Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 1

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The completion of this plan could not have been possible without the
participation and assistance of so many people whose names way at all be
enumerated. Their contributions are sincerely appreciated and gratefully
acknowledge. However, in particular, we would like to express our sincere
gratitude to the following that play indispensable roles in completing the Climate
Change Adaption Plan of the Municipality of Magsaysay, Davao del Sur;

Honorable Mayor Arthur D. Davin, CE for his guidance, logistics and moral
support;

Honorable Sangguniang Bayan Members headed by Honorable Vice-

Mayor Donnabel Joy F. Mejia for their guidance and support in legitimizing this
plan;

Municipal and Barangay Officials and to all LGU employees for their
cooperation, coordination, and unwavering support, who helped us, realize our
goals;

Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council for providing

the necessary information and data that helped us realizes the LCCA Plan;

And to the Constituents of the Municipality of Magsaysay who are in the

frontlines of vulnerabilities when a hazard strikes; to whom this document is
dedicated, for sharing to us their lives and shortcomings for the formulation of
this Municipal Climate Change Adaptation Plan.

Above all, to the Great and Almighty God, the author of knowledge and
wisdom, for his countless love.

We thank you all.

- MDRRMC

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 2

 Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council

Executive Message

The formulation of the 2015 2022 Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan
(LCCAP) of the municipality of Magsaysay, Davao del Sur is the municipalitys
strategic response to the challenge of building and sustaining our communities
resiliency to disaster and climate change. For all we know we live in a world in
which the climate is changing. The change in climate occurred since its creation
greatly manifest today.

In response to what has essentially become a global crisis, I am pleased that

the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council played an active role
in the formulation of this plan through its participation in workshops and public
consultations. It allowed us to ensure that this plan is consistent with the
framework and principles of the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan
(NCCAP) which is mandated by law under Republic Act 9729 also known as the
Climate Change Act of 2009 and the thrusts and priorities embodied in the
Municipal Comprehensive Development Plan, 2006-2015.

I enjoin this Local Government Unit, as well as the twenty (22) Barangays to
firmly commit to the effective implementation of the LCCAP along with the
guidance of building back better toward more disaster-resilient communities.
Planning for a better and more prepared municipality should be a priority,
particularly at the barangay level where implementation of development plans is
crucial.

Therefore, let us all work together, particularly through the Local Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management Council, in ensuring that all the efforts
embodied in this plan shall provide a balance between development and
protection of the environment that will build and sustain the resiliency of
communities of our beloved Municipality.

Magsaysay BIDA Ka! Kuyog ta!

Hon. Arthur D. Davin, CE

Municipal Mayor

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 3

 LEGAL MANDATE

In response to the urgency for action on climate change, the Philippines

passed Republic Act 9729, also known as the Climate Change Act of 2009,
anchored on the constitutional provision which states that it is the policy of the
State to afford full protection and the advancement of the right of the people to a
balanced and healthful ecology to fulfill human needs while maintaining the
quality of the natural environment for current and future generations. RA 9729
provides, among others the following:

Establishment of a Climate Change Commission, an independent and

autonomous body that has the same status as that of a national
government agency. The CCC is under the Office of the President and is the
sole policy-making body of the government which shall be tasked to
coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the
government relating to climate change pursuant to the provisions of this
Act. (Section 4).

The Commission shall be composed of the President of the Republic of

the Philippines who shall serve as the Chairman, and three (3)
Commissioners to be appointed by the President, one of whom shall serve
as the Vice Chairperson of the Commission. (Section 5)

The LGUs as frontline agencies in the formulation, planning and

implementation of climate change action plans in their respective areas,
shall formulate their Local Climate Change Action Plan, consistent with the
provisions of the Local Government Code, the Framework, and the National
Climate Change Action Plan. (Section 14)

Inter-local government unit collaboration shall be maximized in the

conduct of climate- related activities. (Section 14) The Barangay Local
Government Unit of every LGU shall also adopt the Local Climate Change
Adaptation Plan in order to have an integrated and coordinated effort
towards climate change actions in both the MLGU and BLGU level.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 4

 Table of Contents

Cover Page 1
Acknowledgement 2
Executive Message 3
Legal Mandate 4
Introduction 6
History of Flooding 10
What Science Tells Us 11
Climate Change Adaptation Hypothesis 12
CLIMATE CHANGE in ACTION --- Greener by 2022 23
VISSION of the LCCAP 2022 24
Opportunities to be Seized 24
The Cost of Inaction 24
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION Course of Action/Guide 25
1. Adaptation 26
2. Mitigation 29
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION A Clear Vision of Tomorrow 31
1. Education and Training (Research and Development) 31
2. Public Awareness and Citizen Engagement 31
3. Government Exemplarity 32
4. Transportation 32
5. Industry 32
6. Buildings, Infrastructures & Public Works 33
7. Agriculture 33
8. Management of Residual Materials 33
9. Health 34
10.Economic Vision 34
11.Ecosystem Conservation 34
12.Monitoring and Evaluation 34
STAYING on COURSE 35
AMMENDMENT CLAUSE 36
SB Resolution Adopting the Plan 37

