Solar irrigation systems are sustainable practices that can improve the well-being of local communities and enhance the resilience of agriculture to climate change while reducing environmental impacts. Due to its high investment cost, small-scale farmers are inclined to use traditional fossil-based irrigation systems that can harm humans and the environment. This study aims to analyze the environmental impacts, economic feasibility, and social acceptability of shifting agricultural practices from diesel-fueled to solar irrigation systems. Taking the perspective of small-scale farmers from Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, results found that solar irrigation system has a higher initial investment but lower maintenance and operational costs. These resulted in an attractive economic feasibility of the project with Php 19,693 of fuel cost savings per hectare per year, a project net present value of Php 10,214 per hectare, a payback period of 8.27 years, and returns on investment at 110%. Additionally, shifting to a solar irrigation system significantly reduces the greenhouse gas emissions from diesel at 199.78 CO2 eq/ha/yr, and avoids air pollutant emissions at 14.91 g/ha/yr particulate matter, 2.98 g/ha/yr nitrogen oxides,193.82 g/ha/yr sulfur oxides, and 149.09 g/ha/yr carbon monoxide. Despite the lack of in-depth environmental awareness, small-scale farmers are interested in investing in solar irrigation systems with 68% social acceptability. Results provide bases for recommendations on promoting more human ecologically and sustainable agriculture irrigation systems in the Philippines and other developing countries.

Lockdown measures brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have notably shifted food purchasing behavior towards online food delivery services (OFDS). This study examined consumer satisfaction with OFDS and their relationship to food choice and frequency of use among 18-24-year-old University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) students. Through a survey of 80 students who used OFDS during the pandemic, our results revealed that while price significantly influences food choice, the quality of online service (E-service quality or ESQ) results in customer satisfaction. Notably, our analysis showed a strong, positive relationship between food choice factors (i.e., mood, convenience, sensory appeal, natural content, and price) and consumer satisfaction factors (i.e., time-saving orientation (TSO), hedonic motivation (HM), price-saving orientation (PSO), convenience motivation (CM), food quality (FQ), and ESQ), which, in turn, correlated with increased usage frequency. These findings highlight the importance of a comprehensive approach in online food service offerings to enhance well-being by addressing the key factors influencing consumers’ food choices and satisfaction. Our study suggests that improving factors such as hedonic motivation could encourage frequent use of OFDS, underscoring the need for targeted strategies to cater to young adult preferences in the changing dynamics of food delivery services.

The definition of the new normal stretches towards the notions of pandemic-ready and climate-resilient communities. The recent COVID-19 pandemic and the intensification of climate-related hazards have challenged the disaster management and preparedness of those in developing countries. Baybay, among other cities in the Philippines, had endured the devastation of typhoons and landslides in the middle of the pandemic. While the city grappled with its responses to address the dual threats of the new normal, its implementation of the Barangay Integrated Development Approach for Nutrition Improvement (BIDANI) strategy in 2010 through the Visayas State University (VSU) equipped the local government unit (LGU) with sectoral data and database management for evidence-based decision-making, digital information systems, and nutrition-related interventions in the barangay level. Using the narratives of the LGU and VSU-BIDANI teams, this paper intends to present a comprehensive overview of the significance of BIDANI in addressing LGU governance challenges, especially in planning and development for disaster responses. This paper suggests strengthening the partnership between LGUs and academia to foster good local governance.

