Climate Resilience
The Philippines
Like many countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines faces climate change challenges stemming from sea level rise, flooding, and rising temperatures. The importance of building climate resilience is recognized by the government, which established the Climate Resilient Agriculture Office in the Department of Agriculture in 2020. The government is also focused on building climate resilience in the country’s 21 river basins, and on improving water provision to urban areas and developing an equitable rewards scheme for water storage and livelihood improvement in the Manupali watershed.
The CGIAR Initiative on Climate Resilience aligns with the Philippines National Climate Change Action Plan 2011–2028. The Plan prioritizes food security, water sufficiency, ecological and environmental stability, human security, and mainstreaming climate adaptation into all national policies. The Initiative will support implementation of the food security component of the plan by identifying context-specific climate risks to farmers, informing national policymakers of the nexus of climate security and agriculture, and empowering policymakers to plan and implement climate and water risk management interventions, matching global-level data with community-level needs.
Here are some key highlights of ClimBeR’s work in the Philippines from 2022-2024:
- ClimBeR’s bundled climate information services (forecasts and agro-advisories) reached 4120 farmers piloting RCMAS Climate+ via SMS in the Philippines (40% women).
- Between 2022 and 2024, ClimBeR’s technical assistance helped partners secure USD 754 million in climate finance, surpassing the USD 30 million target. This included USD 235 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the Philippines.
- In the Philippines, ClimBeR established a partnership with the Philippines Crop Insurance Corporation and the Philippine Rice Institute to scale Area-Based Yield Index Insurance (ARBY).
- In collaboration with the Mindanao State University’s Illigan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT,) researchers from ClimBeR have launched the first community of practice on climate security and environmental peacebuilding in the Mindanao region. This partnership enabled MSU-IIT to influence regional and national conversations and landed the institution a seat on the influential LNI committee, also enabling it to inform decisions to foster greater peace and climate resilience in local communities.
Social Equity and Inclusion
ClimBeR’s collaboration with the CGIAR Initiative on Livestock and Climate between November 2022 and April 2024 led to the design and testing of methodological social equity tools to understand how equity impacts the adaptive capacity of smallholder and livestock communities in Kenya and the Philippines and the development of a social equity framework. The methodology draws upon theories of social equity and justice rooted in participatory parity—values and norms that encourage people to interact with one another as equals and synergistically nurture recognitional, distributional, representational and intergenerational equities. The framework was also used to support the Initiative’s work packages to embed social equity within their activities and build synergies across them.
Partnerships
A partnership with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation and the Philippine Rice Research Institute enabled the development of the Area-Based Yield (ARBY) Index Insurance Implementing Guidelines, facilitating the scaling of area-based yield index insurance for rice. This initiative has the potential to benefit over two million farmers. Collaboration with the Department of Agriculture has also supported the extension of climate-resilient agro-advisories in the country. Additionally, a partnership with Eco Limited and the Land Bank of the Philippines contributed to the development of the Green Climate Fund – PILAR proposal.
In early 2024, Philippine authorities approached MSU-IIT researchers, requesting their input on how to both foster agricultural livelihoods and peace in the former rebel strongholds in Mindanao, who then The proposal, currently under review, outlines a five-year program that would require a 100 million Philippine peso (approximately USD 1,700,000) investment and could benefit up to 60,000 people. turned to ClimBeR to develop a joint proposal.
2025 and beyond…
The foundation of work and partnerships that ClimBeR has established in the Philippines and built upon to deliver climate information services and climate-adjusted crop and nutrient recommendations, drawing on ClimBeR science to strengthen climate resilience at the local level, has the potential to be scaled to benefit over 2 million farmers with bundled risk management solutions.
While the Initiative comes to an end in 2024, its research and innovations, key results, progress toward outcomes, and strategic partnerships will continue through the CGIAR Climate Action Science Program and other bilateral projects to ensure sustainable, locally led, inclusive climate action to enhance the resilience of those most vulnerable.
Read about the Initiative’s work in other target countries: