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SEARCA joins launching of global ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) Community of Practice (COP)

  • 29 June 2016

Delegates from the Philippines at the International EbA COP Workshop, 13-17 June 2016. (Left to Right)Mr. Alexis Lapiz,Eco-town Program Officer of theClimate Change Commission (CCC); Dr. Lope B. Santos III, Program Specialist, Project Development and Technical Services of SEARCA;Ms. Elizabeth Bandojo, Environmental Planner/GIS Specialist of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) - Southern Tagalog Region; Ms. Dolores Nuevas, Senior Advisor of GIZ-Philippines; and Ms. Ma. Gerarda Asuncion D. Merilo, Climate Change Office at the Environmental Management Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

BERLIN, Germany – TheSoutheast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture joins 21 countries and nine international organizations in the launching of the Global Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Community of Practice (CoP) in Maritim Hotel, Berlin, Germany on 16 June 2016. The EbA approach is one of the CoPs adopted in the Paris Agreement. The countries represented in the launch include: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, Grenada, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgizstan, Mali, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA, and Vietnam.

The launching of this global CoP was spearheaded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbHon behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building, and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). Other international organizations that participated in the launching include: Conservation International (CI), United Nations Environment Programme- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Wetlands International (WI), World Resources Institute (WRI), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The entry points, tools and methods, and evidences for EbA adopted by the CoP were a product of a four day workshop from 12-16 June 2016. It was followed by two training programs on Monitoring and Evaluation of Adaptation, and Ecosystem Services Assessment and Valuation on 17 June 2016.

The delegation from the Philipines shared experiences on various programs covering ridge to reef approach, sectoral vulnerability and risk assessment, natural resources accounting and valuation, greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, and mainstreaming climate resilience and green growth planning, all relevant to EbA.

The delegates from the Philippines were Mr. Alexis Lapiz, Eco-town Program Officer of the Climate Change Commission (CCC); Ms. Elizabeth Bandojo, Environmental Planner/GIS Specialist of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) - Southern Tagalog Region; Ms. Dolores Nuevas, Senior Advisor of GIZ-Philippines; and Ms. Ma. Gerarda Asuncion D. Merilo, Climate Change Office at the Environmental Management Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources. SEARCA was represented by Dr. Lope B. Santos III, Program Specialist of the Project Development and Technical Services (PDTS).

DELEGATES AT THE GREEN ROOF. The delegates of the International EbA Community of Practice Workshop visit an EbA best practice with the green roof, solar panel and water harvesting facility. This system is practiced in other communities in Germany including high end property urban development.