In 2006, a landslide in Barangay Guinsaugon in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte killed more than a thousand people. The event underscored the municipality’s vulnerability to multiple hazards and the urgent need to improve preparedness. Thus, prompted Saint Bernard’s creation of an early warning system (EWS) for floods, tsunamis, and landslides.
Through the collaboration of the municipal LGU, government agencies, civil society organizations, and community members, a community-based EWD was instituted. The result was an end-to-end and landscape-wide system that made use of technology (such as gauges for rain and flood levels), a promoted collaboration between stakeholders, and encouraged community participation.
In 2013, Saint Bernard’s community-based local flood EWS was recognized by the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction for its innovative approach that combines technology and comprehensive social preparation. It was one of six projects from around the world shortlisted for the award.
Effective and sustainable disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation is almost impossible to achieve without safeguarding the health of ecosystems. And in some cases, the solution to protecting a community from natural hazards lies in nature itself. Mangrove reforestation, for instance, can serve as a small-scale mitigation measure to strengthen community resilience.
Barangay Sabang is one of 11 coastal villages in Calabanga, Camarines Sur prone to storm surges and flooding. But by transforming a vast expanse of abandoned fish ponds into a lush mangrove forest, the community built a shield against hazards. This was done through the collaboration of the local government, national government agencies, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and a dedicated group of volunteers from the community, who planted more than 150,000 mangrove propagules along riverbanks and throughout the coastal areas of Calabanga.
After the rehabilitation of the mangrove forests, residents of Barangay Sabang observe that inland flooding brought by storms have become less intense compared to the ones they used to experience. The mangrove forests also help mitigate saltwater intrusion to nearby agricultural barangays; thus, preventing damage to crops.
A boom in the population of marine species was likewise noticeable, with mud crabs and a variety of fish now calling the roots of the mangroves home. The forests also serve as a sanctuary and breeding ground for freshwater species. These days, villagers say their waters teem with small fish and play host to the occasional butanding (whale shark).
In many of CARE and ACCORD’s partner communities, both urban and rural, there are individuals who stand out because they go above and beyond what is asked of them. These are our champions of resilience: people who are driven by their compassion for others, and the recognition that
resilience-building is everyone’s responsibility.
But what inspires them to take the lead in the service of their communities?
“It is my joy to see that people don’t get hurt during calamities, that nobody gets left behind,” says Mariedel Barbin, 52 years old, of Barangay Potrero, Malabon. Barbin is a housewife who was appointed barangay executive officer because of her active participation in disaster risk reduction-related seminars, meetings, and other activities. As the executive officer, she is part of the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee.
Eulalio Orlandez, a community development worker from Barangay La Flora in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, conducts trainings to bolster his community’s capacity to overcome hazards. He says, “I simply want to help. This is what fuels me.” Talacogon experiences periodical flooding and is underwater four months out of the year, usually from November to March.
This document contains a compilation of key messages about Integrated Risk Management (IRM). It also includes a discussion of the resilience strengthening roles of local government units (LGUs), civil society, and community participation in IRM.
Among the cases featured are integrated solutions for Lake Manit, IRM for complex cities, nature-based solutions to coastal zone protection in the City of Tacloban and the Municipality of Palo, and the resilience of communities in Barangay Bayabas in Dagami, Leyte after the damage brought about by Typhoon Haiyan.
Read more about these stories by clicking on the link to the full document below.
View and Download Key Messages and Case Studies on Integrated Risk Management here.
Manila Bay is strategically located and used to facilitate commerce and trade with other neighboring countries. In its heyday, the bay was known for clean and blue water where people could fish and children could play along the shore. It also used to be filled with mangroves, thus capable of protecting the shore from big waves. Today, however, Manila Bay has become quite the opposite as it is mostly known for intense pollution and unsanitary water.
Due to the increasing population, many of the urban poor communities live in or near the coastal areas. Because these vulnerable populations have limited resources, many people cram into these areas and result to high-risk living conditions with the general housing of community made of only lightweight materials.
