[OPINION] Kaliwa Dam and climate justice

NOV 26, 2023 2:42 PM PHT

TONY LA VIÑA, JOY REYES
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[OPINION] Kaliwa Dam and climate justice
'The Philippines has a very unique and important opportunity to
be a leader in ensuring that development does not have to
mean sacrificing human rights or ecological health'
On October 17, Climate Rights International (CRI) and Manila
Observatory (MO) sent a letter to President Marcos Jr. through
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources asking
the President to halt the construction of the Kaliwa Dam until
further investigation is made on the consequences of
constructing such a dam.
While we understand the need to augment the water supply of
Metro Manila, especially since climate change will mean longer
instances of droughts and the unpredictability of rainfall
throughout the year, we believe that there are plenty of viable
alternatives that will not include the destruction of the Sierra
Madre mountain range, one of our last shields against typhoons
coming in from the Pacific. It is imperative that the country, in
creating socioeconomic policies, ensures that no one is left
behind – this includes indigenous peoples and upland rural
communities, not just those living in the urban centers.
The letter that CRI and MO sent the President mentioned two
main concerns that would result from the construction and use
of such a dam, which, unless suspended, will be fully
 operational by 2027. These concerns are human rights as well
as climate change and environment concerns. They will be
discussed further below.
Human rights
The construction of the dam will have significant adverse
impacts on the lives and livelihoods of the Dumagat-Remontado
indigenous peoples as well as the local community. Primarily
reliant on agriculture and tourism (given Mt. Daraitan and
Tinipak river’s proximity to Manila), the dam’s construction will
likely lead to a steep decline in living standards and increase in
poverty levels.
Other Stories
Dumagat leaders opposed to Kaliwa Dam ask Duterte to treat
them as humans
'We have a right to our ancestral domains. But instead of
protecting our rights, the President and the government are the
first to violate them,' says one of the leaders opposed to the
Kaliwa Dam project
Kaliwa Dam to solve Metro Manila water problems –
Dominguez
The Kaliwa Dam would cost P12.2 billion to build, with 85% set
to be funded by China and the remaining 15% to be shouldered
by the Philippines
Dumagat-Remontados begin 9-day march to protest Kaliwa
Dam construction
The indigenous people and other citizens will walk 150
kilometers in a bid to permanently stop the China-funded project
There have as well been widely documented reports of
irregularities and inadequate compliance with regard to
 compensation (dubbed “disturbance fees”) as well as the
conduct by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
(NCIP) or the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)
Process that is required under the law prior to any development
project in indigenous land. An essential component, for
instance, of any development project, is the conduct of a public
hearing, which residents of Brgy. Daraitanin Tanay said it was
not held. It is also required that the residents are told of the
consequences of the project in a language that is
understandable to them, which again the residents claim was
not done. In fact, it was noted by residents that the anas, who
explained the project, did not present documents in the local
language and, more importantly, failed to explain that the area
on which they live would be submerged as a consequence of
the dam’s construction and eventual operation.
Finally, the Tinipak River, famed for its limestone formations
and pristine waters, is central to the spiritual lives of the
Dumagat-Remontado, who believe that the water is sacred.
Therefore, the construction of the dam “represents and
irreversible and irreplaceable loss of heritage and culture” to the
indigenous group.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES
[OPINION] Why should the construction of Kaliwa Dam be
stopped?
Climate change and environment concerns
The Kaliwa Dam is posed to be operational within the Kaliwa
Watershed Reserve, proclaimed as such by then President
Ferdinand Marcos Sr. through Proclamation No. 573 in 1968.
Eventually, part of the watershed was created into a National
 Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, which makes the dam’s
construction and operation an Environmentally Critical Project
(ECP) that could potentially result in massive and irreversible
damage.
The Sierra Madre mountain range, where the dam is being
constructed, is already in a fragile state because of the amount
of deforestation that has been done on it over the past few
decades. It will be made even more vulnerable with the
deforestation that will necessarily accompany the dam’s
construction – it is “expected that the dam’s reservoir that will
be created as part of the dam’s operations will submerge 93
hectares of forestland” and the construction of infrastructure as
well as roads will also impact thousands of hectares of residual
forests in the watershed area.
