Predict the flood for safer Bay.

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.

Trace each grain, boost farmer gain.

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.

Join to spot threats early and keep forest loss in check.

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.

A research project to assess the feasibility of communal parking spaces to decongest public roads toward smart municipalities and cities context

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.