Climate Change in South Asia and Lessons for the Philippines in Building Community Resilience
Building on the post-disaster recovery narratives, today’s piece by Dr Sajal Roy and Oliver Tirtho Sarkar draws insights from the Munda Indigenous peoples' response to climate change in Bangladesh and documents their livelihood-rebuilding strategies to identify lessons which can be replicated in the Philippines in the context of other climate induced disasters like Cyclone Mocha.
The recent Cyclone Mocha has devastated Myanmar and parts of Bangladesh. The recovery from such a cyclone requires immediate attention so that future disaster challenges can be minimized through long-term sustainable solutions. The post-disaster recovery process also offers an opportunity to understand structural flaws and creates space for redevelopment. With climate-induced disasters on the rise, boosting the restoration capacity and resilience of the impacted communities is essential. Indigenous communities maintain deep-rooted knowledge and customs, which enable them to navigate environmental issues. They have close ties to regional ecologies and provide insightful information on environmental preservation and disaster preparedness. These indigenous viewpoints can significantly improve tactics for enhancing climate resilience and promoting sustainable solutions for all. Negative impacts of climate change are mitigated when the adaptability of indigenous people is ensured. The Munda Indigenous community has a unique way of responding to the longer-term effects of climate-induced cyclone disasters.
Why Narratives of the Munda Indigenous Community Matter
The Munda ethnic community has lived near the Sundarbans forest in Southwest Bangladesh since the 17th century. This community has built viable livelihood and ecological relationships with the Sundarbans Forest (the world’s largest mangrove forest). Such relationships have been impacted by the series of climate-induced cyclones, flooding and heat waves since the 1980s. Their livelihood options include agriculture, fishing, livestock keeping, and handcraft creation in the mangrove ecological zone. Cyclone Aila (2009) had severe impacts on the Munda community. Munda people were displaced, infrastructure was damaged, and there were no immediate arrangements for rescue operations or provisions for food, shelter, and fresh water. Agricultural livelihoods were massively impacted. As the Munda people are forest-dependent communities, traditional occupations were seriously affected due to the ecological damage inflicted by Cyclone Aila. A lack of disaster-resilient infrastructure significantly hampered the recovery of normal livelihood activities.
Cyclone Aila had long-term impacts that, paradoxically, provided the Munda indigenous community with the opportunity to build livelihood resilience, improving their gendered livelihood activities in the Sundarbans Forest region in Southwest Bangladesh. The Munda community actively developed resilience following Aila by pursuing new sources of income and diversifying their livelihood options, including ecotourism. By engaging with solid market networks that allowed them to access more opportunities, they were able to take part in training programs to gain necessary skills and information. In addition, they took advantage of grant opportunities offered by NGOs to invest in projects that boosted their ability and added to their resilience. Building on the Munda communities' case from Bangladesh, we argue how livelihoods were rebuilt post-Cyclone Aila and can be used as a lesson for the Philippines' future responses to post-disaster conditions.
Nature of Loss in the Perils of Climate Change
Climate-induced disasters produce severe economic loss and damage (ELD) as well as non-economic loss and damage (NELD). Climate change negatively impacts the economy, specifically in areas of agricultural productivity, infrastructures, medical expenses and labour productivity. Non-economically, it causes deaths, evictions, and the deterioration of cultures. These issues are connected with Sustainable development Goal 13 (Climate Action) since SDG Target 13.b emphasizes building capacity in the least-developed countries with a focus on women, youth and local and marginalized communities. Hence, fostering resilience among these communities will contribute to SDG 13. Thus, sustainable long-term community development is crucial in restoring community livelihoods. As the case study explores, the rebuilding efforts amongst Munda communities went beyond mere financial support and involved reshaping livelihoods. This approach renders longer-term advantages by strengthening the community's ability to recover from disaster losses. To safeguard resilience and ensure a comprehensive and effective response to future challenges, the Philippines may incorporate the success of this approach into its community resilience responses.
