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Photo Essay: Filipino farmers adapt to climate change

Album photo essay: filipino farmers adapt to climate change.

The Cordillera region of the Philippines is one of the areas most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. As the world observes Earth Day, the MDG-F is working with the government to help Filipino farmers adapt.

The project is one of five pilots throughout the country testing adaptation strategies to climate change that can be scaled up to the national level.

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Watch | mga kwento ng klima, climate stories in the philippines.

How does climate change look like in the Philippines?

As we celebrate Earth day 2022 with the theme of Invest in Our Planet , let’s take a look at how Philippines has been affected by the climate crisis. 

With permission from the Oscar M. Lopez Center and ABS-CBN DocuCentral, we are sharing a documentary, Mga Kwento ng Klima that chronicles the lives of the Filipino people affected by the worsening climate crisis. It also shows how local communities, government agencies, and other organizations are championing climate resilient projects inspiring its viewers to take action for the environment. 

Mga Kwento ng Klima (2019)

Mga Kwento ng Klima  is an award-winning documentary chronicling climate change in the context of the Filipino experience, co-produced by Oscar M. Lopez Center and ABS-CBN DocuCentral in 2019.

Taking six months to produce, the OML Center and the ABS-CBN DocuCentral team visited areas gravely impacted by climate change, as well as areas soon to be affected by it, harnessing narratives of survival and adaptation strategies.

As part of the development of the documentary, the OML Center held several mini-workshops with multi-sectoral stakeholders on themes surrounding climate change, including culture, land use, water and seascape, policy and public service, economy, and risks to sectors and industry, among others.

Mga Kwento ng Klima first aired on ABS-CBN’s “Sunday’s Best” on November 24, 2019.

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This collection of photographs and essays illuminates the effects of climate change in our world. Through the lenses of photographers and the insights of thinkers, "Photo Stories and Think Pieces" inspires reflection, awareness, and action toward a sustainable future.  

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Climate in Arts and History

Promoting climate literacy across disciplines.

Where is Tagalog spoken?

• There are around 35.2 million native Tagalog speakers in the world, with about 21.4 million native speakers in the Philippines (map below). Tagalog (along with English) is one of the official languages of the Philippines, but it’s also one of many regional languages in the archipelago, originating from the northern island of Luzon. Outside of the Philippines, the most native Tagalog speakers live in the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Map of the Philippines, in the western Pacific Ocean, east of the Asian continent (from Encyclopædia Britannica). Tagalog originates from the largest and northernmost island of Luzon, where the capital city of Manila is located.

Climate education in the Philippines

Climate Education Policies and Programs

• The Philippines is facing a variety of climate change threats, including more frequent and intensified tropical cyclones or typhoons, sea level rise, and loss of sea life due to ocean acidification and rising ocean temperatures. Typhoons in particular pose a huge threat to the Philippines: according to Amnesty International in 2021, the archipelago was hit with an average of 20 typhoons per year, which create a tremendous amount of damage and leave millions homeless.
• However, in the same ASEAN survey, 66.2% of Filipinos were unsure if their country had net-zero carbon emissions goals and 13.5% wrongly responded that the Philippines had such goals in place. While climate change is discussed in secondary education classes, and most Filipinos are familiar with the effects of climate change, the country’s actual actions and policies are not generally taught.

A photo of a highway covered in smog in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, taken in 2012 (from reuters.com). Among other problems caused by fossil fuel consumption, air pollution significantly impacts Filipinos (especially in cities).

• One notable program is the Climate Action Training for Adolescents program, which offers online training to 10-18 year olds about climate science, adaptation and mitigation strategies, and suggests ways they could carry out those strategies in their communities. Participants are also able to create their own project proposals for community adaptation and mitigation strategies and receive seed funding to implement them.
• Another way the Department of Education has tried to make climate change education more accessible has been through their Experts Explain videos, a five-part series of experts discussing subjects like climate change and sustainability. One important feature of this initiative is that it is geared towards students ranging from elementary to college level, meaning that a broader range of students are able to learn about these concepts.

Students from the Zamboanga del Norte National High School (ZNNHS) Turno Campus participating in a march for Youth Strike for Climate (from www.deped.gov.ph).

