Author: climaterealityph

#RealiTalk: International Day of Persons with Disabilities with Daphne Marie Siega

Post author By climaterealityph
Post date December 8, 2021
2 Comments on #RealiTalk: International Day of Persons with Disabilities with Daphne Marie Siega

#RealiTalk: International Day of Persons with Disabilities with Daphne Marie Siega

December 8, 2021

For our last #Realitalk feature for 2021, we talked to Pinoy Climate Reality Leader Daphne Siega on the need for a disability-inclusive approach when taking action to address climate change.

Daphne is a writer, environmental advocate, and special education teacher who co-founded R.E.E.F.S (Ripple Effect: Empowering the Future towards Sustainability)—a non-profit organization that empowers local communities to conserve the ocean ecosystem by educating and promoting sustainable local livelihoods.

For Daphne, ensuring an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future for persons with disabilities (PWDs) will be a long and meandering journey that will require the involvement and collaboration of all public and private sectors. All sectors must work together to provide PWDs with better access to resources, healthcare, information, and services necessary to adapt to the effects of climate change.

People with disabilities are a resource, not a burden. As a special education teacher, you have worked with children and youth who have a variety of disabilities and special needs. What do you think is the role of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in ensuring a holistic response to the climate crisis that truly leaves no one behind?

Daphne: We are all created uniquely and distinctively. Being endowed with special gifts comes with the need to respond to a challenge. Just a brief background, I started my career in the corporate sector, both locally and abroad. I was grateful for the experiences and learnings, yet I was searching for something deeper, something more meaningful. I had the privilege of working with Students With Additional Needs (SWAN for short) and I began to view the world differently. They taught me how to enjoy the simplest of things. They also showed me that what is most essential in life has been provided to us in abundance, and that is nature. It has been helpful to humans, it is a great source of oxygen, it eases muscle tension, it is good for the heart, it is beneficial to our mental health, and most importantly, it strengthens our immune system.

PWDs speak to us in volume, that nature and people (with or without disabilities alike) must work together in harmony. In their own capacities, PWDs can make a significant contribution starting from their own home, where parents play a crucial role. These include food waste reduction, vegetable gardening, choosing foods with less packaging, water conservation, trash segregation, unplugging electronic devices when not in use, and many more. Things done repeatedly become a habit until they become part of their daily living.

We need to understand and appreciate the very foundation of our existence before we dive into the complexities. For humans to prosper and thrive, we must protect our forests, oceans, and soils. Action must be taken collectively, leaving no one behind, before time runs out.

Last year, the United Nations released its first-ever report on disability rights in the context of climate action. Why do you think it took so long for the rights of PWDs to be mainstreamed in climate conversations?

Daphne: In an article published by Human Rights Watch, women, indigenous peoples, and youth sectors have successfully become part of discussions around climate action. On the other hand, the involvement of the PWD in terms of the climate crisis has been overlooked—a sector that has been vulnerable and voiceless.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the estimated Philippine population for the year 2020 was 109 million. Out of this number, approximately 53 million are women, 17 million are indigenous peoples, and 19 million are youth. Based on the 2010 Census, the population of PWDs in the Philippines is approximately 1.8 million, or a prevalence of about 1.7%. There has been no updated data available to date, part of the challenge perhaps is the data collection and consolidation since there are different types of PWDs, such as physical, developmental, behavioral/emotional, and sensory impaired disorders. Aside from these, there are also different subcategories under each type. These aspects may possibly be one of the reasons why the rights of the PWDs took so long to be mainstreamed and that the support network they receive is insufficient.

However, the United Nations Human Rights Council made history when it finally adopted a resolution on climate change and the rights of people with disabilities were being given impetus. The resolution calls on governments to adopt a disability-inclusive approach when taking action to address climate change. This will mean better access to adequate resources, healthcare, information, and services necessary to adapt to the effects of climate change.

