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E-International Scientific Research JournalISSN: 2094-1749 Volume: 2 Issue: 4, 2010already feeling the adverse effects of climate change to the food, water and energy supply aswell as to their health conditions.Eakin (2008) defined vulnerability as a susceptibility of populations, resources andplaces to harm associated with the global environment changes or climate change. It isbelieved that the disadvantage groups of people are more vulnerable to the great risks of theclimate change than the more advantaged one. In the Philippines, the Indigenous Peopleusually belong to the former group who may be susceptible to the environment changes. Theyusually live in the rural environs and are mostly doing traditional agriculture. According toMacchi, et al (2000), people who live in marginal lands whose livelihoods are highlydependent on natural resources are among the most vulnerable to climate change. This issupported by the study of Gunter, Rahman and Rahman (2008) who stressed that theindigenous people’s individual capability to adapt climate change is determined by manyfactors such as poverty, landlessness and illiteracy.Vulnerability is an often used term in relation to the potential of groups of people to beadversely affected by climate change. However, to date, we find no uniformity in terms of howthis phenomenon is actually measured. Eakin (2008), Macchi et al. (2000) and Gunter et al.(2008) are but a few examples of researchers who measured the vulnerability in different ways,usually, by inferring from the current situations of the people in relation to the degree to whichthey are exposed to the manifestation of climate change. The need to establish, scientifically, acommon understanding of the term “vulnerability” is urgent since only when such isaccomplished can strategies be formulated to reduce people’s vulnerability to climate change.This study attempted to determine the vulnerability to the IPs in Zamboanga del Norte toclimate change in terms of its health and economic impact to them using a scientificallyderived index of vulnerability.Materials and MethodsThe descriptive method of research was used in this study. The study was conducted inMutya, Dapitan, Katipunan, Sindangan, Siayan, Salug and Gutalac, Zamboanga delo Nortewhere there are a number of Subanen, and Muslim residents. There were 160 Subanen and 40Muslim respondents of this study. In – depth narratives, structured interviews, and theresearchers’ observation document the health and livelihood practices of the respondents.The quantitative framework for the computation of vulnerability is as follows:V = (R + E – C) / 2; where R stands for risk, E stands for exposure, C stands forcoping.Risk is defined as the “expected loss” should an event occur. It is computed as theproduct of the probability that an event will occur and the value of the random variable inquestion:R = Expected (loss) = P (event happens) x P (no individual is affected) + P (event doesnot happen) x P (effects are noted) = P (1-p E ) + (1-p) (p E )Note the similarity of the risk formula with the “variance” of a binomial randomvariable. However, while the variance of a binomial random variable is maximized with avalue of 0.25, the formula above is maximized when its value is 1 (i.e. 100% risky)346
E-International Scientific Research JournalISSN: 2094-1749 Volume: 2 Issue: 4, 2010Exposure, on the other hand, is an estimate of how much (in terms of percentage) inthe population is actually going to be affected by the event. In the formulation above, this issimple p E .Coping refers to the percentage of the population able to resist the effect of an eventdue to their peculiar characteristics. If the desirable characteristics (those which enable thepopulation to resist the effects of an event e.g. education, financial stability etc.) havepercentages p 1 , p 2 ,…,pn, then:ResultsC = p 1 p 2 ..p n .Profile of the Respondents. Table 1 shows the profile of the respondent that wouldsituate them in relation to their ability to adopt to climate change on extreme weathercondition.For all practical purposes, the respondents are mainly belonging to the Subanen tribesince they constitute 80% of the bulk of respondent. The socio – demographic characteristicsof these respondents that imagine on their ability to cope with the effects of climate changeinclude: (a) their level of education which, as data would show, is mainly elementary level ornone at all (63%), (b) their livelihood or source of income which is vary traditional farming(82%), (c) their income averaging P 3,000 per month which could be as low as P500 to as highas P12,000 per month, and (d) their age with a mean of 41 (relatively young) and a standarddeviation of 9.5 years.Table 1. Profile of the RespondentA. Tribe Number Percentage• Subanen16080%• Kalibogan4020%Total 200 100%B. Gender Number Percentage• Male10854%• Female9246%Total 200 100%C. Education Number Percentage• Elementary11859%• High School5628%• College Graduate189%• No Schooling84%Total 200 100%347
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