Deepening the understanding of natural resource management in the context of shifting environmental policies, require us to draw from a broad range of experiences with groups that implement programs and communities that work with the realities of development efforts. ESSC's development of scientific information helps unpack complex and overlapping stakeholdership that has developed over time on land and water resources in critical areas.

One such effort was the documentation and development of information on the causes of destructive floods that occurred in Real and Infanta, Quezon in the Philippines. The great damage wrought by flooding in Quezon in the past 2 decades has brought to the fore the question as to what were the actual causes of the disasters. The long-term effects of these events continue to be felt by the families in the hard-hit areas. Long-term solutions are needed, not only to rehabilitate these communities, but also to reduce - if not prevent - the destruction of life and property in similarly vulnerable areas in the future.

On-going research and data analysis show that a loss of one to three percent forest cover in the Sierra Madre Range over the last 11 years is not an adequate justification for focusing on illegal logging but more reason to focus on poverty reduction, relocation of high risk communities and ensure the accountability of local government. The reversal of this will not necessarily prevent future disasters of similar nature as floods and landslides are part of the natural processes of reshping the landscape over time. People must be relocated to low risk areas. ESSC's research is beginning to tackle 50 to 100 year rainfall events. The area of risk, today, is increasingly determinable.

As new data pours in, policy-makers are provided with a sounder basis for drawing up responsive solutions to different problems, and a better orientation to the long term needs of major relocation of communities to other lands, especially in Infanta and the eastern seaboard. The analysis is further integrated with a wide range of information that would contribute to a more manageable understanding of the causes of disasters