𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗴𝗱𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲-𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁
BORONGAN CITY, Philippines — The City of Borongan is nearing the fruition of its enhanced nature-based solutions (NbS) to community climate risks with the Learning and Project Close-Out event held for the Climate Resilient Cities – Nature-based Urban Resilience Through Unifying and Responsive Engagement (CRC – NURTURE) project in Legazpi City from March 16-18.
One of the highlights of the event was its “Learning from Cities” component, where Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda served as a panelist alongside Legazpi City Mayor Hisham Ismail and Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Olaso.
In his presentation, Mayor Agda shared Borongan’s existing NbS solutions, including its Former Rebels to Forest Rangers program, tree-planting requirement for civil unions, and engagements with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Youth Climate Action Fund and the People’s Survival Fund, among others.
He also expressed his gratitude to the CRC-NURTURE collective for choosing Borongan as one of its project recipients, noting that their support will be instrumental in realizing Borongan’s vision of an inclusive climate resilience plan that harnesses its natural resources as part of the holistic risk solution.
On Day 3 of the close-out event, Mayor Agda, CENRO Head For. Jojito Acla, and City Administrator Atty. Romeo Alexis Devora joined the visit to Ibalong Park, where they each planted saplings to demonstrate their commitment to the CRC-NURTURE partnership.
The three-day event was likewise attended by CRS Country Representative Mr. Jonas Tetangco; Director Elenida Basug of the DENR Climate Change Service; CRS Head of Programming Ms. Maria Conception Nobleza; Director Ibani Padao of the DHSUD – Environmental, Land Use, and Urban Planning and Development (ELUPD) Bureau; and Mr. Alan Silayan, CRC Project Chief of Party.
As part of its undertaking with CRC-NURTURE, the Borongan City Government submitted a proposal for the upgrading of its native beach forest nursery along Baybay Boulevard that is set to provide a steady supply of indigenous seedlings for coastal forest expansion, on top of the development of an adjacent green open space that will serve as a community hub for tourism and recreation.
Aside from its proposed two-component Baybay Boulevard project, Borongan’s partnership with CRC-NURTURE also bore positive outcomes in a series of capacity-building initiatives. The risk communication workshop held at Prim Hotel from February 24-26, in particular, is slated to roll out its IEC materials to select climate risk-vulnerable Borongan communities.
CRC – Nurture is an initiative funded by the United Kingdom’s Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA) Program aimed at boosting climate resilience in Philippine cities by co-creating inclusive and nature-based solutions that empower local communities. Borongan is one of only three cities across the country selected by the CRC-NURTURE team to receive its support in mounting localized nature-based solutions and capacity-building projects, joining Zamboanga and Legazpi City. (Borongan City-PIO)
