By

Jose Limbay Lahi O. Espaldon (University of the Philippines Los Banos, Philippines)

Divina Gracia Baclig (CARE Philippines)

Kapil Ghosh (University of Calcutta, India)

Universitas Gahdja Mada, Yogyakarta Indonesia — In a world full of uncertainties and inevitable conditions, there are different ways on which we can contribute to positive development and growth. As the old adage goes, the only constant thing in the world is change.  The Earth is continually being shaped by natural processes.  Natural forces, such as geologic and geomorphological processes, transform the topography of the Earth, thereby affecting the way of life of people.  Due to these changes, society is also being transformed.  The lectures by Dr. Rohayu Che Omar, Dr. Franck Lavigne, and Dr. Mohd Hairy Ibrahim emphasize this. read more

By

Divina Gracia Baclig (CARE Philippines)

Siti Mahfuzah binti Mardy (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia)

Pan, yen-wei (National Taiwan Normal University)

Jose Limbay Lahi O. Espaldon (University of the Philippines Los Banos, Philippines)

David Alejandro Urueña Ramirez (Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Medellín)

I was especially excited to go to the Batik Museum.  We arrived at the Batik Winotosastro Center at around nine in the morning.  I was a bit surprised by the size of the space.  I was expecting a factory-type set-up, given that batik is a popular Indonesian souvenir.  I thought that they were mass producing the product.  I realized how the center took pride in being true to the traditional process of creating batik by making sure that all processes are handmade. read more

By
Chris J. Tapnio (Philippine Rural Development Project )
Ma. Charisma T. Malenab (University of the Philippines Los Banos, Philippines)
Sayantan Das (Dum Dum Motijheel College, Kolkata, India)
Jun, Yamaguchi (University of Tokyo, Japan)

How would you feel if you were standing just several kilometers away from the one the most active volcanoes on Earth? Perhaps this was the recurring question in the minds of all the participants of the 2018 Summer Course in Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction as we rode on a bus and traveled near the foot of Mount Merapi. read more

By
CHRIS J. TAPNIO
Philippine Rural Development Project

During the last day of the week, the summer course on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction continued with two very special lecturers known for their expertise in their respective fields.

The first speaker, from the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, Dr. Decibel Faustino-Eslava presented her lecture entitled “Geo hazards, tropical cyclones and disaster risk management in the Philippines: Adaptation in a changing climate regime.” Coming from one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, she presented the profile of the Philippines in terms of weather extremes as well as geo hazards. read more

By
Divina Gracia M. Baclig
CARE Philippines

Disasters and climate change cannot be escaped. It has now become an integral part of our lives. In the Philippines, for instance, an average of 20 typhoons enter its area of responsibility and it has become a way of life. The only way we can survive these disasters is to prevent and mitigate by reducing disaster risk through careful planning. This message was emphasized in the lectures given today by Dr. Sandy Budi Wiboro, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Seca Gadaseca, and Dr. Estuning Tyas Wulan Mei. read more

By
Jose Limbay Lahi O. Espaldon
University of the Philippines Los Banos, Philippines

Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia — Global climate change changes the weather conditions in specific regions in different ways, from increasing intensity of typhoon, melting of glacial ice caps, thinning of the cryosphere, increase in sea level, and some migration of different species into other ecosystems. With these, comes different disasters that may affect the land formations, natural ecosystems, human lifestyle and of course, the environment. As focused by Dr. Tsung Yi-Lin, there are detrimental effects of these changes for the coastal and shorelines, specifically in Indonesia. These have negative effects such as salt-water intrusion, coastal hazards, storm surges typhoon waves, etc. Using historical data, Dr. Yi-Lin created different frameworks for the identification of proper mitigation systems. These systems may vary depending on who one is referring to, from the perspective of a geologist, hydrologist, engineer, etc. Some practices may include the traditional hard structures to alleviate and. Mitigate certain disasters, however, may also cause further damage. Engineering adaptations have been made in order to address these specific problems, mainly “soft-engineering” in which it targets beach nourishment and sand dune rehabilitation. Maintenance however, is expensive and has a low life span. read more

By
CHRIS J. TAPNIO
Philippine Rural Development Project

The tropical region has vast of areas that contain an equally wide array of ecosystems, ranging from dense tropical forests to semi-arid areas. Truly, biodiversity and endemicity of its flora and fauna is rich from its ridges to its reefs.

It is a fact that healthy ecosystems, within the context of disaster management, are considered as resilient ecosystems. Needless to say, these ecosystems play a vital role in climate change adaptation and Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction. And its resiliency has important repercussions on the resiliency of communities around it.
Day 2 of the 2018 Summer Course in Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) involved field work in three different ecosystems in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Fully aware that learning is not limited to the four walls of the classroom, we spent the whole day exploring these ecosystems in the hope of widening our perspective on the role played by ecosystems in reducing, managing and mitigating disasters. read more

By David Urueña
UNal-Med, Colombia

This is my first time in Asia and my first time in Indonesia, actually is my first time on this side of the world, I’m full of expectations. After more than 30 hours flying and 4 planes, finally I’m here in Yogyakarta the place where we are going to have EcoDrr 2018 (Ecosystem-Based on Disaster risk reduction). I do have to say that all the activities the day before of the opening ceremony were splendid, specially the dinner full of new flavors, and new friends from 12 different countries. read more