Day 2 Morning Panel: Partnerships for Disaster and Climate Resilience #resilientPH

Over the past decades, millions of Filipinos have been adversely affected by natural disasters due to the country’s geographical location, physical environment and socio-economic development. Made up of more than 7,100 islands and with 36,000 kilometers coastline, the Philippines is highly vulnerable to natural hazards and climate change. Global warming, environmental degradation, high population density, rapid urbanization, persistent poverty and income inequality have amplified the destructive effects of natural hazards. The Philippines ranked as the third most disaster prone country in the world according to the World Risk Report. The World Bank estimated
that over half of the country’s total area and more than 80 per cent of its population are vulnerable to natural disasters. From 2000 to 2013, natural disasters have caused the death of nearly 20,000 and over $16 billion in socio-economic damages.

Numerous efforts are being made to reduce the country’s risk and vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change through, among others, legislation, regulation, information and advocacy campaigns, capacity building programs and projects and multi-stakeholder dialogues. The panel discussion and exchange of views will present the perspectives of the academic and scientific community, the Philippine Government and the United Nations on building resilience in the Philippine context. More specifically, the panelists will be invited to address the following questions:

(i) Resilience means different things to different people. How should resilience be understood in the Philippine context?

(ii) It has been said that our bio-geophysical and socio-economic environment are constantly changing such that super-typhoons and 5
other extreme weather events, magnified by the effects of climate change, are becoming the “new norm”. How do we transform our
thinking and our development model so that we not only quickly adapt to the “new norm” but anticipate and move ahead of it?

(iii) How can partnerships between and among the government, the private sector, NGOs and people’s organizations, the media, educational, scientific and technical institutions and the international community contribute to this transformation process?

(iv) How should we measure resilience? And how do we know if we are making progress towards resilience?

Moderator: Ms.Tina Monzon-Palma

Discussants:
1. Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ, President, Ateneo de Manila University
2. Secretary Lucille Sering, Vice-Chairman and Executive Director,
Climate Change Commission
3. Ms. Luiza Carvalho, Resident Coordinator, United Nations System
and Resident Representative, United Nations Development
Programme, Philippines
4. Vice Admiral Alexander Pama, Executive Director, National Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC)

Video for Day 2 (morning session) :

1. Keynote Statement: “The Challenge of Climate Change – A
Global Overview” (why it matters and what it means for the
Philippines)
Prof. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele
Vice-Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

2. Investing in Resilience in the Asia-Pacific Region
Mr. Stephen P. Groff
Vice-President for Operations, Asian Development Bank

3. Business Continuity in the Face of Natural Disasters
Mr. Federico Lopez
President and CEO, First Gen Corporation

Part 1

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Part 2

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

First Panel discussion : “Transforming Models and Mindsets for Resilience Part 1

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

First Panel discussion : “Transforming Models and Mindsets for Resilience Part 2

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream