PhilCCAP pitches for extension as project nears end

Agencies set new activities, new targets

Graphical representation by Horace Cimafranca

With less than a year remaining before its scheduled culmination, PhilCCAP is pushing for an extension of 18 months, not only to secure the completion of its activities and achieve full utilization of the World Bank grant, but also to accommodate opportunities that come with an extended implementation period. 

In accordance with the Bank’s procedures, a so-called Extension Mission was held at the Department of Environment and Natural Resouces (DENR) office in Manila, led by the World Bank’s, Mr. Maurice Rawlins. An environment management specialist for the Bank, Mr. Rawlins will also be writing the restructuring plan, a document containing the details of the proposed extension of          the project.

The purpose of the mission is to identify the reasons that pushed the project to request for extension, as well as discuss the new targets each agency will be setting should such extension was to be approved.

The mission began on February 18 with a courtesy call at the DENR attended by several representatives from PhilCCAP’s partner agencies, which include the Climate Change Commission (CCC), the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC). Members of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) were also present.

During the courtesy call, a short briefing on the current status of the Project was delivered by the World Bank’s Task Team Leader for PhilCCAP, Mr. Leonardo Paat, Jr. The report stressed that while some of the project’s outputs have been achieved, such as the feasibility study on the retrofitting of the Pinacanauan River Irrigation System in Cagayan province, reaching the project’s other targets remains largely dependent on the completion of other activities, which in turn require additional time. 

A preliminary monitoring and evaluation report submitted by PhilCCAP’s consultant, Jourvin Barrera, for 2014, reveals that the project has achieved about seven-tenths of its objectives, but the project management office (PMO) is certain that the remaining targets are difficult to accomplish with less than a year remaining.

However, the proposal to extend the project was also largely pushed by the opportunities that surfaced while exploring the possibility of an extension. Several agencies are now expected to capitalize on the extra time, identifying new activities and targets to secure the success of their respective outputs and further improve the effectiveness of these deliverables. 

In particular, the CCC, BSWM and ATI are pushing for the implementation of a communication strategy for the extension as a follow through activity for their respective outputs – the policy recommendation paper and the Enhanced Climate Smart Farmers Field School Manual, both of which are expected to be launched this year. 

A communication strategy is expected to strengthen the resolve of these agencies to have their outputs adopted by various stakeholders, which include national government agencies, local government units and farmers. The PCIC will use the extension period to develop wind speed and flood indices for its crop insurance scheme. 

PAGASA is looking to develop Climate Futures Tools, including an online database of projection maps that is seen to help LGUs consider future climatological conditions in planning, and climate field schools where capacity-building trainings on the use of PAGASA data will be conducted. 

In addition, the extension will provide time for follow up activities involving the implementation of management plans for the protected areas of Peñablanca in Cagayan and Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte. 

The extension is expected to begin in January 2016, with the new culmination date being reset to the middle of 2017. The mission was wrapped up last March 5, and it will take at least a month for the proposal for extension to be approved.  

A foreign relief operations vehicle passes through flooded streets 

to deliver food supplies from private donors to affected communities 

after the onslaught of Typhoon Ondoy in 2009. 

Photo from Lance Cpl. Marie Matarlo/ U.S. Marine Corps

Climate Change and Adaptation

Climate change is inevitable. The atmospheric conditions of our planet are ever changing. But the last few decades have seen rising global temperatures that have had sweeping effects on the weather and climate. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the average global temperature has risen by 0.8°C since the start of the last century and is expected to rise by up to 6.4°C over the next 100 years.

While climate change is a normal occurrence, this is exacerbated by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap heat, causing hotter temperatures. These gases come from dirty exhausts from homes, cars and industries. The degradation of forests, which absorb these gases, also contribute to the accumulation.

This warming of the Earth is creating dangerous shifts in climate and weather patterns. Polar caps and glaciers are said to be melting at a faster rate, causing sea levels to rise and putting many lowland areas at risk of flooding. Some places have seen unusual torrential rainfalls while others experience droughts. These are just some of the effects directly attributed to climate change, and some countries like the Philippines are feeling the brunt of it.

