SLSU seals NRCP approved research proposal on vulnerability

Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) obtained the approval for a research project entitled "Cultural Definition of Vulnerability to Impacts of Climate Change" funded by the National Research Congress of the Philippines (NRCP).

NRCP is an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), granting Php 600,000 to fund the said project.

The project measures the vulnerability of ethnic groups to the impacts of climate change in terms of flooding, landslide, storm surge, drought, pests and diseases. Likewise, this will determine the weight of importance accorded by the different ethnic groups to the different indicators of vulnerability.

The Director of Research and Innovation and Project Leader, Dr. Constantino Medilo, shares that they will develop indices that explain the vulnerability of ethnic groups from the impacts of climate change.

"We are now experiencing climate change and that is what makes this project very timely and relevant to our indigenous minorities," Dr. Medilo added, saying that indigenous groups are still vulnerable to impacts of the changing climate although they have been accommodating and responding to environmental change.

This is one of the research projects lined up for implementation under the NRCP Science and Technology Experts Pool (NSTEP) Small Research and Development Grant, aligned with the National Integrated Basic Research Agenda and Inclusive National-Building (ATIN).

The deliverables of the project include a published article in a peer-reviewed journal, a culture-based index of vulnerability, the creation of a policy brief on ethnic vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, and partnership with local government units and the National Commission on Indigenous People.