Moreover, the construction of the dam will lead to more risks of
typhoons, landslides, and flooding, not just to the areas that will
be directly impacted by the dam’s construction, but low-lying
areas as well, including Metro Manila and the Rizal and Quezon
Provinces. This could also lead to the destruction of areas that
are crucial to farming as well as wildlands.
Lastly, it is expected that the dam’s construction will harm the
ecosystem and the biodiversity of the Sierra Madre mountain
range, which houses hundreds of flora and fauna, some of
which are endangered and endemic to the area.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES
[OPINION] Last stand in the Sierra Madre
The Philippines’ obligations
The Philippines is signatory to several treaties that we believe
should be highly considered even before the planning and the
 construction of the Kaliwa Dam and similarly-situated projects.
This includes the Paris Agreement under the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples.
The Kaliwa Dam is but one of the many projects that the
Philippine government has. In its journey towards economic
growth, it should not put into place policies that will enable it to
backslide on its commitments to place the environment and the
country’s resilience and ability to adapt to the challenges of
climate change at a high priority, especially considering how
vulnerable we are to the effects of an increasingly warming
world.
As we all travel this week to Dubai for the 28th Conference of
the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, we believe that the Philippines has a very
unique and important opportunity to be a leader in ensuring that
development does not have to mean sacrificing human rights or
ecological health, and that a development that does not take
into consideration those who have historically been in the
margins is not development at all. This is why we strongly
believe that the Kaliwa Dam construction should be suspended
until further investigations are conducted. – Rappler.com
Tony La Viña teaches constitutional law at the University of the
Philippines and several Mindanao law schools. He is former
dean of the Ateneo School of Government.
Joy Reyes is a climate justice lawyer affiliated with the Manila
Observatory and the Legal Rights and Natural Resources
Center.
The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not
reflect the views or positions of Rappler.

Indigenous Filipinos fight Kaliwa dam project on their land

Mariejo Ramos profile picture
Mariejo Ramos
Published: March 30, 2023
Three hundred Dumagat-Remontado indigenous peoples begin
their nine-day protest walk against Kaliwa Dam from General
Nakar, Quezon to Manila on February 15, 2023
Three hundred Dumagat-Remontado indigenous peoples begin
their nine-day protest walk against Kaliwa Dam from General
Nakar, Quezon to Manila on February 15, 2023. Thomson
Reuters Foundation/Kathleen Lei Limayo
What’s the context?
Tribal campaigners say they have been pressured to accept
plans for a new dam to meet rising water demand in Metro
Manila
Dam planned to avert water crisis in Philippine capital
Kaliwa Dam would flood indigenous mountain land
Critics urge officials to explore other options
MANILA - For thousands of years, the Filipino Dumagat-
Remontados Indigenous people have cultivated their lands on
the Sierra Madre mountain range. Soon, hundreds of hectares
of their forests could be swallowed by a major new river dam.
Officials say the Kaliwa Dam is vital to supply the water-
stressed region around the capital Manila, but Indigenous
groups say they were not properly consulted in line with the law
and the project threatens their traditional way of life.
"We went down from the mountains and walked because our
rights were violated during the approval process for the dam,"
said Conchita Calzado, an Indigenous elder who last month led
about 300 tribe members on a nine-day protest march to
Manila.
"We are the communities whose livelihood, culture and sacred
land will be directly affected."
Gunawan installed nets to protect the plant seeds on his land
which had been eroded by the Bener Dam project in Guntur,
Purworejo Regency, Indonesia, December 18, 2022. Thomson
Reuters Foundation/Asad Asnawi.
Indonesia banks on dams to tackle water crisis - but at what
cost?
Gilbert Reyes of Pangisda Paranaque poses for a photo in
Manila Bay, Philippines, November 3, 2022. Kathleen Lei
Limayo/Thomson Reuters Foundation
Philippines fishermen balk at land reclamation projects
Indus River in Ladakh which flows to Pakistan, June 3, 2018
Could focus on climate ease water woes between India and
Pakistan?
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS),
the government agency in charge of the capital region's water
resources, has said indigenous approval processes were
followed and the dam is needed to avert a looming water crisis.
Residents are already experiencing water shortages in Metro
Manila, a densely-populated sprawl of 16 adjoined cities.
 At present, 90% of the region's drinking water comes from the
55-year-old Angat Dam which can supply about 4,000 million
litres per day.
