by: Anna Abalahin
After hurdling the COVID-19 threat, the top three challenges faced by Filipinos and the rest of Southeast Asia in 2023 remain to be climate change, economic recession and increased military tensions, according to the latest State of Southeast Asia survey.
For this year’s Social Development Week (SDW), CODE-NGO opted to focus on climate change that has affected many of its members together with vulnerable communities they serve. With the theme “Facing the Impacts of Climate Change on Sustainable Development”, it specifically looked into the impacts and resilience building on Food Security, Public Health, Livelihood, Peace Building and Infrastructure effects on Environment among the most affected vulnerable sectors.
The three day event started with a 2-day online E-learning held on October 16-17,2023, which provided our partners from youth groups YACAP and HIRAYA on #Youth4ClimateJustice: The Future is Now, International NGOs Start Network on Climate Financing: Anticipatory Action, Regional NGO Networks EU Project on Lessons from Local Governance and Responding to Calamities and MINCODE on Climate Resilience and Peace Building together with online participants the opportunity to discuss prevailing development and climate challenges, highlight the innovative practices and proposed specific courses of action of our networks in the area of climate action.
The SDW 2023 culminated with a Hybrid Public Forum held at the Orient Hotel and Residences on October 18, 2023 attended by representatives from the different CODE-NGO 12 Member Networks, guest partners and special resource speakers for the whole day event. The event kicked off as CODE-NGO Vice Chairperson Aurelio “Jun” Salgados, Jr. welcomed all on-site (or “roomers”) and online (or “zoomers”) participants and guests highlighting that “it is the first time we are conducting face-to-face activities for Social Development Week after several years of grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. The theme is also timely, since the Philippines is one of the most vulnerable of the most vulnerable countries when it comes to the effects of climate change. Climate change is disproportionately affecting the impoverished and the marginalized and in the process, exacerbating social inequalities and injustices. Hence, the development sector is called to integrate climate action in every area of advocacy in response to this growing threat.”
He then heeded the call on each and every one to integrate climate action in every area of development work by diving into narrative experiences on the importance of climate resilience and climate change’s impacts that demonstrates collective commitment to genuine and inclusive development and also to the restoration of our relationship with the very environment on which our survival depends.
DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga thru Asec. Noralene Uy sent her message with a reminder that “Protecting the environment and responding to the worsening situation of climate change play an important role in fostering a conducive environment for economic growth. On numerous occasions, President Ferndinand Marcos, Jr. reaffirmed the country’s commitments to climate action. The current Philippine Development Plan and several national plans elaborate on these commitments. Multi-stakeholder collaboration will be crucial in ensuring the successful implementation of these national plans.
The featured resource speakers generously share on their respective topics. Climate Change Commission Sec. Robert Borje presented the government’s efforts related to climate change. He stressed that climate change is a global governance challenge. With the countries scarce resources, the impacts of climate change hinder the country’s economic growth and complicate its pursuit of food security. However, he assures that the Philippine Development Plan’s climate action is a priority of the current administration. He then called on Civil Society Organizations to play a crucial role in bringing climate action to the grassroots level, in particular, the level of the barangay. There have been established mechanisms to facilitate broader multi stakeholder participation.
Greenpeace Southeast Asia Executive Director Naderev “Yeb” Sano who was in the middle of a Walk4ClimateJustice commemorating the 10th anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) reminded everyone of that experience and showed efforts on mainstreaming climate mitigation and resilience virtually shared his presentation. He emphasized that what we are facing now is not just a climate crisis but more of a climate emergency because its impacts are accelerating beyond our ability to cope with unprecedented loss and damage aided by human activities. He says accountability has been lacking and resilience is often said as an excuse for inaction. However, the response to climate change won’t work without changing the power dynamics behind it. But he said that there are best practices in adaptation and mitigation which include community-based adaptation, nature-based solutions, acknowledgment of mitigation as a function of adaptation, budget-tagging, and inter-LGU collaboration. He cautioned everyone that “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”
Oscar M. Lopez Center Executive Director Dr. Rodel Lasco showed science-based approaches and solutions where Oscar M Lopez Center hopes to produce knowledge that can influence climate action. Their recent projects were made possible by working with partners from the government, the academe and other science-based private organizations, though it does take patience but it’s worth it. He encouraged us to do a lot, even with meager resources.