Similarities in Climate Change Impacts between the Philippines and Bangladesh
The Philippines and Bangladesh are extremely disaster-prone countries with homogenous geographic, demographic, social, and economic characteristics. Consequently, they also share similar patterns of disaster risk, climate-induced migration, coastal vulnerabilities, agricultural impacts and livelihood vulnerabilities. Climate change in the Philippines has precipitated significant loss and damage aggravated by inadequate and less efficient response measures. Rural communities in the Philippines are frequently affected by deadly storms and struggle to recover from multidimensional vulnerabilities. Numerous climate-induced disasters have caused casualties, displacement, livelihood insecurities, and large-scale agricultural damage in the Philippines.
For instance, droughts, typhoons, and erratic rainfall patterns result in crop failures, lower agricultural yield, and livestock losses, while agriculture is one of the dominating contributors to the economy of the Philippines. With 70% of the Filipino population living in coastal areas, fisheries are vital for livelihood, food security, and the economy in the Philippines. Climate change impacts pose considerable risks and economic shocks to the fishing industry in the coastal regions. Eventually, rice yields are reduced, and labour productivity declines. Furthermore, non-economic damage and losses caused by climate change include coral reef degradation, intensified droughts, higher sea level rise (forcing relocation), water scarcity, increased public health emergencies, and a greater vulnerability of and risk for women. Inadequate funding for weather forecasting, insufficient effort in adapting agricultural practices to climate change, failure to minimize economic and livelihood shock, and delays in delivering disaster relief exacerbate the challenges affected populations suffer. Consequently, the Philippines government often faces criticism for failing to implement climate adaptation policies effectively and inefficiently.
Learnings for the Philippines
Community members must be prepared with the skills and ideas that will create resilience and enable them to continue earning an income in the aftermath of a climate-induced disaster. The Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan 2011-2028 (NDRRMP) recognizes the significance of national and local government units and community resilience to reduce disaster risks. The plan emphasizes the value of scientific knowledge and community-based practices. However, the Philippines might best benefit from more comprehensive intervention practices, particularly in response to climate-induced disasters. In this case, the restoration process for the Munda community of Bangladesh involved sustainable, community-focused initiatives that improved their disaster resilience and post-disaster recovery process. The Philippines could learn from this example, particularly considering the vulnerability of rural and distant communities to climate-related disasters. The success in rebuilding the livelihood patterns of Munda people post-Aila can be a learning point for the Philippines and therefore be replicated in future disaster responses.
The effects of Cyclone Aila saw the Munda people developing new forms of livelihood. Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), Shushilan, and SAMS (Sundarbans Adivasi Munda Sangasta, a local NGO) offered training and non-conditional financial grants to help Munda women invest in crab farming. In particular, establishing a crab hatchery to process the crabs to meet domestic and global demand encouraged the Munda women to branch out from the domestic sphere by creating a reliable livelihood opportunity. Munda women were thus able to build their economic capacities with crab cultivation. This enhanced their access to credit and their capacity to make financial decisions, on top of a general enhancement of economic agency. Pre-Cyclone Aila, Munda women planted vegetables on land adjacent to their homes. These crops were not sold for an income but used for personal consumption.
Cyclone Aila increased the salinity of the land and made it impossible for women to continue this practice. However, it opened up opportunities for women to engage in cultivation of other, saline-tolerant products that could be sold for an income. A local NGO trained female cyclone survivors in the home-based production of saline-tolerant vegetables. In partnership with NGOs, women devised different work strategies, and Gher (saline water fishpond) cultivation became popular because prawns could be grown in salt water. Cleaning 'Shawla' from 'Gher' became a popular livelihood activity for many women, while others began catching prawns by the riverside, thus becoming economically viable. This increasing participation of women in saline-tolerant production escalated Munda women's economic agency, improving their pre-Aila position. This case exemplifies how a community-specific restoration strategy can lead to sustainable development after a climate-induced disaster. The Munda people engaged in floating bed vegetable cultivation and home-based livestock raising, including cows and goats, as alternative sources of income.
