Bicolnon
resiliency in the age of global climate change adaptation.
Rainier A. Ibana*
When hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, my sister’s classmates were amazed at how she was able to share food and water with them for many days before they were rescued from their isolated condominium unit. Little did they know that my sister had typhoon survival skills training while we were growing up in Bicolandia where we stored water, dried fish, canned goods, match sticks and candles whenever announcements were made about weather disturbances. We learned to wait and pray for the typhoons’ passage while the winds changed direction from their northward trajectory towards the easterly tailwinds that are more dangerous because of the flight of galvanized iron roofs that have been known to strike off the heads of those who have not learned to bow down to nature’s fury. We were then admonished to learn from the bamboo grass that sways with the winds; unlike narra trees that get uprooted due to their stubborn resistance.
Rainier A. Ibana*
When hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, my sister’s classmates were amazed at how she was able to share food and water with them for many days before they were rescued from their isolated condominium unit. Little did they know that my sister had typhoon survival skills training while we were growing up in Bicolandia where we stored water, dried fish, canned goods, match sticks and candles whenever announcements were made about weather disturbances. We learned to wait and pray for the typhoons’ passage while the winds changed direction from their northward trajectory towards the easterly tailwinds that are more dangerous because of the flight of galvanized iron roofs that have been known to strike off the heads of those who have not learned to bow down to nature’s fury. We were then admonished to learn from the bamboo grass that sways with the winds; unlike narra trees that get uprooted due to their stubborn resistance.
Bicolano Strategies of Typhoon
Adaptation
The tree
trunks and branches that littered the streets after the typhoons were immediately
picked up by lumber yard owners who cut, shaped and sold them for profit. Those who were
wise enough to tie their trees to the ground prior to the storm, however, were
spared from these fallen tree trunks and broken branches that crashed and destroyed roofs
and fences.
One can even detect the presence of
Bicolnons beyond the geographical
boundaries of the region when one encounters chili pepper shrubs that have
been tied down to the soil in order to protect them from being ravaged by
storms. These peppers spice up the
coconut milk extracted from the wind-blown, heaven-sent, nuts that were collected from
the ground along with water-repellent gabi leaves. These leaves, along with fern sprouts, are some of the few edible vegetation that can survive the raging
rains that swamp ricefields and irrigation canals. Laing, the quintessential Bicolnon dish composed of shredded gabi leaves, coconut milk and chili peppers, is an
ingenious concoction bequeathed by nature’s wrath.
These rootcrops, along with other forms
of taro that actually thrive underwater, served as carbohydrate substitutes for
the rice that can no longer be harvested from rice paddies that have turned itself into
fishponds of mud-and-catfishes that come out from the earth's crevices after the storm. These omnivorous fishes, along with the cultivated bangus and tilapia, escape fishponds and fish pens; to the
dismay of their owners but to the delight of those who barely have anything to eat.
These strategies of survival have served
Bicolnons well through centuries of adaptation to harsh weather conditions. These strategies, unfortunately, are
unfamiliar to the inhabitants of other regions who never experienced typhoons but
are now the ones being visited by
weather disturbances – a clear sign of changing climatic conditions. These
vulnerable communities would have to evolve their own ways of adaptation and invent
ingenious strategies for survival if they are to emancipate themselves from becoming
dependents of external assistance from governments and non-government
organizations.
Similar to the Bicolnon's enterpreneureal penchant for reusing
fallen tree trunks for lumber, recent flood victims have learned to confiscate floating logs that
cascaded from the mountains in order to rebuild their homes and school houses. Replacing those fallen logs by planting new ones is a moral imperative that they must oblige themselves if they are to mitigate and hopefully prevent the harrowing experience of being swept again by those raging rivers.
Segregating biodegradable wastes into composts that can be used for urban gardening systems or dumping them into vermiculture pits will prepare the soil for organic farming. Non-biodegradables can then be recycled, reused and resold in order to save and earn from materials that have been extracted from nature's cycles and to prevent them from clogging drainage systems.
