Climate Change, Triggered by Global Warming, Is

8/14/2019 Climate Change, Triggered by Global Warming, Is

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FOREWORD

Climate change, triggered by global warming, is a creeping, very slow-start

phenomenon, which is why it is hardly noticeable in our daily lives. It is when extremeevents happen more often, when some species are slowly vanishing or when shorelines

are little by little advancing, that suspicion of some changes in the global system is

taking place.

The scientific community has stated recently that Warming of the climate system is

unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air

and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean

sea level, and that most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures

since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in

anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations.

This report, The Philippines: A Climate Hotspot is very relevant and timely, and

hopefully would motivate our decision-makers and just everybody else to respond

positively to the challenges posed by this unfolding specter of climate change.1

1 http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/seasia/en/press/reports/the-philippines-a-climate-hot.pdf


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II. THE PHILIPPINES: A CLIMATE HOTSPOTThe Philippines, as a developing country, is highly vulnerable to climate change

impacts.Like most Asian countries, the "adaptive capacity of human systems is low [while]

vulnerability is high" in the Philippines, largely due to its geographical features, low level ofeconomic development and exposure exacerbated by poor access to resources. Thus, unless

steps are taken to arrest the runaway growth of global greenhouse gas emissions, climatechange is projected to "exacerbate the misery and predicament of [the country's] alreadyover-burdened populace."

Business-as-usual practices, according to the IPCC, would cause further warming andinduce many changes in the global climate system during the 21st century larger than thoseobserved during the 20th century. This projection further increases the vulnerability of thePhilippines, which already ranks 4th in the Global Climate Risk Index.It exposes the true costof climate change which is not limited to economic losses: climate change threatens humanlives, cultural heritage and ecosystems.

Climate change will amplify the different socio-economic burdens already shoulderedby Filipino families, such as hunger and water scarcity. Moreover, risks associated with theprojected spread of vector-based insect-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, due to

warming temperatures are increasing even as budgetary support for health care in thePhilippines continues to deteriorate.

The countrys vulnerability to severe weather events, such as harsher storms,droughts, and extreme precipitation will worsen the existing disparity of living standardsbetween the rich and the rapidly increasing ranks of the destitute. Provinces and regions,such as Albay, Ifugao, Sorsogon and Biliran that were identified by the Manila Observatory asareas that are most at risk to climate and weather related changes, are noticeably areas witha high Poverty Incidence Rating.

The threat of climate change impacts will also further marginalize indigenous peoplessuch as the Tboli of Mindanao and the Badjao of the Sulu Seas whose customs and livelihoodare deeply rooted in the well-being of the environment, devaluing their contribution to theconservation and protection of biological diversity and ecosystems which is crucial for theprevention of climate change.

As an archipelago which has the 2rd largest coral reef cover in the world15 and acoastline which is roughly the equivalent of the earth's circumference, the Philippines is atthreat from large-scale impacts of climate change on the ocean. There is a danger of arecurrence of massive coral bleaching similar to the one experienced by marine protectedareas and conservation priority sites in the provinces of Pangasinan, Puerto Galera, Negros,Dumaguete and Palawan last 1998 which were linked to the increase in ocean surfacetemperature that was brought about by the El Nio Phenomenon. An increase in sea level dueto thermal expansion, melting of glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets threatens coastal areas,island ecosystems and low-lying communities which are already experiencing subsidence andhaphazard coastal development.

The Philippines is also one of the top mega-diversity countries in the world.Unfortunately, it is also considered the worlds top biodiversity hotspot. This is mainly due toincreasing human population and resource demand, habitat destruction and unsustainabledevelopment. Climate change impacts constitute an additional pressure that couldexacerbate the high rate of species extinction and current degradation of the Philippinesecosystem.3

3 Ibid


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III.FACTS

THE PHILIPPINES, Facts and FiguresDEMOGRAPHIC

Population: 76,504,077 as of 200020Population Density: 255 persons per square kilometer as of 200021Indigenous people: 8%22Poverty Incidence Rating: 28.4% as of 200023

ECONOMICAgricultural Sector24

47% of the total land area of the Philippines is agricultural land2/3 of the population depends on agriculture for livelihood. of the labor force is engaged in agricultural activities

Fisheries Sector25Comprises at least 5% of the Gross National ProductEmploys about one million fishermen and fish farmers, mostly in the rural

areasTourism Sector

Anchor Destinations26: Laoag-Vigan, Baguio-Banaue, Manila, Subic-Clark,Palawan, Cebu,Bohol, Davao, Boracay

Last 2004 the Philippines received 2.29 million visitors with a total receipt of$ 1.99 billion

Projections show that the Philippines will receive 5 million visitors with aprojected receipt of$4.59 billion by 2010ECOSYSTEMTotal number of islands: 7,107 islandsTotal Land Area: 300,000 square kilometerForest Cover: 7,168,400 hectares27Coastal Area: 36,289 kilometer28, roughly equivalent to the Earths circumferenceCoral Cover: 26,000 square kilometer29, 2nd largest coral cover in the worldBIODIVERSITYTerrestrial30:

Plants: 9,253, 6,091 of which are endemicBirds: 535 identified species, 186 of which are endemicMammals: 167 identified species, 102 of which are endemicReptiles: 237 identified species, 160 of which are endemicAmphibian: 89 identified species, 76 of which are endemic

Freshwater:Fishes: 281 identified species, 67 of which are endemic31

Marine:


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Reef fishes: 915 identified species32Coral: At least 400 scleractinian coral species, 12 of which are endemic33Mangrove: At least 30 species34

CONSERVATION EFFORTSWorld Heritage Sites35:

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National ParkTubbataha Reef Marine Park both in the province of Palawan

Conservation Priority Areas36: at least 206 sites, 170 of which are terrestrial andinland watersareas and 36 of which are marine basedMarine Protected Areas37: at least 330 Marine Protected Areas across the country4

Tragedies After Tragedies: Climate Change Impacts and the PhilippinesAccording to Dr. Leoncio Amadore, although it cannot be conclusively proven

that a single event,was or was not, affected by global warming, current scientificevidence strongly suggests thathurricanes and typhoons tend to become more

destructive as ocean temperatures rise. Extremeweather events that our country hasexperienced recently have one thing in common -- persistenttorrential rains,causing landslides and flash floods, killing people and destroying properties and theenvironment along its path."