Regardless of which sector we belong to, what we’re fighting for is beyond economic and political progression. If our environment collapses, everything else follows. Being one of the vulnerable sectors, PWDs also have the right to have clean air, water, land, healthy food, and safe environment. It is a challenge to the government, cause-oriented private organizations, and all individuals for that matter to be a voice for the PWDs for they deserve to be heard.

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"Regardless of which sector we belong to, what we’re fighting for is beyond economic and political progression. If our environment collapses, everything else follows. Being one of the vulnerable sectors, PWDs also have the right to have clean air, water, land, healthy food, and safe environment."

DAPHNE SIEGA

Disability inclusion is an essential condition to upholding human rights and sustainable development. Do we have existing policies and programs in the country that integrates disability inclusion in critical policymaking and planning processes?

Daphne: Our constitution is a vital symbol of democracy in the country. It upholds a just and humane society wherein individuals have equal opportunities to succeed in life. It also serves to protect and conserve our natural environment including but not limited to our forests, mangroves, wildlife, and flora and fauna. The aforementioned are the fundamental principles of our policies and programs related to disability inclusion. Specifically, under Philippine law, PWDs are assisted and protected through Republic Act No. 7277. PWDs are part of the Philippine society, therefore be given full support to the improvement of their total well-being and their integration into the mainstream of society. The state shall adopt policies ensuring the rehabilitation, self-development, and self-reliance of PWDs.

We also have the “Accessibility Law” (Batas Pambansa Bilang 344), an act to enhance the mobility of PWDs by requiring certain buildings, institutions, establishments, and public utilities to install facilities and other devices to promote the realization of the rights of PWDs. They are entitled to participate fully in the social life and the development of the societies in which they live.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of PWDs (UNCRPD), to which the Philippines is a signatory, also provides for the protection and safety of PWDs in natural disasters.

World leaders also promoted a universal, integrated, and transformative vision for a better world via the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a blueprint to achieve a healthier, more sustainable future for all. PWDs are referenced in various parts of the SDGs, specifically in parts related to education, growth and employment, equality, accessibility of human settlements that are inclusive, safe, and sustainable.

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"To promote equality, we must provide opportunities for education, employment, healthcare, and political participation. Consequently, PWDs will be empowered to lead more independent lives and contribute to the well-being of their families and communities, thereby creating together a more inclusive economy."

DAPHNE SIEGA

How can the government and the development sector ensure the inclusion of PWD rights in global, national, and local climate action planning?

Daphne: In the context of biophilia, our relationship with the natural environment is innate. Our planet, in its essential nature, is the motion and exchange of energy and information. This movement will continue to flow freely when the government, international and local organizations, as well as the private sector, work hand-in-hand with communities including PWDs when it comes to implementing and adopting policies related to climate action. Listed below are the following propositions:

Implement universal designs and create green spaces like parks, playgrounds, and community gardens. These spaces can promote positive social interactions and help improve physical and mental health;
Promote and showcase existing projects where PWDs are actively involved to serve as inspiration to other districts and communities;
Provide recognition and incentives to PWDs who are environmental champions and advocates;
Invite PWDs as guest speakers of environmental events, either virtually or physically;
Obtain updated roster of PWDs and coordinate with concerned LGUs as part of the disaster management plan;
Recognize the needs of PWDs as a demographic variable to tailor public health programs and policy development;
Involve and take part in local and global environmental activities like tree planting, composting, clean-ups, and so forth; and
Appoint a representative on a municipal, provincial, and national level to attend and participate in any climate-related meetings especially when crucial decisions or new policies are to be made.

Moreover, as we address the technical aspects, it is also imperative that we, as individuals, examine and re-evaluate how we can serve humanity. We are all capable of giving, loving, and showing appreciation to mother nature and our fellow human beings, including the PWDs. When we share a part of ourselves, our talent, our time, we can make a difference in this world and make it a better place for generations to come.

What is your hope and vision for the Philippines when it comes to advancing the principles of equality, equity, and inclusion in the context of PWD rights?

