"Eastern Visayas has long been at the frontline of climate impacts, from devastating tropical cyclones to rising sea levels and unpredictable weather patterns. The region is living proof of the urgent need for action. But your resilience, innovation, and community spirit have driven remarkable progress in the face of these challenges."
These are the words of Secretary Robert E.A. Borje, Vice Chairperson and Executive Director of the Philippines' Climate Change Commission in his keynote address during the Eastern Visayas Summit on Climate-Resilient Development (EVCRD Summit) led by Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) in Tacloban in Tacloban City on May 14-15, 2024.
These are the words of Secretary Robert E.A. Borje, Vice Chairperson and Executive Director of the Philippines' Climate Change Commission in his keynote address during the Eastern Visayas Summit on Climate-Resilient Development (EVCRD Summit) led by Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) in Tacloban in Tacloban City on May 14-15, 2024.
According to the 2023 Gross Domestic Climate Risk Ranking, five (5) out of six (6) provinces in Eastern Visayas are included in the list of seventeen (17) most at-risk provinces in the Philippines. These are the provinces of Samar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Southern Leyte and Leyte.
Comprising the islands of Leyte, Samar and Biliran, Eastern Visayas has taken the lead in climate action with its local governments, communities and citizens recognizing the importance of integrating adaptation and mitigation into their local development strategies being particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events like typhoons - notably Super Typhoon Haiyan (#PH Yolanda) in 2013 - and slow-onset events such as sea level rise, increasing sea surface temperature and ocean acidification.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), in the formulation of the Regional Development Plan for 2023-2028, has integrated specific chapters and target outcomes for climate change and energy.
Ormoc City Mayor and Regional Development Council (RDC) 8 Chairperson Lucy Torres-Gomez pointed out that the RDC has "yielded resolutions and action steps that elevate the region's climate resiliency, such as flood control, renewable energy, and the formulation of a sustainable energy transition roadmap."
"We, the Filipinos of Eastern Visayas, know all too well that we are more vulnerable to climate change than most areas in the country. Let us make the most of this regional summit, to formulate practical and impactful climate-resilient solutions that we can implement at the soonest time possible. The time to prepare for the effects of climate change is now," Mayor Torres-Gomez added.
Meanwhile, ICSC with its partner communities in the region have also been pioneering and leading climate action through local development planning, biodiversity and conservation initiatives, research and education, as well as community-driven renewal energy and low carbon solutions.
Comprising the islands of Leyte, Samar and Biliran, Eastern Visayas has taken the lead in climate action with its local governments, communities and citizens recognizing the importance of integrating adaptation and mitigation into their local development strategies being particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events like typhoons - notably Super Typhoon Haiyan (#PH Yolanda) in 2013 - and slow-onset events such as sea level rise, increasing sea surface temperature and ocean acidification.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), in the formulation of the Regional Development Plan for 2023-2028, has integrated specific chapters and target outcomes for climate change and energy.
Ormoc City Mayor and Regional Development Council (RDC) 8 Chairperson Lucy Torres-Gomez pointed out that the RDC has "yielded resolutions and action steps that elevate the region's climate resiliency, such as flood control, renewable energy, and the formulation of a sustainable energy transition roadmap."
"We, the Filipinos of Eastern Visayas, know all too well that we are more vulnerable to climate change than most areas in the country. Let us make the most of this regional summit, to formulate practical and impactful climate-resilient solutions that we can implement at the soonest time possible. The time to prepare for the effects of climate change is now," Mayor Torres-Gomez added.
Meanwhile, ICSC with its partner communities in the region have also been pioneering and leading climate action through local development planning, biodiversity and conservation initiatives, research and education, as well as community-driven renewal energy and low carbon solutions.
"Eastern Visayas is a region of opportunities, with its proud people still needing help in many areas of development, and ICSC is in a position to help. People needing help and heeding their calls from a position of capability and privilege is a moral commitment that ICSC will try to take on as long as we can," said ICSC Executive Director Angelo Kairos dela Cruz.
"What we have witnessed in Eastern Visayas, working with everyone here, is truly incredible and inspiring. Yet, the horizon for our work is much wider than we can imagine – with so much to be done, and so much more that can be done together," added dela Cruz.
The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines climate-resilient development as the process of building the capacity of communities for climate action, empowering them to integrate adaptation and mitigation in development strategies to enhance their social, economic, and ecological resilience to climate change impacts.
The two-day multi-stakeholder EVCRD Summit, organized by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) brought together about 200 participants served as a platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration and collection of actions among stakeholders in the region to establish partnerships, mobilize resources, and develop climate-resilient strategies to support Eastern Visayas communities to survive and thrive.
Officials and representatives from national government agencies, local government units, policy makers, civil society, the academe and the private sector from across the Eastern Visayas Region were seen committed to work together in advancing-climate resilient development in Eastern Visayas by formulating community-responsive strategies and implementations for inclusive, sustainable and climate-resilient solutions.
Participants in the Summit also signed a declaration, pledging to do their part and work together for a more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous future for the region.
"We affirm our belief that effective climate-resilient development requires the active involvement and collaboration of diverse stakeholders, including government, private sector, civil society, and academia. We commit to further advancing climate-resilient development in the region, and we acknowledge that adaptation and mitigation measures are not trade-offs to economic development but are rather essential components for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth," the declaration states.(CJ/JMM/icsc)
"What we have witnessed in Eastern Visayas, working with everyone here, is truly incredible and inspiring. Yet, the horizon for our work is much wider than we can imagine – with so much to be done, and so much more that can be done together," added dela Cruz.
The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines climate-resilient development as the process of building the capacity of communities for climate action, empowering them to integrate adaptation and mitigation in development strategies to enhance their social, economic, and ecological resilience to climate change impacts.
The two-day multi-stakeholder EVCRD Summit, organized by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) brought together about 200 participants served as a platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration and collection of actions among stakeholders in the region to establish partnerships, mobilize resources, and develop climate-resilient strategies to support Eastern Visayas communities to survive and thrive.
Officials and representatives from national government agencies, local government units, policy makers, civil society, the academe and the private sector from across the Eastern Visayas Region were seen committed to work together in advancing-climate resilient development in Eastern Visayas by formulating community-responsive strategies and implementations for inclusive, sustainable and climate-resilient solutions.
Participants in the Summit also signed a declaration, pledging to do their part and work together for a more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous future for the region.
"We affirm our belief that effective climate-resilient development requires the active involvement and collaboration of diverse stakeholders, including government, private sector, civil society, and academia. We commit to further advancing climate-resilient development in the region, and we acknowledge that adaptation and mitigation measures are not trade-offs to economic development but are rather essential components for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth," the declaration states.(CJ/JMM/icsc)
