"ICE CREAM" PROJECT TO TACKLE MARINE, COASTAL VULNERABILITY

The Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) together with the Manila Observatory (MO) and the U.P. Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) will be showing presentations on the Integrated Evaluation of Coastal Research Enhancement and Adaptive Management, or the ICE CREAM Program.

Initially funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), ICE CREAM aims to investigate climate change impacts on the coasts and adapting wisely to a changing Philippine coastal environment.

The program consists of eight projects examining the following impacts: changing coastal erosion, sea level rise, and water quality; changes in oceanographic processes at different scales; changes in ecosystem patterns and processes; and changes in fisheries harvest.

The program intends to produce vulnerability maps and coastal profiles; coastal and ecosystem scenarios; decision options: cost-benefit analyses, science-based governance processes, and system guidelines; and monitoring, evaluation, and response feedback systems (MERFS). The results of the different studies will feed into the different responses such as modeling decision support for Coastal Resource Management strategic action plans, fisheries ecosystem adaptive management strategies for enhancements and conservation (FEAMS-EC), and Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Support Network - Integrated Coastal Management [MSN-ICM] resilience seas network.

The event will be held at the Klima Conference Center of the Manila Observatory on 5 April 2011, Tuesday, from 1:30 - 5:00 p.m.