By: Marie Claire P. Mandar
From July 2 to August 7, 2024, the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute (UP RI) – Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) Center Planning component hosted three students as part of the mid-year internship program organized by the UP RI Education Division. Two of the interns were from the College of Human Ecology at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), pursuing BS in Human Ecology. The third intern is a BS Geodetic Engineering student from the College of Engineering at UP Diliman.
The Title “3 for 200” refers to the three students who dedicated 200 hours to the planning component of the UP RI – NOAH Center. These third-year college students, motivated by a desire to deepen their understanding of climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR), joined the internship program with great enthusiasm.
During their internship, the students were divided into two groups: the Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) group and the Geographic Information System (GIS) group. The CDRA group is composed of Ms. Altair Calleja, also known as “Tei” , and Ms. Judel Lozada, or “Led”. Meanwhile, the GIS group was represented by Mr. Benedick Agamao, who goes by “Ben.”. The NOAH Planning internship was overseen by Ms. Claire Mandar, with the assistance of Ms. Ella Santiaguel.
Drawing from their human ecology studies, Led and Tei were tasked with delivering three outputs revolving around the CDRA — a tool used to assess the risks that different elements face from potential hazards. Their journey began with familiarizing themselves with the CDRA method, followed by developing a municipal profile for six municipalities in the Province of Batanes. These profiles included details about the physical environment, social and demographic information, economic conditions, infrastructure, and institutional capabilities.
After successfully submitting the municipal profiles, Led and Tei moved on to gathering and organizing climate and hazard data. They used prescribed templates from the Department of Human Settlements to collect information on climate change and hazards covering extreme climate events, general climate changes, an inventory of hazards, past disaster records, and changes in temperature and rainfall. These data are vital for the next step in the CDRA process, which involves creating impact chain diagrams showing the potential series of impacts of climate change on the ecosystems present in the area.
Their final task was to revise the CDRA questionnaires for collecting information from community members and local government representatives about how sensitive and adaptable they are to potential risks. This data is crucial for completing the exposure database, a key element in DRR planning.
Ben’s internship, on the other hand, began with the revision of GIS training modules, which are used as guides during UP RI – NOAH Center’s GIS training activities. He was guided by the planning team GIS members, including Mr. Julius Obrique, Engr. Kristian Audri Gabriel, and For. Janiella Sandoval. Ben’s tasks, which were also related to the CDRA process, were critical for developing hazard and risk maps. His strong GIS skills helped revise and finalize these modules, ensuring they were organized, detailed, and easy to use for future training sessions. This work involved thorough checking and testing, which took up three of his five-week internship.
After that, Ben worked on capturing images of Batanes from Google Earth. He matched each image to real-world locations using the geoprocessing technique. To do this, Ben used ground control points (GCP), which are marked points on the ground with known locations, to line up the images correctly. After that, he combined all the images into a single map through mosaicing. Working with high-resolution images was especially challenging because it required a lot of data and powerful equipment. Despite the limited resources, Ben completed the stitching tasks with the support of his supervisors. These high-resolution hazard maps are relevant in the CDRA process to illustrate the overlay analysis of hazard assessment results, helping map readers clearly understand areas that might be at risk.
During the internship, the students encountered various challenges that tested their skills and adaptability. For Led and Tei, the complex tasks of collecting data and working through the CDRA process demanded a deep understanding of the tool. Their work on revising municipal profiles and questionnaires emphasized the importance of clear communication. Ben, meanwhile, struggled with the technical challenges of GIS tasks, from module revision to the stitching process. His experience highlighted the need for resourcefulness, especially when working with limited technical resources.
These experiences fostered significant growth in the interns, enhancing their research, analytical and technical abilities. They also learned the importance of teamwork, as their tasks required constant collaboration with supervisors and peers. By the end of the program, they not only broadened their knowledge in CCA and DRR but also developed a stronger sense of responsibility and dedication to their future roles in these vital fields.
