Albay shares disaster adaptation wisdom in climate change academy

Experience will be the best teacher in the Climate Change Academy President Benigno Aquino III will inaugurate on Friday. Albay Governor Joey Salceda said the academy is the first of its kind in the world. At a press briefing in Malacanang, Salceda revealed that the disaster risk reduction and management experiences of Albay province will be the core learning building blocks of the “knowledge management institution." “Yung institutional knowledge, ‘yung institutional memory, yung indigenous knowledge pati ‘yung information technology nabuo na doon. Halos lahat po doon nagpupunta sa ngayon para matuto kung anong ginagawa ng Albay," the governor said. He said many of their students come from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Kenya, Nepal, at least 10 provinces in the Philippines and a number of local government units “Pumupunta po sila sa amin mga dalawang linggo hindi umaalis, tinitingnan kung anong ginagawa po ng Albay. Kaya ninais namin na i-institutionalize na ito para po may knowledge na rin po na nabubuo lalong-lalo na sa interaction namin doon sa mga pumunta doon para matuto ng climate change adaptation and mitigation," he stressed. The academy offers short-term courses and it is talking with the Asian Institute of Management and Development Academy of the Philippines if the courses could be included in the requirements for masteral and doctoral degrees. “Pag pupunta ka doon mga short-term courses lang po muna para matutunan mo, lalong-lalo na halos ang pumupunta sa amin, tinataon talaga nila na may bagyo para makita talaga nila kung bakit napapa-evacuate ko, hindi nila mapa-evacuate; ano ang ginagawa namin bago mag-evacuation; ano ginagawa namin pagka-evacuation," Salceda said. National action plan President Aquino has convened the Climate Change Commission to adopt the National Climate Action Plan in compliance with the country’s international commitments especially to the United Nations Framework for Climate Change Convention. Salceda said the plan is about adaptation to climate change and mitigating its impact particularly on the economy. “Mahalaga po lalung-lalo na para sa atin na para hindi natin makalimutan yung ating mga natutunan noong Ondoy at Pepeng na halos 3 percent ng GDP [gross domestic product] ang nawala sa isang iglap, wala pa sa anim na oras ay nasira ang buong GDP, yung kinayod ng buong ekonomiya for one year sa loob ng anim na oras nawala po dahil sa isang bagyo," he said noting the impact of typhoons to the country’s economy. Asked by reporters how prepared the Philippines is against climate change, Salceda said the country is one of the most well-prepared countries in the world with policies and guidelines that address climate change. “Isa tayo sa pinakahanda. Pero hanggang kailan tayo tatagal, iyon na lang po ang diperensya. Kasi kung tataun-taunin ka ba naman na 3 percent ang tatanggalin sa ekonomiya mo, iyong pinag-ipunan mo laging nawawaldas sa wala. You keep rebuilding, you need to earn the same amount of gross value added in the economy, you have to keep investing on your gross domestic capital formation," he said. The national action plan will be presented to the climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, and it will be the basis of measures rich countries have committed to pay for. The provincial government of Albay will also hold a Philippine Media Conference on Climate Change Adaptation on November 24 to 26 that will gather media practitioners and foreign correspondents for a three-day workshop to tackle climate change and the impact of natural disasters. — ELR/KG, GMA News