Daphne: Another aspect that needs to be addressed in advancing the principles of equality, equity, and inclusion is the inculcation of values. This may directly or indirectly come from our family-community-school relationships. Values are important because they influence our thoughts, feelings, opinions, and actions. They shape our life experiences. The trust and respect that are fostered help cultivate positive relationships. Value-laden measures play a significant role in the attainment of our desire to improve our society. We must cultivate our inner values with integrity and compassion. Love, compassion, justice, and peace flow generously when we are grounded.

In closing, it is a challenge for all of us to be more appreciative of the beauty of others—to see the ability and capacity, not the disability. May we guide them as they blossom and reach their fullest potential.

disability-inclusive climate actions, intersectionality, PWDs

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From Our Partner

Media Release from OML Center: Advocates get grant to narrate stories of how communities would look like 100 years from now

Media Release from OML Center: Advocates get grant to narrate stories of how communities would look like 100 years from now

December 6, 2021

A group of advocates received a grant from the Climate Media Labs, helping it produce visual renditions of how five communities would look like one hundred years from now based on climate change projections.

Team DanTAOn, composed of Arch. Arlene Christy Lusterio, Isabelle Therese Baguisi, Jolly Anne Gibe, Min-Roselle Malunhao, and Ma. Theresa Amor Tan Singco, was awarded a P70,000 Umalohokan Grant by the Labs, which was organized and funded by the Oscar M. Lopez Center. Named after town criers who disseminated news in pre-colonial Philippines, the grant will help Team DanTAOn and four other groups to fully implement their campaign and communications research plans, the OML Center said.

One of Team DanTAOn’s campaign goals is to “capture and share narratives of people who experience disasters and climate crises to persuade positive action and hold the drivers of climate risks accountable.”

The online platform it plans to establish also seeks to “provide an accessible and interactive climate data platform that would support communities in disaster imagination and climate action.”

Based on its campaign plan, Team DanTAOn (loosely translated as a century hence) will take pictures, produce short videos, and write creative non-fiction pieces narrating the stories of several vulnerable communities across the country. These pieces of multimedia content will then be uploaded to an online platform that the team will also put up.

Communities to be featured include those living on Manicani island, a small island in Guian, Eastern Samar; Lupang Arenda, a lakeshore area in Taytay, Rizal; Kasiglahan Village and Southville, a resettlement site in Rodriguez, Rizal; Tanza Dos Navotas, an urban coastal area in Metro Manila; and coastal and lowland areas of Zamboanga del Sur.

All five areas have felt the effects of climate change in different ways, the group said in its campaign plan. While small islands like Manicani are threatened by rising sea levels, the two communities living in Rizal have “experienced extremely hot summer days,” resulting in rising electricity bills, among others, the group said.

According to its campaign plan, the team will also organize a public forum and a film-showing and produce information, education, and communications materials regarding the issue. The events and the materials are expected to further increase awareness about climate change among its partner communities and local governments, the group said.

Besides Team DanTAOn, the other Umalohokan grantees are Team Bicol Umalohokan, which intends to focus on sustainable food production and consumption practices; Team Philstar.com G-Unit, which will help promote new, climate-resilient farming methods; Team Bintuwak, which emphasizes the importance of indigenous knowledge for river conservation; and, Team Salikhain Kolektib, which will make short videos about life on small islands that are threatened by rising sea levels.

All five Umalohokan grantees belong to a larger group of ten teams whose members have all been given Umalohokan Fellowships. The fellowships entitled members of all the groups to attend the Climate Media Labs, a six-week learning program that sharpened their knowledge about the basics of climate science, climate change communications, among others.

All teams submitted climate story pitches as part of their applications for the Umalohokan Fellowship to the Climate Media Labs. Most, if not all the pitches involved climate stories that were either unreported or underreported, a fact that was brought up by Mr. Chris Wright, founder and managing director of Climate Tracker, a partner of the Climate Media Labs.

