Kalahan (Boundaries of Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija, North Luzon)

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Kalahan Reserve is 15,000 hectares of mountain lands between 600 and 1717 meters about sea level. Average slope about 45 degrees. It has three forest types, pine, oak and dipterocarp. Rainfall is usually about 3,000 mm per year. The Ikalahan Ancestral Domain includes the Kalahan Reserve and totals approximately 58,000 hectares of mountain lands between 550 and 1717 meters above sea level. The vegetation and rainfall are similar to the Reserve except that there are no pine and few oak forests outside of the Reserve. 

The Domain contains significant primary forests and wildlife. It also has many upland farms and production forests. Those within the Reserve are well managed. Those outside are only in fair condition.

The Reserve has been under the legal control of the Ikalahan community, represented by its People's Organization, the Kalahan Educational Foundation, Inc., since 1974. The Ancestral Domain Claims were approved by 1999.

The western edge of the Reserve, about 3,000 hectares is the watershed for small irrigation systems and drinking water in Pangasinan. The southern edge of the Ancestral Domain, about 5,000 hectares, is the watershed for the Talavera irrigation system. Most of the balance, about 46,000 hectares, is the watershed for the Magat Irrigation System in Isabela. 67% of the land within the Reserve can be considered production forests with a small amount of agriculture. Approximately the same percentage is true of the balance of the Ancestral Domain.

About 20,000 persons live within the Ancestral Domain of whom at least 90% belong to the Ikalahan and another 5% belong to other tribes of Indigenous People, primarily the Ifugao, Ibaloy and Kankanai. Many of these are intermarried with Ikalahan. Less than 5% are Ilocano and Tagalog.

 

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Bakun (Bengeut Province)

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Bakun municipality in Benguet province, Northern Philippines has a total land area of 30,678.74 hectares, comprising 7 barangays or villages. It is 86 kms. away north of Baguio City, the premier highland city of not only the Cordillera Region but of the entire country as well, and is accessible via the rugged Halsema Highway for roughly five (5) hours. Topography of the proposed site is predominantly mountainous with slopes ranging from rolling to moderate to steep and very steep slopes. The highest elevation at 2,618 meters asl is located in Mt. Osdong, while the lowest at 200 meters asl is situated in Tagaling, Sinacbat.

Its mountains are teeming with both virgin and second growth stands of Benguet Pine . Dipterocarp forests mixed with other premium species such as Narra (Pterocarpus indicus) are also found in Barangays Kayapa and Bagu. Baseline vegetative cover of the proposed site according to the General Resource Information Survey (NEDA, 1997) reveals that of the total area of 30,674 hectares, some 15,647 hectares (51%) are classified as forest areas; 8,228 hectares (26.82%) are classified as mixed agricultural farms locally termed "nem-a;" 2,303 hectares (7.51%) are classified as pasture and grasslands; 2,162 hectares (7.05%) are classified as vegetable farms, and the rest are distributed among other land uses.

The 4 main river systems are the Bakun, Gambang (Abra River), Bago and Kayapa rivers, with several live tributaries. Water volume discharge of the Bakun river ranges from 242.2 MCM/yr to 258 MCM/yr, while that of Abra river is from 180.0MCM/yr to 202 MCM/yr.(BITO, 2002). These are the two major rivers that currently support the two hydroelectric power plants mentioned earlier.

The climate is generally cold, ranging from 15.6 degress C to 21.6 degrees C, the coldest occurring in the month of January. The area falls under Climatic Type 1, which is dry from November to April and wet from May to October. Relative humidity is 85% with the highest at 90% recorded in the months of July to September.. Minimum monthly average rainfall is 7.4 mm registered in the month of February, while maximum is 914.0mm recorded in the month of August. Annual average rainfall is 150,330mm. Its water quality as per DENR records is Class C for the Bakun river while it is Class A for the Abra river. Class A water is water fit for drinking after chemical treatment. Class C water is water used for domestic purposes such as for washing and bathing.

 

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Baticulan Watershed (the Philippines)

The partnership began with a RUPES Program presentation at a round-table meeting with the City Mayor Hon. Eugenio Jose V. Lacson of San Carlos City in Negros Occidental on 17 October 2005. As a result, the participants nominated the Baticulan watershed in San Carlos City as a RUPES learning site, expressing their willingness to be part of the program. The site is a subwatershed of Mandalagan Watershed 1 and has a total area of 402 ha. A unique feature is the City Government's intervention with City Ordinance No.37 Series of 2004 – a special environmental levy of 0.75 on every cubic meter of water billed. The proceeds shall accrue to a special account known as the “Watershed Development and Environmental Protection Fund”. Rehabilitation of the Baticulan watershed was the first project from this fund, and it directly involved the watershed's upland communities. The San Carlos Development Board Inc. (SCDBI) and RUPES will be partners, sharing information and collaborating in research.

 

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Northern Sierra Madre National Park (Isabela Province)

The Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP) is situated in the northeastern section of Region 2 in the province of Isabela in the Philippines. The NSMNP is within the Sierra Madre Biogeographic Zone (SMBGZ), which lies along the eastern side of Central Luzon.  The SMBGZ’s species endemism and biodiversity is among the highest in the country.  