MWSS says the Kaliwa Dam would improve water security and
could supply an extra 600 million litres per day.
The 12.2 billion Philippine pesos ($225 million) project, funded
with a loan from China, will install a 60-metre high dam on the
Kaliwa river in the mountain district of Quezon.
Only 15 Indigenous families will be displaced from their homes
as a result and the dam will be managed to prevent flooding,
Jose Dorado, an MWSS official supervising the project, told
Context in an interview.
The Stop Kaliwa Dam campaign, a group of environmental and
Indigenous groups, said at least 5,000 tribespeople are situated
in the area of the planned dam, about 300 of whom would be
directly affected in addition to those displaced.
Three hundred Dumagat-Remontado indigenous peoples begin
their nine-day protest walk against Kaliwa Dam from General
Nakar, Quezon to Manila on February 15, 2023
Three hundred Dumagat-Remontado indigenous peoples begin
their nine-day protest walk against Kaliwa Dam from General
Nakar, Quezon to Manila on February 15, 2023. Thomson
Reuters Foundation/Kathleen Lei Limayo
The dam will endanger 100,000 residents downstream with the
risk of flooding, submerge at least six sacred sites along with
291 hectares of forests, and destroy habitats of 126 species,
according to a petition by the campaign.
Indigenous consultation 'flawed'
As climate change impacts strengthen, countries are attempting
to be proactive in adapting to coming changes and looking for
ways to curb climate-changing emissions.
But many potential adaptations and emissions-cutting efforts
put pressure on limited land, with competing priorities such as
protecting nature and Indigenous communities, boosting food
security, mining minerals needed for the green transition and
protecting land rights pitted against each other.
In some cases, the choices made threaten social unrest,
especially if communities are uprooted or otherwise affected
without consent or adequate compensation.They also raise
questions about how to strike a balance among competing
"good" uses for land.
Under the Philippine Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997,
Indigenous people have the power to veto proposed
development on their ancestral lands under a process of free,
prior and informed consent (FPIC).
Five out of six indigenous Dumagat-Remontados communities
in Quezon rejected the Kaliwa Dam plans during assemblies in
2019 as part of the FPIC process of consultation, the Stop
Kaliwa Dam campaign told Philippine news media.
Last month, the MWSS said all six groups had given consent to
the project in a FPIC process certified by the National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples, a government agency.
Indigenous campaigner Calzado said the MWSS had
misinformed or pressured some tribe members in an attempt to
pick off opposition.
She said on one occasion tribal people were locked in a room
and pressured to take an immediate vote, and that FPIC
 consent letters provided to Indigenous people were not
translated from English into Filipino or local dialects.
MWSS' Dorado told Context that there was "no truth" to these
criticisms. He said the agency followed the FPIC process, but
critics had refused to participate, meaning they did not get the
opportunity to vote.
Land rights campaigners have long said the FPIC consent
process is often ignored or abused.
"Weak implementation" of the law means consultations are
often "subverted" into a pro-forma process, said Ryan Roset, a
senior legal fellow at the Legal Rights and Natural Resources
Center, a Philippine environmental rights group.
"This practice emanates from a pernicious misappreciation and
trivialisation of the FPIC merely as a bureaucratic piece of
paper and not as a right," said Roset in an emailed comment.
"Not only does this disregard (indigenous) communities'
decision, it also engenders division among community
members."
Alternative options?
The majority of the country's dams were built on indigenous
land, said Teddy Baguilat, an Indigenous former lawmaker.
The ground zero of the proposed Kaliwa Dam project, where
the Kaliwa and Kanan rivers meet to flow to the larger Agos
River in Sitio Baykuran, General Nakar, Quezon, November 11,
2019
The ground zero of the proposed Kaliwa Dam project, where
the Kaliwa and Kanan rivers meet to flow to the larger Agos
River in Sitio Baykuran, General Nakar, Quezon, November 11,
2019. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Kathleen Lei Limayo
 "Indigenous peoples have sacrificed for decades because of
these projects," said Baguilat, leader of environmental group
Angat Kalikasan.
"We are not against development, but there are alternatives."
Indigenous groups have resisted plans for at least six major
dams within the last decade, according to the Environmental
Justice Atlas, a global database of conflicts over natural
resources and development.
