What we can do to mitigate the impacts of climate change

By CHITO DELA TORRE
October 7, 2010

Could people in Samar and Leyte do something to at least mitigate the effects of climate change or global warming?  Better still, could the Warays contribute to world efforts to STOP global warming?

Last Sunday (October 3), I thesisized on the need to make farmers understand these threats to human lives.

Yes, Dr. Jenny Lyn R. Almeria, agriculture department’s operations division chief for Region VIII, has urged for “multi-stakeholders partnerships”.  That was why, I called upon the local government units and the private sector.  Well, we can include elementary and high school students, college students, businessmen, the religious sector, and ALL OTHERS.  We should partner with each other.

No, we do not need to wait for Dr. Almeria to start all these up for us.  In fact, we also do not need our mayors to make pronouncements on these.  All we need is start choosing the partnership idea as a major topic each time we sit down with our friends or with other groups.

Of course, many may say the topics global warming and partnering with others to combat the ill effects of climate change will soon become as sonorous, at first, and monotonous, next, as the topic death itself that we forget about it altogether.  Yes, because many humans today don’t care about dying; they only care to live, survive and be successful all the time.  And, mind you, that’s what the Devil wants humanity to do and become.  Our proclivity to fall into this Devil’s trip and trap will soon make all of us realize that the Devil is winning over God, and that we are ourselves to blame.

Dr. Almeria has pointed out that the global efforts to solve this impending disaster from global warming and climate change seek to attain two common goals: first, that of building the adaptive capacity of communities and increasing the resilience of natural ecosystems to climate change, and second, that of optimizing mitigation opportunities towards sustainable development.

Across sectors and areas of ecosystems, energy, food, water, health, human society and  infrastructure, people around Planet Earth must take adaptation and mitigation strategies to start with.

In adaptation, Dr. Almeria enumerates these global suggestions:  enhanced vulnerability and adaptation assessments, integrated ecosystems-based management, climate-responsive agriculture, water governance and management, climate-responsive health sector, disaster risk reduction, and climate-proofing infrastructure.

Mitigation can come in the way of energy efficiency and conservation, including sustainable infrastructure, and then via renewable energy such as waste management and environmentally sustainable transport.

Cross-cutting these adaptive and mitigating measures should be the following interventions:  capacity development, knowledge management, IEC (information, education and communication) and advocacy, research and development/technology transfer, and gender mainstreaming.

The multi-stakeholder partnerships should also look into the essentials for attaining the twin goals.  These are financing, valuation, ad policy, planning and mainstreaming. These are the means of implementation.

This is the picture of what Dr. Almeria describes as the “climate change impacts and vulnerabilities”.

The challenges and opportunities in climate change impacts is presented as follows:

The Department of Agriculture has taken on its role in disaster risk reduction, to wit: disaster risk profiling, disaster prevention and mitigation, and disaster preparedness.  In disaster risk profiling, the DA goes into hazard assessment – it identifies the typology, frequency and potential severity of an hazard; vulnerability mapping – it identifies geographical areas and communities that are most vulnerable to those hazards; then it identifies the key factors of vulnerability and local coping and adaptive strategies and capacities; and assesses gaps in national policies, legislation and institutional capacity for DRR.

In the prevention and mitigation, the DA promotes appropriate crop selection (testing and introducing new varieties, and choosing drought / flood / saline resistant crops); improved cropping systems and cultivation methods (which includes crop diversification, intercropping, adjustment of crop, and soil conservation); post-harvest management (which consists of storage, food drying, and food processing); pest control; sustainable water management (improved design, construction and maintenance of irrigation and water control infrastructures; rainwater harvesting; and water conservation techniques); afforestation / reforestry and agroforestry; early warning system (by detecting, forecasting and issuing the alert relating to impending hazard event to allow for contingency cropping plans); risk sharing and transfer instruments (which consist of crops / livestock / fishery insurance, and compensation and calamity funds); livelihood diversification (promoting small scale enterprise development, and introducing new farming activities or promoting non-farm activities); and training and awareness raising.

But wait, we cannot leave the DA and the agriculture personnel all alone by themselves.  We have to do our share.  While indeed we may follow all their recommendations, let us also initiate other helpful contributions.  Most importantly, let us not wait. If we do not know so much yet, let’s consult someone knowledgeable in the neighborhood, or let’s read or research.  If someone is already up among us, let’s see how we can help and strengthen the advocacy pursued.  If we have extra cash, let’s chip in some amount for the furtherance of the advocacy.