UPLB project wins 2009 Global Development Marketplace grant

MANILA, Philippines - The UP Los Baños’ Farming Systems and Soil Resources Institute (FSSRI) was one of four Filipino organizations among 25 awardees from all over the world in the recently concluded 9th annual Global Development Marketplace (DM2009), a competitive grant program for innovation in development administered by the World Bank and sponsored by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the World Bank Institute.

With the theme “100 Ideas to Save the Planet,” the competition challenged participants to come up with an idea from their own communities to help save the planet and its people from the effects of climate change.

Over 1,700 entries from all over the world vied for the 25 grants of up to $200,000 each. Out of this, one hundred finalists from 47 countries, including eight from the Philippines, were invited to the World Bank’s headquarters in Washington DC to present their entries. Twenty-five, including the four Filipino groups, were eventually chosen to receive the grants.

The UPLB-FSSRI, led by College of Agriculture Crop Science specialist Dr. David Manalo, submitted a proposal titled “Bell and Bottle: Low-Cost Warning System for Flood/Slide-Prone Communities” under the sub-theme “Climate Adaptation and Disaster-Risk Management.”

The bell-and-bottle is an innovative early warning system consisting of soda bottles cut in half to catch and measure the amount of rainfall, and around 50 bells to serve as warning devices in case of possible floods or landslides. The project also aims to organize, educate and train local communities in order to improve their capacity to access and use hazard-risk information and thereby enhance their early-warning system, as well as improve other community-based responses to landslides and floods through information and related community-based activities.

The project, in partnership with the Center for Initiative and Research for Climate Adaptation, is designed to protect over 12,000 people from disasters, with around 15 to 20 remote communities in flood- and landslide-prone areas benefiting from the project.

Manalo also partnered with LAMBS Agri-mechanicals in the other winning entry titled “Floating Power Charger: Providing Light in the Darkness of Climate Change.” The floating power charger project aims to provide light to 2,000 to 2,400 people by installing 16 floating hydropower generators made mostly of recycled materials, and distributing 400 car batteries with lighting systems.

The project also aims to plant 100,000 trees per year that will provide additional sources of income for the beneficiaries.

“This is one of my sweetest wins, because it is the product of hard work, perseverance and conviction that the way to bring development to poor people is through an innovative and bottom-up approach,” Manalo said.

An internationally-recognized environment and community development advocate, Manalo is program director for the River, Power and Fiber Project which aims to bring sustainable lighting services and improved livelihood to poor coconut farmers in remote areas. This project had won for him and his team the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment in 2007.

This year, three of his project proposals made it to the 100 short-listed entries, with the third titled “Rice Farmers Look to Fish Farming to Cushion the Impact of Climate Change.” Of these three, two were chosen for the grant.

Since its inception in 1998, DM has awarded roughly $54 million to more than 1,000 projects through global, regional and country-level Marketplaces.

Noting the impressive performance of the Philippines in the DM2009, World Bank Acting Country Director Maryse Gautier was quoted as saying, “This goes to show just how creative Filipinos are in designing innovative solutions to development challenges.”   – Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta