UP consolidates efforts to cope with climate change

For the first time, the University of the Philippines (UP) is pooling resources and expertise of its constituent units and campuses all over the country to help government address the worsening impact of climate change on Filipinos and the environment.

 

Under the Memorandum of Agreement UP signed on Tuesday with the Climate Change Commission (CCC), the university commits to lend its services and expertise to aid national government agencies, local government units, local state colleges and universities and other sectors in becoming climate change-resilient. 

 

UP's seven constituent units, one constituent college and 17 campuses will be working together with the CCC in crafting recommendations for use by different government institutions that will help them adapt to changing weather patterns.

 

UP and CCC will also conduct capacity-building training in the communities where LGU officials can consult with UP experts from fields such as geology, engineering, urban planning and disaster risk reduction and management.

 

UP Vice President for Public Affairs Prospero de Vera III said in an interview with GMA News Online that although UP has been actively involved in pursuing projects related to mitigating the effects of climate change, the government has not been able to “maximize the resources of the university” because its collaborations with UP experts have been on a short-term basis.

 

“Dati, tina-tap na yung mga experts ng UP ng mga government agencies to help craft climate change-related policies, pero short-term engagement lang yun at consultancy lang yun," de Vera said. 

 

"With the MOA in place, not only can UP units share their research with one another, but they can also coordinate with different government agencies para makapag-come up ng different, sustainable programs to combat climate change,” he added.

 

Some of the climate change projects UP has led include the 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition, which mapped out terrestrial and marine biodiversity in the country and the effects of climate change on organisms.

 

For the Indigenous Communities’ Conserved Areas (ICCA) National Conference in 2012, academicians and representatives of the indigenous called for the recognition of indigenous communities conserved areas and ancestral domains.

 

The government has tapped UP experts to help in Project NOAH, which maps and monitors weather patterns and hazardous areas in the country.

 

In the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation (DREAM) program, which uses Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to prepare much more detailed topographical maps of the country for use in disaster risk reduction management programs.

 

In a statement, CCC Secretary Lucille Sering said that UP will be able to help the commission fulfill its objective of facilitating the capacity building of LGUs and government agencies to help them adapt to climate change.  — ELR, GMA News