Electricity and Water for 1000 Typhoon Victims

As mentioned in the last report, we are preparing for a series of resiliency  workshop orientation with the CBRES communities to  provide them with greater awareness on the risk associated with climate change and what can be done  at least at their levels to mitigate its adverse impact.

Last November 11-14,  five (5)  CBRES communities (Pacgued, Dulao, Malibcong, Kili,Buanao)  represented by  3-5 community members totaling  35 people gathered at the Brgy Hall of Baranggay Kili, Tubo, Abra  to listen and learn about climate change and its consequences such as virulent storms causing floods, erosion and damage to crops and properties  that destroyed their microhydro systems recently.  The community capped the activity with a workshop about action plans to address the climate change concerns. The training venue is about nine (9) hours drive from Manila.

The  various topics  included  orientation on climate change and the reason behind this phenomenon, the aspect of climate change justice followed  by the concepts and principles of appropriate technology.   Being  farming communities , the  practices of sustainable agriculture technologies were also presented these  being deemed as significant mitigating  components to reduce vulnerabilities and risks associated with the vagaries of erratic climate patterns.

When asked how the communities would address and minimize their  damage exposure to destruction from storms, flashfloods and erosion as a result of climate change ,  almost everyone agreed  from the results of their workshop that  their Lappat System  is key to their survival. It is their resiliency anchor amidst the continually distorting climate structure.  

The “Lappat” System is a customary law that governs the protection, utilization and sustainable management of their water, land and forest results and the built- in flora and fauna living within these environmental domains.   For indigenous peoples, their web of life  rest on the stability of their forest reserves, rivers and streams and  ancestral land itself.  Lappat is their mechanism  to ensure that these main resource components are  at equilibrium.  There are strict rules on cutting and replanting trees and stiff penalties for violators, seasons for  hunting and gathering games and even instituting sanctuaries on their rivers and streams  to sustain fresh water fish and other aquatic food resource availability.    As they learned during the   orientation workshop how the forest serves as nature’s lungs that assimilate carbon and gives off oxygen, the more they resolved to double efforts  on  forest protection enforcement.

As to other mitigating measures aside from the “lappat” system, they committed to interface with the local government for local policies and programs  for climate actions.

As for SIBAT, we will continue building robust systems and to hopefully respond to immediate calls for trouble shooting of system to avoid further downtimes and systems power failures of the hydro systems.