Experts encourage gov’t to heed climate change lessons

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MANILA – Researchers and social scientists are urging government officials and policymakers to pay attention to lessons and findings on climate change.

Officials and scientists from the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) said that there is a need to convert the research results into actual policies in order to address the impact of climate change.

According to UPV vice chancellor for research and extension Ricardo Babaran, there is a “real disconnect” between the research outputs and policy implementation of the government regarding disaster mitigation and climate change.

He added that UPV aims to improve its connections with the Congress, local governments and their agencies so that the academic studies may be turned into policies and programs.

UPV with Manila Observatory hosted a two-day international scientific conference, two weeks before the anniversary of Super Typhoon “Yolanda.”

The said super typhoon was the strongest recorded typhoon to hit Visayas leaving more than 8,000 persons dead, about 29,000 injured and more than 1,000 missing. In addition, Yolanda destroyed about 500,000 households, according to data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD_.

The conference featured discussions and presentations conducted in areas affected by the super typhoon and cited similar cases in other countries.

UPV chancellor Rommel Espinosa said Yolanda paved way for research on how to better prepare for national disasters.

Meanwhile, UPV professor Pepito Fernandez stressed that there is also “very poor” coordination among various government agencies in terms of disaster response.

“There is a need for an integrated and coordinated scientific and institutional policy to face the challenges posed by climate change, natural disasters and multilevel development in archipelagos and islands,” according to the conference’s briefer.