This project aims to improve the condition of watersheds and the livelihoods of poor rural people in four priority river basins, selected on the basis of their biophysical condition, socioeconomic and conservation values and state of degradation.
The project is targeting 23 watersheds in nine provinces, comprising over 1.13 million hectares with an estimated population of around 2.7 million. In the selected watersheds, it will reduce degradation caused by deforestation and unsustainable farming practices, while generating tangible economic benefits.
Mechanisms to achieve these objectives include:
- Payments for water regulation, soil conservation, carbon offsets and biodiversity
- Income-generation from sustainable use and management, and value-added processing, of forest products
- Improved natural resource productivity and climate resilience.
The project will benefit approximately 220,000 people – the majority from vulnerable and marginalized sectors – with a particular focus on indigenous peoples and resource-poor communities.
Source: IFAD
The Integrated Natural Resources and Environmental Management (INREM)1 Project will address unsustainable watershed management in four priority river basins: (i) the Chico River Basin in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Northern Luzon; (ii) the Wahig–Inabanga River Basin on the island of Bohol in Region 7; (iii) the Lake Lanao Basin in the province of Lanao del Sur in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM); and (iv) the Upper Bukidnon River Basin in Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental provinces in Northern Mindanao (Region 10). With particular focus on indigenous peoples (IPs) and resource-poor communities, the project will reduce and reverse degradation of watersheds and associated environmental services caused by forest denudation and unsustainable farming practices.
It will also provide incentives to local communities, local government units (LGUs), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for improving natural resource management by generating sufficient and tangible economic benefits. Mechanisms to achieve these project objectives include (i) payments for environmental services (PES) including water regulation, soil conservation, carbon offsets, and biodiversity; (ii) income generation from sustainable use and management and value-added processing of timber and non-timber forest products; (iii) improved natural resource productivity; and (iv) improved climate resilience in project watersheds.
The Project impact will be improved condition of watersheds generating livelihood benefits in the four Upper River Basins (URBs). The project outcome will be increased rural household incomes and LGU revenues in selected watersheds in the four URBs.
The Project has four (4) components which correspond to outputs consolidated based on extensive consultations with stakeholders and beneficiaries. The components are the following:
Component 1: River basin and watershed management and investment planning. Indicative development plans (IDPs) will be developed for the four URBs to be adopted by regional development councils and/or provincial legislative councils. IDPs will be based on land capability assessments and participatory land use classification to identify appropriate management zones,and will be drawn up by the regional and provincial offices of the DENR in coordination with national agencies and LGUs.2 Watershed management plans (WMPs) will be prepared for the selected watersheds based on the IDPs. The WMPs will define and prioritize subprojects and establish a work program for implementation by LGU clusters and municipal development councils. TheWMPs will take account of existing tenurial arrangements and treat ancestral domains as management subunits.3 A geographical information system (GIS) based database for performance monitoring will be established.
1 ADB. 2009. Technical Assistance to the Republic of the Philippines for the Integrated Natural Resources and Environmental Management Project. Manila. (TA 7109-PHI).
2 Integrated ecosystem management will be made operational within the priority watershed by assimilating science-based land management regimes with local indigenous knowledge and practices.
3 As defined in the Indigenous Peoples Right Act, 1997.
Component 2: Smallholder and institutional investments in forest protection and conservation, reforestation, rehabilitation and improvement of rural infrastructure. Subproject investments will be undertaken within the 23 project watersheds based on outputs from river basin-wide planning (output 1). Interventions for watershed restoration and rehabilitation covering more than 325,590 ha will be implemented by the DENR to include community-based protection, reforestation and/or assisted natural regeneration, production forestry including demonstrations on agroforestry and commercial plantations, and conservation farming. Livelihood improvement investments to be undertaken by municipal LGUs include (i) 645 kilometers of rural access roads and foot trails; (ii) communal irrigation systems servicing 3,040 ha; (iii) 275 units of potable community water facilities; (iv) a provincial trading and processing center supporting farming communities; and (v) seed funds for replication and/or expansion of tested and mature farming technologies.
Component 3: Strengthening of river basin and watershed management capacity and related governance mechanisms. The project will (i) assist LGUs to establish operational clusters at watershed and river basin levels; (ii) train LGUs and local community organizations on land resource assessments, land use planning, and watershed management and monitoring; (iii) provide support for technical extension-information, education and communication (TE-IEC); (iv) capacitate LGUs in carbon stock enhancement and land management practices to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and land-based pollution, and (v) support the establishment of community watershed protection brigades.
Component 4: Project management and support services. The project will support the establishment of a national project coordination office (NPCO), regional project coordinating offices (RPCO), provincial project management offices (PPMO) and watershed management and project coordination offices (WMPCO) at the DENR. The NPCO will (i) coordinate consultant recruitment and supervision; (ii) conduct procurement of materials, equipment, and vehicles during project implementation; (iii) operationalize the project monitoring and evaluation system; (iv) mobilize resources for capacity building of DENR’s regional and provincial units and the LGUs; (v) consolidate the annual program and budgets received from provincial and regional levels; and (vi) conduct gender and safeguard monitoring and reporting.
The project will be financed from proceeds of loans from ADB and IFAD, grants from Climate Change Fund (CCF) and Global Environmental Facility (GEF), and financial contributions from national and local governments. The beneficiaries as well as the government, national and local, will provide in-kind contributions in the form of labor, use of office space/facilities, time of personnel and staff assigned to the project and participation of the officers and technical staff in the implementation and management of Project.
Procurement of consulting services will be separate for each fund source. However, the Consultants, whether hired individually or through a firm from whichever fund, shall coordinate with the each other and with NPCO and its Field Offices as prescribed in the Project’s implementation arrangements for synchronized and cohesive efforts in performing the specified tasks in their respective Terms of Reference and as described in pertinent Project documents, including the Project Administration Manual (PAM).
