Report - Social Watch Philippines

(PAR) annually, about 7 to 9 of them making landfall.
May to December is considered the tropical cyclone
season and the peak tropical cyclone activity occurs
from July to September with an average of 3 or more
occurrences.
Low adaptive capacity
How much increase in temperature can a vulnerable
country like the Philippines endure—1, 2, 3 degrees Centigrade?
And, for how long? How many super typhoons
and fl oods can we survive, and at what cost? What would
it take to adjust to climate change impacts?
Adaptation to climate change is a must, a default
mode, something we cannot skip regardless of what
happens in climate negotiations and whether or not
help from rich countries is coming our way.
A high adaptive capacity means a stable and
prosperous economy and a high degree of access to
technology at all levels. It also means well-delineated
roles and responsibilities for implementation of adaptation
strategies, with systems in place for the national,
regional and local dissemination of climate change
and adaptation information. It also indicates equitable
distribution of access to resources.
Food security on the line
Agriculture and fi sheries are extremely vulnerable
to the impacts of climate change. The IPCC has calculated
the cost on agriculture to be between 30 percent
and 50 percent reduction in yield in rainfed rice.
Productivity is expected to decline due to decreasing
freshwater supply, drought and fl oods. Jobs and businesses
that are dependent on natural resources are on
the line. Failure of food systems will hit the rainfed and
subsistence farmers in rural areas the hardest.
Two of the sharpest drops in volume of production
and gross value-added (GVA) in agriculture were
experienced during two of the worst El Niño Southern
Oscillation (ENSO) episodes recorded in history
(1982-1983 and 1997-1998). Increased temperature
altered the rainfall patterns. Increase in the frequency
and intensity of extreme climate events intensifi ed the
risk in agricultural production.
Lack of water supply during the critical growth
stage of crops due to El Niño-induced drought will
adversely affect crop yields. Similarly, submerging of
seedlings in fl oodwater and washing out of standing
crops because of strong typhoons associated with La
Niña may lead to crop damages and thus, low harvest.
10 SOCIAL WATCH PHILIPPINES
Pests and diseases are also rampant during extremely
wet weather conditions, which may infect not only
crops but also livestock and poultry. Consequently,
households that depend on crop farming as well as livestock
and poultry business as sources of livelihood may
incur substantial economic losses. In 2006, as refl ected
in the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES),
about 50 percent of households in the Philippines are
engaged in agriculture.
The country has some 36,000 km of coastline
and the archipelago is surrounded by large bodies of
water—the Pacifi c Ocean, the South China Sea, and
the Sulu-Sulawesi Sea. This condition brings many
benefi ts but also many vulnerabilities in the face of
climate change.
Extreme weather events and associated storm
surges, ocean warming and sea-level rise will lead to
destruction of the livelihood of those situated in vulnerable
areas such as coastal and fl ood-prone areas. Too
much heat can result in coral bleaching, leading to a
loss of shelter and food for coral-associated fi shes. In the
1997-1998 El Niño one of the worst coral bleaching
events ever occurred. Other effects of ocean warming
include toxic algal blooms, imbalance of salt and fresh
water content in estuaries thereby affecting the growth
and/or survival of juvenile and shell fi sh, decline in
plankton species or food for fi sh, among others. These
outcomes imply a reduction in fi sheries yield.
Sea-level rise also causes saltwater intrusion, which
may reduce the number of fi sh in estuaries. It also
increases the salinity within coastal mangrove forests,
thereby adversely affecting mangrove production.
Moreover, signifi cant rise in the sea level may also
inhibit sea grass productivity due to light reduction in
sea grass beds. .
Coastal areas are heavily populated, accounting
for 60 per cent or more of the population. Coastal
ecosystems are stressed heavily by destructive natural
events, over-exploitation of marine resources, construction
of infrastructures, and pollution. Fishing
communities are among the poorest of the population.
Coastal and marine ecosystems are the major sources
of fi sh and other fi shery products.
In 2006, the Philippines ranked 8th among the
top fi sh producing countries in the world, 10th in
aquaculture production and the 2nd largest producer
of aquatic plants (seaweeds, etc) (BFAR 2007).
The economic contribution of fi sheries in 2007,
accounts for 2.2% (Php143.4 billion) and 3.3%