Laguna, SEA center join forces for climate change program

STA. CRUZ, Laguna ,Philippines  – The Laguna provincial government and a Southeast Asian center have agreed to pursue joint environmental programs.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) along this line was signed at the provincial capitol here recently by Laguna Gov. Jorge “ER” Ejercito Estregan and Director Gil C. Saguiguit Jr. of the Los Baños, Laguna-based Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEAMEO SEARCA).

Philippine-government-hosted SEARCA is one of the 20 “centers of excellence” of SEAMEO, an intergovernment treaty body founded in 1965 to foster cooperation among Southeast Asian nations in the field of education, science and culture.

The MOU binds the Laguna provincial government and SEARCA “to collaborate in a number of areas, particularly in building the capacity of Laguna local government units (LGUs) to identify, prioritize, and mainstream research objectives.”

The two institutions will also exchange scientific materials, publications, and information.

The environment programs to be pursued are in line with the Laguna provincial government’s “Save Laguna Lake” initiative of Gov. Estregan and how to cope with the effects of climate change.

“The new partnership ties in nicely with SEARCA’s focus on promoting local-level adaptation and intervention to counteract the effects of climate change,” Director Saguiguit also said.

Through the center’s initiative, Laguna has been chosen as the study site of a project funded by the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) of the Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC).

Titled “Building Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change for Selected Southeast Asian Countries: Vulnerability Assessment and Economic Analysis of Adaptation,” the project aims to build the local capacity of 12 Laguna towns to determine and analyze their vulnerabilities to climate change and identify appropriate adaptation strategies.

To achieve this, the first step is to equip the LGUs with the technical skills needed to conduct vulnerability assessment and mapping and socioeconomic analysis.

SEARCA conducted the first of a series of such training course last May. The participants – 30 municipal planning officers and other key officials from Laguna – were taught how to use tools for conducting climate change vulnerability assessment and identifying appropriate adaptation methods that they can adopt in their development plans.

The signing of the MOU between Gov. Estregan and Director Saguiguit formalized the institutional cooperation between the two entities.

Dr. Saguiguit said SEARCA believes that more attention should be given at the local and farm levels which are the most affected and vulnerable to climate change. It has thus intensified efforts to assist LGUs in the country.

Since January 2010, the center has also been helping six other provinces on how to cope with the effects of climate change, particularly on farming and aquaculture. This is being done through a project titled “Focused-Food Production Assistance for Vulnerable Sectors (FPAVAS).”

The beneficiaries of the European Union-funded project are Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental.