The OML Center, represented by Ms. Rafaela Jane Delfino and Dr. Noralene Uy, attended the Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA) to Climate Change National Workshop last October 9, 2013. The workshop was organized by Conservation International and the Samdhana Institute and participated by representatives from NGOs, CSOs, the academe and national line agencies in the country. With the theme “Study on Philippine EbA National Policies and Sharing of Community Experiences”, the workshop aimed to: (1) Promote Ecosystems-based Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation among key government agencies, LGUs, civil society, and the academe; (2) provide a venue for learning exchange and collaborative partnership and the continued documentation of evidenced-based EbA in our respective projects and programs; and 3) identify joint efforts to lobby EbA in local, national and international policy arena.

The program included a presentation on an international and national policy studies on the integration of EbA, and community stories from Mts. Kitanglad and Kimangkil in Bukidnon; Municipality of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur; Partido, Camarines Sur; Verde Island Passage in Batangas. Representatives from PAWB and DA also shared government initiatives on EbA. Participants also discussed various EbA-related initiatives, identified criteria and indicators for an effective EbA strategy, and explored ways of working together on the EbA activities.

EbA is now being promoted as an operational tool for adaptation at the international level by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Various initiatives are also being done at the local level. EbA strategies are aligned with the Center’s core research areas focusing on climate change adaptation, natural resources management and biodiversity.