Reaction Paper (Envi Chem)

Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry
College of Arts and Sciences

Visayas State University
Visca, Baybay City, Leyte
DIZON, CHELZI DINZ D. March 18, 2019
REACTION PAPER ON PHILIPPINES AND CLIMATE CHANGE:

VIEWS FROM THE GROUND
The documentary entitled Philippines and Climate Change: Views from the ground talks
about climate change and how it affects the Philippines in different aspects such as in agricultural
field, forestry, fisheries, and health. This problem requires rapid and effective solutions thus, locals
together with other government sectors implemented different mitigation and adaptation measures
to climate change.
Climate change is not just the increase of the average temperature on earth, it is the
alteration of weather patterns and climate in general. It is one of the fundamental challenges that
we face today and unluckily, Philippines has been listed as one of the most affected country by
climate change. Moreover, climate change greatly affects our country economically since
Philippines is one of the least prepared nations in South East Asia to cope up with natural disasters.
A destructive typhoon season will cause inevitable damage to country’s economy. It has been
estimated that losses and damages from typhoons cost the Philippines around P15 billion from
1970-2006. The ocean surface warms as it absorbs sunlight which then releases some of its heat
into the atmosphere, creating wind and rain clouds. However, as the ocean’s surface temperature
increases over time from the effects of climate change, more heat is released into the
atmosphere. This additional heat in the ocean and air can lead to stronger and more frequent
storms. In the video, it is said that storms stronger than Ondoy and Pepeng will hit the country in
the upcoming years and I have experienced it firsthand when super typhoon Haiyan hit the
Philippines in 2013. Socio economic stresses such as food and security, internal conflicts, poverty,
incidences of diseases and trends in economic globalization will be exacerbated by climate change.
Two thirds of the population live in the rural areas which they are dependent to natural resources
for their livelihood. Nonetheless, land, water and coastal areas are highly sensitive to climate
change hence, affecting the lives and livelihood of the people.
The croplands and forest cover nearly 60% of the earth’s surface are progressively being
exposed to climate change wherein one fifth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are
from agricultural sector. Philippines is composed of 9.7 million hectares of agricultural area yet
due to poor productivity, it can lead to rapid land use change caused by kaingin, lahar and mudflow
coverage and land use conversion with increasing population. As of 2005, the Philippines
estimated to have 85 million people and predicted to reach 120 million on 2020 and as of this year,
it has nearly 108 million people. Due to large and fast growing population, the farmers are obliged
to produce more food to sustain the people. Likewise, forests are essential for life on earth. They
contain much of the earth’s biodiversity and also provide habitat for a vast array of plants and
animals. Forests protect our watersheds and supply the oxygen we need to survive. It is so alarming
to know that forest covers 92% of the Philippines’ land area in 1500s but today, it only comprise
roughly 24% forest. This devastation was caused mainly by humans such as illegal cutting of trees,
mining and other human deeds. Land erosion is also one factor that contributes to this predicament.
Fisheries engage in harvesting and raising fish or any aquatic activities. It also refer to
mangrove forests, sea grass beds, and coral reefs. As a result of climate change, the surface
temperature rises resulting to coral bleaching- a phenomena on which the corals will expel the
algae living in their tissues causing the coral to turn completely white- and red tide. Philippines
being one of the developing countries are vulnerable to health risks due to climate change. It can
affect the health of the people in two ways: direct effect and indirect effect. Direct effect is the
extreme exposure to heat that can lead to heatstroke and dehydration. In contrary, indirect effect
refers to the alteration of life cycle of viruses and germs which can cause dengue, leptospirosis and
malaria.
Local government and other sectors implemented adaptation measures to climate change.
Adaptation strategy aims to increase society’s resilience to climate change. Some of the adaptation
strategies are contour faming upland areas, diversified and integrated farming, organic agriculture
and planting of climate resilient crop varieties and planting technique such as System of Rice
Intensification (SRI). SRI is a method aimed to increase yield of rice produced in farming. It also
uses less water hence a good practice in farming.
Climate change is a very serious global catastrophe that we are facing today but we have
to do our best to fix it. Let’s start by disciplining ourselves to be more responsible to our
environment. Also, people should be educated enough in environmental and disaster awareness
for prevention. Thus, local and community levels raise awareness and prepare for climate change
impacts. At the government level, they implemented climate change strategies mainly in
agricultural policies to provide the local communities with solutions.

Reaction Paper (Envi Chem)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reaction Paper (Envi Chem)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reaction Paper (Envi Chem)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry

College of Arts and Sciences

DIZON, CHELZI DINZ D. March 18, 2019

REACTION PAPER ON PHILIPPINES AND CLIMATE CHANGE:

You might also like