Lived experiences of coastal residents towards governance insights

Grounded in conditions of marginalization, coastal residents navigate everyday life amid uncertainty and vulnerability, yet with resilience, carrying both stories of hardship and hope. This study explored the lived experiences of coastal residents in Barangay Cogon, Roxas City, Capiz, to generate governance insights grounded in community realities. Guided by the socio-ecological systems framework and resilience theory, the research employs a qualitative phenomenological design to capture the experiences, challenges, and adaptive capacity of coastal residents. Data were gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with coastal residents engaged in diverse livelihoods and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings revealed that coastal residents experience constant exposure to environmental risks, which significantly disrupt their livelihoods and daily living conditions. Economic instability, characterized by low-income employment, limits their ability to meet basic needs, including food, education, and housing. Despite these challenges, residents demonstrate adaptive capacity through livelihood diversification, informal borrowing, reliance on social support systems, and the cultivation of endurance and faith. However, these adaptive capacities often remained short-term and reinforced cycles of vulnerability. The study further highlighted governance gaps, including weak policy implementation, limited access to services, and insufficient community participation, which contributed to a disconnect between formal governance interventions and lived realities. These findings underscore the importance of integrating local knowledge and lived experiences into policy-making processes. The study concluded that effective governance requires inclusive, responsive, and participatory approaches that address the multidimensional vulnerabilities of coastal residents while strengthening their adaptive capacities and long-term resilience.