GIS-BASED VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT TO CLIMATE CHANGE FOR COASTAL RESOURCES IN THE PHILIPPINES: FRAMEWORK, IMPLEMENTATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

摘要

The nationwide mapping and inventory of coastal resources (mangrove, seagrass, and corals) from remote sensing surveys in the Philippines provided a number of applications, mainly in the management and protection of these resources. A method for assessing the vulnerability of coastal resources to climate change was developed using existing coastal vulnerability assessment tools together with remote sensing data, and implemented by different partner institutions on selected study sites throughout the country. This paper describes the vulnerability assessment framework, its implementation, and synthesis of the results from the different studies to come up with a summary of issues that increases the sensitivities of coastal resources to climate change hazards and the recommendations to increase the adaptive capacity of these resources and the communities that engage with them. The vulnerability of the resources was evaluated in three general aspects, namely Intrinsic Characteristics and Governance, Anthropogenic Activities, and Habitat Characteristics. These aspects were integrated to produce an overall vulnerability assessment for each type of coastal resource. Using this framework, the implementing institutions were able to identify the areas of concern for each study site and were able to recommend the necessary management actions for the stakeholder's to mitigate the effects of climate change to these resources. It was found that the most of the coastal resources in the study sites have a medium to high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. The most at risk are the mangroves, since these are found within close distance to anthropogenic activities. Seagrasses and corals have medium to high vulnerabilities; however, these have higher adaptive capabilities than mangroves as the Marine Protected Areas set are commonly focused on these resources. The recommendations for the study sites include increasing the communities' awareness on the importance of these coastal resources and intensifying the implementation of policies aimed at the conservation and protection of these resources.