The standardized precipitation index and normalized difference vegetation index on event incidences (at different time scale) and biomass feed dry matter production, were used to assess climate change influences on feed availability. A significant decline (p<0.05) in feed dry matter availability indices across years was observed. The deviation from normality shows that the biomass feed production could vary significantly during drought occurrence years and this accelerates profoundly over time as drought frequency is expected to increase over time. The highest significant decline was observed in 2015 followed by 2006 and 2014. The results of analysis of the impact of climate change on livestock in relation to biomass dry matter production discretely subdivide different agro-ecological zones into land use land cover classes in southwestern Ethiopia. As represented by temporal scale drought, flooding and landslides were incidences considered as the major climatic risks in the study area. The risks threaten the livelihoods and even the security of the socio-ecological systems in general and such marginalized segments of the farming society in particular. The future needs effective action on environment management, devising adaptive and mitigation mechanism and change should aim at managing the occurrence and effects of extremes.
Tag: natural disasters
Assessing and mapping barangay-level social vulnerability of Tacloban City and Ormoc City to climate-related hazards
The destruction left by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines highlighted not only the exposure of the country but also the underlying vulnerability of barangays (villages) to climate-related hazards. This study used geographic information system (GIS) tools to characterize social vulnerability to climate-related hazards of barangays of Tacloban City and Ormoc City using a modified social vulnerability index (SoVI). The SoVI used socioeconomic data mainly drawn from census and was computed from 11 indicators influencing sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and exposure. Social vulnerability varies spatially across the study areas, where Barangay 88, said to be the worst-hit barangay in Tacloban, and Barangay Naungan in Ormoc, recorded the highest vulnerability scores. Demographic and socioeconomic shifts are likely in both cities, given the population growth and increasing density of settlements already concentrated in hazard-prone barangays. Measures to reduce vulnerability should be a local priority and would require political will for community-based climate action, disaster risk reduction and management, and risk-sensitive land use development. This study provides an approach for assessing social vulnerability using available census and climate-related hazard data to determine areas for intervention at the barangay level.
Assessing social vulnerability to climate-related hazards among Haiyan-affected Areas in Leyte, Philippines
Climate-related hazards can lead to disasters in communities with lower socioeconomic conditions, inadequate access to basic social and infrastructure services, and poor institutions. The impacts of Typhoon Haiyan that struck the Philippines in 2013 not only highlighted the exposure of several cities but also indicated the underlying causes of their social vulnerability to climate-related hazards. This study attempted to measure the social vulnerability of Tacloban City (eastern), Ormoc City (eastern), Palo (western) and Kananga (western) in Leyte province using a modified social vulnerability index (SoVI) which was computed from 35 sub-indicators. Results show that Palo obtained the highest overall SoVI, influenced heavily by very high flood susceptibility and high storm surge susceptibility, low level of information and awareness, lack of disaster risk reduction activities, and high level of livelihoods at risk. However, minimal differential vulnerability index among the study areas was observed suggesting that one is almost as vulnerable as the others. Furthermore, a relatively weak association was observed between the SoVI and the number of deaths from Typhoon Haiyan in all the study areas. Nevertheless, an increasing pattern of SoVI and the number of deaths from western to eastern municipalities was observed that could be explained by higher hazard exposure of the eastern municipalities. Adaptive capacity consistently scored the highest among the computed indicators of social vulnerability in all study sites, indicating the importance of prioritizing efforts on increasing adaptive capacity. Overall, the results demonstrate that SoVI allows for better understanding of vulnerability in terms of the study sites’ social conditions and situations. The results can facilitate informed vulnerability reduction decisions.
