COTABATO CITY (March 03, 2023) – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) based in the Philippines hosted the focus group discussion (FGD) on Climate Security Risk and Vulnerability Assessment in the Bangsamoro Region held in Kutawato Hall C of the EM Manor Hotel and Restaurant in this city on March 1, 2023.
The activity was participated in by the Bangsamoro Multimedia Network (BMN) Inc., the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS), and the Representatives of Mindanao State University (MSU) from the Province of Tawi-Tawi.
Sci. Dpl. Glenn S. Banaguas, President, Environmental and Climate Change Research Institute facilitated the activity.
UNDP is the UN agency tasked with helping communities in various countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development.
It has initiated a project for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) areas focusing on “climate security” to enhance the resiliency of those communities affected by calamities, to build capabilities in dealing with climate-related security risks from the regional level down to the municipality, and to ensure that the governments can budget for these efforts going forward.
UNDP presented the RISK based on the UN Framework that focused on assessing the hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of the communities where they are experiencing.
The agency explained that the program is currently being undertaken to help inform policy and programming at the regional and local levels, and this is being introduced not just to governments but also to multi-stakeholder partners.
The UNDP program guaranteed that their design will not only end up in conducting assessments but will also go for further series of implementation of services in order to achieve the goal that it wanted to ensure that climate action is peace-positive and that it promotes integrated solutions to climate change and sustainable peace.
During the FGD, the participants discussed their observations on the effects of tropical storm Paeng, which brought strong tidal waves in coastal areas like Barangay Simuay Seashore of Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao del Norte, and landslides in two towns of Maguindanao, which are Upi and Datu Blah Sinsuat.
The calamity brought havoc on the lives of residents and disrupted the communities’ economic activities and supply of water. It also left traumatizing effects on the affected constituents. ### (Faydiyah Samanodi Akmad, BMN/BangsamoroToday, Photo by Nhor-hamen S. Aplal/BMN-USM BSIR Intern)
