text and photos by Prime Sarmiento

How can a disaster-prone province become one of the most liveable areas in the Philippines?

How can a province renown as site of devastating floods and volcanic eruptions be a global model for climate change adaptation?

I was asking myself these questions while in a press conference with Albay Governor Joey Salceda. He was telling us members of the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists (PNEJ) on how they’re preparing for the impact of climate change.

members of the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists went on a media tour in Alobay to know more about climate change adaptation

The briefing was part of the three-day media tour sponsored by the provincial government. We had a very packed schedule, cramming everything within a ten-hour workday. Environmental journalism is not a glamorous job and this is no press junket. It can be tiring and I had to imbibe at least four cups – instant, brewed, three-in-one – of coffee, the caffeine acting as my power bar. It would have been more ideal if this is a week-long thing, but we can only spare a long weekend for this.

That said, I considered it a good crash course on climate change – something that I really need as I’ve been covering climate change’s impact on the Philippines for the past two years. My coverage, however, is limited to attending media briefings and interviewing experts, scientists and development workers based in Manila. I educated myself on climate change by reading newspapers, surfing the net and listening in various conferences.

Albay is not just about tragedy

The Albay trip is my first field trip as well… a climate change journalist. And instead on delving on how climate change -and the natural disasters it will bring – create more victims, I’ve seen how the local government and the community is doing everything possible to cope with what seems to be the inevitable.

Located at the typhoon belt and the Pacific Ring of Fire, Albayanons just have to live with the fact that every year, at least five typhoons will sweep their farmlands, destroy their crops and houses. From 1994 to 2006, these typhoons killed over 1 million people and damaged properties and farm produce worth over 100 million U.S. dollars

Late last year, Albay was in the international news again as the beautiful – but very active- Mayon Volcano threatened to erupt by Christmas (it did not, and so it was a happy Christmas for everyone!:)

Making matters worse is climate change. As sea temperatures rise, carbon emissions continue to increase and energy consumption continues to grow, vulnerable areas like Albay are expected to suffer.

But our visit in Albay proves that a place’s geography need not to be its fate.

In between lectures and press conferences with Salceda and other officials of Albay, PNEJ members were able to visit two resettlement areas, a high school that incorporated climate change adaptation in ts curriculum, the province’s emergency medical training center housed in Bicol University and a well-equipped public hospital (Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital). We also got the chance to talk to members of the indigenous Agta tribe (where they attributed these natural hazards to people’s abuse of the environment) and residents of resettlement areas .

Feeding program at the resettlement area in Albay

Salceda considers climate change adaptation as an “investment” and not a “cost”, which is why in 2009, 9 percent of the province’s 804 million pesos (about 18 million U.S. dollars) budget went to disaster risk reduction (community-based warning and evacuation planning, training of emergency medical teams, purchase of rubber boats and ambulance and establishment of resettlement areas. and adaptation projects which include declogging canals,planting more trees, and organic farming.

Albay has gained global recognition for such efforts. In 2008, the World Bank and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR)declared Albay as a global model for CCA. The UN-ISDR also named Salceda as “Senior Champion” of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

Good schools, good hospitals make for a liveable city

Salceda also presented data showing improved literacy (more kids are going to schools and finishing college) and public health (as seen by the reduction in infant and maternal mortality rates) in the province.

We posed in front of a very impressive public hospital in Albay.

Not surprising really as – in between cracking naughty jokes – Salceda showed us a detailed budget of Albay province, a substantial portion of which provided scholarships to the youth, medical insurance for the poor and extending incentives to public school teachers.

Some equipment needed in emergency medical training conducted at Bicol University

I asked him about the province’s economic growth, specifically his GDP growth targets. But Salceda who worked a stock market analysts for years before he pursued political career, declined to reply. He said that he’d rather talk about his plan of making Albay a liveable province, or responding to the “social desire of the people.”

“My vision is for Albay to be known for good schools, good hospitals and a good environment,” Salceda said.

Lessons from the field:

So what did I learn from this tour? Here are some takeaways from our trip and I hope that other journalists (that ‘s you!) reading this blog post will bear this in mind the next time you find yourself reporting on climate change:

1. Focus on resiliency, not tragedy: The media has always highlighted disasters – and the victims of these disasters. I admit that I’m guilty of this sin. In reporting about climate change, I harped on the Philippines’ vulnerability – but seldom reported on what is being done to cope with iyts impact or to document best practices. Albay proves that it’s not a victim but is a survivor – a resilient community which can cope with -and rise from – disasters.

2.Good governance is good news and that’s NEWS: It’s important document that government officials are actually doing something, instead of stealing from the country’s coffers or passing useless laws. This is the kind of news that offers hope to its audience, help in nation building, and shames corrupt officials. Gov. Salceda said, you need to create an ecosystem that rewards good behavior. Reporting about “good behavior” is a step towards that kind of ecosystem.

3. Keep it simple and sweet: Climate change is such an abstract concept and unless you have some science background, it’s difficult to report about it or even spur most people to read about it. By going to a province like Albay and seeing how people are preparing for climate change’s possible impact, climate change became more “real” to me and makes it easier for me to explain why everyone should care about climate change.