Vegetation resistance and regeneration potential of Rhizophora, Sonneratia and Avicennia in the Typhoon Haiyan-affected mangroves in the Philippines: Implications on rehabilitation practices
Typhoons cause damage to mangrove ecosystems, hampering their delivery of ecosystem goods and services, including coastal protection. We examined the vegetation resistance (VR) and seedling regeneration potential (SRP) of three mangrove genera: Rhizophora, Sonneratia and Avicennia at the seafront areas. We assessed genus-specific resistance to and recovery from the impacts of Typhoon Haiyan, by far the strongest storm to make landfall in recorded history. VR was estimated using density, tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH). SRP was measured as the post-disturbance seedling growth rate within a given plot.Thirty-six 3m-radii plots were established in the typhoon-affected mangrove areas of Ormoc City and Tacloban City in Leyte; and Quinapondan and General MacArthur in Eastern Samar. Results showed that Avicennia and Sonneratia species yielded the higher average VR values, as compared to Rhizophora,which had the lowest VR across all sites. The different genera could also be arranged from highest to lowest SRP: Avicennia (67.27 ± 2.62 cmyr-1)>Rhizophora (32.46 ± 4.64 cmyr-1). Overall, our findings on the higher relative VR and SRP values of Sonneratia and Avicennia calls for a shift to these species in mangrove planting at the seafront areas, which currently favor Rhizophora. – See more at: https://www.cddjournal.org/article/view/vol01-iss01-001#sthash.22CAKqC7.dpuf
Perceptions of Typhoon Haiyan affected communities about the resilience and storm protection function of mangrove ecosystems in Leyte and Eastern Samar, Philippines
The destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the coastal areas of central Philippines drew greater international attention to the vulnerability of coastal communities to extreme weather and climate events. Mangrove ecosystems enhance coastal resilience by acting as barriers against storms and its impacts. However, given the strength of and damage brought by Typhoon Haiyan, the extent to which mangroves and coastal vegetation can reduce the impacts of waves caused by storm surge has emerged as a salient issue. Drawing on the results of a survey of 870 households; focus group discussions with community members; and interviews with representatives from government agencies, nongovernment organizations, people’s organizations, and communities, the study examines local perceptions on whether or not mangroves played a role in reducing the impacts brought by Typhoon Haiyan in five affected municipalities and cities. It explores how peoples’ perception of the coastal protection function of mangroves differed according to the state of mangroves—in terms of area, width and species richness—validated through vegetation surveys. It also identifies insights on how community participation may help improve coastal rehabilitation and management strategies. In general, the respondents were aware of and appreciated the functions performed by the mangrove forests in protecting their lives and properties from Typhoon Haiyan. However, the participation involvement of local communities in mangrove rehabilitation and management remains low. Community awareness needs to be improved and residents must be encouraged to participate in mangrove rehabilitation and management. This study complements existing studies that show the ability of mangroves and coastal vegetation in attenuating storm surges, the factors that affect the level of protection, the limitations of this function, and the need for further studies that will look more closely into these crucial factors. – See more at: http://www.cddjournal.org/article/view/vol01-iss01-004#sthash.8GC4CNhA.dpuf
From earthquakes to island area: multi-scale effects upon local diversity
Tropical forests occupy small coral atolls to the vast Amazon basin. They occur across bioregions with different geological and climatic history. Differences in area and bioregional history shape species immigration, extinction and diversification. How this effects local diversity is unclear. The Indonesian archipelago hosts thousands of tree species whose coexistence should depend upon these factors. Using a novel dataset of 215 Indonesian forest plots, across fifteen islands ranging in area from 120 to 785 000 km2, we apply Gaussian mixed effects models to examine the simultaneous effects of environment, earthquake proximity, island area and bioregion upon tree diversity for trees ≥ 10 cm diameter at breast height. We find that tree diversity declines with precipitation seasonality and increases with island area. Accounting for the effects of environment and island area we show that the westernmost bioregion Sunda has greater local diversity than Wallacea, which in turn has greater local diversity than easternmost Sahul. However, when the model includes geological activity (here proximity to major earthquakes), bioregion differences are reduced. Overall, results indicate that multi-scale, current and historic effects dictate tree diversity. These multi-scale drivers should not be ignored when studying biodiversity gradients and their impacts upon ecosystem function.