PH granted $10M to upgrade hazard forecasting system

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines on Wednesday secured $10 million from Green Climate Fund (GCF) to develop a multihazard forecasting and early warning system for disasters.

It was the first grant the country received from GCF, the world’s largest climate finance mechanism supporting adaptation and mitigation programs of developing countries.

The Philippine project aims to translate hazard forecasts into warnings that can convey location- and sector-specific impact and provide “tailored” climate-risk information directly to local governments and communities, according to the Climate Change Commission (CCC).

Its target sites are Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province, Legazpi City (Albay), Palo (Leyte) and New Bataan (Compostela Valley).

The GCF board approved the project, the country’s first proposal, at its meeting in Songdo, South Korea, on Wednesday morning.

Lessons from ‘Yolanda’

Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda, who sits on the board as an alternative member, said the decision came at a critical time as the country commemorated this month the wrath of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan), which struck six years ago.

“The experiences and lessons we gained from Yolanda and other disasters necessitated the need for a project like this that can translate risk and hazard information into understandable and actionable early warnings,” Legarda said in a statement on Wednesday.

GCF was established in 2010 by 194 countries that are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It specifically caters to developing nations.

As of October, GCF had approved 111 projects totaling to $5.2 billion.

Some 310 million people benefit from these projects, while 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent will be avoided through these activities.

The fund for the Philippine project will be channeled to the Land Bank of the Philippines, which acts as the direct access entity of the project.

Leading the project implementation is the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, alongside the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Office of Civil Defense, World Food Program and the local governments of the target sites.

A project board with the agencies, along with the CCC, will be set up to provide oversight and implementation strategies.