The BCRUPD Project

Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Design (BCRUPD) is a capacity building project funded by the German government’s International Climate Initiative (IKI), was implemented by UN-Habitat in partnership with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), Climate Change Commission (CCC), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP). 

In support of the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) and the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (I/NDC), the project worked to enhance national and subnational government capacities to guide and manage urban growth and green recovery with resilience principles and practices. 

The project supplemented existing planning guidelines and develop knowledge through policy inputs, capacity development, and demonstration activities. Demonstration of innovative approaches in five cities with different ecosystems showcased contextualized processes and schemes to build urban resilience considering balanced economic and ecological sustainability.

Climate Challenges
and the Cities

Level of urbanization grew from 51.2% in 2015 to 54% in 2020
– Philippine Statistics Authority, 2022

Cities generate 70% of global carbon emissions and consume two-thirds of the world’s energy.
– World Cities Report 2020: The Value of  Sustainable Urbanization

In the Asia Pacific region, around 742 million urban dwellers are facing high or extreme multiple hazards; this number could reach nearly 1 billion by 2030. Climate change will intensify the urban heat island effect.
– UN-Habitat and UN ESCAP, 2018 (Climate Change and National Urban Policies In Asia And The Pacific) 

The Philippines ranks 4th among countries most affected by extreme weather events from 2000 to 2019.
– Global Climate Risk Index, 2021

Key Outputs

From 2017 to 2022, the BCRUPD project worked on seven key outputs that promoted climate resilience through urban plans and designs with national government agencies and local government units.

Empowered national institutions
Built capacities of national government agencies and institutions on climate-resilient urban plans and designs
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Enhanced climate analytics tool
Completion of the enhanced Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) analytics tool. This updated version of CDRA is expected to improve the municipalities, cities, and provinces’ risk-informed spatial and sectoral planning and investment structuring.
More about the enhanced CDRA tool
Strengthened policies and capacities for climate resilience building
Supported institutional capacity of DHSUD on integrating climate resilience building in human settlements planning and urban management including green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
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Developed urban policies for resilience
Crafted the government's Zoning Handbook emphasizing climate resilient approaches and harmonized the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Local Shelter Plan
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Urban Planning and Design for Climate Resilience: A Reference Tool for Planning Actors in the Philippines

Through the BCRUPD project, DHSUD was able to develop this Reference Tool that serves as a resource and guidance for the national government, local government units, and other planning actors involved in sustainable development and in crafting and implementing urban plans and designs. It aims to provide information, approaches, and tools to ensure that climate resilience is considered as a fundamental principle of and basis for local plans and designs.

From our partners

Key Lessons

Concrete proof and cases of climate resilient urban plans and designs from the cities will support national government guides, plans, policies, and frameworks. This is shown in the case of formulating the Resilient and Green Human Settlements Framework, Reference Tool on UPD for Climate Resilience, and other policies formed with DHSUD. Local initiatives of BCRUPD with its partners cities contribute to shaping the structure and evidence for these national policies and tools.

Capacity development of institutions and local government units can accelerate the policy work for climate resilience through urban plans and designs. This is also demonstrated in the various efforts to co-develop training and capacity building materials for resilient urban planning and design.

Co-designing, participatory approaches, and results-based style of implementation works well with climate projects. Through these approaches, stakeholders and partners form deeper sense of ownership, understanding, and behavioral change in embracing key concepts and applying them to their actual work even after project interventions concluded.

Strong partnership and collaboration with partner agencies and LGUs are needed to effectively implement the project. Effective coordination and communication with stakeholders will facilitate better results in building capacities of cities and national agencies.

As climate science continually evolve, it is necessary that climate projects like BCRUPD adjust and align its approaches with the most recent international policies, agreements, and reports. Doing so will fast-track and develop more effective climate action locally.

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The Donor

Project Partners

Project Partners

Partner with UN-Habitat

UN-Habitat Philippines hopes to create socially and environmentally sustainable cities, provinces, villages and barangays in the Philippines, and welcomes partnerships with government, international agencies, civil society organisations and the private sector.

The International Climate Initiative (IKI) is the most important instrument utilised by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) to support international climate action and biodiversity. With the IKI, the BMU supports solution strategies in developing and emerging countries that seek to achieve sustainable change. IKI is the funding agency of UN-Habitat’s Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Designs (BCRUPD).

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) acts as the primary national government entity responsible for the management of housing, human settlement and urban development. It the sole and main planning and policy-making, regulatory, program coordination, and performance monitoring entity for all housing, human settlement and urban development concerns, primarily focusing on the access to and the affordability of basic human needs.