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 5

 INTRODUCTION

The field of climate change is full of uncertainties that limit even the most
strategic disaster risk reduction and management plan that exist. In this action
plan, however, there is always that argument that there is lot to do before we get
our hands on reliable estimates of future climate change impacts. It includes
bringing together different Local Organizations mutually bind with the Local
Government Units including the National Government in a framework of
adaptation recommended in this action plan, developing learning that reflect
long-term local impacts of climate change, capacity building of the Local
Government down to the Barangay level that enables them to take decisions
under uncertainty.
This Action Plan does propose a simple scheme that brings together
climate, disaster, policy, and the community together to start a dialogue in a run-
up to understanding wider aspects of long-term risk reduction at the local level.
Strategic thinking, which has only been restricted to national and regional
planning to date, needs to be inculcated in local level disaster risk reduction and
management policy personnel as well.
There is a need to move from the attitude of considering local level players
as implementers to innovators for which developing a network of self learning
and evolving organizations are required at the local level.
The linkage between development and disaster is well known and identified
Climate Change as one of the problem bearing on our survival as human beings.
Climate Change has been indicated as that it will interact at all scales and sectors
including disaster.
According to some studies, there are evidences for longer droughts in
tropics and subtropics, increasing frequency of heavy rainfall events on most land
areas and for increasing intensity. These changes are expected to have multi-fold
impacts in the form of floods and droughts in various parts of the Philippines. The
extreme events can be devastating for the developing municipalities such as ours
which have less capacity to adapt. This establishes an undeniable unholy alliance
between climate change, disasters, and development. This calls for better
understanding the impacts of climate change in terms of disasters and what it
means to local disaster risk and management personnel and policy makers.
Mitigation and adaptation approaches were devised to address the problem
of climate change. While mitigation aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
adaptation aims at reducing current and future impacts of climate change.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 6

 Adaptation has gained much importance due to the fact that the already
caused damage to the global environment would continue to show impacts long
time into the future, irrespective of the mitigation practices taken up and
implemented at present.
Adaptation enhances the capacity of people and the local government to
reduce climate change impacts. However, there have also been cautions for not
investing heavily in adaptation as such investments may lead to mal-adaptations
and unsustainable development. In the context of climate change, disaster risk
management is considered as an adaptation option. Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management have also been seen as a way to sustainable development. The
linkage between climate change and DRRM was subject of intensive formal and
informal debates around the world.
In addition, the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the
Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters identified climate change as
one of the threats posing the world future and identified disaster risk
management planning as one of the key points of entry to tackle the climate
change threats.
In the words of the Framework:
Promote the integration of risk reduction associated with existing climate
variability and future climate change into strategies for the reduction of disaster
risk and adaptation to climate change, which would include the clear identification
of climate related disaster risks, the design of specific risk reduction measures and
an improved and routine use of climate risk information by planners, engineers
and other decision-makers.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 7

 Maps showing the projected seasonal temperature increase
(in C) in the Philippines in 2020 and 2050.

2020 Medium-range
Emission Scenario

2050 Medium-range
Emission Scenario

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 8

The global and local climate is changing. Current climate trends show that the
Philippines, like the rest of the world, has exhibited increasing temperatures, with
observed mean temperature increase of 0.64 C or an average of 0.01 C per year-
increase from 1951-2010. In the last 59 years, maximum (daytime) and minimum
(nighttime) temperatures are also seen to have increased by 0.36 C and 0.1 C,
respectively. Moreover, the analysis on tropical cyclone passage over Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao using a 30-year running mean shows that there has been a
slight increase in the number of cyclones in the Visayas during the 1971-2000
period as compared with the 1951 to 1980 and 1960-1990 periods (PAGASA
2011). Using a mid-range emissions scenario, the climate projections done by the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
(PAGASA) for 2020 and 2050 indicate that all areas of the Philippines will get
warmer, with largest increase in temperatures in the summer months of March,
April and May (MAM). Mean temperatures in all areas in the Philippines are
expected to rise by 0.9 C to 1.1 C in 2020 and by 1.8 C to 2.2 C in 2050.

The climate projections further indicate that, generally, there is reduction in

rainfall in most parts of the country during the summer (MAM) season. However,
there is likely increase in rainfall during the southwest monsoon season in June,
July and August (JJA) until the transition months of September, October and
November (SON) in most areas of Luzon and Visayas. Increase in rainfall is also
likely during the northeast monsoon months of December, January and February
(DJF), particularly in provinces/areas characterized as Type II climate. There is,
however, a generally decreasing trend in rainfall in Mindanao, especially by 2050
(PAGASA 2011).

These scenarios thus indicate that the Philippines will not be spared from the
impacts of climate change. Even if the world will drastically decrease its
greenhouse emissions, stabilizing the greenhouse gases already in the
atmosphere will take some time and the impacts of changing climates will
continue for years to come. The Philippines, being archipelagic and because of its
location, is one of the most vulnerable to these impacts. The country ranked
highest in the world in terms of vulnerability to tropical cyclone occurrence and
third in terms of people exposed to such seasonal events.

A recent Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI)1, released by the global risks
advisory firm Maplecroft, ranked 16 countries out of 170 as extremely vulnerable
to climate change. Of the 16, the Philippines is ranked sixth (Maplecroft 2010). For
this reason, the Philippines formulated its framework strategies and actions
towards adaptation and mitigation. Being an insignificant emitter of greenhouse
gases, the country puts greater emphasis on adaptation as necessary to
complement measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is a mechanism
to manage risks, adjust economic activity to reduce vulnerability and to improve
business certainty.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 9

HISTORY OF FLOODING INCIDENTS IN MAGSAYSAY, DAVAO DEL SUR

Sometime in 1970s, typhoon Titang battered Davao Region, where the province
of Davao del Sur was identified as the severely-affected area. The Municipality of
Magsaysay in Davao del Sur then suffered major casualties and destruction of
several houses, properties, infrastructures and crops.

The overflowing of Bulatukan River was blamed for the big number of victims,
who were mostly living near the river whose origin comes from the foothills of Mt.
Apo, the highest peak in the country.

Since then, the municipality has been spared with typhoon incidents but
flashfloods, landslides, tornadoes and twisters regularly strike this southern part
of the province.

In 2002, a landslide hit Barangays Bacungan and Tagaytay, destroying a number of

houses, crops and vegetables. In 2004, a twister hit Purok 14 in Barangay
Poblacion, Kilolog in Barangay Lower Bala, Barangay New Ilocos, Mabini and
Barayong, where several houses were also damaged. Sometime in 2010, another
twister hit Puroks 7, 12, 16, in Poblacion, Barayong, New Ilocos, Lower Bala and
Mabini, damaging more than 10 houses.

On June 6, 2011, 40 houses in Barangay Poblacion were swept away by

floodwaters triggered by incessant and heavy rains.

