Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptations into Developmental Planning

Country Paper: Philippines

Resurreccion P. Marinas

Country Paper: Philippines

Resurreccion P. Marinas1

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views or policies of ADBI, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), its Board of
Directors, or the governments they represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of
the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of
their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.

Vulnerability to Climate Change Impacts

The inherent vulnerability of the Philippines to natural disasters stems in part from its
geographic location. An archipelago situated in the Pacific ring of fire, with its large
mountainous terrain, narrow coastal plains and interior valleys, the Philippines has always
experienced natural hazards like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tropical cyclones. The
UNDPs 2004 Global Report on Disasters ranked the country as highest in terms of tropical
cyclone occurrence and resultant deaths and third in terms of people exposed to such
events annually. An average of 20 cyclones traverses the country yearly, causing physical
and economic devastation. Climate variability affects the amount of rainfall, with El Nio
producing droughts and La Nia bringing floods.

The risk of meteorological related disasters for the Philippines most vulnerable populations
is expected to increase because of climate change. This is borne by the conclusions of the
Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report, Climate
Change 2007: Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Summary for
Policymakers that anthropogenic warming over the last three (3) decades has had a
discernible influence on many physical and biological systems. As a result, the resilience of
many ecosystems providing life-support services, especially for the poor, is likely to be
exceeded this century. As climate change impacts and vulnerability of affected stakeholders
are projected to increase with variances in average global temperature and aggravating non-
climatic stresses like poverty and unequal access to resources, food insecurity, conflict,
economic globalization and incidence of diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS, stronger
adaptation measures will be necessary.

The Philippines Initial National Communication on Climate Change. 1999, documented the
countrys indicative vulnerabilities which this programme seeks to complete and address
through anticipatory national and sectoral adaptation strategies. The report cites that the
results of the global circulation models for a doubling of carbon dioxide scenario, a 2-3
degree centigrade rise in annual temperature is expected to impact areas like Eastern
Mindanao, portions of Samar, Quezon, Metro Manila and other highly urbanized areas. An
increase in annual rainfall is projected for Central Visayas and Southern Tagalog provinces,
including Metro Manila. On the other hand, Northern and Eastern Mindanao and parts of
Western Luzon, are expected to have a decrease in annual rainfall. Sectoral water
requirements are expected to be significantly affected by these projected changes in
precipitation patterns. Initial studies have established decreasing inflows in the countrys
reservoirs, indicating possible adverse implications on the countrys water supplies.

1
Office of the Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change, Philippines

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Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptations into Developmental Planning
Country Paper: Philippines
Resurreccion P. Marinas

For other ecosystems like the countrys coastal areas, initial studies indicate that existing
coastal problems like flooding and inundation may increase due to accelerated sea level rise
and increasing frequencies of cyclones and coastal storms. This will be further aggravated
by the degradation of coastal and marine ecosystems from human-induced causes like
pollution, over-exploitation of coastal resources and uncontrolled development. With
approximately 70% of the countrys municipalities and cities situated in the countrys 32,400
kilometer coastline, about 50 million people are at risk from these climatic hazards. The
poorest coastal populations of municipal fishermen and informal settlers in coastal cities are
expected to be hardest hit by climate change which could seriously affect fisheries through
coral bleaching. Coastal fisheries provide around 40-60% of total fish catch, representing
approximately 4% of the countrys gross national product and 70% of the total animal protein
intake of its populace. Over-all, the Philippines coastal and marine resources directly
provide food and employment to around 1 million Filipinos.

Watersheds, which contain the countrys forests and a significant portion of its biodiversity,
are also at risk of being adversely affected by climate change. In a study on climate change
adaptation in watershed areas and upland farmers in the Philippines, it was noted that
climate change could translate to about 17% increase in wet season stream flow and a
decrease of around 35% in dry season stream flow of the watershed. The increase in
stream flow could lead to higher likelihood of floods in the service areas of Upper Pampanga
River Integrated Irrigation System than it is at present. Likewise, the projected decrease in
stream flow during the dry season will likely increase the incidence of water shortage which
could be aggravated by the increasing water demand due to rising temperature.
Downstream effects include impact on about 1.5 million has. of agricultural lands depending
on irrigation water from these watersheds.

