NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENTAL LAW 2B Legal Framework of Adaptation to Climate Change, Philippines

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 3 ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE ........................................................... 4 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9729 .................................................................................... 5 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10121 .................................................................................. 6 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 8

INTRODUCTION What is climate change? The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate change as a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. The UNFCCC thus makes a distinction between climate change attributable to human activities altering the atmospheric composition, and climate variability attributable to natural causes. Persistent human activities like driving cars, farming, burning coal and cutting down forests produce greenhouse gases mainly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These gases gather in the atmosphere, wrap around the earth and trap the sun's heat. The more greenhouse gases we emit, the faster the world's climate heats up. This process is often called global warming but it is better to think of it as climate change because it is likely to bring about more extreme events floods, storms, cyclones, droughts and landslips rather than an increase in temperature alone. Climate change could have significant impacts on our economy, environment and the way we live the effects of a warming planet and subsequent changing climate patterns are already becoming evident. Our Congress have enacted many laws with respect to our environment and even the Supreme Court have the Writ of Kalikasan which helps protect our environment based on the landmark case of Oposa v. Factoran. But only two laws (R.A. No. 9729 and R.A. No. 10121) have been passed which specifically pertains to our climate change and the legal framework of which will be discussed in this short paper for academic purposes.

ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE Republic Acts 9729 (Climate Change Act of 2009) and 10121 (Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010), have defined the term adaptation as: the adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. The same law also defines climate change as: a change in climate that can' be identified by changes in the mean and/or variability of its properties and that persists for an extended period typically decades or longer, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. Adaptation to climate change in the Philippines targets different areas in our environment and these are: 1. Enhanced Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments; 2. Integrated Ecosystem-Based Management; 3. Climate-Responsive Agriculture; 4. Water Governance & Management; 5. Climate-Responsive Health Sector and; 6. Disaster Risk Reduction. But the main goal of our country with respect to climate change is to build the adaptive capacity of communities and increase the resilience of natural ecosystems to climate change, and optimize mitigation opportunities towards sustainable development. With this the Climate Change Commission has been created and it is the sole policy-making body of the government tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government relating to climate change. It has formulated the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change (NFSCC), National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) and guidelines for Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP). And different climate change adaptation programs have been made and are still on-going as of today and some of these programs are the Climate Change Adaptation Project in Sablayan, Mindoro Occidental and the Coral Triangle Support Program (CTSP): Climate Change Adaptation Activities.
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R.A. No. 9729 (Climate Change Act of 2009) The desire and plan to give attention and address a particular public concern gives rise to a policy being created. These policies are solutions to the present situations and concerns that our country faces each and every day. And one of the concerns that have been imminent is the problems with regard to climate change and the damaging effects that it causes to our environment. Because of this the National Government have enacted this law to combat climate change and give to the Local Government Units (LGU) their indispensable part in responding to climate change under Section 14 of this law which provides that: The LGUs shall be the frontline agencies in the formulation, planning and implementation of climate change action plans in their respective areas, consistent with the provisions of the Local Government Code, the Framework, and the National Climate Change Action Plan. The law further recognized the need of the State to strengthen, integrate, consolidate and institutionalize government initiatives to achieve coordination in the implementation of plans and programs to address climate change in the context of sustainable development and through this law the Climate Change Commission was created and Section 4 provides that: The Commission shall be 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. The primary goal of this act is to give each and every one of us the responsibility to help fight climate change by cooperating to our various LGUs for them to implement necessary programs to help our environment. This is consistent with the basic principle of collective responsibility and choices under Philippine Agenda 21 and this act facilitates coherent and cooperative human endeavour from all sectors of the society.
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R.A. No. 10121 (Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010) In line with the Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA) and the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), wherein the Philippines is a signatory to both, this law was created and enacted by our Congress. The HFA is the first plan to explain, describe and detail the work that is required from all different sectors and actors to reduce disaster losses. It was developed and agreed on with the many partners needed to reduce disaster risk governments, international agencies, disaster experts and many others - bringing them into a common system of coordination. The HFA outlines five priorities for action, and offers guiding principles and practical means for achieving disaster resilience. Its goal is to substantially reduce disaster losses by 2015 by building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. This means reducing loss of lives and social, economic, and environmental assets when hazards strike. On the other hand, AADMER is expected to provide a framework for the development of operational procedures to respond collectively and expeditiously to disasters. The Agreement will include provisions for movement of relief assistance, expedited customs and immigration clearance, etc. The utilisation of military and civilian personnel in disaster relief and the establishment of a centre to coordinate regional disaster response have been proposed as part of the Agreement. The Agreement will also include provisions for setting up an ASEAN disaster relief fund. The Agreement will also provide for simulation exercises to test emergency responses on a regular basis. R.A. 10121 seeks to adopt a disaster risk reduction and management approach that is holistic, comprehensive, integrated, and proactive in lessening the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of disasters including climate change, and promote the involvement and participation of all sectors and
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all stakeholders concerned, at all levels, especially the local community. It also seeks the development, promotion and implementation of a comprehensive National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP) and in mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate change in national and local development plans and development processes which is all embodied under Article 2 of this law. Basically this law was enacted to minimize and prevent future disasters that can occur and greatly damage our environment. Through this law the National Disaster Risk Reduction Councils (NDRRMC) were created to be the primary council in helping the disaster-affected areas and create plans to reduce the risks from happening again in the future and provide contingency plans if ever said risks will occur again.

REFERENCES http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-socio-culturalcommunity/item/the-asean-agreement-on-disaster-management-andemergency-response

http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2009/ra_9729_2009.html

http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2010/ra_10121_2010.html

http://www.unisdr.org/we/coordinate/hfa

http://wwf.org.ph/wwf3/programs/conservation/climatechange

http://emb.gov.ph/eeid/philagenda.htm

http://cordillerastudies.upb.edu.ph/ktrc/downloads/pdf/modules/module2.pdf