Jake Chavara explores the livelihood impacts of blue carbon interventions in the Philippines, focusing on the integration of pre-existing environmental subjectivities in project design. Through a case study at Barangay Tuba-on in Southern Leyte, it highlights fieldwork observations on how community-driven approaches enhance adaptation and resilience against climate challenges. By emphasizing the importance of local knowledge and ownership, the findings underscore the potential for sustainable development initiatives to improve livelihoods while fostering biodiversity and empowering coastal communities.
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As a recipient of the LSE Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, I travelled to the Philippines to examine the livelihood impacts of blue carbon interventions in developing country contexts, with a particular interest in the causal relationship between the integration of a community’s endogenous environmental subjectivities (i.e. how people come to perceive, value and interact with their natural surroundings – Agrawal 2005) within project designs and the overall efficacy and longevity of these interventions in delivering mitigative and adaptive benefits. The Philippines—with its vast 37,008 km coastline and one of the world’s largest blue carbon habitats that fosters biodiversity, sequesters CO2, and provides vital economic and ecosystem services (Corcino et al. 2023; DENR 2018)—is an ideal location to explore the developmental impact of nature-based solutions (NbS) projects in coastal communities. The objective was to bring to light some evidence that can help us understand how sustainable development efforts, often the product of global policy dialogues and political mandates, can better serve the needs of local peoples. To that end, I conducted roughly a dozen cross-sectoral stakeholder interviews and visited four blue carbon ecosystems. Two of the sites were the result of external development interventions while the other two were (almost entirely) community-driven initiatives. My first site visit was to Barangay Tuba-on in southeastern Leyte, a small coastal community where most inhabitants arereliant upon traditional livelihoods such as smallholder fishing and coconut farming for subsistence and marginal profit. The following first-person narrative draws upon journal entries made during my time in country, revealing analytic observations from this first site visit and series of interviews, as well as some insight into my lived experience as a graduate researcher abroad:
High temperatures and even higher humidity levels confirm beyond the shadow of a doubt that I am indeed in the tropics, and it is unquestionably the rainy season. But apart from the occasional afternoon storm and soaring heat indexes, I’ve been quite fortunate with weather to date and my site visit is largely proceeding according to plan. Looking out upon the great and tranquil expanse of the Philippine Sea at low-tide, the waters are calm as they recede, and a great number of local residents scour the expanding mudflats for crustaceans. Some, with spear and snorkel in hand, try their luck spearfishing while others—mostly middle-aged and older men—continue to toil in their boats, casting nets further afield and deep into choppier waters all in the hope of capitalizing upon decreased competition this late in the day. Irregular pockets of dense mangrove coverage, clustered in front of residences, contribute equally to the vibrancy of the local ecosystem as well as the community’s natural beauty.
The oceanfront vista is a peaceful sight to behold, and the devastating potential of tropical typhoons seems a far-off reality. But a reality it is all the same. This is particularly true for coastal inhabitants here in the Eastern Visayas, an impoverished region whereby a confluence of place-based, biophysical and socio-economic factors as well as a comparable lack of more robust housing and municipal infrastructure contribute to the province’s heightened climate vulnerability profile in a country already considered to be one of the most disaster-prone and at-risk nations to climate change (Toda et al. 2016; Chapman et al. 2021). Being situated in the dead centre of the Pacific typhoon belt, tropical cyclones are one of the gravest threats to local livelihoods, and an abundance of research has demonstrated that amplified rates of sea surface evaporation brought about by a warming climate are resulting in increasingly powerful storm systems that strike earlier in the season and linger over a given area longer (https://www.edf.org/climate/how-climate-change-makes-hurricanes-more-destructive).
When Typhoon Haiyan (domestically referred to as “Yolanda”) struck in 2013 as one of the most powerful tropical cyclones in recorded history, 90% of all structures in the provincial capital Tacloban City were flattened and resulted in roughly 5.6k casualties in the low-lying coastal areas of the Eastern Visayas alone (DENR 2018). And while it is crucial to urgently reduce carbon emissions to avert further intensification of tropical typhoons and other extreme weather events in the future (i.e. known as mitigation), the devastating legacy of Typhoon Haiyan underscores the pressing need to equip communities to cope with worsening conditions in the present (i.e. adaptation). Often, we are too quick to turn first to costly engineered solutions to achieve these means, scaling technical solutions in the built environment: think scaling renewable energy, switching to electric vehicles, building seawalls, etc.
However, it would be prudent to harness the innate mitigative and adaptive potential of plant biology and the ecosystem services the environment provides naturally and affordably. Consider how in coastal regions, the restoration of certain ecosystems—so-called blue ecosystems such as mangrove forests—can simultaneously deliver mitigation, adaptation, and conservation benefits that sequester carbon dioxide and render local communities more resilient and sustainably prosperous in the process. As mangroves are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems on the planet, mangrove restoration projects can be tied to offsetting certification schemes to generate high-value carbon credits for sale in voluntary and regulatory markets (https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2023/11/21/what-you-need-to-know-about-blue-carbon). Moreover, mangrove coverage provides critical protection against storm surge and coastal erosion (Choudhary et al. 2024), improve marine biodiversity, sustain stable fishing populations and generate novel green economy opportunities for local inhabitants (Song et. al 2021). For these reasons, development practitioners and international policymakers alike are keen to see an expansion of efforts to promote NbS interventions as a pathway to developing climate resilience.
In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, one such intervention was launched in Barangay Tuba-on. Like most communities in Southern Leyte, Tuba-on was all but wiped out after Haiyan. The community managed to rebuild, but it was left with depleted resources, insecure property tenure and a lack of political enfranchisement in municipal and regional governance that reduced its collective agency to affect mitigative preparatory measures. With limited financial and political capital, the community continued to face a pronounced risk of further destruction and storm-related displacement in subsequent years. However, with aid funding from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and partnership with a small but ambitious Leyte-based disaster-risk reduction (DRR) NGO, Tuba-on was chosen as a recipient community for an NbS intervention that aimed to simultaneously nurture the development of a vital marine carbon sink ecosystem whilst enhancing the climate resilience of the community.
Based upon consultation with locals, government officials and development practitioners, it is abundantly clear that this project was distinguished by a grassroots approach that drew upon deep co-creation from project inception to completion. Instead of relying on foreign expertise, which often brings with it external project narratives and value propositions (e.g. a form of external subjectivity), local NGOs consulted with community members and local academics to identify and respond to their contextual climate risks and livelihood challenges. Understandings of these contextual factors were deeply informed by their experiences as coastal inhabitants—in many ways individuals on the frontlines, bearing witness to the consequences of a rapidly changing climate—as well as fisherfolk and sustenance farmers who are highly dependent upon the land for their wellbeing. This collaborative spirit ensured that the project was centred around the community’s self-identified developmental needs while fostering project ownership among a diverse, multi-generational and representative sampling of individual residents.
Fast forward eleven years since the intervention, and the results are heartening. The mangrove seedlings have reached maturity, with around 70% of the replanted mangroves still thriving. While the project may not yet qualify for blue carbon credit schemes due to its size, residents have reported a noticeable increase in fishing and crustacean biodiversity, alongside their delight in witnessing the return of several migratory bird species, many of which hadn’t been seen for a generation. From the perspective of the locals, the project has been a resounding success, enhancing traditional livelihoods through improved fishing yields and diversifying catches which are again found closer to shore. Community members now feel confident in their ability to meet their fishing quotas working in the safety of shallower waters. Others underscore the positive adaptive impact of the mangroves as a natural barrier from typhoons. As one resident put it, “the mangroves saved my home from being destroyed in typhoons over the years,” emphasizing their role in reducing storm surge. Moreover, the project has cultivated leadership and community organizing skills among women and youth, providing them with novel opportunities for empowerment.
So what does all of this mean in terms of endogenous subjectivities, and how can it be said that these environmental attitudes and identities of the constituent members of Barangay Tuba-on influenced the project design and outcome? Indeed, the best way to understand this dynamic is to turn to the testimony of the residents themselves. As stated above, my interviews with residents revealed a profound reverence for their natural surroundings as well as an appreciation for its economic and intrinsic value. This perception is inherently shaped by their daily interactions with the environment, both as a fundamental part of their livelihood and as their immediate community context, being situated at the frontier of land and sea. These factors have seemingly fostered a desire to adapt and coexist with nature rather than impose infrastructure solutions, translating to a congruent preference for an NbS approach that places a premium on ecosystem restoration as a means to improve resiliency and livelihood conditions. Residents’ vivid perceptions of climate risk are grounded in real experiences; they frequently cite oppressive heatwaves, droughts, declines in marine and agricultural productivity, and increased competition for resources as pressing challenges. Moreover, residents consistently express a deep “personal ownership” of the mangrove site and believe it is essential to instill this perspective in future generations to ensure the sustainability of their traditional livelihoods.
The development of these values appears to be influenced by familial teachings, social networks, and individual experiences within the community itself, underscoring the intricate connection between local subjectivities and community resilience. As for the influence of exogenous subjectivities on the project design and outcome at Tuba-on, in this case they were complementary, which surely was a boon to project success. The interests of the NGO aligned seamlessly with the local perspectives, largely because the organization primarily operates as disaster risk reduction (DRR) charity and as such was well acclimated to responding to adaptation needs. By developing a mangrove-based adaptation intervention in Tuba-on, the domestic NGO was also able to effectively integrate the donor’s strong preference for an NbS project—an external subjectivity—with the self-identified needs of the community itself. As the project facilitator, the NGO’s focus on DRR fostered a strong preference for adaptation and livelihood enhancements, which resonated well with both the foreign design requirements and local needs. Moreover, the NGO’s deliberate efforts to instil a sense of ownership and encourage multi-generational engagement significantly bolstered the project’s longevity.
In reflecting on my experiences and observations in Barangay Tuba-on, it’s clear that the success of this particular blue carbon intervention hinges on a deep understanding of local environmental subjectivities. In building projects that are informed by the needs and desires, a sense of collective obligation and ownership is built which seemingly results in longer project lifespans. The community’s profound connection to their natural surroundings not only informs their resilience in the face of climate challenges but also shapes the design and implementation of sustainable development initiatives. By prioritizing community-driven approaches that value local knowledge and foster genuine ownership, we can create interventions that are not only effective but also culturally and contextually relevant. The story of Tuba-on exemplifies the transformative power of integrating local perspectives into environmental projects. As we face an increasingly unpredictable climate future, it is essential that development practitioners and policymakers recognize and engage with the lived experiences of coastal communities. By doing so, we can pave the way for sustainable solutions that enhance livelihoods, promote biodiversity, and empower communities to thrive in harmony with their ecosystems. Ultimately, the journey towards climate resilience is a collective effort, one that must be built on trust, collaboration, and a shared vision for a sustainable future.
References:
Agrawal, Arun. 2005. “Environmentality: Community, Intimate Government, and the Making of Environmental Subjects in Kumaon, India.” Current Anthropology 46 (2): 161–90. https://doi.org/10.1086/427122.
Chapman, Alex, William Davies, and Ciaran Downey. 2021. “Philippines Climate Risk Country Profile.” Asian Development Bank. https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/722241/climate-risk-country-profile-philippines.pdf.
Corcino, Russel Christine, Giovanni A. Sanciangco, Abdulazis Said Abdulkader, Adrian Batomalaque, and John F. Anasco. 2023. “Status, Limitations, and Challenges of Blue Carbon Studies in the Philippines: A Bibliographic Analysis.” Regional Studies in Marine Science 62 (1): 102916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2023.102916.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 2018. “National State of Oceans and Coasts 2018: Blue Economy Growth, Philippines.” Edited by Maria Corazon M. Ebarvia. denr.gov.ph. Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia. 2018. https://faspselib.denr.gov.ph/node/2124.
Song, Andrew, Wolfram H. Dressler, Paula Satizábal, and Michael Fabinyi. 2021. “From Conversion to Conservation to Carbon: The Changing Policy Discourse on Mangrove Governance and Use in the Philippines.” Journal of Rural Studies 82 (February): 184–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.01.008.
Toda, Luigi, Justine Ravi Orduña, Rodel Lasco, and Carlos Tito Santos. 2016. “Assessing Social Vulnerability to Climate-Related Hazards among Haiyan-Affected Areas in Leyte, Philippines.” Climate, Disaster and Development Journal 1 (1): 41–56. https://doi.org/10.18783/cddj.v001.i01.a05.
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*Banner photo by and copyright of the Author. Densely grown mangrove forests overlooking Cancabato Bay near the provincial capital of Tacloban City. The mangrove restoration effort depicted here, the most expansive witnessed during my fieldwork, is credited for saving countless lives and livelihoods in successive typhoon seasons and, impressively, is entirely community driven.
*About the research: This blog is based on the Author’s dissertation for his LSE MSc Development Management, for which the Author was awarded SEAC’s Dissertation Fieldwork Grant.
*The views expressed in the blog are those of the authors alone. They do not reflect the position of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, nor that of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
