Philippine E-Journals

Indigenous Knowledge and Practices on Climate Change in Selected Barangays of La Union: Towards Community Resilience

Priscilla Abellera

Discipline: Social Science

 

Abstract:

This study validated the indigenous knowledge and practices on climate change in selected upland barangays of the six indigenous municipalities of La Union. It utilized the participatory action research design in which those involved in the research participated and were consulted in the listing and validation of indigenous knowledge and practices. Barangays of the indigenous municipalities were selected as areas of the study due to the remoteness of the places which impedes the availability of access to scientific weather forecasts through television, newspapers, radios or even the internet. The keyinformants were senior citizens who have resided in the area for at least thirty years. They were chosen as respondents because they have a good knowledge of the environment and long periods of residence enabled them to acquire understanding on environmental indicators and how they are used to predict weather and adapt to climate change. This study found out that the key-informants have been using their observations of the following: a) environment, b) celestial bodies, and c) animal behavior in forecasting typhoons, droughts or even good weather conditions. Most of the indigenous knowledge and practices before a disaster were rated valid, meaning the prediction really happened, the indigenous knowledge and practices are widely used in the community, used for more than one generation, still being used and effective in predicting weather conditions. Use of plants to forecast weather conditions has low validity. Majority of the indigenous knowledge