GUAGUA -- Government officials and non-government organizations of this town have waged a war against the negative effects of climate change.
Mayor Dante Torres had initiated the project of rehabilitating the mangrove of the town near its water channels.
This is in the hope of curtailing back flow water from channels that drain towards the sea and also to provide shelter for fish.
Historical data shows that Guagua’s water channels that drain towards the Manila Bay were once home to lush mangrove forests.
“We started with a few kilometers and we hope to return every year to continue planting more saplings,” Torres said.
The mayor added that mangrove forests will enable the development of small ecosystems for fish. A kilometer of mangrove forests in fact produces some one ton of fish every year, according to studies.
Torres had also led several tree planting activities in the town.
Guagua’s eastern barangays are among the least areas with plant cover.
Tree planting activities in several barangays were conducted in a bid to introduce trees in areas that experience massive flooding every year.
The trees once fully grown will also contribute in preventing soil subsidence to a certain extent.
Torres expressed hopes that area at the mega dike in Betis District will be converted into an eco-tourism haven which will showcase local artists and their works.
Torres said that the area is located near the lateral dike where the Department of Public Works and Highways had constructed an asphalt overlay.
"We hope to create a tourism destination for our people while emphasizing the need to protect the environment," Torres said.
The mayor added that the area has already developed a reputation as a destination for joggers and bikers.
The Municipal Government also plans to plant more trees in the area.
A climate change adaptation plan is also in the works for the town to further guide government policies on adaptive initiatives and programs.
A study by Cosio, R.; De Jesus, N. and Soriano, H. Jr. entitled Climate change vulnerability and adaptive capacity of Guagua, Pampanga advised innovative steps such as the information; promotion of early warning system; and transfer of market location during flooding for the town.
WIth this, the local government unit has been regularly monitoring typhoons and rainfall since 1991.
Guagua is among the towns in Pampanga with the most number of disaster response equipment.
Despite the lack of resources, the locals believe that their adaptive capacity can be improved with enough planning along with government and sectoral support.
The town sinks at the rates of 1.7 to 8.3 centimeters yearly in an area that is virtually a catch basin for flood water draining in from the western border towns of the province.
With climate change causing ocean levels to rise by 2 millimeters yearly, the people of the town faces the difficulty of draining flood waters into Pampanga Bay which drains into Manila Bay.
Report of local subsidence recorded from North Harbor, Manila, to Obando, Paombong and Hagonoy in Bulacan also includes Guagua.
Excessive groundwater extraction greatly contributes to the subsidence. These towns are sinking at rates more than 10 times faster than the rise of oceans.
Despite this, Guagua is still the economic center of Pampanga's second district.
Guagua's population of 111,199 in 2010 is expected to double by 2021. It is home to the biggest public market in the province and a couple of schools and business establishments that contribute to water consumption.
Guagua shares the fate of neighboring Sasmuan villages of five Batang I and II, Mabuanbuan, Sebitanan and Malusac which are sinking.
Even without the subsidence, Guagua has been historically a flood prone area.
The town is only a meter above sea level and is traversed by several creeks and tributaries during rainy days, which collect and convey floodwater to the Guagua River and into the Manila Bay.
Aggravated by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo and lahar flows, which silted water channels in the town, Guagua is now one of the most vulnerable municipalities in the Pampanga, aside from Sasmuan, to the impacts of climate change in the province.
The number of individuals affected by floods had been increasing since 2000. Floods in 2008 alone affected 113,485 persons from 22,697 families and flooding that typically lasted for 3 months was estimated to have affected P90 million worth of business.
In 2007, the destruction of crops was valued at P3.90 million considered the worst in recent times.
