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.

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.

Increasing population and rapid economic growth result in waste management problems in the Municipality of Bay, Laguna. In response, the municipality is planning to invest in an Integrated Waste Management Technology System (IWMTS) that aims to generate public revenue. Key informant interviews, surveys, and focus group discussions were utilized for data collection. Results showed that respondents lack knowledge about IWMTS but perceive positive impacts on waste volume reduction and municipal waste management and little to no negative impacts on health, livelihood, and accessibility. Meanwhile, economic analysis showed that it is estimated to generate an annual revenue of PHP 11.986 million (USD 214,036) with yearly expenses of PHP 3.7 million (USD 66,071). These cash flows are expected to recover the overall capital outlay of PHP 48.14 million (USD 859,642). A net present value (NPV) of PHP 3.164 million (USD 56,500) and a 5.77-year payback period (PBP) were calculated through cost-benefit analysis. The environmental analysis revealed positive impacts on reducing the volume of wastes, water resources, and quality, odor and air quality, and soil and nutrients. Considering these, the study provided recommendations on project implementation to achieve sustainable waste management and circular economy in the municipality.

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.

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.

Constructed wetlands are globally recognized as effective nature-based solutions to wastewater treatment providing significant ecological and socio-economic benefits. This study aims to identify the ecosystem services provided by the constructed wetlands and evaluate their economic value. This study administered a survey questionnaire to 270 households of Fishermen’s Gawad Kalinga Village in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental, Philippines and employed a contingent valuation method to investigate their willingness to pay for the constructed wetlands. Respondents identified several ecosystem services of the constructed wetlands including the provisioning (water supply and biomass), regulating (wastewater treatment, water purification, climate regulation, flood prevention), supporting (habitat formation, nutrient cycling, hydrological cycle), and cultural (tourism, educational and research, recreation, aesthetic) services. Results showed that 96.3% of the respondents were willing to pay for the ecosystem services, with a mean of PHP 107.28. In terms of socio-demographic characteristics, age group and sex have no significant impact on WTP; while positive, weak, monotonic association for highest educational attainment; and positive, very weak for monthly income. The findings hold a significant promise for the government and other stakeholders to adopt a constructed wetland in achieving more human ecological and sustainable peri-urban communities.

Research in human ecology and sustainability holds significant importance in addressing global challenges related to the environment, society, and the well-being of the current and future generations. There is an urgent need for a platform to inform new knowledge, practices, policies, and behaviors that contribute toward a more sustainable, resilient, and harmonious coexistence between humans and their environment. The Journal of Human Ecology and Sustainability (JHES) aims to publish interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research on all aspects of human-environment interactions, community development, and other fields of social science that link with the people, organizations, and government to achieve human-ecological security. This note, which summarizes the contributions in the first volume of the journal, provides a brief background of the transformation of the Journal of Human Ecology to JHES, the official academic publication of the College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines Los Baños.

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.

In the Philippines, approximately 13% of adolescents become pregnant, resulting in 180, 916 births to girls aged 10-19. The study aims to understand the driving factors and challenges of adolescent teenage pregnancy. It also aims to propose a strategic intervention and implementation plan to address the rising number of teenage pregnancies. It was conducted in the 12 barangays who has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Lucena City. A total of 103 conveniently selected teenage mothers in the 12 barangays served as respondents of the study. The study is a descriptive research that utilized the qualitative method. Data were collected from interviews and focus group discussions. It was revealed that the impelling causes of teenage pregnancy were social media use, natural causes, pornography, peers, parents, chores, poverty, materialism, and female enticement. The respondents identified several challenges in terms of their social lives, health, schooling, and finances. Challenges in terms of social lives include access to public health facilities, child rearing, self-care, assistance in parenting, and limited supplies and services in Barangay Health Centers. The educational challenges include education disruption, financial hardships, the need for alternative forms of learning, and support from partners and immediate family to continue education. Meanwhile, for economic issues, financial hardship, future education plans, and plans to secure well-paid jobs were identified. Lastly, for social issues, the thematic analysis revealed the following: negative acceptance from the family and the community, normalizing being pregnant at a very young age, and feeling judged and becoming the center of gossip. The developed strategic intervention program includes three approaches: healthy sexuality, a comprehensive teenage program, and a societal approach. Parents and adults discomforted with their sexuality family approach, consistent adult involvement for the child, healthy communities, media responsibility, and reaffirming the importance of values and involvement of religious and other organizations may be targeted.