Resilient Housing Strategies for Vulnerable Communities in The Philippines

The Philippines is one of the countries which is most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Plans for local development including upgrading land use and shelter planning are needed across the country. The Dutch embassy of the Philippines has prioritized resilient city development and disaster risk reduction policies to work toward sustainable urban development in the country.

The IHS team held a tailor-made training for the League of Vice Governors of the Philippines (LVGP), earlier this spring. Elena Enseñado, Charmae Nercua and Alonso Ayala presented: "Mainstreaming Affordable Resilient Housing Strategies for Vulnerable Communities in Local Development Plans & Policies". The first week out of the total three took place in the City of Puerto Princesa, capital city of the island of Palawan, which is considered the last frontier for environmental conservation of the Philippines islands. The second week was a break for reflection and preparation for the third week of training in Roxas City, located in the Visayas island group, in the center of the archipelago.

In an effort to create political awareness about the growing environmental concerns of the Philippine island, the tailor-made training invited discussion from the 25 different provinces spread across the country. Together IHS, provincial vice governors and relevant technical staff discussed the high incidence of climate change related natural disasters and their effect on the housing sector.

The tailor-made training focused on the incremental knowledge transfer of climate change-related concepts in relationship to the housing sector. These included mitigation and adaptation strategies for resilient housing and people’s vulnerability to climate-induced disasters and the effect they have on the built-environment.
Guest lectures and group work were used to strengthen the capacity of LVGP staff in disaster-resilient housing techniques, to increase vulnerability assessment, and to prioritize settlement and land use planning measures in disaster prone areas. The tools and methods used for achieving the learning objectives have been Sectoral Vulnerability Assessment, Climate Change Action Prioritization (CLIMACT prio) and Action Planning.