Hills to Ocean (H2O) / Biodiversity / Climate Change Adaptation

Key actors at the national level and in the three landscapes support an integrated and transparent implementation of climate change and biodiversity policies.

45 per cent of the Philippine population lives in cities, where 75 per cent of the gross domestic product is produced. Unplanned urbanisation increases exposure to the impacts of climate change and can lead to higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This threatens forests and mangroves. Low energy efficiency in buildings and industries also contributes to GHG emissions. The transport sector is inefficient and accounts for 37 per cent of the country’s GHG. The decision support mechanisms in the Philippines are insufficient to meet these challenges.

The project is piloting integrated transformative processes in three landscapes. With its activities it aims to:

• Protect key biodiversity, conserve and rehabilitate natural carbon sinks and provide ecosystem services for adaptation at household level.
• Improve planning and investment programming for built environments in local governments to increase local resilience.
• Encourage investments to leverage private sector funds and catalyse a transition to a low-carbon economy and create green jobs.
• Promote adaptation-mitigation synergies that lead to avoid, reduce and sequester greenhouse gases.
• Assist in building decision support systems involving multiple actors at all levels of government to enhance transparency and accountability mechanisms for evidence-based policies and accelerate transformative change.