A third of the countrys total population live in the uplands of these watersheds and depend
on them for sustenance. Among them are most of the indigenous peoples comprising
around 8.2% of our population who will be directly affected.

Significant change in inflows and run-off threaten biodiversity of approximately 14,100 sq.
km. of wetlands: 22 lakes, 8 freshwater swamps and marshes and 61 coastal wetlands.

Over-all, around two thirds of the entire poor population of the Philippines, also referred to as
rural poor, reside in and depend on the countrys terrestrial and coastal ecosystems for
livelihood and sustenance. As of end 2007, this totaled 24.4 million Filipinos or 33% of the
total population of 88.6 million.

Recent Government Initiatives on Climate Change Adaptation

In 2007, after two (2) tropical cyclones devastated eastern Philippines, the Presidential Task
Force on Climate Change was created by executive order. In August of the same year, the
First National Conference on Climate Change Adaptation was convened by the Provincial
Government of Albay to launch the Albay in Action on Climate Change, popularly known as
the A2C2, and the implementing arm for the education of all local stakeholders.

The Conference Declaration on Climate Change Adaptation was supported by Congress

with resolutions and privilege speeches extolling the contributions of Albay to local
adaptation policy and programs.

Through the Centre for Initiatives in Research and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) and its
partners in research, education, and advocacy, climate vulnerabilities of Albay were
assessed and strategies for reducing expected risks from more frequent and intensifying

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Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptations into Developmental Planning
Country Paper: Philippines
Resurreccion P. Marinas

storms predicted by the IPCC in the next decades were immediately identified.
Understanding the need to build community resilience, various government and donor
agencies, non-government organizations and private business entrepreneurs and firms
partnered with CIRCA and Albay province.

In December 2008, the President assumed chairmanship of the PTFCC with the new Office
of the Presidential Adviser on Climate Change serving as the national coordinator and
monitor of sectoral initiatives assigned to 17 Task Groups (E.O.774).

A new government policy that sees climate change mitigation and adaptation as two sides of
one coin, sought to identify vulnerabilities and adaptation measures that would also reduce
greenhouse gas emissions to moderate climate change impacts and ensure environmental
sustainability. Both Houses of Congress enacted the Renewable Energy Act and the
Biofuels Act to provide funds and fiscal and other incentives for renewable energy source
development and the promotion of wide and efficient fuel and power use. A Climate Change
Bill for mainstreaming climate adaptation in all government policies and programs was filed.
The Senate created the standing Committee on Climate Change and the Oversight
Committee on Climate Change.

In March 2009, an executive order directing the Presidential Adviser on Climate Change to
lead the drafting of a national climate change framework and to check all ODA and other
foreign-assisted projects for the consideration of climate change matters was issued.

In the words of the President:

Climate change has serious implications on our national security and our future The next
decade will bring untold perils to the Philippines and many ASEAN nations - tropical, low-
lying and archipelagic. The destructiveness of the typhoons and tropical storms in our
region will continue to intensify as the level of carbon dioxide increases in the atmosphere.
And so we must help the UN aim for deeper and faster target cuts of carbon emissions.

Adaptation Challenges and Practices

Climate change and its impacts will exacerbate the vulnerabilities of the poor. Natural
disasters seriously affect the natural resource base on which the majority depend for
sustenance and livelihood, increasing vulnerability in terms of increased likelihood of
diseases and poverty, and compromising the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals.

From 1995 to 2007, the combined impacts of flashfloods, typhoons and dry spells on the
agriculture sector alone, affected a total of 412,362 hectares equivalent to a total production
loss of 5,137,923 million pesos and affecting more than 400,000 farmers/fisher folks. These
events have also resulted to damages to agricultural services amounting to 4.86 million
pesos. For the forestry sector, extreme droughts from 2000-2007 have adversely affected
17,152 hectares of forest lands equivalent to 106,387 million pesos worth of damages. The
upland poor, who are also often indigenous peoples whose ancestral domains are in these
forest lands, were the most affected, being primarily dependent on forest resources for
subsistence and livelihood.

