Poor people most vulnerable to climate change – CCC chief

MANILA, Philippines – Efforts to address poverty and pursue sustainable development in the Philippines will go to waste if climate change adaptation measures are not put in place in the most vulnerable communities, according to the Climate Change Commission (CCC).

“There are evidence showing the poor are the worst-hit in weather-related disasters. Unless the government comes up with climate-risk sensitive development plans, efforts to reduce poverty are at risk of stalling or even of losing hard-won gains,” CCC Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman said.

Speaking at the Communities for Resilience (CORE) Convergence Forum in Bohol on July 27, De Guzman stressed the need to integrate disaster reduction and climate change adaptation into development policies, plans and programs both at the national and local government levels.

He said the opportunity to end poverty would be lost if the government fails to integrate adaptation to climate change into its poverty reduction initiatives, noting the nation’s poor – particularly farmers and fisherfolk – suffer the most from the ill-effects of climate change.

“Poor people tend to rely heavily on activities like agriculture, fishing and collecting natural resources, which are sensitive to climate change,” De Guzman said.

“It is also the poor suffering more during disasters. They often live, farm or hold assets in areas more exposed to droughts and floods, which put their homes, crops and livestock at greater risk,” he added.

CORE is a flagship CCC program which aims to increase competencies of local government units on risk information database, competency development on disaster risk management, climate change adaptation and mitigation and mainstreaming of climate change, and disaster risk reduction in local development planning and knowledge management.

De Guzman said that climate change adaptation offers cost-effective approaches to reduce the negative impact of natural hazards and extreme weather events on communities when included in local development plans.

He said engaging rural people in the adaptation process is vital in strengthening public decision-making.

“Farmers and fisherfolk need to have a strong voice in adaptation processes so they can articulate their concerns and priorities, as their views are grounded on their daily lives,” De Guzman said.

Citing the latest World Bank Group report, the agency said that climate change might push more than 100 million people into poverty in the next 15 years.

“Farming and fishing communities, the report said, are increasingly vulnerable to heavy rainfall and floods that threaten to decimate their crops and livelihoods,” it said.