This report aims to visualize and analyze the generated geospatial datasets of the HEVs. Specifically, we considered informality, critical infrastructures, and social vulnerability indicators.

Metro Manila has been experiencing a variety of natural hazards including climate and weather extremes, flooding, storm surge, tropical cyclones, earthquake and others. While these hazards affect the exposed population and land use/cover types, these exposures likewise affect hazards. Also, hazards, exposures and vulnerabilities (HEVs) distribute themselves unevenly across space and time as well as interact with each other. Hazards may be considered catalysts of disasters, while exposures and vulnerabilities are root causes of disasters. The spatial relationships of these HEV variables are not always examined. Hence, this report aims to visualize and analyze the generated geospatial datasets of the HEVs. Specifically, we considered informality, critical infrastructures, and social vulnerability indicators.

The Philippines is known to be a champion in disaster risk governance and, as such, has progressed in terms of understanding the confluence of HEVs towards integrated risk analyses. For this, downscaled climate modeling help better diagnose climate variability and extremes, as these influence exposures and associated vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are then mainstreamed into decision making through various plans (e.g., DRRM, Climate Change Action, and Local Development Plans).

Nevertheless, the failure to understand salient vulnerabilities vs. capacities of communities as well as vital socio-economic assets needed to sustain development and growth, has kept Philippine cities continually at risk to evolving hazards associated with climate change and other factors. Mapping these risks in a manner that will be visually understood by policy-makers will better facilitate solution-seeking and decision-making amongst governance actors. In the same light, deeper understanding of how the elements of risks interact to produce devastation will also allow various stakeholders to look into appropriate innovative measures to enable resilience against powerful hazards.

The Resilience Collaboratory runs activities and programs that aim to strengthen the resilience capacities of communities that are exposed to frequent hazards, to address local vulnerabilities, and to support efforts to adapt to disaster risks and climate impacts. The Resilience Collaboratory facilitates collaboration among the core laboratories of the Manila Observatory with a shared goal of delivering useful and usable climate and disaster risk information to the most vulnerable, and initiates transdisciplinary partnerships with various institutions outside academia especially civil society organizations, and the public and private sectors.

For more information about the Resilience Collaboratory, visit the Manila Observatory website.

GED applies remote sensing and geographic information systems (RS-GIS) technologies to process social and environmental data in map form. This is in order to provide information and knowledge needed to study and analyze socio-environmental themes, dynamics and spatial patterns of disaster risk, resource utilization, and sustainability. Our outputs guide the use of ancillary tools, policies, and plans for climate change adaptation and mitigation as well as disaster risk reduction and management towards sustainable development of local communities in their wider context. Development theory engendered in GED is that sustainable development is best ladderized although cross-cutting, as follows:

1. Human and Resource Security (Water-Energy-Food Nexus, Human Settlements and Health based on Demand, Supply, Access, Utilization)
Inclusivity
2. Equity with (Smart) Growth
3. Climate Change Mitigation
4. Co-Beneficial Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (CCA-DRRM) towards more risk-sensitive Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs)
5. Resilience
6. Overall and Demonstrable SD Cross-Sectoral Integration

For more information on the GED Laboratory, please visit their page.