The Kaliwa Dam is the best option for a major new water source
for Metro Manila as it would maximize supply output but would
entail the least habitat disruption and resettlement, the MWSS
has said.
"We should complete the dam by the end of 2026, because if
we don't, we will have a huge water shortage," said Dorado.
Campaigners against the dam have called for alternative
"sustainable solutions" including protecting existing watersheds
– areas of land that collect rainwater and channel it to
waterways – and rehabilitating them with tree planting.
They have also urged officials to repair and dredge dams that
have become silted up, fix leaking water distribution systems,
and explore technologies like wastewater recycling.
"Ours is a giving culture. We are willing to share the river with
those living in Metro Manila," said Calzado.
"We are just saddened by the way they forced our people to
agree to the dam, which will destroy the land we're supposed to
pass down to our descendants."
 Kaliwa Dam project pushing through – MWSS
Danessa Rivera - The Philippine Star
December 12, 2022 | 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines — The development of the controversial
New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project is pushing
through, according to the Metropolitan Waterworks and
Sewerage System (MWSS).
“It’s a go because we have already acquired all the permits. In
fact, we have signed a memorandum of agreement with the
indigenous peoples (IPs) of Rizal and Quezon. These are
separate because they are separate ancestral domains,”
MWSS administrator Leonor Cleofas said.
According to MWSS chairman Elpidio Vega, the agency is now
ready to implement the project following the release of all
permits.
“The tunnel boring machine is already in place and maybe next
week we’ll be starting the boring of the tunnel going to General
Nakar where the dam is going to be built,” he said.
Dumagat communities in Quezon province signed the
agreement in January while IP communities in Rizal inked the
deal in December last year.
However, opposing groups alleged that the MWSS and the
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples railroaded
negotiations with IP communities whose land would be affected
by the project.
 As the proponent of the project, the MWSS wants to clear out
the issues surrounding the development of the Kaliwa Dam,
Cleofas said.
The MWSS said it is fully compliant with the free, prior and
informed consent (FPIC) process.
Apart from the MOAs, the MWSS carried out additional
undertakings to consider the IPs and Indigenous Cultural
Communities (ICCs) desire for higher levels of income and
employment, relocation and resettlement packages, and other
benefits.
“These agreements demonstrate MWSS’ steadfast commitment
to complete the Kaliwa Dam Project for the long-term water
security of mega Manila and its sincere respect for the IPs and
ICCs, which are in line with the government’s social,
environmental, and institutional inclusivity policies,” the MWSS
said.
It said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-
Protected Area Management Board (DENR-PAMB) approved
and endorsed the clearance for the Special Use Agreement in
Protected Areas (SAPA) application last February.
In September, the agency secured the approval of DENR-
PAMB for the issuance of a clearance for the Special Use
Agreement in Protected Areas (SAPA) and the green light from
the NCIP en banc (CEB) for its application for certificate
precondition for Kaliwa Dam.
The MWSS said the Kaliwa Dam is essential to the country’s
long-term water security and the realization of its sustainable
development goals.
Vega said the Kaliwa Dam was one of the projects presented in
2019 to then president Duterte to address the water crisis.
“As you know, the most important thing to the security of Metro
Manila. Hopefully with these projects ongoing, with the help of
the private sector, we’ll be able to complete them barring no
opposition from left and right sources,” he said.
The controversial project was originally proposed in the 1970s.
But the construction of the multi-billion water project was only
approved by the National Economic and Development Authority
(NEDA) in 2014. Financing scheme was changed in 2017 from
a public-private partnership to official development assistance.
The Kaliwa and Laiban Dam projects are under the New
Centennial Water Source Project of the national government to
address the looming water crisis in Metro Manila and nearby
areas.
The Kaliwa Dam Project is a 60-meter-high reservoir and will
cover 291 hectares of the Kaliwa Watershed Forest Reserve
and the adjoining ancestral domains of the Dumagat-
Remontado communities in General Nakar, Quezon and Tanay,
Rizal.
A 28-kilometer-long conveyance tunnel will be built from the
dam site in Brgy. Magsaysay in Infanta, Quezon through
several barangays in Tanay, Baras, Morong and Teresa towns
in Rizal.

When Man Wreaks Havoc on Nature: The Controversial Kaliwa

Dam Project Explained
By Jove Moya
What men need, nature provides. Why are we not protecting it?
