Short link: https://wp.me/paaccn-11dT
MAKATI, Philippines —Thirty-four climate experts, policymakers, and forestry specialists concluded a four-day validation workshop to harmonize geospatial land-use records, align national climate commitments, and advance mitigation strategies across Southeast Asia’s Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) sector.
The workshop reviewed preliminary findings from a regional study spearheaded by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) under the country’s ASEAN Chairmanship. The regional study is supported by the ASEAN-EU-German Climate Action Programme (CAP), funded by the European Union and Germany, and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).
It aims to address the urgent need for spatially explicit land-cover data amid pressures from agricultural expansion, infrastructure projects, and rapid urbanization.
Harmonizing data and policy
Opening the workshop, DENR Climate Change Service Director Elenida Basug emphasized that managed landscapes can serve as either critical carbon sinks or major greenhouse gas sources.
DENR Assistant Secretary Noralene Uy, GIZ Indonesia Climate Change Advisor Ferosa Arsadita, and SEARCA Center Director Dr. Mercedita Sombilla reiterated the need for cross-border cooperation to translate shared climate targets into measurable action.
SEARCA experts Dr. Rex Victor Cruz and Dr. Cristino Tiburan, Jr. presented geospatial baseline trends from 2000 to 2022. Country delegates then audited national classifications and mapping intervals against regional satellite datasets to resolve mapping discrepancies.
A subsequent panel led by Climate Policy Expert Dr. Juan Pulhin engaged focal points from Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore to align domestic land governance with national climate targets.
Case studies and field verification
The discussions shifted to local case studies, specifically the Laguna de Bay Basin in the Philippines and Cambodia’s Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary. Presenters from the DENR-Forest Management Bureau and the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) detailed local watershed pressures and conversion drivers. Participants then developed causal driver matrices and established criteria to scale sustainable land management practices across agriculture, agroforestry, and urban forestry.
To ground the spatial models in field conditions, delegates visited the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems, UPLB Makiling Botanic Gardens, and the SEARCA Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next
Generation (SHARING) AgriMuseum in Los Baños, Laguna.
Interactive platform rollout
The workshop concluded with a demonstration of the LULUCF Database Inventory Platform led by Data Inventory Analyst Dr. Val Randolf Madrid. Delegates tested the query systems, interface, and spatial tools to refine the platform ahead of regional deployment.
The validation milestone sets the stage for an online interactive database and targeted policy briefs to support climate planning across ASEAN member states.
Participating institutions in the workshop included the ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change, ASEAN Senior Officials on Forestry, the ASEAN Secretariat, national mapping agencies, academic bodies, and development partners. (/)
_________
Source: SEARCA