Wesleyan University – Philippines

Graduate School
Mabini Extension, Cabanatuan City Nueva Ecija

MPA 104 - Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management

Mark Elson T. Candado

Student-Master in Public Administration

07 December 2019
1. Discuss the potential climate change impact, mitigation and adaptation in the
Philippines. Propose climate change adaptation activities.

Climate change is a worldwide concern considering the impact of global warming

on the environment and on people. Climate change mitigation pertains to actions that limit
the magnitude or rate of long-term climate change. It generally involves reductions in
human emissions of greenhouse gases and increasing the capacity of carbon sinks through
reforestation. In layman’s term, climate mitigation is any action taken to eliminate or
reduce the long-term risk and hazards of climate change to human life and property.

Climate change adaptation reduces the vulnerability of humans or natural systems

to the impacts of climate related risks by maintaining or increasing adaptive capacity and
resilience. It refers to the ability of a system (or us humans in this respect) to adjust to
climate change (including the variability and extreme weather) with moderate potential
damage or coping with the consequences. There are various types of adaptation that are
distinguishable such as anticipatory and reactive, private and public and autonomous and
plannedadaptation.

In comparison, the more mitigation there is, the less impacts there will be for
humans to adapt or adjust to. Conversely, the greater the degree of preparatory adaptation,
the less may be the impacts associated in any given degree of climate change. We have the
proactive options in facing climate change but we must also plan ahead how to deal with
the consequences of global warming.

For climate change, the plans include the conduct of related priority research and
development programs that could help address the issue, such as bio-fuel alternatives;
undertaking of vulnerability assessment and carrying capacity studies of major eco-
systems; implementation of programs that will improve air quality; promote recycling of
agriculture and forest waste products through the manufacturing and propagation of
charcoal briquettes; and to strictly implement the provisions of RA 9003 on Ecological
Solid Waste Management.
 It is also embarking on two major projects that will help address climate change. The
projects are the "Adaptation to Climate Change and Conservation of the Biodiversity in the
Philippines and the "Support Program for Solid Waste Management for LGUs."Both
projects are in line to address the problem of global warming and climate change.

The first project is aimed at developing and implementing relevant adaptation

strategies to compensate the effects of climate change and loss of biodiversity in selected
areas in the country. The other project intended to assist selected local government units in
the effective and efficient implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management.

2. Discuss the initiatives in local level on climate change and disaster risk reduction
management. Among the plans, systems and processes and other programs, projects
and other activities in the LGU’s which of this is your own view, the LGU’s
performing effectively and efficiently. Justify your response.

The local government units in the Philippines are at the forefront of disaster
management including responding to the impacts of climate change. With the necessity to
address this problem, this study aimed to determine the initiatives of the local government
units (LGUs) in Batangas on climate change. The study made use of descriptive research
which involved quantitative and qualitative methods in gathering data. Research
triangulation was used. The subjects of the study were the Disaster Risk Reduction
Management and planning officers of three component cities and twenty-seven
municipalities of Batangas. Frequency counts, percentages, and average weighted mean
were used in the statistical analysis of data. Results of the study revealed that LGUs in
Batangas comply with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10121, otherwise known as
Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. LGUs to organize
disaster risk reduction and management councils at the local level. Likewise, cities and
municipalities of Batangas implement policies through local ordinances to adopt and
strengthen RA 9003. They are implementing initiatives that encourage businesses to
promote climate-smart services and practices. Assessment of farming practices, extension
 services and linkages with GOs, NGOs and other agencies in the implementation of climate
change initiatives needs to be improved

It’s important to remember the equally vital contributions that can be made by private
citizens—which is to say, by you. “Change only happens when individuals take action,”
Aliya Haq, deputy director of NRDC’s Clean Power Plan initiative, says. “There’s no other
way, if it doesn’t start with people.”

The goal is simple. Carbon dioxide is the climate’s worst enemy. It’s released when
oil, coal, and other fossil fuels are burned for energy—the energy we use to power our
homes, cars, and smartphones. By using less of it, we can curb our own contribution to
climate change while also saving money. Here are a dozen easy, effective ways each one
of us can make a difference: Choose a utility company that generates at least half its power
from wind or solar, limit carbon emissions and require polluters to pay for the emissions
they produce and Choosing to live in walkable smart-growth cities and towns with quality
public transportation leads to less driving, less money spent on fuel, and less pollution in
the air.

3. The priorities for action in DRRM are the disaster preparedness, risk assessment,
governance, knowledge management, and vulnerability reduction. Discuss each
priority.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP) fulfills the
requirement of RANo. 10121 of 2010, which provides the legal basis for policies, plans
and programs to deal withdisasters.

The NDRRMP covers four thematic areas, namely, (1)Disaster Preparedness

establish and strengthen capacities of communities to anticipate, cope and recover from the
negative impacts of emergency occurrences and disasters,(2) Disaster Prevention and
Mitigation avoid hazards and mitigate their potential impacts by reducing vulnerabilities
and exposure and enhancing capacities of communities, (3) Disaster Risk assessment is a
process to determine the nature and extent of such risk, by analyzing hazards and
evaluating existing conditions of vulnerability that together could potentially harm exposed
people, property, services, livelihoods and the environment on which they depend, (4) The
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) is tasked to
come up with a framework for disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM), as well
as supervise preparations for, and responses to, natural calamities and human-induced
disasters,(5) Increasing your activities in the following seven areas may help to reduce
your vulnerabilities and better prepare you to both respond and recover from
disaster.Knowledge. Know the hazards in your area, know your vulnerabilities, and know
your risk, Integration,Trust, Subsistence, Mobility, Impact Avoidance and Adaptability.