 The mountains of Sierra Madre is home to some of the
Philippines' most treasured species including the giant golden-
green sea turtle, golden-crowned flying fox, and Philippine
Eagle. Its 540-kilometre surface area is brimming with slopes
and curves that are essential for breaking down strong
typhoons which the country averagely experiences 20 times a
year.
Sierra Madre does not only serve those who reside in its lands;
people who live miles away also enjoy its benefits; in case
anybody needs proof, all they have to do is turn back time and
look at 2009, the year when the infamous Bagyong Ondoy
(Typhoon Ketsana) swept and ravaged Metro Manila and its
neighbouring provinces. This nightmare of a storm took the
livelihood and lives of 956 people. By the time it left, our
statesmen blamed the flooding on the mountain range's
deforestation. On June 19, 2012, the late President Benigno
Aquino III signed Presidential Proclamation 413 which declares
September 26 of every year as 'Sierra Madre Day'.
"Typhoon Ondoy brought upon our country continuous heavy
rains that caused flooding, which can be attributed to the
continuous deforestation, degradation, and destruction of the
Sierra Madre Mountains, in major cities and also took the lives
of many of our countrymen and women," the signed document
read.
Years after this devastating tragedy, the flourishing mountains
of Sierra Madre still face an imminent threat: the Kaliwa Dam
project.
For some households, water remains a scarce resource. While
the impact of climate change unfolds across the globe, the
 Philippines is expected to face longer dry seasons causing the
shortage of water supply specifically in Metro Manila.
As a "long-term” solution, the administration of President
Rodrigo Duterte conceived the PHP12.2 billion Kaliwa Dam
Project.
In the 1970s, it was projected that because of population
density, the water supplied by the 60-year-old Angat Dam will
no longer be able to sustain the needs of people residing in the
Metro. The dam is currently the main water reservoir that
supports Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal, and its neighbouring
provinces.
An estimated 85 per cent of the Kaliwa Dam project is set to be
funded by the Chinese government through official development
assistance formalised during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s
visit to the Philippines in 2018. The fulfilment is expected to
solve Metro Manila water woes by supplying residents with at
least 600 million litres of water on a daily basis. In the past
couple of decades, Angat has reached the critical level of water
supply that results to a lot of water interruption in the city.
The proposed locations of the water treatment facilities are in
Antipolo, an area that is only 29 kilometres southeast of Manila,
and Theresa Rizal, which is located 27 kilometres southeast.
Besides being able to provide million litres of raw water supply
daily, the government also assured that it will ease the pressure
on the 60-year-old Angat Dam.
Is this good or bad? Here's what environmentalists say
The Kaliwa Dam project may negatively impact the environment
and the people who live by the Sierra Madre mountains.
According to a report published by the Haribon Foundation, the
 project would cause irreversible damage to the environment as
the construction will take place in the Kaliwa Watershed, which
is a declared forest reserve and national wildlife sanctuary.
“While we recognise that Metro Manila has legitimate concerns
on water security, these should not be addressed at the
expense of human rights, our environment, Philippine laws and
sovereignty,” Haribon says. “The government has the
responsibility to protect its people from environmental harm and
provide long-term solutions to respond to the needs of all its
people, not only in Metro Manila.”
The foundation added that the project will only initiate an
unnecessary loan from the Chinese government whose terms
are onerous. "Ultimately, the debt would be paid by all Filipinos,
including those not from Metro Manila. Based on the signed
loan agreement, the Kaliwa Dam project will require a loan of at
least 10.37 billion pesos running on a high yearly interest of 2
per cent, as well as an upfront spending of around 2 billion
pesos from the national treasury. In a 2012 study, even the
World Bank concluded that the project was not economically
viable, and could prove disadvantageous for consumers in the
long run. If we fail to pay within China’s terms, provisions in the
loan, specifically those waiving the Philippines’ immunity on the
grounds of sovereignty, might end up surrendering the country’s
assets and resources. Ultimately, this loan and the project
consequently places our sovereignty at an alarming risk and
compromises our constitutional rights."