Most of the inhabitants within the NSMNP are immigrants and descendants of immigrants from Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Cagayan, Pangasinan, La Union, Abra, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, and from as far as the Bicol and the Visayas.  Majority of the population are relatively recent immigrants, having migrated to the area from the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s. The original inhabitants of the Northern Sierra Madre are the Agtas, however, they had been acculturated to the extent that at present these people have mixed with the migrant communities and are no longer recognizable as a group of IPs. The majority of the population of the NSMNP is engaged primarily in farming, both in swidden and permanent farms.

The NSMNP is characterized by three (3) land use categories: (1) agricultural land and settlements; (2) grassland; and (3) forested lands.  The forested lands cover the largest portion of NSMNP.   

The management of the NSMNP, at the site level, is through the PAMB and the PASu, which work closely with the NGOs and the local communities through the POs. The NIPAS Act provides that the PAMB is the policy and decision making body of protected areas.  An interim PAMB has been created in the NSMNP, chaired by a very active and supportive RED of Region 2.  Within the PAMB an Executive Committee (EXECOM) and a Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) were organized.  The Execom performs the delegated duties and functions of the PAMB while the TAU reviews technical proposals and studies for consideration by the EXECOM.

A specific aspect of community based resource management is related to the Agtas of NSMNP. The Agtas have ancestral domain rights in the area and large parts of NSMNP qualify for CADCs for different clans of Agtas. The strategy will be to support that all legitimate CADCs are identified and eventually approved. For each of the CADCs support will be given to have Ancestral Domain Management Plans (ADMP) developed.  Some Agta communities in NSMNP have started formulating their ADMPs, hence, continuous assistance will be provided to them to ensure the completion of these plans.  The ADMPs will be simple and take into consideration that most of the CADC areas are very remote and would only entail very limited management input. The strategy furthermore stresses the need for the CADCs to be of a size and location, which are realistic to implement by the CADC holders. Phase two will review and facilitate the conversion of CADC into CADT under the IPRA law of 1996.

From 1994, several projects funded by foreign donors were implemented in this area.  These include the GEF Conservation of Priority Protected Areas Project (CPPAP), the World Bank Technical Assistance for Improving Biodiversity Conservation in the Philippines (TABC), the DGIS – PLAN International Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park - Conservation Project (NSMNP-CP) and the biodiversity research projects of Conservation International. These projects together with the DENR and the LGUs formed the Inter-Agency Coordinating Group (IACG) and assisted the DENR in the establishment of the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP) thru Presidential Proclamation No. 978 dated March 10, 1997.  The Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park Conservation Project implemented by PLAN Philippines expired in September 2002. The Kabang Kalikasan ng Pilipinas will implement Phase two of this project for the period 2003-2007.  The Government of Netherlands through the Royal Netherlands Embassy, on November 2002, recently signed the Phase two of the project, the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park Conservation and Development Project (NSMNPCDP). It has a duration of seven (7) years. The Phase 2 implementation requires formal participation and collaboration with key stakeholders. This would involve sharing of resources including funds, manpower, technical expertise and equipment that can be allocated and made available by stakeholders to initiatives in the Park.

 

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Sibuyan Island (Romblon Province)

Sibuyan island, located at 12 degrees latitude 21’N and 122 degrees longitude 39’E, is found at the center of the Philippine archipelago. Several rivers dissect the steep topography of the island. The rivers draining the largest watersheds are Nailog-Dulangan-Cataja-Pato-o and the Pawala Rivers in Magdiwang; Guinalan-Cambulayan- Lumbang River in Cajidiocan and Cantingas River.  The headwaters of Cantingas River lie in Cajidiocan but drains across San Fernando, where it serves 3 water intakes that supply water to the irrigated farmlands.  Its major impact areas cover the vicinities of the town proper of San Fernando and Barangay Taclobo. 

The impact area of Olango and Punong Rivers is Barangay España, also in San Fernando.  In Cajidiocan, the impact areas of three major rivers include the barangays of Danao (Agbalit river), Lumbang Weste and Este (Lumbang River) and Marigondon (Marigondon river).  The river system affecting the town proper is Cambajao.

During the delineation process for the protected area of Mt. Guiting-Guiting the settlements of the Indigenous groups were excluded from the Park. However the claim of their Ancestral Domain may extend beyond the boundaries of the Park to include foraging areas for rattan, almaciga and honey. The Kabang Kalikasan ng Pilipinas (KKP), Anthropological Watch and PANLIPI are facilitating the Ancestral Domain Claims (CADT) of these groups.  A Memorandum of Agreement has been signed with the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) to this effect. At present, the IPs numbering 335 families have been awarded a CADT covering 7905 hectares.

The Kabang Kalikasan ng Pilipinas Foundation (KKP) has recently completed phase one of its integrated conservation and development project in Sibuyan island. Phase one activities include development of livelihood and enterprise systems through credit, technology transfer, capacity building, marketing, farm extension and tenurial assistance to indigenous groups. KKP facilitated the awarding of 7905 hectares of ancestral domain benefiting 335 indigenous households.  However, most of the livelihood projects supported through credit and demonstration farms established face a number of challenges and technological constraints. KKP is developing a proposal for phase two of the project to be submitted to the Royal Netherlands Embassy for funding. Phase two will focus on governance and environmental management, capacity building and coastal resource management. KKP remains committed to continue the work through a phase two project. It has core personnel stationed in the uplands (2) and lowland areas (4). Past investments in capacity-building are showing immediate results. The efforts of upland communities to protect their watershed from lowland encroachers and the support provided by park rangers in enforcement operations have significantly reduced illegal logging activities in Sibuyan.