Celebrating 10 Years IKI in the Philippines

Partners and friends look back on 10 years of climate and biodiversity cooperation between Germany and the Philippines.

On 30 May 2018, the German Embassy in Manila brought together key government partners, implementing organisations and various other stakeholders to celebrate 10 years of success in implementing the International Climate Initiative (IKI) in the Philippines. During the event – a dinner reception hosted by the German Ambassador, Dr Gordon Kricke, at his residence – speakers highlighted and shared the key goals achieved and milestones reached while implementing the IKI in the archipelago. As Ambassador Kricke observed, ‘The celebration marks 10 years of cooperation between the Philippines and Germany in the common fight against climate change and for the preservation of biodiversity’.

The Philippines is one of the countries considered to be most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change and, at the same time, has been identified as a global biodiversity hotspot. At the event, Ambassador Kricke addressed the cooperation between the two countries in the areas of climate change and the protection of biological diversity, highlighting the alignment between the IKI’s funding priorities and the Philippine development agenda and Germany’s consequent ongoing commitment to this cooperation. The Philippines remains one of the focus countries of the German Environment Ministry (BMU).

In his welcoming remarks, Dr Ernesto Pernia, the Philippine Government’s Secretary for Socioeconomic Planning and Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority, expressed the Government’s appreciation for the support that Germany has provided his country through the IKI. He also recognised Germany’s leading role in promoting the transition to renewable and sustainable energy.

Ms Irina Scheffmann, Country Director of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Philippines, gave a presentation on the project Support to the Philippines in Implementing and Shaping the International Climate Regime (SupportCCC II) and its role as an IKI interface project in the country. Through SupportCCC II, GIZ facilitates the exchange of knowledge and implementation experiences between key IKI stakeholders in the Philippines, which serves to enhance cooperation.

It was in 2008 that GIZ, in cooperation with the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), implemented its first bilateral project, Adaptation to Climate Change and Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCBio). Ten years later, a total of 63 IKI projects either have been or are being implemented in the country by various of the Initiative’s partners. The IKI portfolio, comprising all bilateral, regional and global projects at various stages of implementation in the Philippines, amounts to more than 62 million euros. It covers a diverse area of climate policy, adaptation strategies, ecosystem-based land use systems, protection/sustainable use of climate-relevant biodiversity with a focus on REDD+, innovative financing instruments, Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV), and renewable energy.

Key government partners of the IKI participated in the event, including representatives from the Climate Change Commission (CCC), the DENR, the Office of the President’s and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, the Department of Transportation and the University of the Philippines. They were joined by representatives from the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines as well as from civil society and the media.

Among the IKI implementing organisations taking part were GIZ, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UN Habitat, Plan International, the Renewables Academy AG (RENAC), Rare Inc., ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines.

This celebration of the IKI’s 10 years in the Philippines was co-organised by the German Embassy in the Philippines and the SupportCCC II project.