Resiliency Efforts of Residents in Disaster-Prone Communities: A Pre-Pandemic Perspective

Abstract

Climate change is a major, global threat that needs to be addressed with heavy attention. The government is the backbone of decision-making and policy-crafting so strong political intervention in this context will be a leap toward sustainable development. Community engagement also weighs the same as that of the political aspect in mainstreaming climate change. The effects of climate change- increase in intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones, drive vulnerability and exposure of many people to climate-related hazards (Lasco, 2012). With these, this paper is aimed to explore the climate change adaptation and mitigation (CCAM) practices of residents in coastal barangays in Tacloban City- ways on how they adapt to and mitigate climate change. Using purposive random sampling and descriptive statistics, results showed that there were respondents who did not know the effects of climate change. While it could not suffice to conclude their level of knowledge of climate change, it could be an indicator of a poor understanding of climate change. A more all-inclusive information and education campaign using local language and their most accessible media. Solutions to water scarcity, transport, and livelihood challenges should also be made to address the large number of respondents who were moving back to their original places from the relocation site. On another note, a high level of practice of climate change adaptation and mitigation was noted among them; most of them were aware of the existence of environmental protection ordinances while others had participated in and expressed the importance of the disaster drills. Keywords: climate change, mitigation, resiliency, adaptations, practices