4 areas chosen for disaster early warning project

Four localities have been chosen as pilot areas for a $10-million project that would give them ample heads-up on looming danger from disasters.

In a statement on Sunday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said that Tuguegarao City, Legazpi City and the towns of Palo in Leyte and New Bataan in Davao de Oro (formerly Compostela Valley), which were all prone to natural calamities, would be the target areas for the multihazard impact-based forecasting and early warning system (MH-IBF-EWS).

Green Climate Fund

He noted that the establishment of MH-IBF-EWS in the four localities was the country’s first Green Climate Fund (GCF) project approved by its board in a three-day meeting last week in Songdo, Korea.

GCF is a global financial mechanism, under the UN framework convention on climate change, created to support efforts of developing countries to limit or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change.

In the Songdo meeting, the GCF board agreed to allocate a total of $407.8 million for various projects on climate change adaptation and GHG emission reduction in different countries, including the Philippines.

“The DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) thanks the GCF board for approving the project as it will complement the efforts of the government to ensure that our LGUs (local government units) are equipped with the right risk information that will enable them to act promptly and decisively on impending hazards,” Año said.

The DILG is one of the project’s implementing agencies and will lead capacity-building initiatives for the localities and updating of disaster preparedness and response protocols using the impact-based early warning system.

The other agencies are the four pilot localities: the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration; Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Office of Civil Defense; and World Food Programme.

“Climate change has been a global issue that we can’t just take for granted. We must acknowledge it and fortify our country with safety measures like the MH-IBF-EWS. As one of the most vulnerable countries that can fall victim to climate change, we should be proactive in developing countermeasures,” Año pointed out

He explained that the MH-IBF-EWS intended to translate hazard forecasts into warnings that convey location and specific impacts.