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Abstract
Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines waters when compared to the runoffs from the more
and the second largest lake in Southeast Asia has long rural eastern parts of the lake basin. The contributions of
been reported as `dying` due to water quality the micro watersheds of the urban and semi urban areas
deterioration leading to its constantly decreasing are thus quite considerable as far as lake water quality is
fisheries and other vital ecological functions. It is concerned. However, from the review of literatures on
conceptualized that the deteriorating ecological state of the importance of micro-watersheds, it seemed that little
the lake is directly related to the land conversion importance is given to the sound management of them,
practices associated with the micro watersheds of the as much of the literatures concentrate on the lake itself
lake basin leading to greater pollution runoffs to the lake. with no consideration in the lake basin as a whole
However, little study has been done on these micro thereby taking a an integrated approach as far as the
watersheds taking their functional significance to the socio ecology of the lake basin environment is concerned
lake water quality deterioration. This paper analyses the (Sendana and Mand, 1937; Delmendo and Gedney, 1976;
nature of land use policy processes in the newly Gonzales, 1988; Francisco, 1993; Santiago, 1993; Sly,
urbanized spaces of San Cristobal micro-watershed 1993; Beril and Tumlos, 1995).
region of the lake basin to understand how the interplay
of the formal as well as the informal land use policy
processes and their overlaps cause particular land uses to
get established in the concerned micro watershed. It was
found out that absence of land use plans in the micro
watershed taking a bio-regional approach with sound
interagency policy dialogues, vested interests of the
ruling political parties and an overwhelming priority
given to the instrumental value of the land for
development along-with a greater population increase in
the watershed has led to severe water pollution in the
concerned micro-watershed making the river-water dead
for any ecological significance.
Keywords: Bio-regional approach, land conversion,
land use policy, urbanization.
1. Introduction
Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines
and the second largest in the Southeast Asia has long
been reported as a dying lake because of the decrease in
its fisheries and water quality parameters for the past
three decades (ADB, 2004; Lasco & Espaldon, 2005). It
is conceptualized that the health of the micro-watersheds
draining to the lake is of utmost importance to the health
of the lake as these river basins are primary sources of
nutrients for the Lake Flora and Fauna. As seen in the
NASA`s Terra Modis Satellite in 2003 (see Fig. 1), the
sediment runoffs from the urban spaces of the Laguna
Lake basin is simply overwhelming (NASA, 2003).
Although these images were from the 2003 flooding
events in Philippines, when the sediment runoffs were
much more enhanced by the flooding events, they do Fig. 1 Sediment runoffs (below image) from the more
show the considerable cumulative effects of nutrient and urbanized western margins of the lake as seen by NASA`s
sediment runoffs from the urban spaces to the lake Terra Modis Satellite in 2003.
The San Cristobal River consists one of the 24 watershed as a case study. The principal questions
tributary river systems draining into the Laguna Lake answered here are; how do the land use policies take
form the Southwestern side, characterized by the newly effect in the concerned micro watershed? What particular
urbanized spaces of the lake basin. The basin area of the development aspects does these land use policies
river is 14,100 ha, with 17 tributaries and 44 river consider most? What is the approach of such policies
reaches. The river has a drainage density of 5.75 km/ km2 towards institutionalizing the human-nature interactions?
(LEAP, 2000), which is quite high compared to the other
Western margin rivers of the lake basin. There are 23 2. Methodology
barangays of Calamba municipality and 8 barangays
from the Cabuyao municipality that either partially or 2.1 Methods and materials
fully falls inside its watershed (NSO, 1990; 2000). This paper takes a multi methodological approach
with the use of both quantitative as well as qualitative
data which were gathered during the fieldwork
conducted from June 5 to June 30, 2009, in the Laguna
de Bay region. Quantitive data include, the water quality
data in time series, census statistics and land use
statistics, whereas qualitative data include, the use of in
depth interviews, interpretation of maps and satellite
images and photographs taken during the field visits. For
analysis, newly urbanized spaces of Calamba and
Cabuyao have been taken into consideration. The data
then are presented with descriptive statistics and content
analysis of the primary and secondary data.
2.2 Limitations
Unavailability of micro level census and housing
statistics up to village level in time series, along with
unavailability of topographical maps during the
fieldwork were some of the major limitations in this
paper. As a result, analysis by going back in time was
interrupted by this patchy nature of data. To deal with
this in depth interviews and photographs taken during
field visits were used to interpret the phenomena under
inquiry. Also due to unavailability of barangay level data
in the Municipality of Cabuyao, only those barangays of
Calamba municipality that falls fully or partly in the San
Cristobal river basins have been considered for land use
statistics during 1980s. Whereas for Cabuyao,
Fig. 2 Location of the study area in the Laguna de Bay interpretations had to be made from the land use
basin (Courtesy: LLDA 2003). planning maps only. .
3. Results
3.1 Background
San Cristobal river water quality has been severely
deteriorated. The river is said to be the second most
polluted in the Laguna de Bay basin. As exemplified by
the BOD loadings taken by water quality monitoring unit
of the Laguna Lake Development Authority, every year
for 156 times from 1996 to 2008. The river is often
stated as ecologically `dead`. The high BOD loadings of
the river put its water quality a step better than domestic
sewage discharge channels (see Fig. 4 below) in the
lower reaches.
Fig. 3 The San Cristobal micro watershed. (Courtesy:
LLDA 2003).