Chapter 6 Environmental and Social Considerations 6-1. Environmental and social considerations For this preparatory study, the analysis of environmental and social concerns pertaining to the project has been carried out based fundamentally on JICA’s “Guidelines for Environmental and Social Considerations (April 2010).” For the environmental impact assessment of the project, where possible the results have been compiled in accordance with JICA’s “Report Guidelines for Environmental and Social Considerations for Category B Projects (June 2011).” 6-1-1. Overview of the elements of the project with environmental or social impact The planned project is a run-of-the-river method hydropower-generating project based in the municipality of Sibagat in the Philippine province of Agusan del Sur. It involves the construction of three intake weirs and two power plants on the Wawa River (Wawa River No. 1 and Wawa River No. 2). The three weirs will have peak intake levels of 10.0 m3/s (for Wawa River No. 1) and 3.4 m3/s (for Wawa River No. 2) on the main body of the Wawa River, and 4.20 m3/s (for Wawa River No. 2) on the Manangon River, a tributary of the Wawa. The maximum power-generating capacity of each power plant will be 2.58 MW for Wawa River No. 1 and 10.2 MW for Wawa River No. 2, for a total of 12.78 MW. 6-1 Fig. 6-1: The planned project site Source: Created by the study team 6-1-2. Current environmental and social situation (1) Land use The area around the planned project site is, generally speaking, part of the mountainous forest region of the island of Mindanao, but in terms of land use, the sites of the various components of the project differ greatly. The land around Wawa River No. 1 power plant features residential areas and farmland, but the site for Wawa River No. 2 is far from any settlements and is predominantly surrounded by forestland. There are no sites of cultural or historical importance in the area, or any sites to which the indigenous population may have a collective attachment. (2) Natural environmental situation The planned project sites lie within or adjacent to the Mt. Hilong-hilong Area, identified as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) for the protection of a wide range of animal and plant species, within the 6-2 Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor. In the surrounding areas lie two watershed forest reserves (WFRs), designated as protected areas by Philippine law: the Andanan Watershed Forest Reserve in the province of Agusan del Sur, and the Taguibo Watershed Forest Reserve in the province of Agusan del Norte. However, neither encompasses the area of the Wawa River planned for this project; the WFRs lie roughly 10 km and 3 km away respectively from the project area (see Fig. 6-2). In terms of the implementation of this project, however, neither these WFRs nor KBAs are officially specified as protected areas under the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Law, meaning that while they may have protected status, there is no legal restriction on development in the planned area. However, in the hearings conducted in Sibagat in December, it emerged that the municipality of Sibagat has applied to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), a subsidiary body of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to have the Wawa River area, including the planned project area, designated as the “Wawa River Basin Protected Landscape.” Approval for this proposal is expected to be received during 2016. An additional issue is that the planned project site lies adjacent to an area of forestland designated as protected by the municipality of Sibagat. Indeed, part of the water conduit for the Wawa No. 2 power plant is projected to run through this area. However, the conduit is planned to be encompassed by an underground tunnel, meaning that only the tunnel mouth will appear at the surface level, and no felling of trees will be necessary (see Fig. 6-3). As can be appreciated, the planned project site lies within an area of rich biodiversity, meaning that all due consideration must be given to the ecological systems of the area. The current situation and planned responses to environmental concerns pertaining to the project are summarized in the table below. 