Climate Change Vulnerability and Disaster Risk Assessment Using Remote Sensing Technology and Adaptation Strategies for Resiliency and Disaster Risk Management in Selected Coastal Municipalities of Zambales, Philippines

The Philippines is one of the most hazard prone and vulnerable countries in the world to climate change effects due to its geographical location. Climate change is already happening and affecting many places causing huge problems to coastal ecosystems. Vulnerability and disaster assessment and mapping in coastal areas are essential tasks and undertakings for coastal disaster risk management. The objectives of this study were to assess the climate change vulnerability and disaster risks in the four municipalities (Sta. Cruz, Candelaria, Masinloc and Palauig) of Zambales and to determine the climate change community-based adaptation (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) strategies. Remote sensing, GIS, secondary data gathering and key informant interview were used to assess vulnerability and disaster risks and mapping in the four municipalities. Survey questionnaire, focus group discussion and key informant interview were utilized in gathering data for the determination of climate change adaptation strategies. Using remote sensing technology, it was revealed that coastline changes have occurred in the shorelines of the four coastal municipalities after a decade. Sea level rise happened in Sta. Cruz and Masinloc, Zambales while there was build-up of soil in the coastline of Candelaria and Palauig, Zambales. Twelve hazard maps, 12 vulnerability maps and 12 disaster risk maps were generated for the three major disasters (flood, landslide, storm surge) in the four coastal municipalities. Based on the flood vulnerability and disaster risk assessment, the municipality of Palauig was found to be the most prone to flooding while the municipality of Candelaria was found to be the most vulnerable to landslide compared to other municipalities. All coastal barangays in the four municipalities were susceptible to storm surge. The four coastal municipalities were conducting community-based adaptation (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) approaches in order to protect their coastal resources from the damaging impacts of climate change and improve the resilience of their local communities.

Climate Change Impacts and Vulnerability Assessment of Selected Municipalities and Agroecosystems to Support Development of Resilient Communities and Livelihoods in Nueva Ecija, Philippines

In the last decade, the Philippines had been hit severely by natural disasters brought about by climate change which caused great damages to agriculture. The objectives of the study were to assess climate change impacts and vulnerability of Bongabon, Gabaldon and Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija;to assess the vulnerability and suitability of growing various crops, goats and chicken;to generate vulnerability and suitability maps;and to validate the maps produced. A comprehensive scoping, profiling, vulnerability assessment and crop, chicken and goat suitability assessment of the municipalities and agroecosystems of the study sites was done. Generation and validation of the vulnerability and suitability maps were also conducted. Results revealed that Bongabon obtained moderate vulnerability to floods and typhoon while low vulnerability to drought and soil erosion. Gabaldon had moderate vulnerability to floods, soil erosion and drought while low vulnerability to typhoon. Cabanatuan City attained moderate vulnerability to floods and drought while low vulnerability to typhoon. There were four crops suitable to grow in the current condition with flood and landslide hazards and in the two projected future scenarios (RCP 4.5 with good conditions and RCP 8.5 with the worst conditions). Only three crops are highly suitable to grow in Gabaldon for the future conditions while in Cabanatuan City four crops are very suitable for the three situations. Native chicken and goats are highly suitable to raise in the three study sites for the three conditions. There were 16 vulnerability maps developed and generated in Bongabon, 16 in Gabaldon and only 12 in Cabanatuan City. Furthermore, 21 crop, chicken and goat suitability maps were produced in Bongabon, 27 maps in Gabaldon and 21 maps in Cabanatuan City. Overall, validation of the maps in the study sites had high accuracy.

Phytoremediation:A Green Technology to Remove Environmental Pollutants

Land, surface waters, and ground water worldwide, are increasingly affected by contaminations from industrial, research experiments, military, and agricultural activities either due to ignorance, lack of vision, carelessness, or high cost of waste disposal and treatment. The rapid build-up of toxic pollutants (metals, radionuclide, and organic contaminants in soil, surface water, and ground water) not only affects natural resources, but also causes major strains on ecosystems. Interest in phytoremediation as a method to solve environmental contamination has been growing rapidly in recent years. This green technology that involved “tolerant plants” has been utilized to clean up soil and ground water from heavy metals and other toxic organic compounds. Phytoremediation involves growing plants in a contaminated matrix to remove environmental contaminants by facilitating sequestration and/or degradation (detoxification) of the pollutants. Plants are unique organisms equipped with remarkable metabolic and absorption capabilities, as well as transport systems that can take up nutrients or contaminants selectively from the growth matrix, soil or water. As extensive as these benefits are, the costs of using plants along with other concerns like climatic restrictions that may limit growing of plants and slow speed in comparison with conventional methods (i.e., physical and chemical treatment) for bioremediation must be considered carefully. While the benefits of using phytoremediation to restore balance to a stressed environment seem to far outweigh the cost, the largest barrier to the advancement of phytoremediation could be the public opposition. The long-term implication of green plant technology in removing or sequestering environmental contaminations must be addressed thoroughly. As with all new technology, it is important to proceed with caution.

Dagupan River Basin Exposure and Vulnerability Assessment of Buildings Extracted from LiDAR Derived Datasets

The Philippines has a geographical and geological setting of a typhoon-prone country. Tropical cyclones have a high incidence of passing through the Philippine islands during the months of September to November with an average time overland at 11 hours north of 14.5° contrasted to 20 hours south of 14.5°. Due to the frequent occurrence of typhoons and tropical cyclones in this country, most of the provinces of the Philippines experience flood-related disasters that affect the people, their livelihood and many infrastructures. It is deemed necessary for the Philippines to come up with strategies to prevent further damage to its people and their properties. In this study, through the use of important parameters such as earth observations, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Geographic Information System (GIS), assessment of buildings in Dagupan, the Philippines with the possibility of being affected by floods during different typhoon scenarios was done. GIS overlay analysis of the CLSU Phil-LiDAR 1 Project outputs, the 3D building GIS database, and flood hazard maps was done for the assessment. One (1) meter resolution LiDAR Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), geo-tagged video captured data and high-resolution images in Google Earth were used for processing and analysis to produce a 3D building GIS database. HEC HMS and HEC RAS were used to develop flood models that were used to produce flood hazard maps with different hazard levels. The results of this study were the series of flood exposure maps and vulnerability maps with statistics at different rainfall scenarios. Moreover, the buildings that will be affected by flood in the area were quantified and these were categorized according to their type. It was observed that as the rainfall return period increases, the number of buildings predicted to be exposed and vulnerable to flood also increases. The houses, business establishments, government offices, hospitals and other building types that are at risk of being affected by the flood were counted. Through analysis, it was predicted that there is a higher risk of building exposure and vulnerability during the 100-year rainfall return period. Out of the 71,884 buildings extracted from the area, a predicted 69,214 buildings will be exposed to flood during the 100-year rainfall return period, 59,137 buildings, 9253 buildings, 824 buildings at low, medium and high flood hazard level, respectively. Moreover, a total of 9297 buildings are foreseen to be vulnerable to flood, 4614 buildings, 4368 buildings, 315 buildings at low, medium and high flood hazard levels, respectively. The maps produced through the study are a valuable asset for the development and preparedness of the community in the Dagupan floodplain. Warnings and other information on evacuation measures will be easier to disseminate through the use of the produced maps in this study.