Realities of the Watershed

Management Approach:
The Magat Watershed Experience

Dulce D. Elazegui
University Researcher
ISPPS, UPLB

Edwin A. Combalicer
Faculty Member, College of Forestry
Nueva Vizcaya State University

1
Introduction
…showcase the
experience of the
Magat
watershed…
…Proclamation
No. 573 on June
26, 1969

2
 Introduction
policy and political
environment

Watershed financial
actors and
Sustainability support
players

social and institutional

mechanisms

3
MAGAT
WATERSHED

4
 MAGAT
WATERSHED
Classified Area within the Magat
Watershed
Lower Magat Forest Reserve
Barobbob Watershed
Imugan-Cabanglasan Sub-
watershed
Dupax Watershed Forest
Reserve

5
 MAGAT
WATERSHED
Biophysical Characteristics

Type II

6
MAGAT
WATERSHED

7
MAGAT
WATERSHED

8
 MAGAT
WATERSHED
Sedimentation

250
Accumulated Sediment Vol. (Million

200

150
cu.m)

100

50

0
1982 1984 1989 1995 2000
Ye ar

9
 Socio-economic Conditions
Population
Watershed population as of May 2001 …
483,411
Nueva Vizcaya accounts … 76% …watershed’s
population
Average household …4.92 persons
Average population density ….205 persons/km2
Population growth rates of Nueva Vizcaya and
Isabela are lower than the national average …2%

10
 Socio-economic Conditions
Ethnicity Interaction with
external Societies
• Ilocano and Ifugao
• Others Some communities
Bugkalots enjoy intensive
Ilongots support, resources,
information or
Kalanguya
influence from NGOs
Gaddang and donors
Other communities
are quasi self-reliant

11
 Socio-economic Conditions
Revenue Generation

Agriculture, livestock, and

service
service sector … 45.73%
agriculture sector … 43.12%
livestock sector … 11.15%

12
 Socio-economic Conditions
Revenue Generation
Magat watershed resources
Timber (From Natural and Plantation Forest)
Rattan
Quarry (Gravel and sand, mines)
Wildlife
Agroforestry land
Rangeland for grazing
Reservoir surface area

13
 Socio-economic Conditions
Revenue Generation

Major watershed users

National Power
Corporation (NPC) Peoples’ organizations
National Irrigation Barangay residents
Administration within the watershed
(NIA), Non-government
Fisherfolk organizations
Upland farmers Water operators
Mining companies

14
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
Economic considerations or
financial capital
Technical and administrative
capacity/intellectual capital
Capacity for social governance,
i.e., social and institutional capital
Legal framework within which
the management approach
operates, i.e., political capital

15
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Economic Considerations
(Financial Capital)
DENR- JICA (2003)…Master Plan Study for
Watershed Management in Upper Magat and
Cagayan River Basin

Watershed management initiatives … land use

planning, forest management, rehabilitation
and restoration, soil conservation, livelihood,
capacity building, and cost sharing mechanism

16
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Economic Considerations (Financial Capital)

Watershed and Water Management Initiatives

Most projects … DENR, Provincial ENROs of Nueva
Vizcaya, Isabela and Quirino, and CENROs of Nueva
Vizcaya (Dupax del Norte, Bayombong, and Aritao),
Isabela and Quirino

Supervision and control of utilization and protection

of water resources are exercised by the National
Water Resources Board (NWRB)

NPC, NIA, POs, … involved in watershed protection

projects in Magat

17
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Economic Considerations (Financial Capital)

Watershed and Water Management Initiatives

Watershed projects … generally implemented
in collaboration with other stakeholders

National Commission on Indigenous People

… identification of ancestral land domain,
and organization of indigenous cultural
communities and indigenous peoples

NCIP … mediated in resolving conflict

18
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Economic Considerations (Financial Capital)

Watershed and Water Management Initiatives

Watershed management initiatives … short-
term to medium-term projects
DENR … yearly allocation of PhP2.6 million
for natural forest protection … PhP1.6
million per soil and water conservation
measures from 1994-2003
NIA … PhP3 million for a one-year project
NPC spent …PhP2 million in 2000 for
regular patrolling … PhP2.7 million for
information dissemination

19
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Economic Considerations (Financial Capital)

Watershed and Water Management Initiatives

Provinces within the Magat watershed …

budget allocations for forest protection

Nueva Vizcaya … budget allocation of

PhP728 per ha

Created a provincial Environment and Natural

Resource Office (ENRO)

20
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Economic Considerations (Financial Capital)

Scope of Projects
1. Reforestation by
Administration (REFO-A)
2. Reforestation by Contract
(REFO-C)
3. Watershed Rehabilitation
Project (WRP)
4. International Tropical
Timber Organization
(ITTO) project
5. NIA and NPC project
6. Provincial Waterworks
Office Activities
7. Grow a Family Tree for
Legacy
8. Barobbob Watershed
Resource Management
Project
9. Lower Magat Forest
Management Project
10. Center for People
Empowerment in the
Upland (CPEU)
11. Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program (CARP)
Project

21
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Technical/Administrative Capacity
(Intellectual Capital)
NVSU

