Mr. Joey Salceda is known in the Philippines as the “Green Economist Governor.” He was an advisor to the Philippine Government, which was one of several nations working together to create guidelines for the Green Climate Fund, launched by the UN climate change body (UNFCCC) in 2011 to channel financial resources to developing countries for climate change adaptation and mitigation. At home in Albay Province, Governor Salceda led efforts to identify vulnerabilities in 720 disaster prone barangays, which is the smallest local government unit in the Philippines. He has used several innovative methods to create a culture of prevention, including by convening an inter-faith forum in 2008 that brought leaders of the Catholic and Muslim faiths together, resulting in the “Oratio Imperata” as the mandated prayer for DRR and CCA, which is recited during religious activities in the province. As part of a province-wide food-for-work programme, the Governor put people to work replanting 318 hectares of mangrove swamps to better protect coastal areas from dangerous storm surges and build tsunami resiliency. Governor Salceda is active on social media, publishing the Green Economist Blog to promote public awareness; he has made sure that disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation is included in lesson plans in all learning areas in elementary and secondary schools
Campaign Activities-
October 2009, Manila, Philippines: Convened the National Conference on Climate Change Adaptation +2, which produced the precursor to the Philippine national framework for disaster risk reduction.
- November 2010, Legazpi City, Albay, Philippines: Co-convened the Local Government Summit +3i Luzon, which produced the 2010 Local Government Units' Commitment to mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in development programming. December 2010, Iloilo City, Philippines - Co-convened the Local Government Summit +3i Luzon Visayas, which produced the 2010 Local Government Units' Commitment to mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in development programming.
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January 2011: Signed Executive Order 2011-2, which established the Climate Change Academy for local government units -- a centre of excellence in disaster risk reduction/climate change adaptation for the Philippines and Asia. March 2011, Davao City, Philippines - Co-convened the Local Government Summit +3i Luzon Mindanao, which produced the 2010 Local Government Units' Commitment to mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in development programming