Vulnerability to climate hazards of Badjao households in Barangays [villages] Wawa and Malitam, Batangas City [Philippines]
2016
Bicomong, R.B. | Ducusin, R.J.C. | Garcia, M.G. | Manabat, D.F. | Paz, S.L. | Sandalo, R. | Taznoor, S. | Valdestamon, R.R.
With the increasing trend of population, urbanization and poverty, humans occupy even areas susceptible to natural disasters. The Badjao community is assumed to be one of the highly vulnerable communities to climate hazards. It is in this light that the study was conducted to determine the level of vulnerability to climate hazards of Badjao households residing along the coastal areas of Barangays [villages] Malitan and Wawa in Batangas City [Philippines]. Findings of the study revealed that the factors contributing to the vulnerability of the households, and the community in general, are the high exposure to climate hazards (i.e. typhoon, flood, storm surge and flood-induced riverbank erosion) and the high sensitivity to changes in potable water and electricity supply, income source, and food availability. However, the calculated social vulnerability index suggests that majority of the households have high adaptive capacities which include sense of community, ready source of credit, access to health services, access to land and water transportation, and access to information. The capacity to adapt to climate-related hazards is also high. The households have 1) preparatory measures for calamities, 2) designated evacuation area and source of assistance during calamities, and 3) clean-up/repair activities after calamities. As a recommendation, there is a need to reduce the vulnerability and to further enhance the adaptive capacity of Badjao households, a community driven and ecosystem-based climate change adaptation program was suggested to lessen the vulnerability of Badjao community in the study area.
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