The academe and the research and development (R&D) sector should have a deeper understanding of the impacts of climate change, especially at the grass roots level which needs guidance most.
This is according to Commissioner Nadarev M. Saño of the Philippine National Climate Change Commission (NCCC) in his presentation during SEARCA’s Agricultural and Development Seminar Series (ADSS) held on 19 April 2011.
Commissioner Saño said that the academe and R&D sector can play a role in helping communities in conducting vulnerability and risk assessments, developing immediate solutions and long term strategies for climate change adaptation and the technologies that may be needed, and educating people on climate change.
According to him, the Philippines has limited knowledge on the impacts of climate change. Thus, it is a big challenge for the academe and the R&D sector to bridge this knowledge gap. He added that the R&D sector can help in knowledge creation and ensuring that the results are disseminated to the sectors that highly need it.
Commisioner Saño also pointed out the importance of the academe and the R&D sector in crafting of the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP).
The NCCAP is created by the Commission to enhance the adaptive capacity of communities, increase the resilience of natural ecosystems, and promote sustainability of the environment amidst climate change.
The Philippines is one of the first countries in the world to develop a climate change action plan.
The National Climate Change road map involves the following components or key results area: food security, water sufficiency, ecosystem and environmental stability, human security, climate-smart industries and services, sustainable energy and climate change knowledge and capacity development.
In crafting the NCCAP, the Commission collaborates with experts in different fields from different sectors including, government agencies, research and development institutions, the academe, and the private and business sectors . Among these, Commissioner Saño emphasized that the academe and R&D sector play the most crucial role in assuring that the commission is guided accordingly, in terms of climate science, when developing rules and policies.
The Commission is the highest climate change-related policy making body in the country. It facilitates the formulation of the action plan which will then be implemented by the local governments.
While all these efforts are being done, Commissioner Saño reminds that addressing the impacts of climate change also involves “economic and societal transformation”. (Cherry Bundalian and Angela Minas)
DISCLAIMER:
The point of view taken by this article is entirely that of the presenter's and does not reflect in any way, SEARCA’s position.
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