Learning from Best Practices
The statistics are revealing and convincing. From 27 typhoons recorded in the Philippines during the period 2000-2003, the number jumped to 39 from 2004 to 2007, according to Pag-asa. It also says that the total damages brought about by typhoons increased by 415%, from P4 billion in 2003 to P20.6 billion in 2006. Further, Pag-asa also discloses that seven of the 20 deadliest typhoons in the country covering the period 1947-2006 occurred in 1990-2006.
It does not end there. Typhoons are also getting stronger and stronger, especially since the 90s, Pag-asa data show. From 1947 to 1960, the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines was Amy (1951), which has the highest wind speed at 240 kilometers per hour. During the next 20 years, the highest wind speed was recorded by Anding (1981) and Rosing (1995) at 260 kph. In the current millennium, the highest wind speed has soared to 320 kph recorded by Reming in late 2006. There is now even a Typhoon Signal No. 4!
Looking at the numbers alone, there is no more need for some scientific studies to prove that climate change is a reality and that it is going to hit us the hardest. In fact, the Philippines – which is located in the so-called typhoon belt – tops a World Bank list of countries most vulnerable to typhoons, followed by Bangladesh and Madagascar.
We are an archipelago of 7,107 islands and while a national climate change mitigation measure is a good idea, local governments should no longer wait for Malacañang to act before taking steps. Local governments, individually or collectively as an island-wide or as a bioregional alliance, can respond to environmental problems because they have enough powers under the law, particularly under Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, to do so.
While the Local Government Code limits the use of local governments of their respective calamity fund to relief and rescue operations, it has also given them enough powers to innovate and institute measures specific to their needs. Take the case of the province of Albay, which created the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) in response to the perennial problem it has been facing – frequent typhoons and the continued threat of volcanic activities from Mount Mayon.
APSEMO implements a community-based disaster risk management program which is worth replicating by other local governments experiencing similar problems. APSEMO equips communities with disaster preparedness skills. It also had conducted mapping of disaster-prone areas and formulated a comprehensive land use plan (CLUP) to identify danger zones, commercial centers, and residential areas.
In creating APSEMO, Albay utilized the provision of the code that allows every local government unit in the Philippines to design and implement its own organizational structure and staffing pattern based on its priority needs and service requirements. This is the same provision that Guimaras used in creating the Provincial Economic Development Office (PEDO), and also by Iloilo City in the establishment of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).
On the other hand, when an environmental threat bugs a bioregion, local governments can link among themselves to form bioregional alliances, as in the case of the Allah Valley Landscape Development Alliance (AVLDA) created in 2003 by the provinces of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat to address the threat of flooding from the Allah and Banga Rivers system and its tributaries. Inhabitants of 11 municipalities have suffered two major flashfloods and have witnessed massive soil erosion along the riverbanks, causing a yearly damage of P5 million to productive rice lands.
The only way to reverse the damage was to institutionalize watershed management and bring stakeholders together to implement the required changes. Its most popular project is the Riparian Zone Revegetation, which entailed the planting of bamboo stalks along the banks of major rivers to protect rivers and streams from erosion, improve water flow, and minimize siltation. Other projects include the Reforestation and Upstream Resource Management (RURM) program which aimed to improve forest land cover, reduce river siltation and provide livelihood opportunities to upland dwellers.
Local governments under the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) have also identified disaster risk reduction and management as one area where they can work collaboratively. Its environment and public safety committees are spearheading projects in this pursuit.
Ideas on how to mitigate the impact of climate change abound. All we need now is to transform these ideas into actions – actions which may seem local but also have global benefits. The disasters that have gripped us should not deter us from moving forward. A crisis, according to an ancient Chinese proverb, is an opportunity riding the dangerous wind. In fact, scholars say that the word “crisis” when written in Chinese is composed of two characters – one representing danger and the other representing opportunity.
Let us all turn these various environmental crises into opportunities to bring out the best in us. We Filipinos are one of the most innovative people in the world. The best practices that we have developed are testimonies that we can address every crisis. If we can move a house from one barrio to another, there is no reason why we cannot rise again out of these disasters.
Nereo C. Lujan
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