The most recent IPCC Assessment Report (AR6) highlights the blunt reality that the world is getting warmer due to human-driven activities. Global warming will bring further extreme weather events affecting vulnerable populations across the globe. It is therefore important to understand adaptation strategies for people to cope with the negative impacts of climate change, such as flooding.
There are existing studies that offer metrics to measure adaptive capacity. The recent article from the Climate, Disaster, and Development Journal (CDDJ) aims to contribute to this by using the field data collected from lakeshore communities in Pila, Laguna, Philippines. The study also explored the differences in weighing approaches used in estimating the index as this will have implications to the prioritization of recommendations for policy-makers.
The resulting estimated indices showed that the adaptive capacities of households in flood-prone areas are quite low and need to be strengthened to be able to fully cope with the negative impacts of climate change. However, the priority interventions would vary among different areas depending on the adaptive capacities of the target population. Further studies can be conducted to validate the results of the study.
The latest CDDJ article titled “Enhancing Adaptive Capacity to Flooding of Households: Evidence from Lakeshore Communities of Pila, Laguna, Philippines” was written by Ms. Phoebe B. Ricarte, Mr. Arvin B. Vista, Ph.D., Mr. Roberto F. Rañola, Jr., Ph.D., and Nicomedes DC. Briones, Ph.D. which you can read here.