Coping with mother nature : households' livelihood security and coping strategies in a situation of a continuing disaster in Tarlac, Philippines

Several studies on households and individuals coping with disasters have been made. The Philippines, being a disaster prone area, has to grapple with the yearly damage caused by deluge or drought. The eruption of the Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 has the greatest toll to the country's economy because it did not only claim lives, properties, and resources at that time, but continues to do so up to the present day, which is why the disaster has been characterised as a lingering disaster. This study provides insight into the behaviour of individuals in a household faced with a disaster whose effects may carry through an indefinite period. The two major activities conducted to describe the effects of the disaster on household livelihood are the general household survey and the case study analysis.

The former was done to obtain an understanding of the disaster situation. The micro but in-depth perspective was provided by case study analysis. In both activities, information of the 'before' and 'after' situations were the basis of observations.

As the study shows, the disaster significantly affected the major livelihood sources of the households.Lahar-laden fields made rice farming difficult because of poor soil structure. It made aquaculture and sustenance fishing impractical because of too much deposition of lahar, and livestock raising unfeasible because of lack of pasture. The change in cropping calendar and ecology indicate the changed situation. The changed natural resource base has a corresponding implications for the socio-cultural resources of the households. When households are under stress, negotiation becomes all the more important. The moral dimension of the household economy and kinship relations becomes more prominent and transcends kinship relationships. The social network of an individual or household becomes the source of support, while reciprocity being in the hub of this support system.

Households beset by a disaster are eclectic. As the case studies show, household respond to the changed situation through several mechanisms that are honed through time making these adaptive. Households cope by altering their production management like adjusting their cropping calendar and diversifying crops and mobilising available resources like the forest and other traditional forms of livelihood/food system. Household membership tends to become very loose in a situation of a crisis. The manipulation of social relations and household membership has become a significant form of coping. Negotiations over work and other domestic responsibilities and migration of household members appeared to be part of the available coping strategies. These strategies to attain a secure livelihood do not always represent clear-cut,mutually exclusive alternatives.

Outside intervention like government support in crisis situations should not just contend with emergency relief. Because disasters result in entitlement destruction, an intervention that allows for 'entitlement protection' is essential in the case of a continuing type of a disaster. Responsive disaster management articulates the need to know and understand the situation, and a genuine support programme is sensitive to the plight of vulnerable groups like women and the elderly.