Rebuilding with Nature
In the aftermath of Typhoon Rai, coastal communities in Siargao Islands in the Philippines are determined to preserve marine ecosystems that ensure climate resilience
In the fishing town of Del Carmen in Siargao islands, the mangrove forests lining the coastline stretch as far as the eye can see. But when Typhoon Odette thundered ashore on December 16 last year, the vast marine ecosystem was almost no match for the storm as waves topped the canopy of the coastal vegetation. Strong winds also swept across the hilly terrain, ravaging nearly everything in its path.
Still, in the wake of the devastation, Jeralyn Escanan is thankful that the mangroves managed to protect her house from total destruction. “Mas dako ang damage sa amo bayay kun waya an mga bakhaw,” (Damage to our house would have been worse if we did not have mangroves) said the record keeper of the Banana Community Savings Club in Sitio Seawall in Purok Alingit, a fishing village in Del Carmen.
Typhoon Odette (international codename Rai) made its first landfall in Siargao as a Category 5 typhoon, the same intensity as Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013 that killed more than 6,000 people. Disaster preparedness in local governments resulted in fewer casualties this time around, but damage to property was much worse as the storm pummeled major urban centers such as Cebu City.
In the town of Del Carmen, the local government reported that 100 percent of private and public infrastructure was destroyed along with almost 5,000 houses, affecting the lives and livelihood of 6,724 families. “All of Del Carmen was left in ruins,” said Vice Mayor Alfredo Coro II, in an interview with Climate Reality Project.
The municipalities facing the Pacific Ocean, where the typhoon made its first landfall, suffered the brunt of the devastation. The typhoon destroyed fish corrals and seaweed farms, along with most of the tourism resorts and restaurants in the island. In the entire province of Surigao del Norte, where Siargao is located, the Agriculture Office estimated around P262 million (US$5 million) in damage to fisheries, including nearly P10 million (US$192,000) worth of infrastructure.
For the town of Del Carmen, local government strategies initiated to help constituents adapt to climate change minimized the damage and loss of lives. After structural assessments, Coro said only the roof and ceilings of their government buildings were damaged and the structural integrity of buildings was intact because they were designed to withstand Category 5 typhoons. Coastal residents were moved to designated evacuation centers to prevent injuries and death from debris tossed around during the storm. The rehabilitation of the mangrove forest, with zero cutting and replanting in some 600 hectares in the past eight years, also protected people from the storm surge.
Coastal greenbelt
For many years now, marine scientists have advocated for conserving vital ecosystems such as seagrass beds and mangrove forests to promote coastal resilience, especially in withstanding more severe and frequent storms due to climate change.
“We have to move from disaster response to resilience, specifically coastal resilience,” mangrove expert Jurgenne Primavera wrote in a social media post. “For a country yearly blighted by 20 storms which make landfall where the sea meets the sand, meaning on the beach lining most of our 36,300-km long coastline, we need coastal greenbelts as bioshields,” she added.
She cited a study done in 2012 that calculated the reduction of wave energy by 60 percent in coastlines that had at least 100 meters of vegetation, and provided the examples below of mangrove rehabilitation projects that use the correct species and are supported by their local governments: the 20-year-old Bakhaw Ecopark in Kalibo, Aklan, and the mangrove greenbelt in Leganes and Dumangas in Iloilo.
Another scientist, retired professor Miguel Fortes from the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines, said coastal communities also need to appreciate the value of the seagrass ecosystem in helping them adapt to climate impacts. In the podcast Climate-Smart Fisheries, he noted that almost 5,000 km of the country’s coastline are covered with seagrass, with pristine and abundant growth found in Palawan and Sulu.
“In a community fronting the sea, you have the seagrasses, you have the coral reef, and you have the mangroves. All three ecosystems are the lines of defense, especially in relation to tidal waves and wind. The coral reef is the first line of defense in preventing very strong waves, but if there are no coral reefs, the seagrass assumes that function, and if there are no seagrasses, then the mangroves assume that function,” Fortes said.
Often overlooked and derided as pesky weeds, seagrass beds play an important role as habitats for some of the most popular fish in the market such as danggit or rabbitfish, but they are the first to be destroyed in dump-and-fill projects that also alter the contour of the coastline. “What does reclamation do? They move the earth, resulting in siltation. It will divert the flow of water, and that area has to adjust to the stress imposed upon it, which is very difficult. We're talking about at least fifty years to recover. It is more expensive to destroy than following the natural dynamics of the area,” explained Fortes.
As a plant, seagrass helps absorb toxic gases that are causing global warming. “Seagrasses are very effective in capturing carbon in carbon dioxide, cleaning the air that we breathe, and then they store them in their tissues and especially in the sediments for not just hundreds but even thousands of years. There’s one estimate that seagrass and mangrove are one hundred times more effective in sequestering carbon than terrestrial forests,” Fortes said.
Fortunately, seagrasses grow fast and the best way to conserve them is to simply leave them alone, along with other marine ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves. “There has to be an integrated management of the entire ecosystem because of the natural principle of connectivity. If you destroy one, you are actually destroying the other,” Fortes added.
