Executive Summary

Submitted by
College of Forestry and Natural Resources
University of the Philippines Los Baños

Funded by
River Basin Control Office
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Rationale....................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Objectives of the Study ........................................................................................................... 1
3 Scope .............................................................................................................................................. 1
4 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 2
5 Assessment Reports................................................................................................................. 3
5.1 Buayan-Malungon River Basin ................................................................................... 3
5.2 Climate .................................................................................................................................. 3
5.2.1 Normal .......................................................................................................................... 3
5.2.2 Projected...................................................................................................................... 3
5.3 Biophysical Profile ........................................................................................................... 4
5.4 Existing Infrastructures ................................................................................................. 5
5.4.1 Irrigation Development ......................................................................................... 6
5.4.2 Power Generation .................................................................................................... 6
5.5 Basin Simulation ............................................................................................................... 6
5.6 Socioeconomic ................................................................................................................... 6
5.7 Policy Assessment ............................................................................................................ 7
5.8 Institutional Setting ......................................................................................................... 8
5.9 Vulnerability Assessment ............................................................................................. 9
5.9.1 Flood Vulnerability.................................................................................................. 9
5.9.2 Earthquake Vulnerability ..................................................................................... 9
5.9.3 Landslide Vulnerability ......................................................................................... 9
5.9.4 Water Supply .......................................................................................................... 10
5.9.5 Stakeholder Participatory Risk and Vulnerability Assessment ......... 10
6 Management and Development Plan ............................................................................. 12
6.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 12
6.2 Vision, Goal, and Development Objectives .......................................................... 12
6.2.1 Vision ......................................................................................................................... 12
6.2.2 Goal ............................................................................................................................. 13
6.2.3 Thematic Goals....................................................................................................... 13
6.3 Integrated River Basin Management and Development ............................... 14
6.4 Thematic Challenges .................................................................................................... 15
6.5 Implementation Plan ................................................................................................... 15
6.6 Investment Plan ............................................................................................................. 19
7 References ................................................................................................................................ 22

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1 Rationale
In compliance with Executive Order 510, the River Basin Control Office (RBCO) of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) crafted an Integrated River
Basin Management and Development Master Plan for the 18 major river basins. With
this, most of the river basin master plans had been formulated and approved by the late
2000’s. With the passage of the Climate Change Act of 2009 and the Disaster Risk
Reduction Law of 2010, the significance of integrating potential climate impacts in
development planning had become recognized. Furthermore, the Cabinet Cluster on
Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation had also adopted the river basins as priority
areas of the government.

The Buayan-Malungon River Basin is one of the 18 major river basins. However, its
master plan predated the passage of the Climate Change Act and the Disaster Risk
Reduction Law. Thus, there is a need to review and update the master plans not only to
make it more relevant to the present conditions of the river basin, but also to
incorporate and adopt climate change adaptation and mitigation, and disaster risk
reduction and management into the planning framework in order to address the
evolving needs and challenges in the river basin.

2 Objectives of the Study

The objective of this project is to update the Integrated River Basin Master Plan for the
Buayan-Malungon River Basin and to incorporate the implications of the new climate
normals in addressing the concerns of the river basin on:
1. Water resources management;
2. Watershed management;
3. Disaster risk reduction and management;
4. Wetland management;
5. Economic development; and
6. Institutional linkages and organizational structure for river basin management.

3 Scope
The project updated update the Integrated Management and Development Master Plan
of the Buayan-Malungon River Basin, taking into consideration potential climate change
impacts to provide a sound basis for management decisions in the sustainable
management of the resources therein. The project consisted of two phases, the scope of
which includes:
1. Updating of river basin profile;
2. Revision of vision, missions, and goals;
3. Identification of strategies, programs and projects;
4. Evaluation of strategies, programs and projects; and
5. Investment and implementation planning.

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4 Methodology
The project adopted the following approaches, and methods to accomplish the
objectives and expected outputs of the project stated in the Terms of Reference. The
following tasks, presented in Figure 1, were undertaken.

