Four personnel from local government offices of Sta. Cruz are presently undergoing a 3-day training on Climate Smart Protected Area Management Plan, which was started on July 16 and will end on July 18, 2014 at the Microtel Hotel, Davao City. The composite participants come from the offices of Municipal Planning and Development, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources and Municipal Tourism.
The training aimed at capacitating local personnel and Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) members to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change, which will eventually integrate climate change adaptation into the MANP management plans.
Conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and USAID-funded B+WISER Program, the training is also purposely conducted to learn the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, gain knowledge on vulnerability assessment tools and steps in conducting vulnerability assessment, gain knowledge on economics of climate change and use of economic tools in valuing impacts and adaptations and learn ranking adaptation options.
Part of the training component is the hands-on use of Global Information System (GIS) in conducting vulnerability assessment in the protected areas, particularly in the Mt. Apo Natural Park.