Sulugan sa Ranew: Indigenous Hydrologies, Community Memory, and Climate Governance in Rinconada’s Flooded Landscape

Abstract (English)

Flooding in Nabua, a low-lying town in the lake district of Rinconada, Philippines, is a recurring and historically documented phenomenon shaped by the area’s unique topography and the dynamics of the Bicol River Basin. Despite decades of state-led interventions, including dredging, levee construction, and basin development programs, long-term mitigation has remained elusive. This study argues that a major shortfall of past and ongoing flood control efforts lies in their technocratic orientation and failure to meaningfully engage local knowledge systems.

Communities in Nabua have long recognized the cyclical rhythms of flood and recession through the local ecological concept of 'sulugan sa ranew,' or “spillways of the lake, ” vernacular pathways where water escapes from lake to river, tracing the indigenous hydrological logic of the land. Once integral to both the landscape and community adaptation strategies, these 'sulugan' have been increasingly ignored, disrupted, or erased by top-down infrastructural interventions.

Using a narrative inquiry approach grounded in systems theory, this research situates flooding not merely as a natural hazard but as a socio-political and ecological event, shaped by a complex interplay of institutional, environmental, and cultural forces. 'Sulugan sa ranew' emerges here as both a living archive of hydrological knowledge and a lens for examining how Nabua’s people engage with flooding, not as a failure to be eradicated, but as a condition to be negotiated.

Rather than viewing flooding solely through the lens of control and prevention, this study reframes it as a socio-ecological dialogue, where ancestral hydrology, community memory, and relational knowledge offer critical insights into more equitable, adaptive, and culturally grounded water management. It contributes to current anthropological discourses on disaster, infrastructure, and governance by amplifying the voices of affected communities, ultimately advocating for inclusive and locally attuned approaches to climate adaptation and flood resilience.