of the Verde Island Passage, Philippines - weADAPT

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climate change vulnerability assessment of the verde island passage, philippines Results and discussion Profile of the Verde Island Passage and vulnerable socioeconomic situation The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its 4th report detailed the impacts of climate change that affect human populations: • Floods and droughts will be more frequent, and storms more intense. • Water will be in shorter (and more erratic) supply. • Sea level rise will result in salt water intrusion in coastal areas decreasing available freshwater. • Water pollution will be worsened by higher water temperatures, increased precipitation, and longer dry periods. • The likelihood of water borne diseases will increase. • Aquatic ecosystems will suffer changes in water availability and related extinctions of species sensitive to water temperature and availability. In addition to natural processes, threats to the rich but fragile environmental resources within and around the Verde Island Passage become more pronounced as population, conservation and natural resource management issues persist. Developments that respond to the escalating needs for income and food, industrialization and urbanization pose greater risks to the environment and to people’s livelihood and health. Biophysical setting The Verde Island Passage extends about 100 km, from Lubang, Mindoro Occidental in the northwest, to the Romblon’s island municipality of Corcuera in the southeast, and about 20 km across at its narrowest portion. The passage, a total of more than 494,700 hectares, is a special management area under the jurisdiction of five provinces: Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, and Romblon. Warmer temperatures, diminished waters sources, and soil erosion results from a thinning forest cover while fish production is adversely affected by such changes as the loss of mangroves. Around the Verde Island Passage, the provinces of Batangas, Romblon and Marinduque have the least forest cover in relation to their respective land areas, with 4.46, 5.41, and 13.78% respectively (Forest Management Bureau or FMB 2003). Low-lying and coastal communities as well as industries are exposed to hazards associated with strong typhoons and heavy rains. At least 51 barangays in 10 Batangas municipalities are more predisposed to flooding, erosion, siltation, and other damages brought by storms. Biodiversity and ecosystem soundness are both threatened by the status and direction of development in the Verde Island Passage. Along with manufacturing, residential and institutional uses, fishing, farming, and tourism, the passage is an essential route for industrial and economic activities. Its waterways are some of the busiest in the Philippines, being used daily by oil and chemical carriers. Consequently, the shores of the province of Batangas are lined with shipyards, chemical and petrochemical plants, and oil refineries. Other observed trends and facts on the socioeconomic situation in the Verde Island Passage are the following: • Overfishing and the use of illegal fishing methods such as the use of sodium cyanide, explosives, and fine-meshed nets. • Mangrove plantations are cut for other land uses that include fish farming. Calatagan’s mangrove areas had been reduced to a mere 26.3 ha from 1 32.8 hectares in 1950 (Gonzales 2009). • Agriculture is intensified, necessitating increased use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. Batangas itself has surpassed its capacity levels, with crop production activities utilizing marginal lands, including upland areas (Lusterio-Berja and Colson 2008). • Forest cover has been diminished as this land has been converted to cultivation. Logging and extractive industries such as mining put entire forest ecosystems at risk. • Forest patches and agricultural lands are cleared to make way for new human settlements and for profitmaking ventures at various scales. • Garbage and toxic effluents from settlements, industrial operations and intensified agricultural production contaminate the ground and water bodies through seepage and run off. Residuals from households and agriculture contribute to the pollution of Batangas Bay and Verde Passage (Arcenas 2008, in Gonzales 2009). • Wastewater discharge from Batangas City’s industries is estimated at almost 600 million liters per year, 98% of which come from the manufacturing, refinery and power industries (Gonzales 2009). Oil spills from ships are a constant threat given the numerous local and international ports and shipyards in Batangas province and the Verde Passage being a busy route for cargo and passenger vessels. • Residential areas, including informal settlements, 52