KEY OUTPUT
PROVINCE
Comprehensive report
on climate
vulnerability
assessment conducted
in the river basin

 Comprehensive
report on the
findings from the
studies conducted
during the Phase I of
the project

 Revised Integrated
 River Basin
Management and
Development
P Strategy
R
O  Proceedings of the
VI  consultations and
discussions with
N concerned
C government
E agencies


 Province
Integrated River
PROVINCE Basin Management
and Development
Master Plan

Volume I
Executive Summary
Volume II
Main Report
Volume III
Formulation Process
Volume IV
Map Atlas and
Database

Figure 1. Framework for Developing a Climate-responsive Integrated Master Plan

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5 Assessment Reports
This report is organized to have the following chapters related to Assessment. This
report focuses on background information as to the Project Area, objectives of the
Project, the methodology adopted, analysis done and strategies proposed. In
conjunction with the objectives and scope of the project, collection primarily of
secondary data covering biophysical, socioeconomic, institutional and policy as well as
acquisition of GIS data and imageries on watershed boundaries, land use (forest,
agricultural lands and built up areas) was done. Moreover, the chapter presents a quick
guide as to the different components of the project which are categorized into 1) Water
Resources, 2) Watershed, 3) Wetlands, 4) Economic as affected by extreme climate
events.

5.1 Buayan-Malungon River Basin

The Buayan-Malungon River Basin is considered as an allied sub-basin of Mindanao

river basin. It has an area of approximately 150,509.79 ha. It is located in Southern and
Central Regions of Mindanao. In the east, it is bounded by Mt. Matutum in Malungon, and
drains to its outlet, the Sarangani Bay. Buayan and Malungon rivers are its main
tributaries. Buayan River, which originates from Mt. Matutum at the western side, is the
river basin’s main water body. Several rivers particularly within General Santos City,
South Cotabato, and Alabel, Sarangani also serve and tributaries to be delivered to
Sarangani Bay (DENR Region XII 2007).

5.2 Climate
5.2.1 Normal

Buayan-Malungon River Basin is represented by one rainfall station, General Santos

synoptic rainfall station. As observed in the General Santos rainfall station, the amount
of rainfall (mm) usually reached its peak in the month of June (118.1 mm) and, it was
lowest during March (51.4 mm). Annually, it averaged to 79.98 mm.

In terms of temperature, the month of April has the highest recorded maximum
temperature with 34.4°C, while the month of July is the lowest with 31.7°C. The highest
recorded minimum temperature was the month of May with 23.4°C, while the lowest
was 22.5°C during January. The annual average maximum temperature recorded in the
station was 32.9°C, alternatively, the annual average minimum temperature was
22.82°C.

5.2.2 Projected

Based on the Koppën classification, the Buayan-Malungon River Basin falls under
climatic type Af, which means that it generally has a tropical wet climate with an
average of 51.4 mm rainfall during its driest month. Under the Coronas classification,
the Buayan-Malungon River Basin belongs to the fourth type with evenly distributed
rainfall throughout the year. Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the projected rainfall and
temperature, respectively.

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120

100

80 2020

60 2050

40

20

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Figure 2. Rainfall Projection (Source: PAGASA)

37

36

35

34
2020
33 2050
32

31

30
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Figure 3. Temperature Projection (Source: PAGASA)

5.3 Biophysical Profile

This chapter focuses on the watershed and water resources aspect of the basin such as
geomorphology, geology, drainage density, water inflows and outflows and potential
water availability in the future, especially under climate change scenarios. The
watershed has an axial length of 213.7 km. It is composed of seven (7) subwatersheds as
written in Table 1.

Table 1. Subwatershed areas in Buayan-Malungon River Basin

Subwatershed Area (ha)
Buayan_01 33,221.31
Buayan_02 7,035.71
Buayan_03 12,554.33
Buayan_04 29,667.63
Buayan_05 21,389.06
Buayan_06 26711.18
Buayan_07 19,933.04
Grand Total 150,512.26

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The most prominent soil type within the river basin is the Madunga clay soil. According
to the results, most of the areas within the river basin are a forest reserve. There are two
(2) Protected Areas that can be found within the river basin—Mt. Matutum Protected
Landscape, and Mt. Latian Complex. Moreover, the river basin drains into one outlet, a
protected seascape—Sarangani bay.

The Buayan River has an average annual flow of 4.97 cubic meters per second (CMS).
The figure below (Figure 4) is the summary of basin wide water balance of the Buayan
River.

Figure 4. Basin wide Water Balance of the Buayan River

5.4 Existing Infrastructures

As of 2015, residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, and agricultural buildings

per river basin were constructed. There were 81,759 residential 14,979 commercial,
3,199 industrial, 28,851 institutional and 14,182 agricultural building constructions
within the river basin provinces. There are 324 elementary schools, 89 secondary
schools, 173-private Higher Education Institutions (HEI), and 33 public HEI in the river
basin municipalities. Within the river basin provinces, there are 653 Barangay Health
Stations. There are also communication towers, energy power plants, financial
institutions, waste disposal facilities, and dams (proposed) that are present in the
watershed. At National level, Davao del sur, Sarangani, and South Cotabato has an
existing road network of 729.03 km. There are 83 concrete bridges, 2 permanent steel
bridges, and 2 bailey bridges that are located within the river basin provinces.

