Climate-Smart Livelihoods for Cotabato City
Opening paragraph
The climate of Cotabato City is characterized as tropical, topography is relatively flat with some
moderately sloping a eas. but now cotabato struggled with severe flooding that destroy homes,
roads, and livelihoods during heavy rains. In response, the city implemented an innovative flood
management system that combines searching, waterway clearing, and community-based
monitoring to prevent damage and protect residents. The program has already shown clear
results: water flow has improved, flood damage has decreased, and the community is better
prepared—demonstrating how practical innovation and local collaboration can lead to real,
lasting change.
LGU PROFILE
Cotabato City is a coastal independent component city in the island group of Mindanao, situated
along Illana Bay within the Moro Gulf of the Celebes
Sea. Formerly part of SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII),
it is now under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The city covers about
176 km² and is composed of 37 barangays, with an
elevation averaging 11 meters above sea level. As of
2020, Cotabato City has a population of around
325,079, giving it a relatively high density of nearly
1,850 persons per km². Economically, it functions as a
regional hub for trade, services, and government
administration, benefiting from its coastal location and
role as the primary urban center of BARMM. However,
the area also faces key challenges, including
vulnerability to flooding due to its low elevation, rapid
urban population growth that pressures infrastructure
and services, and peace-and-order concerns linked to its complex political and cultural
landscape.
The governance problem
In Cotabato City, these governance challenges have directly affected disaster management,
such as poor coordination, weak enforcement of regulations, and enough resource allocation
have made a worse impact of severe flooding, destroying homes, roads, and livelihoods. In
response, the city’s LGU implemented a complete flood management program that includes
clearing waterways, mapping flood-prone areas, and establishing community-based monitoring
systems to ensure timely action. This program exemplifies the BLGC’s goal of strengthening
local governance to prioritize public welfare, transparency, and accountability, showing that
effective leadership can directly protect communities from recurring disasters.
Description of the best
The Achieving Reduction of Child Labour in Support of Education (ARISE) initiative reframes
disaster risk as not only an engineering issue but a socioeconomic one. In Cotabato City, where
flooding and climate hazards often push poor
families into unsafe, informal work, ARISE introduces
climate-resilient livelihoods as a practical solution to
prevent income shocks. The project trains
households in low-tech but effective methods such
as duck raising and floating vegetable gardens made
from water hyacinth and other local materials. These
livelihood options continue producing food and
income even during floods, reducing the pressure on
families to resort to child labour. ARISE offers a
model that merges climate adaptation with child
protection, making it highly suitable for flood-prone
urban communities.
Implementation
Launched in 2025, ARISE is led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) with funding
from the Government of Japan under the ILO–Japan Multi-bilateral Programme. Implementation
relies on strong partnerships with the Cotabato City Agriculture Office and community
organizations like IRDT to ensure local ownership and sustained support. The project
specifically targets communities living near rivers and beside the city dumpsite — areas
repeatedly affected by flooding and where children are at higher risk of hazardous work.
Through hands-on training, ARISE equips parents and caregivers with skills in duck raising,
floating garden construction, and basic business management. These activities are paired with
child-protection mechanisms that help identify and withdraw children from hazardous labour
while strengthening links to education. Coordination with barangay and city governments
ensures alignment with agricultural extension services and creates pathways for scaling the
intervention.
Results or Impact
Early implementation reports point to encouraging outcomes. Families involved in ARISE report
more stable income because ducks produce eggs and meat year-round, while floating gardens
prevent total crop loss during floods. This reduces the need for negative coping strategies,
including sending children to hazardous work. Local media and government updates document
successful trainings, community handovers, and improved livelihood resilience among
participating households.
