Community-Driven GIS – Based landslide hazard mapping for Kias, Baguio City, Philippines

Community-Driven GIS – Based landslide hazard mapping for Kias, Baguio City, Philippines
Corresponding email: [email protected]

A B S T R A C T

Rain-induced landslides pose a significant threat to areas where heavy rainfall and unstable terrain increase disaster risk. Geographic Information System (GIS)-based hazard mapping is a critical tool for disaster preparedness, mitigation, and early warning that can be used for disaster preparedness and policy-making. However, many local disaster management groups lack the technical expertise to create and update their maps. Hence, this study aims to develop a GIS-based landslide hazard mapping customized for community volunteers tasked with emergency response and minimizing the effects of disasters. In the Philippines, these community volunteers belong to what is known as the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee, [BDRRMC] under Republic Act (RA) 10121. A participatory training program for the community volunteers was designed using simplified GIS manuals, hands-on workshops, and side-by-side mentoring. The program generated four different GIS hazard maps mainly 1) landslide points/locations and fault line, 2) Vulnerability Map, 3) Heat Map; and, 4) Purok (community subdivision) Boundaries and Geo-Tagging. Results showed based on observations and assessment during the training program indicated that the community volunteers were able to follow the manual with minimal guidance and were able to generate the required maps within the expected time period. Moreover, post-training assessment by the trainees showed that majority of them expressed confidence in teaching others, ensuring the sustainability of the community-led hazard mapping. With these, bridging the gap between scientific hazard mapping and localized disaster preparedness could hopefully contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 “Sustainable Cities” and 13 “Climate Action”.

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Improving the 5S rating of a public high school in Baguio city, Philippines through a university community extension program 

Geraldine G. Nerona
[email protected]

A B S T R A C T

5S (SORT, SET, SHINE, STANDARDIZE, SUSTAIN) implementation in a public high school of Baguio City is a community extension program of the Industrial Engineering department of Saint Louis University. The goal of this program is to address the cluttered and unorganized classrooms that also resulted to some safety issues in the school. The role of the faculty of the university was to provide training to the teachers and staff of the high school, develop activities pertinent to each level of the 5S program, guide and monitor the teachers and staff throughout the implementation of the 5S program, make periodic reports and do the impact assessment. Direct assessment was used to measure the 5S ratings of the classrooms before and after the extension program. Qualitative assessment was used to measure the impact of the extension program in increasing knowledge level and applying 5S in the school setting. The paired t-test indicated a significant improvement in the 5S rating of the school from “minimal acceptable level” to “excellent” after implementation of the extension program. The qualitative assessment results indicated that the teachers found the extension program “definitely useful” in meeting their needs for information, “significantly increased their knowledge” about 5S, and that they “definitely plan to adopt/continue with the program” in the future. The experiences shared by the teachers reveal the changes that they have undergone in the way they do things as a result of learning about 5S. Their personal account of the changes they underwent is evidence of shift in behavior as a result of imbibing 5S into their system.

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