A local government unit (LGU) worker from Botolan, Zambales has won the top prize in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) "Mga Kwentong KLIMA-likasan Tungo sa Katatagan: A Climate and Disaster Resiliency Recognition Awards."
Bagging first place honors was Annadine Marzinares with her entry, "Women Leadership, Trailblazers of Environmental Sustainability," the DENR said in a statement Sunday, July 11.
The entry showcased the programs and projects initiated by the Botolan municipal government in achieving environmental sustainability in their municipality. These include fabrication and installation of artificial reef with coral transplantation, mangrove and forest reforestation, and solid waste management.
Marzinares earned P50,000 in cash prize for her efforts.
Meanwhile, Reynaldo Gonzales of the Office of the City Environment and Natural Resources in Zamboanga City received the second place prize of P40,000 for his entry, "Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction (GHG): Zamboanga City Initiatives for Climate Change Mitigation." The entry describes Zamboanga as one of the model cities that integrated the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as a component for their Local Climate Change Action Plan or LCCAP.
Maria Clarita Limbaro from the local government of Bayabas, Surigao del Sur won third place for her entry "Sagip-Wakatan Program: Kwentong KLIMA-likasan ng Bayabas, Surigao del Sur." She earned a P30,000 cash prize.
The Sagip-Wakatan program is an annual mangrove reforestation, replanting, and coastal cleanup initiative of the municipality of Bayabas that aims to maintain and improve the mangrove cover density to help protect the community against destructive effects of storm surges, tidal waves, tsunami, and soil erosion.
The DENR received almost 100 entries all over the country for the "KLIMA-likasan" awards. The top three winners along with the special citations were announced during a virtual ceremony last July 2. The awards support the Global Good Stories Movement, which seeks to recognize the stories of individuals—both women and men—and groups on the impacts of climate change and disasters in their communities, and on how they are addressing them through pursuing relevant programs on environmental protection and conservation, climate change, and disaster risk reduction.
The Global Good Stories Movement is a movement of people who share the common belief that "we can change the story of the world by changing the storyline." The judges for this year’s awards were Commissioner Rachel Herrera of the Climate Change Commission, Director Tecson Lim of the Department of National Defense-Office of Civil Defense, and Dr. Mahar Lagmay, Executive Director of the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute.
Entries were evaluated based on their Climate and Disaster Resiliency content (60 percent), visual appeal of the photographs and video (30 percent), and geographical reach of the initiative (10 percent).