New Zealand will partner with the Philippines on improving Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventories and measurement capabilities. The New Zealand Embassy in Manila on Monday announced that its foreign affairs and primary industries ministries selected the Philippines as one of the six countries it would support for its ASEAN and Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Initiative. Its move came as New Zealand believed that its collaboration with the Philippines would signify "a significant step forward in addressing climate change challenges and promoting sustainable agricultural practices." "The joint efforts will contribute to achieving international climate commitments while ensuring food security, livelihoods, and a greener future for both countries," it added. According to the embassy, the program aims to enhance national GHG inventories for livestock by utilising sophisticated methodologies, such as the IPCC Tier 2 method, and to develop regional measurement hubs to measure and manage agricultural GHG emissions. New Zealand will allot an equivalent amount of P55.4 million for the program, the embassy said. Photo courtesy of New Zealand Embassy in Manila
Organizations involved in the project are the Philippines Carabao Center (PCC), which will receive support to improve their feed characterisation and GHG estimation facilities for buffalo, including a gas analyser; and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), which will enhance its GHG measurement and mitigation facilities, including monitoring and flow equipment for respiration chambers for cattle. "Other organisations, such as the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA), the Department of Agriculture Climate Resilient Agriculture Office (DA-CRAO), the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), and the Climate Change Commission (CCC), will also benefit from capacity building in this area," the embassy said. New Zealand is expecting to deliver several outcomes for the project, including strengthened capacities at the PCC and UPLB to compile, manage, and report Tier 2 inventories for buffalo and cattle. "The long-term objective of this collaboration is to enable the PCC and UPLB to identify, plan, and implement measures aligned with national objectives for livestock development and GHG mitigation, as outlined in the Philippines' Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)," the embassy said. "The program aims to strengthen stakeholders' capacities to compile a national GHG inventory for buffalo, conduct GHG measurements, and identify practical mitigation options," it added.