The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR and World Agroforestry (ICRAF) joined forces in 2019, leveraging a combined 65 years’ experience in research on the role of forests and trees in solving critical global challenges.
Background
The Integrated Natural Resource and Environmental Management Project is designed to strengthen the climate resilience of upland mountain communities by addressing unsustainable watershed management, introducing sustainable forest management options such as agroforestry, commercial forest plantation, and conservation farming to enhance watershed integrity and restore its functionality to provide vital ecosystem services, sustaining supply of goods (e.g. wood, water, food, shelter, medicine). This is supposed to be achieved through i) enhancing private investments, viability and economic contributions of forest-based industry, ii) ensuring productive participation of various stakeholders and equitable sharing of benefits, and iii) institutional streamlining and capacitation.
For the implementation of INREMP, four priority river basins were selected:
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- Chico River Basin in the Cordillera Administrative Region
- Wahig-Inabanga River Basin in Region 7
- Upper Bukidnon River Basin in Region 10
- Lake Lanao River Basin in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
Currently being implemented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), INREMP aims to address unstainable watershed management in these four priority river basins by reducing and reversing the degradation of watersheds and associated environmental impacts caused by deforestation and unstainable farming practices. It seeks to provide incentives to communities, local government units, and the DENR to improve natural resource management and to generate economic benefits through a) payments for environmental services (PES) including water regulation, soil conservation, carbon offsets, and biodiversity; b) income generation from sustainable use, management, and processing of timber and non-timber forest products; c) improved resource productivity; and d) improved climate resilience in the selected watersheds.
A key component of INREMP is the establishment of agroforestry farms to showcase economically viable, socially acceptable, and environmentally sound production systems. World Agroforestry (ICRAF) is well positioned to partner with INREMP in the establishment and management of these demonstration sites. It has been actively involved in watershed rehabilitation and development in the Philippines since 1993. Moreover, the lessons gained by ICRAF on its long experience in implementing PES-related projects could be used in developing financing mechanisms to ensure sustainability of agroforestry adoption and natural resource conservation in the river basins.
Staff
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