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Climate Change and the Poor*

Climate Justice underscores the inequality in terms of sharing the burden and impact of climate change. There is increasing recognition that when it comes to the climate crisis- some are more responsible than others. The paradox surrounding this crisis: those who have contributed least to the climate crisis are hit hardest by its consequences and expected to endure considerable adjustments. Asking “will the poor suffer more?”, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) recently released data regarding climate change and the poor. Groups like Greenpeace have previously noted the irony that severe climate impacts in the Philippines are bound to hit areas with high poverty incidence, while aggravating hunger and water issues, displacement concerns, health risks and livelihood insecurity.

The NSCB tables below show that climate hotspots cover mostly impoverished regions and provinces, such as the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), which will be the most vulnerable to a one-meter sea level rise and the most at risk to landslides, respectively. “In the most vulnerable regions, the poor are relatively at a greater risk to a one meter sea-level rise than the general population. If these statistics are right, the poor will most likely suffer more from climate change. Our poverty reduction program must therefore recognize the vulnerability of the poor to climate change and appropriate interventions must be designed accordingly,” says the NSCB.

Table 1. Area at risk to landslides by Region

Region	Area at risk to landslide
Region	Land area (in hectares)	Rank
CAR	507,666	1
Region IV-B	486,442	2
Region VI	293,427	3
Region I	280,704	4
Region V	272,279	5
Region VIII	265,558	6
Region XI	255,540	7
Region II	229,112	8
Region IV-A	189,386	9
Caraga	167,516	10
Region X	152,811	11
Region III	152,518	12
Region IX	45,154	13
Region XII	32,345	14
ARMM	4,937	15
NCR	-
Region VII	-
PHILIPPINES	3,335,395

Source: Report on the Geospatial Technology in Disaster Prediction and Agricultural and Natural Resource Management (2004) by Dr. Esteban Godillano of the Department of Agriculture, as cited in The Philippines: A Climate Hotspot, Climate Change Impacts and the Philippines (April 2007) by the Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Climate and Energy Campaign.

Table 2. Five Most Vulnerable Regions at Risk to Landslides,  Cumulative Percent Distribution of General Population  and Magnitude of Poor Population

Vulnerability	Region	Vulnerability to landslide
Vulnerability	Region	Gen. population % to Total	Poor Population % to Total
Most vulnerable	CAR	1.8	1.8
2 most vulnerable	CAR and Region IV-B	4.9	6.9
3 most vulnerable	CAR, Regions IV-B and VI	13.0	15.9
4 most vulnerable	CAR, Regions IV-B, VI, and I	18.5	21.2
5 most vulnerable	CAR, Regions IV-B, VI, I, and V	24.6	30.8

Source: NSCB

Table 3. Vulnerable to a one meter sea level rise by Region

Region	Vulnerable to a one meter sea level rise
Region	No. of municipalities	Land area (in sq.m.)	Rank
ARMM	39	137,635,200	1
Region IX	40	81,129,600	2
Region IV-B	64	75,807,900	3
Region VIII	92	75,662,100	4
Region V	86	74,277,000	5
Region VII	68	52,747,200	6
Region VI	68	38,118,600	7
Region XI	20	30,107,700	8
Region IV-A	46	23,805,900	9
Region I	48	20,322,900	10
Region XII	19	16,232,400	11
Caraga	40	12,611,700	12
Region X	31	12,109,500	13
Region II	18	6,439,500	14
Region III	23	4,252,500	15
NCR	1	380,700	16
CAR	0	-
PHILIPPINES	703	661,640,400

Sources of basic data: http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/2005/story03-07-05.htm and http://beta.sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/gpw/lecz.jsp, as cited in The Philippines: A Climate Hotspot, Climate Change Impacts and the Philippines (April 2007) by the Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Climate and Energy Campaign.

Table 4. Five Most Vulnerable Regions to a one meter sea level rise, Cumulative Percent Distribution of General Population  and Magnitude of Poor Population

Vulnerability	Region	Vulnerability to a one meter sea level rise
Vulnerability	Region	Gen. population % to Total	Poor Population % to Total
Most vulnerable	ARMM	3.7	6.4
2 most vulnerable	ARMM, Region IX	7.4	11.5
3 most vulnerable	ARMM, Regions IX and IV-B	10.6	16.6
4 most vulnerable	ARMM, Regions IX, IV-B, and VIII	15.3	23.6
5 most vulnerable	ARMM, Regions IX, IV-B, VIII, and V	21.4	33.2

Source: NSCB

Table 5. Twenty provinces vulnerable to a one-meter sea level rise

Province	Vulnerable land area
Province	In sq.m.	Rank
Sulu	79,728,300	1
Palawan	64,281,600	2
Zamboanga del Sur	37,818,900	3
Northern Samar	33,882,300	4
Zamboanga Sibugay	32,740,200	5
Basilan	30,294,000	6
Cebu	27,888,300	7
Davao del Norte	27,005,400	8
Bohol	23,895,000	9
Camarines Sur	22,680,000	10
Quezon	21,124,800	11
Tawi-tawi	17,390,700	12
Masbate	14,256,000	13
Negros Occidental	13,996,800	14
Eastern Samar	13,672,800	15
Camarines Norte	13,591,800	16
Leyte	10,926,900	17
Capiz	10,748,700	18
Catanduanes	10,643,400	19
Western Samar	10,635,300	20

Table 6. Five Most Vulnerable Provinces  to a one meter sea level rise, Cumulative Percent Distribution  of General Population and Magnitude of Poor Population

Vulnerability	Provinces	Vulnerability to a one meter rise
Vulnerability	Provinces	Gen. population % to Total	Poor Population % to Total
Most vulnerable	Sulu	0.8	1.1
2 most vulnerable	Sulu and Palawan	1.6	2.2
3 most vulnerable	Sulu, Palawan and Zamboanga	2.6	3.9
4 most vulnerable	Sulu, Palawan, Zamboanga del Sur, and Northern Samar	4.5	5.8
5 most vulnerable	Sulu, Palawan, Zamboanga del Sur,Northern Samar, and Zamboanga Sibugay	5.2	7.0

Source: NSCB

*SOURCE: Tables from “Statistically Speaking” nscb.gov.ph

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