During his speaking engagement at one of the Climate Media Lab sessions, Mr. Wright said that “the kind of stories that don’t get reported enough are probably the adaptation and mitigation efforts at the barangay level.”

“There is a big focus on what the national government and the international community is doing but not enough to celebrate what small communities are able to achieve,” he said, underscoring one of the goals of the Climate Media Labs.

Mr. Wright is one of the scientists and experts who delivered lectures for the Labs, including Ms. Lourdes Tibig, the lead author of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate; Dr. Ma. Laurice Jamero, a contributing author of the recently released Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Reporter of the IPCC; and Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, the founder and Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Developed with Climate Tracker, the Climate Media Labs is just one of several efforts of the OML Center to increase awareness about climate change.

“While the science on climate change in the Philippines has increased ever since our Center was established in 2012, appropriate action is still lacking,” said Perpi A. Tiongson, the OML Center’s Associate Director. “Communicating climate change and the potential for enabling action remain big challenges. The Climate Media Labs is one of the ways of helping provide context of the risks and impacts of climate change and of enabling action through documenting realities and surfacing stories of local experiences.”

One of the ten teams that took part in the Climate Media Labs will receive a final grant of P150,000 for the most creative and successful execution of their blitz campaigns and research projects on the most relevant issue of their target community.

***

This is a media release from the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, Inc. (OML Center).

The Climate Reality Project Philippines is a media partner for the OML Center’s Balangay Media Project.

climate change reporting, climate communications, OML Center

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Eleventh Hour at the Manila Bulletin

Eleventh Hour: Turning the wheels of the circular economy in the Philippines

Post author By climaterealityph
Post date December 4, 2021
1 Comment on Eleventh Hour: Turning the wheels of the circular economy in the Philippines

Eleventh Hour: Turning the wheels of the circular economy in the Philippines

December 4, 2021

By Carlo Delantar

In the discussion of the circular economy in the Philippines, where are we headed?

The conversation on the circular economy in the Philippines is growing in momentum, especially in small circles. As a practitioner myself, it’s interesting to see the conversation evolve into practice. The past few years have seen a surge in circular activity in the country, with the eruption of sustainability agencies, firms, and organizations. As it is commonly put, there is more to do and much more to achieve. But in a country that reuses Selecta ice cream containers until cracks form, I often wonder why the discussion on circular economy remains small.

Filipinos have long been observing circular practices despite being unaware of the textbook and definitive label. It is more of a matter of re-education. There is a definite lack of proper circular education being introduced to Filipinos, which grows to be a larger concern considering the expanse of natural resources we’re cohabitating with. This puts us on the vanguard of responsibility. How do we, as Filipinos, begin observing an economy that integrates restorative and regenerative practices by adopting a framework that lengthens the life of a single product?

First and foremost, one must distinguish the circular economy from the prevailing linear economy. The linear economy is what we see every day. Capitalistic mindsets have prompted producers into adopting a waste-laden process to production. In short, the raw materials being made into consumable products are often discarded after use. Contrasting this against the workings of its opposite, the circular economy works to close the cycles of these raw materials, effectively heightening the length of material life.

The former instigates the over-mining of resources and the excess of polluting practices, both of which have proven to bring humanity closer to an uncertain future—one that is grim, bleak, and above all, inhabitable. But on the other hand, circular economy provides something that earlier frameworks of production could not—it is future-proof. In short, it can be labeled as “Sustainability 4.0,” which is sustainability, coupled with the innovative capabilities of an industrial revolution.

In the Philippines, efforts being undertaken to involve circular practices are slowly taking their strides. The main concern to tackle: How do we shrink the loops of production? The agenda of the Philippine circular economy focuses on four pillars: fashion, food, plastics, and electronics. These pillars serve as the prime concentration for circular efforts in the country, as each holds high stakes in the increasing demand for sustainability. For example, what kind of intervention can we introduce to lessen and eventually eliminate retasos (excess fabrics)?