Watershed
ISU Management ISCAF
Discipline

QSC

22
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Technical/Administrative Capacity (Intellectual Capital)

Number of Personnel in Watershed Management

b Agencies involved in Magat watershed

management … full-time work basis
b CENRO … one to five
b PENRO … one
b ENRO … four personnel
b NIA and NPC have six and eight

23
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Technical/Administrative Capacity (Intellectual Capital)

Educational Background of Personnel

b Personnel … technical background with
degrees

b Personnel … training … watershed

characterization, erosion control, Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), soil and water
conservation, environmental impact
assessment (EIA), and community
organizing

24
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Social Governance Capacity (Social/Institutions Capital)

Social Governance Capacity

Governing structure and sharing Capital)
(Social/Institutions of responsibilities
DENR provides resources and services … to ensure
effective protection, development, and management
DENR-PENROs plan, coordinate and control various
activities and guide, supervise, and provide logistics to
CENRO operations
NIA and NPC … to manage, develop, and rehabilitate
portions of Magat Dam
LGUs encourage and promote participation of the
private sector and entrepreneurs …lead and provide
assistance to communities … endorse applications to
CBFM Agreement

25
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Social Governance Capacity (Social/Institutions Capital)

Community Participation
b 18 POs
b Twelve POs are in Nueva Vizcaya
b Five in Quirino
b One in Isabela
b POs … CBFM projects, trainings on
accounting, entrepreneurship, leadership,
IPM, and reforestation

26
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Social Governance Capacity (Social/Institutions Capital)

Sharing of power and responsibilities

Barobbob Watershed Resource
Management
Tree for Legacy
Lower Magat Forest Management
Project
CBFM project of the Federation of Vista
Hills, Kalongkong Upland Farmers
Associations, Inc.

27
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Social Governance Capacity (Social/Institutions Capital)

Barobbob Watershed Resource

Management
Galing Pook award of excellence in 1999
… declared a protected area
Devolved to the province
People organized … Barobbob Watershed
Occupants Association
Provincial government entered into a Land
Management Agreement with BWOA
Provincial ENRO of Nueva Vizcaya …a composite
management team … in the watershed

28
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Social Governance Capacity (Social/Institutions Capital)

Tree for Legacy

Motivated people’s participation by providing

incentives
Ownership and harvesting rights (Tree for
Education, Enterprise), and usufruct certificates for
protection forest (Tree for Legacy)
Started with 500 ha in 1993 … over 2,000 ha
2,000 individual participants, 205 schools, 205
Parent-teacher Associations, 230 NGOs and POs,
and 26 line agencies involved

29
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Social Governance Capacity (Social/Institutions Capital)

Lower Magat Forest Management Project

Co-management agreement
LMFMO … Governor and RED
DENR appropriated funds for research … transfer
of technologies to LMFMO
Provincial government … operating budget
22% of the forest reserve … 28 Agro-forestry Land
Management Agreements and Community-Based
Agro-forestry Land Management Agreements

30
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Social Governance Capacity (Social/Institutions Capital)

CBFM project of the Federation of Vista

Hills, Kalongkong Upland Farmers
Associations, Inc.
Model Sustainable Development Project
Regional Model search by the Regional Council for
Sustainable Development
Funded by ITTO and assisted by DENR and the
Buenavista Upland Development Advisory Council
(BUDAC)

31
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Legal Framework (Political Capital)

National Policies
 Proclamation 573 of 1969
 Executive Order 281 of 1995
 DENR Memorandum Order No.
14 of 1994
 DAO No. 05 of 1993

32
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Legal Framework (Political Capital)

Interface Between National and Local Level

Memorandum of Agreement
Land Tenure Agreement
Certificate of Tree Ownership (CTO)
and Certificate of Usufruct (CU)
Certificate of Land Ownership Award

33
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Legal Framework (Political Capital)

Local Policies
 Sangguniang Panlalawigan No. 321-1993
 Executive Order No. 64-1996
 Sangguniang Panlalawigan Ordinance No. 209-
1997
 Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution No. 98-138
 LMRMS Administrative Order No. 99-01
 Sangguniang Panlalawigan Ordinance No. 99-013
 Barangay ordinances

34
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Legal Framework (Political Capital)

Informal Management Practices

 Private Woodlot Management System (Muyong

System)
 Communal Forest Management System

35
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT REALITIES:
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS
AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Legal Framework (Political Capital)

Conflict Management
Water use
Land use
Tree harvesting rights
Strategic Agriculture and
Fishery Development Zones
(SAFDZs)

36
 FACILITATING AND
CONSTRAINING FACTORS

Conflict and disputes … stakeholders

over resource use;
Weak and unsustained support …
people and other stakeholders;
Limited or restrained capacity of
LGUs … policy provisions and/or
inconsistency …

37
 Conclusion
Watershed as a ‘lifeshed’

Land

Human
Water resources

38
 Conclusion
Competence and Motivation

Political
Leadership
LGU
Participatory
Resourceful

39
 Conclusion
‘Lifelines’

Partnership/ Incentives
Co-management

Sustainable
Watershed

40
Salamat sa
Pakikinig…

41