Joan Pauline Talubo

This PhD research aims to assess the disaster resilience of an island community using a socio-ecological perspective. It will be done by means of a case-study in the Philippines. The research will be conducted in Batanes, a small island province located in the northernmost part of the country. It is composed of ten islands but only three of these are inhabited by people.

Focusing on this specific small island province, the PhD research will integrate the different factors that affect its disaster resilience. It will look at the social, economic and ecological indicators. An indicator-based framework shall be established and a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies shall be employed.

The methodology will consist of a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods including participatory approaches (soft systems), survey and interviews, statistical analysis, multi-criteria decision analysis and geographic information systems. Scenarios will be developed and these shall be evaluated through stakeholder analysis and participatory systems mapping. Ground validation will also be conducted to ensure that the findings will be applicable to the needs of the community. Using this scientific framework, the end users (communities or agencies) can decide what the best option for a particular location is, considering the aggregate of factors.