Integrated National Watershed Research and Development Project 2.56

The watershed plays a critical role in the sustenance of its surrounding environment. Its vast natural resources provide an array of protective services and amenities, educational and scientific opportunities, as well as psycho-physiological influences. It is a rich source of plants, wood and other forest products that are economically valuable to the people dependent on the watershed. The watershed also provides water for domestic, agricultural and ecological maintenance services. It is also a haven for several communities that depend greatly on the watershed for its livelihood.

Many of our watersheds today are however invariably degraded and are continuously threatened. Climate change has emerged as one of the most formidable threats to the sustainability of many watersheds. Climate change is projected to become more intense in the future that will put additional pressure on already heavily stressed ecosystems, water, land, biodiversity and other resources, and will increase the vulnerability of most of the already highly vulnerable sectors of society. As the watersheds are put under mounting pressure from multi-natural and anthropogenic stressors (i.e., population growth, industrialization, urbanization, and climate change), science becomes all the more essential to watershed management. In the absence of appropriate intervention, the sustainability of the watershed resources and the stability of the various ecosystems in the watershed will be in serious jeopardy. There is, therefore, a need to map out deliberate course of strategies that will improve the management of the watersheds amid the increasing stress factors arising from growing population and the pursuit of development goals. Formulation of an integrated and sustainable watershed management plan using the landscape continuum approach will be invariably useful in guiding and organizing the use of land and other watershed resources. To achieve this, knowledge generation and management along with technology development and dissemination will be essential.

This project will be part of the network of watershed research centers that will be established in the country for database generation on Philippine watershed for future assessments of land use impacts and climate change on watershed functions. It is envisioned to be the basis for all decisions with regards to the sustainable management of watersheds in the country.