Dr. Rodrigo Ong, DRRM Director (left), Dr. Rene N. Rollon, Director of IESM (center), Consul Cunanan (right)
In July, officials of the Consulate of Georgia in the Philippines, led by Consul Thelmo Cunanan Jr., visited the University of the Philippines Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM) to explore possible areas of cooperation and collaboration with Georgia.
Joining Consul Cunanan were Dr. Melissa Dizon and Dr. Rodrigo Ong, the Consulate’s Public Relations and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Directors, respectively, and Mr. Ronnie Bernardo, environment advocate and blogger.
The IESM is one of eight academic institutes of the University of the Philippines‘ College of Science. It offers only graduate programs (diploma, MSc and PhD) in environmental science and meteorology. On 27 March 2003, the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines (UP) approved the creation of the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM) as an academic unit of the College of Science of UP Diliman, merging the erstwhile Environmental Science Program (ESP) and the Department of Meteorology and Oceanography (DMO).
The Institute is envisioned to serve as a center of excellence in the environmental and atmospheric sciences in Asia-Pacific, investigating natural phenomena (including human interactions with nature), contributing to major decisions towards sustainable development in the country and the region. The IESM specializes in Environmental Science, Meteorology, Marine Ecology, Marine mammals, Biogeography, Hydrology, Geology, and Atmospheric Science.
The group first visited the Weather Information-Integration for System Enhancement Project, which aims to provide high accuracy weather prediction to help the nation government and private sector in their disaster planning and response programs. Consul Cunanan was briefed by project officers Dr. Gay Jane Perez and Robert Badrina, who explained that they work closely with PAGASA in improving the country’s weather forecasting capabilities, sharing and collating data, and providing training and skills enhancement for its personnel. Other departments visited were the Earth Surface Materials and Process Laboratory, the Marine Biodiversity Lab, and the Department of Meteorology and Oceanography.
Consul Cunanan met with Dr. Rene N. Rollon, Director of IESM and a professor of Ecology, Coastal Marine Biology, Aquatic Systems, and Environment Impact Assessment and discussed different ways to collaborate with Georgia for mutual scientific advancement and research.
Consul Cunanan explained the different plans and programs of the Consulate, specifically its focus on the sciences and the creation of synergy between public and private stakeholders in Georgia and the Philippines in the fields of environment protection and awareness, climate change, and global warming. He also informed Dr. Rollon about ongoing initiatives to strengthen relations between the Ministry of Environment Protection of Georgia and it’s the Agency for Protected Areas and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines through cooperation agreements, the exchange of delegations, and possible scholarships and exchange programs.
For his part, Dr. Rollon expressed his approval of the Consulate’s relationship-building initiatives and vowed to work with the Consul Cunanan and his team, in this regard. He also said he looked forward to meeting his counterparts from Georgia and enter into meaningful exchanges to further environmental science practices in both countries. Dr. Rollon is especially interested in Georgia’s meteorology and earth-mapping capabilities. At the end of the meeting, both officials committed to formalizing this proposed partnership.
