One Visayas heeds PGMA's call, embarks on a Climate Change Summit

(Mayor Mel Sarmiento will be in Cebu City today and tomorrow for the One Visayas Summit on Climate change. Here's a report from PIA-8)

Tacloban City (May 11) -- The three Visayas Regions, Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas, unite as One Visayas as they address the global environment threat through a Climate Change Summit on May 11 and 12 at the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City, in answer to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's call for the adoption of necessary measures to mitigate the impact of climate change and global warming.

No less than Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been invited to attend the Summit to receive the Summit Outputs and to deliver a inspiring speech at the Closing of the Summit on May 12, Calbayog City Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento, who is the Regional Development Council of Eastern Visayas, informed.

Mayor Sarmiento expressed hope that the members of the Regional Development Councils who have been invited to attend the Summit will participate actively, volunteer suggestions and help solve the problems of climate change and do their share in saving Mother Earth for this and the future generations.

DENR Secretary Jose L. Atienza, Jr., is scheduled to talk about the Climate Change Initiatives in the Philippines.

Fr. Jet Villarin and Ms. Tony Loyzaga will present the overview of climate change, its consequences and impacts with focus on the Visayas Region while Dr. Julian Amador of the Environmental Management Bureau will present the GHG inventory of the Philippines.

In the afternoon, the participants will be divided into seven island groupings: Negros, Panay, Samar, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol and Small Islands.

The focus questions will include the major concerns of the respective islands; the current practices that have great impact on climate change (health, business, environment, social); and the specific mitigation and adaptation measures, either policies, programs and projects, that could be undertaken.

Other topics during the Summit are the Climate Change resiliency tools for LGUs; the opportunities for Carbon finance; and the legal aspects of climate change.

The highlights of the Summit are the covenant signing, presentation of the commitment and the action plans to the President and the keynote address of Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

One Visayas is the brainchild of and is led by the chairpersons of the Regional Development Councils of each of the three regions, Antique Governor Sally Perez for Region 6; Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for Region 7 and Calbayog City Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento for Region 8.

The One Visayas Climate Change Summit is the second major collaborative undertaking of the One Visayas Region. The first was the One Visayas, One Culture, One People fair held in the month of March. (PIA 8)