Recently, on April 23, 2014, a tornado destroyed several houses in Barangay New
Ilocos, Lower Bala and San Isidro.

The heavy rains also triggered flashfloods in Bulatukan River, prompting some
residents in Purok 7 and Purok 12 in Poblacion to evacuate after waist-deep
floodwaters reached their houses.

Luckily, in those disasters no casualties or fatalities were reported. But we are not
waiting for that to happen. The best resolve to address and mitigate the impact of
disasters is preparedness.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 10

What Science Tells Us

The reality of climate change is now well established. Average temperatures

on the surface of the earth and the oceans have risen, leading to climatic
disturbances that are already occurring in almost all regions of the world.
It is estimated that worldwide, average temperatures rose by 0.7C in the
20th century.
Furthermore, the past decade (2001-2011) was the hottest recorded by
meteorological services and the warming now under way is accelerating (WMO,
2012).
Global warming is also already a reality in the country where average
annual temperatures in southern Philippines increased by 0.3C to 1.5C between
1960 and 2008 where several El Nio Phenomena has been recorded and
historically followed by stronger typhoons (e.g. Pablo and Yolanda).
In the longer term, Philippines climate is expected to grow warmer
throughout its PAR, especially during the summer. Accordingly, by 2050, summer
temperatures could rise by 3.8C in the north of the archipelago and 6.5C in the
south.
Climatic change is already leading to numerous perceptible, measurable
phenomena: the gradual disappearance of summer ice cover in the Arctic,
accelerated melting of the glaciers, the acidification of the oceans, and so on.
Climate modeling predicts a substantial rise in the level of the oceans that would
have a devastating impact on low-lying coastal zones and island states in the fairly
near future such that the youngest members of society will have to live with the
consequences. More frequent extreme weather events such as flooding and
drought are also anticipated.
Climate change will directly affect ecosystems, infrastructure, the economy
and the well-being of populations the world over, including the country.
Past, present and future Green House Gas (GHG) emissions will disrupt
climate systems for a long time to come. This means that even if worldwide
emissions were immediately stabilized and reduced, climate change will continue
to affect us for decades to come.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 11

Climate Change Adaptation Hypothesis

In this paper, bearing in mind the disaster risk management as an

adaptation issue, the LDRRMC together with the Local Government looked at the
problems in the existing disaster risk management planning, presented in a simple
scheme that believed to make a beginning in mainstreaming climate change
concerns in disaster risk reduction, and discussed possible limitations for realizing
the scheme to the full satisfaction.
There is a pressing argument that a need for different approach in disaster
risk management due to new dimension brought by climate change and problems
with the existing disaster risk management planning is crucial to development.
Subsequently, we proposed a scheme for incorporating climate change
concerns in disaster risk management planning and factors to be considered for
such mainstreaming.

1. Need for a different approach in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

now

Disaster risk management refers to the systematic management of

administrative decisions, organization, operational skills and abilities to implement
policies, strategies and coping capacities of the society or individuals to lessen the
impacts of natural and related environmental and technological hazards. Disaster
risk management planning involves understanding hazards, vulnerabilities and
potential losses and developing appropriate preparedness and mitigation
strategies to mitigate such losses. Disaster risk management encompasses
complete realm of disaster related activities.
Many neighboring municipalities have been responding to disasters since time
immemorial; some others were integrating disaster risk management concerns in
various developmental programs with varied degree of success. Cities around the
region have been relatively successful on this front due to their access to better
technological and financial resources than the developing municipalities. There is
a need to re-look at the existing disaster risk reduction approaches due to new
risks brought by climate change and due to problems in the existing risk
management approaches.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 12

 In this section, we elaborated these two aspects.

1.1. Climate Change has Brought New Risks

One of the important reasons that could be put forward is that climate
change has potential to bring considerable change in the hazard profile and its
interaction with the dynamic vulnerability and risk profiles of the community.
It includes change in the kind of disaster that a region is vulnerable to (e.g.
from no disasters in the past to more disaster events), change in type of hazards
(e.g. from more floods to more droughts) or change in hazard intensities and
magnitudes. The debate on impacts of climate change vis--vis disasters
conclusively establish the possibility of rise of extreme weather events resulting in
disasters due to increased energy within climate system.
There are numerous examples stating disaster related impacts such as
typhoons and hurricanes droughts due to climate change. It shows that the hydro-
met disasters are mostly influenced due to their close linkage with the
hydrological cycle which is consecutively closely linked with global atmospheric
circulations and heat balance dynamics. Many of these impacts may not be
uniform across spatial and temporal scales.
There is a clear evidence for growing trend of disasters undermining the
disaster management capacities of municipalities and cities alike

1.2. Problems with the Existing Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Planning

One of the major approaches of disaster risk reduction is through pragmatic

disaster risk management planning. The disaster risk management plans are
developed by identifying local hazards, risks, vulnerabilities, and capacities leading
to planned interventions by the local government, corporations and communities
to reduce disaster vulnerabilities and risks while enhancing the capacities.
Often, these risk assessments heavily rely on the historical data of hazards
at a given location.
However, the future is not always the repetition of the past.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 13

 Moreover, the assessments from historical data often fail to look into the
future vulnerabilities and risks and hence cannot incorporate them in terms of
added strength in the plan. Many times, the hazard assessments fail to consider
the changing frequencies and magnitudes of disasters in their fine details.
We are also limited by our understanding on what proportion of our current
vulnerabilities and risks are contributed by the climate change though a broad
conclusion is possible that the risks assessed at a given point of time are results of
interaction between past climate change impacts and vulnerabilities. It should be
noted that the current and future risks are equally important for the risk
management professionals as they aim at the welfare of the society from the
angle of risks and sustainability.
Vulnerabilities to natural hazards will continue to increase unless these two
communities come together. It is important that these two communities talk to
each other and arrive at a functional plan of disaster risk reduction that
reasonably considers the future risks as well.
One of the important questions to be asked is what makes a disaster risk
management plan to work even in a climate change scenario or what is termed as
abrupt climate change.
It has been agreed that the current responses to disasters will no longer be
sufficient in a changed climate. Adaptation to current climate variability has also
been suggested as an additional way to approach adaptation to long-term climate
change.
Further, it was suggested to identify win-win or no regrets measures that
addresses the current vulnerabilities. The possible best win-win measures could
be to tighten the disaster risk management systems by identifying loopholes and
improving upon them while continuously in touch with developments in risk
projection methodologies. Climate change can bring two important dimensions to
the risk.

