Program for Enhancing Resilience to Climate Change A Basis for School-Community Partnership

Naga City in the Philippines as the catchment area of the Bicol River, Naga City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (NCDRRMO) has been actively addressing issues on climate change. Despite of local emergency response team’s efforts, people’s exposure to threat, increases. Significant impact can be made for climate change advocacies if there is appropriate and effective school-community collaboration. This provides challenge to all Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). This paper evaluated the status of DRRM in the school and community. This also considered the extent of partnerships so that strategies could be made to help the community address problems in response to climate risk. The study adopted descriptive-evaluative design of mixed methods of research. The methods were utilized to confirm and validate findings. Structured questionnaires, interviews and FGDs were used for data gathering to the selected respondents of HEIs and Barangays in Naga City. Based on the findings of the study, respondents were “slightly prepared” for the exposure to climate change; collaborative efforts as one of the practices of the schools-LGUs in helping the community. Nevertheless, negative attitudes and no ample time to attend the seminar of the households as the problem encountered by schools-LGUs. As a result, inter-agencies collaboration should be established to address climate change related issues. The adoption of Buronyog sa Pag-Anduyog: A School-Community Initiatives for Climate Change will give opportunities to the community-beneficiaries be equipped with skills to address climate change impact.

Keywords: Climate Change, partnership, School-Community