The University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños (UPLB) Interdisciplinary Studies Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Environment Management (INREM) has partnered with UP Resilience Institute (UP RI) – Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (UP NOAH) Center and Forest Foundation Philippines (FFP) to promote climate resilience, gender equality, and biodiversity conservation through nature-based solutions. This collaboration was made possible through the Philippines-Canada Partnership on Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation-Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (PCP4NbS-VRA) Project. Project areas were selected based in the presence of key biodiversity areas (KBA) and protected areas (PA). In addition, the team factored in the presence of the FFP partners based in these provinces as part of the selection process.
The project team, spearheaded by the Project Leader Dr. Juan M. Pulhin, PhD of UPLB-INREM, will conduct a robust vulnerability and risk assessment (VRA) which will serve as basis for providing nature-based solutions. This will be done through a series of co-development Workshops, the second of which was held last September 10, 2024, in Basco, Batanes at the Office of the Provincial Planning and Development (OPPD) Coordinator building. The main purpose of the workshop is to identify vulnerability and risk indicators, which were ranked by participants according to local relevance. According to Dr. Pulhin, integrating local knowledge is essential to conducting the VRA.
The VRA Team is composed of Dr. Juan M. Pulhin, Prof. Liezl Grefalda, and Mr. Kyle Vincent Singson from UPLB-INREM, as well as, Mr. Gifford Jay Agudo and EnP. Arge Louise Joy Esquivel from the UP RI – NOAH Center. Mr. Christian Jester Salayo of the FFP was also present in this workshop. The one-day co-development workshop was attended by representatives from the Municipal Government of Basco, Batanes Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), Batanes Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), OPPD, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Basco, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) such as the Basco Senior Citizen Association, Basco Women’s Association, and Batanes Environmental Keepers Society (BEKS).
Towards the end of the event, Dr. Pulhin who acknowledged the participants and their valuable contribution of local knowledge. The workshop output will provide context to the analysis that will be conducted, making it more effective, relevant, and tailor-fit to the local context of Basco, Batanes.
UP RI – NOAH Center will continue to aid UPLB-INREM and FFP in evaluating the vulnerabilities, assessing risks, providing insights on resource allocation and developing targeted strategies for biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, and gender equality in natural resource management.