Why the Philippines?

Mud-covered plains in Panay Island after severe 
flooding caused by Typhoon Frank

Photo Credit: Spike Call/U.S. Navy

The Philippines has consistently ranked among the most vulnerable countries when it comes to climate change. The Philippines sits on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean, which puts the country in the path of tropical cyclones. Climate change is seen to affect weather patterns globally and the Philippines has in recent years experienced more severe weather.

While the country's geography makes it prone to the effects of climate change, inadequate infrastructure and a weak enabling environment for mitigation and adaptation highlight its vulnerability. It doesn't help that the country is situated in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of frequent seismic activity (think earthquakes and volcanic eruptions). While severe weather disturbances such as typhoons are a common occurrence in the country, the lack of government capacity and education among Filipinos render the country unable to cope with the impacts of climate change. This situation often leads to devastating results. Not too long ago, one of the strongest typhoons to ever make landfall struck the central part of the country, claiming at least 6,000 lives and leaving billions-worth of material damages.

Project explores partnership opportunities

The PhilCCAP Project Management Office (PMO) is exploring possible partnerships with other institutions with the aim of expanding the resources, technical know-how and other knowledge available to the project. A partnership will also give PhilCCAP the opportunity to tap its pool of knowledge resources to assist other efforts to support climate change adaptation. 

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) and PhilCCAP has been drafted, covering agreements on information sharing and an optional feedback mechanism, which will allow experts from Michigan Tech to offer insights on PhilCCAP’s ongoing activities. PhilCCAP and Michigan Tech are also looking into the possibility of exploring joint proposals for future projects. Michigan Tech is a public research university located in Houghton, Michigan. 

PhilCCAP has also looked into forging a partnership with Ecosystems Improved for Sustainable Fisheries (ECOFISH), a USAID-funded project operating on Siargao Island. In a draft memorandum of understanding between the two projects, PhilCCAP and ECOPHIL are looking into a collaboration in supporting each other’s activities in Siargao through empowering social mobilization and supporting collective organization among both projects’ beneficiaries. This partnership proposal, along with the Michigan Tech MOU, is currently being reviewed. 

On the other hand, PhilCCAP is attracting investors to support the activities under its management plan for Siargao Island. Last December, PhilCCAP’s project manager, Mr. Wilbur Dee, along with Mr. Leonardo Paat, Jr., the World Bank’s Task Team Leader for PhilCCAP, attended a meeting with officials of Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), a multilateral and multisectoral partnership agreement between the governments of East Asian countries, civil society and cause-oriented groups. 

PEMSEA is considering several projects in which it intends to invest as part of its program of strengthening integrated coastal management in the country. PhilCCAP offered its activities in Siargao, which involves several projects along coastal and marine areas. PEMSEA has since met with the project’s consultants in order to gather more information about the efforts in Siargao.

For more information on PEMSEA, click here.

For more information on the Michigan Technological University, click here.

Siargao towns agree to jointly protect marine areas

Participants discuss areas for improvement in managing protected areas at a meeting in Santa Monica, Siargao

Photo by Horace Cimafranca

Despite a supertyphoon brewing on the Pacific just east of Siargao, representatives from all of the island’s nine municipalities gathered in the coastal town of Santa Monica for a consultation on the drafting of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) concerning the management of the towns’ respective Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

The MOA will establish a networking system covering all the MPAs in Siargao Island. The networking will centralize the management of the MPAs to a single body, which will be responsible for the funding, policy review and monitoring, among other things, of all of the island’s marine protected areas.

The drafting of the MOA was initiated by PhilCCAP, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to ensure the sustenance of its subprojects. These subprojects, which include alternative livelihood for fisherfolks and mangrove rehabilitation, were formulated to secure the MPAs from degradation. PhilCCAP stressed that strengthening the MPAs and providing a more environment-friendly alternate source of income for the fisherfolks would help the local communities adapt to the effects of climate change.

