Sea Level Rise and Coastal Erosion in the Philippines: Impacts and Adaptation Strategies for Coastal Communities

Being archipelagic, sea level rise is a cause of climate emergency in the Philippines. Since the country’s coastlines are typically narrow, rising sea level can make the coastal plains even narrower, and thus pose a threat to more than 60 percent of the population living in the coastal zone. Even without the full impact of sea level rise, many coastal areas are already eroding primarily due to storms and human activities. This chapter presents an overview of sea level rise in the Philippines and its coastal impacts with particular focus on coastal erosion, and identifies adaptation strategies that can make the Philippine coasts more resilient to coastal erosion. From 1993 to 2009, the mean rate of sea level rise (SLR) in the Philippines at 6.2 mm/y is faster than the global mean of 3.3 mm/y. Locally, relative sea level rise (RSLR) may be amplified by subsidence caused by natural or anthropogenic factors. Higher sea level would increase the landward reach of waves and tides that can trigger coastal erosion or accelerate it in areas that are already eroding. Many coastal areas, including highly developed coasts of the country, are already undergoing erosion and, in many cases, the immediate cause is human activities that directly remove and/or alter the distribution of sediments along the coast. To make the coast more resilient to sea level rise, our policymakers must address the human activities that are contributing to coastal erosion.