2. A Scheme for Incorporating Climate Change Concerns in Disaster Risk

Reduction and Management Planning

One of the best ways to mainstream climate change concerns in disaster

risk management planning is to understand current and future possible impacts
and address them in developmental and risk reduction planning. For this, one
need to look at a range of climate scenarios generated and overlay them with
future socio-economic scenarios to obtain future risks.
However, there are limitations such as lack of availability of dependable
high-resolution climate change scenarios and unaddressed uncertainties even in
best available scenarios and projections.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 14

 Hence, there is a need to look for alternative means of addressing uncertain
climate risks. One of the ways suggested was to identify no-regret or win-win
options as these options would hold good over a range of climate change
scenarios in reducing the vulnerabilities.
Also, questions often arise on how different and how better the
preparedness should be from the preparedness which has been advised by many
disaster management professionals. In addition to these challenges, the media
coverage on climate change has been on rise though in a cyclical fashion. As a
result, public interest and perception of climate change has been influenced
including raising anxieties on extreme events.
Hence, it would be in the interest of disaster risk managers to know
implications of climate change for their region in general and on how they can
deal with such impacts in particular so as to either alley such extreme fears of
climate change impacts or to design for a better preparedness. Such elaborate
frameworks.
This calls for a simpler framework, which could go as a subset of these
sophisticated frameworks, for local level disaster managers and policy making
personnel.
In this section, the LDRRMC provided a simple framework for
mainstreaming climate change concerns in local level disaster risk management
process. Proposed that, for any mainstreaming to happen, it is important for the
local disaster risk managers and other stakeholders to understand what national
and regional climate change assessments mean for the scales at which these
personnel operate; because these personnel work at local scale (municipality and
barangay) and often lack the perspective of climate and long-term implications of
climate change, it is essential that a Local Climate Change Task Group (LCCTG) is
established.
The LCCTG should consist of personnel from disaster risk management,
climate and atmospheric and policy making domains. Such a group is necessary as
the disaster management personnel alone cannot obtain and infer the often
challenging climate information available from global and regional climate change
studies and reports.
However, the required personnel may not always be available at the
administrative scale under consideration. Under those circumstances, cross-scale
collaboration becomes necessary. There may be similar groups existing for
monitoring drought or flood conditions.
The next step is to identify the regions vulnerabilities and how climate
change may influence those vulnerabilities. This brings the crucial need for
identification of climate change impacts in a region which are currently available
at global and regional scales. Often, such assessments are not reliable for taking
concrete decisions those will have local long-term financial and social
implications.
Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 15
 Hence, a structured but simple decision making scheme is required to
support the local level decision making process.

3. Factors to be Considered for Mainstreaming

In this section, the LDRRMC confer various factors to be considered for

achieving satisfactory realization of the above presented scheme. We divided the
factors into uncertainty in climate change risk, capacity limitations, perception and
awareness limitations, and economic limitations.

3.1. Uncertainty in Climate Change Risk

One of the important limitations in implementing the above suggested

scheme is uncertainty in projected climate impacts itself. The Contingency Plan
and the MDRRM Plan are considered to be too course resolution and hence are
not sufficient for decision making for adaptation. Hence, employment of
techniques such as regional circulation models has come into style. However,
there are limitations with downscaling too.
One of the major bottlenecks limiting decision making based on these
techniques is the unaddressed uncertainty of climate change.
Questions were also raised on the amount of certainty required in climate
change projections to justify investments in adaptation measures and whether
such certainty can be delivered. Various techniques have been identified to
quantify the uncertainty and probabilistic climate scenarios were tried with
certain degree of success.
Employing probabilistic climate scenarios too found to misrepresent
uncertainty. Hence, two separate suggestion: wait and watch and precautionary
principles have emerged. Finding a mid-way between these suggestions gained
importance as one can expect to resolve much of the uncertainty in the next 100
years. Other alternative approaches suggested include better characterizing the
uncertainty while communicating with policy makers and adapting appropriate
means of communicating uncertainty to policy makers, which include
consideration for the mismatch between the rigid framework of probability and
peoples intuitive use of language.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 16

 3.2. Capacity Limitations

The uncertain nature of climate change has lead to greater need for
capacity enhancement. In the context of the climate change, capacity
considerations include adaptive capacity to increasing threats of climate change.
This refers to potential and capacity to improve to a higher state in order to face
the impacts of climate change. Efforts have been made to explain the concept of
adaptation and adaptive capacity.
In general, the improvement in adaptive capacity refers to either increment
in financial resources, reduction in poverty, provision of diversified income
sources, better governance, social and political capital and even equitable flow of
resources etc.
Capacity building has been the integral part of our Local DRRM Plan. The
usual topics covered in such plan is disaster risk reduction and management
planning, rescue and evacuation planning, relief planning, emergency
communication, fire fighting, conducting risk and vulnerability assessments,
hazard and vulnerability mapping, disaster risk mitigation systems etc.
Sometimes, these programs also include the role of different stakeholders
and achieving coordination among them in disaster risk reduction. Involvement of
communities in disaster risk management and planning has been considered a
necessity owing to the capacities and knowledge that the communities possess
those could be of use in effective disaster risk reduction. There is a need to
enhance the existing capacities in order to deal with the future disasters and
increasing uncertainty.
Experiences have suggested that the existing capacities are not sufficient
even to deal with the current level of disasters and that the disaster intensities
would only increase in future. Consideration of future vulnerabilities is important
in order to design effective capacity building programs as the current and future
vulnerabilities differ in the context of climate change.
Capacities are of different kinds and different stakeholders need to assess
their capacities in order to deal with the climate change related risks. In the
context of climate change and disaster management, capacities refer to
institutional, technological, economic and social capacities to plan and implement
programs of change that could reduce the vulnerabilities and increase the
capacities of communities. Capacity needs could include simple aspects such as
mutual understanding on the terminology used by climate change and disaster
risk management personnel.
This necessitates mapping different capacities required at the local level in
order to deal with the threats from the changing climate.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 17

