LUMAD HOME. Amid the brunt of climate change and socio-economic pressures, Mt Kitanglad nestles a landscape of natural beauty interconnected with the lumad community in Miarayon, Talakag, Bukidnon. Photo by Jerome L Torres

The article by Economics professor and executive assistant to the XU Academic Vice-President, Catherine Roween C Almaden was recently published on the College & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) website. Almaden addresses how ancient ways of predicting climate change can be utilized by second tier cities such as Cagayan de Oro.

In September, Xavier University with the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) and Germanwatch with support from CDKN, organized a stakeholder workshop in Cagayan de Oro to determine the city’s specific climate change adaptation and mitigation needs. Part of those invited was Indigenous Peoples’ groups.

“In one of the sessions, the participants identified Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) as a primary means to predict climate change risks and vulnerability of communities in the city,” wrote Almaden. “It is very obvious that the signs of nature and animals and the meanings and interpretations they provide can directly help prepare for, prevent and mitigate the impacts of climate change in their immediate surroundings.”

IKS indicators for monitoring weather conditions and predicting natural disturbance include the color of the sky, air temperature, behavior of domesticated animals and presence of insects.

“Very little of this knowledge has been recorded, and yet it represents an immensely valuable set of data on how these communities have interacted with their changing environment,” she continued.

Almaden added that IKS are not valued by urban dwellers and the lumads feel that urban residents easily dismiss traditional knowledge as inferior and insignificant.

“In many instances, local climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies have failed due to their inability to fit the people’s context,” she said.

“Perhaps, by combining traditional knowledge and broader science in a more coherent manner, such problems that deal with the effects of climate change in the city of Cagayan de Oro may be addressed more effectively.”

Screengrabbed photo of Almaden's profile on ResearchGate.