Climate Change Awareness and Risk Perceptions in the Coastal Marine Ecosystem of Palawan, Philippines

Abstract

Understanding the coastal communities’ awareness and risk perceptions of climate change impact is essential in developing effective risk communication tools and in developing mitigation strategies to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities. In this study, we examined the coastal community’s climate change awareness and risk perceptions of climate change impact on the coastal marine ecosystem, sea level rise impact on the mangrove ecosystem, and as a factor affecting coral reefs and seagrass beds. The data were gathered by conducting face-to-face surveys with 291 respondents from the coastal areas of Taytay, Aborlan, and Puerto Princesa in Palawan, Philippines. Results showed that most participants (82%) perceived that climate change is happening and a great majority (75%) perceived it as a risk to the coastal marine ecosystem. Sea level rise was perceived by most participants (60%) to cause coastal erosion and affect the mangrove ecosystem, but they also perceived that coastal erosion can be prevented by mangroves. On coral reefs and seagrass ecosystems, anthropogenic pressures and climate change were perceived to have a high impact, while marine livelihoods had a low impact. In addition, we found that climate change risk perceptions were influenced by direct experiences of extreme weather events (i.e., temperature rise and excessive rainfall), and climate-related livelihood damages (i.e., declining income). Climate change risk perceptions were also found to vary with household income, education, age group, and geographical location. The results suggest that addressing poverty, and effectively communicating climate change risks can improve climate change awareness and risk perceptions.