Is the Philippines ready for climate change?

MANILA, Philippines—The country is far from prepared for drier summers and wetter rainy seasons in the coming years as a result of climate change. Just take a look at the response to the devastation wrought by Tropical Storm Sendong  in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Mindanao, said a leading Filipino environmentalist.

At least 1,200 died in the flashfloods and mudslides unleashed by the storm, while tens of thousands of survivors are crammed in evacuation centers.

“What did the people of Cagayan ask for? Water. Did we have water? They asked for food. How many days of food supply did we have?” Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, CEO and vice chair of World Wildlife Fund for Nature-Philippines, said in a telephone interview. “We’re not [prepared]. Cagayan is evidence.”

In the aftermath of typhoons and extreme weather events in recent years, there were several instances where response by both the national and local governments was inadequate, more starkly in terms of relief supplies, Tan observed.

“Clearly, we’re not ready,” he added. “We have major investments in research, but if you look for evidence of hard action, there’s none.”

And preparedness in terms of infrastructure such as highways, airports, seaports, water systems, power systems, and telecommunications is an entirely different matter, Tan said.

“After a heavy rain, the airport in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo was operating but the highway leading to it was entirely flooded. You have to look at very real common sense to see whether or not a city or town is prepared,” he said.

In Guam, which lies in the path of typhoons, the light posts have thick bodies, cables are laid underground, homes have concrete roofs, and windows have steel shutters, Tan said, citing it as a good model for disaster preparedness.

In its climate projections for 2020 and 2050, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration painted a grim scenario: there will be less rainfall during summer months, but more rain during the wet months, and hence, the prospects of alternating droughts and floods.

Annabelle Plantilla, executive director of the conservation group Haribon Foundation, agreed with Tan’s observation. “Apparently we’re not that prepared as we have seen last week,” she said.

One proof of this was the presence of a community on a sandbar in Cagayan de Oro that was wiped out by Sendong’s floods in a clear case of the non-implementation of land use plan, she said on the phone.

“We’ve had too many wake-up calls. Let’s set aside blaming, buckle down to work, make disaster preparedness plans and flood controls,” she said.

Crucial to this is the strict implementation of a city or a municipality’s comprehensive land use plan, the blueprint of a locality’s development plan which delineates which areas are suited for human settlement, agriculture or industries, she said.

“Local government units draft land use plans out of compliance and to get their IRA (internal revenue allotment) released. About time they dusted these off and started using them,” she said.

Have you got a go-bag containing food, medicine, jackets, emergency tools such as flashlight and a multi-function knife? This is the most basic kit that each family should have when faced with disasters.

Unfortunately, most disaster victims don’t have one, Tan said.

Tan said that disaster preparedness takes root first and foremost in homes, and residents should not wholly rely on the government to overcome disasters. For starters, they should know when and where to evacuate.

To minimize flooding, the government should step up forest restoration, Plantilla said. “That should have been done a long time ago. We’re good at launching projects but come up short on follow-through and implementation,” she said.

As with floods, there are a number ways by which the public and the government could cope with droughts.

Plantilla said there are basic things that people could do to minimize the impact of drought, such as  building cisterns in one’s home to catch rain water, planting vegetables in one’s own garden, and if not possible, in pots, among others.

Tan, for his part, said that coastal towns could resort to desalination while other areas could tap into aquifers beneath marshes.

“We have 146 billion cubic meters of rainwater a year. Of this 106 billion cubic meters are lost to the sea. Of the remaining 40 billion cubic meters, we lose 20 billion cubic meters through system loss. If we’re able to manage system loss, that will solve a lot of problems,” he said.

For Tan, the lesson that could be drawn from Sendong is: “We can’t blame climate change for everything. Ultimately the human footprint aggravates the impacts of climate change.”

“There is no doubt that climate change is advancing, impacts are intensifying. If we don’t pay closer attention to human footprint, water and energy efficiency, design of cities, design of transport systems, then we’re asking for trouble. We’re exposing ourselves unnecessarily and making things [more] difficult than they really should be,” he added.