The Ateneo de Zamboanga University has been recognized as a regional hub of the Ridge, River to Reef Rural-Urban Land Use Evaluation System for Climate Change Adaptation-Disaster Risk Management or R3 RULES CCA-DRM after the presidents of the different Ateneo schools and universities in the Philippines entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Manila Observatory (MO) of the Ateneo de Manila University last summer of 2011. The MOA was made in the advocacy of fighting climate change through the conduct of more research initiatives.
In the enforcement of the said MOA, Ateneo de Zamboanga University initiated local consultations with several local government units and other government organizations. The R3 RULES CCA-DRM project started in June 2011 after the consultation-workshop conducted by Project Manager Dr. Celine Vicente, Dr. Gemma Nerisma, and Executive Director Antonia Yulo.
The primary goal of the R3 RULES CCA-DRM is to mainstream climate change adaptation and disaster risk management (CCA-DRM) strategies into Comprehensive and Sustainable Land Use Planning and Plans (CSLUPs) of local government units. The project hopes to integrate much-needed localized risk mapping. In this more climate-adaptive and disaster risk-sensitive land use mapping, the tools of remote sensing and geographic information systems (RS-GIS) are applied. As such, the tools enable space and evidence-based decision-support.
As regional hub of R3 RULES CCA DRM, ADZU was granted multi-license by SPOT 5 satellite images by France Space Administration and JAXA ALOS (Japan Space Exploration Administration) for the use of PALSAR, AVNIR and PRISM satellite images. In addition, software ENVI 4.8 license was also granted to ADZU by Exelis Visual Information Solutions, a France-based company.
Mario S. Rodriguez (CSIT) and Emir V. Epino (SLA) have been tapped for the said project. They have undergone a three-week internship/training on Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (RS-GIS) last May 21 to June 9, 2012 at the Center for Environmental Geomatics of the Manila Observatory in Ateneo de Manila University.