• A key feature of modern Filipino climate education is supporting student action for environmental change, particularly movements like the Youth Strike for Climate (image above). The Department of Education not only encouraged teachers and students to participate in climate action, but also made sure to work with schools to ensure striking students were excused for their absences from class. 

Disaster Preparedness Education

• Students are taught how to assess codes that indicate the intensity of storms including rainfall warning levels and tropical cyclone wind systems (image below). By learning to interpret such technical codes, students are empowered to make preparations for coming storms/typhoons in an effort to protect themselves and their families.
• In case students need to quickly evacuate their homes due to flooding or other kinds of damage from rainfall, they are advised to keep a “Go Bag” or emergency kit with the supplies they might need to live outside of their homes (food, water, medical kits, bedding, etc.).

A poster from the Philippine Department of Education explaining the meaning of Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals and tropical cyclone classification (from www.deped.gov.ph, 2021).

Climate and culture in the Philippines

• The mean annual temperature of the Philippines is 26.6°C (79.9°F), with the coolest month being January with a mean temperature of 25.5°C (77.9°F) and May being the warmest month with a mean temperature of 28.3°C (82.9°F). However, different regions of the country have different mean temperatures due to altitude: the province of Baguio, for example, is 1,500 meters (4920 feet) above sea level and has a mean annual temperature of 18.3°C (64.9°F). For more information about regional differences in climate in the Philippines, see the map below.
• The rainfall, humidity and cloudiness in the Philippines are influenced greatly by typhoons, which usually originate from the Marianas and Caroline Islands (to the east of the Philippines and north of Papua New Guinea; map above) and move in a northwestern direction. Because these islands do not extend farther south than the Philippines’ southernmost region Minandao, this region is spared from the majority of typhoons that hit the archipelago.

A map of the Philippines showing 4 major climate zones (from Basconcillo, 2016). While the country as a whole has a tropical climate, the periods of maximum and minimum rain differ between the four regions marked with red, blue, yellow and green on the map, and described in the Legend.

• One example is the Pahiyas Festival in the northern Quezon Province, where people adorn their houses with colorful rice decorations, fruits and vegetables (image below). These decorations are meant to display the house’s yearly harvest for a priest to bless during the procession of San Isidro Labrador (patron saint of farmers).

A house decorated with kipings, or colored rice wafers shaped like leaves, rice fronds, and rice seedlings, as well as fruits and vegetables for the Pahiyas Festival (from media.greenpeace.org, 2014).

• Another example is the Kadayawan Festival in the southern province of Davao, which similarly involves people displaying rice, fruit, and vegetables in front of their houses as a way to express their gratitude for the year’s harvest. Additionally, traditional Indigenous songs and dances are performed in the streets (image below).

Indigenous dancers processing down a street in Davao City carrying mock baskets of fruit (from mindanews.com, 2023). Since the festival centers on the harvest, seasonal fruits like mangosteen and durian (which are ripest in August when the festival takes place) are prominently featured.

• Rice plays a prominent role in the Filipino diet: there are at least eleven different words in Tagalog for rice! The Philippine Statistics Authority reported in 2020 that the average Filipino consumed 118.8 kg (261.9 lb) of rice annually. Climate change significantly threatens Philippine rice production, both in terms of quality and yield, through changes in precipitation, rising temperatures, and more frequent typhoons. 

Language practice

In progress.

