Introduction

Urban and peri-urban populations living in informal settlements are particularly vulnerable to climate-related risks, given their low capacity to adapt. To date, national policy efforts to promote climate change adaptation are not reaching vulnerable communities nor addressing the root causes of vulnerability. Adaptation strategies that are grounded in local knowledge and initiated by communities have demonstrated potential to strengthen resilience of low-income urban populations; however, they are not sufficiently supported to be effective at a larger scale. This project will deepen understanding of the different ways in which residents of informal settlements are vulnerable to climate-related risks by actively engaging those communities in the process. The project will mobilize and enhance existing and potential capacities to strengthen effective responses for climate adaptation in nine informal settlements and to deliver inclusive, practical adaptation actions.

Context

As an archipelago, the Philippines is highly exposed to the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events like typhoons, sea-level rise and increased heat and rainfall. Almost a quarter of the country’s population of 113 million live in urban informal settlements. Beyond the growing cities is an expanding peri-urban fringe that combines high population densities with large gaps in infrastructure and market access. Changing patterns of urbanization together with loss of natural ecosystem buffers (e.g. wetlands, mangroves) and more intense typhoons, creates complex, cascading risks that threaten vulnerable populations whose adaptive capacity is limited. Existing plans prioritize physical infrastructure (e.g. building sea walls) over social protection and green infrastructure. Meanwhile in informal settlements, autonomous adaptation strategies grounded in local knowledge have been employed and demonstrated potential to strengthen resilience of low-income urban populations. This project focuses on these efforts and the potential to scale them to address the impacts of climate change. The project brings together a unique set of partner to engage with residents of urban informal settlements, understand their specific and differential vulnerabilities and co-produce adaptation strategies that are context relevant. 

Approach and Methods

The project investigate the compounding challenges of climate change, rapid urbanization, and increasing levels of poverty and inequality. The project will work directly with nine informal settlement communities in the Philippines, including urban and peri-urban contexts across Metro Manila, Bicol, Visayas and Mindanoa and connect with relevant actors at local, regional and national scales to enhance resilience of marginalized urban communities.

The project is organized into four complementary work packages: 

• investigate heterogeneous patterns of urbanization and differential vulnerabilities 
• examine the existing policy and governance context at different scales to understand drivers of differential vulnerabilities, enablers, barriers and opportunities for more effective, inclusive and just urban adaptation action  
• analyze how current and future action plans of the Homeless People’s Federation Philippines, Inc (HPFPI) can catalyze transformative adaptation and address the structural roots of differential vulnerabilities 
• facilitate innovation for small-scale adaptation action pilots, bringing together research findings on risks, responses and capacities with local knowledge through a co-design studio 

Practitioners working at the community level from HPFPI are collaborating with technical experts and researchers. The proposed research is transdisciplinary and centres feminist methodologies through co-production approaches that value local knowledge, capacity and experience, foster agency and the diverse voices of residents of informal settlements. The researchers plan to make best use of existing data and use a mixed-methods approach to fill key data gaps, including participatory mapping of risks and responses, ethnographic surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. 

Expected Results

New knowledge on differential vulnerabilities and increased capacity to advance urban resilience in the Philippines through direct engagement with informal settlement dwellers: 

• At the local level, increase awareness of the impacts of climate change and inform ongoing and future development plans in nine communities, working with HPFPI and partners.  
• At the city level, ensure voices, knowledge and priorities of informal settlement dwellers inform urban development plans and inclusive adaptation planning.  
• At the national level, contribute to multi-level governance coalitions and inform policy agendas on urban adaptation.

Expected outputs include:

• community-specific maps and inventories on climate risks and adaptive capacities incorporating community knowledge;
• popular education materials on community resilience;
• implementation of small-scale adaptation pilot projects in nine communities;
• research reports; and four journal articles.

Relevant outputs will be open-access and the budget includes funds to cover article processing charges.  

The project also expects to contribute strengthened capacities, especially of communities to support local adaptation and to advocate for community needs and priorities to decision-makers. The research team, including early career researchers, will have enhanced capacities on intersectional approaches and critical social science methods. In particular, the project will support and enhance HPFPI’s strategic role in delivering urban resilience while building effective partnerships across government, civil society, and academia. An evaluation of HPFPI strategies will inform the federation’s strategic plans and direction as they more explicitly focus their work to support climate change adaptation. 

Photo credit: Shaila Chalkasra