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5.4.1 Irrigation Development

Agriculture is the main livelihood activity within the Buayan-Malungon River Basin.
Overall, there are 5,675.79 ha irrigated areas in the municipalities of the river basin, and
there are 137,882.44 ha non-irrigated areas. In the subwatersheds of the river basin,
there are 5,339.79 ha irrigated areas, whereas 145,170.00 ha non-irrigated areas.

5.4.2 Power Generation

Most of the development today cements our dependence to energy. For that matter,
energy infrastructure is of great importance. Table 2 shows the capacity mix on the
Power Plants within the island of Mindanao.

Table 2. Capacity Mix on the Power Plants within the island of Mindanao
Capacity (MW) Percent Share (%)
Fuel Type
Installed Dependable Installed Dependable
Coal 382 359 15.8 17.6
Oil based 807 724 33.4 35.4
Diesel 807 724 33.4 35.4
Natural Gas 0 0 0 0
Geothermal 108 98 4.5 4.8
Hydro 1,061 837 43.9 41
Wind 0 0 0 0
Biomass 36 10 1.5 0.5
Solar 20 15.3 0.8 0.7
Grand Total 2,414 2,043 100 100
Source: DOE 2015

5.5 Basin Simulation

Mindanao, where the Buayan-Malungon river basin is located, is not frequented by

strong storms, but in recent years, it has been hit by series of strong storms and
typhoons, which include Sendong, Pablo, Yolanda, etc. There seems to be storm pattern
changes in the regions, which could be linked to climate change. As such, basin
simulation is necessary to evaluate future scenarios related to climate change and its
impact on the hydrology in the basin. In this project, the HEC-GeoRAS and HEC-RAS
models are used to simulate basin hydrologic processes such geometric data, steady
flow data, and flooding. The results show that low-lying areas within the Provinces of
Sarangani and South Cotabato are at risk to flooding.

5.6 Socioeconomic

The main socioeconomic challenge experienced by the communities in the river basin is
poverty. All provinces covered by the river basin boundary have an increased poverty
rate from2008-2015.

There are 335,600 people living within the municipalities of the river basin. The rate of
growth of the population in the river basin is 2.63. Overall, the age-sex population
pyramids in river basin provinces are expansive, which is expected in a third world

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country. The pyramids show large number of younger population and the tapering
number of working classes to elderlies (15-84 and over) as age group increases.

Of all the municipalities within the river basin provinces, General Santos city has the
largest number of household (125,368), while the Municipality of Tampakan has the
smallest number of household (8,243). There is an overall household population of
260,812 within Buayan-Malungon River Basin. The settlement pattern is the
distribution of the in the areas, this is often affected by the surrounding environmental
landscape. Population in rural areas (1,280,504) is larger than that of urban areas
(914,290). The Annual Population growth rate for the river basin is 2.63%.

Increases in population mean increasing requirements for food and water which
residents’ source mostly from the watershed. Hence, the resources from the watershed
would expectedly become scarcer due to increasing demand and competing uses,
aggravated by drought, and the deteriorating quality of the water and resources. Decline
in water supply would have immediate effect on the power supply as well as water
safety. More likely, conflicts would occur between or among users of water, i.e. irrigation
water, water districts vs. water for energy, among others.

This socio-economic condition in the River Basin has been exacerbated by land
conversion, encroachment to the uplands, and settlements clustering around or along
hazard prone areas. Marginalization of these communities would be worsened by the
direct and indirect effects of climate change impinging on the degraded water resources
in the Basin. With this socio-economic condition of the communities in the River Basin
coupled with the effects of climate change on the already degraded watershed
resources, it can be gleaned that the communities in the River Basin are facing a
relatively bleak future unless immediate or short term interventions for sustainable
development and management of the basin are adopted.

Therefore, it is now very significant for the stakeholders to work together and prepare a
master plan, which would address common problems for a unified long-term goal that is
to effectively, and efficiently manage and sustain the river basin, including the resources
therein.

5.7 Policy Assessment

Many policies encompass the management of the river basin, including the Sustainable
Development Goal (2015-2030), Philippine Development Plan (2011-2016), Mindanao
Strategic Development Framework (2010-2020), Sustainable National Action Plan
(2009-2019), National Climate Change Action Plan (2011-2028), Philippine Strategy for
Sustainable Development (1999), etc. These policies have a single goal—to improve the
quality of life through poverty alleviation, sustainable development, capacity building,
disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation.