If higher water levels become the norm for the rainy seasons, the demand for root-crop consumption might increase as a substitute to rice, the Filipino’s proverbial staple food. I usually tease our local prospectors that cultivating tubers is actually a more reliable form of livelihood than treasure hunting or illegal mining.
Segregating biodegradable wastes into composts that can be used for urban gardening systems or dumping them into vermiculture pits will prepare the soil for organic farming. Non-biodegradables can then be recycled, reused and resold in order to save and earn from materials that have been extracted from nature's cycles and to prevent them from clogging drainage systems.
If higher water levels become the norm for the rainy seasons, the demand for root-crop consumption might increase as a substitute to rice, the Filipino’s proverbial staple food. I usually tease our local prospectors that cultivating tubers is actually a more reliable form of livelihood than treasure hunting or illegal mining.
The so-called Bicolnon resiliency is
actually a product of successful strategies of adaptation to their harsh environment. The lessons of biological evolution tell us
that those species that quickly learn to adapt are the
ones that can survive their fast-changing habitats. Even
large ecological niches have self-managing mechanisms that adjust to the
external conditions of their environments.
The frequency of rain in land masses that protrude over the Pacific Ocean, such as the Bicol region, for example, is a
function of the huge reservoir of water that evaporate more frequently as a result of global
warming trends.
Biodiversity and Resiliency
Stamina for survival can be improved,
moreover, by diversifying the resources that feed energy systems. Compost- farming, for example, will increase
the yield of farmlands and allow for more species to flourish even within smaller
spaces allocated for cultivation.
Diversifying farm products will strengthen the farmers’ resiliency
against the price fluctuation of external market forces and protect thieir plants from infestation. Aside from being able to rely on alternative products to increase farmers' income levels, other
plant species serve as buffer zones that block the spread of pests and diseases to other plants
of the same species.
Indigenous knowledge claims about
climate, such as the unusual and agitated behaviour of animals prior to the
advent of natural disasters, can also be disseminated and shared to people who
do not have immediate access to sophisticated weather forecasting systems.[1] Indigenous peoples, afterall, know the
contours of their terrain in the same manner that seafarers have a more
intimate understanding of ocean highway systems and their cross-currents.
Climate adaptation must rely heavily on
local knowledge. Even new technologies must be adjusted to the
actual conditions of local environments and the capabilities of their end
users. Fisher-folks obviously have different coping mechanisms from those who live in highlands; but even from among the same sector, different adaptation techniques
would have to be implemented by those who will be affected because of differences
in their terrain and the availability of resources. Those who have access to clean drinking
water, for example, would have to strategize differently from those who do not;
while those who dwell on opposite sides of curving river deltas would have
complementary strategies since the loss of land area from one side of the river could be
gained by those who live on the other side.
Complementarity
Complementarity
This principle of complementarity is also
applicable when introducing foreign species to a habitat in order to strengthen
the stability of an ecological niche.
Complementary species create symbiotic relationships among its
individual members that enable them to rely on other sources of energy in
the event that their usual preys are adversely affected by external weather
conditions.
The importance of the principle of complementarity
is further exemplified in the daily activities of rural dwellers as exemplified by their reliance
for the assistance from neighbours in order to obtain common goods and difficult
tasks that cannot be obtained or achieved through individual efforts
alone. Preparing the land, planting,
harvesting and transporting products require the assistance of
others in order to lighten the work load.
The principle of complementarity is at
work also when carrying heavy objects that require helpers to position themselves at
the opposite side of the object in order to balance its weight and make it seem
lighter to transport. Too many helpers,
however, would disturb the balance and could actually add weight to the task at
hand. Proper balance and the capacity to
solicit the complementary assistance of diverse participants are therefore
important elements towards the attainment of shared tasks.
