’s watersheds and their population of around 24 million, the forests and their biodiversity, also affecting 1.5 million of agricultural lands dependent on these areas for irrigation water.

Flooding and inundation in the coastal areas are expected to increase due to accelerated sea level rise and increasing frequencies of cyclones and coastal storms. Approximately 50 million people are at risk from these climatic hazards, many of them marginal communities of fisherfolks, because 70% of the country’s human settlements are located in its 32,400 kilometer coastline. In terms of impact on food security, climate change could seriously affect coastal fisheries providing around 40-60% of total fish catch, representing 4% of the country’s gross national product and 70% of the populace’ total animal protein intake. Over-all, the Philippines’ coastal and marine resources directly provide food and employment to around 1 million Filipinos. The health sector’s capacity to cope, already plagued by such factors as poverty and inequity, will be strained, with climate change related exposures and increase in disease vectors translating to increases in morbidity, deaths and injury.

Current coping mechanisms are expected to be grossly inadequate in relation to the projected magnitude of climate change impacts. Key national government agencies, local government authorities and the vulnerable communities are constrained by inadequate or non-existent systems and tools and lack of awareness and competencies on climate change adaptation. Addressing these deficiencies is a national priority, as indicated in the national plan and programme documents like the Medium Term Development Plan, the National Framework for Physical Planning and the Philippines’ Initial National Communication on Climate Change. It is also a concern which the UN country team actively supports, as enshrined in outcome 3 of the UNDAF i. e. “by 2009, the poor and vulnerable groups , especially women and children, are able to prepare for and cope with the impacts of environmental emergencies.” To this end, the UNCT and its partners like the AusAID, ADB and EC support the implementation of the Hyogo Framework of Action in the Philippines, by promoting an integrated approach to disaster risk management and supporting undertakings as multi-hazard mapping, risk assessment, community-based contingency planning and development of early warning systems in the country’s most disaster prone areas and formulation of the national Disaster Risk Management Framework and the Strategic National Action Plan. This joint programme will complement these efforts by completing the DRM knowledge base and planning tools on climate risks and adaptation measures, increase the competencies of the concerned stakeholders, and strengthen the coping capacities of vulnerable communities to ensure that MDGs 1, 3, 4,5, 6 & 7 are achieved by safeguarding the life support systems and livelihood base of the poor and increasing their resilience to the health and environmental risks of climate change. The UNCT has the comparative advantage of having the base from which this programme can take off, access to the technical expertise and mechanisms the programme needs and a broad range of partners and networks to mainstream and institutionalize results.