Shell Powering Progress Together Forum 2015: Resilience in an urban perspective

MANILA, Philippines – We live in an age of volatility. With the rise of cities and the strain this puts on vital global resources of energy, water and food, the only way to adapt and grow amidst environmental and urban challenges is through resilience.

According to a United Nations study, most of the world’s population will be living in urbanized cities by 2050. Yet this fast progress will also put more people at risk. Shocks such as floods, heavy traffic, and lethal air pollution levels can bring down the most modern city  – unless we start building our capacity to be resilient.

The big question is: how can we start learning to be resilient NOW?

Preparation, education, transformation and collaboration. These were some of the answers  presented and discussed during Shell’s Powering Progress Together (PPT) Asia Forum, a multi-sector conference hosted by Shell Philippines annually from 2014-2016. This year, 300 experts and thought leaders from business, government and civil society gathered at the Manila Hotel last February to discuss implications and solutions for the world’s vital resources that will come under greater pressure in the next 50 years. The PPT network will reconvene once again in February 2016 to showcase sustainable and collaborative solutions for societal resilience that will live on beyond the annual, three-year conference.

‘Resilience can be sassy’

The USAID defines resilience as “the ability of people, households, communities, countries and systems to mitigate, adapt and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth.” During the first panel of the forum, this definition was expanded and enhanced by Xyntéo Head of Resilience Saya Snow Kitasei, British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Anwar Ahmad, and Manila Observatory Executive Director Toni Yulo-Gonzaga.

Since 2009, “Resilience” has been a local buzzword in the aftermath of typhoons like Ondoy, Sendong, and Yolanda. “The Philippines has shown the world what resilience means,” said Kitasei. The first panel highlighted the chilling reality we face today:  climate change is already causing tremendous impact in every continent. The world’s temperature will continue to increase up to 4 degrees by the end of the century. While all this is irreversible, environmental experts hope to slow down the rate in half.

“Unless there is unprecedented global cooperation… we are headed for [the] 4 degrees,” Ahmad said. “We need to spread the effort and cost of climate change over time. But time is moving fast; we need to act readily, we need to act consistently.”

“Even if we curb the emissions dramatically, we’re still under a time of rapid change,” Kitasei stressed. “We must take steps now to build the resilience of our structures and our communities.”

The problem is even more urgent in a rapidly growing mega-city like Metro Manila. “[We have] lost much of our land cover in the last 50 years,” Yulo said. “Major constructions in Metro Manila’s rivers are developments that have lost much of the drainage capacity of the city.”

Thus, making communities disaster-proof is not just about sandbags or creating a financial aid pool. Yulo said that various organizations and academes must get out of their comfort zones to talk about what should be done. “Resilience can be sassy,” Kitasei said, citing Manhattan’s Dry Line as an example. According to ArchDaily, the project “seeks to form a continuous storm barrier around lower Manhattan by transforming underutilized waterfront spaces into a  ‘protective ribbon’ of public parks and amenities.”

“Resilience means we are not just victims of the future that we can’t control,” Kitasei added. “We shape the world we live in. We shape ourselves.”

Cities of the future

The 2nd panel focused on highlighting existing case studies of resilience in cities. Shell’s Glynn Ellis, EMBARQ’s Holger Dalkmann, and urban planner Jun Palafox provided examples from all over the world.

“Population growth has its challenges,” Ellis said. For a company like Shell, problems like overcrowding, pollution, and congestion can also lead to losses in their industry. But then, there are countries like Singapore and Seoul, which experienced completely positive economic turnarounds as their populations boomed. The difference, according to Ellis, was governance, objectives, and a different approach.

Dalkmann said that in the discussion of resilience, it is important to shift the paradigm to how it will affect individuals. “What’s really important are the people on the ground. [They ask] ’What do I care about the big picture?’” He said. “We have to put back people in the focus of our thinking and planning. Cities of the future should be connected, compact, and coordinated.” He compared the cities of Houston and Copenhagen, which have similar populations. But since Copenhagen has more efficient transport policies, it spends fewer resources for providing mobility to its citizens.

In the Philippines, urban planners have brought up ideas and plans for resilience as early as 1948. But implementation has been slow, according to Palafox. “Now we need to revisit and rethink the ideas,” he said. Palafox also illustrated how ideas like decongesting areas such as riverfronts and train terminals, as well as making Metro Manila more walkable, could go a long way in increasing the pace of progress in the capital.

The business of well-being

For enterprises, prioritizing resilience can also mean good business.

During the 3rd Panel, Coke’s Stuart Hawkins shared how the company is helping enhance access to water in selected communities. It’s a natural decision after all: “Water is essential to our business, and the health and well-being of our communities,” Hawkins said. The company has created initiatives like the Raknam program in Thailand, which has provided better water access to 1 million people and has helped the country achieve water balance.

Shell Philippines Country Chairman Edgar Chua said that in the coming years, the volume of vehicles in the world is expected to triple. As part of its smarter mobility and sustainability campaign, Shell is involved in educating Filipinos to use fuel more efficiently, building more innovative eco-vehicles, and promoting the use of cleaner-burning gas for transport. Progress and prosperity can be achieved while protecting the environment if there is collaboration and innovation to build sustainable cities and support systems.

Suparno Banerjee of Hewlett-Packard (HP) rounded off the panel by showing how technology can be used to create sophisticated yet human solutions for risk-related problems. HP actively co-designs tech services with various parties to benefit “at-risk” populations. For example, they are testing an app that allows families in Norfolk to monitor each member’s safety, location, and even mealtimes.

Beyond Resilience

The last panel of the forum was devoted to inspiring stories of recovery from Typhoon Yolanda.

Luke Beckman from the American Red Cross shared the lessons that his team learned in the aftermath of Yolanda. At the onset, it was a challenge to deliver aid and relief cargo in the midst of the confusion and lack of coordination between the aid-giving parties and the administrators. “You can be caught up in the moment very easily,” he said. “But [you] keep coming back to the customer and thinking of what they need.” For Red Cross and other NGOs on the ground, making information easily accessible became crucial in solving the simplest problems. Private and government sectors used Google Docs to map all activities and trace the movement of goods and cargo.

Illac Diaz of MyShelter Foundation asked, “What about everybody else?” His award-winning project of water- and solar-powered light bulbs were inspired by a desire to help beyond the usual response of packaging goods, donating money, and the like. “You have to understand how to build a revolution from the bottom up,” he said. “How can we teach the people? How can we make them NOT depend?” Diaz says that mounting demand for aid is not sustainable: resources will eventually run out, and even global organizations like the UN cannot use up what it spends now in order to keep helping its beneficiaries. Diaz added: “You have to look at the gap and figure out: how will people get water, how will people get energy, if it will not be handed on a platter?”

During the Q&A, both panelists also stressed the important role of the youth in mobilizing innovation and resilience.

The panelists were moderated by international broadcast journalist Maryam Nemazee and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.

Last year, the Philippines became the very first Asian host of the forum. You can read the recap here. – Rappler.com