Climate Change and Civil-Military Coordination in the Philippines: How climate change disasters will impact aid delivery in areas affected by conflict

• Volume 5, Issue 2, March 2022

Bringing aid to disaster-stricken communities is complex, especially in the Philippines where destructive typhoons are intensifying due to climate change. This paper illustrates the coordination for humanitarian aid from Philippine government instrumentalities, the military, uniformed personnel, and civilian sectors as well as from, multilateral organizations and non-government organizations, both local and international during state of national calamities like Typhoon Haiyan. Disaster response increases in complexity in conflict zones such as Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), where armed non-state actors have been active for many years. Encapsulated are the perceptions of 30 respondents coming from government agencies involved in disaster risk reduction and management, including the military and uniformed personnel including humanitarian and relief agencies, during both peacetime and conflict. This embodies challenges in civil-military engagement in balancing mandated tasks such as security, maintaining peace and order, preserving sovereignty, and preventing terrorism with adherence to humanitarian principles and frameworks even while striving to deliver basic humanitarian services in the nexus of climate change and conflict.

Flood Disaster Risk, Sense of Place, and Preparedness of Entrepreneurs in Communities along a River

• Volume 5, Issue 1, November 2021

Restarting business after river floods

The impacts of river floods on small and medium-scale enterprises are significantly felt in the damage and losses experienced by owners and managers who are already saddled with keeping going their businesses related to food, industry, and farm. Such depressing experiences, evident likewise on their flood disaster risk perceptions, should have reduced the value of the place of their business operations or entrepreneurial activities. But they insisted on remaining and rebuilding after disastrous floods rather than stopping or relocating away from hazards. Interestingly, this survey of a non-probability sample of 36 enterprise owners and managers along the Ocoy River in Negros Oriental, Philippines, revealed that flood disaster risk perception is positively and significantly related to their sense of place. Incidentally, they had a low disaster preparedness, although not significantly associated with these two variables, suggesting the high value they assigned to their communities despite a high flood risk. Only place dependence as an economic component of the sense of place was positively and significantly related to flood disaster preparedness which explains their reluctance to relocate. Therefore, as part of enterprises; formal requirements for a business permit, the entrepreneurs must undergo flood disaster preparedness orientation to adapt to climate change.

Climate Change Impacts and Transformative Adaptation Strategies among Farming Households in the City of Koronadal, Philippines

• Volume 4, Issue 1, April 2021

This study assessed the climate trends, changes, impacts, and adaptation strategies of farm households in five barangays in the Roxas mountain range, Koronadal City, South Cotabato by using household survey data from 265 respondents, and complimented with focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The findings of the study revealed that climate changes are manifested by floods, landslides, and droughts as experienced by the local people which caused devastation and affected socioeconomic and environmental conditions of farming livelihood. Farmers used to have bountiful harvests, however, this situation recently changed due to the increasing climate-related risk events. The existing adaptation strategies are just stop-gap solutions that address the effects of climate change, but do not consider the root causes. To consider future changes in climate patterns, the socioeconomic and political structure and processes of the communities need to change by addressing multifaceted drivers of climate change hazards and their impacts. Some grassroot-level transformative adaptation strategies identified in the study consisted of socioeconomic facets, specifically, investment in children’s education, financial management, family planning, and development of alternative on-farm and nonfarm livelihood options. The environmental aspect, including the promotion of agroforestry system, water impoundment technologies, and advanced early warning system, were also considered.

Philippine Institutions and Complex Institutional arrangements for Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture

• Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2021

The Philippines is one of the countries highly vulnerable to climate change, and this condition threatens further the meager agricultural production in the country. However, while the Philippines has established the institutional foundations linking climate change to agriculture, through policies and legislation, advances in climate change adaptation have been slow, especially at the local level. This paper demonstrated that this gap in policy formulation and actual implementation stems from the lack of institutional analysis in CCA efforts in the Philippines. The paper concludes that along with the scientific and technological discussions, institutional conversations should be among the initial vital steps in CCA planning, and policy and decision-making. It further advocates that institutional analysis can be the entry point for designing reforms toward effective CCA implementation.

Impacts of Carbon Dioxide Emissions on Global Intense Hydrometeorological Disasters

• Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2020

This paper connects climate change and hydrometeorological calamities based on econometric evidence that links atmospheric CO₂ accumulations to floods and storms. The study uses climate data from 155 countries, with a period spanning 46 years (1970–2016) and adopted a statistical and econometric approach to assess the factors that have contributed to the increase in the frequency of intense flood and storm events. Findings showed that the number of climate disasters could double in less than 21 years, and thus severely damage the environment, socioeconomic progress, and welfare of millions of people worldwide.

Simulating Impacts of ENSO and Climate Change on Sugar Cane Production in Negros Occidental Province, Philippines

• Volume 4, Issue 1, November 2019

The Philippines is a global player in sugar cane production with Negros province, aka “sugarlandia”, accounting for 80% of national production. As changes in climatic conditions have and will continue to directly or indirectly affect sugarcane production, we should understand better how climate change and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events will impact production targets and future irrigation requirements. This paper demonstrates how a crop model can be used to assess the present and mid-century impacts of ENSO and climate change on sugarcane growth and productivity in Negros Occidental province, Philippines.

Harvesting and Managing Rainwater Using Collapsible Rubber Tanks

• Volume 4, Issue 1, May 2019

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is an existing technology proven to be effective in reducing pressure on water resource, yet often overlooked as a viable alternative for supplying water to households and businesses while reducing stormwater runoff in urban settings. This paper developed, fabricated and tested various collapsible rubber tank (CRT) designs and influence water users and decision-makers to strongly support RWH. With proper handling and maintenance, CRT can be a good alternative for rainwater storage and can be used in hard-to-reach areas particularly during emergency situations and relief operations.

Adaptive capacity of local communities to flash floods and landslides: Comparison of indigenous and non-indigenous people in Eastern Mindanao

• Volume 3, Issue 1, December 2018

Only few studies investigated the adaptive capacity or adaptation practices of indigenous peoples (IPs) in the Philippines and none so far in the Compostela Valley. Since the landslide and flash flood events in 2012 brought by Typhoon Bopha, no systematic study has been conducted to compare the adaptive capacity of IPs and non-IPs in New Bataan’s most affected communities. This paper contributes to the assessments of adaptive behavior with the ultimate goal of stimulating adaptation support to the most vulnerable people.

Transportation Resilience in the Global South: A Post-Haiyan Investigation in Tacloban, Philippines

• Volume 3, Issue 1, August 2018

In 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones to impact the Philippines, made landfall in Tacloban City. The typhoon incapacitated the city, breaking down its main lifeline, the transport system. This article analyzes how a weakened transport system exacerbates disaster vulnerability, specifically manifested in the restricted mobility and access of people and communities immediately after an extreme event.

Assessment of Adaptation to the Impacts of Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) in Eastern Mindanao, Philippines

• Volume 3, Issue 1, August 2018

Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) was the most powerful storm to have hit the island of Mindanao, southern Philippines in more than 100 years of recorded storms. This paper identified the adaptation gaps in the post-Typhoon Bopha recovery and reconstruction based on roundtable discussion, household survey and conjoint analysis.