Comparing climate change impacts and responses: Philippines and Brazil
Brazil is a continental-sized country, and climate change affects each region in distinct ways, similar to the Philippines, where coastal and ecosystem-based vulnerabilities shape local climate risks. While the Philippine case focuses on coastal flooding and storm surges mitigated through mangrove restoration, Brazil faces a wide range of climate-induced hazards across its diverse biomes.
Natural hazards and climate change impacts
In Brazil, climate-related hazards vary significantly by region. In the Central-West, the Cerrado biome is one of the ecosystems most affected by climate change. Fire is a natural component of the Cerrado, historically caused by lightning and occurring at lower intensity during the transition to the rainy season, playing a role in ecosystem renewal. However, the frequent and intense fires observed today are predominantly human-induced, driven by agricultural expansion and deforestation, particularly during peak dry seasons. These fires exceed the biome’s natural resilience, leading to biodiversity loss, soil degradation, water insecurity, and landscape transformation. Climate change exacerbates this process by increasing drought intensity, while fires release CO₂, reinforcing a vicious cycle of warming and ecosystem degradation.
In contrast, the Southeast region, including the state of São Paulo, has been increasingly affected by extreme rainfall events, with record-breaking precipitation levels. Climate change has intensified rainfall patterns, characterized by longer dry spells followed by highly concentrated torrential rains. These dynamics—linked to the interaction of cold fronts with warm, humid air from the Amazon (ZCAS)—increase the occurrence of floods, landslides, and water crises, severely impacting infrastructure and urban systems.
Similarly to the Philippines, climate change in Brazil is not only increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme events, but also amplifying existing social and environmental vulnerabilities.
Areas facing the greatest impacts
It is difficult to determine which region faces the greatest overall impact. The South and Southeast regions are the most densely populated, which results in higher numbers of human casualties during floods and landslides. However, this does not diminish the severity of impacts in regions such as the Cerrado, where the loss of biodiversity, wildlife, and ecosystem services has long-term consequences for climate regulation, water security, and local livelihoods.
Most affected communities
The communities most affected by these events are socially and economically vulnerable populations, including low-income urban residents, informal settlement dwellers, Indigenous peoples, and rural communities. These groups are disproportionately impacted due to inadequate housing, limited access to basic services, reliance on climate-sensitive livelihoods, and reduced capacity to recover from climate shocks.
Local coping and adaptation strategies
At the local level, communities adopt a range of coping strategies, including community-based monitoring, informal early-warning practices, mutual aid networks, and local knowledge systems to respond to fires, floods, and droughts. In rural and traditional communities, ecosystem-based practices—such as land stewardship and sustainable resource use—play an important role, though they are often undermined by external pressures.
This mirrors the Philippine mangrove restoration case, where nature-based solutions combined with community engagement strengthened both environmental protection and social resilience.
Institutional and external support
Government institutions, universities, and civil society organizations provide support through emergency response, environmental monitoring, risk mapping, and policy initiatives, though these efforts are often fragmented and reactive. Local and national NGOs play a key role in environmental education, community mobilization, and advocacy for preventive and inclusive climate policies. International cooperation, research institutions, and multilateral funding mechanisms also contribute technical and financial support, particularly for ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation projects.
However, as in the Philippine case, long-term resilience in Brazil depends on integrated governance, investment in prevention, community participation, and the scaling up of nature-based and locally led adaptation solutions.