Climate change from the lens of Malolos children: perception, impact and adaptation

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to understand how Filipino children perceive climate change; second, to determine how children themselves adapt to its impacts; and third, to identify the level of support available at the household, community, and city levels as children adjust to their changing environment. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted in three peri-urban communities in Malolos, Philippines, looking at the perception and adaptation mechanisms of children in the face of climate change, using Lazarus and Folkman’s typology for children’s coping strategies in stressful situations. The support that children receive at the household, community, and city levels was also examined. Findings Climate change has impacted the daily lives of children, aggravating in particular the “everyday” and “invisible” risks of those who belong to poor households. In general, emotion-focused coping that hinges on denial or distancing did not seem to be prominent among children; many of them were rather pre-disposed to problem-focused coping as they try to cope with the impacts of climate change in their immediate environment. Unfortunately, however, interventions to mitigate the impacts of climate change on children at the household, community, and city levels were found to be lacking. Research limitations/implications The selected communities do not represent the wide spectrum of localities in the Philippines. At best, findings from the small sample size provide only a snapshot of the conditions of children living in peri-urban areas. Practical implications The study points to the need for child-sensitive climate change adaptation at the household, community, and city levels to support the coping mechanisms of children. Originality/value The study adopts a multi-level approach at understanding the impacts of climate change on Filipino children and the interventions that they and other social institutions have undertaken in response thereto. Findings add empirical evidence to growing literature on the subject, especially in the context of the Philippines where academic studies on the matter remain scant.

A Research Agenda for Affective Dimensions in Climate Change Risk Perception and Risk Communication

“…Van Der Linden (2014) highlighted that there is a mutually reinforcing mechanism between personal experience, risk perception, and affective responses; affect can guide the perception of risks but can also be a reaction to risk. Only one study highlighted that personal experience of children with typhoons or floods created memories that shaped affective responses (e.g., fear, sadness) and guided risk perceptions (i.e., coping mechanisms) (Berse, 2017). However, most studies did not explore whether affective responses were guiding, or reacting to, the perception of climate change risks.…”

“…The communication of climate change risks (e.g., flooding) should consider the degree of negative affective responses (e.g., worry) and the perception that people have on how close or distant they are to a risk. Berse (2017) No insights into role of affective response in risk communication. Ekholm and Olofsson (2017) No insights into role of affective response in risk communication.…”

“…Gender is a recurring focus in literature on affective dimensions of climate risk perception (e.g., Kellens et al, 2011;Berse, 2017;Ekholm and Olofsson, 2017;Du Bray et al, 2019) Two studies focused on exploring the role of parenthood in risk perception (Ekholm and Olofsson, 2017;Ekholm, 2020). Ekholm and Olofsson (2017) found a close tie between affective responses, parenthood, and risk perception.…”

Adaptive capacity in urban areas of developing countries

“…Households' efforts to adapt in conditions of marginality can come at the expense of households' investment in other aspects of human welfare, reinforcing poverty traps and leading to inequity in the burden of risk management (Eakin et al 2016). Also, a study in Malolos, Philippines, shows that some children, especially those from poor families, experience helplessness and exasperation in performing individual-level adaptations without corresponding long-term action from their community (Berse 2017). The literature highlights not only the dynamics but also the importance of studying the internal dynamics of AC at multiple scales.…”

“…For example, in Nadi, it was suggested that the presence of multiple exposures, of physical, social, economic, and political factors reinforced, transformed, or weakened the existing patterns of local people's AC highlighting the importance of contextual vulnerability (Chandra and Gaganis 2016). From a metalevel perspective, scholars propose that understanding the content of AC and how it interacts with exposure and sensitivity during different periods will be an important basis for responding to unexpected climatic events (Berse 2017;Hung et al 2016;Sales 2009).…”