 3.3. Perception and Awareness Limitations

Perception can be viewed as a process of transforming inputs (e.g. flood

warning) to output (e.g. public mitigation response). People who perceive that
they are vulnerable are more likely to respond to warnings and undertake
protective measures.
Thus, understanding how people will perceive the risks communicated to
them will influence how effective a risk management measure will be.
Creation of appropriate perception was found to be important for devising
and implementing suitable policy interventions in the community. The importance
of risk perception in shaping peoples behavior and disaster management planning
is affirmed in several studies.
The nature of climate change is such that it is invisible to many as an entity
as it can only be identified through some proxy indicators such as change in
temperatures and change in rainfall intensities or increasing extreme events.
Often the degree of change could have important bearing on how perceptions are
formed.
These problems arise due to making forecasts in probabilistic sense rather
than deterministic, when forecasts help only a group of stakeholders benefited in
a preferential manner, inability to downscale the forecasts that would also
enhance the accuracy of the forecast, dissemination of forecast information in a
format that is not well understood by many due to use of highly technical jargon,
when standard operating procedures stand in the way of using the new
information which makes it too delayed such that the end users find it useless,
and finally the choices that ultimate stakeholders make are enormous which may
not always be supported by such forecasts.
We believe that the climate change information should avoid all these
constraints in order to be effective in decision making.
Also, it is clear in our communities that having difficulty to express what
climate constitutes and that it is difficult for them to explain the concept of
climate as different from weather phenomenon which has been used for planning
agricultural operations on daily basis is not of their priority.
These findings are in line with the findings elsewhere that the communities
are aware about changes in climate but are flawed in terms of why (causes) such a
change is happening.
The explanation could be lack of knowledge regarding the link between
causes and consequences, the cumulative nature of the causes, trading off risks
and benefits, and/or causes involve familiar technologies.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 18

 The LDRRMC believe that it may be difficult for communities to consider
climate as a factor in the local level risk mitigation planning due to the time scales
involved and need for addressing the immediate concerns such as education,
health and livelihoods.
Appropriate education and awareness schemes may bring needed change
in community perceptions. This change could also be brought by participatory
methodologies.
Participatory planning in development has become a major strategy in
affecting sustainable development. This has roots from the need for bottom-up
approaches when the top-down approaches failed to achieve the goals of policies
and plans. One of the limitations of top-down policy making approaches is no or
poor consideration of priorities of people who are affected by the same policies.
Hence, a gradual shift could be seen from top down to bottom-up
approaches leading to a holistic approach. With climate change impacts
increasingly becoming evident globally, the participatory planning process gains
even more importance for implementing disaster risk management programs as
community participation was called for shaping perceptions and for an effective
climate risk reduction.
However, it has been cautioned that such participatory methodologies may
put excessive pressure on communities by trying to address such issues which
have fewer jurisdictions with communities.
Hence, empowering local communities was suggested such that the
decisions taken at their level are implemented to the fullest satisfaction and
effectiveness in the context of climate change.

3.4. Economic Limitations

Cost-effectiveness has been considered as one of the important tools by

policy makers for making investment decisions. Investments in climate adaptation
too fall in the similar category since we understood that climate change has
economic implications as well.
From the perspective of economists, climate change is sometimes viewed
as new and untested hypothesis. Economists showed interest on economics of
global climate change and its impacts with major thrust on estimates of costs and
benefits of GHG emissions and its abatements.
Application of welfare economics, as a rule rather than exception, and
employing complex models that integrate climate and economies have been used
in these assessments.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 19

 Though the economic assessments are still in nascent phase in assessing
the climate change implications for disaster risk management, it is now possible to
arrive at broad calculations on economic implications of climate change
adaptation in terms of % of GDP.
The crux of the problem seems to lie in understanding the uncertainty of
future impacts on human and natural systems, which form the basis for
investments on the adaptation programs.
Hence, it was suggested to take into consideration the win-win options as
they tend to valid under broad range of circumstances and hence have low cost of
bad decision. Though the Kyoto Protocol is heavily based on mitigation approach,
globally it has been accepted that the adaptation also need to be considered
along with the mitigation and policy makers do understand and agree that the
adaptation efforts would affect the mitigation targets.
Also, the society can select any combination of risk avoidance systems
among mitigation and adaptation and such decisions affects the level of risks and
the costs of risk reduction. Cost-effectiveness has been found to be crucial factor
in climate change. They further stated that the risk reduction efforts of people are
affected by the economic circumstances and hence the economic circumstances
must be taken into consideration while making risk reduction recommendations.
Establishing climate change-proof disaster risk management mechanism is a
form of anticipatory adaptation mechanism. It is logical for governments to have
such investments as they may have to pay heavy price if further delayed or are
done after the impacts were felt. Policy considerations for anticipatory adaptation
are yet to be seen in many cities and municipalities.
Economic implications of anticipatory adaptation in disaster risk
management are a major deterrent to adaptation itself for many developing and
underdeveloped cities and municipalities. It is described that the least cost
approaches may not work in deciding suitable climate change adaptation
mechanisms as yet times the outputs of public negotiations may not consider cost
implications; for example, when it comes to deciding between the priorities of a
water storage structure for flood control and reliable water supply.
There is a reported difference of opinion between environmental managers
and non-environmental managers about the need to integrate environmental and
economic goals in a win-win combination. If we consider the opinion of non-
environmental managers as that of those representing the lay men, it makes
sense that the lay people place least importance for economic solutions or those
solutions that are going to cost to them in some form.
Significant studies are available for adaptation in agriculture which is one of
the climate vulnerable sectors. These studies consider farmers either as dumb or
intelligent in the point of adaptation to climate related impacts and study how
they adapt to it.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 20

 Comparing societies on the scale of adaptation readiness and adaptation
capacities will be an interesting contribution to the disaster risk reduction. Such a
comparison is challenged by number of limitations such as absence of baseline
information, different disaster profiles and underlying needs, and even differential
developmental contexts.

4. Hypothesis

In this part, the LDRRMC argued that there is a need for a change in existing
disaster risk reduction practices and presented a scheme and discussed its
limitations for mainstreaming climate change concerns in existing disaster risk
reduction systems.
There exist an opportunity to initiate actions for mainstreaming climate
change related concerns in the existing disaster risk reduction practices. That such
mainstreaming should be initiated with capacity building of local disaster risk
management personnel and policy makers such that they appreciate the linkage
between climate change and disasters while inculcating the culture of strategic
thinking.
Strategic thinking could further open up new avenues for further addressing
the problem of climate change risk reduction. Similarly, the process of
communicating uncertainty to policy makers gains importance in decision making.
Capacity building programs should incorporate suitable modules those will help
the policy makers and disaster risk management personnel to gain skills in
planning under uncertainty.
Another important aspect to be considered while pushing the agenda of
mainstreaming is developing appropriate tools and techniques that help the local
level players to identify and appreciate the role of climate change in their own
vicinity. This is only possible through a study on past climate disasters/impacts
across the municipality that identifies the loci or hotspots of climate change
impacts where the impacts could be clearly discerned from the available past
climate records.
These results could then be built into simple case studies and time series of
art diagrams showing, for example, the gradual impacts of climate change on local
flora and fauna or changing flood heights or frequencies etc that can be widely
distributed among the disaster risk management personnel and policy makers.
This adaptation plan should also bring out the characteristics of this
municipality is that made them vulnerable to climate change impacts. This would
not only facilitate players active in and near the loci or hotspots in designing
climate-proof disaster risk reduction planning, but also help others to understand
vulnerabilities of their location.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 21

 This would in turn help them to qualitatively downscale the regional broad
scenarios available to provincial, then municipal and if possible, down to the
barangay level.
In order this to happen, there is a need to move away from the attitude of
considering local level stakeholders as implementers to innovators who are
continuously learning and evolving.
We believe that the scheme presented in this paper helps in realizing
learning and evolving group of community that will be ready to absorb and
address uncertainty in decision making in local risk reduction and management.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 22

Climate Change in Action --- Greener by 2022

Indeed, while the Municipality of Magsaysay is fortunate in being able to

rely on its abundant resources; our society and way of life depend heavily on oil
for work-related travel and leisure activities, the production and transportation of
food and freight to consumption sites, mechanized agricultural production, and
many others.
Resolute reliance on energy efficiency and renewable energies is a winning
strategy. Accordingly, in addition to the imperative to reduce the use of fossil fuels
to curtail climate change, we also have an incentive to reduce our vulnerability to
the availability of fossil fuels and increases in their price.
Individuals and communities can also achieve savings and enhance their
quality of life through the numerous health and environmental benefits stemming
from a greener economy.
Today, following several years of climate change initiatives, we can conclude
that the Local Governments leadership is bearing fruit. That is why the
Municipality set in 2015 an ambitious objective for 2022, i.e. to reduce its GHG
emissions to 20% through its Sangguniang Bayan Resolution No. 60, series of
2014 A Resolution Adopting the Ecological Solid Waste Management Plan of
Magsaysay Davao del Sur and as embodied in the Code of General Ordinances of
the Municipality of Magsaysay, Davao del Sur and Providing Fines and Penalties
for Violating any of the Provision Thereof with the use of Citation Tickets.
It is through the overall efforts of the Local Government together with the
Local stakeholders and CSOs that significant gains in GHG reduction can be
achieved.
In the same way, from the standpoint of adaptation, our immediate,
concerted initiatives will avoid or minimize the human and financial costs
stemming from climate change impacts.
The well-being of our society, the soundness of our public finances and,
indirectly, the leeway available to future generations to build their future is at
stake. That is why the LDRRM Council has also adopted the Republic Act No 9729
also known as Climate Change Act of 2009 where An Act Mainstreaming Climate
Change Into Government Policy Formulations, Establishing the Framework
Strategy and Program on Climate Change, Creating for this Purpose the Climate
Change Commission, and for other Purposes, which targets the stakeholders and
sectors that are the most vulnerable to climate change impacts.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 23

Vision of the LCCAP 2022

By 2022, the Municipality of Magsaysay will have shown genuine leadership and
have contributed to the Province of Davao del Sur the effort to fight climate
change by reducing its GHG emissions by 20%.

Through its initiatives, the Local Government will have strengthened its societys
resilience to climate change impacts and have pursued the transition to a green,
prosperous, sustainable economy.

Opportunities to be Seized

As the NCCAP notes, the fight against climate change is being perceived
increasingly as an opportunity rather than a burden and as an avenue to
prosperity rather than an impediment to benefits and employment.

The new green economy is leading to invention, innovation and imagination at an

unprecedented level since the Industrial Revolution.

The Cost of Inaction

It is already very clear that the economic risks of inaction in the face of climate
change are very severeand the benefits of strong, early action considerably
outweigh the costs and must be viewed as an investment.

If these investments are made wisely, the costs will be manageable, and there will
be a wide range of opportunities for growth and development along the way.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 24

 CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION - COURSE of ACTION

Climate Change: A Financial Burden on Communities and People

Tropical Depression Lando ( )

The initial estimate includes costs to repair damages of municipal

infrastructure, including bridges and roads, and uninsurable damages to private
property

How can the Local Government Help?

