by Noel Baguio/DavNor PIO
Davao del Norte – The Province of Davao del Norte has taken heed of the painful and costly lessons of Super Typhoons ‘Pablo’ and ‘Yolanda’ by instituting local policies that help address climate change and build the resilience of the people.
Though it has not yet bore the brunt of such extreme weather phenomena, the province has mainstreamed both the disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) strategies to its development thrusts, in response to the mounting call to reverse global warming.
Provincial executives have also formally introduced DRR and CCA to the vision and mission of Davao del Norte, while on the process of formulating the proposed executive-legislative agenda (ELA) of the province for the next three years.
Governor Rodolfo del Rosario said the action is but a small but positive contribution to help mitigate climate change.
“This is our concrete response to the growing call to reverse global warming,” the governor said, at the recent meeting of the joint Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management/Climate Change Adaptation Councils.
Del Rosario said that Pablo’s wrath in neighboring provinces of Composela Valley and Davao Oriental in 2012, as well as, Yolanda’s massive devastation in the Visayas, recently, should serve as a warning to all.
The local chief executive reiterated the commitment and shared responsibility of the province in helping stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.
“As a local government, we deem it our moral obligation to do something about climate change,” he said
The governor revealed the province is slated to conduct a series of consultations with local and national experts to be able to effectively integrate the concept of climate change to the local DRR program to build the coping mechanism of the province.
On December 3, 2013, the province is also set to launch the expanded Oplan A.N.D.A.M. (Advocacy on Natural Disasters Awareness and Management) in Barangay Gabuyan, Kapalong, Davao del Norte.
The grassroots disaster preparedness campaign is targeting 60 barangays next year for its massive emergency info drive to protect, especially the vulnerable families from the adverse impact of natural cataclysmic events, such as typhoons, floods, landslides, among others.
DavNor Press Release 