Developing Partnership for Sustainable Watershed Management: Case of MT' ISAROG Watershed

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Developing Partnership for Sustainable Watershed
Management Case of MT. ISAROG Watershed

• Cely S. Binoya, Ph.D. CSSAC
• Vic Aniceto Rubio - MNWD

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Topics

• Introduction
• Brief description of Mt. Isarog as Watershed
• Partnership development for SWM
• Accomplishments
• Benefits of partnership
• Sustainability mechanism
• Learning points

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Introduction

• Why sustainable watershed management for Mt.
  Isarog?
• there were 81 park occupants undertaking
  intensive agricultural cultivation in the area
• 47 are actually living in the park
• Threatens biodiversity and water safety

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Program Vision

• Sustainable Watershed Management through
  Partnership and People Empowerment.

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Program Goals

• Protect Mt. Isarog Natural Park
• Generate safe and sufficient water for the
  constituents
• Holistic program implementation following the
  Integrated Area Management Approach
• Develop strong complementation, supplementation
  and coordination among partner institutions

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Objective of Watershed Management (Florece, 2002)

• Promote use of natural resources within the
  watershed for economically productive purposes
  thru
• Improved rainwater management
• Improved standard of living
• Improved maintenance, enhancement and protection
  of the areas
• Improved care and management of natural resources
  within the watershed

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Guiding Principles in Watershed Management
(Florece, 2002)

• Holistic, integrated and multiple use
  management
• Multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary planning
• Adoption of sustainability criteria
• Participatory and equitable participation
• Efficiency in resource allocation

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Brief Description of Mt. Isarog as Watershed

• Proclaimed National Park in 1938
• It has an area of 10,112.35 has, height - 1,966 m
  above sea level, has many rivers, waterfalls, and
  endemic flora and fauna
• Main source of potable water for Naga City and 11
  other municipalities surrounding Mt. Isarog.

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Partnership Development

• Why partnership development?
• The realization that no single institution can
  ably respond to the challenge of managing a
  watershed in a sustainable manner.
• The need for a multi-disciplinary but holistic
  approach to watershed management.
• Sharing and supplementation of resources
• Complementation of activities

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Processes for Partnership Development

• Stewardship agreement between DENR and MNWD for
  317 has in the Anayan and Rumangrap Springs
  watershed area (1993), with a combined output of
  225 lps.
• Tripartite agreement among MNWD, Rotary Club of
  Naga City and Plan Intl. Bicol (1993) for SWM
  Program.

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Partnership Development Process

• Involving CSSAC, through its Development
  Foundation Inc. (CSSAC-DFI) in benchmarking study
  and institutional development. The college served
  as the coordinating office of the program
  (1994-1997)
• The partners came up with an Integrated Area
  Development Plan (IADP)

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7 Components of the IADP

• Institution building and community organizing
• Relocation of park settlers
• Community development and strengthening thru
  cooperativism
• Alternative livelihood development
• Forest and watershed protection and management,
  including nursery establishment
• Research and development
• Community service

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Accomplishments

• On Institution Building and Community Development
  (task of CSSAC, NGO, MNWD)
• Conducted series of meetings, consultations, and
  conscientization among park settlers to make them
  realize the problem
• Action planning
• Community organizing and institution building
  formation of the Rotary Village Corps

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Trainings on Institution Building

• Values formation
• Working with others
• Team building
• Leadership
• Community management
• Project management
• Farm project planning, monitoring and evaluation

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Relocation of Park Settlers

• Objectives to uproot them and to stop
  agricultural activities in the park
• Partners bought 1.2 has as relocation area and
  prepared land use plan
• Provided housing units (34)
• Other facilities chapel, day care center (and
  teacher), multi-purpose building, staff house,
  sports area communal garden
• Provided water and electrical facilities

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Community Development and Strengthening thru
Cooperativism

• Organized into cooperative in 1997
• Registered with the CDA as Rotary Village Corps
  Forest Development Cooperative
• Initial CBU was Php 13,000.00 used for economic
  activities
• Provided training and other services by CDA and
  MCDC

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Alternative Livelihood Development

• The coop was provided with food processing
  equipment by PIB and RCN for their agricultural
  crops
• There is continuing agricultural production and
  processing activities
• Livelihood projects bio-intensive gardens, swine
  and poultry, buy and sell of agri-products
• Livelihood trainings provided by CSSAC and DA

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Continuing Education

• MOA for continuing education program entered into
  by CSSAC Ext. Division, MNWD, RCN and RVCFDC
• The project is under the Cooperative Assistance
  Program of CSSAC
• Free trainings on various sustainable
  agricultural technologies provided on site
• Scholarship to the CSSAC DSVT program
• Continuing values development for effective
  watershed management

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Partners in Continuing Education Activities

• CSSAC
• DA-LGU, DA- Region
• CARE Philippines
• Plan Intl. Bicol
• MNWD
• DENR

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Forest and Watershed Protection and Management

• Nursery establishment as source of planting
  materials
• Reforestation / tree planting
• Established and developed the catchment area
• Converted the site to an Ecological Park
• Training for Bantay Bundok / Forest Guards by the
  DENR

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Research and Development

• CSSAC conducted research in the area on
  Community Response to Development Interventions
  Case of RVCFDC as a learning activity in Rural
  Sociology
• Training Needs Assessment
• Community Profiling of the RVC as a prelude to
  student internship
• Techno-demo cum research

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Community Service

• The RVCFDC is a favorite venue of service
  oriented institutions in Naga City and Camarines
  Sur on the ff. activities
• Gift giving (Ateneo and USI)
• Installation of Solar Home Lighting System (RC of
  Isarog - CSSAC)
• Sports and Medical Mission (RCN, PIB, and MNWD)

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Benefits of Partnership

• For the Partners Complementation of activities,
  resource sharing
• For CSSAC RVCFDC served as internship site and
  social laboratory of Rural Sociology, Community
  Organizing and Cooperative Management courses
• For the Community Continuing education
  activities, more economic activities and better
  farm productivity

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Sustainability Mechanism

• Formation of the Multi-Agency Watershed
  Management Committee composed of the ff.
  institutions
• DENR
• MNWD
• Plan Intl. Bicol
• CSSAC
• LGU
• CARE Philippines and others, as needed

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Learning Points

• On Partnership Development
• For the academe, establish track
• record on RDE
• With Academic Program offering as
• anchorage of RDE projects in
• Watershed Areas
• With an organized Development
• Foundation for budget infusion
• from external sources

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Learning Points

• On Partnership Development
• Academe must have institutionalized Extension
  Program for community / cooperative assistance
• Establish strong coordination among partner
  institutions
• No competition among the partner institutions.

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Learning Points

• On Program Implementation
• Constant dialogue between and among coop members
  and partners
• Continuing assessment of needs for relevance and
  responsiveness
• An IADP was very useful in pursuing development
  interventions in an area

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Learning Points

• RDE should be conducted regularly by partner
  academe to assess quality of development,
  identify emerging needs and problems for
  relevance and responsiveness
• Watershed management and forest protection should
  be made integral part of PAM program.

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Thank You for Listening!!!