of the Verde Island Passage, Philippines - weADAPT

climate change vulnerability assessment of the verde island passage, philippines
Context analysis from the baseline as premise of the
vulnerability assessment was first observed by the team:
background on the sector, its importance, components/
aspects and trends related to climate change impacts
on the marine resources that the people experience. As
a basis to the assessment, profiles were laid down, no
matter how preliminary, as a flexible and opportunistic
approach to data gathering in view of institutional gaps.
The vulnerability and resilience potentials of coastal
communities were addressed next, followed by
recommendations to management units. The novelty
of climate change impacts in institutional mechanisms
and in the public mind requires plans and policies to be
scaled up beyond the normative and routine by being
inter-linked and inter-agency driven in emphasizing
the importance of human wellbeing along with marine
biodiversity conservation.
Climate change effects on and of the people in the
vulnerability assessment process are illustrated in a
framework creatively designed by the team (Fig. 42).
Extreme changes in climate affect marine habitats
and species which then impact upon the economic
uses of the marine waters and coasts as well as the
livelihood and health of communities. Changes in sea
surface temperature (SST), accelerated sea level rise
(ASLR), storminess and unexpected precipitation
patterns have effects on the fisheries, tourism and
foreshore development trends that will damage or
destroy investments if there are no climate change
adaptation actions early enough. Beyond understanding
the effects of climate change on the socioeconomic
conditions of communities dependent on marine
resources, the vulnerability assessment also included
the exacerbating anthropogenic factors that affect the
marine environment, represented by the back flows of
arrows.
Rising sea levels inundate wetlands and other low-lying
lands, erode beaches, intensify flooding, and increase
the salinity of rivers, bays, and groundwater tables,
but some of these effects may be compounded by
adaptation activities such as measures that people take
to protect private property from rising sea level that may
have adverse effects on the environment and on public
uses of fish ports, beaches and waterways. Foreshore
development, for instance, can bring in increasing
investments for physical infrastructure such as sea walls
or reclaimed areas in the short term, but in the longer
term, these structures and human activities can damage
mangrove ecosystems, fragment habitats, damage
nutrient flows or cause destructive algal blooms which
can aggravate climate change effects. Vulnerability
assessment is therefore essentially related to disaster
risk reduction and management.
More studies are needed to have appropriate guidelines
for addressing adaptation. The vulnerability assessment
exercise for Verde Island Passage is still exploratory but
already significant for its methodological contributions.
Fig. 42. Socioeconomic aspects in the vulnerability
assessment of the Verde Island Passage.
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