Philippines News Archives

Restoring Nature for Livelihoods and Climate Resilience in the Philippines

Healthy ecosystems provide buffers against extreme weather conditions and disasters. They also bring multiple benefits to communities residing within them, such as food, water, clean air, income, and recreation. Strengthening the ecological infrastructure of a landscape by restoring forest cover and reintroducing biodiverse vegetation and cropping plays a vital role in building resilience to climate change, increasing biodiversity, and enhancing local livelihoods.

In the Philippines, The Asian Development Bank (ADB), with support from the Government of Japan through the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific, is implementing the regional technical assistance (TA) project, Investing in Climate Change Adaptation through Agroecological Landscape Restoration: A Nature-Based Solution for Climate Resilience. In partnership with CIFOR-ICRAF (World Agroforestry ) and local partner Landcare Foundation of the Philippines, ICEM is working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources through the River Basin Control Office to implement nature-based solutions aimed to improve the hydrology of the river basin while reducing erosion and sediment transport. The restoration interventions promote biodiversity, rehabilitate drainage corridors, strengthen the communities’ resilience to climate change, and help enhance livelihoods.

Since 2020, restoration work has been undertaken with local communities and farmer-cooperators in the Manupali watershed, which is located at the headwaters of the Mindanao River Basin.

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Monitoring and community awareness in Cambodia and the Philippines

Forest and landscape restoration play a pivotal role in building resilience to climate change in livelihoods and ecosystems.

In Cambodia and the Philippines, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with support from the Government of Japan through the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific, is working with ICEM – International Centre for Environmental Management and World Agroforestry (ICRAF), to implement the regional technical assistance project “Investing in Climate Change Adaptation through Agroecological Landscape Restoration: A Nature- Based Solution for Climate Resilience”.

Survey of tree survival in Cambodia

A drone’s eye view of the Restoration Survival Survey getting underway at the Takhes Meanchey site.

In April 2023, the project team joined the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation (MJP), the Forestry Administration and the Ministry of Environment (MOE) on a mission to five restoration demonstration sites in the headwaters of the Sangker River Basin, Battambang Province in Cambodia.

The mission included an assessment of newly planted seedlings, an evaluation of water supply and soil erosion at each site, and the establishment of locally managed plant nurseries. Local community members, forestry officers, rangers, and the MJP field team, collaborated with the project team in field survey and information collection.

Harnessing cutting-edge drone technology, the team employed aerial survey and field observations to assess the growth and survival of seedlings and site conditions. Access to adequate water supply and weeds were found to be the main constraint on planting success. Hydrological patterns were studied and mapped to determine the best locations for water storage infrastructure. Water tanks were designed, and a watering regime defined to ensure adequate supply at each restoration site during the dry season.

The assessment of plantings and management to date […]