Integrated Ecosystems Management: National Program Support for Environment Collecting individual efforts together to overcome challenges and Natural Resources Management Project and achieve joint benefits in ENR management (NPS-ENRMP)

An IEM Story: Province-led Integrated Ecosystem Management: The Case of Bago River Watershed in

Map of Bago River Watershed showing the covered municipalities and cities, land classification and sub-watersheds Source: NPS ENRMP Project

Introduction With the mountainous and archipelagic nature Benedicto, Calatrava and . The of the , over 70 percent of the country watershed empties into the Strait. can be considered as part of a network of These political units cover a total of 72 barangays. watersheds. One of the 140 major watersheds The entire area includes the 33,208 hectares of in the country is the 83,020-hectare Bago River lands of the public domain in the two protected Watershed (BRW) in Negros Occidental. This areas of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park (MKNP) and watershed covers the four cities of Bago, San the North Negros Natural Park (NNNP) and Carlos, La Carlota and Talisay as well as the 49,812 hectares of alienable and disposable (A four municipalities of Murcia, Don Salvador and D) lands. An IEM Story: The Case of Bago River Watershed NPS-ENRMP

Ecotourism site with scenic waterfalls in the municipality of Don Salvador Benedicto Photo: Bago River Watershed Project Management Office (PMO)

Importance of the Bago River Watershed Covering portions of the two protected areas support biodiversity conservation efforts. (MKNP and NNNP), the watershed is part of The versions of Chocolate Hills and the the Biogeographic Zone and Rice Terraces in San Carlos City could be hosts a rich array of plant and animal species. potential tourist destinations if adequately These biodiversity resources have varied developed. The low lying area of Pulupandan actual and potential uses, such as food, fiber, and Bago City has beaches, bird sanctuaries, medicine, construction materials, handicrafts, and remaining mangroves and inland waters furniture, and fuelwood, among others. that can be developed for ecotourism and The watershed irrigates 13,277 hectares of aquaculture. rice farms and 500 hectares of sugarcane plantations. It serves as source of domestic The Bago Watershed is also blessed with water for most households in the province geothermal energy resources, which is and supports seven water bottling companies. presently being explored and developed by EDC’s Northern Negros Geothermal Project. Bago Watershed boasts of many scenic spots and natural landscapes that hold plenty of The watershed’s river system has rich potential for ecotourism development. Don deposits of gravel and sand that are being Salvador Benedicto, with its many waterfalls, tapped as construction material under a inland springs, caves, and year-round cold permitting system managed and coordinated climate is a promising summer capital. In by the local government units. Murcia town, the hot springs, rivers, and forests of Mambucal Resort continue to lure Problems and Threats: local and international tourists; so do Buenos Critical Watershed Aires Resort, Rafael Salas Park and Nature Center and Kipot Twin Falls in Bago City. But despite the rich resources and potential The camp sites, mountain treks and forest of the Bago Watershed, it is currently subject parks in Campuestuhan Nature Reserve, the to various problems and threats. Available Monkey Sanctuary in Calatrava and even data show that the primary forest cover of the geothermal site of Energy Development the watershed has been drastically reduced Corporation (EDC) in Bago City could be from roughly 40,000 hectares in 1973 to only further enhanced to lure more visitors to about 8,000 hectares in 2001.

