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The
evidence for human-caused global warming is now “unequivocal.”
This
statement by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) confirms with “very high” confidence that
human activities are causing the world to warm.
There
are strong indications that human activities are indeed among
the main factors affecting the world’s climate. Carbon
dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants from industries, vehicle
emissions and other human activities build up in the atmosphere
and trap sunlight causing earth’s surface to warm.
Rainfall,
temperature, and other climatic conditions are the main factors
affecting the variability in agricultural production. Changes
in these factors can therefore have extreme impacts on food
security.
Hence,
mitigating climate change is an important research concern.
In the Philippines, efforts to mitigate climate change abound,
with the national government taking the lead.
PCARRD-DOST
has crafted its “National R&D Program on Biofuel”
with two main components: (i) the “Integrated R&D
Program on Jatropha curcas for Biodiesel;” and (ii)
the “Integrated R&D Program on Bio-Ethanol.”
Both components have been approved by the PCARRD Governing
Council for implementation.
PCARRD
will also be implementing the “Baseline Information
and Development of Database on Swine Waste Management Systems”
project, which will look into the quality of methane produced
by different designs of biogas systems.
The
project is part of the PCARRD “S&T Anchor Program
on Farm Managed Clean Production Facility for Small and Medium
Scale Swine Industry for Fuel and Fertilizer Production.”
Previously,
PCARRD released a number of publications intended to disseminate
information on climate change. The book “El Niño
Southern Oscillation: Mitigating Measures,” released
in 2001 features technologies for mitigating the effects of
climate change.
In
2005, PCARRD published its “R&D Status and Directions
on Environmental Management (2000 and Beyond),” which
discusses the country’s environmental performance from
1990-2000.
Meanwhile,
the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau’s “Biomass
and Carbon Sequestration of Forest Tree Plantation Species
in the Philippines” project investigates on the actual
carbon being stored in a tree of a given species.
Earlier,
the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, now
the World Agroforestry Centre, has found, in one of its studies,
that smallholder trees can sequester carbon dioxide from the
soil and from their surroundings.
The
DOST, in its Environment Agenda, has pipelined for 2007 several
major research undertakings to address climate change:
-
Climate
Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies on Natural Resources,
Agriculture and Rural Communities in the Philippines.
This R&D project will contribute to the formulation
of strategies and measures to address the impacts of climate
change at the community level.
-
Carbon
Sequestration Valuation of Different Vegetation Types
(Secondary Growth Forest, Mossy, Mangrove, Plantation
Forests) in the Philippines. This project shall investigate
the amount of carbon stored and sequestered by different
forest types in the country.
-
Carbon
Stocks Trading Localization: Developing models for Community-based
carbon sequestration and carbon trading mechanism. This
will support the participation of community-based forest
management communities in the carbon trading mechanisms
under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.
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Policy
Advocacy Support in Streamlining Climate Change Policy
in the Philippines. This initiative will promote awareness
on climate change through information, education and communication
(IEC) campaign; and policy advocacy.
PCARRD
is the DOST agency tasked to lead in the Environment R&D
as one of the priority sectors of the Department under the
Secretary’s 8 point agenda. (Don Joseph M. Medrana and
Ma. Rowena M. Baltazar, S&T Media Service)
References:
Faylon,
Patricio S. 2006. PCARRD’s initiatives on Global
Climate Change. Laguna, Philippines: Philippine Council
for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and
Development (PCARRD).
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