Celso, NDCC, OCD set climate change summit Feb. 3
Mayor Celso Lobregat yesterday said a summit on climate change aimed primarily to explain the science and future impact projections as well as discuss relevant strategies on how communities can adapt to climate change is set on February 3 in the city.
Dubbed “Multi-stakeholder Forum on Climate Change Adaptation, the Summit will be themed “Reducing Disaster Risk in a Changing Climate”. It will be a joint initiative of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), Office of Civil Defense and the city government of Zamboanga. It will be held at the City Coliseum on February 3.
Lobregat said the summit is very timely, as it comes after the massive flooding in Metro Manila and the earthquake in Haiti located in the western hemisphere which brought mass destruction to properties and resulted to loss of lives.
A year ago, the city government initiated the first ever Summit on Global Warming in Mindanao where over 12,000 participants turned up for the important activity.
The mayor said the proposed activity will make people well informed on measures on how to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The participants to the February 3 summit will be representatives from national government, local government, non-government organizations, academe, private sector/ business organizations, communities/ vulnerable sectors and the media.
No less than Hon. Norberto Gonzales, NDCC chairman and acting secretary of the Department of National Defense will keynote the event. Various speakers, who are experts on disaster management and the climate change phenomenon, have been invited to share insights to the participants.
Scientists predict that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones and droughts. It is widely recognized that climate change is real and a major threat to socio-economic, environmental and human development. It is also likely that it will lead to other changes such as ecosystem degradation, reduced availability of water and food and changes to livelihoods, that will increase the vulnerability of communities to natural hazards.
The city government, it is recalled, has created Task Force Contra Avenida through an executive order issued by Mayor Lobregat setting the stage for the implementation of a comprehensive and long term flood control and drainage program in flood prone areas of the city.
The Summit on Disaster Preparedness for Global Warming and Food Security, initiated by the city last May 27, 2008, that involved different stakeholders from the national and local levels brought the concern of climate change in the public’s consciousness and provided information on doable safety measures. (Sheila Covarrubias)