Environment and Natural Secretary Roy Cimatu, as Chair of the Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCAM DRR), will lead the resiliency planning and convergence budgeting for the eight priority climate vulnerable provinces in a high-level meeting at the DENR Central Office, Visayas Avenue, Quezon City on February 7, 2019.
The meeting is set to be with Governors of the eight climate vulnerable provinces and the national government agencies namely Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Agriculture (DA), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The meeting is intended to discuss the climate vulnerabilities is the aforesaid provinces, and reinforce government’s push for a more prudent and targeted spending by fostering collaboration among agencies in planning, budgeting and implementing priority resilience programs and projects in the said provinces.
The eight priority provinces namely Masbate, Sorsogon, Negros Oriental, Samar, Sarangani, Surigaodel Sur, Surigao del Norte, and Dinagat Islands are vulnerable based on their high susceptibility to climate hazards (flooding, rainfall-induced landslide, storm surge, strong winds due to typhoon, typhoons and drought), high poverty incidence as of 2015 data, and are situated in critical watersheds.
The Cabinet Cluster CCAM-DRR Roadmap for 2018 to 2022 aims to establish climate- and disaster-resilient communities. By the year 2022, the CCAM DRR Cabinet Cluster anticipates the enhancement of climate- and disaster-resilient communities in the 17 climate vulnerable provinces, and major urban centers (Metro Manila, Cebu, Iloilo & Davao).
The aforecited concerned national government agencies, with the provincial governments are actively taking part in ensuring the achievement of these goals. The proposed Risk Resiliency Program key investment projects for 2020 are in the areas of: community livelihood and enterprise continuity; integrated water resources management; enhancing coastal protection; and climate information services.###