DENR Secretary Antonia "Toni" Yulo Loyzaga and USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn sign the MOU. Witnessing from the left are Undersecretary Augusto D. Dela Peña, Undersecretary Jonas R. Leones, Undersecretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh, and USAID Environment Office Director Ryder Rogers.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to further strengthen collaboration between USAID and DENR in line with the Development Objective Agreement signed in 2021 between USAID (representing the United States of America) and the National Economic Development Authority (representing the Republic of the Philippines) for Enhanced Ecosystem and Community Resilience.
Specifically, the MOU aims to enhance the knowledge of cities on the use of climate information for planning and decision-making, improve capacity of cities to access and manage climate financing, and broaden climate adaptation and mitigation interventions through nature-based solutions and natural climate solutions.
Through the Climate Resilient Cities (CRC) Project, USAID is providing technical support in the cities of Batangas, Borongan, Cotabato, Iloilo, Legazpi, and Zamboanga. The five-year project is estimated to cost ₱836.5 million ($15 million). (FASPS/ Marilou Calado, Mary Rose Boloron)