6-3 Table 6-1: Project status with respect to environmental concerns Environmental concern Project status Appropriateness of implementing The province of Agusan del Sur contains no power plants, the project within a KBA; possible exacerbating the power shortage issue it faces. alternative solutions The planned project site lies in the optimal area in Agusan del Sur for a hydro plant in terms of flood discharge rates and topography. Possibility of significant impact on The water conduit for Wawa No. 1 will follow the Wawa the ecological systems of the area River, avoiding deep penetration into forest areas. The water conduit for Wawa No. 2 is planned to be constructed in a forestland area, but will take the form of a subterranean tunnel. Any land alterations caused by the project will be kept to an absolute minimum, and will not cause any significant changes or damage to the natural living environment. We believe there will be no significant effect on the ecosystems of the area, and that the function of the biodiversity corridor will not be adversely affected. Possibility of a reduction in the The water conduit for Wawa No. 1 will follow the Wawa numbers of protected species River, avoiding deep penetration into forest areas. The water conduit for Wawa No. 2 is planned to be constructed in a forestland area, but will take the form of a subterranean tunnel. Any land alterations caused by the project will be kept to an absolute minimum. Further, as the project area is not designated as a living or breeding area for any threatened species, it is believed that the project would not lead to a reduction in the numbers of any such species. Implementation of environmental Although the impact of the operation of the plant on the monitoring terrestrial biota of the area will be restricted and is believed to be insignificant in degree, environmental changes for the aquatic biota in the areas from which water will be drawn will be autonomously monitored for a year after implementation. 6-4 Andanan Fig. 6-2: Location of planned project site in relation to nearby protected areas Source: Created by the study team 6-5 Fig. 6-3: Location of planned project site in relation to protected forestland Source: Municipality of Sibagat 6-6 (3) Social situation of the planned project area The planned project area straddles the barangays of Padiay and Kolambugan, in the municipality of Sibagat. Sibagat, in turn, lies within the province of Agusan del Sur, which forms part of Region XIII, or the Caraga Administrative Region, of the Philippines. An overview of the particulars of the barangays of Padiay and Kolambugan is shown in Table 6-2 below. Table 6-2: Overview of the barangays of Padiay and Kolambugan Category Padiay Kolambugan No. of districts (Puroks) 8 7 Total area (ha) 14,300 8,862 1 Residential 4.4 4.0 2 Farmland 344.4 361.4 3 Forestland 9,237.4 2,532.0 4 Shrub and grassland 4,711.8 5,962.5 5 Other (incl. cemeteries) 2.0 2.0 6 Mining and industrial 0.01 0.0 Population (pop. density) 1,175 (0.08) 2,207 (0.25) Indigenous population (ratio) 920 (78%) 936 (42%) 716 (60.9%) 1,492 (67.6%) Working population (of which 430 are employed (of which 829 are employed (36.6%)) (37.6%)) Economic activity (main Agriculture Agriculture and forestry industries) Households 251 276 Visayan (54.2%) Visayan (57.61%) Ethnic groups Manobo (45.8%) Manobo (42.39%) Water sources (household, Spring water Spring water, well water drinking water) 7 households use generators for All households use kerosene Electrification electricity. 269 households use lamps kerosene lamps. Sanitation Households with toilets: 120 Households with toilets: 172 Source: “Barangay Development Plan Padiay (Municipality of Sibagat, Province of Agusan del Sur, CY 2003-2007)” and “Barangay Development Plan Kolambugan (Municipality of Sibagat, Province of Agusan del Sur, CY 2003-2007)” The planned project site is on land that has been issued with a Certificate Of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) by the provincial office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), meaning that the indigenous peoples of the area have right of priority to the collection, extraction, development and use of all natural resources within their ancestral domain. As a result, the SPC created to run this project is required to obtain consent from the indigenous peoples before carrying out any activity (particularly construction), in the form of a “Free, Prior and Informed Consent” (FPIC) document, as stipulated in the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA). Details of this are given in section 6-2 of this report. An indigenous people known as the Manobo tribe live in the barangays of Padiay and Kolambugan, but due to the fact that they are willing to intermarry with those from tribes other than their own and 6-7 that migration to other places is practiced in much the same way as in other areas, they do not fit the strict definition of an “indigenous people” as established as the fundamental international standard by the World Bank. Nevertheless, they fit the definition of an indigenous people under Philippine law, as a “group of people who share a sense of identification with certain linguistic and cultural characteristics, and who live in a certain area.” It can be seen, therefore, that while the residents of the area surrounding the planned project site may be defined as “indigenous peoples” under Philippine law (RA 8371), their lifestyles have changed with the flow of history, allowing them to have the same educational opportunities as city-dwellers, for example, and to have a full understanding of the monetary economy.