As early as 2014, a science-based Coastal Greenbelt Bill was proposed in Congress but did not make any headway, Primavera recalled. Two years later, Senator Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV re-filed the bill calling for a National Coastal Greenbelt Act as a cost-effective strategy for disaster preparedness. The proposed legislation estimates the total valuation of mangroves at US$14,000-16,000 per hectare, a huge chunk or about 80 percent attributed to coastal protection. “The cost of establishing coastal greenbelts to protect against storm surge and tsunami would only be a fraction of the damage that could be brought by the yearly battering of typhoons,” according to the proposed bill.
Seagrass meadows were not included in the original bill, but Fortes said it was added after he defended its role in addressing climate impacts. “I hope it will be approved soon because of the realization of the role of these plants in protecting our coasts,” Fortes said. Primavera has also called for passing legislation to prevent more loss of lives and destruction every time there’s a typhoon.
This map shows that most typhoons in the past 40 years have tracked north of Siargao, but climate impacts are now changing the direction and worsened the severity of storms
This map shows that most typhoons in the past 40 years have tracked north of Siargao, but climate impacts are now changing the direction and worsened the severity of storms
Initial recovery
Two months after the devastating typhoon, Del Carmen’s Vice Mayor reported that the town managed to bounce back fast because the local government practices science-based governance. Public awareness efforts such as integrating climate change in the local curriculum for public education also helped their constituents prepare for the damage from the storm.
Del Carmen Vice Mayor Alfredo Coro II
Del Carmen Vice Mayor Alfredo Coro II
“Trees and other plants have started sprouting leaves and the green environment is fast recovering,” said Coro. “Natural recovery was faster than expected and hopefully so will our rice plantations. We can attribute this to the care we have done for our environment,” he added.
Disaster readiness also allowed them to tap external partners in restoring public utilities, which was critical in the immediate aftermath of Odette when the island was cut off from communications and transport facilities due to a lack of equipment.
“We intend to influence national government policy on response operations during Category 5 typhoons or related extreme weather events, recognizing the value of early warning and communications versus post-disaster response of the government,” Coro said. Among the reforms needed are the provision of air and sea transport that can ferry food and other necessities, as well as remote communications facilities for local teams that are also typhoon victims.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources immediately issued notices for no-build zones along vulnerable coastal areas in Siargao after the typhoon, a strategy that has elicited mixed reactions among residents. Coro says a comprehensive disaster risk assessment and the Local Climate Change Action Plan of coastal towns need to serve as their guide in deciding what to do next, in view of the climate crisis.
“We need a system that allows faster response for food security, shelter rehabilitation, and livelihood recovery,” Coro said. Due to the financial limitation of the government, investment from the private sector is needed to sustain small-scale fisheries. With nearly all fishers losing their boats in the typhoon, access to low-interest loans and insurance are crucial in helping them recover their livelihood.
Typhoon Rai struck on the second year of the global Covid-19 pandemic, which had prompted Rare’s Fish Forever campaign to pivot to a Green Recovery Program in partner communities such as Siargao. Field equipment provided for the project including cameras, radio, and megaphones were utilized for disaster response and fisheries law enforcement. In the classrooms, campaign mascots helped to lift the spirits of children who were traumatized by the strength of the storm and its devastating aftermath.
Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer Gemila Eunice Estobo distributes Bantay Dagat gear to law enforcers in the Municipality of General Luna
Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer Gemila Eunice Estobo distributes Bantay Dagat gear to law enforcers in the Municipality of General Luna
Assurance of support for their livelihood is especially important for fishing families such as those of 60-year-old Bebelito Patagan from the municipality of Dapa, whose five children all rely on net fishing. During a visit to the Municipal Agriculture Office, he told Rare: “Mukanhi gajud ako sa munisipyo para magpa-rehistro isip managatay kay tungod sa kalisud, nanginanghanlan man gajud kami na malakip kung jaoy mga marajaw na programa o suporta para sa amo mga managatay.” (I’m here in the municipal hall to register as a fisher so that we can be included in programs for us, because life is hard). He said all of the family’s coconut trees were destroyed by the storm, so they are now mainly relying on the sea as their source of livelihood.
Bebelito Patagan, 60-year-old fisher from the Municipality of Dapa
Bebelito Patagan, 60-year-old fisher from the Municipality of Dapa
Vice Mayor Coro said the priority in Siargao remains relief and rehabilitation, with the involvement of Fish Forever savings clubs and the Bantay Dagat. This is good news for residents like Escanan, who said their pooled social fund from the savings club has boosted their efforts to recover from the typhoon. Her family has also decided to move their house outside the no-build zone for their own safety.
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Rare's climate-smart fisheries program in the Siargao Islands is supported by Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI) and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Rare works with partners to revitalize coastal marine ecosystems, protect biodiversity, secure the livelihoods of small-scale fishers, and enhance the capacity of their communities to adapt to climate impacts.
-- with a report from Julius Guirjen in Siargao islands; photos by Ferdz Decena, Krizelle dela Cruz, and Janos Leo Gorgolon Andanar
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