The December 3 to 4 meeting at Denaville Resort provided an opportunity for Siargao’s nine towns to report on the current status of each town’s MPA. The reports included future plans set by the local government units and also identified the problems that need to be addressed.             

Notably, most of the MPAs did not have an existing management plan and have mostly relied on non-government organizations, and initiatives such as PhilCCAP, to provide capacity-building services to the LGUs and the local people’s organizations. 

After the reporting, the participants underwent a workshop where common issues were identified and solutions were discussed in a plenary session. They agreed to pass resolutions requesting national government agencies such as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the DENR to provide financial and technical support for the MPAs, free education and training for the local fisherfolks and capacity-building programs for the communities and the local government.

The assessment from the workshop became the basis for the comments on the draft of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) on MPA networking. 

A revised draft of the MOA was prepared on the second day of consultation, taking into account the issues raised by different representatives, such as those concerning funding and rule enforcement. The revision bestowed the function of allocating funds, reviewing MPA policies, formulating management plans and linking with law enforcement agencies upon the MPA network. It was then agreed that the MOA signing would take place early in 2015. 

The representatives present, mostly municipal environment and natural resources officers, were joined by members of the Coast Guard and the local police. 

The second day of the consultation was also attended by three municipal mayors: Mayor Lucio Gonzales of Pilar, Mayor Emmanuel Arcenas of Burgos and Mayor Alfredo Coro of Del Carmen. 

In 1996, Siargao Island was declared a protected landscape and seascape through Proclamation No. 602 signed by then President Fidel Ramos. SIPLAS (Siargao Island Protected Landscape and Seascape), as the protected area is collectively called, includes mangrove forests and marine areas, and spans about 280,000 hectares.

Training held for farmers' school manual

Crops are on display at a learning site in Isabela province during a training for the implementers of the ECS FFS program manual. Photo provided by BSWM

The Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Center in Region 2 (ATI-RTC 2) hosted the PhilCCAP Training for Implementers and Subject Matter Specialists on the Enhanced Climate-Smart Farmers' Field School (ECSFFS) Program Manual 

The ECSFFS Program Manual was the result of a series of writeshops from different agencies, which was finalized by the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM).  

The training was conducted for five days on October 27-31, 2014, with the aim of guiding the users and trainors on how to properly deliver information about climate change and adaptation to farmers.  It was attended by 41 participants from the Bureau of Soils and Water Management, ATI, Department of Agriculture (DA)-Central Office, DA-Regional Field Offices 2 and 6, DENR, Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, the LGUs of Peñablanca and Tuguegarao City for Region 2 and of Janiuay, Mina, Dumangas and Pototan for Region 6.

Part of the training was a field visit to the school for practical agriculture (SPA) learning sites in Cabatuan and San Mateo, Isabela to expose the participants and help them gain actual experiences on how integrated farming system is established.  Participants also went to one of the pilot sites of PhilCCAP in Barangay Aggugaddan, Peñablanca, Cagayan for them to observe and interact with PhilCCAP’s farmer-beneficiaries.  

A farmer in Iloilo, applying the techniques learned from the Enhanced Climate-Smart Farmers' Field School (ECSFFS), shows her produce. Photo provided by ATI

Participants of the training said that they appreciated the implementation of PhilCCAP‘s subprojects and the establishment of a learning hut with a functional learning center, an integrated farm, and a provision of starter inputs for the ECS FFS farmer-participants. Attendees from Region 6 also said that they wanted to replicate the learning site in their areas. 

Among the topics discussed during the training were the content of the program manual and the decision support system developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which will be disseminated to the farmers. Center Director Renato Maguigad of the regional ATI said that the program manual was the output of the series of ECS FFS conducted during the implementation of PhilCCAP.  This a deliverable under Subcomponent 2.2 of the Project on Enhancing Delivery and Effectiveness of Extension Services for Farm-Level Climate Risk Management, for which the DA, BSWM and the ATI are primarily responsible.