Earth Hour 2011: March 26, 8:30-9:30 p.m.

JOIN!!! If not your whole house's lights, your room's bulb will do. Then, pray for the whole world.

At 8:30 PM on Saturday 26th March 2011, lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour and people will commit to actions that go beyond the hour.

With Earth Hour almost upon us, our thoughts are with the people of Japan during this incredibly challenging and sad time for their country.

日本の皆さん、勇気を持って頑張って下さい

Public Administration Students Conduct Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Workshops in Real, Quezon Province

In the midst of the regional and national disasters (Japan earthquake and flashfloods in Visayas and Mindanao) that gripped the country and the whole world, students of Public Administration 191 (Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation – a course of Prof. Ebinezer Florano) of the National College of Public Administration and Governance of the University of the Philippines (UP-NCPAG) cast their fears aside and went to the Municipality of Real, Quezon Province to conduct community-based climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation workshops on 16-18 March 2011. The workshops enabled them to have hands-on experience in managing them, and at the same time, assist the municipal government jumpstart the formulation of their own local climate change action plan mandated for all local government units (LGUs) under the Climate Change Act of 2009.

Real is a 3rd class coastal municipality at the northeast side of Luzon island bounded by Lamon Bay (east), Rizal and Laguna Provinces (west), Municipalities of Nakar and Infanta (north), and the Municipality of Mauban (south). It has a total land area of 563.8 square kilometer and is composed of 17 barangays with 33,073 residents as of 2007 (Wikipedia 2011).

Real has had it shares of natural disasters. In December 2004, 500 people were either proclaimed dead or missing after the municipality was ravaged by Typhoons Violeta, Winnie, and Yoyong (Wikipedia 2011). Other hazards that constantly sow fear among the residents include flowing debris, slope failures and landslides.

The class conducted vulnerability assessment using the “Vulnerability Assessment Toolkit” developed by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Coastal Services Center which consists of seven steps: (1) hazard identification, (2) hazard analysis, (3) critical facilities analysis, (4) social analysis, (5) environmental analysis, (6) economic analysis, and (7) adaptation opportunity analysis.

During the hazard identification and prioritization stages, the participants agreed that the municipal government should focus on preparing for the following hazards which they ranked in terms of frequency, area of impact, and magnitude: (1) typhoons/storm surge, (2) flashfloods, (3) landslide, and (5) tsunami. The class was happy to learn that two of the hazards that they pre-identified (sea-level rise (SLR), floods, and earthquakes) were among the prioritized hazards by the participants who listened intently on the on the students’ reports, based mostly on scientific reports and maps gathered from NAMRIA, PHIVOLCS, PAG-ASA, and DENR-GMB.

During the climate change adaptation workshops, in response to the pre-identified hazards, the participants enumerated and ranked the following adaptation measures:

• Sea-Level Rise: (1) mangrove planting, (2) RICE (research, information, communication, education), (3) seawall construction, (4) relocation of affected residents and establishments, and (5) non-privatization of coastal areas.

• Earthquakes: (1) RICE, (2) zoning ordinance, (3) construction of resilient accommodations, (4.5) relocate affected residents, and (4.5) population control.

• Floods: (1) RICE, (2) watershed management, (3) relocation and provide buffer zone, (4) tree planting, and (5) construction of seawalls and dikes.

The workshops were attended by municipal government staff from the following offices: agriculture, planning and development, social work, tourism, engineering, municipal administrator, etc. Mayor Joel Amando Diestro and Municipal Administrator Manuel Meraña approved the holding of the workshops. Students who conducted the workshops were: Diane Zapata, Ayesha Mambuay, Ace Cardenas, Noelle Rivera, Kaizzer Tanada, Leizle Arlando, Ishmail Bahjin, Mabelle Romero, Camilo Bugayong, Mitchka Nicanor, Nikki Grafil, Gian Pantaleon, Beatriz Caday, Angelica Herico, Raphael Itchon, and Raeon Laspinas.

PAGASA: More floods, landslides loom over east Visayas, Mindanao

After leaving at least nine people dead and affecting more than 15,000 residents, flash floods and landslides continue to threaten parts of Visayas and Mindanao, state weather forecasters said Friday.

Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecaster Gener Quitlong said the northeast monsoon is prevailing over Luzon while a wind convergence is affecting Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

"Ang payo natin sa mga kababayan natin diyan maging alerto tayo. Naroon ang convergence zone kaya nakakabuo ang kaulapan (Our advice to our people living in those areas is to be alert. There is a wind convergence over Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and clouds bringing rains are likely to form there)," Quitlong said in an interview on dzBB radio.

On Thursday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the death toll from floods and landslides that hit parts of the Visayas and Mindanao in past days went up to nine.

Some 3,130 families or 15,398 people from Bohol, Western Samar, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte in the Visayas; and Misamis Oriental and South Cotabato in Mindanao were affected.

