This panel interrogates the concepts/methods/evidence for transdisciplinarity, complementarity and intersectionality approaches in building community resilience innovations amidst climate and disaster risks.
Effects of extreme events like flooding and drought have been exacerbated by other climate impact drivers (CIDs), e.g., typhoons, sea level rise (SLR), earthquakes, landslides, storm surges, urban heat index (UHI), etc. This panel argues that understanding climate and disaster risks and its consequences both to the bio-physical and human systems, demand insights and innovations from multiple disciplinal perspectives, both, in trajectories of analysis and action.
The papers in this panel are based on the findings and applications of The Coastal Cities at Risk in the Philippines: Investing in Climate and Disaster Resilience (CCARPH) Project (2018-2024), a consortium of scientists from Ateneo de Manila University and Manila Observatory, with implementing partner, the National Resilience Council. For more details, google our websites, https://resiliencetoolkit.ph and https://coastalcitiesatrisk.com
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Enhancing Climate Change Information through Co-production
Faye Cruz
Manila Observatory
Julie Mae Dado
Manila Observatory
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Emilio Gozo
Manila Observatory
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Regional climate change information results from the consolidation and synthesis of multiple lines of evidence, such as from observations, climate model output, and scientific literature, among others. However, contextualization and localization of this climate information are essential to ensure the relevance and uptake of information in risk assessments and decision-making. This has led to increased efforts to strengthen the engagement between climate scientists and end-users, including the vulnerability-impacts-adaptation community and decision-makers, to co-produce climate knowledge by integrating information from the physical sciences with the economic, social, and political sciences, and ideally also with local knowledge. In the Coastal Cities at Risk in the Philippines project, consultations with local government partners have helped identify the climate hazards that would be prioritized in the data analysis. Understanding the local context also motivated the adoption of methodologies that would help better address user needs. For example, climate model output was first processed to reduce biases (i.e., deviations from observed data) before this climate data was used in the risk assessments for the cities of concern. This transdisciplinary approach in generating climate information is still being adopted, such as in the APN-funded CARE for SEA megacities (Climatic hazard Assessment to enhance Resilience against climate Extremes for Southeast Asian megacities) project, which aims to provide a robust evidence base for climate change adaptation to enhance urban resilience in Southeast Asia.
On Air Quality and Enhancing Transdisciplinarity, Complementarity, and Building Resilience
Maria Obiminda L.
Cambaliza
Manila Observatory
Department of Physics
James Bernard Simpas
Manila Observatory
Department of Physics
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Melliza T. Cruz
Manila Observatory
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The Air Quality Dynamics Laboratory of the Manila Observatory has been engaged through the years in quantifying the abundance and composition of air pollution, which is known as a silent killer and an invisible hazard. However, complementarity and transdisciplinarity are often also very much present in our work. Knowledge generated by the research team is often communicated and discussed with stakeholders so that appropriate action may be implemented. Likewise, transdisciplinarity, in turn, also becomes a tool to generate knowledge. Three examples are provided in this presentation, namely: (1) the long-term trend of particulate pollution (PM2.5) has been communicated to DENR to inform that the Department Administrative Orders (DAO) related to stricter emission standards for motor vehicles, and the shift from Euro 2 to Euro 4 standards led to perceptible decline in fine particulate pollution through the years, (2) our research work on quantifying the personal exposure of jeepney drivers involved the cooperation of experts from various fields (atmospheric science, social science, public health, and systems thinking) apart from the active involvement of the jeepney drivers themselves; this collaborative effort revealed that the personal exposure of jeepney drivers is twice as much as the mean exposure of the general population in Metro Manila (36 µg m-3 vs ~18 µg m-3) and seven times greater than the WHO annual guideline value (5 µg m-3), and finally, (3) a case study of a pollution episode on 22 Sept 2023 was discussed, as it presented an opportunity for discussion with stakeholders who were confused by the cause of the poor air quality episode.
Resilience Hubs and the FEWS+ NEXUS
Paul M. Cabacungan
Maria Theresa Joy G. Rocamora
Reymond P. Cao
Salvador P. Granada Jr.
Paul Ryan A. Santiago
Neil Angelo M. Mercado
Carlos M. Oppus
Cristina F. Gonzales
Nathaniel Joseph C. Libatique
Emma E. Porio
Gregory L. Tangonan
Ateneo de Manila University
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Khim Cathleen M. Saddi
Ateneo de Naga
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With concerns growing about the increased threat of Climate Change, which has strengthened the effects of tropical storms progressively over the past decade, there arises a need for more proactive solutions in order to mitigate the effects of these incessant disasters. As the most at risk countries are the low to middle-low income nations, these solutions need to be effective, efficient, affordable and sustainable. Furthermore, in non-disaster times, these technological solutions have to be able to help provide communities with an alternative means of income as well.
This project looks at the establishment of safe zones for LGUs in disaster-prone areas via the institution of resilience hubs. These hubs are designed to provide not only shelter and basic needs, but also medical resources, and arrangements for long-term stay. The evacuation infrastructure must be able to adapt to, and withstand, severe winds, floods and storm surges, as well as shaking from earthquakes. They must also be accessible to the vulnerable population in order to facilitate quick and efficient evacuation. The anticipatory technologies developed by the Ateneo Innovation Center can be pre-positioned at these resilience hubs to ensure immediate support for disaster victims. These technologies are constructed out of readily available materials to make them easy to replicate and operate for communities, while also eventually increasing their capacity through technical training.
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Keywords: disaster risk, cascading disasters, environment, resilience, anticipatory technologies, energy hub, safe zones, natural hazards, vulnerability, safe zones, evacuation center design
Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on City-Level Economic Activity: Role of CGE Microsimulation Analysis
Ramon Clarete
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Arnold Philip Tuaño
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Marjorie Muyrong
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Rolly Czar Castillo
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Cymon Lubangco
The study examines the impact of climate change on city-level economic activity in the Philippines, motivated by the country's vulnerability to natural disasters and the need for localized assessments. Highlighting the significant economic repercussions of past disasters like Typhoon Ondoy, the research aims to understand and mitigate these impacts, focusing on cities like Marikina, Valenzuela, Pasig, Naga, and Iloilo. Using a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, the study simulates the economic effects of extreme flooding, considering disruptions to labor and capital investment during disasters. Innovations include incorporating natural hazards into the CGE model and constructing factor recovery matrices for affected cities. Results for the 2009 in the case of Typhoon Ondoy show substantial economic losses, in the case of Pasig experiencing a GDP loss of Php 424 million per week over 29 weeks, while Marikina suffered a loss of Php 620 million per week over 12 weeks. Sectoral resilience varies, with small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) particularly affected. The study underscores the importance of improving economic data capability and reducing vulnerability to extreme weather events for city resilience and sustainable development.
Keywords: economic effects, typhoon, vulnerability, resilience, computable general equilibrium, microsimulation