Such efforts align with the three (3) principles of the circular economy: designing out waste and pollution; keeping materials and products in use; and regenerating natural systems. Abiding by the tenets of sustainability, the circular economy is slowly making ripples and waves across different disciplines and sectors, whether it be in the creative industry or manufacturing. It provides a platform where you can bring in sustainability aspects with high-tech and low-tech, thus creating a paradigm shift where things are designed and produced without capital gains in mind.

Through the organization Circulo, we are placing emphasis on the necessity of an innovation-led sustainability approach. While the previous industrial revolution acclimated us to a heightened quality of life, the cost came with the exhaustion of our resources. But other local organizations and initiatives have also taken it upon themselves to spread the doctrine of circularity. Change agency Tayo has recently partnered with design studio, And A Half, to produce a circularity resource book, detailing the steps taken and needed to advance the movement.

There has been a significant increase in secondhand clothing consumption within select markets, marked by the increase in “ukay-ukay” vendors on social media. Aside from that, plastic collected by large corporations is being reconstructed and utilized as binder agents in construction materials and furniture. With all these examples in mind, it seems that circling back and thinking simpler may be key. But how else can we integrate ourselves and our practices in the circular dimension?

Slowly but surely, we are moving towards an era where thinking twice before producing (or even purchasing) a product will be a consistent habit. Last month, we opened applications for the Circulars Accelerator Cohort 2022. The prompt dictated: “Do you have the next big idea for shifting to a circular economy?” The future is circular. Be part of a sustainable future.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carlo Delantar is a Climate Reality Leader and a Circular Economy Pioneer at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. He is the founding partner of Core Capital, which invests in the next generation of the Philippines’ most promising startups. He is also the Head of Circular Economy at Gobi Partners, where he leads investments in innovative companies that champion sustainability. Previously an award-winning social entrepreneur, his work as the Country Director of Waves For Water Philippines (W4W), a non-profit providing access to clean water, impacted one million Filipinos. He was also the co-chair of the Global Shapers Climate Action Steering Committee at the World Economic Forum.

ABOUT ELEVENTH HOUR

This article was originally published on The Climate Reality Project Philippines’ weekly column for the Manila Bulletin called Eleventh Hour.

This column serves a digital space to discuss our organization’s work on supporting the country’s just transition into a clean, affordable, and self-sufficient energy system; advancing sustainable urban mobility to highlight the issues of equity and democracy; and raising public awareness about the need to phase out single-use plastics. It also serves as a platform for Pinoy Climate Reality Leaders to share your stories, promote your climate initiatives, and provide critical insights to issues that matter to climate action, environmental protection, and sustainable development.

circular economy, sustainable development, waste

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From Our Partner

Media Release from OML Center: Climate advocates in Bicol region get grant to promote seed-saving, sustainable farming

Post author By climaterealityph
Post date December 2, 2021
1 Comment on Media Release from OML Center: Climate advocates in Bicol region get grant to promote seed-saving, sustainable farming

Media Release from OML Center: Climate advocates in Bicol region get grant to promote seed-saving, sustainable farming

December 2, 2021

A group of environmental advocates in the Bicol region received a cash grant from the Climate Media Labs, helping them promote seed-saving, one of several methods involved in sustainable farming.

Team Bicol Umalohokan, composed of Mavic Conde, Rome Candaza, and Apple Allison Perez, received PhP 70,000 to implement a public awareness campaign about farming methods that will make crops more climate-resilient and less dependent on chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

As one of the awardees of the Labs’ Umalohokan Implementation Grant, the Bicol-based group is set to produce, among others, feature and in-depth reports highlighting the benefits of sustainable production and consumption.

To this end, Team Bicol Umalohokan recently published a feature story about the Tarabangan sa Bicol Inc. Farm, an organic farm in Legazpi City. The facility conducts tests on rice varieties and recommends the better ones to farmers who will then adopt and breed them.

Seed-saving helps farmers cut costs because “it prevents them from getting burdened by debts just to buy chemical fertilizers,” said the feature story entitled “Why Balik Binhi program is a proactive climate response.” Dated October 30, 2021, it was written by Mavic Conde, and published by bulatlat.com.

Through its awareness campaign, the group seeks to promote seed-saving, show how local government units can support it, and how humanitarian organizations can scale it up.

Its published report is just one of several stories that the group will write as part of its campaign pitch, which it submitted when its members applied for inclusion at the Climate Media Labs.

In late August, Team Bicol Umalohokan was one of ten groups which were given Umalohokan Fellowships by the Labs, sponsored by the Oscar M. Lopez Center. As fellows, they were entitled to attend the six-week learning program which was participated in by local and foreign climate scientists and climate communicators.

In October, five teams — including Team Bicol Umalohokan — were given the Umalohokan Implementation Grants that enabled them to implement their campaign pitches. Named after the town criers who disseminated news in communities in pre-colonial Philippines, the Umalohokan grant will help the teams fully implement their campaign and communications research plans, the OML Center said.

Four other teams that received the implementation grant were Team Salikhain Kolektib, which intends to narrate the challenges faced by communities on small islands threatened by rising sea levels; Team Philstar.com G-Unit, which seeks to convince farmers to use new technologies and climate-resilient methods; Team DanTAOn, which aims to amplify the voices of the most vulnerable sectors; and last but not least, Team Bintuwak, which plans to emphasize the role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSP) of Nabaoynons in Malay, Aklan in developing local resilience.

Most, if not all the pitches involved climate issues which could be best told through storytelling, which in turn was brought up by Anthony Leiserowitz, Founder & Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

“Storytelling is essential to telling each of these ideas,” Dr. Leiserowitz said during one of the sessions of the Climate Media Labs. “It’s not just giving people facts, it’s actually letting them hear the stories, especially first-person stories, that can bolster, that can reinforce each of these ideas to become firm conclusions about climate change.”

Dr. Leiserowitz is one of the scientists and experts who delivered lectures for the Labs. Other featured experts include Ms. Lourdes Tibig, the lead author of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate; Ms. Ma. Laurice Jamero, a contributing author of the recently released Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Reporter of the IPCC; and Dr. Laura David, who heads the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute.

A final Umalohokan grant of PhP 150,000 awaits the team that most creatively and successfully executes their blitz campaigns and research projects on the most relevant climate issue of their community.

***

This is a media release from the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, Inc. (OML Center).

The Climate Reality Project Philippines is a media partner for the OML Center’s Balangay Media Project.

climate change reporting, climate communications, climate science, climate smart agriculture, OML Center, partnerships, sustainable food systems

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Press Releases

Youth activists vow to continue climate work despite COP26 setback

Post author By climaterealityph
Post date December 2, 2021
1 Comment on Youth activists vow to continue climate work despite COP26 setback

Youth activists vow to continue climate work despite COP26 setback

December 2, 2021

Quezon City – Giving the recently concluded 26th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) a failing mark, Filipino youth climate activists vowed to continue driving the work of the climate movement towards a just and sustainable world that stays below 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming.

This was highlighted during the 20th episode of The Climate Reality Project Philippines’ Klimatotohanan webcast series entitled Not Voiceless, But Unheard: Exploring the Role of Youth in COP and Beyond.

The two-week global climate change conference wrapped up on 14 November with the Glasgow Climate Pact that left climate activists across the world, including Climate Reality Philippines, disappointed as it fell short of including a provision to “phase out” coal, develop a joint plan that will ensure the yearly delivery of the committed $100-billion climate finance to developing countries, and set up specific facilities for reparation for the communities enduring the impacts of developed world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

COP26: Pass or fail?

Asked what grade they would give COP26, Climate Reality Leader Patrick Ryan Bello said he will give it a “4,” which is considered a “conditional failure” in the University of the Philippines’ grading system.

Bello is a member of the C40 Global Youth & Mayors Forum, a first-of-its-kind platform that brings together 14 youth climate leaders and six (6) mayors to work together to shape how the vision of a Global Green New Deal can be made a reality in cities across the world.

“I’m giving this grade because the climate change issue has been with us for a long time and up to this day, global leaders are yet to implement radical solutions and changes,” Bello explained, noting that there is still no consensus on providing climate finance to vulnerable developing countries—an important aspect of climate justice.

Xian Guevarra of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), gave the COP26 a grade of “5” or a failing mark. Reiterating Bello’s point that the climate crisis has been here for many decades now and he noted that science has long been telling us what to do to address the problem.

“Science has told us what to do. Phase out fossil fuels, invest in renewables, provide reparations for Global South countries. Everything is there,” Guevarra said.

Sophia Caralde of environmental consultancy group Parabukas, meanwhile, lamented on the missed opportunity of COP26 to be more inclusive, citing the recent Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity that provided virtual options for observant parties.

“We are in unison that [COP26] is very white, very privileged, and lacking representation of all sectors, especially from the Global South. But I’m not surprised. The COP has always been [not inclusive] to the Global South because it’s so expensive to fly out and usually go to this first-world country. Where do we get funds if our resources are being used to adapt to climate change and to basically survive the next typhoon,” she explained.

The work of the youth continues

While the youth climate advocates expressed disappointment on COP26, they are also holding out hope and planning to intensify their efforts on climate education, grassroots mobilization for climate solutions, and lobbying for systemic changes.

Caralde shared that Parabukas is working to broaden its reach on other youth organizations through the Local Conference of the Youth (LCOY) Philippines.

First conducted in September this year, LCOY is dubbed as the most comprehensive gathering of youth in the Philippines to discuss pressing climate and environmental issues. The conduct of another LCOY next year, according to Caralde, is being considered by Parabukas.

“LCOY is already part of the UNFCCC processes. It is approved by the LCOY Working Group under YOUNGO, the official children and youth constituency of the UNFCCC,” Caralde explained as she calls for collaboration with different youth organizations in the country.

As for the United Nations (UN) Youth Advisory Board, its chairperson Abigail Kitma—an Ibaloy-Igorot from Baguio City—said that they will continue to bring forward the climate change agenda before the UN agencies. “We will continue engaging in different policy processes, not only for indigenous peoples, indigenous youth, indigenous women, etc,” she said.

Guevarra, meanwhile, shared that YACAP plans to continue its climate education series for the grassroots sectors.

“We are creating modules for farmers and fisherfolk. We are developing this with them because there are things that they know more when it comes to articulating the climate crisis for the basic sectors,” he shared.

In light of the 2022 National Elections, Guevarra also shared that YACAP plans to initiate the development of a climate agenda—a manifesto that will reflect what the youth wants from its next set of leaders in terms of climate action. “Once we created a climate agenda for 2022, we will decide if we are going to endorse a certain candidate or not,” he said.

Voting for the right leaders is definitely a must when it comes to solving the climate crisis, said Jacques Fallaria of Youth Strike 4 Climate Philippines.

“The youth will inherit the planet. We cannot enjoy a planet that is dying, that’s why we want to preserve it for our future’s sake. This is why I invite everyone to vote for the right leaders—leaders who will prioritize the environment, the welfare of the Filipino people, and the future of the youth,” Fallaria said.

***

COP26, youth, youth activism

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From Our Partner

Media Release from OML Center: Online journalists get cash grant to make videos that will document farmers adopting new technologies, practices

Media Release from OML Center: Online journalists get cash grant to make videos that will document farmers adopting new technologies, practices

December 1, 2021

A group of online journalists received a cash grant from the Climate Media Labs, allowing them to make videos that will document farmers using new methods to protect their crops from extreme weather events.

