THE Philippines needs to overhaul its project evaluation methods if it hopes to turn to nature-based flood-prevention solutions, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a case study.
The ADB, in a case study brief known as Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Risk Management, looked at how managing ecosystems to protect humans can be used in flood risk management in the Philippines.
“Fully integrating ecosystems into infrastructure planning requires both a change in mindset and civil engineering education, and changing the method of project economic benefit assessment,” ADB said.
“People’s attitudes toward natural hazards must also include adaptation measures with structural measures.”
The natural river management approach seen in an ADB project with the Public Works department to reduce flood risk at some river basins looks at using the natural river systems to “nurture climate resilience at a lower cost.”
Such solutions include flood conveyance, which increases river capacity to contain heavy rainfall, along with bank erosion control and early warning systems to reduce the impact of floods.
The ADB said that the main challenge in using nature-based solutions is the time limit and the absence of data to make proper assessments. Because each river basin is different and has varying risks, solutions should be done on a case-to-case basis, the report said.
Although communities are vulnerable to floods when they live close to the coast, their fisheries-based livelihoods depend on their location.
“Several good practices are available to increase the resilience of coastal communities. Stakeholder involvement and consultation is a key element here to come up with interventions that benefit all people who live in these areas.” — Jenina P. Ibañez
