By Christopher Lloyd T. Caliwan
MANILA, June 3 (PNA) -– The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Tuesday that government is bent on bolstering its disaster risk reduction management plans and building resilient communities with the help of the World Bank and international experts in a three-day workshop being hosted by the Philippines.
”It’s more learning between different countries. We have to learn the best practices and we appreciate the World Bank for organizing this capacity building training not only for the Philippines,” Catalina Cabral, Assistant Secretary of DPWH told the Philippines News Agency after her presentation during the Third East Asia regional workshop on Flood Risk Management and Urban Resiliency at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.
Cabral said that the knowledge-sharing workshop is an important step forward in advancing the application of integrated and strategic approach to flood risk management, and operationalization of the urban resilience principles.
Cabral said that in this workshop, each and every nation in the world should consider disasters and urban flooding in particular to be a serious development challenge.
She added that after the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda, government and stakeholders learned a lot on the importance of implementing disaster risk reduction measures and building better infrastructure that can withstand severe effects of climate change.
”Due to climate change, people should be more aggressive and better prepared. Our infrastructure should be designed to address typhoons on such magnitude. The school buildings they are very important, we should be able to build school buildings that can be stand 250 kilometers per hour to 280 kilometers per hour. This is the government’s plan not only in Metro Manila but for the rest of the country,” Cabral explained.
For his part, Motoo Konishi, Philippines Country Director of World Bank, thanked the Philippine government for hosting the international event and was impressed with the country’s continuing contribution to the regional and global agenda on urban resilience and flood risk management.
Konishi said the Philippines has been at the forefront in efforts to build disaster resiliency and some of these efforts are also supported by the World Bank.
”In Metro Manila, for example, the World Bank with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) has supported the Government in developing the Metro Manila Flood Management Master Plan. Based on a detailed flood risk assessment, the Plan proposes a 25-year investment program with engineered and non-engineered measures,” he said.
He added that it is in this context that the World Bank has also been supporting the Philippine Government, through its housing agencies, in finding feasible measures to ensure that the people’s quality of living is not harmed by the implementation of this large infrastructure program.
This requires finding measures (1) that ensure, at the minimum, people will continue to have access to livelihood opportunities and basic services such as water, sanitation education and health, among others; (2) that technical design solutions require minimal permanent relocation of people; and (3) that key stakeholders, in particular, communities themselves, are informed and actively involved in decision-making processes, Konishi said.
”From our engagement in the Philippines, but also in many other countries, we have seen that the biggest challenge in implementing integrated flood risk management programs and projects is not necessarily related to the technical or engineering aspects. Instead,the human side – specifically rehousing people out of dangerous zones, and changing public behavior on sanitation, such as solid waste management, are critical. The problems of the poor and vulnerable need to be considered in a long-term perspective to make cities inclusive, green and resilient,” he explained.
”I hope that this event will prove valuable to your work, that you will be able to interact and learn how other cities and countries have addressed flood risk and reduced the vulnerabilities. I also hope to continue working with our partners across the world to ensure that risks from urban floods do not hinder the prospects for development, poverty reduction and shared prosperity,” Konishi said.
The three-day workshop from June 3 to 5 is being attended by over 70 delegates from East Asia, South Asia and Africa. Delegates include officials from national and local governments, development partners and experts from around 10 countries across these regions.
Through case studies about national and city-level projects, the event will highlight practical and operational knowledge and lessons learned from the Philippines and other countries around the world, including Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, Senegal and Thailand.
The participants will also visit a number of project sites to learn innovative approaches in flood control and disaster prevention adopted in Metro Manila.
The gathering will help establish a community of leaders, practitioners and experts interested in promoting an integrated approach to flood risk management. (PNA)