Team Philstar.com G-Unit, composed of Gaea Katreena Cabico, Jonathan de Santos, and Efigenio Toledo IV, received P70,000 as part of the second tranche of the Umalohokan Grant of the Climate Media Labs under the Oscar M. Lopez Center.

Named after the town criers who spread news in pre-colonial Philippines, the grant is expected to help Team Philstar.com and four other awardees to fully implement their campaigns and communications research plans, the OML Center said. The team that most creatively and successfully executes their blitz campaigns and research projects on the most relevant issue of their community will ultimately receive a final grant of P150,000.

Team Philstar.com seeks to “run a solutions-driven information campaign” that will help promote new climate-resilient methods of farming, its campaign plan said.

The group, whose members work for a news website its team is named after, will focus on rice farmers in Nueva Ecija province, the Philippines’ largest producer of the grain.

After running the information campaign, the team will also “highlight how climate change will jeopardize the economy and food security,” its plan said.

To this end, the team of Cabico, de Santos, and Toledo will produce multimedia stories, videos, and podcasts which will help explain how farmers can benefit from “climate resilient technologies and practices.”

“To minimize the impact of climate change, [farmers] can map out high-risk areas, build climate-proof infrastructure, and diversify crops,” the group’s campaign plan said.

Team Philstar.com’s campaign also plans to reach decision makers, leaders, and climate advocates, the group said.

Team Philstar.com is one of five teams across the Philippines that were awarded the Umalohokan Implementation Grant.

Other four teams are Bicol Umalohokan, which intends to focus on sustainable food production and consumption practices; Salikhain Kolektib, which will tell the stories of residents living in small island communities; DanTAOn, which plans to amplify the voices of communities most vulnerable to climate change; and Bintuwak, which intends to preserve the knowledge and tradition of the Nabaoynon Indigenous communities in Madalag, Aklan.

All five Umalohokan grantees belong to a larger group of ten teams whose members have all been given Umalohokan Fellowships.

To apply for fellowships, each team had to submit a media campaign plan that intends to raise awareness of underreported or untold climate stories in their communities.

After being awarded Umalohokan fellowships, members of all ten teams were entitled to attend the Climate Media Labs, a six-week learning program that sharpened their knowledge about the basics of climate science, climate change communications, among others.

Held from August to October, the Climate Media Labs were held for two hours per session twice a week from late August until early October, the OML Center said.

The Labs, which were developed together with Climate Tracker, were also attended by local and foreign climate scientists and communicators.

Scientists and experts who delivered lectures for the Labs included Ms. Lourdes Tibig, the lead author of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate; Dr.. Ma. Laurice Jamero, a contributing author of the recently released Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Reporter of the IPCC; and Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, the founder and Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

All the Umalohokan Fellows, including Teams Sangkalikasan, Team Siargao, ELSE, and PonD News Asia, were given certificates for completing the Climate Media Labs.

***

This is a media release from the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, Inc. (OML Center).

The Climate Reality Project Philippines is a media partner for the OML Center’s Balangay Media Project.

climate change reporting, climate communications, climate science, OML Center, partnerships, sea level rise

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09Mar

Tags climate change reporting, climate communications, climate science, OML Center, partnerships, sea level rise

#RealiTalk: International Day of Persons with Disabilities with Daphne Marie Siega

For our last #Realitalk feature for 2021, we talked to Pinoy Climate Reality Leader Daphne Siega on the need for a disability-inclusive approach when taking action to address climate change.

Last year, the United Nations released its first-ever report on disability rights in the context of climate action. Why do you think it took so long for the rights of PWDs to be mainstreamed in climate conversations?

Disability inclusion is an essential condition to upholding human rights and sustainable development. Do we have existing policies and programs in the country that integrates disability inclusion in critical policymaking and planning processes?

What is your hope and vision for the Philippines when it comes to advancing the principles of equality, equity, and inclusion in the context of PWD rights?

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