About the Project

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), aims to strengthen capacities of government to provide support to vulnerable populations displaced by natural disasters. The project is funded by the Government of Spain through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

Alternately called Huy-anan nan Badjao sa Surigao (Home for Badjaos in Surigao), the project will support the government in implementing culturally-appropriate nature-based solutions and circular economy, favoring the humanitarian-development nexus, environmental sustainability and adaptation to climate change. The project is demonstrated in Surigao City by improving the living conditions of the Badjao, nomadic sea-based indigenous people of Mindanao, who were displaced by Super Typhoon Rai in December 2021.

Expected Project Outputs

40 Badjao families with access to housing and
basic services

2 community-level materials recovery facilities established and integrated into public spaces

1 public open space with integrated urban/coastal greening projects

100 women and IPs engaged in blue-green livelihoods

30 technical government staff with enhanced knowledge and skills on applying nature-based solutions and circular economy models.

increase in barangay communities and leaders with policies on area and facilities management and maintenance

support for  individual or collective Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (5Rs) actions

Planning for Resilience

(note: this is a placeholder section for the landscape/challenge when on data and analytics for local climate action planning and investment)

54% of the Philippines’ total population is living in urban areas as of 2020 (Philippines Statistics Authority, 2022).

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

Traditional reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts prioritize building back communities as quickly as possible, at least to pre-disaster status. The project taps into opportunities for the application of blue-green and nature-based solutions, integration of circular economy approaches, integrated and culturally-sensitive designs, and provision of open public spaces in the rebuilding process.

Knowledge Products

Related Stories

Marking a significant advancement in the city’s commitment to integrating the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into local governance and planning, Surigao City conducted a two-day SDG localization activity on April 23-24 in partnership with UN-Habitat.

Project Donor

Project Partners

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) is the main executive arm of the Spanish Cooperation, and is geared towards human sustainable development and fighting poverty. The General Objective of the Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines is to contribute to the fight against poverty, and to sustainable human development, strengthening democracy and attending to the diversity of the Philippine society, with special attention/focus on the poorest and most vulnerable sectors. AECID is the funding agency for 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) project.

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).

Surigao del Norte is a province in the Caraga Region. It is the second northernmost of the Mindanao provinces and is an important commerce and transportation hub between Visayas and Mindanao. The provincial government of a partner 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) project.

Surigao is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Surigao del Norte, Philippines. Surigao City serves as a jump off point to visitors of nearby Siargao, Dinagat and Bucas Grande islands. The city government is a partner 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) project.

The Badjaos are nomadic sea-based indigenous people of Mindanao. After Typhoon Odette struck in December 2021, around 100 Badjao families living in Surigao City were displaced and continued to be displaced until now. The Badjao community in Surigao City is a partner of 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) project.

Let's Work Together