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The perennial occurrence of grassland and With the increasing population in the watershed, forest fires is causing loss of biodiversity the problem on unmanaged solid and liquid and deterioration of habitats. Fires originate wastes is also growing particularly in the from kaingins, sugarcane farms and more urbanized areas, with the river network indiscriminately burned open grasslands, serving as repository of the wastes. The result is moving inwards through the forest margin. gradual deterioration in river water quality due Timber poaching and persistent charcoal to pollution. There is also the need to properly making are contributing to the continuing estimate available underground and surface denudation of the remaining forestlands. water resources for regulating present and Soil erosion and landslides now prevail in future needs for irrigation, energy generation, bare cultivated sloping lands, which are now domestic use, and recreation purposes. considered hazard areas. As much as 23,511 hectares of hilly areas of the watershed among seven upland municipalities are in need of productive and permanent vegetative Convergence to Protect and Conserve cover, the biggest being in Murcia, Bago City Bago River Watershed and Don Salvador Benedicto. The need to protect and conserve the Bago Flooding has become a perennial problem Watershed to sustain its ecosystem services in the low-lying areas of the watershed, pushed the convergence of concerned especially during heavy and prolonged rains. sectors for collective action. These include There are 2,376 hectares of such high flood the Department of Environment and risk areas, mostly located in Bago City and a Natural Resources (DENR), the provincial, little in Pulupandan and Murcia. municipal and city government units covered by the watershed, the National Unregulated illegal settlement is also a Irrigation Administration (NIA) and local non- worsening problem in the watershed. Even the government organizations. restricted areas of NNNP and the MKNP are not spared from such proliferation of unwanted Such convergence was facilitated by two settlers, thus, threatening the conservation successive foreign-assisted projects, namely status of the area. the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)-financed Bago River Irrigation System Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (BRISRIP) from 2002 to 2007 and the World Bank-financed National Program Support for Environment and Natural Resources Management Project (NPS ENRMP) from 2007 to 2013. Under these projects, a Bago River Watershed Management Council was organized to serve as a local governance body and to provide oversight supervision and direction over the management and development of the BRW. For example, the council will serve as a coordinating and oversight body and augment the ENRM programs and activities of the LGUs, two protected areas, NGOs, and ENR-dependent public and private enterprises in the watershed. It is chaired by the provincial Bago River Irrigation System governor and composed of the head of Photo: Bago River Watershed PMO

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Forest tree seedlings ready for planting in a denuded area in Bago River watershed Photo: Bago River Watershed PMO the abovementioned institutions including Integrated Ecosystem Management representatives of two non-government organizations, namely: Global Environment The Integrated Ecosystem Management (IEM) and Nature Ecosystems Society (GENESYS) approach involves stakeholders pursuing and Negros Forest and Ecological Foundation a common vision through complementary Incorporated (NFEFI). individual and collective investment and development programs. In the Bago River The council is tasked, among others, Watershed, the NPS ENRMP Project worked with to coordinate and oversee the process the Technical Working Group in formulating the of formulating plans, guidelines, and watershed’s IEM Framework, which was later implementation of the comprehensive approved and legitimized at the level of the BRW development plans of concerned LGUs, ENR Steering Committee and the Negros Occidental and ENR-related plans of DENR and other Provincial Board. The IEM framework is currently national agencies and NGOs, the private being translated into programs and plans of the sector, and other ENR-related enterprises. LGU and DENR field units. These plans must ensure that the protection, conservation and development of the The IEM Framework seeks to conserve the watershed and its resources are conserved, watershed ecosystems and enhance their sustained, regulated, and managed over time. environmental, socio-cultural and economic Presently, a Technical Working Group (TWG) functions. The IEM framework also aims provides technical back up and secretariat to guide various stakeholders in managing support to the council. The TWG is composed their watershed in a coordinated manner so of second line supervisory personnel of the that poverty and threats to the ecosystem same institutions represented in the council. are addressed. To achieve efficiency There is a plan to eventually set up a BRWM in implementation, active community Office under the Office of the Provincial participation at varying degrees is encouraged Government of Negros Occidental. in all aspects of watershed management, taking into account the people’s needs,