References and additional resources

• Al-Hussaini, F. “Kadayawan Festival Davao: History, Schedule, and Local Tips.” Guide to the Philippines, 2021, guidetothephilippines.ph/articles/history-culture/kadayawan-festival-davao-guide. 
• Baldemor, M. “May 15 — the Pahiyas Festival of Lucban, Quezon: Philippine Art, Culture and Antiquities.” Artes de Las Filipinas, 28 May 2024, artesdelasfilipinas.com/archives/22/may-15-the-pahiyas-festival-of-lucban-quezon . 
• Basconcillo, J. et al. “Statistically downscaled projected changes in seasonal mean temperature and rainfall in Cagayan Valley, Philippines.” Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan. Ser. II, vol. 94A, no. 0, 2016, pp. 151–164, https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj.2015-058 .
• “CCE in the Philippines.” Department of Education, www.deped.gov.ph/climate-change-education/cce-in-the-philippines/ .
• CGIAR Initiative on Climate Resilience. “In the Philippines’ Rice-Producing Regions, Climber’s Bundled Climate Services Are Helping Farmers Become Climate-Resilient.” CGIAR, 20 Oct. 2023, www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/in-the-philippines-rice-producing-regions-climbers-bundled-climate-services-are-helping-farmers-become-climate-resilient/ . 
• “Climate of the Philippines.” PAGASA, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, bagong.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/information/climate-philippines . 
• Cornell University Department of Asian Studies. “Tagalog (Filipino).” Tagalog (Filipino) | Department of Asian Studies, asianstudies.cornell.edu/research/tagalog-filipino . 
• DA Press Office. “Rice Supply Adequate for 2020.” Official Portal of the Department of Agriculture, 12 May 2020, www.da.gov.ph/rice-supply-adequate-for-2020/ . 
• “Decorated Houses at Pahiyas Festival in the Philippines.” Greenpeace, 2014, media.greenpeace.org/archive/Decorated-Houses-at-Pahiyas-Festival-in-the-Philippines-27MZIF3C4F9G.html . 
• Eriksen Translations Inc., and Lim, F. “Tagalog.” Eriksen Translations Inc., 17 July 2023, eriksen.com/language/tagalog/ . 
• Hernandez, C., et al. “Philippines.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 17 May 2024, www.britannica.com/place/Philippines . 
• Ocampo, Y. “Kadayawan Festival 2023 Event Guide.” MindaNews, 16 Aug. 2023, mindanews.com/arts-culture/2023/08/kadayawan-festival-2023-event-guide/#gsc.tab=0 . 
• “Philippines Country Most at Risk from Climate Crisis.” Amnesty International UK, 29 Oct. 2021, www.amnesty.org.uk/philippines-country-most-risk-climate-crisis .
• “Philippines Raises Carbon Emission Reduction Target to 75% by 2030.” Reuters, 16 Apr. 2021,  www.reuters.com/business/environment/philippines-raises-carbon-emission-reduction-target-75-by-2030-2021-04-16/ .
• Rodriguez, R. “Filipinos Most Worried about Climate Change, but Unaware of Policies.” Reporting ASEAN – Voices and Views from within Southeast Asia, 3 Nov. 2022, www.reportingasean.net/filipinos-most-worried-about-climate-change-but-unaware-of-policies/ .

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Climate Change para kay Juan

Kusa bang lumilipad ang isip mo kapag climate change na ang usapan at mas gusto mo na lang isipin ang crush mo? "Nosebleed" ba para sa'yo ang isyu ng climate change?

Huwag kang mag-alala, sa “2015 Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists” na isinagawa ng Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting sa Amerika, ang mga siyentipiko mismo, aminadong nahihirapan talaga silang iparating ng malinaw sa publiko ang kanilang mga pag-aaral tungkol sa climate change kahit pa sa palagay nila, ito ang pinakaimportanteng isyu sa daigdig ngayon. Katunayan, nagkaroon ng pagpupulong sa Paris, France kung saan pinagdesisyunan ng mga lider ng bansa ang magiging kapalaran ng ating daigdig. Yes, para silang Avengers. Grabe, ang heavy, ‘di ba?

Ano ba talaga kasi ang climate change?

Marahil hindi mo lang napapansin, pero apektado at pinapalala mo pa ang climate change araw-araw. Sa teorya ng climate change, maraming siyentipiko ang sumasang-ayon na ang daigdig natin ngayon ay dumaranas ng matindi at mabilis na pag-init dahil sa kagagawan ng tao. Ayon sa report ng Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) na pinagtulungan ng libo-libong siyentipiko sa mundo, mula pa noong 1950s, ang pag-init daw ng mundo ngayon ay mas matindi pa kesa sa nakaraang mga milenyo.

Panoorin dito ang pag-init ng mundo hanggang taong 2100 base sa isang climate model:

Kasalanan ko ba ang climate change? Medyo.

