WFP News Release
06 December 2012
MANILA – As thousands of
Filipinos in the southern region of the country struggle to recover from the
destruction caused by the country’s latest extreme weather event, Typhoon
Bopha, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is partnering with the
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) to support the
Philippine government’s initiatives in building resilience to climate change.
Under the 12-month partnership “Joint WFP/UN-Habitat
Initiative on Philippine Cities and Climate Change Adaptation,” the cities of
Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and Iloilo – all of which have been in the path
of Typhoon Bopha – will be assessed for ecological, physical, and
socio-economic risks due to climate change. Local government personnel will
receive training in planning and implementing activities that will help their
communities adapt to the negative effects of a changing climate.
“This partnership is very valuable to us because our
city is highly vulnerable to flooding. It sits at the mouth of the Agusan
River, and every time the rainy season comes, floodwaters coming from as far as
the Compostela Valley pour out of the river and pose a high risk to the lives
of our people who live in the riverside barangays,” says Ferdinand
Amante Jr., Mayor of Butuan City.
The four cities were selected based on various
criteria, including exposure to natural and climate-related hazards, such as
flood, drought, and rising sea levels in coastal areas. Local government
commitment to building their capacities to implement adaptation measures were
also considered.
“Empowering local governments and communities to adapt
to climate change is key to this joint initiative. We hope that this assistance
will eventually allow for the inclusion of appropriate climate change
adaptation actions in each city’s local development plan,” says WFP Philippines
Country Director and Representative Stephen Anderson.
WFP will oversee the implementation of the joint
initiative and lead the high-impact community adaptation projects
with the local government units in each of the four cities. UN-Habitat will
provide technical expertise in climate vulnerability and adaptation
assessments, training for local government personnel, and climate change
adaptation planning.
“UN-Habitat, together with WFP, is committed to
support cities in strengthening their own capacities in participatory risk and
vulnerability assessment as the basis for urban planning. Given the
increasing urbanization of poverty, cities are becoming the arena where the
fight for the achievement of development goals will be won or lost,” explains
UN-Habitat Philippines Country Programme Manager Christopher Rollo.
The WFP/UN-Habitat partnership is a component of the
larger WFP Disaster Preparedness and Response Programme which is generously supported by USAID’s Office of
U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.
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