Below are Haribon's suggested alternative and more
sustainable solutions to water shortage:
Repairing and improving existing dams
 Protecting and rehabilitating degraded watersheds
Exploring new technologies which will help in recycling water
and
Applying and strengthening water conservation policies
The voices of Sierra Madre
The group of indigenous peoples who reside by the Sierra
Madre strongly oppose the idea of building a dam in the area
where their primary sources are from. The billion-peso project
threatens to displace Filipino tribes in the mountain. Moreover,
the ethnic communities are bound to lose their structure and
control over natural resources; even if these groups are
promised new housing, it may be hard to sustain themselves as
Sierra Madre is the only source they have ever known.
“The area will be submerged and people do not understand that
this Build, Build, Build and the Belt and Road Initiative, which
objectively want to help people, is actually being a road that will
pave the way for the extinction of this tribe,” said Save Sierra
Madre Network head Fr. Pete Montallana.
Despite numerous oppositions, the national government is still
aggressive in its aim to complete the project by 2023. Today we
are posed with one terrifying question: if the ailing people, trees,
and animals of Sierra Madre cannot prevent this proposed
scheme,

The Philippines' capital is running out of water. Is building a

dam the solution?
OCTOBER 6, 20236:00 AM ET
Ashley
Ashley Westerman
 The giant white marble boulders that line the Agos River just
north of the Philippine village of Daraitan are sacred to the
Indigenous Dumagat people. They use the boulders to perform
rituals to ward off sickness and keep their village safe. If the
Kaliwa Dam is built upriver, the Dumagat say these rocks will be
destroyed to make way for the increased water flow.
Ashley Westerman/NPR
DARAITAN, Philippines — Nestled in the Sierra Madre more
than two hours outside Manila, this village is lush and green —
brought to life by the Agos River, which cuts through the
unforgiving terrain like a quiet, slow-moving highway.
Daraitan is a tourist village of about 5,000, where children play
in the river while the adults cook fish and fix their broken
karaoke machines under makeshift tents on the banks.
"The community is peaceful. We have everything we need
here," Maria Clara Dullas, 43, tells NPR.
Dullas is a member of the Indigenous Dumagat people, who
claim this area as their ancestral lands. Her family are farmers,
like most in the area, and have lived off the land and the river
for centuries.
But Daraitan is in danger of disappearing, under the waters that
give it and its people life.
Some 40 miles downriver, the sprawling Metro Manila area and
its more than 13 million people are facing a looming water
shortage. It's the result of an exploding population, human-
caused climate change and, some would argue, poor planning
on the part of officials over the years. The Philippine
government commissioned the building of the Kaliwa Dam on
the Agos River decades ago as part of a larger plan to help get
more water to Manila. But construction finally broke ground last
year, as officials amped up claims that the dam would alleviate
water shortages that could hit the capital as early as next year.
Dullas, who is the president of Dumagat Women of Sierra
Madre, has been leading the fight against the building of Kaliwa
Dam for years. Though the dam will be built more than 6 miles
upriver, once completed, the new water flow will submerge
Daraitan and destroy precious sacred sites in the area, Dullas
says. Despite her and her community's efforts, the project is
moving forward.
"It hurts us. It's devastating," she says.
Children play in the Agos River in the tourist village of Daraitan
in the Philippines' Rizal province. In late April, temperatures are
high and the humidity is stifling — driving tourists and residents
alike into the river's cool, running waters.
Ashley Westerman/NPR
"This is just a matter of supply and demand projections," Delfin
Sespene, supervising engineer at Manila's Metropolitan
Waterworks and Sewage System, tells NPR. "We are building
the Kaliwa Dam to augment our water supply in order to meet
an increasing water demand."
From dams in the Philippines to sea walls being built in Norfolk,
Va., clashes are playing out all over the world as people try to
adapt to the threats from climate change. The choices are acute
in the global south: countries there, like the Philippines, are
particularly vulnerable to extreme weather, but they often lack
the resources or civil society safeguards to make sure solutions
help people equitably.
 The search for climate solutions frequently lays bare the fact
that there could be winners and losers when it comes to
decisions about protections and development. And in the case
of dams like Kaliwa, it spotlights some shortcomings of a
climate change solution that has been touted for decades.
Nature, exacerbated
The Kaliwa Dam was proposed as a project in 2012, and it's
part of a larger group of water supply projects centering on the
Kaliwa River Watershed that have been in the works since the
1970s. The construction of the Kaliwa Dam finally began in
2022, three years after the Philippine government secured a
development loan from China.
