IN 2013, typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) took the lives of about 6,300 people, displaced over 6 million Filipinos, and in its destructive path left 28,689 injured, and 1.6 million homeless. Yolanda was a global upheaval that gained international attention and took meteorologists somewhat back to school since the typhoon was really unprecedented.
This was followed by another devastating typhoon called Odette (international code name: Rai) just last year. It managed to uproot 10.6 million people from their homes, with fatalities reaching a total of 457 lives, showing the value of early-warning systems and other disaster risk reduction measures put in place.
And last month, more or less two weeks ago, typhoon Paeng (international code name Nalgae) hit the country and dumped heavy rains and strong winds on several regions, with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as the hardest hit, affecting almost 600,000 people.
In its wake, Paeng left around 154 people dead mainly due to flashfloods and landslides, costing P2.86 billion (and counting) in damage to agricultural crops, and caused enough damage that the government declared 164 local government units under a state of calamity.
Water disasters
AROUND 20 typhoons enter the country on an annual basis, bringing with them torrential rains and extreme levels of flooding, thus putting the Philippines at No. 4 in the world most affected by water-related disasters. And these storms and other extreme weather-based events are expected to intensify as the Earth’s temperature goes higher due to global warming, presenting greater water risks to the Philippines.
Although the country is still very rich in terms of extraordinary biodiversity, an estimated 70 percent of its forest cover was already lost over the last century. Water pollution is at unbelievable levels in many regions, primarily because of the lack of proper wastewater treatment facilities that affect the health of many communities and ecosystems.
Vanishing resource amid plenty
INADEQUATE and intermittent water supply continues to be a problem in many parts of the country, where an estimated one in 10 Filipinos, mainly in poor communities, has no access to improved water sources.
According to a report by global professional services company GHD titled “Aquanomics: The Economics of Water Risk and Future Resilience,” on a global scale, weather-related events are seen to cause the biggest economic impact, 49 percent caused by storms and 36 percent due to floods, with global gross domestic product losses reaching from $0.1 trillion to $5.6 trillion between 2022 and 2050.
The study also showed the possible impact of extreme weather events on five critical sectors within the global economy: agriculture, banking and insurance, energy and utilities, FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and retail, and manufacturing and distribution. Though diverse, with very different types and levels of water risk, these sectors are all expected to face significant output losses in the years up to 2050.
Projected loss
FOR the Philippines, the study pointed it could suffer an average annual GDP loss of 0.7 percent due to water risks like droughts, floods and storms, hitting the country’s agricultural and retail sectors the hardest. The study pointed that these rising threats need to be addressed now, focusing heavily on water recycling, desalination and smarter irrigation.
What’s alarming is that the study revealed the country’s agricultural sector is particularly vulnerable, with projected annual output losses of over 5 percent by 2030 and 8 percent by 2050. In 2020, the sector generated a gross value added (GVA) of about P1.78 trillion, or a 10.2-percent share of the country’s GDP.
Storms are also expected to have the greatest direct impact on the country’s economy at $47 billion, floods at $42 billion, and droughts at $3 billion. This is the first time that the economic impact of these three types of events has been calculated at a GDP and sector level.
Access and risks
ACCORDING to Rod Naylor, Global Water Lead at GHD, as three million Filipinos currently rely on unsafe water sources, and about seven million lack access to improved sanitation, water supply and sanitation services should be key focal points.
He said the Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan calls for a total investment of around P1.1 trillion to be able to achieve universal access to water and sanitation for all Filipinos by 2030. “No matter what size or sector, all businesses are dependent on water as they require it to function. This makes water a connector between sectors, crucial to enabling circular economies and global supply chains. It also means no sector is protected against operational disruption in the face of water-related disasters.”
Naylor said with the study, they focused on economic impacts to help identify and unlock the social and environmental benefits of tackling water risks head on, and explore ways where countries can adapt to change and build resilience in their water systems. “With water risks on the rise, we need to adopt a proactive, holistic and inclusive approach in understanding and addressing fast-developing challenges,” adds Naylor.
The study also indicated that investments related to flood management need to be targeted toward building infrastructure in the right areas and working with nature to channel water away. He said this means conducting flood studies while building infrastructure out of flood zones as much as possible, which can be a challenge when retrofitting solutions in densely populated urban areas.
Image credits: Hrlumanog | Dreamstime.com & Bernard Testa