First of Two Parts
The government is pushing for integrated river management and development of the country’s major rivers to protect the country’s freshwater resources, and develop the country’s economic potential vis-à-vis the challenge posed by human pressure and changing climate.
In 2012 the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through the River Basin Control Office (RBCO), developed master plans for each of the 18 major river basins in the country, including the Abra River Basin.
The lead government agency for the integrated planning, management, rehabilitation and development of the country’s river basin, RBCO commissioned Berkman International Inc. to conduct a comprehensive study and craft the Integrated River Basin Management and Development Master Plan for the Abra River Basin.
Berkman completed the master plan for the Abra River Basin in 2014, highlighting the importance of implementing an integrated river-management plan to ensure sustainable development within the river basin. It took into account the existing conditions, various land and water uses, and potential impacts of present and future human activities and impacts of climate change.
Food, water source
Encompassing a total area of 4,923 square kilometers, covering the provinces of Benguet, Abra, Ilocos Sur and Mountain Province, the Abra River Basin is one of the country’s major sources of food and water in Luzon.
According to RBCO, the Abra Watershed provides a life-support system within the river-basin region’s 519 barangays in 52 provinces. Around 78.41 percent of land within the river-basin is classified as forest land, while the remaining 21.59 percent are alienable and disposable land.
The country’s sixth-largest river in terms of watershed size, the Abra River has a length of 178 km from its source in the vicinity of Mount Data in Benguet province.
Around 20,320 hectares of land within the Abra River Basin are rice paddies, while another 5,119 hectares are dedicated for corn production.
A vast tract of land covering a total of 1,981 hectares are planted to vegetable during the wet season and 847 hectares are dedicated to root crops.
Diversified ecosystem
The Abra River Basin is home to a diverse species of fish and other fish species, and is key to the survival of a diverse plant and animal wildlife that thrive within the forests.
Some of the animal species that thrive within the river basin are carpa, milkfish, crabs, damselflies, diving beetle, dragonflies, eel, fish-flies, frogs, goby, leech, may-flies, shrimp, stone-flies, tilapia, turtle and water scavenger.
Species of trees that thrive in the area include abutra, agakong, agoho, bagras, bangkal, bayog, bignai, gmelina, yename, isis and pitogo.
Within the river basin are the four protected areas of Mount Data National Park, Tirad Pass National Park, Bessang Pass Natural Monument and the Northern Luzon Heroes Hill National Park.
These protected areas are vastly unexplored.
Experts have recently come up with a report about unique species of rodents—cloud rats—that are endemic to particular rats atop the mountain, despite the decades of abuse in the area.
Environmental degradation
According to RCBO, the Abra River Basin is “a biodiversified ecosystem with water quality once capable of supporting diverse aquatic species, which served as life sources for communities along the river’s routes”.
Mining, human pressure brought about by population growth, urbanization and technology advancement contributed to the pollution of the river, “upsetting the ecological balance within the river system and its surroundings”.
It added that the deforestation of the pine forests upland—owing to slash-and-burn farming method or cultivation system, logging of timber for fuel, housing, furniture-making and tunnel shoring in mining areas—had caused soil erosion and river siltation.
In addition, chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers used by farmers might have aggravated the poisoning of the river.
A study said, “The array of human activities overloaded the amount of materials and changed the nature of contaminants entering into the river, thus impairing its natural mechanism for self-purification.”
“The assimilating and sustaining capacity of the river today shows signs of stressful conditions,” it said.
Biodiversity conservation
Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim of the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and natural Resources (DENR) said it is important to protect the Abra River Basin.
“If you protect the river basin itself as a source of water and food, you are protecting the ecosystem that is important to the survival of the species in those parks,” Lim said.
She said any development plan in the area should integrate and take into consideration the protected areas.
Lim noted the Mount Data National Park is home to unique species of cloud rats, which is on Mount Data. On the other hand, the Tirad Pass National Park, she said, is known as staging and nesting ground of assorted bird species, including migratory birds. Protecting these areas, Lim said, will help stop biodiversity loss of tree and plant species, as well.
Water uses
Citing records from the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), agriculture is the most dominant water-related sector in Abra province.
Out of 130 NWRB-registered water users, only seven are for domestic, one for industrial and one for power. The total potential irrigable area in Abra is 25,665 hectares, or only about 6 percent of its 397,555 hectares of land area. According to the NWRB, as of the end of 2012, approximately 16,297 hectares, or 63 percent, of the potential irrigable area have already been developed for irrigation. In total, 343 are registered water users in the basin, with 129 located in Abra province and 84, 86 and 44 in Benguet, Mountain province and Ilocos Sur, respectively.
Of the 343 water users, 47, or 14 percent, are intended for domestic supply, 3 percent for power and 3 percent for industrial purposes.
Eighty percent of water use is intended for irrigation. Most of the power users are in the upper watershed areas in the provinces of Benguet and Mountain provinces, while Ilocos Sur has the most number of users for domestic purposes.
Renewable energy
THE Abra River is a potential source of renewable energy, as well. Citing previous studies conducted by National Power Corp. (NPC), National Electrification Administration (NEA) and other agencies, the Master Plan for Abra River Basin said approximately 220 hydropower potential sites are in Luzon, and 17 of these sites are in Abra.
The total power potential of Abra province is estimated to be 465 megawatts.
NPC and NEA studies on the potential of a hydropower project for Abra River indicate a comparable assessment of the alternative schemes that are prioritized according to an economic indicator, in most cases the benefit and their corresponding generation cost.
For large hydropower project, the site is in the Binongan River, a river named after a barangay in the municipality of Tineg, Abra province, Barangay Supo in the municipality of Luba and in the municipality of Bakun in the Benguet province.
Threatened water resources
According to the master plan, the coastal resources in the Abra River Basin are limited to those found in the coastlines of Caoayan, Santa and Vigan City of Ilocos Sur.
Inland aquatic resources, on the other hand, are those found along the Tineg River and Abra River.
The sustainable use of inland and coastal resources in the Abra River Basin is severely affected by pollution caused by mine tailings, indiscriminate dumping of household waste in the river or its banks, overfishing and use of small-sized nets.
As coastal areas are also tapped as tourism and possible industrial areas, the planners of the master plan for the river basin warned against more intensive development that will ultimately destroy the marine habitat and productivity at coastal areas, “if proper protection measures and coastal management” are not observed in the affected areas. The planners also said brackish and freshwater wetlands scattered around the province must be preserved to maintain a well-balanced productive aquamarine ecology.
However, due to urbanization and intensified industrialization, these areas are converted to other land uses and are being polluted from natural and man-made sources.
It was observed that fishing activities along the rivers are constrained by pollution owing to mine tailings, and industrial and tourism development in some portion of protected areas.
Like in other areas, the cropping activities and settlements along buffer zones are blamed for the pollution in the rivers, apparently, because of laxity in implementing environmental laws and regulations, ignorance and poverty, and absence of land-use plans of local government units. To be concluded
Image credits: Mau Victa