Preparing a climate change action plan will help you to understand the
impacts and issues and how they affect your community.

The CCAP Guide will lead you through the process. This consists of two-parts:

1. Adaptation
2. Mitigation

More
Climate Change

Greenhouse Adaptation
Gas Emission Lesser
More
Less
Impacts
Mitigation

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 25

 ADAPTATION

1. Adaptation: Initiatives and measures to reduce the vulnerability of natural

and human systems against actual or expected climate change effects.

Examples are: developing storm water management plans; setbacks for

development; protective buffers; managed water supplies; infrastructure
assessment; emergency response plans; etc.

Adaptation: Step-by-Step Planning Framework

Step 1: Build a Team

Step 2: Identify Impacts

Step 3: Affected Locations

Step 4: Affected Facilities and Structures

Step 5 (a): Social Considerations

Step 5 (b): Economic Considerations

Step 5 (c): Environmental Considerations

Step 6: Priorities for Action

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 26

 Purpose of this Planning Exercise:
To begin the process of understanding how climate change will impact the
municipality over the long-term.

To clearly identify municipal priorities for adaptive action.

Step 1: Build a Team

Having a team prepare the plan helps to build capacity at the municipal-
level; in the long-run local capacity (knowledge & understanding of the issues) will
better enable you to tackle many of the climate issues affecting the community.

No mandatory public consultation.

Bring stakeholders into the process where applicable and
appropriate.

Step 2: Identify Impacts

More frequent storm events

Increasing storm intensity
Changes in precipitation and extreme precipitation events
Wetter Rainy Season
Drier summers with droughts and more forest fires
Flooding and flash-floods
Water (availability) constraints

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 27

 Step 3: Affected Locations

Flood-Prone Areas

Severe flooding also occurs in parts of

Table 2-7: Flood and Landslide Susceptibility Data

Barangay Name Landslide Flooding Other Remarks (areas for monitoring)

Susceptibility Susceptibility Hazards

Source: LDRRM Magsaysay, Davao del Sur

Step 4: Affected Facilities and Structures

Understand how infrastructure is affected by climate change, and how it

can be adapted over time to withstand changing conditions.

What hazards will impact facilities infrastructure/services?

Is location a factor, facility age, design capacity?

What other vulnerabilities exist?

Spreadsheets:
A checklist to help municipal engineers to access likely risks.

Step 5: Social, Economic, & Environmental Considerations

o Who will be affected, how are they impacted & who can help?
o Could climate change impact the local and regional economy, and if
so, how?
o Are there any environmental concerns or considerations related to
climate change?

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 28

 Step 6: Priorities for Action

Municipal priorities for climate change adaptation might include:

Public health & safety

Infrastructure
New development Policy & planning
Social considerations
Economic considerations
Environmental considerations

Priorities will form the basis of on-going adaptive action, and will be reflected
in the development of municipal policies and actions aimed at addressing issues
related to climate change.

MITIGATION

2. Mitigation: means implementing policies to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions.

Examples are: renewable energy projects; building insulation and energy

efficiency retrofits; furnace upgrades; energy conservation; public transit &
transit oriented development; green building design, etc.

Mitigation: Step-by-Step Planning Framework

Step 1: Collect Energy and Emission Information

Step 2: Complete Energy and Emission Inventory Table

Step 3: Set Goals and Identifying Action for Mitigation

To be undertaken by those barangays which have not already

conducted any kind of energy and emissions audit, prior to 2015.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 29

 All audits conducted as part of the program count.
Most barangays are compliant and have met this requirement of the
LCCAP.
Section on municipal goals for mitigation may require updating for
the LCCAP.

Final LCCAP Submission Date:

Guide release forthcoming (at the publishing stage)

Templates for both Adaptation & Mitigation components

Barangay Climate Change Action Plans

Barangays may choose to work together on a municipal level, to

tackle common impacts, issues and problems associated with
climate change.
Where this occurs, barangays can pool resources towards common
objectives, and wherever possible, barangays are encouraged to
work together in this capacity.
Barangays that do wish to work with one another should contact
MDRRMO to understand what the final plan content would entail,
and what the LCCAP remain.

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION A Clear Vision of Tomorrow

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 30

Municipalitys Vision for:

1. Education and Training (Research and Development)

By 2022 and beyond, the municipality will be a breeding ground for the
development and implementation of new technologies and solutions pertaining to
GHG emission reduction and adaptation to climate change.
Knowledge of climate change impacts, vulnerabilities and cost-benefit
analyses related to the implementation of GHG reduction and adaptation
solutions will be available and the government and its partners will use them to
make enlightened choices in the realm of climate change.
The LGU provides basic skills training among members of the Damayan sa
Barangay Panahon sa Kalamidad. Damayan is a volunteer group that acts as first
responders in times of calamities either man-made or natural. Moreover,
Damayan becomes part of the Flagship Program of the municipality of the current
administration.

2. Public Awareness and Citizen Engagement

By 2022 and beyond, the constituents of LGU Magsaysay will be mobilized

to contend with climate change and will have taken concrete steps to adapt to it
and reduce their GHG emissions.
LGU Magsaysay, Davao del Sur will remain a leader in the Province of Davao
del Sur in the realm of climate change.
Its objectives will be ambitious and will implement means of action that are
commensurate with its ambitions.
The Local Government Unit of Magsaysay, Davao del Sur takes extra steps in
the Climate Change Adaptation by organizing in the Barangay Level a Damayan sa
Barangay Panahon sa Kalamidad. As an organized group integral in the barangay,
they shall act as first responders in times of calamities either man-induced or
natural.

3. Government Exemplarity

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 31

 By 2022 and beyond, climate change tools will be increasingly integrated
into legislative and regulatory tools and the Local Governments planning and
decision support tools throughout the public administration.
The Local Government will have inspired businesses, communities and
individuals in the realm of climate change through innovative measures covering
its own operations.

