Policy Briefing

WAVES Policy Brieng Philippines Policy October 2015 Brieng Summary Ecosystem Accounts Inform Policies for Better A pilot ecosystem Resource Management of Laguna de Bay account was developed for the Laguna de Bay Laguna de Bay is the largest inland body of water in the Philippines to provide information providing livelihood, food, transportation and recreation to key on ood mitigation capacity, water, shery provinces and cities within and around the metropolitan area of Manila. resource management; Competing uses, unsustainable land and water uses coupled with to identify priority areas population and industrial expansion have caused the rapid degradation for protection, regulation of the lake and its watershed. The data from the ecosystem accounts of pollution and sediment can help counter the factors that are threatening the Laguna de Bay's loading; and to inform water quality and ecology. strategies on water pricing and sustainable Land Cover Condition Water Quality development planning. Land conversion due to urban Pollution coming from domestic, sprawl and rapid industrial industrial and agricultural/forest Background development are causing a decline wastes contribute to the The development of the in forest cover and impacting degradation of the water quality. agriculture production. ecosystem accounts is Fish Production based on data collection Flood Mitigation The lake can still sustain sheries and analysis conducted Increase in soil erosion from the production but is threatened by by the Laguna Lake watershed has changed the pollution. Development Authority contours of the lake. (LLDA), the agency responsible for the water and land management of the Laguna Lake Basin. 2003 2010 Technical staff from the different units of the LLDA undertook the analyses supported by international and local experts under the World Bank's Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) Global Partnership Programme. Figure 1. Areas in red illustrate the unplanned urban sprawl in the western part of the Laguna de Bay region from 2003-2010. www.wavespartnership.org Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services Increasing the water treatment of Overview household sewage (approximately Land Cover Condition 92% remains unconnected to sewer lines) holds a lot of potential for Major land cover change in the improving the water quality of the Laguna de Bay Basin occurred lake. between 2003-2010. Closed forests decreased by 35% while built up Fish Production areas increased by 116%. While a multi-use resource, the Rapid urbanization and dominant use of the lake is sheries. industrialization are most evident in The lake can still sustain sheries the northwest, west and southern but is threatened by pollution. portions of the lake. The Laguna Lake produces about In addition, unplanned urban sprawl 80,000-90,000 metric tons of sh has led to the conversion of in a year; an estimated 13,000 agricultural lands to residential shermen depend on the lake for uses, with new settlements being their livelihood. constructed in zones that are Invasive species threaten vulnerable to ooding. biodiversity and indigenous species, impacting the economic Flood Mitigation There is rapid operations of sheries. Flood risks in the lake zone have urbanization and substantially increased because of Why Ecosystem Accounts an increasing population in the lake industrialization in shore. Climate change factors such are Important for the the lake region, in as an increase in extreme weather Laguna Lake Region particular in the events and sea level rise will The Laguna de Bay, more commonly adversely aect the ood Greater Metro known as Laguna Lake, is the largest mitigation of the lake. Manila area in the inland water body in the Philippines Sedimentation and pollution along and the third largest in Southeast Asia. northwest and in with a growing population close It occupies an area of 90,000 the western and to the 12.5-meter water level of the hectares. Around 100 rivers and lake are aecting the water-storage southern portions streams drain into the lake with the capacity of the lake. of the lake. largest contribution of inow coming The information will allow the LLDA from the Pagsanjan River. The Pasig to identify the most important areas for protection and restoration River through the Napindan Channel is of vegetation cover and avoid the only outlet that drains lake waters sedimentation build up that leads to Manila Bay. During some summer to ooding. months, when the lake level is lower Improving waterretention than Manila Bay and when there is capacity of the lake would reduce sucient tidal uctuation, the entry of vulnerability of shoreland saltwater through the Pasig River populations to future ooding. raises the salinity level of the lake, aecting sheries and water quality. Water Quality The Laguna de Bay Basin, together In 2014, around 81% of Biochemical with Southern Palawan, were chosen Oxygen Demand (BOD) load as the pilot