Gumagamit tayo ng enerhiya para mapanood natin sa telebisyon ang paborito nating telenovela. Lumilikha din ng enerhiya ang gasolinang inilagay natin para umandar ang kinuha nating brand new car. Ang bago nating cellphone na 12 months to pay at iba pa nating gamit, ginawa din ng mga pabrika at industriya gamit ang enerhiya.

Ang problema, karamihan sa enerhiyang ginagamit natin ay mula sa pagsusunog ng langis, coal o natural gas (fossil fuels) na naglalabas ng greenhouse gas sa himpapawid.

Ang mga greenhouse gas, nagta-trap ng init mula sa araw. Kaya imbes na makalabas ang init sa kalawakan, parang ikaw ang mga greenhouse gas na ayaw pa rin bitawan ang dapat ay pakawalan na. Hindi rin sila maka-move on kaya uminit ng uminit ang daigdig. Ayon sa IPCC report , pinakamataas na daw ang dami ng greenhouse gas  na nasa himpapawid ngayon kumpara sa nakaraang 800,000 taon.

So what kung mainit?

Ang climate change ay parang pagtawid sa maling tawiran, nakamamatay.

Dahil abnormal at hindi natural ang pag-init na nararanasan ng daigdig, abnormal ang mga epekto nito.

Ayon sa IPCC, ang climate change ay maghahatid ng “extreme weather events” kung saan mas dadalas at lalakas pa ang mga nararanasang sama ng panahon.

Isa pang epekto ng climate change ay ang global sea level rise, o ang pagtaas ng tubig-dagat sa mundo ng tatlong milimetro kada taon . Mas palalain pa nito ang nararanasang subsidence o unti-unting paglubog ng maraming lungsod sa mundo dahil sa sobra-sobrang paghigop ng tubig sa ilalim ng lupa. Halimbawa na nito ang mga lugar ng Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan at CAMANAVA na sa pag-aaral ay lumulubog ng 20- 90 milimetro kada taon . Dahil dito, maraming bahagi ng mundo ang babahain at may bantang tuluyang maglaho.

Ayon sa IPCC, isa pang matinding epekto ng nagbabagong klima ay ang banta ng sakit, dahil may mga pathogen at parasite na mas mabilis na dumarami sa mainit na kapaligiran. Nakukuha rin ang mga sakit dahil sa pagdalas ng exposure natin sa kontaminadong pagbaha.

Sa presentasyon sa Metcalf workshop ni Dr. Geoffrey Scott , chairman ng Department of Environment Health Sciences sa University of South Carolina, tinatayang 310 milyong tao raw sa mundo ang magkakaroon ng sakit na konektado sa climate change bago dumating ang taong 2030. Siyam sa sampung tao na ito ay magmumula sa mga developing country tulad ng Pilipinas. Haggard, ‘di ba?!

Ika nga ni Heneral Artikulo Uno sa pelikulang Heneral Luna, “May mas malaki tayong kalaban---ang ating mga sarili.”

Ang mga bansa, nagpulong ngayong Disyembre sa "2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference o COP21" para pagdesisyunan ang mga hakbang at sakripisyong dapat gawin para matigil o kahit mabawasan man lang ang pagdami ng greenhouse o carbon emission sa himpapawid. Kung hindi ito gagawin, naniniwala ang mga siyentipikong tuluyang masisira ang mundo. Ayaw naman siguro nating tumira sa ibang planeta, hindi pa sure kung inhabitable talaga ang planetang Mars.

Hihiram ulit ako ng linya kay Heneral Luna, “Wala na tayong panahon para sa mga bagay na hindi natin kayang panindigan.”

Ito ang katotohanang masakit pa sa breakup n’yo ni ex. Kung aksayado ka sa paggamit ng enerhiya, at wiling-wili ka sa pagbili ng mga bagong gamit kahit hindi mo naman talaga kailangan, kasama ka sa humuhukay sa libingan ng susunod na henerasyon. -- BMS, GMA Public Affairs

Si Annalyn Ardona ay segment producer sa programang Born to be Wild at isa sa mga fellow na dumalo sa “2015 Metcalf Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists” na ginaganap sa University of Rhode Island sa Amerika noong Hunyo.

Survey: 8 of 10 Filipinos Personally Experience Impacts of Climate Change

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This article was contributed by Amanda Lenhardt in support of The Overseas Development Institute.

