Bay, Laguna is increasingly being vulnerable to severe flooding caused by the “sandwich effect” of upland runoff converging with increasing water level from Laguna Lake. Current responses remain reactive and fragmented, with no operational impact-based flood early warning system . BAYWATCH aims to create the Philippines’ first community-driven and AI-assisted flood risk assessment and early warning system , integrating satellite and drone remote sensing, water level sensors with IoT capability, hydrological models GeoAI analytics and community crowdsourcing. Outputs include an understanding of the drivers of flooding through time, an impact-based risk map, real-time hazard forecasts (3, 6, 12-hours lead time) and a mobile and web applications for the public and LGUs (municipal and barangay) integrated to current DRRM system.

This proposed study will be implemented as part of the CGIAR Initiative on Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable, Healthy Diets (FRESH). It will be designed to investigate how consumers and vendors will be navigating their food environments in Nueva Ecija, Philippines, with particular attention to fruit and vegetable (F&V) sales, acquisition, and consumption. By examining lived experiences in both rural and urban settings, the project will be generating insights that will guide future policies and programs to strengthen diets, livelihoods, and community resilience.

Fruits and vegetables power healthy families but many people eat far less than what’s recommended. This project is conducted to contribute to the Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets (FRESH) Initiative, a three-year effort to make fruits and veggies easier to find, afford, access, and actually want, especially for households that need them most. We are studying how everyday places like wet markets, groceries, sari-sari stores, school canteens, and roadside stalls shape what families buy and eat. We will map these “food environments” in two communities in Nueva Ecija. We will conduct short surveys and GPS-based mapping using a mobile application developed by IMPACT R&D. We’ll track where people get fruits and vegetables, how much they cost, when vendors are open, and the quality and safety on offer. The goal is simple: find practical ways to make fruits and vegetables more available, affordable, accessible, and desirable so more households can put fresh, healthy produce on the table.

The Philippine rice industry faces bottlenecks such as post-harvest losses (15–20%), price manipulation by intermediaries, and weak transparency in supply chains. These issues reduce farmer profits and threaten food security. The project proposes the first feasibility study and framework for a blockchain-based rice supply chain system in the Philippines, starting in Laguna. Blockchain ensures traceability, transparency, and fair pricing by recording all transactions from farm to market. This will help farmers secure better incomes, attract premium buyers, and even tap into carbon credits and climate-smart agriculture incentives.

My F&V is a system designed to enhance access to diverse quality fruits & vegetables (F&V) while supporting local value chain actors. It helps users navigate food environments, track and locate F&V sources, especially mobile vendors. The system records supply-demand flow to optimize value chain efficiency. With personalized consumption goals, healthy diet information, and a reward system, it motivates healthier habits among adolescents and encourages vendors to sell quality produce, ensuring sustained F&V availability and economic benefits.

E-BantayGubat is a digital system designed to strengthen forest protection and monitoring. It combines modern tools like remote sensing, artificial intelligence, mobile reporting, and participatory monitoring to support frontline forest guardians and local communities. The system has three main features: Smart maps that help anticipate and detect possible forest threats. A mobile app that allows real-time reporting, validation, and community participation. An online platform for data visualization, monitoring, and decision support. This system builds on lessons from DENR’s LAWIN program by enhancing response timeliness, two-way data integration, and participatory validation, ensuring more efficient, transparent, and sustainable forest governance.

Southern Palawan continues to face widespread kaingin (slash-and-burn agriculture), degrading forests, soils, watersheds, and biodiversity. The K2A project aims to provide a transdisciplinary roadmap for transitioning kaingin farmers—including upland migrants and Indigenous Peoples—into sustainable agroforestry systems. By combining GIS mapping, socio-economic surveys, indigenous ecological knowledge, and climate-smart innovations, the project will co-design a practical, culturally appropriate, and economically viable agroforestry transition model. Outputs include a GIS-based database of kaingin sites, socio-economic assessments, agroforestry blueprints, training workshops, and policy briefs for local governments.

The Philippine bamboo industry is a significant source of livelihood for many Filipinos in the countryside who engage in making products like handicraft and components for low-cost houses. In addition, bamboo performs ecological protection and restoration services such as controlling soil erosion, stabilizing riverbanks, and rehabilitating degraded areas. Endemic Philippine bamboos include the erect species like Bambusa merrilliana Elmer [ Bayog ], Schizostachyum lumampao (Blanco) Merr. [ Buho ], Schizostachyum lima (Blanco) Merr. [ Anos ]) as well as climbing species ( Cyrtochloa puse r S. Dransf. [ Puser ] and Cyrtochloa hirsuta S. Dransf. [ Baitu ]. These bamboos contribute to the livelihood of communities and promote traditional cultures as follows: buho for woven bamboo ( sawali ) for walls and ceilings of houses, bayog (for tying of work animals) anos and baitu (for toys and native musical instruments like flutes), and puser (handicrafts and low-cost furniture). Despite the ecological and socio-economic importance, propagation techniques remain undocumented, leading to a critical gap in support of the endemic species’ conservation and sustainable use.

This pilot project investigates how neighborhood environments influence the risk of sarcopenia (age-related muscle decline) in older adults in the Philippines. Using spatial machine learning and data from the HAPPY Senior Citizens Study , the project will map environmental risk factors such as walkability, green space, infrastructure density, and service access. Outputs include high-resolution risk maps , a community-friendly planning toolkit , and policy briefs for local and national stakeholders. The project will also engage older adults through field validation, FGDs, and workshops in Tarlac, Tacloban, and Davao.

Parking is a growing challenge in Bay, Laguna . More families own cars and motorcycles, yet safe and organized parking spaces remain scarce. This leads to roadside congestion, blocked walkways, and community disputes . Meanwhile, vacant lots in Bay remain idle and underutilized. By law it is not allowed to park roadsides on a daily basis. This project will study the problem by directly asking vehicle owners, vacant lot owners, and local government planners about their views on neighborhood-based parking solutions. The aim is not to promise immediate construction of parking spaces, but to provide evidence-based insights that the Bay LGU, lot owners, and residents can use for planning future initiatives.

The NCAS App project pilots a community-driven ecosystem accounting system in the Siargao Islands Protected Landscape and Seascape (SIPLAS). Anchored on the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act, it will empower local communities to collect, validate, and monitor real-time data on ecosystem extent, condition, and services using a mobile and web-based platform. By integrating citizen science with geospatial technology, the NCAS App enhances biodiversity conservation, informs land-use planning, and lays the groundwork for financing mechanisms such as carbon credits and Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES).

SCANOPY combines high-resolution satellite imagery, AI-based geospatial analysis, and community-driven data to detect and monitor habitats of the critically endangered Philippine Eagle in the Philippines. By integrating Pléiades Neo imagery, citizen science, and ranger geotagged photos, the project provides actionable maps and dashboards that empower policymakers, conservationists, and communities to protect biodiversity hotspots.