Overview
Known as the Philippines' "food basket", Mindanao relies heavily on agriculture, with more than 48% of its workforce employed in this sector and with one-third of its total land area dedicated to agricultural activities.
Provinces within Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) also heavily rely on coastal resources, which are similarly highly sensitive to ecological changes driven by climate-related factors such as rising sea levels, storm surges, and saltwater intrusions. Such dramatic shifts significantly impact the aquatic resources upon which their livelihoods and life support systems depend. With already existing development insecurities, it becomes significantly more challenging for them to adapt to the effects of climate change.
The presence of harmful effects arising from both environmental and societal factors have been observed as a significant impediment to the issue of Mindanao’s development. For instance, the community’s economic development and the residents’ quality of life may be threatened by the intrusion of saltwater to low-lying coastal agricultural areas due to changes in the climate. The subsequent economic effects of these threats (i.e. decrease of economic outputs in coastal provinces) leads to increased vulnerability not only to the local institutions, but also to the state’s overall economic gains. This vulnerability and economic deterioration are tied to the community’s experience of new levels of deprivation and demands towards the state, both locally and nationally. In such severe cases, increased deprivation, when not mitigated or solved, leads to migration, increased proclivity to violence, or increased chance of community tensions. Feelings of depression and hopelessness are markedly higher in the BARMM compared with the national average. In a nationwide survey conducted by HHI in 2024, 24% of respondents in the BARMM expressed feeling down, depressed, or hopeless for more than half the days of the preceding two-week period.
Disclaimer
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.