Location

San Miguel, Philippines 

San Miguel Island is an island in the Albay Province in the Philippines, located 17 kilometers from Iloilo City. It has a population of approximately 30,000 people. The island’s economy depends largely on fisheries, shown by the fact more than 80% of the population is full-time fishermen. Agriculture is also a primary income source.

 

Issue

Vulnerable populations became even more vulnerable due to disasters

Albay is one of the provinces greatly affected by natural disasters, proven by the fact that the province was hit by two great typhoons as well as a volcanic eruption in 2006. It is also concerned that climate change exacerbates natural disasters. Communities in San Miguel, Tabaco City were also significantly affected and became even poorer, which worsens the vulnerability of these communities to future disasters. However, communities’ adaptive capacities and resilience to climate change are restricted by poverty, poor governance, environmental degradation and uncontrolled population growth.

 

Solution / Lesson learned

Participatory, community-based, multi-stakeholder approach for CCA and DRR integration 

The Municipality Tabaco initiated an action research project in coastal communities in San Miguel Island, in conjunction with the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) to mainstream disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) into local development planning. This project adopted a participatory, community-based, multi-stakeholder approach including planning workshops and validation of the community assessments and plans. With this approach, the project was able to enhance the awareness of key stakeholders in disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation; to develop the capacity of key stakeholders as well as individuals, communities, and institutions in risk and vulnerability assessment; and to disseminate results to other local governments and disaster coordinating councils and organizations.