Eastern Visayas is among the Philippines’ most climate-vulnerable regions and is home to globally significant biodiversity, including extensive mangrove forests, karst landscapes, protected areas, and other critical ecosystems. Increasing climate-related hazards, combined with ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, and unsustainable resource use, continue to threaten both environmental integrity and the resilience of communities that depend on these ecosystems. These challenges underscore the need for science-based, locally driven, and participatory approaches that strengthen environmental governance while supporting climate adaptation and sustainable development.

As part of its continuing work on climate resilience and biodiversity conservation in Eastern Visayas, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), in partnership with local government units, academic institutions, civil society organizations, government agencies, and local communities, has implemented a series of research and community-based initiatives across Samar and Eastern Samar. These initiatives have generated evidence on community-based forest management, mangrove governance, drone-based ecosystem mapping, blue carbon assessment, karst forest conservation, biodiversity integration in climate policy, ecological monitoring, and participatory climate and disaster risk assessment. Collectively, these studies provide scientific data and community-generated knowledge that support ecosystem management, local planning, climate adaptation, and access to climate and biodiversity finance.