These frameworks basically evolved from the Water and environment summits and
principles such as the Dublin Principle for water scarcity, Earth Summit in 1992, Agenda
21 and the adoption of IWRM by GWP whose main objective is to promote sustainable
development of water resources at all levels and sectors. It further expanded to the
Integrated River Basin development and Management (IRBDM), which is the focus of
this project.

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5.8 Institutional Setting

Various key government agencies from national and subnational levels play important
roles in river basin management and development. The institutional arrangements of
these agencies possess differing relationship in terms of mandates and functions.
Nevertheless, they have pertinent roles to carry out under the components of river basin
management and development framework, namely; water resource management,
watershed management, wetland management, flood management and institutional
development.

To implement these management strategies and as a solution to further eliminate the

issue of fragmentation, lack of coordination, inefficiency, overlaps, there must be a
coordinating mechanism that would harmonize the initiatives in the river basin. Also,
there should be a coordinating body to facilitate delivery of goods and services by the
stakeholders as well as provide mechanisms for conflict resolution among stakeholders.

In the particular case of Buayan-Malungon river basin, jurisdictional matters must be

addressed for a more lucid institutional arrangement. Setting straight the ambiguity or
confusion with the policies is a necessary step towards policy coherence, inevitably
therefore, resulting in a consistent legal basis for the River Basin Office. In addition,
pending bills and other earlier recommendations for institutional strategies must be
taken into account to comprehend the ideal arrangement for the River Basin.

The lessons learned from Philippine experiences and the assessments from the
comparison of cases of river basin management accent the indispensable characteristics
of a river basin organization that we must refer and tailor fit to the context of the river
basin in focus. The three main points in river basin governance: a) organizational
structure of RBOs, b) decentralization, relation of government units and ownership, and
c) financing of RBOs, must be regarded as requirements in constructing the RBO for
Buayan-Malungon River Basin.

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5.9 Vulnerability Assessment

5.9.1 Flood Vulnerability

Flooding is regarded as one of the deadliest disasters in the world, so it is very necessary
to develop plans to prevent and mitigate it. For the case of Buayan-Malungon River
Basin, it was observed that no significant flooding will occur in the river basin for all
scenarios and even with the 50-yr event. This may be due to the small flow rates
associated in each subbasin and the populated areas are not covered in the river basin
but are located near the drainage point which is Sarangani Bay. In addition, the same
flooding conditions were observed using the three scenarios. The lakes and marshes in
the river basins were treated as part of the river for those connected to river streams
and not modeled as storage areas. However, in steady flow analysis, it is not required
that the storage areas are connected in the river system in the hydraulic model using
weirs, spillways or culverts.

5.9.2 Earthquake Vulnerability

Based from the conducted DSHA in Buayan-Malungon River Basin, the basin was
affected by Davao River Fault, MF: Daguma Extension, Mindanao Fault and Tangbulan
Fault. These were capable of producing a moment magnitude from a minimum of 6.8 to
a maximum if [Link] top part of the river basin is mostly affected by Mindanao Fault:
Daguma Extension, which is capable of producing a moment magnitude of 7.5.

5.9.3 Landslide Vulnerability

Rainfall-Induced Landslide

Buayan-Malungon River Basin: Headwater areas of the different tributaries in the basin
are most susceptible to experience landslides in this watershed, primarily due to the
steep slopes and their geologic composition. When the derived AHP weights are applied,
only the northern half of the basin registers a high susceptibility to mass wasting.
Application of the AHP values resulted in a significant reduction in high susceptibility
zones as compared to when all landslide factors are given only equal weights. This has
numerous implications as to watershed management, particularly in monitoring and
prioritizing areas for interventions.

Seismically-Induced Landslide

Landslides cause widespread damage to properties and even lives. It occurs the soil
weight has exceeded its allowable shear strength, which can be triggered by soil
saturation or ground shaking due to earthquake. Assessing the possible occurrence of a
landslide requires several factors, and in this study, shallow seismically-induced
landslide will be considered using the available soil properties and geology. It can be
seen from the map that the slopes are stable about sliding considering only the weight of
the sliding mass alone. The upper left and lower portion of the river basin is susceptible
to seismic-induced landslides. The slopes in the middle are relatively flat in some area
therefore the factor of safety and critical accelerations in those areas are very large.

