THE Philippine-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) will hold a conference, “Climate Resilience and Green Growth in Mindanao: Road Map to Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Development,” at the Grand Regal Hotel in Davao City on May 9-10. Dr. Lope Santos 3rd, Searca program specialist, over the weekend said the conference is in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Climate Change Commission (CCC), Mindanao Development Authority and the United Nations Environment Programme. Santos added that the two-day conference will bring together varied ideas, experiences and proposals from different stakeholders covering 50 agencies and institutions including provincial, city, municipal and national government agencies, the private sector, academe and non-government and people’s organizations. He said the overall aim of the conference is to learn from previous and ongoing projects of donor organizations and other institutions that are related to climate change adaptation and mitigation, urban resiliency and green growth measures in critical watersheds. Searca has been assisting national agencies, including CCC, the Department of Agriculture and its attached agencies and the Department of Education, in implementing capacity-building and research projects that are aligned with its priority focus on inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development. “It is high time that all stakeholders come together to seriously address the threat of climate change as it severely affects the social and economic development of the country due to losses and damages during extreme weather events,” Dr. Srinivasan Ancha, ADB’s principal climate change specialist, said. Dr. Gil Saguiguit Jr., Searca director, will deliver the welcome remarks and Dr. Candido Cabrido Jr., TA-8493 Team Leader and National Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management specialist, will present the Road Map for Climate Resilience and Green Growth in Davao Oriental.