Research grants awarded to 3 universities for projects mitigating climate change

MANILA, Philippines - A foundation dedicated to addressing climate-related hazards in the country’s disaster prone areas has awarded research grants to seven projects aimed at mitigating climate change.

Oscar M. Lopez (OML) Center for Climate ChangeAdaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, Inc. chairman Federico Lopez yesterday said the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and De La Salle University were recipients of a total of P13 million in funding for their project proposals.

The University of the Philippines has three projects which were combined into one program creatively called WHATSUP. It aims to develop a weather and hazard alert and tracking system for urban areas in the Philippines through the use of mobile applications.

With these proposals, anyone who owns a cell phone will be able to forecast and monitor local weather, assess disaster risks, and provide feedback to reduce forecasting errors.

The De La Salle University (DLSU) also has three proposals that were granted funding. DLSU will put up a flood detector system in their three chosen areas and develop a guidebook which will contain impacts of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures that are applicable to the agriculture sector.

Another notable proposal involves the design of a car floatation system that will enable cars to float when floods strike. Their third proposal involves the design of a mathematical model that can predict the economic consequences of man-made and natural disasters.