THE Climate Change Commission (CCC) is set to hold a capacity-building program on climate change in Bohol province this month.
CCC said Bohol is the third venue for the Communities for Resilience or CORE Convergence Forum slated for July 27-28.
The forum will bring together local government units (LGUs) within the Wahig-Inabanga Upper River Basin, which hosts the largest and most important river in Central Visayas.
CORE aims to strengthen the capacity of LGUs to cope with climate change impacts, such as strong typhoons and severe floods and droughts.
Secretary Emmanuel De Guzman, CCC vice chair and executive director, said the two-day forum seeks to train Bohol LGUs in implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation, and disaster risk reduction and management.
“We aim to increase the resilience to climate vulnerability of communities in Bohol, particularly those within the Wahig-Inabanga Upper River Basin which is one of the areas in the country at high risk to climate change impacts,” De Guzman said.
The Wahig-Inabanga is considered as the largest and most important river in Central Visayas due to its high potential as source of surface water for agricultural, household, commercial, industrial and recreational uses, its significant physical features and biological resources, and its strategic location.
It is one of the 18 river basins and communities identified by experts as pilot areas and models for the convergence of climate change adaptation, mitigation, and disaster risk reduction programs of the government.
De Guzman said the CCC is happy to bring the CORE to Bohol, which recently earned the reputation as one of the most disaster-prone provinces in the country.
In 2013, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Bohol, spurring geological and topographical changes in the province. A year later, flooding became the biggest concern for the province, especially the towns of Inabanga and Duero following the onslaught of tropical storms “Seniang” and “Queenie.”
Most recently, the provincial government placed Bohol under a state of calamity amid reports that the six-month El Niño phenomenon destroyed around P313-million worth of high-value crops.
The CCC launched the CORE Convergence Forum last March in Davao City, the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte. The second convergence forum was held in Cagayan de Oro City last month. (SDR/Sunnex)