SRJS_ToC_PH_Partnerships for climate resilience, water and food security in the Philippines

Comprised of over 7100 islands, the Philippines is one of the world’s 17 “megadiverse” countries and is a biodiversity hotspot. Much of the remaining 7 million hectares of natural forest is located in upland protected areas and indigenous peoples’ ancestral domains, functioning as key watersheds. The densely-populated country is a major producer of nickel ore, gold and copper. This mining and other forms of land conversion have taken a heavy toll on the country’s ecosystems, threatening biodiversity, water provisioning, food security and climate resilience for its growing population, including in Southern Palawan, the Abra-Agno River Basins in the Cordillera and Mt. Malindang Watershed, Zamboanga peninsula. In these landscapes, mining concessions largely overlap with key biodiversity areas, protected areas, watersheds, indigenous peoples’ ancestral domains and agricultural land. Mining has led to the contamination of rivers and coastal waters, which impacts drinking water, irrigation for farmlands, fish from rivers, coastal ecosystems and marine fisheries. The Philippines is now ranked as the world’s most affected country by climate change. It is extremely prone to natural disasters and the impacts of droughts and other extreme weather events, such as typhoons, is exacerbated by the ecological damage caused by mining, which is further increasing the vulnerability of its population to natural disasters.