UN Habitat PH Country Manager Chris Rollo enthused how to enable resilience-building for urban communities on climate mitigation and adaptation. He mentioned key issues include rapid urbanization and urban land use, high vulnerability to climate change and disasters, urban poor living in informal settlements and danger areas, overlapping transformation process of urbanization, climate change, and disasters. He also showed examples of how urban planning and design should be nature-based. Planning takes time with people’s processes and community-operated tools can help involve ordinary individuals and households in a project life cycle and ensure accountability like how they did in Marawi rehabilitation, Ormoc City and an estero in the Manila area. He further reminds that radical shifts in policies and investments need to take place for us to accomplish SDG 11 and localization of the SDGs is needed for them to succeed. He reminded everyone thatthe most important thing is to move at the pace of trust.
This was immediately followed by a hybrid open forum moderated by CODE-NGO’s very own Board of Trustee and PBSP Executive Director Elvin Uy and MINDCODE Executive Director Raizsa Mae Bai Ayanatin.
The afternoon sessions highlighted different positive narratives in four (4) breakout sessions where CODE-NGO partnered with some of its member networks and organizations on the different focus areas.
PHILDHRRA’s National Coordinator Katlea Itong moderated the session on Crisis at the Table: Addressing Food Security in a Changing Climate with the Ramon Magsaysay awardee and Zamboanga Sibugay based fisherfolk community leader Ka Roberto “Dodoy” Ballon. He emphasized that they relied on these three pillars: enterprise, empowerment, and environment together with strong partnerships and collaborations to succeed in their endeavors on ensuring food security and livelihood of their community. He was joined by Ms. Chris Raya of International Care Community who gave a glimpse of studies made on nutrition levels and income based food consumption decisions in relation to food security.
Dr. Lorenzo Guinto of St. Luke’s Medical Hospital, who joined via online from Germany, talked about Our Planet, Our Health: The Links Between Climate Change and Public Health. He explained how the planet’s health is essential to public health. And unfortunately, health impacts are unfairly distributed with some populations being much more affected than others. He further emphasized how climate change complicates the response to health concerns, not to mention climate change borne diseases. Rehabilitation and evacuation in times of disasters like typhoons proved to be difficult because of possible pandemic causing diseases like Coronavirus. He said that sustainability and resilience must always be linked and continued to encourage participants to hold accountable the perpetrators of the climate crisis. And ultimately, countries commit to develop climate-smart health care at the upcoming COP26 UN Climate Conference.
NATCCO’s Development Communications Officer Diosdado Luna moderated the session on Effects of Climate Change on Livelihood and Economic Resilience. He said that cooperatives need to be proactive for climate action because the climate crisis has altered depositor and borrower behavior. Guest speaker Ms. Lasalette Gumban, said that the effects of climate change on cooperatives include changes in resource availability and cost and harsher market conditions. Therefore, the mission of cooperatives is to transform the quality of life of the people. The state of our environment plays a big role in improving the quality of life of members. Hence, an advocacy unit was established; climate action is one of its priorities. She also suggested where climate actions can be incorporated in different cooperatives’ programs and initiatives like the green cooperative assessment tool and incentives. Another guest speaker Mr. Jay Lacsamana, added that anticipatory interventions like revision of cropping calendars using short-term weather forecasts, crop and livelihood diversification, among others are the best way to mitigate the challenges brought about by climate change. It’s not just climate proofing but poverty proofing. He then concluded that economic resilience should be climate-resilient, food secure and regenerative, facilitate community of adopters, surplus generation, and benefit sharing, and scale up for fair markets.
CENVISNET Executive Director Lenbi Laborte moderated the session on EnvIRONmental Talk: Impact of Infrastructure Projects on Environment and Sustainable Development. Guest speaker Dr. Decibel V. Faustino-Eslava from the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences gave a science-based perspective on the climate crisis as seen in changes in meteorological findings. She explains that there is a problem with resilience being romanticized. It promotes inaction. And to address the climate crisis, land use planning is an efficient area to seriously consider by local and national concerned agencies as well as private sector developers and community stakeholders.
CODE-NGO Executive Director Sandino Soliman capped Social Development Week with highlights and takeaways and thanking all those who participated in this important event. And CODE-NGO Treasurer Agnes Bolaños ended the full day Public Forum not just with heartfelt gratitude to everyone who organized, participated and supported the SDW 2023, but also made a call to action for everyone to take part, do their share and ensure the future of the next generations as we all face the impacts of climate change.