Title: Adaptive capacity of Philippine communities vulnerable to flash floods and landslides: assessing loss and damage from typhoon Bopha in Eastern Mindanao

Authors: Elena A. Eugenio; Lilibeth A. Acosta; Damasa B. Magcale-Macandog; Paula Beatrice M. Macandog; Elaine Kuan-Hui Lin; Jemimah Mae A. Eugenio; Jessie B. Manuta

Addresses: School of Environmental Science and Management and Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines in Los Banos (UPLB), Philippines ' Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Telegraphenberg A62, 14473 Potsdam, Germany; German Development Institute (GDI), Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Tulpenfeld 6, 53113 Bonn, Germany; School of Environmental Science and Management, University of the Philippines in Los Banos (UPLB), Philippines ' Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines in Los Banos (UPLB), Philippines ' Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines in Los Banos (UPLB), Philippines ' George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University, USA; Center for Sustainability Science, Academia Sinica, Taiwan ' Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics, University of the Philippines in Los Banos (UPLB), Philippines ' Foundation for the Philippine Environment, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Abstract: The paper assesses the loss and damage from flash floods/landslide, the level of adaptive capacity, and the livelihood vulnerabilities of different groups of communities due to typhoon Bopha, which affected many communities in the province of Compostela Valley in December 2012. Huge rocks and timbers/logs buried many community settlements, business areas and farms. A survey was conducted in three case study villages in New Bataan and the survey data were analysed using descriptive and quantitative (factor and cluster) analyses. Typologies for the four clusters according to level of adaptive capacity were identified including very high adaptive capacity (cluster 2), high adaptive capacity (cluster 1), low adaptive capacity (cluster 4) and very low adaptive capacity (cluster 3). The results of the analysis showed that recovery potential of the respondents from the most affected village and who belong in clusters 2 and 4 will depend a lot on the sustainability of livelihood assistance.

Keywords: adaptive capacity; typhoon Bopha; climate change; disaster recovery; flash floods; loss; damage; Philippines; landslides; livelihood vulnerability; recovery potential; villages; natural disasters; typhoons.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSD.2016.078290

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2016 Vol.19 No.3, pp.279 - 314

Accepted: 27 Sep 2015
Published online: 14 Aug 2016 *

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