Senator Loren Legarda on Wednesday underscored the best practices in climate change adaptation by communities and urged other local governments to follow suit, especially with the alarming statistics on disaster risks and the natural hazards expected to visit the country in the last month of the year.

One of the best practices in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) in the Philippines is the purok system in San Francisco town in Camotes Island, Cebu, which won the 2011 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction. The purok system focuses on addressing the vulnerability of every barangay in the municipality by mobilizing local resources in creating local and practical solutions based on the unique needs of every community.

San Francisco, along with Makati City and Albay, are among the UN’s 29 model communities worldwide that are exemplars in disaster risk reduction and management.

Makati City was included in the list for integrating DRR practices and policies in its system of governance, most especially in urban planning, health programs, disaster response and risk governance; while the Province of Albay was recognized for its focus on preparing comprehensive land use plans that address climate and disaster risks, and for investing in disaster-resilient infrastructure.

In Montalban, Rizal province, a group of women farmers started to practice agroforestry to adapt to the prolonged wet season; while in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, a group of women fisherfolk reforested over a hundred hectares of mangrove areas to protect their settlements from storm surges and secure additional source of food for their families.

Meanwhile, the Province of Bulacan won the Best Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in the National Gawad Kalasag 2012 for its effective management of the dams in the province.

“We have many best practices that other LGUs can use as guide in crafting their own programs. Communities that have yet to establish DRR and CCA practices should start now with both a short-term plan for the natural hazards expected to come within the next months, and a long-term program to ensure disaster-resilient communities in the future,” Legarda concluded.