A blog by UN Resident Coordinator – Global Issues

The Southeast Asian country is the most prone to natural disasters in the world, and these dangers are becoming increasingly intense due to climate change.

The UN has worked with authorities in the Philippines to prepare for a wide range of disasters the UN Residents Coordinator in the country, Gustavo González, explains in advance International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction marked annually on October 13.

“The Philippines, with its 7,000 islands and many coastal cities, has always been extremely vulnerable to intense weather events and natural hazards. There are about twenty typhoons every year, and many can turn into super typhoons, which are highly destructive extreme weather events.

We’re seeing more and more super typhoons as the seas in Southeast Asia warm due to climate change.

There are also about twenty active volcanoes across the country, and experts say we can expect a magnitude 7.2 earthquake at any moment. So the serious threat of super typhoons, volcanoes and earthquakes, exacerbated by climate change, forces us to prepare for the possibility of a ‘big one’, a natural event with enormous potential destructive power.

The Philippines is ranked number one worldwide Global Risk Indexwhich measures vulnerability and exposure to natural extreme events.

However, the extent of the country’s vulnerability is not well known outside the region. When I arrived in this country as UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, equipped with my long experience in crisis situations, I immediately recognized the unique character of this country.

I realized that we needed to thoroughly reassess the standard humanitarian aid and development programming toolkit used in other countries to better tailor it to the specific circumstances of the Philippines.

In response, there has been a paradigm shift in the work of the UN country team towards investing in building resilience, which means strengthening national and local capacities to cope, adapt and respond recovering from current and future shocks.

This is reflected in a very popular Filipino proverb that says, “If the blanket is short, learn to bend it.”

Not one size fits all

Moreover, our approach in the country must also take into account regional differences.

When I visited an area hit by Super Typhoon Odette in 2021, I assumed it would share the same cultural identity and political dynamics as other parts of the country, but this was far from the case.

Even on a small island you can face completely different socio-economic realities, in locations just a few kilometers apart. While one community may ask for cell phones to quickly restore communications and mobilize solidarity, the neighboring community may need livelihood support or just some materials to start rebuilding their homes.

I remember an inspiring local leader on Dinagat Island who was very clear about her community’s priorities after a super typhoon. She respectfully questioned some of our standard and globally practiced humanitarian interventions. She argued that some items were redundant, while highlighting the gaps in other areas, and requested a tailored response to improve the effectiveness of the response.

What we learn from such experiences is that building resilience starts with recognizing the invaluable capital of knowledge, skills and assets that a community can provide. Affected people are in the best position to decide what they need and where the UN can add value in the aftermath of a disaster.

Incorporating such a wealth of local knowledge into the humanitarian response represents a paradigm shift from the UN’s standard approach. Portraying affected communities as a combination of needs and vulnerabilities oversimplifies a complex reality. Developing the humility to listen, explore, and genuinely engage with communities is imperative.

Preparation and resilience

Building resilience and preparedness remain the most cost-effective way to tackle natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods or typhoons. In the Philippines, an ongoing decentralization process plays an important role for local municipalities in risk assessment and disaster planning, and in developing early warning systems.

I visited a UN development program and a UN Habitat-supported project in Albay province, in the shadow of the Mayon volcano, where communities learned to fly state-of-the-art drones.

Digital mapping of disaster-prone areas provides essential information for planning and risk assessment to better predict, prepare for and mitigate the negative impacts of disasters and other natural hazards.

In Mindanao, I met the Bajaus, a group of indigenous seafarers whose homes were severely damaged by Super Typhoon Odette in 2021. Supported by UN Habitat, community members have rebuilt their homes following traditional construction practices and using locally available materials.

Recognizing and integrating local ingenuity has been crucial to developing tailor-made solutions. Their homes now have a better chance of surviving a typhoon.

UN cooperation

As communities are empowered to take the initiative and prepare for and mitigate the effects of extreme weather or an earthquake, the United Nations is also working with the government and other partners to mount an international response to this potentially catastrophic event. coordinate events.

As a UN Resident Coordinator and as a UN Humanitarian Coordinator, my role is primarily to make global knowledge and practices available to Government, secondly to build alliances in support of integrated humanitarian and development solutions and , finally, to utilize financial resources. means to make them sustainable.

When I started working for the UN almost thirty years ago, there was an artificial division of labor between humanitarian work and development work. This gap existed between programs, strategies and budgets. Today it is modestly recognized that the nature and scale of crises require a more holistic and integrated approach. We call this the ‘nexus approach’.

Our new Anticipatory Action Pilot Program* brings together community knowledge, technology, digitalization and logistics in one formula.

Generally, we have only 36 hours of warning before the arrival of a super typhoon to activate anticipatory measures, including arranging money transfers to previously identified people. This money can help families move valuable belongings such as boats and tools, as well as stock up on food or move to evacuation centers.

Experience shows that for every dollar we invest in prevention, we save four dollars on reconstruction.

As we see, exposure to disasters and vulnerability to climate change have pushed Filipinos to cultivate a unique sense of resilience. The spirit of ‘saving lives’ is widespread within local communities.

As Filipinos often say: “as long as there is life, there is hope.”

*The Anticipatory Action Pilot Program is implemented by UN agencies: the World Food Program, UNICEFthe International Organization for Migration, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency, UNFPAand supported by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)