1991 Ormoc Flashlood (Region 8)Triggered by unusually heavy and continuous rains brought about by Tropical

Storm Uring1999 Cherry Hill Landslide (Region 4)

Triggered by three consecutive days of persistent moderate to heavy rains2000 Payatas Garbage Slide (NCR)

Triggered by continuous moderate to heavy monsoon rains over Metro Manila2001 Baguio - La Trinidad Landslides (CAR)Triggered by record breaking hour rainfall of 1,085.5 mm in Baguio City

2001 Camuigin Flashflood (Region 10)Triggered by continuous light to moderate rains brought about by Typhoon

Nanang2003 Southern Leyte - Surigao Disasters (Region 8, ARMM)

Triggered by record-breaking hour rainfall of 1,119.0 mm in Surigao and 699.0mm in Leyte2004 Aurora Infanta Floods (Regions 3, 4)

Triggered by 20 days of persistent moderate to heavy rains brought about by

Typhoon Unding,Tropical Storm Violeta, Tropical Depression Winnie and Typhoon Yoyong whichalso affected Regions 1, 2, 5, CAR, NCR.2006 Guinsaugon, Leyte Landslide (Region 8)

Triggered by five days of persistent moderate to heavy rains which isequivalent to almost three months of the area's average annual precipitation.

4 http://www.greenpeace.org


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2006 Legazpi Mudslide (Region 5)Triggered by persistent moderate to heavy rains brought by Super Typhoon

Reming which also affected Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, CAR,5

IV. Climate Change Programs1. DepEd

The Department of Education imposed different press releases, memorandums

and orders that respond to the threats of the climate change and global warming

by massive, intensive and sustained programs both by informing and by rearing the

positive attitudes to students.

A specific example of which is the DepEd ORDER No. 33, s. 2008, where in it

entails that students, teachers and heads should conduct a massive tree plantingand caring program where in their main objectives are to preserve and replace

trees cut by loggers, in order to have a cooler and fresher campuses. The program

also tells that students, teachers and etc. should plant more trees in vacant spaces

to maximize its effect. (See next page for the DepEd Order and Press Releases)

2. DENR

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is the executive

department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising

the exploration, development, utilization, and conservation of the country'snatural resources. It conduct several programs that enables the people to be

aware of what is the present situation of its country, DENR also conduct programs

that will help the environment to cope up with the drastic change in the locality.

Such programs are the climate change mitigation imposed by the Department

of Environment and Natural Resources with the cooperation of Albays Governor

Joey Salceda. The said program tackles about the enrichment and protection of

mangrove forests and plantations is both for climate change mitigation

and adaptation to climatic changes so that coastal communities can preparefor the adverse effects of such changes. Another agreement was presented which

tackles about the contribution of P2 million each by DENR and the province to be

used for establishing and protecting 50 hectares of mangrove plantations and in

5 Ibid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Departments_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Departments_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_Philippineshttp://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=483729http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_Philippineshttp://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=483729http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Departments_of_the_Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Departments_of_the_Philippines


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jointly identifying and assessing more areas for the project. (See the attached files

for references)

.

3. The school

Tabaco National High School (TNHS) is situated on a 105-hectare land at Panal,

Tabaco City, Albay. It offers well-organized classes implementing the Basic

Education Curriculum (BEC), Engineering Science Education Program (ESEP),Special

Program for Arts (SPA), Special Program for Sports (SPS), Refined Secondary

Education Curriculum (RSEC) and Balik-Paaralan Out of School Adult (BP-OSA).

TNHS hopes to continue its mission of propagating truth, nationalism, honor,

service and scholarship towards the countrys aspiration of quality education. The

school adheres to the DepEd motto of excellence and thereby works for its

attainment by producing well-equipped and value-oriented Filipino citizens

responsive to national development and fit for international relations.

School Activities or Programs on Climate Change and Environmental Awareness:

Adopt-a-Tree ProjectLow Carbon DietProper Segregation of wasteTambak-boteMeasurement of RainfallIntegration of Environmental/Climatic concerns and issues in teachers lessonsYES-O campConduct of Contents about environment6

4. The Community

In biological terms, a Community is a group of interacting organisms

sharing an environment. In human communities, intent, belief, resources,

preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present

6 http://projectraingauge.multiply.com/journal/item/43
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=483729http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=483729http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_(biophysical)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beliefhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_resourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need_assessmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riskhttp://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=483729http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=483729http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_(biophysical)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beliefhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_resourcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need_assessmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk


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and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of

cohesiveness.7

The community to which I belong conduct several waste management

programs like scheduled waste disposal for every zone to which, it creates a

more organized and efficient way of disposing waste. This helps the people un

the barangay to segregate their wastes and hence, reducing the effect of

global warming.

Bicol University Gubat Campus

Gubat, Sorsogon

Climate

ChangePrograms

7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_(social_science)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_(social_science)


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Prepared by:

Chad Lowe V. Villarroya

Prepared for:

Prof. Marlyn Padre

Documents

Climate Change, Triggered by Global Warming, Is