Today, officials say that if the dam is not built, the water crisis
will leave the capital area without an adequate water supply
starting next year, with a severe shortage by 2027 — the year
officials say the first phase of the dam will be completed.
"One of the battles is the increasing population, so there will be
an increasing water supply demand," Sespene says.
According to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies,
Filipinos use between 48 and 108 liters per day. So as Manila's
population rises every year, the current water supply cannot
keep up, he says.
The Metro Manila area is home to more than 13 million people.
Officials say the megalopolis may begin to experience a water
shortage in 2024 that could become extreme by 2027.
Veejay Villafranca/Bloomberg via Getty Images
But there's another driver of the water shortage: the anticipation
of the next El Niño, a naturally occurring weather pattern that
has to do with the ocean getting warmer along the equatorial
 Pacific. El Niños are known to bring less rain, which means
"there will be less rain for those dams that impound water for
Metro Manila," Sespene says.
There is currently an El Niño affecting weather worldwide, but
Philippine climate scientists and officials expect upcoming ones
to be worse. Climate experts say man-made climate change will
exacerbate the effects of future El Niño events.
"The El Niño will be more intense and for us in the Philippines,
that would actually mean like 46% of the country would suffer a
dry spell," Angelo Kairos Torres Dela Cruz with the Manila-
based Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities says.
The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries when it
comes to climate change, according to the United Nations.
Along with droughts, the archipelago nation has also
experienced sea level rise, ocean acidification and more
extreme weather events, such as multiple devastating typhoons
in recent years.
In 2020, more than 4 million Filipinos were displaced because
of the effects of global warming, the 2021 Global Report on
Internal Displacement said. And soon millions may not have
enough water.
But building the Kaliwa Dam is not a "silver bullet solution," Dela
Cruz says.
"It could have a role to play because it has scale. It's bankable;
it can be invested in real quick," he says. "But it shouldn't
happen at the expense of other equally important issues. For
example, Indigenous peoples' rights, forest and land
degradation, and so on."
 The Agos River cuts through the Sierra Madre in the
Philippines' Rizal Province. Officials hope to build a new dam
upriver from the village of Daraitan to increase the water supply
to the capital, Manila. But the project threatens the environment
and people who live downstream.
Ashley Westerman/NPR
Dams and their downsides
While dams are often billed as a drought-protection measure
and a renewable energy source, they have also been known to
contribute to climate change — such as emitting a lot of planet-
heating carbon dioxide and methane when the lakes created by
dams suffocate and kill vegetation, releasing those gasses into
the air.
Dams can also intensify drought by diverting water from rivers
and increase the risk of flash flooding by releasing too much
water during storms. Brian Eyler, director of the Stimson
Center's Southeast Asia Program, says dams have to be built
and operated in a sophisticated manner.
"Dams are just kind of Band-Aids," Eyler tells NPR. "Because
the weather is going to become so much more extreme, to the
point that it's hard to predict how to design a dam for that future
extremity."
But in the Philippines, people seem more distracted by other
things concerning the Kaliwa Dam, such as how much the dam
will cost to build and who is paying for it.
Dela Cruz says the connection between the dam and how it
could possibly be a solution to climate change is also not being
made explicitly.
"I think the discussion has not matured enough to allow a more
nuanced discussion about how a dam can be part of a broader
resource management system in the Philippines," he says.
Maria Clara Dullas (far right) and other community leaders of
the Indigenous Dumagat community wash their faces in the
Agos River. Their people, mostly farmers, have lived off the
river for generations.
Ashley Westerman/NPR
A disjointed conversation
The existence of climate change is not up for debate in the
Philippines. But how to adapt to it and integrate those
adaptations into the nation's development plans is still an open,
often hotly contested question — a familiar struggle that is
taking place across the globe.
Maria Clara Dullas of Daraitan doesn't feel like her Indigenous
Dumagat community is being included by the Philippine
government in discussions or decisions about development or
climate change adaptation.
"We aren't against progress," she says. They just don't want to
see their homes destroyed.
But while the national government has offered the entire village
the rough equivalent of a little over $1.4 million to relocate,
Dullas says she cannot imagine leaving home.
"We keep saying we don't want to benefit from the dam," she
says.
The Dumagat people just want what is theirs.