Leveraging the increase in property values emerges as an innovative financing method, enabling property owners and developers to contribute to collective benefit. The special assessment tax or special levy is a land value capture tool used to recover the costs of government infrastructure projects. Despite its long-standing existence in the Philippines’ Local Government Code, it is underutilized and its potentials as revenue sources have not been realized. This qualitative study combines extensive literature reviews and semi-structured interviews, including a self-assessment scoring of government staff in the cities of Metro Manila, citing perspectives and experiences in land taxation to examine institutional challenges in utilizing the special assessment tax. Findings reveal that institutional, financial, and technical capacity problems have prevented its utilization despite existing legal mechanisms. Moreover, there is a noteworthy gap in understanding and application at the local level, as the concept of land value capture is yet to be mainstreamed in local public finance. The discussions aim to inform cities and municipalities about the untapped potential of the special assessment tax as a viable revenue source for local development and the regulation of urban growth. Additionally, the study advocates for the importance of building capacities in land-based financing. It emphasizes the need for support and improvements in the current institutional arrangements of land valuation to address socio-economic inequalities.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are strategies that utilize nature to address various environmental and societal challenges while simultaneously benefiting human-ecological systems. They are cost-effective and scalable approaches that have the potential to address climate change, support biodiversity, and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite these benefits, several factors challenge their widespread implementation, particularly in developing countries. This study aims to determine the essential elements needed to implement the NbS initiatives successfully in rural communities. Taking the case of Victoria, Laguna, this research conducted Key Informant Interviews with local stakeholders and policymakers and applied thematic and multicriteria analyses to evaluate their readiness, factors to be considered, and strategies for the successful implementation of NbS initiatives in the municipality. Results revealed that the locals have limited knowledge of NbS and utilizing NbS initiatives stood as a secondary priority, compared to more preferred gray infrastructure/hard engineering projects. The financing, enforcement, and knowledge components determined the readiness of Victoria for its NbS initiatives. In terms of the factors for the successful implementation of NbS initiatives, the most prevalent themes were the criteria for an inclusive, transparent, and empowering governance process, net gain to biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, and design informed by scale. Furthermore, the NbS initiatives in Victoria were observed to adhere to the IUCN Global Standard, with biodiversity net gain and economic feasibility as their strongest areas. In terms of strategies, local stakeholders placed substantial importance on its sustainability and mainstreaming in appropriate contexts, as well as on evidence-based adaptive management. Findings provided recommendations focusing on creating an NbS assessment mechanism, strengthening the existing NbS governance structure, information and education campaigns, and formulating proposals that utilize NbS to address other issues faced in the municipality, such as flooding and climate change.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of 60 caregivers regarding complementary feeding and its impact on the nutritional status of their children aged 6–23 months in Panicuason, Naga City, Philippines. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data using pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s R Correlation tests were used to analyze the data at p<0.05. The results indicated that the households involved had poor conditions in terms of educational attainment, occupation, and household income of the caregivers. The prevalence rates revealed a medium level of underweight (10.0%) and stunting (23.4%), and a poor level of wasting (5.0%). The KAP results demonstrated medium knowledge, positive attitudes, and poor practices among the caregivers. Several KAP components were found to be significantly associated with socioeconomic factors and water sanitation practices. The study found a weak positive correlation between weight-for-age and employment and a weak negative correlation between height-for-age and caregiver-child relationship. This study highlights the urgent need for nutrition education interventions focused on complementary feeding to improve the knowledge and practices of the caregivers. Such interventions are essential for enhancing child nutrition outcomes and potentially influencing positive changes in the attitudes of the caregivers.

The volcanic Molucca islands have provided the world with their precious cloves, which have been highly valued in medicinal properties for millennia. Cloves have antibacterial, antiviral, and analgesic characteristics. They were considered silver bullet cures in medieval epidemics and the early COVID-19 pandemic response. Cloves originated from Ternate Island, the center and regional trade hub of the Molucca Islands. Its cloves had reached Babylonia 4,000 years ago, marking its importance in global trade. Qualitative research was conducted on the 1775 Mount Gamalama eruption’s impact on indigenous knowledge development. To confirm the findings, I conducted field visits, key informant interviews, field observations, and a literature review. Tolire Lake is an apparent landmark in Takome village, which has a sacred white crocodile, a java plum hill, a lush forest, stunning landscapes, and an underwater mythical village. The residents are testaments to human resilience, preserving indigenous knowledge and turning it into disaster risk reduction tools. They built settlements on safer ground and designated parts areas for conservation-based tourism. In addition, modern science introduction enhances disaster early warning and alert systems and empowers indigenous communities. Understanding indigenous knowledge and wisdom is critical to building resilience and sustainability through disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts. Indigenous knowledge produces lessons in environmental protection, social justice, and economic growth. The world can learn from indigenous and scientific knowledge combined to sustain the island, its people, and its prosperity.

