What local leaders can teach us about floods
Flooding remains one of the most prevalent natural hazards worldwide, affecting millions of lives annually. All over the world, we are witnessing how floods are a continuous threat, destroying homes, damaging infrastructure, and disrupting lives at local and regional levels, with impacts rippling out to national and global scales. With major shifts in precipitation patterns, floods are becoming more frequent and severe. But in the face of these challenges, local leaders across the globe are stepping forward to build resilient communities.
By
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Ksenia Dubova
© WWF-Philippines / Kymry Delijero
This article looks at how WWF’s Flood Green Guide is inspiring local leaders to rethink flood management through natural and nature-based flood risk reduction. Around the world, communities are rethinking how to manage floods in ways that are more sustainable and beneficial for both people and nature. Traditional solutions, such as concrete levees and dams, often protect cities in the short term, but harm ecosystems over time. In contrast, approaches such as restoring wetlands, reforestation, and protecting mangroves can reduce flood risks while supporting biodiversity and livelihoods. Unlike human-engineered infrastructure that can require costly maintenance, nature-based systems can strengthen and adapt, with proper planning and management, to changing climate conditions. Nature-based management methods can also be smart long-term investments, providing added benefits like carbon storage, water purification, and buffers that reduce erosion.
To support local flood managers, WWF’s Environment and Disaster Management team developed Natural and Nature-Based Flood Management: A Green Guide (Flood Green Guide or FGG). The guidebook and training courses introduce and promote practical, nature-based approaches to flood management. Since launching the FGG training, WWF has reached over 470 participants from more than 30 countries. Recently, the team created a virtual, self-paced course that combines interactive lessons with live sessions. The hybrid training enables participants worldwide to learn and apply key concepts directly to their communities.
In this story, two Filipino participants, Louis Emmanuelle Talaguit and Dainty Clarice Rabang, share how the course has shaped their work on the ground.
Louis’ Community Efforts
Louis Emmanuelle Talaguit vividly remembers the floods that devastated his hometown Iriga, in the Bicol region, in October 2024. Working previously with the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Louis had seen the limitations of traditional flood management methods. Then he founded a volunteer group called "Tinarabangan Iriga," meaning "Helping Hand”. The goal was to shift local mindsets toward more sustainable flood solutions.
© Tarabangan Bicol
"We were losing a lot of money on projects that didn't address the real problems," Louis reflects. "Flooding isn’t just a hazard – it’s a natural phenomenon."
Determined to find better solutions, Louis participated in WWF’s Flood Green Guide online training course. There he discovered the importance of integrated watershed management, such as addressing flooding not just within city limits, but on the basin scale. The course changed his perspective on flood solutions. He realized the value of moving beyond traditional “grey” infrastructure like dams and embankments, toward integrated approaches such as watershed rehabilitation.
Louis was particularly interested in the community engagement module of the course. “Community engagement should be integrated in every part of the flood management process,” he explains.
Now, Louis plans to use these insights to advocate for green and nature-based solutions through awareness, education, and cooperation in his local community. He will do this as part of the larger regional network, Tarabangan - Bicol, his local NGO that aims to raise awareness, promote alternative solutions, and push local politicians to prioritize conservation and nature-based approaches.
Dainty’s Call for Collaboration
Across the waters in the beautiful island province of Palawan, Dainty Clarice Rabang, a geologist who previously worked at the Palawan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, has faced similar challenges.
© Courtesy Dainty Clarice Rabang
Dainty sees flood management not just as a technical challenge, but as an interconnected issue that requires collaboration. She explains how difficult it is to align different government offices with overlapping mandates. Throughout the Flood Green Guide course, Dainty applied insights directly into her government role, starting discussions with local officials and colleagues. She sees the value in courses like the Flood Green Guide: “They help bridge the gap between technical knowledge and local realities.”
Dainty, similar to Louis, also wants to integrate community perspectives into government interventions on disaster management response, ensuring programs reflect the needs of local communities. She also believes in the power of young people to drive change, whether through local cleanups, awareness campaigns, or education. She has seen promising efforts in her province – farmers adopting new agricultural practices, and communities building water-impounding basins and terraces to reduce flooding.
© Courtesy Dainty Clarice Rabang
However, Dainty shares that one of the biggest challenges in flood management is not only technical but also institutional. She notes that government corruption in the Philippines often affect how funds are allocated and managed, reducing the impact of well-intentioned programs. “Even when projects are designed to help communities, transparency and corruption are still major concerns,” she says. Dainty hopes that through stronger governance and community involvement, resources will reach those who need them most.
Working Together on Flood Solutions
For centuries, people have found ways to live with water. Ancient civilizations managed floods through systems that worked with natural hydrology, such as the irrigation practices along the Nile River and the floodplain farming of Mesopotamia. Today, science is proving that restoring mangroves, reforesting uplands, and protecting wetlands reduces flood risks.
Louis and Dainty’s stories reflect a shift happening in the Philippines and around the world, toward community-led and practical ways to manage flood risk. Their experiences remind us that risk reduction is not about controlling nature but about learning to live alongside it. Floods are not our enemy but a natural process that sustains ecosystems. Working with local communities, using nature-based solutions, and thinking broadly about flood risks can make a lasting difference. To sum up, floods might be inevitable, but devastation doesn’t have to be.
© WWF-Philippines / Kymry Delijero