Growing up in a small town in Northern Canada, climate change wasn’t something I thought of often. And once I did learn about the global impacts of a changing climate a little later in life, the topic seemed too daunting to fully process. I tend to think of myself as an optimist, of the opinion that through thoughtful action we can see the positive changes we want for the world. The environment was always my one exception though, and while I’m typically up for a good challenge, I chose to work on global poverty issues because this seemed more within the realm of the possible than anything related to climate change.  

It wasn’t until a recent trip to Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, that some light was shed on my gloomy outlook for the future of the planet. It was there, at the front lines of the fight against climate change, that I witnessed people taking up the task that I had been too timid to even consider. 

Image: Amanda Lenhardt / ODI

Amidst all the talk of climate change, for most people dominating the discussion, climate change is a distant concept - either it's something of concern for the future, or something experienced elsewhere. For farmers in Northern Burkina Faso on the edge of the Sahel desert though, climate change is a daily reality.  The temperaments of the climate dictate whether the season’s crops will yield enough food for families to eat, and whether enough will be produced to sell in order to afford to send kids to school or attend to health needs.

Last year, like many years in recent memory, the rains came late. Uncertainty has become the new normal for those living off of an unforgiving landscape where population pressures, deforestation and unsustainable farming practices have paved the way for the Sahel desert to creep ever closer. 

But farmers in Northern Burkina Faso are not sitting idly as the climate changes around them. For many years they have been adapting farming techniques to conserve water and regenerate soil in an effort to reclaim land from the desert and to adapt to changing weather patterns. 

Over the last 25 years, around 200,000 to 300,000 hectares of desertified lands have been reclaimed in Burkina Faso through the labour and investments of smallholder farmers, and with the support of national NGOs, international donors and government services. 

The use of improved farming techniques has meant that more food is produced and that families’ periods of food shortage have been significantly reduced. Although drought remains a threat year-on-year, the devastating famines experienced in the 1970s have so far been averted.  

However these gains are fragile, and many of the poorest farmers are unable to take on any further investment or dedicate any additional labour to continue to help the region adapt. More needs to be done to translate promises made by the world’s leaders into practical and effective support for families on the front lines of the fight against climate change.  

I left Burkina Faso feeling both humbled by the tireless efforts of people who are combatting desertification and climatic change, but also with a newfound optimism for the efficacy of actions towards a more sustainable world.  For those of us feeling overwhelmed by what that task might entail, one way to start is to extend support to those who’ve already taken up the challenge, as their fight is also our common fight. 

To find out more about how farmers in Burkina Faso are finding solutions to climate change, take a look at this short film:

Defend the Planet

Photo Essay: The real faces of climate change

Nov. 26, 2015

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Climate change and the common Filipino

It’s hard to think about climate change in this time of soaring unemployment, shuttered businesses, and worsened poverty. But we all have to concern ourselves with climate now, because it is no longer just some vague realm of scientists and world leaders. It has become an economic problem, one that’s already hurting all of us, especially the poor, in profound ways.

Various analyses show that climate change is widening the wealth gap, particularly making poor countries poorer. One 2019 study from Stanford University found that from 1961 to 2010, the per-person wealth in the world’s poorest countries decreased by as much as 30 percent due to global warming.

In a country like the Philippines, it’s easy to see how the dramatic change in climate has pushed individuals and communities toward economic distress. More severe and more frequent extreme weather events (e.g. typhoons, floods, and droughts) wreak havoc on homes, livelihoods, and local economies. With the increasing unpredictability of these events, poorer, less adaptable communities become more exposed and less resilient.

Not only does climate change inflict costly damage and destroy livelihoods, it also threatens our food security. Our agriculture sector takes a hit with every flood and drought, while our aquatic food sources suffer from the warming and acidification of marine habitats. In addition, vector-borne diseases such as dengue find more conducive environments in warmer tropical climates like ours.

All these have domino effects on the day-to-day life of the average Filipino, including food access, health and medical care, productivity, childcare and education, and more.

It is high time to think of climate change as an economic issue, and for Filipinos to include this issue in political (not partisan) decision-making.

