MANILA, Philippines — The World Bank is providing a $700-million loan to support a project aimed at strengthening communities’ resilience to climate change and disaster risks in the Philippines.
In a statement yesterday, the multilateral lender said that it would provide a $700-million loan for the Philippines Community Resilience Project, which has a total cost of $874.35 million.
The balance of $174.35 million will be funded by the national government.
The project, which will involve community-led planning and investments for infrastructure, is expected to benefit approximately 18 million households through community-led planning and infrastructure investments.
In particular, it will prioritize 500 climate-vulnerable municipalities across 49 provinces in the Philippines.
It will also target vulnerable populations including Indigenous Peoples, women and beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or a conditional cash transfer initiative aimed at alleviating poverty.
Under the project, the plan is to invest in flood and drought mitigation, landslide and slope protection, surge protection and breakwaters, windbreakers and retrofitting of existing infrastructure to withstand extreme weather events.
The project will also support erosion control, agroforestry and other nature-based solutions for ecosystem conservation, including community forests, wetlands, marshes and waterways, erosion control, water conservation and agroforestry.
It will also help promote resilient livelihoods and practices in agriculture and food security through the use of services and technologies like climate-smart farming innovations and small-scale irrigation systems.
“By empowering local communities to take the lead in building resilience against climate change and disaster risks, the Philippines is not only addressing immediate environmental challenges but also fostering a culture of proactive engagement and resilience,” said Zafer Mustafao?lu, division director for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei at the World Bank.
He said communities play a critical role in disaster preparedness and response.
“Their ability to anticipate risks, organize themselves and collaborate with local and national authorities is essential for effective climate change and disaster risk preparedness and recovery efforts,” he said further.
World Bank senior social development specialist Ditte Marie Fallesen said investing in community-level resilience is crucial in the Philippines, which is highly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters.
The World Risk Index 2024 ranked the Philippines as the most at-risk country globally due to its high vulnerability and exposure to cyclical extreme events.
“Ensuring community capacity and opportunity for participating in resilience planning is critical as communities are on the frontlines of climate and natural hazard risks,” Fallesen said.
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