In the river basin, the displacements are very small for the entire river basin (maximum
of 3.4 cm), which is less than 5 cm as the critical displacement (Jibson 1993). Therefore,
it is unlikely that the ground will crack under earthquakes. The results of this study can

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be further verified by providing geotechnical investigations reports or exploring other

methodologies.

5.9.4 Water Supply

The water supply projections for the Buayan-Malungon River Basin for 2020 and 2050
were generated from the water balance model of the river basin using Soil Water
Assessment Tool (SWAT). Streamflow data from the Buayan and Culaman Rivers and
rainfall projections, under medium range scenario (A1B) using PRECIS, were used in the
model. The surface water supply and groundwater supply projections were taken from
the water yield and aquifer recharge projections, respectively. Surface water supply is
expected to decrease from 226.01 mm/yr [338.47 MCM/yr (million cubic meter/year)]
in 2020 to 202.24 mm/yr (302.87 MCM/yr) in 2050. Groundwater recharge also is
expected to decrease from 20.81 mm/yr (31.16 MCM/yr) to 19.28 mm/yr (28.87
MCM/yr), which are just 2.22% of annual rainfall.

5.9.5 Stakeholder Participatory Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

This section discusses the results of the participatory risk assessment in the four FGD
sites representing the river basin gradients. It presents summarized outputs of the
stakeholder analysis and the risk management process (i.e., risk identification, risk
analysis, risk evaluation, and risk treatment steps) based on the Focus Group
Discussions.

An overall evaluation of risk events was performed in BMRB. The general risk estimates
for the whole river basin was arrived at by assigning a numerical value for the degree of
likelihood and consequences (i.e., very low = 1; low = 2; moderate = 3; high = 4; and very
high = 5). Using these values, the degree of likelihood and consequences for each risk
event was averaged from the three FGD sites. In addition, risk event that was relevant in
one site only was taken out from the list, e.g., strong winds. Results show that El
Niño/Drought and flood pose high highest risk in BMRB, followed by landslide, although
the latter also falls on high-risk event. These risks call for high priority control
measures. Table 3 shows that there is both high consequence and likelihood for El Niño
and Flood, while there is a moderate consequence and high likelihood for Landslide.

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Table 3. Summary Risk Evaluation Matrixes for Buayan-Malungon River Basin

Very
High
El
High Niño/Drought

Flood
Consequences

Moderate

Landslide
Low
Very
Low

Very Low Low Moderate High Very High

Likelihood
Legend:
Extreme Risk: Immediate controls required
High Risk: High priority control measures required
Moderate Risk: Some controls required to reduce risks to lower levels
Low Risk: Controls likely not required
Negligible Risk: Risk events do not require further consideration

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6 Management and Development Plan

6.1 Introduction

Human welfare and well-being is inextricably tied with the ability of ecosystem to
deliver its essential services. This report underscores that Buayan-Malungon River
Basin is faced with interconnected biophysical, socio-political, economic and
institutional problems. Such problems impair the delivery of key supporting (flood
mitigation and primary production), provisioning (water, fertile lands, timber, non-
timber products, biodiversity and hydro-energy), regulating (climate regulation, agro-
industrial waste filtering, water purification), and cultural (recreational, spiritual and
educational) services of the river basin.

Inadequate and inappropriate infrastructures to manage water and land resources,

water quality deterioration, wetland resource unsustainability, watershed degradation,
and unappreciated land rights were identified as the current concerns of the river basin.
Their impacts are overwhelming as seen in loss of livelihood and income opportunities,
damage of properties, conflicting resource use, over-extraction of resources,
unsustainable landuse conversion, erosion, and biodiversity loss, to name a few.
Furthermore, the advent of climate change amplifies the magnitude of environmental
degradation and vulnerabilities of poor and already marginalized sectors.

The present state of the river basin is brought about by several foundational problems
such as poor health services, tenure land issues, increasing population, weak regulatory
mechanisms, poor institutional capacities to implement policies and mandates, limited
inter-sectoral collaboration over river basin management, and various natural stressors
(e.g. climate-related disasters such as floods and landslides). Conflict of interests
persists due to lack of clear mechanisms to identify and harmonize roles, function,
responsibilities and rights of different managers of the river basin. These conflicts are
mainly expressed in terms of political boundary disputes among LGUs, overlapping
tenure instruments in forestlands, continuous agro-industrial expansion that displaces
small-holder farmers and settlements, and highly politicized landuse development to
favor agro-industrial, small-scale mining, quarrying and hydropower companies.

