Project NOAH’ untimely end

When the news got out that Project NOAH was being terminated by government, the reaction among netizens was why? Cambridge University educated Dr.  Mahar Lagmay led a group of scientists in this landmark undertaking that is so relevant in our times of extreme weather disturbances.

NOAH stands for Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards. It was launched in the wake of two really disastrous typhoons in the early years of the Aquino administration. Its accomplishments since it was organized, have given people a sense of security that no government agency had been capable of doing before.

Of course what made the difference for Project NOAH was the fact that it is not a government agency and is not run by a government bureaucrat. It is a very mission oriented government funded project meant to harness science and technology to provide us with enough lead time to prepare for natural calamities and mitigate the devastating impact such calamities bring.

The Science secretary said they are not killing Project NOAH as much as the project has been completed and PAGASA will take over its functions. The Science secretary then added that if Dr. Lagmay can submit a new project proposal, they will be happy to evaluate it and possibly fund it. I think the problem is deeper than what the Science secretary lets on.

Lack of funds is a convenient bureaucratic excuse to not do anything. It also attempts to cover real reasons why. 

But why would DOST be so disinterested in a project that has received very positive reviews from many local and international sources? It can’t be because Project NOAH started during the Aquino administration. The DOST bureaucrats during the Aquino watch and who are still there now wanted to kill the project in the tailend of the last administration.

It can’t be because the boys of President Duterte want their own project and not one inherited from PNoy. Indeed, Agriculture secretary Manny Piñol was so impressed by Project NOAH and was surprised that it will be terminated. He was reported to have said that he will convince President Duterte to transfer the project under his department instead.

Could it be that government scientists are jealous of the success of Dr. Lagmay? The academic community could be rather vicious with fellow academicians who seem able to catch the imagination of a wider public. It is easy to suspect that this is why the Science secretary, who is an old hand in that sleepy academic bureaucracy, is stopping this upstart Lagmay by killing NOAH.

You have to be really stupid to believe the claim of the Science secretary that Project NOAH’s work is done. Look at the website of Project NOAH and tell me that its work is done. Indeed, its work will never be done for so long as natural calamities remain part of our lives in this country.

Okay, he would say, PAGASA will pick it up from NOAH.  And that is supposed to give me confidence the job will be done the way it should be?  PAGASA isn’t exactly known for timely and accurate weather forecasts. They are also underfunded and unappreciated. And the senior bureaucrats over them are too spineless to stand up for them.

And that’s the point — PAGASA has too much on its plate as it is and it doesn’t have the top caliber staff of Project NOAH. I am sure the PAGASA staff is only too happy to have more heads focused on the difficult task of weather forecasting. If there was no professional jealousy involved here, the Science secretary would have worked to keep Project NOAH going.

Indeed, Dr. Lagmay said they submitted new proposals to the Science and Technology Department last year that were largely ignored. Dr. Lagmay said it is easy to transfer the technology they developed under Project NOAH to PAGASA but he is more concerned about preserving the human resources behind the technology.

Dr. Lagmay, who earned his PhD in Geology from Cambridge University says, and rightly so, that human resources are more important than technology when it comes to assessing disaster risks in various parts of the country.

Interviewed by CNN Philippines, Lagmay laments that their team of 80 had already been reduced to 40 due to funding issues. He said losing the rest of the team of highly-skilled researchers and scientists will be a huge waste of investments.

“Kapag inisip ko yung disaster program, kailangan natin ng disaster scientists and we have invested heavily on them,” he said. He said that as team leader, he also wants to think of the future of people working for Project NOAH.

Asked if PAGASA has the skill and capability to take over Project NOAH’s research, tools, and technologies, Lagmay said it is doable to a certain extent. He added some of PAGASA’s employees have undergone some training with NOAH.

“Yung mga technologies, data, maps that we produced, it is available to everybody. Pwede naman gamitin yun. But yung human resource, papano?” he said.

NOAH’s mission, based on its website, is to undertake disaster science research and development, advance the use of cutting edge technologies and recommend innovative information services in government’s disaster prevention and mitigation efforts. NOAH has taken a multi-disciplinary approach in developing systems, tools, and other technologies that government can use to help prevent and mitigate disasters.

NOAH was tasked to integrate current disaster science research and development projects. Most of what NOAH has done so far are still work in progress and needs to be fine tuned and updated with more field data.

Presently these are the component projects under the NOAH program:

Hydromet Sensors distribution to measure rain and water level in relation to flooding; DREAM-LIDAR 3D Mapping to produce accurate flood and hazard maps for the country’s flood-prone areas discernible at a local scale or community level; Flood Information Network, a flood center that will provide timely and accurate information for flood early warning systems;

Strategic Communication; Disaster Management using WebGIS; Enhancing Geohazard Mapping through LIDAR and High-resolution Imagery; Doppler System Development; Landslide Sensors Development; Storm Surge Inundation Mapping; Weather Information Integration for System Enhancement (WISE).

I have seen a demonstration of how this Geohazard mapping works to help localized emergency response, identification of evacuation and access routes, road closures during disaster events, siting of key rescue facilities and comprehensive land use planning.

The initial output of Project NOAH is focused on the Marikina Watershed. As of July 6, 2012, streaming data are accessible online from the automated rain gauges and water level sensors, flood hazard maps overlain on Google Maps, graphical satellite radar and Doppler data forecasts, and translated rain intensity and volume measurements in terms of warning and evacuation level alarms, hours or days ahead of the flood event.

The output on the Marikina Watershed will serve as the prototype of the efforts done by NOAH and will be replicated for the entire Philippines. Another accomplishment of NOAH is its ability to transmit information it gathers in a timely manner using mass media and other communication channels.

In other words, NOAH is using advanced science and technology to improve disaster management capacity of local governments and reduce casualties and property loss from extreme hazard events.

The claim of the Science secretary that 15-20 of the original 80 people comprising NOAH’s staff of scientists and researchers will still have transition jobs beyond this month is not good enough. We are talking of highly qualified experts who have careers to think of and who can easily find work abroad where they will be better appreciated.

The problem with the Science secretary, is that he doesn’t seem to realize he has a good thing in Project NOAH, notably its scientists.  The Science Secretary, should pray very hard that no big natural calamity strikes the country soon after NOAH exits. There will be hell to pay.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco