‘Klima’ workshop-seminar successfully held in Tacloban

Local government executives from all over the Visayas, private sector sustainability officers, and scientists held a successful workshop-seminar, “Klima,” organized by The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) Foundation and National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) at the Summit Hotel in Tacloban City.

Science and nature-based solutions to climate change were tackled were tackled in the seminar. 

SCIENTISTS, private sector speakers, and local government executives from all over the Visayas tackle climate change solutions at the Summit Hotel in Tacloban City.

“The first step towards solving a problem is to first acknowledge that there is in fact a problem. We here in this room, and in the Philippines in general, thankfully, are fully aware that climate change is well on its way and has a huge impact on us. It seems obvious to say this but unfortunately, some of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions are still debating if climate change is real and/or if they should do anything about it,” said Dr. Aletta Yñiguez in her synthesis in the conference.

Yñiguez is a TOWNS member and was named one of Asia’s best scientists this year.

Academician Rex Victor Cruz, chairman of the NAST Climate Change Committee, highlighted the significant exposure of watershed ecosystems and attendant services to climate variability, extreme rain and temperature, floods, droughts, and erosion. 

A very instructive and relevant portion of Cruz’ presentation concerned overlapping boundaries of watershed ecosystems across municipalities and provinces, hence, the need for more harmonized planning among local government units. 

Academicians Glenn Gregorio and Marie Antonette Juinio-Meñez, also a TOWNS member, illustrated the exposure of agricultural and fisheries systems to climate change. 

Rice, a Filipino staple, is threatened by salinization, drought, and floods. Aquaculture systems and capture fisheries, and importantly the fishers themselves, are at risk due to a variety of climate change hazards from increased temperatures, sea level rise, stronger storms, and ocean acidification. 

The private sector has conducted assessments on how climate change hazards affect or can affect their operations such as airlines, hotels, sugar production, and investments.

The very positive point is that there is a lot of effort towards strategizing and implementing mitigation and adaptation measures. Even with gaps in knowledge on the risks, there are already holistic approaches that address not just climate change but the also significant localized threats known about for a long time.