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Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptations into Developmental Planning
Country Paper: Philippines
Resurreccion P. Marinas

Policies, Program of Government to Integrate Adaptation Measures into

Developmental Planning

The Philippines, a Party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCCC)

and its Kyoto Protocol, also subscribes to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI)
and the Hyogo Framework of Action. We are likewise committed to the Millennium
Declaration to achieve the MDGs, which would be affected if climate risks are not addressed
appropriately. In the Initial National Communication on Climate Change, the need for
adaptation measures was noted. It was also echoed in various planning and programme
documents including the 2004-2010 Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP)
and the 2001-2030 National Framework for Physical Planning (NFPP), which provide for the
mitigation of natural disasters. The Philippine statements submitted to the recent UNFCCC
meetings

Understanding the urgency and magnitude of this complex challenge, the Government has
decided to revitalize participation in the negotiations for the next commitment period of the
Kyoto Protocol and the adoption of long-term cooperative action that fully implements the
UNFCCC and is sensitive to the magnitude and urgency of the climate problem. Stressing
the concept of creeping climate change that remains below the radar or is barely
detectable but definitely moving towards climate change, the Philippines noted how low-lying
and low-CO2 emitting islands and countries that have not caused the accumulation of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will suffer the first brunt of climate impacts through
intensified and more frequent tropical cyclones, sea level rise, flooding, drought, coral
bleaching. Our proposal for deep and early cuts in emissions (over 30% of 1990 levels from
2013-2018, then over 50% from 2019-2024) by developed countries may help to moderate
the projected devastating events that could cripple 40% of humankind. Developing countries
can voluntarily undertake mitigation and adaptation activities with financial and technological
support as provided by the Convention.

In the meantime, the Government issued Executive Order 774 to reverse the damage
caused by illegal and over-harvesting of coastal, marine, and forestry resources through
conservation, protection and restoration activities. All coastal municipalities shall set aside
at least 15% of their shorelines for protection, or no take, areas for fish, corals, and
mangroves for a limited period of time to serve as havens for marine life. The mangroves
and corals shall also serve as the first lines of defense, a natural protective barrier, against
storm surges and inundation. The deadline of Task Group Fisheries led by the Department
of Agriculture for this task is June 30, 2009.

Task Group Watershed Protection, led by the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources, shall, by June 30, 2009, conduct biodiversity surveys and ensure that the
programs to delineate forest limits and reforest watersheds are ongoing, while Task Group
Water Recycling under the National Water Resources Bureau shall clear all riverbanks and
waterways of obstructions, relocate residents from such danger areas, treat and reuse water
by December 30, 2010. Task Group Rainwater Conservation led by the Department of
Public Works and Highways, shall implement rainwater collection and aquifer systems by
March 31, 2009.

Task Group Atmospheric Activities, chaired by the Department of Science and Technology,
shall upgrade the capacity of PAGASA for monitoring and prediction and, immediately,
mainstream the Filipino Scientist Program. Climate science must determine options,
decisions, and communications to a significant extent. Task Group CPR Economics led by
the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), shall immediately prepare CPR

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Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptations into Developmental Planning
Country Paper: Philippines
Resurreccion P. Marinas

Economic Action Plans (10-20-30 year plans) for mainstreaming the Conservation,
Protection and Restoration framework in developmental planning, while the Department of
Trade and Industry and the Board of Investments shall implement a simplified and beneficial
Investments and Priorities Plan to shift the economic thrust from consumerisms wasteful
practices to an economy based on sustainable resource use and conservation.

The Department of Transportation and Communication shall lead Task Group Fossil Fuels
towards a 50% reduction in fossil fuel consumption by December 31, 2010 and the
transformation of the road system to favor non-motorized transport. The Philippine
Information Agency, head of Task Group Information, shall mobilize media for a nationwide
information campaign for greater understanding and involvement in the climate change
program

Currently, a UN DRM project is focusing on the development of the countrys preparedness

and coping capacities through the identification and mapping of multi-hazards and risks in
the Eastern Seaboard, mainstreaming the information into national and local development
processes and helping vulnerable communities prepare for and cope with natural disasters
through measures like early warning systems.