Of these, 2,878 families or 14,138 people were evacuated.

Yet, PAGASA said the affected areas may still continue to experience rains.

"Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms becoming cloudy with widespread rains over the Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas and Northeastern Mindanao which may trigger flashfloods and landslides. Northern and Central Luzon will be be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated light rains," PAGASA said in its 5 a.m. bulletin. — LBG, GMA News

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/215574/nation/pagasa-more-floods-landslides-loom-over-east-visayas-mindanao

A teacher's plea: Recent earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan (March 11, 2011)

Dear Students,

The recent calamities that struck Japan remind us that now, more than ever, we should start to adapt our practices, procedures, and structures to the ever-increasing frequency, magnitude, and impact of natural and man-made disasters. Actually, there were other disasters and extreme weather events that occurred in the previous months on the other side of the Earth but they were hardly noticed by the media or we simply ignored them. And if we are to believe climate change projections and scenarios, many more are still to come (but we should be careful also in quickly attributing everything to climate change; let the scientists do that for us). In the future, in your little ways, I hope you could help prepare our country deal with these calamities.

Executive Order 26 enjoins students, govt workers to plant 10 trees a year

(Miss Philippine-Earth 2006 Catherine Untalan planting Tuba-Tuba (jatropha curcas) in the backyard of UP-NCPAG)

Starting this year, students and government employees will be required to plant a minimum of ten seedlings per year as part of the Aquino administration’s initiative to grow 1.5 billion trees in six years.

The planting of 1.5 billion trees in about 1.5 million hectares of land was stated in Executive Order 26, declaring the implementation of the National Greening Program (NGP) as a government priority, which President Benigno Aquino III signed last month.

The other priority programs of the government are poverty reduction, resource conservation and protection, productivity enhancement, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The NGP is the consolidation of the government’s various greening efforts such as Upland Development Program and Luntiang Pilipinas, as well as similar initiatives of civil society organizations and other private groups.

Under EO 26, all government institutions, especially Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, Deparment of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education are tasked to produce good-quality seedlings annually for the NGP.

The technical assistance shall be provided by DA, DENR, and DAR under the Convergence Initiative.

To ensure the successful implementation of the NGP, "all students, identified by the DepEd and CHED and all government employees shall be individually required to plant a minimum of ten (10) seedlings per year in areas determined by the Convergence Initiative."

The National Convergence Initiative is an approach for implementing development projects that entail close coordination among the DA, DAR and DENR, as suggested and supported by the World Bank.

"Private sectors and civil society groups shall likewise be encouraged to participate in the NGP," the EO states.

The trees will be planted in the forestlands, mangrove and protected areas, ancestral domains, civil and military reservations, urban areas under the greening plan of the local government units, inactive and abandoned mine sites, and other suitable lands.

With appropriate assistance from the government and the private sector, the community organizations will be given the primary responsibility of maintaining and protecting the established plantations, EO 26 states.

It also says that all proceeds from agroforestry plantations, duly accounted by the DENR, will accrue to the NGP beneficiary communities to address food security and poverty reduction.

The NGP beneficiary communities will be considered priority in the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program.

Appropriate incentives will also be developed to encourage reforestation, particularly in the protected area.

The executive order states that DA, DAR and DENR will develop a centralized database and provide regular monitoring and timely report on the progress of the NGP.

The private sector, civil society groups and academe will also be involved in the monitoring and evaluation of the NGP.—JV, GMA News

Source: GMA News at http://www.gmanews.tv/story/214509/eo-26-enjoins-students-govt-workers-to-plant-10-trees-a-year

Resolve II: Charter Change, Napapanahon Na Nga Ba?

During the last years of the previous administration, clamor for Charter Change or Cha-Cha was high. The UP Samahan Tungo sa Progresibong Administrasyon (UP-STPA) sponsored a public forum to provide a much needed place for public discussion and to settle the issue on Cha-Cha. It was titled, “Resolve: Is Cha-Cha the way to Philippine Development?” Two years since the last forum, there is once again clamor for Charter Change and this time, we have a new administration. Thus, the UP-STPA decided to do a sequel on it entitled, "Resolve II: Charter Change, Napapanahon Na Nga Ba?” on 10 March 2011 (Thursday) at the Assembly Hall of the U.P. National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) from 1:00pm – 5:00 pm. Admission is free.

Speakers from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government were invited to shed light on the topic. There will be reactions from the civil society. Details will be provided as soon as the invited speakers have confirmed their attendance. For inquiries, please contact Marlowe Popes at 0915-869-1671 or Chev Salvador at 0927-844-3919.

UP-STPA is a UP Diliman-registered organization founded in 1988. It is a two-time Gawad Chancellor awardee for Best Student Organization in 1996 and 1997.