6.2 Vision, Goal, and Development Objectives

6.2.1 Vision

The vision statement for Buayan-Malungon River Basin was made in accordance to the
context of Integrated River Basin Management Strategy. The vision was formulated
during the inter-agency focus group discussion. The stakeholders conceded to the
following vision statement:

“A resilient Buayan-Malungon River Basin where people adhere to

responsible use of its natural resources, enjoying equitable socio-
economic growth, inclusive human development and sustainable ecology.”

The statement highlighted bringing peace and development in the river basin from ridge
to reef, recognizing the tasks of each stakeholder to protect and take care of the natural
resources. Moreover, it acknowledges and promotes collective economic growth and
human development without compromising the environment, thus, sustainable
development.

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6.2.2 Goal

In order to achieve the vision that was crafted, the development goal was made. This
was also prepared during the interagency focus group discussion. The stakeholders
agreed upon the following statement:

“Ensure a focused, comprehensive and integrated development and

management of the Buayan-Malungon River Basin that would prevent,
mitigate and protect its inhabitants and stakeholders from any calamities
and disaster risks, and facilitate the attainment of sustainable
development.”

The development goal stresses the relevance of Integrated River Basin Management.
The stakeholders highlighted the management that encompasses every stakeholder in
the area in order to ensure sustainable development.

6.2.3 Thematic Goals

Thematic goals were set for each of the themes for the river basin. The goals presented
below were followed and adopted from the existing Mindanao master plan by
Woodfields:

Table 4. Thematic Goals of Buayan-Malungon River Basin

Theme Goal
Water Resources Strengthen management and
development of water resources.
Watershed Management Sustainable management of
watershed, protection and restoration,
and rehabilitation.
Wetland Management Sustainable development of the
wetlands through policy and
management interventions.
Flood and Disaster Risk Management Strengthened flood and disaster risk
management through increased
cooperation and partnership with local
government units and other
stakeholders towards building safe
and resilient communities.
Socioeconomics Ensuring economic growth and
prosperity through the sustainable
use, development use, development,
and stewardship of all Basin
resource—land, air, water, forest, and
all its life forms.

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6.3 Integrated River Basin Management and Development

Formulated by RBCO in 2007, the Integrated River Basin Management and Development
(IRBMD) Framework is the basic system for all strategies in the Philippines for
sustainable river basin ecosystem management. Figure 5 shows the four principal
frameworks and development strategies: Integrated Water Resources Management,
Integrated Watershed Management, Wetland Management, and Flood Mitigation.

Figure . Relationships of Four Major Ecosystems

1. Integrated Water Resources Management – manages fresh water as an economic

and public good while recognizing its vulnerability and limited supply.
2. Integrated Watershed Management – organizes land, people, and other
resources in the watershed to provide goods and services without harming the
soil and water.
3. Wetland Management – manages areas that are submerged or soaked by enough
surface or groundwater to support ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs,
swamps, rice paddies, estuaries, lakes and reservoirs
4. Flood Mitigation – protects and enhances coping capacities of communities and
the environment against water-induced hazards

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6.4 Thematic Challenges

Integrating the present status and conditions of the River Basin, and incorporating the
projected climate changes, various issues and challenges were determined. In general,
major issues and concerns for all the thematic areas of the river basin are listed as
follows:

a. Water shortage,
b. Water quality degradation,
c. Watershed degradation,
d. Reduced wetland productivity,
e. Drought,
f. Flood,
g. Landslide,
h. Poverty, and
i. Inadequate institutional mechanisms to promote integrated and coordinated
basin-wide inclusive environmental and socioeconomic development

6.5 Implementation Plan

The implementation plan recommends relevant programs and projects for the Buayan-
Malungon River Basin. These are crafted based on the issues and problems that are
currently faced by the river basin. In addition, the suggested programs and projects aim
to make the river basin climate-resilient. Five thematic areas are taken into
consideration, the water resources management, the watershed management, wetland
management, economic management, and disaster risk reduction management. Other
projects that overlap were placed into the cross-cutting section.