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aspirations, skills, and knowledge. in the area such as the Protected Area Management Plan, Comprehensive Through the IEM framework, the institutional Resource Management Framework, Co- partners have identified and agreed on management plan and Ancestral Domain non-negotiable areas that should not be Sustainable Development and Protection compromised in the course of development Plan. and management of the watershed. These include the two protected areas of MKNP and 4. To ensure that the desired results for the NNNP, the protection mangrove forests in IEM program are achieved, the partners Bago City and Pulupandan, the Bird Sanctuary agreed that enforcement and monitoring of Pulupandan, and hazard areas as earlier shall take place at the levels of tenure identified. As non-negotiables, these areas are or title holder, LGU, protected area, and not to be compromised in the development ecosystem levels. process. The management and regulation of these non-negotiables will ensure that the In addition, the latest stakeholder consultation various ecosystems services from the Bago has identified further strategies that include River Watershed will continue to meet the addressing the property rights issues in the needs of the present and future generations. multiple use zones of the two protected areas as well as in the coastal areas. The The partner institutions have agreed on ongoing National Greening Program shall governance actions or regulatory measures also be harnessed in rehabilitating the for these non-negotiable areas that include degraded areas of the protected areas, the following: while also strengthening enforcement of forestry laws. Finally, investments in the 1. That each of the local government units A and D lands and coastal zones must be (LGUs) shall take it upon themselves to consistent with the non-negotiables. They come up with their Forest Land Use Plan should enhance the comparative advantage (FLUP)-cum-Comprehensive Land Use of the Bago River Watershed as a haven for Plan (CLUP) where they will delineate the production, processing, and marketing their conservation, protection forests, of high value agricultural crops, and nature- and hazard areas and legitimize and based ecotourism. They should also support regulate their management through local competitive goods and services from the ordinance. province especially those that target higher 2. Each LGU shall enact and enforce relevant value chains. ordinances for all disallowed types of investments, land and resource uses in non-negotiable and hazard areas within the Investment and Financing for IEM in LGU’s geographical jurisdiction. Related Bago Watershed to this, a set of criteria shall be developed for reviewing and approving various Investments and financing are crucial to permits—locational clearances, building ensure implementation of identified programs permits, resource use permits, approval and produce intended results and benefits. of environmental impact assessments or initial environmental examinations, For Bago Watershed, such investments come and issuance of environmental clearance in the form of public and private investments. certificates. Public investments include those allocated for NRM from the internal revenue allotments of 3. All sectors concerned shall ensure that the Negros Occidental provincial LGU as well the non-negotiables are included and as the city and municipal LGUs covered by the respected as such in relevant natural Bago Watershed. Within the five-year period resource management (NRM) plans that the NPS ENRMP has been implemented,

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counterpart LGU fund has amounted to PhP7,447,983. The provincial LGU, on the other hand, has regularly financed other ENR- related projects as implemented and managed by the Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO). The Bago Watershed-related budgets of national government agencies like the DENR and NIA are also considered as part of the public investments. The LGUs have committed to continue allocating funds for IEM purposes. Private investments come from private sector companies like the business sector under a scheme of corporate social responsibility. So far, Negros-based business establishments like the Robinson and SM malls have sponsored and Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo G. Marañon (left) financed some local watershed reforestation presiding over a meeting of the Bago River Watershed initiatives. Initial efforts are being prepared to Management Council. With him is DENR PENRO Valentin attract other private financiers like the owners P. Talabero. of big time sugar plantations and mills as well as water bottling companies. Other payment political career just to see to it that the non- of ecosystem services such as ecotourism fees negotiables are respected and the targeted and resource use fees will also be explored. goals of the framework are achieved.” He EDC has also allocated and supported funds demonstrated this commitment by allocating to several LGUs in the Bago River Watershed counterpart/support fund for the BRW project for rehabilitation, agroforestry, and capacity and pursuing supportive ENR initiatives. development. Governor Marañon rallied the cooperation and support of the eight constituent LGUs and challenged them to commit financial Lead Role of the Provincial and manpower support for the BRW Project. Government He led the way in initiating and pursuing ENR programs in partnership with the DENR The partnership for the planning and and the municipal LGUs. One example implementation of IEM for the Bago Watershed for this is the co-management with the was forged through a memorandum of DENR of 500 hectares forestlands in Don agreement between and among the concerned Salvador Benedicto. Through memoranda government officials (governor of Negros of agreement with concerned partners, the Occidental, mayors of the four cities and four Negros Occidental provincial LGU under municipalities covered by the BRW), and the the leadership of Governor Marañon has officials of the provincial DENR. crafted and implemented governance and sustainability mechanisms for specific As chair of the BRWMC, Governor Alfredo sectoral concerns such as upland, coastal, Marañon played a significant role in ensuring mineral and urban. It has also set a strategic the successful implementation of IEM in plan with provincial and municipal targets. the Bago River Watershed. Leading the Each sectoral program has its own ultimate way in pursuing the vision of the BRW IEM objective, specific objective/policy direction, framework, he declared: “I will stake my and strategies/activities. Sectors covered are