Before Aila, Munda men predominantly worked in agriculture, informal fish cultivation and hunting crabs inside small canals contiguous to the Sundarbans Forest. During Cyclone Aila, honey harvesting declined sharply, negatively impacting male Munda honey gatherers' income. This financial hardship has been exacerbated by an increase in robbery and bribery. Eventually, the cyclone significantly transformed forest-based occupations. BRAC formed five small groups (of about six members) in response to these issues between 2009 and 2015. These beneficiaries received equipment for making fishing nets and were able to earn a weekly income selling fish. The Munda men were able to maintain their livelihood by adapting to the changes imposed by Cyclone Aila.
Ecotourism as a community-owned business was introduced to the Munda people as an alternative livelihood option. In 2014, SAMS and Relief International initiated a project aimed at disseminating the Sundarbans Forest's heritage and the Munda people's culture to tourists. Ten cottages have been built in the Munda community for tourists. Community members have been trained as eco-guides, in hospitality services, finance, and in security. These tourism services have served as an alternative livelihood approach for the families directly involved as well as the broader community. As a further benefit, the net income of this ecotourism business looks to be economically sustainable. Men work as eco-guides, and women are involved in cooking for tourists, providing a source of income in the post-Aila period. This provides a great example of improved development in the aftermath of a disaster. SAMS organized monthly meetings in which their experts and government officials interacted with parents of Munda students. The meetings aimed to improve the implementation and public understanding of disaster preparedness, early warning systems, post-disaster responsibilities, and socio-political rights. This shows an inclusive strategy to increase community resilience through improved readiness and response measures. In this process, the Munda community accumulated human capital, which is considered a critical driver in enhancing livelihood resilience.
In building resilience, disaster-affected communities must be able to maintain their income and sustain their standard of living. As seen through the response of Munda communities to Cyclone Aila, providing opportunities for work and local agricultural activities expands the adaptive capacity of communities' post-disaster. Consequently, the Munda people's livelihood was rebuilt by incorporating a community-based approach with climate-resilient practices, skills development for alternative livelihood possibilities, market linkages, and non-conditional support for strengthening reliability in new livelihoods and empowerment through non-government organizations.
Summary
The Philippines' current strategy towards community resilience amid disasters and climate adaptation is showing improvement, considering the community-based practices in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. However, the Philippines' climate-induced disaster recovery and resilience fall short in practice. The Philippines must learn from the example set by Bangladesh and adopt a community-specific adaptation strategy for an effective disaster risk reduction approach. The knowledge of locals must be taken into account, and any plans must incorporate this knowledge to focus on sustainably improving the livelihoods of community members. As post-Aila communities showed, equipping communities with the tools and skills to adapt soon after a disaster, in a way that goes beyond infrastructure and cash-in-hand, is invaluable.
Given the Filipino population's excessive reliance on coastal ecosystems and agriculture, both of which are heavily impacted by climate change, investigating alternate livelihood possibilities becomes essential. Drawing lessons from the successful Munda villages in Bangladesh, it is critical to investigate feasible alternative livelihood options. There must be accessible training programs and condition-free investment opportunities as basic elements. Strong market links should also be developed to create reliability and interest in the community. Both government and non-government organizations have the scope to help Filipino communities beyond financial assistance and to strengthen their disaster resilience. It is these forms of community-specific rebuilding strategies that the Philippines must learn from the example of Bangladesh to ensure long-term community resilience and effective disaster response.
About the Authors
This piece has been jointly authored by Dr Sajal Roy and Oliver Tirtho Sarkar. Dr Roy is a Senior Lecturer in Community Services at the Acknowledge Education (Stott’s College), Oxford St campus in Sydney. His research interests are politics of post-disaster recovery, managing NGOs’ funding, social impact, community resilience as well as loss and damage. Mr Sarkar has a Masters degree in development studies from the University of Dhaka. He holds a tenured lecturership position in environment and development studies at the United International University, Bangladesh. His research interests are environmental governance and management as well as sustainable development.