ARISE also complements anticipatory programs like SUPPA, which provides pre-disaster cash
assistance when floods are forecasted. Together, these interventions form a layered resilience
strategy: livelihood adaptation prevents long-term income loss, while anticipatory cash helps
families act early before disasters worsen. Lessons from the project highlight the importance of
context-appropriate solutions, integrated child protection, strong institutional partnerships, and
combining livelihood support with anticipatory action. While full impact evaluations are ongoing,
early signals show ARISE’s potential to reduce child labour drivers linked to climate shocks and
strengthen overall disaster resilience in urban poor communities.
8. PA7 Analysis
Decentralization & Devolution
ARISE thrives because the initiative empowers barangay governments and local offices—
particularly the City Agriculture Office—to assume ownership of training, monitoring, and
extension support. Decision-making and implementation occur at the local level, enabling
context-sensitive solutions.
Good Governance
Accountability: Clear roles among ILO, the City Agriculture Office, and the IRDT consortium
ensure transparent delivery of trainings and resources.
Transparency: Community selection and training processes are coordinated openly with
barangay officials.
Participation: Families directly co-create livelihood plans and construct floating gardens using
locally available materials like water hyacinth.
Efficiency: Low-tech, low-cost livelihoods allow rapid deployment even in remote, flood-prone
barangays.
Local Autonomy
LGUs exercise autonomy in adapting ARISE methods to specific community needs. The model
strengthens agricultural extension services and encourages LGUs to champion climate-resilient,
child-labour-sensitive initiatives independently.
Public Service Delivery
ARISE enhances service delivery in:
Livelihood training
Child-protection referrals
Disaster preparedness
Agricultural support
By merging various public services, it creates a multi-sector safety net for vulnerable families.
Innovation
The project integrates floating gardens and duck-raising systems—simple but powerful
innovations that keep livelihoods functioning even underwater. This aligns strongly with SDGs:
SDG 1: No Poverty
SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth (especially eliminating child labour)
SDG 13: Climate Action
SDG 2: Zero Hunger
Relevance to Community Realities
ARISE directly addresses the root cause of child labour in Cotabato City—income loss due to
climate hazards. By tackling socioeconomic drivers, the project bridges climate resilience with
child protection.
9. Conclusion
The ARISE initiative demonstrates that protecting children from labour is inseparable from
helping families withstand climate shocks. By equipping households with flood-resilient
livelihoods such as duck raising and floating gardens, ARISE offers a practical, low-cost
blueprint for breaking the cycle between disasters and hazardous child work.
Lessons Learned
•Climate adaptation strategies must include socioeconomic components to prevent families from
resorting to unsafe labour practices.
•Strong partnerships between international agencies, LGUs, and civil society greatly improve
sustainability.
•Combining anticipatory cash assistance with livelihood skills creates a powerful two-layer
resilience system.
Why This Practice Stands Out
ARISE is innovative because it merges child labour prevention, disaster resilience, and
livelihood security in one integrated model—something rarely seen in urban poor communities.
It is locally grounded, community-driven, and highly scalable.
Recommendations / Replicability
LGUs in other flood-prone cities can replicate floating gardens and duck-raising systems using
local materials and barangay agricultural workers.
Integrate ARISE-style livelihood support with existing DRRM, social welfare, and education
programs.
Conduct regular community monitoring to identify child-labour risks and ensure sustained family
engagement.
Scale the model through local ordinances or budget allocations to ensure long-term continuity.
10. References
[Link]
[Link]/news/latest-news/failure-of-governance-dishonors-sacrifices-cm-
macacua/
&ved=2ahUKEwjK6K6qhqSRAxUvs1YBHa9lOTgQFnoECBoQAQ&sqi=2&usg=AOvVaw1Q6n4
Afm_Ty16I5_av5qzy
[Link]
[Link]/mindanao/r12/[Link]&ved=2ahUKEwj-45Od-
6ORAxWfqFYBHd59OZ8QFnoECGgQAQ&sqi=2&usg=AOvVaw1I2UpysRLVWYpDlbTvYuNX
[Link]
dumpsite?utm_source=[Link]
[Link]
labor-free-communities/?utm_source=[Link]