From John C. “Warner” Carag, Community lead:
Several things have occurred since our online meeting. The March 9-10 fieldwork in the community pushed through, but I did not join at the last minute due to a personal matter. Also, it was decided a few days before that only the core group would proceed with the fieldwork since there were limitations in the logistics and coordination with the community. This is why Jake and Joy (and other scientist volunteers) weren’t asked to join the fieldwork in March. As an update, the community visit focused on discussing the Environmental Impact Assessment processes so that the community would understand the system and could participate more actively in the public hearings (as part of the process).
Two weeks ago, Joy and I met. We agreed that the rain-induced landslide, flooding, and storm surge hazard would be the best maps to prepare given our timeline and their capacity. Last week, we all met online (Ansie and Giya from AKAP KA, Jake and Joy from RI, and me from AGHAM), to delineate the extent of the proposed reclamation project in the area and determine which barangays would be affected. We will have a check-up meeting some time in the first half of April. The next fieldwork will be at the 3rd week of April, so we will keep Jake and Joy updated.