DHSUD is a key government partner of UN-Habitat. It sits in the Project Advisory Committee of the Supporting Blue-Green Recovery, Strengthening Resilience, and Promoting Sustainable Growth in Philippine Cities and Communities through Nature-Based Solutions and Circular Economy (RRSG thru NBS-CE) and sat as Chair of the Project Steering Committee of Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Design (BCRUPD).

The Climate Change Commission (CCC) is the sole policy-making body of the government tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the government relating to climate change pursuant to the provisions of the Philippine Climate Change Act (RA 9729).

CCC is a key government partner and member of the Project Steering Committee of UN-Habitat’s Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Design (BCRUPD).

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) assists local government units to effectively and efficiently deliver services to their constituents. DILG formulates policies, plans, and programs to enhance local autonomy, focusing particularly on the administrative, technical, and fiscal capacities of LGUs.

DILG is a key government partner of UN-Habitat as member of the Project Steering Committee of Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Design (BCRUPD), Co-Chair of the Project Advisory Committee of Healthy Oceans and Clean Cities Initiative (HOCCI), and consortium lead of Strengthening Institutions and Empowering Localities Against Disasters and Climate Change (SHIELD).

The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) is the official organization of all cities in the Philippines, created by virtue of Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991 to ventilate, articulate, and crystallize issues affecting city governance and provide corresponding solutions.

LCP is a key government partner of UN-Habitat as member of the Project Steering Committte of Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Design (BCRUPD) andthe Project Adivsory Committee of Healthy Oceans and Clean Cities Initiative (HOCCI).

The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) The National Economic and Development Authority is the country’s premier socioeconomic planning body, highly regarded as the authority in macroeconomic forecasting and policy analysis and research. It provides high-level advice to policymakers in Congress and the Executive Branch.

NEDA is a key government partner of UN-Habitat as member of the Project Steering Committee of the Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Design (BCRUPD); it also provides consult to the Healthy Oceans and Clean Cities Initiative (HOCCI).

Angeles is a highly urbanised city and one of the most economically advanced urban centers in the country. Located within the province of Pampanga, the city is bordered by Clark Freeport Zone and Mabalacat to the north, Mexico to the east, San Fernando to the southeast, Bacolor to the south and Porac to the southwest. This landlocked city’s topography is mostly flat terrain with the Abacan River and tributaries along its core.

Angeles is one of the pilot cities for UN-Habitat’s Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Designs (BCRUPD).

Cagayan de Oro City tilted as the country’s city of Golden Friendship is a veritable goldmine for those in search of new tourist and investment destinations targeted by the
national Government as the fourth Metropolitan City by 2025. In thriving global demands, it is profoundly aspires of intertwining development thrusts geared towards sustainable competitiveness and inclusive future.

Cagayan de Oro is one of the pilots cities for UN-Habitat’s Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Designs (BCRUPD) and Healthy Oceans and Clean Cities Initiative (HOCCI).

Legazpi serves as the capital of the Albay province and is the Bicol region’s economic and political center. The component city is bound by Santo Domingo to the north, Daraga to the west, and Manito to the south, while the Albay Gulf surrounds the city in the east.

Legazpi has a wide range of natural resources, including fishing grounds, metallic ore reserves, and other industrial non-metallic reserves.

Legazpi is one of the pilot cities for UN-Habitat’s Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Design (BCRUPD) and Healthy Oceans and Clean Cities Initiative (HOCCI).

Ormoc is a highly urbanized coastal port city, serving as the economic, cultural, commercial, and transportation hub of western Leyte. The city’s location, vast agricultural land, and coastal site endow it with natural resources, marine biodiversity, and natural tourist spots. Ormoc is the second most populous city in the Leyte province after Tacloban, the provincial capital, and is subdivided into 110 barangays. Of these, 31 are classified as urban barangays, 10 as urban coastal, 63 as rural, and 6 as rural coastal barangays.

Ormoc is one of the pilot cities for UN-Habitat’s Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Design (BCRUPD) and Healthy Oceans and Clean Cities Initiative (HOCCI).

Tagum is a component city strategically located at the heart of Davao del Norte. While an inland city, Tagum also has a coastal area that is connected with major road systems. The city functions as the seat of the Provincial Government, and serves the commercial and agricultural center to other major cities in the rest of Mindanao.

Tagum is one of the pilot cities for UN-Habitat’s Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Design (BCRUPD).

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