The Balangay Media Project, held in 2021 by the Oscar M. Lopez Center, highlighted the role of storytelling in addressing climate change. The Balangay Media Project culminated with Umalohokan Fellow, Team Bintuwak, winning the final grant for their campaign on the role of indigenous knowledge in developing climate resilience. 

To further encourage turning Balangay Media stories into action, Asia Society Philippines in partnership with the Oscar M. Lopez Center brings Ang Ating Kwentong Klima or Our Climate Story. The project not only highlights the climate challenges featured by the Umalohokan Fellows, but also further explores these themes to better understand the whys and how we can move forward. 

Ang Ating Kwentong Klima is a four-part series exploring four climate change impacts: 

• Kwentong Pagkain, tackling food security; 
• Kwentong Isla, tackling the distinct experience of Filipinos living in an archipelago;
• Kwentong Kultura, tackling the effects of climate change on indigenous communities and the impact on culture; and 
• Kwentong Kinabukasan, tackling climate resiliency and exploring our climate future. 

Episode 2: Kwentong Isla

In Kwentong Isla, Dr. Laurice Jamero will outline the influence and effects of climate change on the lives of small communities living in the archipelagos. We are also joined by Team Salikhain Kolektib, and Candeze Mongaya of Rare in a more in-depth conversation about the experiences of coastal and island communities.

PANEL:

Dr. Ma. Laurice Jamero is the Resilience Coordinator of the Manila Observatory, where she works closely with local governments and civil society organizations across the Philippines to support their climate and disaster risk management, and adaptation planning efforts. At the regional and international level, she also volunteers her time at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – Working Group I (6th Assessment Report contributing author), World Climate Research Programme (consultant for climate education), Future Earth Coasts (Fellow), and Southeast Asia Science Advisory Network (working group member).

Dr. Jamero is passionate about engaging vulnerable communities in understanding climate risks and designing possible solutions, building on existing adaptive capacities and creating hope for the future through collaborative climate action.

She earned her PhD degree in Sustainability Science in 2018 at the University of Tokyo, where she studied climate change adaptation in small island communities.

Juan Miguel 'Boyet' Torres is a freelance research and development consultant focused on studies and projects about disaster risk reduction and the environment. A co-founding member of Salikhain Kolektib, an art and research collective based in the Philippines, he specializes in designing and conducting photovoice projects- a participatory action research approach that empowers communities to document their own realities using still cameras. Currently based in his hometown in Baguio City, he is currently the project manager of the Lahat Dapat: Toolkit for Inclusive DRR innovation project, an initiative funded by ELHRA through their Humanitarian Innovation Fund. He is also currently finishing his masters on Environmental Science and Management in UP Los Banos.

Candeze Mongaya is the manager for Policy and Government Initiatives at Rare Philippines. She works to ensure that policies relevant to marine conservation and fisheries are grounded from community needs, and links government organizations to solutions and best practices related to responsible and sustainable fishing behaviors. She has been part of Rare’s policy team for three years.

Prior to joining Rare, she has worked for more than 10 years on policy, campaign strategy and communications. She also previously worked as a journalist, and she shifted her focus to marine conservation and engaging coastal communities. She has a degree in Journalism from the University of the Philippines.

MODERATOR:

Kato Sarmiento is the Communications Manager at the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation where she works with technical experts in communicating the relevance, risks and impacts of the changing climate to Philippine communities.

She describes her expertise as communication wrangling for mission-oriented organizations. Prior to her work at the Oscar M. Lopez Center, she managed and implemented communication programs at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, the Asian Institute of Management, and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, among others.

Ang Ating Kwentong Klima is produced in partnership with the Oscar M. Lopez Center

About Oscar M. Lopez Center

The Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, Inc. (OML Center) is a non-profit organization born out of a private sector initiative to enhance support for research and innovative solutions towards climate change adaptation and disaster risk management. It is rooted in the principle that science must play a role in building the resilience of communities through actionable knowledge. Founded in 2012, the OML Center was established in response to an apparent research gap that was alarmingly disproportionate to the climate-related risks and vulnerabilities of the Philippines. The first of its kind in the country, the OML Center continues to be the only privately funded grant-giving non-governmental organization (NGO) doing research-based climate change programs and initiatives.

And special thanks to our Promotional Partners:

ABS-CBN Foundation Inc, Biodiversity Conservation Society of the Philippines, Eco Explorations, Forest Foundation Philippines, Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc., ParaBukas, Philippine Parks and Biodiversity, Rare Philippines, Save Philippine Seas, Sustainable PH, Sustainable PH Youth