San Francisco in Camotes Islands can serve as example for community-based disaster-risk reduction initiatives, said a senator who also serves as a United Nations (UN) climate change representative.
The town located more than 500 kilometers southeast of Manila won the 2011 United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction, Senator Loren Legarda said on Wednesday.
Legarda is UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) Regional and Climate Change Adaptation for Asia-Pacific representative.
According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which sponsors the prize, the Sasakawa “is a symbol of excellence and outstanding achievement in environmental inspiration and action.”
The UNEP gives awardees “prestige, publicity and financial support.”
“This achievement brings great pride to the Philippines as it conveys that local governments can successfully take the lead in building the resilience of communities against disasters and climate change,” Legarda said.
The UN recognized San Francisco’s Purok system, a home-grown disaster-risk reduction that makes communities responsible for identifying areas at risk from environmental disasters like threats and landslides. The community-based approach allowed San Francisco to determine that the town was most at risk from fires, typhoons, and El Nino.
Based on documents submitted to the UNEP, the community-based approach allowed the town to put up early-warning systems and to put contingency plans in place.
Each purok was also tasked with keeping their neighborhoods and tourist spots in their area clean. This led to a boost in the number of San Francisco households using a solid waste management system.
To encourage participation in the program, the Municipal Government put up a prize of P20,000 for the best purok.
A grant of $50,000, which came with the award, will be used to pay for the town’s Two Million Trees project. The project aims to rehabilitate the watershed of Camotes Islands and prevent landslides. The project will also support the municipality’s Food for Work project.
According to the project proposal, “through the purok system, residents collect wild seedlings and participate in planting the trees, and in so doing, they generate income for themselves.”
Legarda said San Francisco’s approach to disaster-risk reduction should be copied across the nation.
“Disaster resilience is everybody’s business and it is essential that everyone in the community takes part in this effort. Elected leaders have a moral obligation to the people. We have the duty to take bold steps and empower our people to participate in addressing our communities’ concerns,” Legarda said.
The senator has been campaigning for Philippine towns and cities to take the initiative in making sure they can survive natural disasters.
In 2009, San Francisco also won the Expanded-Green Wholesome Environment that Nurtures (eGWEN) of the Province of Cebu in the partnership with Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.
eGwen aims to make Cebu an ideal place to live, work, play, invest and do business.
The project was expanded into five years through the Local Government Units who assisted and evaluates all the categories that sees programs against standards and performance indicators on cleanliness, sanitation and health; greening, protection and enhancement of the environment; creativity, artistry and aesthetic impact; and appreciation, promotion and nurturing culture and heritage.
