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Home , Barangay Captain, Lake Mainit, Mainit, Quezon

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Author/Researcher: Successful small-scale small-scale Successful ecosystem- and Climate-smart Integrated Management Risk The organised based Community is involvement community Strong cultivation cultivation have sustainable communities the helped resilience community communities Philline Cruz effective, approach to help local toeffective, local help approach environment environmental protection, save lives, livelihoods and the the save and lives, livelihoods approach towards building towards building approach boundaries and differences like the groups non-partisan and awareness raising campaigns for campaigns raising awareness through livelihoods profitable and factor for sustained program factor program for sustained inspiring wide range of range wide inspiring political despite implementation backyard vegetables and crops crops and vegetables backyard projects,based Bio- like the to further companies private and public with partners be Intensive Gardening (BIG), is an is an (BIG), Intensive Gardening Philippine Red Cross reach and and reach Cross Red Philippine 143 Cross Red enabling is an Integrated RiskManagement key in resilience building building key resilience in mitigations are effective effective are mitigations and thePhilippineRedCross

The municipalityofMainitisa4 flooding and required costlyandcontinuous repair. their livelihoods.Crop andriceproduction isusually to hydro-meteorological hazards suchasrain-induced total populationof25,596(NSOCensus2010).Itislocated 2010, thelocalgovernmentofoutlying Background food andshelter. With theenactment ofR.A.10121in for severalmonths.Thisannualfloodingisolatesvillages overflow from LakeManitandexcesswaterfrom the communities betweenthemonthsofNovemberto only bereached through aonehourdrivealongmuddy- implementedriskreduction measures and Mainit ispracticallysurrounded bymountainranges, February. Heavyrainsduringthesemonthscombinedwith Prolonged floodsare encountered intheseoutlying Locals doadetourthrough LakeMainitonmotorboats,a rough road thatisimpassableduringtherainyseason. adaptation efforts, suchasdredging, cattledistribution, affected leavingcommunitieswithlimitedresources for and compromises thesecurityofcommunitiesand along thelakeshore ofMainitmakingithighlyvulnerable bamboo plantingandorganic farming.However, these mountain rangescontrasttheflatlandsofvillages mainland .Itliesalongthecountry’s fourth upstream watershedcausessevere floodingthatcanlast quicker andcheaperroute from thetownproper. landslides andsevere flooding.Mostofthesevillagescan largest anddeepestlake,LakeMainit.TheMunicipalityof in thesouthernpartofSurigaoDelNorteProvince in short termsolutionsremained ineffective afterone separating itfrom neighbouringmunicipalities.These © Philippine Red Cross - Chapter delNorte © PhilippineRedCross -Surigao ofMainit,SurigaoDel Norte th class municipality with a classmunicipalitywitha

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 PARTNERS FOR RESILIENCE | Municipality of Mainit In response to the futile short term solutions, story intended to identify further PfR principles which other and barangays through the Philippine Red Cross – Surigao Del that have been accomplished two years after the would like to achieve for themselves. Norte (PRC-SDN) Chapter, five high-risk first documentation. Organised drills have properly laid-out barangay in the Mainit Municipality were evacuation and emergency plans with an 80% chosen as partner communities for the community participation rate. Local ordinances Partners for Resilience (PfR) Program in the PfR and the work from the barangay level up to the municipal . PfR is an alliance of five level have enacted to support mainstreaming of the Philippine Red Cross Municipality of Mainit, Surigao Del Norte Netherlands-based humanitarian, development these plans and protocols and ensure their © Philippine Red Cross - Surigao del Norte Chapter and environmental organisations, which aims Through the PfR’s experience, PRC has continuous implementation and improvement. to strengthen resilience of different deepened its understanding on empowering There has been dialogue between PRC-SDN communities through capacity building, communities, which goes beyond the usual and a few other municipalities in the risk management (IRM) approach, the community-based risk assessments and the relief operations, medical missions and other with regards to replication of the risk reduction institutionalisation of CCA related information formation of partnerships with different key humanitarian aid that the organisation provides. activities within their communities. within the organisation has further enhanced stakeholders and government agencies. PfR This has entailed building the capacity of PRC the basis of its DRR programs. works towards an integrated approach of not only to respond and prepare for disasters Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change but also to better understand and address Red Cross 143 and the PfR However, “ecosystem management and Adaptation (CCA) and Ecosystem Management underlying causes of risks. Strong community program in Mainit restoration, was totally beyond the and Restoration (EMR). This is reinforced with preparedness through “early warning, early organisational expertise of PRC,” according to the eight key principles that serve as the action” is a goal of every community that PRC Political differences have always been one of MarilouTalinting, the Chapter Administrator of building blocks for implementation at the is working with. It is the same case with PfR the biggest challenges in the implementation of PRC-SDN. Although PRC also provides household, community and landscape levels: communities in Surigao del Norte. programs in the community. The local elections disaster rehabilitation related programs such 1) working on different timescales; of the mayor and barangay officials in May and as early livelihood recovery programs for 2) recognizing geographical scales; The impact on the PfR communities is clearly October of 2013 were slightly untimely for the disaster victims, they are only limited to short- 3) strengthening institutional resilience; evident. People were engaged and developed program, which was in its third year of term immediate interventions such as cash 4) integrating disciplines; a sense of responsibility not only for their own implementation. This caused delays in grants. At first, PRC-SDN was very cautious to 5) promoting community self-management; families but for the whole community. Local implementation as the newly elected officials get involved with environmental issues 6) stimulating learning; officials in most of the PfRbarangay admitted needed to be oriented and re-trained. It was concerning the province, as mining and 7) focusing on livelihoods; and that before PfR, there were no organised important that the Program gained the logging has long been the practice of the 8) forming partnerships. preparations or risk reduction activities that support and commitment of the newly elected people and private companies in Mindanao. involved the whole community. People just officials to lead the Program implementation In the first few years of the PfR implementation, accepted that floods occur and each year their in the community. Through the years of PfR implementation in the PRC-SDN was able to document accounts of situation would worsen, where they area, PRC was able to explore these good practices and lessons learned in continuously become victims of such hazards. In the case of PRC-SDN, they were able to boundaries as new learning opportunities to accordance to each key principle. In 2014, they With limited resources, knowledge and skills, utilise the Red Cross 143 program as a further protect lives, livelihood and the were able to publish a book titled, “Creating New people only prepared for their own families. common ground to continue the harmonious environment. PfR paved the way for new Paths towards Resilience”, which showcased implementation of the PfR Program in the partnerships, cooperation, and understanding different stories on the PfR’s first implementation Nevertheless, when PfR came in 2011, all of communities. PRC-SDN has appreciated the on how to better work with various years in the Philippines and Indonesia. In the this gradually changed. All of the orientation of spirit of volunteerism and strong leadership of stakeholders in the community. EMR opened case of Mainit Municipality, the documentation concepts, community-based risk assessments, the local officials as one of the facilitating its doors to engage in dialogue with the mining focused on the promotion of community self- skills training and strong community factors in achieving the PfR goals. Volunteerism companies. This provided both parties the management, wherein communities were able to involvement prompted a sense of ownership in the community has continued to surpass opportunity not to treat each other as participate in conducting Vulnerability and and empowerment that built confidence and political differences that usually hinder the opponents but as possible partners in building Capacity Assessments, preparing their competence amongst the members of the implementation of projects in other resilient communities. community plans and facilitating their own community. Changes in outlook and the communities. Local officials, old and new, were community drills. This case study is a follow-up difference in how people reacted in able to work hand in hand to provide services emergencies were notably apparent even to even beyond their duties. Small-scale mitigation the average community member. Communities program goes BIG Municipality of Mainit, Surigao Del Norte have become unified and prepared in © Philippine Red Cross - Surigao del Norte Chapter disseminating information properly and they Discovering unfamiliar The Bio-Intensive Gardening (BIG) recently have organised evacuations and early warning became the key activity in Barangay . systems. In putting the concepts of risk PRC, being the largest and go-to humanitarian BIG is a small-scale mitigation activity that was reduction into practice, the barangay officials’ organisation in the , provides assistance implemented in most of the PfR communities. commitment and persistence has been pivotal to protect the lives and health of people. PRC BIG aims to rebuild and maintain soil fertility in driving communities into action. The has also provided disaster relief activities and through nutrient cycling, diversified cropping community drills implemented in the PfR DRR programs to help improve the capabilities and deep-bed preparation on small-scale plots. 2 communities have become a benchmark, of different communities. With PfR’s integrated It contains a diverse range of indigenous crops 3 which minimises the chances of pest kinds of recognition of the barangay and outbreaks and preserves indigenous seed officials right up to the regional level. This varietiesi. BIG was initially implemented to aid recognition serves as a credential of an malnutrition and food security in communities, effective and investment worthy community and especially in times of disaster. Mr. Gaudencio moreover a community that promotes resiliency. Mundano, the newly elected of Quezon, clearly saw the learning potential of During the first years of PfR implementation, BIG, which also matched his pre-identified communities in Surigao del Norte focused on reforestation project, “Panayak-pan Ecological PfR principles such as strengthening Park” in . BIG was first institutional resilience; integrating disciplines; implemented in communities at the promoting community self-management ( of a Barangay) level, then as it through capacity building activities and progressed to street blocks, the barangay organisational management. Through the years, made it into competition. Not only has it PRC-SDN moved to focus on other PfR become income generating for households principles such as, working on different that sell the excess vegetables they harvest, timescales; stimulating learning; focusing on but it has also developed unutilised land in the livelihoods and forming partnerships. communities. Barangay Quezon is currently conducting its three-month feeding program In the small-scale mitigation bio-intensive where ingredients are sourced from the gardening project alone, PRC was able to community’s own bio-intensive gardens. In improve its work with the addition of these four terms of reforestation, an additional 5000 principles. The project has proven to be seedlings will be planted in the month of April beneficial for both communities and the just in time for the planting season. organisation in terms of providing livelihoods to community members, improving malnutrition, The bio-intensive gardening as well as the tree ecosystem preservation and beautification, planting activities in the community have and new opportunities to gain and strengthen helped increase awareness not only in the partnerships, as well as garnering recognition people of Barangay Quezon but also in the for the success and good practices manifested wider range of communities that they have through the program. This encompasses the inspired. These activities have earned various effectiveness of PfR’s view of giving importance to trainings, increased knowledge, and changing the mind-set of people as a strong foundation for long-term solutions.

Indeed, PfR’s IRM approach helped both the organization and communities have better access to information, experience and new approaches to build their resilience in the short, medium and long terms. These initiatives also set the bar higher in implementing risk reduction activities and livelihood programs that will both benefit households and ecosystems.

Municipality of Mainit, Surigao Del Norte i (IIRR, International Institute for Rural Reconstruction) © Philippine Red Cross - Surigao del Norte Chapter http://journeytoforever.org/iirr.html

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