chapter 2 • human well-being and climate change: results and discussion expand especially in the lowland and coastal areas where commerce, industry and infrastructure are concentrated. Population congestion and mounting garbage expose people to diseases and other problems. • More frequent algal blooms that are harmful to the health of marine resources and thus, of humans, are likely due to pollution of water bodies. • Decline in fish catch has been attributed to the establishment of industries in the coastal areas. • Industrial and vehicular emissions cause air pollution. In 2004, Batangas City had a one-year exposure level of 127 μg m-3 total suspended particulates which consist of dust, smoke, soot, and acid fumes usually produced by motor vehicles and fuel-burning facilities. Exceeding the acceptable level of 90 μg m-3, the city’s inhabitants are predisposed to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases (Lusterio-Berja and Colson 2008). Demographic trends and the status of human health and safety Climate change impacts in the Verde Island Passage may influence three factors that impact upon the state of human health: settlement expansion from fertility and migration, increased economic opportunities and urbanization. Baseline data on these factors are well established but have not been appropriately considered in terms of adaptation to climate change. The five provinces (Table 24) flanking the Verde Island Passage consist of 32 municipalities and two cities which support 3,913,000 people (46.07% of the total 2007 population). In Batangas, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro, more than 251 barangays (28%) serve as residence to 34% (557,710) of the population. In summary, from one third to almost a half of the total population of Verde Island Passage provinces are residents of coastal communities where the population size grows fastest. Known coastal centers of commerce and industry in Batangas province such as Batangas City, Nasugbu, Taal, and Balayan had higher annual population growth rates than Batangas province as a whole. In 2000, a total of 67% of the region’s population lived in urban areas where industries and commercial establishments were already concentrated (Lusterio-Berja and Colson 2008). Although there are lower annual population growth rates for the provinces, growth rate in the municipalities of Looc and Lubang increased from 0.22% in 1995- 2000, to 3.41% and 3.35% respectively in 2000- 2007, higher than the national average of 2.3%. Puerto Galera’s annual growth rate also increased from 2.56% to 3.45%. People from communities with less economic opportunities have migrated into areas with more options. Notably, Puerto Galera, Looc and Lubang are increasingly becoming attractive as tourist destinations, with the Lubang Island known for its wealth in fish resources (Occidental Mindoro PPDO 2009; Oriental Mindoro PPDO 2008). Among the five provinces of the Verde Island Passage, Batangas is the most densely populated at 720 people km2, which is higher than the 709 people km2 for the entire Region IV-A Calabarzon (refers to Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal Zone). Calabarzon has the largest population and is the second most densely populated region in the country. It draws an influx of people because of the lucrative economic opportunities presented by its growing number of industries. While industrialization draws people into the urban center, poverty continues to be a great challenge despite income derived from industries, tourism, agriculture and fisheries. A quarter to about half of the families in the Verde Island Passage provinces had incomes below the designated poverty and food thresholds in 2006. Batangas with 25.6% poverty lacked more than 12% in fish supply in terms of per capita consumption in 2004 (Batangas PPDO 2007). Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro slipped into becoming the 12th and 13th poorest provinces in the Philippines from being 32nd and 36th in 2000, and from being 28th and 19th in 2003. Romblon became the 25th poorest province in the country. A considerable section of the population are fisherfolks: more than 16,000 fishers in Batangas City and other Batangas towns beside the Verde Island Passage (year 2007), 15,535 municipal fishermen lived in Oriental Mindoro in 2008. There are significant reproductive and other health concerns in the region. Mimaropa registered a total fertility rate of 5.0% in 2003, which was the highest in the country, as against Calabarzon's 3.2%, the lowest during the period. Although Batangas has an obvious advantage over the Mimaropa provinces in terms of economic position, health services and infrastructure, contraceptive prevalence in the province was only 41.77% (Batangas PPDO 2007) and 2007 crude birth rate (22.96) was even higher than those of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro (20.49 and 20.9 respectively). Batangas City itself had a crude birth rate of 21.23 and an infant mortality rate of 16.83 (Batangas City OCPDC 2007), which was more than double the provincial rate, and almost three and four times that of Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro respectively. Moreover, 8.2% of all children below 72 months old were considered malnourished because they weighed below normal low (BNL) and very low (BNVL). 53
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Climate change vulnerability assess
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Preface The Verde Island Passage, i
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