Local development planning remains a challenge for municipalities and cities in the Philippines due to the lack of personnel with technical planning capacities and poor database management systems amplified by the recent devolution policy and the COVID-19 pandemic. The need to address these gaps has given birth to the Technical Assistance Program on Human Settlements Planning (TAP-HSP) as a public service and extension program of the College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines Los Baños. TAP-HSP provides capacity building and technical assistance to various planning institutions in the country and aims to make cities and communities safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable. This paper explores the history, milestones, components and modalities of TAP-HSP, emphasizing its instrumental role in local development planning in the country. TAP-HSP offers different modalities and planning arrangements through its three components: Capacity Development for Planners, Practice of Profession, and Model Community/City for Sustainability and Resilience. Over the years, the demand for TAP-HSP services has remarkably grown that it has played instrumental roles in empowering local planners, molding future planners, bridging planning theories to practice, championing evidence-based, participatory, and inclusive planning, being a key partner for local development, and advocating for liveable cities and communities in local development planning. TAP-HSP’s relevance shall continue progressing with its sustained excellent program ratings and growing network of LGU partners, positioning it as a key player in local and national development and a promoter of inclusive and sustainable communities.

The issue of Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) in the Philippines has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and persistent social, environmental and agricultural problems. To address this concern, the involvement of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is explored by reviewing the local policies in the Philippines. Applications and recommendations on how human ecology can address the complex problem of FNS were then noted. This systematic literature review used a framework synthesis approach wherein the Australian National University (ANU) Transdisciplinary Framework was used to check if the stated policies, applications, and recommendations were aligned with the framework components, which are interactive, integrative, change-oriented, systemic, context-based, and pluralistic. This transdisciplinary framework is expected to promote policy change and development related to FNS. After that, 38 articles were included in the review. Upon the review, no local policies fit all of the ANU Transdisciplinary Framework’s components. Nonetheless, these policies mostly separately address food security and nutrition security. However, there are still no established responses to the concern of FNS as an integrated concept of food security and nutrition security. HEIs contribute to developing FNS-related policies by intensifying advocacy for integrating food and nutrition security and improving FNS-related research and programs.

In the Philippines, an underutilized crop known as adlay has been found to contain valuable nutritive potential. Given Filipinos’ usual diet of snacks and ready-to-eat food items, the study aimed to provide an alternative choice for healthy snacks by utilizing adlay in developing cereal bars with an improved nutritional profile. The study developed cereal bars using varying proportions of oats and adlay grains as follows: control (100:0), treatment 1 (75:25), treatment 2 (50:50), and treatment 3 (25:75). The cereal bars were then subjected to sensory evaluation to determine their acceptability using a nine-point hedonic scale with 67 adult respondents. The control and the most acceptable treatment then underwent proximate and mineral analyses (iron and calcium). The sensory data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis H-Test with rank analysis, whereas the proximate and mineral content data were analyzed using the student’s t-test at p<0.05. Results showed no significant difference between the control and all the treatments regarding sensory characteristics, and treatment 1 got the highest rank among all treatments. Proximate and mineral analyses revealed that treatment 1 has significantly higher crude protein (11.25 ± 0.66%), crude fiber (10.79 ± 1.22%), crude fat (17.82 ± 1.10%), and calcium (1.08 ± 0%), than the control made of pure oats. The findings, therefore, suggest that adlay can be used as a value-added ingredient in making sensory-acceptable cereal bars with an improved nutritional profile.