study areas for the comes from domestic waste. development of ecosystem accounts Other sources of BOD (or organic in the Philippines. These two areas are pollution) load in the lake come considered to be microcosm of the from: 9 % from industrial waste; entire country in terms of richness in 5 % from agriculture waste, 3% from diversity and presence of various solid waste and 2% from forest alarming environmental issues. waste. Ecosystem Accounts Inform Policies for Better Resource Management of Laguna de Bay 2 Two management layers of Laguna (i) land account containing land de Bay are considered in the cover and changes; development of the accounts. First is (ii) ecosystem condition account the Laguna de Bay Basin which is the indicating various water quality physical watershed, dened by the indicators, soil types and boundaries where water ows into the elevation, changes in lake Laguna de Bay. The Basin which has bathymetry and sediment an area of 2920 km2 is divided into 24 loading; sub-basins. (iii) ecosystem services production account indicating the ow of The other is the Laguna de Bay Region ecosystem services such as which is the administrative jurisdiction shery production, water supply, of the Laguna Lake Development ood mitigation and soil erosion Authority (LLDA). The Laguna de Bay regulation; Region includes the whole provinces (iv) ecosystem asset account such as of Rizal and Laguna, the towns of water and sh stock. Carmona, Silang and General Mariano Alvarez (GMA) and Tagaytay City in Land Account: Declining Cavite, towns of Tanauan, Sto. Tomas Vegetation Cover and Population and Malvar in Batangas, Lucban in Quezon, and town of Pateros and the Expanding Built-Up Areas expansion, cities of Muntinlupa, Taguig, Pasig, The land account clearly illustrates the urbanization, Marikina, Quezon, Caloocan, Pasay, major land cover change in the basin industrialization, and Manila in Metro Manila. during the period 2003-2010. Closed deforestation and Laguna de Bay is a multiple use forest decreased by 35% while built- resource. Aside from sheries which is up areas increased by 116%. Remaining land conversion the dominant use, the lake supplies forests are found, in particular, in the have led to massive domestic water through the Maynilad Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve and Sierra changes in the Water Services, Inc (MWSI). It also Madre mountain ranges, but even in supplies irrigation water for these areas illegal settlements have Laguna de Bay approximately 103,000 hectares of been established. basin and the lake agricultural areas and hydropower to There is rapid urbanization and itself, threatening generate 700 megawatts of electricity. industrialization in the lake region, in its water quality The lake is also used for non-contact particular, in the northwest and in the recreation, industrial cooling, reservoir western and southern portions of the and ecology. for oodwaters and waste sink. lake. The spread and location of Over the past decades, conict of residential subdivisions are interest, competing uses and characterized by unplanned urban unsustainable land and water uses sprawl. This involves, among others, caused the rapid deterioration and the conversion of agricultural lands to degradation of the lake and its residential uses, and the construction watershed. of new settlements close to the lake shore, in the zone that is vulnerable to Taking into consideration the policy ooding. (Figure 1) drivers and the availability of data, the following ecosystem accounts were developed for the Laguna de Bay Basin: Ecosystem Accounts Inform Policies for Better Resource Management of Laguna de Bay 3 Laguna de Bay Sub-basins 2003 2010 2014 2010 Marikina C BD BD Bagumbayan, Taguig BD BD Buli, Muntinlupa BD BD Mangangate, Mauntinlupa BD BD BD Tunasan, Muntinlupa BD BD BD San Pedro BD BD BD Binan BD Sta. Rosa BD Marikina River Cabuyao C D BD Cainta River San Cristobal, Calamba D BD BD Taytay Floodway San Juan, Calamba C A/B C Los Banos A/B Bagumbayan River Bay A/B A/B C Buli Creek Pila A/B Mangangate River Mangangate River Upstream Sta. Cruz A/B A/B A/B Tunasan River Upstream San Pedro River Pagsanjan AA A/B A/B Tunasan River Downstream Biñan River Pangil A/B A/B A/B Sta. Rosa River Sta. Rosa River Downstream Sta. Maria A/B Cabuyao River Siniloan C C A/B Sta. Rosa River Upstream Jalajala A/B San Cristobal River San Juan River Pililla C Tanay C A/B A/B Baras C Morong C D D Legend Sapang Baho, Cainta BD BD BD Tributary River Stations Manggahan Floodway, Taytay D BD Idb_stations Laguna de Bay Basin Water Quality Classication in the 24 Sub-basins Inland Water Built-up of Laguna de Bay. A - Drinking Water D - Irrigation B - Recreation BD - Worse than D Built-up Areas in 2010 C - Fisheries Figure 2. Chart shows deteriorating water quality particularly in areas with expanding built up areas. Aquatic Ecosystem years show more water loss than replenishment.

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