A partnership between the Ateneo Research Institute of Science and Engineering (SOSE-ARISE) and  Coastal Cities at Risk Philippines (CCARPH) Program with support from the International Development  Research Centre (IDRC), Canada 

The School of Science and Engineering, through its Ateneo Research Institute of Science and Engineering  (ARISE), has identified several priority areas – environment, climate and disaster risk management, health,  STEM education, and emerging technologies – that are aligned with the principles, practice and applications  of Disaster Risk Management (DRM), and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA). To fulfill its mission and vision  of “being a center for world-class, innovative and socially relevant research initiatives of SOSE, that will  enhance the school’s research capacity and networking capability to transform Philippine society through  the generation of knowledge and innovative technologies for national development”, ARISE aims to expand  its operations by creating dedicated “Laboratories” that will serve as hubs for inter- and multi-disciplinary  programs for each of its specified research agenda. One of these is the Climate and Disaster Resilience  Laboratory (or CDR Lab) which was established in ARISE with generous support from the Coastal  Cities at Risk Philippines (CCARPH) program. The CDR Lab aims to provide excellent opportunities for experts coming from various disciplines to work together, to solve complex issues (technical, economic,  social, etc.) afflicting the country, while contributing to the global effort to address the challenges brought about by climate change and disasters (both man-made and natural). 

Currently, ARISE is supporting researches in its CDR lab, such as those by Queaño and De Lara Tuprio (2021),^1,2 which are focused on the interplay between geohazards (e.g. flooding) and the risks posed to  health by COVID-19, both of which affect the susceptibility of the exposed communities. These studies can help convey what the potential effects of the changes in forecasting the spread of COVID-19 are, as these effects can also be compounded by the  consequences of rapid urbanization and various human interventions in the Marikina Valley Basin. A wide range of data was utilized for tracking the temporal changes in the river  channel morphology including aerial photographs, topographic maps, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture  Radar (IfSAR) and Google Earth images. The results of the study can serve as valuable information for the  city’s flood disaster management strategies, making them more science-based and more resilient. This helps address what can be considered as a “double jeopardy” crisis situation.

The ARISE-CDR Laboratory will serve as a hub for all CDR-related research collaborations among SOSE  departments (e.g. Environmental Science, Physics, Mathematics, Electronics Computer and  Communications Engineering), the Ateneo Innovation Center, and various stakeholders outside of the  university in the area of policy formulation, delivery of training programs, providing technical assistance to  adopted communities through technology transfer, and information-education programs through  lectures and/or seminar series on climate and disaster resilience. 

Citations: 

1. Channel morphological changes and responses to geologic controls and human interventions: The Marikina River Basin in Metropolitan Manila, Luzon, Philippines for  the past 70 years. Karlo L. Queaño¹, ^,Elvira de Lara-Tuprio¹, Carleen Joy T. Gatdula²_, Elijah Tuprio¹, Annie Bandong² and Renz Alvarado¹ 

¹School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines 

²Mines and Geosciences Bureau (Central Office) – Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, North Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines 

2. A Case of Double Jeopardy: Urban Flooding and Covid 19 spread in the Marikina Valley Basin, Metro Manila, Philippines. Elvira de Lara-Tuprio^1*, Karlo L. Queaño¹, Elijah Tuprio¹, Carleen Joy T. Gatdula², Annie Bandong² and Renz Alvarado¹ 

¹School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines

²Mines and Geosciences Bureau (Central Office) – Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, North Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines