PHL gets $5-M grant on climate change from World Bank

The World Bank has granted $4.974 million to the Philippine government to help rural communities in the country cope with the brunt of climate change. The bank said in a statement that the fund will support the “Philippines Climate Change Adaptation Project" aimed at developing adaptive strategies to promote resiliency of the country’s natural resources. In particular, the project will make irrigation systems and agricultural infrastructure more climate-resilient, improve management of watersheds and protected areas, and test the weather index-based crop insurance, the World Bank said. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said that the project will promote the government’s vision of a “food-secure nation and a prosperous farming sector." “The project will [also] benefit poor farmers who often suffer the most from climate change-related losses," he added. World Bank country director Bert Hofman said that poor communities are “more vulnerable to climate change and have fewer options for coping with the impacts. This project is very important because it helps reduce [their] vulnerability to [various] types of shocks." The Philippines is highly exposed to climate-change risks such as typhoons, floods, landslides, and droughts. The World Bank said the country is included in the top 10 countries all over the world at risk for both climate change and disasters. PhilCCAP will also “strengthen" the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other local government units’ actions to manage and protect critical ecosystems, the World Bank said. “The project will strengthen the coordination of interventions addressing climate change by supporting capacity-building in oversight bodies like the Climate Change Commission," Environment Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje said. One of the important components of the project involves “improving the institutional capacity" of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) to improve analysis on the trends of climate change, the World Bank said. The information from the weather bureau will be available to policymakers and the general public, the bank added. Hofman said that the level of climate change financing is set to increase. “Countries that have a solid strategy on climate change and the mechanisms in place to implement it are set to benefit most from international support for their efforts." The World Bank said that PhilCCAP will be implemented by the Agriculture and Environment departments, PAGASA, and Climate Change Commission. The grant for the project will come from the Global Environment Facility under the Special Climate Change Fund managed by the World Bank, according to the bank. — With Jesse Edep/OMG, GMANews.TV