Table 5. Buayan-Malungon River Basin Implementation Plan

Thematic Area Objective Strategy Program/Project
Rehabilitation of Water
Resources and Supply
Enhancement of water
Infrastructure Program:
supply system to
1. Strategic Irrigation
capture excess water
Development for
and improve the
Buayan-Malungon River
efficiency and
Basin Project
equitability of water
To promote 2. Tapping of Water
supply distribution
sufficiency of Resources and
system
water supply for Construction of Water
Water Resources Supply System
irrigation,
domestic and Enhancement of water Development of
other uses supply augmentation rainwater harvesting
capacity systems
Protection of major
aquifers and critical Groundwater
Ground Water recharge Management and
areas Protection for Buayan-
Sustainable spring Malungon River Basin
discharge

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Thematic Area Objective Strategy Program/Project

Sustainable water well
supply/production and
riparian flow.
Promotion of soil Soil Restoration and
conservation practices Conservation Program:
Restoration of 1. Forest Landscape
watershed degraded Restoration and
areas Rehabilitation Project
2. Monitoring and
Improvement of land Evaluation of Land use
To enhance the
use practices to Reduce Non-
quality of water
conforming Uses
resources
Water Quality
Improvement Program:
Improve management of 1. Water Quality
solid waste, waste water Monitoring System
and agricultural wastes Project
2. Waste Water
Treatment Project
Environmental
Restoration Program:
1. Forest Landscape
Restoration and
Improvement of land
Rehabilitation Project
use practices
2. Monitoring and
Evaluation of Land use
to Reduce Non-
conforming Uses
Harmonization of CLUP,
FLUP, and other related
Improve the plans Program:
sustainability of 1. Strengthening LGUs
forest, land, soil, and Government Agency
Watershed biodiversity and Relations for Forest
Management other resources Protection laws and
including plans
ecosystem 2. Cultural Impact
services Assessment (CIA) for
Enhancement of forest
Buayan-Malungon River
cover
Basin
3. Enhancing Indigenous
People's Well-being
through Culturally-
Sensitive Development
Projects in Ancestral
Domains
4. Forest Biodiversity
Monitoring and
Assessment Project
Wetland Improve wetland Reduce siltation from River Channel
Resources productivity erosive land use (ie. Improvement Project

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Thematic Area Objective Strategy Program/Project

mining, erosive Restoration and
agricultural practices, Conservation of
poor road construction) Watershed Wetland
Resource Program:
1. Forest Landscape
Reduce pollution
Restoration and
coming from
Rehabilitation Project
commercial agricultural
2. Agricultural Waste
areas
Management and
Monitoring Project
Comprehensive
Research and
To improve knowledge Development Program
and understanding on on Wetlands:
wetland ecosystems and 1. Wetland Biodiversity
management Research, Assessment,
Mapping, and
Monitoring
Raising Awareness of
Health, Family Planning,
Population management
and Sanitary Practices
Project
Sustainable Livelihood
Program:
1. Community-based
Economic Reduce poverty Ecotourism
Stimulate economic
Management incidence Development Project
development that will
2. Establishment of
create more livelihood
Dendro-Thermal
opportunities in the
Plantation
river basin
Payment for Ecosystem
Services (PES) for the
Buayan-Malungon River
Basin
To reduce risks Enhancement of
and vulnerabilities resiliency and adaptive Disaster Risk Reduction
associated with capacity of drought and Management
droughts prone areas Program:
Promote soil 1. Early Warning and
conservation practices Flood and Landslide
Restoration of Forecasting System
To reduce risks
Disaster Risk watershed degraded 2. Drought Mitigation
and vulnerabilities
Reduction and areas Measures
associated with
Management Enhancement of 3. Improvement of
floods
resiliency and adaptive Control Designs and
capacity of flood prone adopting Hybrid Green
areas and Gray Approaches
To reduce risks Enhancement of Project
and vulnerabilities resiliency and adaptive 4. Climate-Resilient
associated with capacity of landslide Agriculture Project
landslides prone areas

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Thematic Area Objective Strategy Program/Project

Gender Development
Program:
1. Organizational
development and
Capacity Building of
existing women, elderly
and youth groups
To promote the Development of 2. Information
integration of framework and Education and
plans and mechanisms Communication
Institutional
programs of campaign on gender
Management
various agencies roles in RB management
and Local for climate resiliency
Government Units Strengthening
Implementation of Local
Ordinances on Small-
Scale Mining
Buayan-Malungon River
Basin Master Plan
Communication Plan
Caravan/Roadshow
Project

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FOR THE BUAYAN-MALUNGON RIVER BASIN

6.6 Investment Plan

The investment plan presents the indicative financial requirements to implement the
proposed programs and projects identified to make Buayan-Malungon River Basin
(BMRB) climate change responsive amidst the issues and challenges confronting the
sustainability of the river basin. Five (5) component programs were developed, namely
Water Resources Management, Watershed Management, Wetland Management,
Economic Management, Disaster Risk Reduction Management, and Cross-Cutting
Programs and Projects. The programs and projects were developed based on the
assessment findings and in consultation with the various stakeholders of the Buayan-
Malungon River Basin.