The Malabon-Navotas-Tullahan-Tinajeros or MANATUTI River System is one of the three river groups draining into Manila Bay. MANTUTI has been classified as a dead river and can no longer sustain forms of life which affect the quality of life of the fisherfolk near these bodies of water. They have to travel to distant waters in order to catch fish, hence increasing their expenses and reducing income. Aside from this, the communities who reside in areas, such as those by Manila Bay or its comprising river systems (usually informal settlers) are most prone to flooding, fire, storm surges, liquefactions, and earthquakes which are expected to be intensified in the next five to ten years due to climate change.
The Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program is simultaneously ongoing with the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan which is a joint effort of the Philippine government and the Netherlands Government. The latter serves as more of a guide on how future plans for Manila Bay will be carried out, however it is a mere guide that does not have the teeth to enforce its provisions. This is where Partners for Resilience (PfR) steps in. PfR aims to harmonize the process of planning, particularly since one main challenge of large areas such as Manila is that there are simply too many plans.
In Voices of Manila Bay, resilience-building efforts for not only the local government unit officials, but also of the community members themselves through joint and inclusive initiatives and platforms are featured. Through PfR, people from these communities, as well as members of the local government were given an opportunity to create consultations and discussions about their natural environment, their surroundings, their vulnerabilities, and their capacities in order to form a stronger mindset and clearer perspective on the situation. Eventually, this was able to inform the plans and decisions they made for community resilience.
Without PfR, many of the small but most vulnerable communities would not have any idea that there is an ongoing planning and development process for Manila Bay. Therefore, they would not have a chance to share their grievances, inputs, and aspirations about what they want for Manila Bay as the most affected population.
As a whole, this film aims to encourage a dialogue around the participation of communities and local stakeholders in large infrastructure development projects.
To see the full film, please watch the video below.
Climate change affects women and men differently. Unequal access to resources, rights, and opportunities between women and men means that they also experience the impacts of climate change and disasters in different and unequal ways. To ignore these inequalities is to ignore a key factor in the success or failure of our work. Women play an essential role in tackling the climate change challenge. They are demonstrating innovative ways to adapt to the effects of climate change and build resilient societies. Women are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by leading initiatives that put forward new solutions to dealing with climate change. If we can address and transform gender inequalities through climate change and disaster risk reduction initiatives, then we not only promote the equal rights of women but also multiply the sustainable impact of climate-related activities.
Produced by CARE International in Vietnam, UN Women in Viet Nam and GIZ, ‘Making It Count’ offers practical questions, actions, tools and resources for integrating gender into climate change and disaster risk reduction interventions. It is designed to be an easily accessible entry point for practitioners and was created through several consultations with multiple stakeholders, including members of Vietnam’s Climate Change Working Group, and other experts with experience in climate change and gender. Whilst it is Vietnam focused, most elements can also be useful for both government and non-government actors around the world.
View and download the material here.
Originally posted on https://careclimatechange.org/
CARE’s most popular practitioner tool: Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis. A community-level tool that integrates climate change into a wider participatory vulnerability analysis.
By combining local knowledge with scientific data, the CVCA process builds people’s understanding about climate risks and adaptation strategies. It provides a framework for dialogue within communities, as well as between communities and other stakeholders (e.g. local and national government agencies). The results provide a solid foundation for the identification of practical strategies to facilitate community-based adaptation to climate change.
View and download the material here.
Originally posted on https://careclimatechange.org/
View and download comics here.
Originally posted on http://care-philippines.org/
View and download comics here.
Originally posted on http://care-philippines.org
Climate change is a social issue. As the world moves towards climate-smart responses that bridge food security, resilience and mitigation of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), practitioners and researchers face the challenge of doing so through socially relevant and gender-sensitive approaches.
View and download the material here.
Originally posted on http://careclimatechange.org