them again. Burdened by strong storm surges, land subsidence and rising seas exacerbated by climate change, the three thousand residents of tiny Pamarawan Island have turned to bamboo poles and discarded oyster shells to build a barrier aimed at weakening waves and managing floods. The unusual approach offers a nature-based alternative for a country still grappling with a multibillion-dollar scandal that drove public fury over substandard -- and at times non-existent -- concrete flood-control projects. "We were terrified whenever there were typhoons. We couldn't sleep at night”, fisherman Edgar Javier told AFP on a recent visit, recalling how strong waves once brought down one of his home's concrete walls. The project began when the city government of Malolos, home to the island, launched a study with a Dutch engineering consultancy. "(Concrete infrastructure) projects won't suffice”, Mayor Christian Natividad told AFP. While the project, the first of its kind in the country, initially faced resistance from officials and residents working without a blueprint, Natividad said they had ‘nothing to lose’. "It's like you accept daily flooding or you do something else with risk,”, he said. (Bssnews)