4. Transportation

By 2022 and beyond, the LGU will be relying increasingly on the public
transit and alternative transportation available to them rather than solo car use
because such transportation will be readily accessible and efficient and because of
the numerous financial, social and environmental benefits they will derive from it.
Investments in energy efficiency and clean energies, inter-modality and
logistics will generate significant efficiency gains in all modes of transportation.

5. Industry

By 2022 and beyond, the municipalitys industry and agriculture will have
developed while innovating to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
The optimum conception of projects in order to limit new GHG emissions
will be one of the usual good practices of promoters and a factor that the public
administration will recognize when authorizing the projects and granting financial
support.
Businesses, especially in remote areas, will have better access to remote
renewable, less-polluting energies and rely on them more extensively.

6. Buildings, Infrastructure, and Public Works

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 32

 By 2022 and beyond, the municipality will be in the vanguard in the
construction of green, fuel-efficient buildings and infrastructures thanks to
reinforced standards and broader reliance on green technologies and materials.
The durability and safety of the buildings and infrastructure mostly likely to
be affected by climate change impacts will be ensured through design,
management and maintenance adapted to a context of climate change.
GHG emissions from the municipalitys building inventory will decline, in
particular through a reduction in the use of fuel oil to heat buildings and
conversion to renewable energies.

7. Agriculture

By 2022 and beyond, the agricultural sector will have a modified number of
its crop and livestock production practices in order to reduce their impact on GHG
emissions.
Through the acquisition of greenhouse heating systems and less energy-
consuming equipment or equipment that operates with local, renewable energies,
numerous farm producers will be less vulnerable to fluctuating oil prices.
In fact, our farmers are already practicing non-burning of rice straws and
corn cobs. The rice straws will be used as base and cover for mushroom
production. Through this effort, emissions of gases are being minimized.

8. Management of Residual Material

By 2022 and beyond, the amount of residual materials per capita generated
will decline.
The collection of organic matter to convert it through composting or
otherwise will be added to the collection of other recyclable materials and will be
part of the usual services offered. The residual waste materials will be utilized by
every household into pots for planting of ornamental and various crops.
GHG emissions from landfills will decline significantly since they will be
captured at most sites and organic matter will no longer be land filled but
converted.
9. Health

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 33

 By 2022 and beyond, despite changes in climate, the increased frequency
and intensity of extreme weather events and disasters, the health of individuals
and communities will be preserved. The MLGU together with the BLGU shall
utilize the organized group, Damayan sa Barangay Panahon sa Kalimadad to
facilitate the basic health services whenever calamity strikes in their respective
barangays. Damayan shall act as first responders during man-made or natural
calamities.

10. Economic Vision

By 2022 and beyond, firms that are likely to be affected by climate change
will be aware of their vulnerability.
They will be able to protect themselves from the adverse impact and seize
new opportunities stemming from climate change, thereby ensuring the resilience
of their economic activity and the local economy.

11. Ecosystem Conservation

By 2022 and beyond, the adaptation of the management of water

resources, biodiversity and ecosystems to climate change will foster the resilience
of ecosystems and the maintenance of the essential ecological services that
contribute to the municipalitys well-being and prosperity.

12. Monitoring and Evaluation

By 2022 and beyond, the Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan will be
closely monitored if the Standard Operating Procedures strictly followed, like,
prepositioning of registration, relief operation, medical and security services. If
the Search and Rescue (Responder) has been organized, equipped and trained.
For the evacuation center management, they shall be evaluated if centers for
evacuation has been identified, system for registration, information of evacuees
and early warning in-place. Furthermore, this plan shall be evaluated for a more
valuable and effective plan beyond year 2022. However, this shall also be
evaluated every 3 years corresponding to the term-limit of the Mayor.

STAYING ON COURSE

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 34

 In their capacity as partners of the Local Government in the fight against
climate change, LGU Magsaysay, businesses and communities must be informed
of progress stemming from the investments made to reduce GHG and adapt to
climate change within the framework of the LCCAP.

Coordination, follow-up and accountability

Each year, under the direction of the RA No. 9729, the Local Government
will publish a progress report on the implementation of the priorities defined in
the LCCAP. The report will present data on the implementation of initiatives and
programs stemming from the priorities and their cost, as well as concrete
examples of achievements. Data from the annual GHG emission inventory and the
review of transactions related to the GHG emission are other follow up tools.
The local government also intends to more exhaustively monitor changes in
progress achieved through the implementation of the priorities in the LCCAP
2022. To this end, a more general review of spinoff will be elaborated every three
years according to the following approach:

Emissions that are reduced or avoided that can be accounted for with
a sufficient degree of confidence according to existing protocols or
other methodologies will be presented in association with the
specific priority of the LCCAP from which they stem. For example, it
will be possible to account for GHG reductions obtained through the
installation of an energy efficiency device in an industrial
establishment or the conversion of an oil-fired building heating
system to electricity.

In some instances it is difficult to quantify the impact of initiatives or

programs for various reasons (diffuse impact, absence of protocols,
technical complexity or very high cost) or the impact is of a
qualitative nature. It may also be difficult to isolate their impact from
that of other variables, e.g. other priorities in the LCCAP,
complementary policies and socio-economic factors. In such
situations, an analysis by sector rather than by priority will be
emphasized to better account for the impact of the initiative or
program.

In the realm of adaptation, the 2015-2022 MDRRMP is the

cornerstone of initiatives in this field. The review that will be
conducted will highlight how the priorities in the LCCAP 2022 have
contributed to the attainment of the objectives in the Strategy. It will

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 35

 be crucial to pinpoint vulnerabilities in this process to ascertain
whether the initiatives implemented mitigate them.

Amendment Clause

MDRRM, within the first quarter of the succeeding year, will submit an
annual report relating to the progress of the implementation of the LCCAP.

This plan must be reviewed and amended every three (3) years to conform
towards the term of office of the elected government officials.

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 36

Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2015-2022) Page 37