"ICE CREAM" PROJECT BOOSTS DISASTER SCIENCE

The Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) together with the Manila Observatory (MO) and the U.P. Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) presented some of the findings of the Integrated Evaluation of Coastal Research Enhancement and Adaptive Management, or the ICE CREAM Program, at an event held recently at the Klima Conference Center of the Manila Observatory.

Initially funded for three years with a grant of 39 million pesos 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.

According to the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD), "The nine projects under the program will focus on bentho-pelagic productivity, sediments, reefs, fisheries and adaptive management to be implemented by the University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI), Bicol University, De La Salle University, Mindanao State University-Naawan, University of the Philippines in the Visayas, and Xavier University."

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.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Chair of COMSTE, said that the contributions of the ICE CREAM program will aid in the development of the Philippine Disaster Science and Management (DSMC).

The DSMC will help to develop the science behind disaster management and resilience, helping the government make the proper decisions in land use and zoning, and preparing to face natural disasters.

The event, attended by many scientists and professors from universities, government agencies, foreign representatives and non government organizations showcased projects undertaken during the three years of the ICE CREAM project.

The program helped 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.