MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Friday said that the Philippines needs climate-resilient infrastructure as the La Niña phenomenon looms, bringing more rains to the country.
Weather state bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration’s model forecasts suggest an increasing probability of La Niña to develop in the June-July-August 2024 season.
“Now that we are expecting La Niña, we need to expect that there will be more intense rains and where that compounds are disaster risks,” DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said in an interview over Malacañang Insider.
“It’s really where we need to focus our own attention at this point and in terms of our investment as well. One of them is in what we call climate-resilient infrastructure,” she said.
Loyzaga explained that addressing the need isn’t just about building structures; it involves a mix of traditional engineering and nature-based solutions.
She said the country is using both types of methods to balance water supply, especially in areas that previously had no access to water.
For example, she pointed to island barangays that lack access to clean drinking water.
“What are the solutions? We need to understand what rainfall they get. Whether they have streams that are alive. In that case we need to provide filtration, whether they have water or not, and will determine whether desalination is the only option,” she said.
The official likewise said that many barangays across the country have to travel by boat daily, paying several times the usual cost, just to get drinking water.
“So, all of these combined with the science and technology associated now with climate risk management, need to be part of our DNA in terms of a country as far as really managing disaster risk for our own development,” Loyzaga said.
