Davao yet to come up with adaptive measures vs rains

AN OFFICIAL of the City Engineer's Office (CEO) admitted on Thursday that Davao City has yet to come up with adaptive measures to respond to frequent heavy rains, but said a long-term development plan to completely address this natural occurrence is in the pipeline.

"Wala pa tay gihimo na adaptive measures tungod kay comprehensive dapat ang himuon when it comes to river overflow. Gina-assess pa kung unsa ang adaptation capability sa city as a whole," said Engr. Andrew Lepardo, head of operations for urban drainage maintenance division of the CEO.

"Sa karon, it is a hard fact na apektado ang dako na portion sa mga taga Davao sa pagdako sa tubig sa sapa tungod dako na portion sa taga Davao nagpuyo diha duol sa sapa. Kung mag istorya ta ug adaptive measures, it is a hard fact (Today, it's a hard fact that a big portion of Davao City is affected because most of the people are living near the river. (If we talk aobut adaptive measures, it's a hard fact)," Lepardo added.

He said, however, that the United Nations Human Settlement Program (UN Habitat), a study which will assess the pioneering city's adaptation capacity and exposure and sensitivity to climate change in order to assess its vulnerability to climate change, will be a big help in diagnosing city's problems.

"The efforts actually are for a measurable approach. Kay mao nang nagbuhat ta ug massive data gathering para aning comprehensive approach para tanan sectors atong ma-address. This is workable. Makaingon ra man ta na dili siya workable kung naay sector na wala na-consider, but this time all sectors are represented. Hopefully all data will be gathered for a workable comprehensive plan," he said.

As of now, Lepardo said they are still on the planning stage, conducting workshops, data collection and data banking, which will be used for creating comprehensive plan.

"Ang UN Habitat mahimong ahente sa mga proposals paingon sa mga first world countries na ready muhatag ug grant," Lepardo said.

For instance, he said if it would appear after the planning stage that the city needs a mega dike in Tamayong, the UN Habitat will convey the message to the countries, through the UN, for a donation.

"Walay capability ang City Government na muhimo (mega dike) kay dili man gud siya isolated lang na plan nga atong himuon. It is a massive approach na dili masulod sa City Government," he said.

Roberto Alabado III, City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) acting chief, earlier announced that the UN-Habitat cited Davao City as being receptive to the projects of UN and its being active in developing a disaster risk reduction program.

He said UN-Habitat will provide the technical assistance on how the local officials will go about with the implementations of plans and projects related to climate change, considering the development of each city.