(in photo above) Representatives from the consortium members and stakeholders during the Climate Resilient Cities Training of Facilitators on CDRA, LCCAP, M&E, Proposal Development, and Annual Investment Plan Strategic Alignment.

The Philippines remains one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, with losses and damages projected to increase and intensify in the coming years. As frontliners against the climate crisis, local government units (LGUs) require urgent assistance to create ambitious plans of action to improve their resilience.

The cities of Iloilo, Legazpi, Batangas, Zamboanga, Borongan, and Cotabato are currently undertaking efforts to build their resiliency as part of the Climate Resilient Cities (CRC) project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Under the project, ICLEI Southeast Asia will train city representatives on the conduct of Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) and the development of Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP); and assist on the development/enhancement of their respective CDRAs and LCCAPs.

As its first activity, ICLEI SEA conducted a Training of Facilitators (ToF) on CDRA and LCCAP last 27-30 March 2023.

Over 30 CRS Catholic Relief Services (CRS) personnel working directly with the project cities as City Coordinators, Resilience Officers, and Nature-based Solutions experts were trained in foundational knowledge and skills in mainstreaming climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the local planning process.

It specifically provided a deep dive into the CDRA process, LCCAP stakeholder engagement, action prioritization, climate change vulnerability and risk assessment, GHG inventory accounting, climate finance, stakeholder engagement, monitoring and evaluation, and proposal development, among other key topics.

The training seeks to enable the CRS personnel to support their respective LGUs in preparing their CDRA; determine priority climate change adaptation and mitigation measures for their LCCAP; and develop bankable proposals.

After the 3.5-day training, the participants are expected to assist in the development of the CDRAs and LCCAPs of the project cities.

Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), CRC is a 5-year project to be implemented by a consortium led by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), Conservation International (CI), and the Manila Observatory (MO). ICLEI SEA serves as a consultant and will help guide Iloilo and Legazpi in their LCCAP and CDRA development journey.