How is climate response a political decision? For so long, the narrative on climate change focused on the responsibility of the individual: Each person must choose eco-friendly products, conserve energy, plant trees, and so on. It is clear now that individual action can only go so far; without concrete policy from governments and political will to effect meaningful solutions, our individual actions can only scratch the surface of the issue.

Fr. Jett Villarin, one of the country’s foremost climate scientists and who has worked with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, emphasized this in a briefing last week: “Climate action cannot just be individual. It has to be organized, it has to be collective… We need good policies, we need good governance.”

In terms of climate, good governance involves national and local government leaders who listen to scientists in crafting climate laws and regulations—and actually enact them.

So far, environmental laws in the country have been feebly implemented. For example, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act has barely put a stop to open dumping and open burning of waste, and the Revised Forestry Code has not deterred illegal lumber-cutters even in protected forests.

Further, good climate governance entails not only the mitigation of global warming factors but also adaptation strategies for citizens already living in a warmer world. As we are now experiencing the effects of climate change, how can we adapt? Adaptation strategies include disaster risk management, water utility management, protection of ecosystems, and support for sustainable agriculture.

Our local and national government leaders have to hear our strong public demand for effectual climate governance. Besides participating in visible advocacy, one of the ways to express our demand is through our vote. Already, we are seeing who among our politicians have included climate action in their priorities, who have failed their climate promises, and who have shown no regard at all for the climate crisis.

We, the common Filipino, must own the issue of climate change. It is not just scientists and academics who perceive its effects. It is us who are burdened economically, immensely, by the shortage of climate action.

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• ENVIRONMENT
• PLANET POSSIBLE

Photos show a climate change crisis unfolding—and hope for the future

Melting ice, wildfires, heat waves, floods: These images show life in a warming world, and solutions to address it.

As the UN’s global climate change conference—COP26—approaches, ever-more-extreme weather has shown us climate change is here. Yet COVID-19 and the actions taken to control it have also shown us that cooperation can prompt dramatic global change.

Sometimes, all it takes is one photo to spark that action. Sometimes, it's a collection of vignettes that show us what is at stake, and more importantly, inspire ideas of what we can do about it. In short, pictures can change the world. And as our world comes to terms with the reality of climate change, never has that been more needed.

Some of these images offer an instant visual punch to the gut: a dying coral outcrop on the Great Barrier Reef, for instance, juxtaposed with an older photo of how vibrant coral can be. Some of the images inspire in their ability to show that change is not only possible, it is happening—and that we have the ingenuity and the skill to make a real difference.  

But amidst these odds, there is hope. Nature is resilient, and given the chance, it can recover, if we have the courage to make it happen.

Related Topics

• CLIMATE CHANGE
• CLIMATOLOGY
• SEA LEVEL CHANGE
• FIRE FIGHTING

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Editorial: Climate change

WHETHER you like it or not, climate change is happening. It is impossible to be skeptical about it when it is happening right in front of our eyes. We don’t need photos and stories of melting polar ice caps to be informed of the changing climate. We can see it with the recent changes in the Philippines alone. When typhoons enter the southern portion of the Philippine Area of Responsibility, its path would usually go up towards the Visayas or Luzon. However, in the last few years, we saw how typhoons have started to make landfall in Davao Region, though mostly in Compostela Valley or Davao Oriental. In 2012, Typhoon Pablo made landfall in Davao Oriental while in 2013, Typhoon Crising struck Davao del Sur. This year, we saw how Tropical Depression Chedeng, which later weakened to a low pressure area, made landfall in Malita, Davao Occidental. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Davao the last time Malita, Occidental was struck by a typhoon was in 1970 by Typhoon Titang. Usually tagged as among the typhoon free areas in the Philippines, this may not be the case in the near future for Davao Region. Once Mother Nature starts changing things, it will seem impossible to revert it back to how it was. What needs to be done right now is enact programs or initiatives that will allow the different sectors of the society to adapt to climate change. For one, it is commendable that the Department of Agriculture, Department of Science and Technology, and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management are making efforts to create programs that will improve the resiliency of the Filipinos. The Department of Education has also started to make steps to integrate climate change adaptation to the curriculum. However, there is much to be done in terms of making the public known of what they are doing. Not everyone is aware of the efforts being done to help people adapt to a change that will soon hit every one of us. There is also a need to ramp up the information and education campaign on climate change for the public to know and understand what it is and what they can do about it. If we do not do something about it now, how can we survive when the effects of climate change are at its peak?

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Filipinos, how are you adapting to climate change? You ask, we answer

Submitted by Lucille L. Sering On Tue, 06/18/2013 - 20:55

Climate change is definitely upon us. You don’t need to have a scientific mind to realize this, as recent natural calamities have shown in the Philippines, which also swept through some parts of Southeast Asia causing hundreds of casualties and losses to the economy: Typhoons Ondoy (International name: Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) in 2009 that flooded Metro Manila; Sendong (Washi) in 2011 which was recognized as the world’s deadliest storm in 2011; and Pablo (Bopha) in 2012. Certainly, this is a little discomforting and makes us a little bit apprehensive about our future. To lessen our anxiety about this phenomenon, it helps to ask questions and get answers. It’s also good to know if something is being done to address the problem – and know that it is being done right.

The Aquino government has been very aggressive in its approach to address the problem of climate change. It staffed the Climate Change Commission (CCC) and made it functional. The CCC coordinates and provides oversight and policy advice on programs and projects on climate change. It is also tasked to craft the National Strategic Framework on Climate Change and the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP). The latter serves as the country’s roadmap to effectively deal with the problem. The CCC also takes a strong stand in international negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To give more teeth to the government’s efforts to adapt to climate change, another law was passed creating the People’s Survival Fund (PSF). With an initial fund of P1 billion pesos (equivalent to US25 million), the special fund will be used for climate change adaptation programs and projects at the local level.

To ensure that the government stays on the right path, through the Climate Change Commission and the Department of Budget and Management, it has requested the World Bank to undertake a study to review government expenditures related to climate change and institutions with mandates to address climate change.

The study called the Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review or CPEIR, also provides a general backdrop of projected increases in global temperature and its corresponding effects:

• Globally, since 1950, ocean temperature increased by about 0.09oC

• Sea levels have been rising by 15-20 cm from pre-industrial levels with the rate nearly doubling from that of the past century.

• Industrial activity was non-existent in the Philippines during this period and any GHG emission could only come from agricultural and other normal processes. However, as a small and archipelagic country, the Philippines is highly vulnerable to sea-level rise. The report cited a study (Dasgupta et al. 2009) which listed the cities of San Jose, Manila, Roxas and Cotabato among the top 10 most vulnerable cities in the East Asia and Pacific Region to sea-level rise.

Based on the study, climate change clearly poses a threat to human survival. It foretells of the submergence of coastal communities due to sea-level rise. It also projects the occurrence of frequent and stronger typhoons, and of prolonged, intense heat in the summers and heavy rains and flooding during rainy season. It also tells of the dire consequences of these natural catastrophes to human habitation, food supply, the degradation of ecosystem services and eventual extinction of some species. This clearly shows that climate change is a development issue that threatens the gains and economic development attained in past decades. Agriculture, for instance, which relies on a stable, regular weather pattern will be adversely affected, if such pattern is disrupted by climate change.

While the Philippines is not a major green house gas (GHG) emitter, the report projects that our country’s GHG emission will continue to increase in the years to come. This growth will be due to a growing economy, heightened urbanization, increased demand and use of energy and the expected increase in the number of vehicles, all of which are highly dependent on crude oil for energy.

Given the above, the report recommends several measures along three main lines:

• strengthening planning, execution, and financing framework for climate change

• enhancing leadership and accountability through monitoring, evaluation, and review of climate change policies and activities

• building capacity and managing change

The report, to be launched on June 25, 2013 in Manila, also calls on the government to address several barriers to effective implementation of the climate change agenda.

Meanwhile, a survey commissioned by the World Bank and conducted by the Social Weather Station finds that many Filipinos say they are now experiencing the effects of a changing climate. The survey looked into the level of knowledge of Filipinos about the impacts of climate change as well as their personal experience/s about it. We’ll soon share the results of this survey on www.worldbank.org/ph , but in the meantime, perhaps there are those who are still in the dark about how to adapt to a changing climate, or how the government is working to mitigate its effects.

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