Social Capital and Resiliency
Solicitude for the participation of
others requires implicit reciprocal agreements forged by previous gratuitous exchanges
of services and gifts such as carrying a house and sharing viands with
neighbours. These exchanges build social capital -- the network of relatives, associates and institutions with whom
individuals can rely on for assistance in order to achieve goals that cannot be
achieved by individual efforts alone. Kinship
ties are extended by becoming godparents in baptisms and weddings that
create shared experiences to establish social alliances that can be harnessed
during times of need such as calamities and disasters.
Membership in civic and non-government
organizations likewise extends the scope of the individual’s network of
associates and friends. Shared tasks bind individuals towards common goals such as providing assistance for the
marginalized sectors of society in terms of medical and dental services, dispersal
of seedlings, farm implements and domesticated animals.
These organizations, however, can also
be used by malevolent syndicates such as cartels and drug dealers that make
their operations more efficient by coopting those who are in positions of authority such as the police and other government officials.
It is therefore important to mediate
these organizations with higher values such as devotion to holiness, justice and service
to others in order to “bridge” social divisions
towards the accomplishment of more noble aspirations.[2] The Bicolnon’s devotion to Our Lady of
Penafrancia, for example, demonstrates how shared experiences such as religious
rituals and festivals can cement social relationships and transcend social
divisions. Devotees shed their social distinctions during these
religious festivities; they walk barefooted
and wear simple clothes in
solidarity with the congregation.
The
solidary bonds that are established by these symbolic activities are carried over
to the affairs of everyday life as people learn to cooperate in other shared
endeavours such as cleaning up the streets after the floods or typhoons. These social bonds contribute to the
resiliency of social communities in coping with and bouncing back from natural
disasters.
Conclusion
The World Bank defined resiliency as the
“capability to
anticipate risk, limit impact, and bounce back rapidly through survival,
adaptability, evolution and growth in the face of turbulent change.”[3] These capabilities, however, cannot be achieved
by individuals alone. They require an
implicit investment in the reciprocal cooperation of other individuals and
institutions towards the achievement of common goals. Debts of gratitude, although morally
immeasurable and cannot be repaid by the debtor, can contribute to the accumulation
of social capital on the part of the giver, especially if these gifts are given
without preconditions at that moment when the debtor is in dire need and the
benefactor is the only person who is in a position to extend assistance.
It is important to institutionalize
these habits of reciprocity, moreover, beyond individual acts of charity and
to imbed egalitarian principles within social systems as a matter of dispensing the
requirements of structural justice.
Modern social institutions can be achieved only when the rights to the
good life can be pursued according to the principles of equality and not
as a result of noble obligations from above.
In Bicol, as elsewhere in the premodern
contexts of Philippine society, distinctions are still being made between sadit na tao (small people) and dakulang tao (big people) and the former
defers to the latter while the latter believe that they have claims for such entitlements due to their priviledged stations in life.
New leaders are emerging from the
horizons of our political culture, however, that exhibit more egalitarian and
populist approaches to public service in the likes of the late Jesse Robredo
and Raul Roco who sympathize and stand in solidarity with their marginalized
constituencies in their shared efforts to achieve a more resilient and
sustainable future. Democratic forms of
governance that broaden the level of participation of empowered citizens actually stabilize
the social fibre of a nation in the same manner that biodiversity strengthens an
ecological niche. As Jesse Robredo
supposedly puts it: “Small people
can do great things.”[4]
These leaders offer hope and strengthen resolutions to bear with the
difficulties that may be encountered in the process of equitably sharing the social opportunities that will lead the Filipino people
towards the attainment of the good life.
*Rainier A.
Ibana chairs the Environmental Ethics Committee of UNESCO’s World Commission
for the Ethics of Science and Technology.
He currently resides in Daet, Camarines Norte while on leave as Faculty
member of Ateneo de Manila University in order to serve as Chair of Mabini
Colleges’ Executive Committee.
[1] http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/86295-indigenous-knowledge-a-big-help-in-disaster-forecast-management.html
[2] http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/EXTTSOCIALCAPITAL/0,,contentMDK:20185164~menuPK:418217~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:401015,00.html
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