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Six years ago, La Trinidad used a grant from New Zealand to empower residents of Barangays Ambiong, Wangal, Shilan, Puguis and Beckel to prevent settlers and farmers from encroaching into their communal forests, define the boundaries of these forest lands for reforestation, and develop a water distribution system to manage the potable water produced by these communal forests.
By providing the villages a proper water distribution system, residents began to appreciate the value of the forests and watershed rehabilitation, said Ma. Rosario Lopez, executive director of the Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation Inc. (JVOFI), which piloted the project.
Lopez said the success emboldened Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan to employ the La Trinidad model on towns that host watersheds. Fongwan was this town’s mayor when JVOFI oversaw the 2005 project called “Water, Trees and Life for La Trinidad Rural Communities.”
This time, what is at stake are six Benguet watersheds, Fongwan said during the launch of the province’s forest empowerment project, “Saving the Benguet Watersheds for Water” on Tuesday.
The Agno River’s headwaters pour from Benguet’s forests. For centuries, Agno has provided irrigation water for mountain farms and lowland farms in Pangasinan, water to power hydroelectric plants and water to sustain some of the country’s oldest mines, DENR records showed.
But the deterioration of Benguet forests due to increased population, settlement and industries could soon impact hard on northern Luzon’s economy, power generation and biodiversity, said Augusto Lagon, Cordillera regional technical director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Forest Management Service.
Lowland flooding, the siltation of two hydropower dams and frequent landslides are manifestations of forest degradation, he said.
About 80 percent of Benguet’s land area of 265,538 hectares is forested, but only 141,820 ha are woodlands, as settlements and vegetable gardens spread to feed the province’s 372,533 population, Lagon said.
Agno River, which drains into San Manuel town in Pangasinan, is sustained by 28 percent of its old forest cover, he said.
Only 21 percent of its old forests protect Bued River, which drains into La Union through Kennon Road, 17 percent protect Naguilian River, which drains into La Union, 25 percent of forests remain for Aringay River, which drains also into La Union, 32 percent protect the Amburayan River, which leads to Ilocos Sur; and only 22 percent protect the Abra River.
Lagon said the impact of deforestation would be felt when communities begin to compete with farmers, mining operators and hydroelectric power plants for water unless the villagers themselves develop a mechanism for sharing water.
Matthieu Penot, attache of the EU delegation to the Philippines, said the European Union has studied the country’s reforestation efforts, and has learned from the Philippine Development Plan that regreening projects failed because communities have no tangible participation, either through ignorance or apathy.
The EU allocated 368,900 euros (P22.48 million) for Benguet’s forest management initiative, supplemented by P4 million from JVOFI and the PEF, which is the primary beneficiary of the PEACe Bonds (Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificates), Penot said.
The Benguet forest management initiative will increase the involvement of stakeholders in managing watersheds, using Ibaloi or Kankanaey practices as well as modern management techniques, said Lagon, who helped design the project.
Lopez said the project would also demonstrate how the DENR would devolve forest management functions to the local governments of Atok, Sablan, Kibungan, Bokod, Tublay and Tuba.
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