The total investment requirement is PhP9.74 billion over a 15-year period. Of this
amount, the Water Resources Management accounts for 27% of the total investment
cost at PhP1.188 billion. Projects under Water Resources Management include water
quality monitoring system, waste water treatment project, tapping of water resources
and construction of water supply system, strategic irrigation development project.
Among these projects the most expensive is the irrigation development project, which is
projected to cost PhP944 million and represents 21% of the total investment
requirement.

Table 6. Total cost of each project

PROJECT TOTAL (PhP)

Water Resources
PROGRAM: Rehabilitation of Water Resources and Supply
Infrastructure
Strategic Irrigation Development for Buayan-Malungon River
Basin Project 2,014,000,000.00
Tapping of Water Resources and Construction of Water Supply
System 366,000,000.00
PROGRAM: Water Quality Improvement Program -
Water Quality Monitoring System Project 24,900,000.00
Waste Water Treatment Project 270,000,000.00
PROGRAM: Soil Restoration and Conservation Program -
Forest Landscape Restoration and Rehabilitation Project -
Monitoring and Evaluation of Land use to Reduce Non-
conforming Uses -
Development of Rainwater Harvesting Systems 8,000,000.00
Groundwater Management and Protection for Buayan-Malungon
River Basin 15,000,000.00
TOTAL 2,697,900,000.00
Watershed Management
PROGRAM: Environmental Restoration Program
Forest Landscape Restoration and Rehabilitation Project 3,766,451,400.00
Monitoring and Evaluation of Land use to Reduce Non-
conforming Uses 3,500,000.00
PROGRAM: Harmonization of CLUP, FLUP, and other related
plans -
Strengthening LGUs and Government Agency Relations for Forest 15,000,000.00

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FOR THE BUAYAN-MALUNGON RIVER BASIN

PROJECT TOTAL (PhP)

Protection laws and plans
Cultural Impact Assessment (CIA) for Buayan-Malungon River
Basin 30,000,000.00
Enhancing Indigenous People's Well-being through Culturally-
Sensitive Development Projects in Ancestral Domains -
Forest Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment Project 20,000,000.00
TOTAL 3,834,951,400.00
Wetland Management
PROGRAM: Comprehensive Research and Development Program
on Wetlands
Wetland Biodiversity Research, Assessment, Mapping, and
Monitoring 20,000,000.00
PROGRAM: Restoration and Conservation of Watershed Wetland
Resource -
Forest Landscape Restoration and Rehabilitation Project -
Agricultural Waste Management and Monitoring Project 37,500,000.00
River Channel Improvement Project 475,000,000.00
TOTAL 532,500,000.00
Economic Management
PROGRAM: Sustainable Livelihood Program
Community-based Ecotourism Development Project 25,000,000.00
Establishment of Dendro-Thermal Plantation 760,000,000.00
Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) for the Buayan-Malungon
River Basin 21,500,000.00
Raising Awareness of Health, Family Planning, and Sanitary Practices
Project 1,000,000.00
TOTAL 807,500,000.00
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
PROGRAM: Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Program
Early Warning and Flood and Landslide Forecasting System 289,000,000.00
Drought Mitigation Measures 100,000,000.00
Improvement of Control Designs and Adopting Hybrid Green and
Gray Approaches Project 200,000,000.00
Climate-Resilient Agriculture Project 2,500,000.00
PROGRAM: Restoration and Conservation of Watershed Wetland
Resource -
Forest Landscape Restoration and Rehabilitation Project -
TOTAL 591,500,000.00
Institutional Management
PROGRAM: Capacity Development Program
Buayan-Malungon River Basin Master Plan Caravan/Roadshow
Project 9,000,000.00
Strengthening Implementation of Local Ordinances on Small-Scale
Mining 490,000.00
PROGRAM: Gender Development Program -
Organizational development and Capacity Building of existing 500,000.00

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PROJECT TOTAL (PhP)

women, elderly and youth groups
Information Education and Communication campaign on gender
roles in RB management for climate resiliency 3,000,000.00
TOTAL 12,990,000.00
GRAND TOTAL 8,477,341,400.00

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FOR THE BUAYAN-MALUNGON RIVER BASIN

7 References
Department of Energy (2014) 2014 Philippine Power Statistics. Downloaded
from [Link]
power_statistics_2014.pdf on 28/04/2016

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration

(2016) Climate of the Philippines downloaded from
[Link] on
19/01/2016

Executive Summary