Philippines: Rising from Yolanda, island town of Pilar aims for climate resilience
ANILA, Philippines – When super typhoon Yolanda lashed the Visayas in 2012, it took 5 days before relief goods reached the town of Pilar, in the Camotes group of islands in Cebu. Yet, no one went hungry among its 11,000 residents, according to Susan Cataylo, who heads the disaster risk reduction office in the municipal government.
“Our marine sanctuary gave us the food we needed,” Cataylo said.
The tide was low during the storm and its aftermath, and the coastal dwellers harvested a bonanza of shells, fish, and other seafood swept to the shallows from the Pilar Municipal Marine Park. The 179-hectare protected area includes a 20-hectare no-take core zone, which means fishing is banned inside the waters marked by white buoys.
The spillover of marine life from the park was a blessing for Pilar’s residents, who realized that conservation can spell survival when disaster strikes.
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