CUI: Helping Guimaras plan for the unplanned
When disaster struck Guimaras following an oil spill that was brought about by the sinking of MT Solar I on August 11, various regional and international organizations responded to aid the island-province in clean-up and relief operations.
Among those that first responded was the Canadian Urban Institute, a Toronto-based non-government organization that has long been working with Guimaras on good governance and economic development concerns.
But CUI did not bring a throng of clean-up teams or tons of relief goods. Instead, it aided Guimaras in developing a website that brought to fore official information on the disaster and in providing disaster risk management capacity to the provincial government.
The website, www.projectsunrise.org, connected Guimaras to the world, especially to international donor and relief organizations, conveying what the province's wants foremost – the removal of the tanker, relief assistance and the restoration of the environment.
CUI also helped Guimaras convene stakeholders in the conduct of a rapid assessment on the damages on the environment, economy, health, society and culture, infrastructure and governance, and made available knowledge papers, case studies and other resources on disaster.
Together with the Guimaras Provincial Planning and Development Officer, CUI developed the terms of references for the assessment and development approaches and tools, and convened and facilitated two workshops towards writing the full assessment report.
"We believe that disaster response could best be done in a participatory manner," quips Francis Gentoral, CUI regional manager for Southeast Asia. "Informed decisions are also critical in times like these."
Guimaras has been comfortable working with CUI, knowing how it delivers assistance in areas such as assessment, planning and information coordination. In fact, it was CUI that helped built a foundation for participatory planning and multi-stakeholder approaches to governance, resulting to the birth of various development plans for the province.
The lessons it has learned with its engagement in Guimaras has been replicated in Boracay Island in Aklan province and in Metropolitan Iloilo, in respectively addressing environmental and governance concerns in a tourism area as well as rapid urban growth.
CUI's work in the Philippines has financial assistance from the Canadian International Development Agency.
"CUI has been working with us for a long time and their track record showed they can help us plan for the unplanned," says Evan Arias, senior planner of Guimaras.
The website CUI helped developed features a situationer, newsflash, web feeds on the oil spill, and posts the account name and number of the provincial government for those who wish to send funds to help residents affected by the oil spill.
Recording at least 7,245 hits as of October 5, the website served as a vehicle for the province to announce its needs, on-going efforts and plans to address the disaster.
"More than that, the website serves as a tool to ensure transparency in the implementation of relief and rehabilitation efforts," adds Gentoral.
CUI also helped in systematizing the information system at Task Force Sunrise by posting a disaster risk advisor who was tasked to enhance the coordination skills in disaster management response of the provincial and municipal disaster coordinating councils and network with stakeholders.
Gentoral says CUI will continue to work within the limits of its resources and capacities in the rehabilitation efforts under its new program, the Philippines-Urban Partnership Program (P-UPP), which aims to connect people, resources and ideas to build sustainable urban regions.
P-UPPP seeks to make Metropolitan Iloilo and Guimaras the core in the regional network of cities and capital towns working for sustainable urban development and poverty reduction.