PH provinces, cities and municipalities to integrate urban climate resilience into local decision-making

Pasig City, 15 September – Local government leaders, mainly mayors and local authorities, called for efforts to make urban development and management to be better protected and more resilient during a dialogue event jointly organized by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners and the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat). The event was held in collaboration with the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), League of Provinces of the Philippines, and the League of Municipalities of the Philippines.

 

“This dialogue event wishes to emphasize that the issues of climate change adaptation and mitigation must be tackled within a broader framework of sustainable housing and urban development”, says UN-Habitat Country Programme Manager Cris Rollo. “It is in this context that we promote strengthened partnerships across all levels of government as they work together to protect our environment, infrastructures, and public spaces from the effects of climate change”.

 

The dialogue event built on recent efforts by the national government to consult with different stakeholders in updating and reviewing the National Urban Development Housing Framework (NUDHF) as a guiding framework for influencing and synergizing urban development and housing strategies at various levels.  The NUDHF is a comprehensive plan formulated to promote the country’s sustainable, spatially integrated and inclusive development of urban settlements and housing programs.

 

In her speech, HLURB Commissioner Linda Hornilla said, “we need to strengthen linkages between national urban policies and the spectrum of experience at different levels of government to make the updated NUDHF more relevant to local authorities and communities; more coordination and collaboration when tackling urban challenges are necessary”.

 

The Leagues of local government units expressed their support in advocating for meaningful cooperation to enable towns, cities and provinces to achieve human settlement related goals in the context of overall national development.

 

Davao del Norte Governor Anthony Del Rosario, Jr. underscored the need for well-coordinated policies and actions between national and sub-national levels to make national policies and frameworks such as the NUDHF effective at the local level.

 

For her part, Mayor Jenny Uy of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, cited the important role of local leaders in translating urban development and climate change principles into local actions.

 

In closing, Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, LCP National President said: “As local authorities, we are the front line actors in finding solutions that reflect the needs and priorities of our constituencies. This activity provided us the opportunity to identify the areas where action is needed, in this case housing and urban settlements, such that we are able to prioritise and commit resources in the best possible way”.

 

Hosted by the Vertical Integration and Learning on Low Emission Development (V-LED) Project, the dialogue event identified issues and generated feedback and inputs from local government leaders on their needs and requirements in order to make the updated NUDHF relevant for their respective localities. The V-LED Project is implemented by the UN-Habitat, in partnership with Adelphi research, and with support from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).

Participants of the “Dialogue with Local Government Leaders on the National Urban Development and Housing Framework (NUDHF) in Support of Local Climate Change Actions”.

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