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forest resources and biodiversity, coastal and protected area superintendents, the coastal fisheries resources, solid waste management mangrove forest is the responsibility of the and mineral resources. Bago City and Pulupandan LGUs, including the coastal bird sanctuary in the case of The IEM implementation in Bago River Pulupandan. The rest of the other areas are Watershed will continue to benefit from the to be under the responsibility of the LGUs leadership of Governor Marañon over the the and the Environmental Management Bureau Negros Occidental provincial LGU, which (through the requirements of environmental has garnered awards and recognition for its clearance certificates and locational clearance pursuance of ENR concerns. They received for whatever project or intervention that may distinction as the Most Active Provincial Solid impact on the environment). Waste Management Board (2012), Excellence in Environmental Management (2008, 2009, Identified non-negotiables (non- 2010), Best Public Sector Project in the compromise areas) with consensus on LGU Category (2006-2007) for their Marine governance actions for these areas. As Engine Swap to Reforestation Project, Green indicated earlier, these include the two Heroes Award (helping Others to Help the protected areas of MKNP and NNNP, the Environment, 2007), International Green mangrove forest and bird sanctuary in Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice Bago City and Pulupandan, and the hazard (2006), and Galing Pook Award for the Balik areas. The hazard areas are the land slide Ilahas Program (1997-1998). areas and flood-prone areas in the different municipalities within the watershed. Each partner LGU has contributed a share in Results of collaboration rehabilitation of the Bago River Watershed. As of October 31, 2012, 504 hectares of The partnership and collaboration of the LGUs upland and 113 hectares coastal areas have and DENR for the Bago River Watershed has been reforested by the six municipal LGUs resulted in the following: using World Bank support budget of PhP9.1 Developed a common vision and mission million and LGU budget counterpart of PhP3.9 for the management and conservation of million. the BRW. Their shared vision is “a watershed Agreed upon monitoring and evaluation that is home to lush forest and diverse life strategy and financing system for ENR forms from where abundant and clean water program. To closely track the progress on the flows to meet the needs of every home, farm attainment of the vision, mission and goals and factory in and about its confines.” On of the BRW IEM framework, a result-based the other hand, their mission is “to promote monitoring and evaluation system (RBME) partnership and shared responsibility in has been developed and agreed upon by the protecting the integrity of the Bago watershed partner organizations. The RBME focuses on as a life support system providing vital outcomes and outputs that will be monitored ecological and economic services within its and evaluated to ensure that the non- physical divides and beyond.” negotiables in the Bago River Watershed are Identified responsible and accountable managed and regulated properly. Likewise, entities for specified segments of the a scheme for seeking financing has been watershed with granted authority to jointly developed and adopted by the partner implement agreed upon strategy. The institutions to support implementation of protected areas of MKNP and NNNP are priority IEM projects in the BRW. the responsibility of the DENR through their

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Agroforestry project site in San Carlos City Photo: Bago River Watershed PMO

Looking Forward With the established partnership and ongoing programs for the development and management of the Bago River Watershed, the future looks bright for the present and succeeding generations of Negrosanons. They can look forward to an ecologically stable environment and natural resources that support the pursuit of a robust economy.

For more information, please contact: Department of Environment and Natural Resources Foreign-Assisted and Special Projects Office DENR Compound, Visayas Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City Telefax: +632 926-2689; 928-0028; 926-2693