Climate Adaptation on Remote Islands: HHI Program on Resilient Communities
Addressing long-term challenges caused by climate change and natural disasters requires innovative collaborations with stakeholders from all sectors, investment in local capacities, and an increased attention to communities at the margins. This blog by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative Program on Resilient Communities features the climate adaptation actions on Gigantes Island in the Philippines.
By Lea Ivy O. Manzanero and Vincenzo Bollettino
Life on Gigantes Island in the Philippines
Sea levels are rising, weather patterns are changing, fish are less abundant and harder to find, flooding is more frequent and severe, and waters recede more slowly. Nowhere are these phenomena felt more acutely than in the archipelagic nation of the Philippines, with its 7,000 plus islands. In many of the Philippines’ remote inhabited islands, large infrastructure adaptation projects are not feasible measures to take. Communities in these areas must find alternative means to adapt to and cope with these climatic changes. Partnering with academic and research institutions presents a vital opportunity for these communities to adapt and build capacity.
At the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, we have spent the last 18 months working with coastal communities throughout the Philippines, asking community leaders and community members how their environments are changing, and measures they are using to adapt to these changes. Different island communities each have their own unique experiences, yet face common obstacles. We found the stories of one community in Gigantes Island particularly salient and emblematic of other small islands challenges.
The Gigantes island chain is comprised of 10 islands ranging in size from 1–10 square kilometers sitting in the Visayan Sea and within the larger Western Visayas archipelago. The islands are quite remote from other larger islands, and even in good weather, take hours to reach by boat. Roughly 80 percent of Gigantes’ 13,000 residents live below the poverty line. Many of the island’s residents moved to Gigantes from larger, more populated islands, in order to catch fish. Originally, a temporary settlement for fisherman, Gigantes has become a permanent settlement in recent decades as fish have become scarce in other traditional fishing regions.
The Challenges
In the Philippines, the climate varies across regions. Weather is driven by the interaction of ocean currents, land forms, location, air masses, and two powerful seasonal winds: Northeast monsoon (amihan) and Southwest monsoon (habagat).
Every year from June to September, habagat brings strong rains, winds, and waves to Gigantes. On August 2019, habagat suspended food supply transports from Carles port which caused food shortages in Gigantes. During Christmas time 2019, another disaster, Typhoon Ursula (Phanfone) struck Gigantes. Gigantes was also badly hit by Category 5 Typhoon Haiyan.
When surrounded by rough seas, the physical and mental stresses in Gigantes are severe. Community members must grieve loved ones lost in isolation. Disasters destroy homes and livelihoods. Vital weather information and communication are cut off. Misinformation can lead to boats capsizing, and fishers missing or dying.
Adaptation Strategies
Given its remoteness and limited resources, Gigantes local community leaders and local government sought to develop partnerships as the key means of developing their capacity to identify and prepare for weather-related hazards. Previously, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported daily weather forecasts in regions like Northern and Southern Luzon, National Capital Region, Visayas, and Mindanao. To increase weather system coverage and monitoring nationwide, PAGASA built Doppler Weather Radar Stations in Iloilo City, Palawan, and Zamboanga in 2012. Weather forecasts for Gigantes initially came from PAGASA Iloilo City, 75 miles away. Relying on PAGASA’s weather forecasts did not provide granular enough information that could be used in Gigantes.
As an adaptation strategy, the local government in Gigantes sought to enhance their own resilience and build their capacity to plan for disasters and to develop their own weather forecasting ability. Community leaders from the Gigantes Island chain partnered with the University of the Philippines-Visayas (UPV), to form an Island Sustainable Development Alliance (ISDA), to develop a disaster communication plan for the island chain. Community leaders now develop their own disaster communication plans and cross-check these against PAGASA’s typhoon forecasts with Carles Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) office for early warning actions.
Similarly, over the past seven years, UPV and PAGASA installed automated weather station (AWS) in Ballesteros High School in Gigantes. Trained students of School Hydro-Meteorological Information Network (SHINE) translate and report weather data from AWS into local languages for island residents who await daily weather updates to guide fishing, eco-tourism, and prepare for disasters or prevent sea mishaps.
The Way Forward
Community leaders establishing academic and government partnerships to build their own capacity is just one example of positive adaptation to climate-related hazards. This collaboration allowed communities to create more accurate local forecasts and develop better communication response plans. There are many challenges small island communities face in light of climate-related threats, including threats to their livelihoods and physical and mental health. Geographically isolated, small island communities are often left out of adaptation strategies that focus on larger urban areas. Addressing long-term challenges caused by climate change and natural disasters requires innovative collaborations with stakeholders from all sectors, investment in local capacities, and an increased attention to communities at the margins.
Lea Ivy O. Manzanero is the Project Lead and Vincenzo Bollettino is the Director of Program on Resilient Communities at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.
