Philippines Project

For many years, the Philippines’ position in international climate negotiations was that agriculture was a sustainable development and adaptation issue, and they did not engage with agriculture GHG mitigation. This changed with the Paris Agreement, when the Philippines began to make GHG mitigation commitments. Owing to this history, there had been very limited research on livestock GHG emissions in the Philippines. The agriculture GHG inventory compilation agency (Philippine Statistics Authority, PSA) was using the simple Tier 1 method and had limited staff to implement improvements such as progression to the more advanced Tier 2 method. The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) delegated University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) and the Philippine Carabao Centre (PCC) to be the direct partners for NZ in the NZCSA.

The objectives of the cooperation projects with UPLB and PCC were to (a) develop Tier 2 GHG inventories for cattle (UPLB) and buffalo (PCC), and (b) to strengthen capacities for GHG measurement and mitigation capacities in both institutions.

• GHG inventory improvement: Tier 2 inventories for GHG emissions from buffalo and cattle have been compiled. In the process, PCC undertook a good quality, large-scale nationwide survey of buffalo farming practices, while UPLB engaged with their network among state universities to obtain the data required. UPLB and PCC both compiled good quality inventories. However, planned reviews by PSA and the Climate Change Commission were not able to be held during the project period. Further support may be required to gain official acceptance of the improved inventories, and to clarify ongoing roles and responsibilities among UPLB, PCC, PSA, CCC and DA, in view of PSA’s limited staff. Initial discussions among these stakeholders, facilitated with strong support by the NZ Manila post, indicate positive intent among all partners to continue making progress.

• Research capacities: The Philippines Measurement Hub embraces facilities at 2 locations, being UPLB in southern Luzon (for beef and dairy cattle) and PCC in northern Luzon (for buffalo). Prior to NZCSA there had been no measures of cattle emissions in the Philippines and only a transient study of buffalo emissions. By NZCSA completion they have physical measurement capacity for enteric emissions in both locations and for manure emissions at PCC. As an output they have data on Ym for cattle and buffalo as well as data on manure emissions and mitigation options for both manure and enteric sources. So, they have achieved multiple outcomes in a very short period of time. Coupled with this that now a really strong research team exists at UPLB looking to expand the use of the facilities and who have already found place in other international projects after starting with NZCSA. So, the Philippine Hub has become a firm national resource providing a reservoir of national expertise for now and the future.

Initial capacities for GHG management in the livestock sector have been established: The teams at UPLB and PCC now have a good understanding of livestock GHG issues, their application to national GHG inventories, and related research. For the first time, during NDC updating, PCC staff were involved in discussions on GHG mitigation options for the NDC. The NZCSA has provided a good initial basis for them to continue to engage in research and advisory work on this topic.