Philippine Freshwater Ecosystem Dying

By MICHAEL A. BENGWAYAN


Baguio City, Philippines (March 8, 2007) --- On March, the world celebrates the International Day for Rivers even as most of the world’s rivers continue to suffer from pollution, abating water supply and may even be sources for war.

In the Philippines, the country’s fast-dying freshwater ecosystem has been given a shot in the arm seven years ago when the Second World Conservation Congress in Amman, Jordan named the country as one of the areas where a new water conservation initiative will be implemented.

The program named Water and Nature Initiative (WANI) was implemented in 24 projects worldwide with a funding of US$ 30 million from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
WANI intended to promote environmental protection as a prerequisite for human social, economic and political security, one which subscribes to the environmental necessities in the Philippines.

Earlier,, the Conservation International (CI) has dubbed the country as the “hottest” of the 25 bio-diversity hotspots in the world because of the hundreds of plant and animals species that are threatened and facing possible extinction. It has released $US 150 million for the protection of these “hotspots”.

Now, the Philippines finds its freshwater ecosystem equally at risk of dying forever .

Dead Rivers and River Systems

Presently, there are 29 dead and dying rivers and river systems in Luzon, a phenomenon that is happening worldwide and which prodded the IUCN convention participants to call for actions to avert a world water crisis.

The dead rivers, according to the Environmental management Bureau (EM of the Department of Environment and natural resources (DENR) are Amburaya and Baroro in La Union, upper Agno and Dagupan in Pangasinan, Balagtas, Bocaue, Guiguinto, Marilao and Meycauyan in Bulacan and Dumaca-a in Batangas.

These rivers are polluted of human filth, trash, commercial and agricultural chemicals and industrial wastes.

Up in Northen Luzon, the NGOs Mine Watch Philippines and the Igorot Tribal Assistance Group (ITAG), two environmental groups said four rivers are biologically dead and five more are on the verge of reaching the same state. The dead rivers are Bued in Benguet and Pangasinan, Amburayan in Benguet and Abra, Lower Agno also in Benguet and lower Abra river.

These were killed by mine tailings and heavy metals wastes from the devastative gold and copper mines in Benguet.

The rivers experiencing heavy pollution and siltation are upper Agno in Benguet, Aringay and Naguilan in La Union, Pasil in Kalinga, Santa fe in Nueva Vizcaya and Balili in Baguio City and La Trinidad.

In Luzon’s heart of Metro Manila, EMB identified nine river sub-basins are being used sadly dump sites. These are the two rivers in Obando-Malabon-Navotas Estuary, the four rivers in Balut and Malabon, Marikina and Payatas, Tullahan in Valenzuela, and the three in Taguig-Napindan in Fort Bonifacio. These are in the most critical situation among the country’s river sub-basins.
The sad state of these rivers is punishing a large segment of the country’s population who are actually direct contributors to the rivers’ adverse condition. In Manila alone, some 35 per cent of the residents barely have enough water for domestic use, a condition which will turn more serious as IUCN predicts that shortage of freshwater worldwide will rise up to 30 per cent by year 2025.

Vanishing Water

The IUCN-led Freshwater Initiative will demonstrate how catchments and water resources can be “managed in a sustainable way through an integrated approach.”. meaning, projects will focus on protecting, restoring and managing ecosystems that provide clean water.

This will be a tall order for environmentalists in the country since the 18 major river basins from Cagayan in Luzon to Agusan in Mindanao cover some 110,000 square kilometers , much of which is now polluted due to increasing population, deforestation, mining operations and urban sprawl or urbanization.

The dead and dying rivers was the subject of fierce rhetoric from environmentalists hell-bent on protecting what are left of the country’s rivers last March during the Second World Water Forum. They say that the death of rivers adversely affect people especially in the rural areas that depend much on them.

For water has become a major bone of contention. According to Dr. Peter H. Glieck of the Pacific Institute of Environment (PIE), there will be pressure from various groups in the Philippines in an even that water shortage is widespread. It will be forced to extract to the limit its renewable freshwater supply of 323 km^3 per year , something it can technically do so now at only 30 per cent.

“The Philippines will need some 393 per cent of total water withdrawal starting this year and the situation will worsen after ten years. At present, the Philippines can only withdraw 18 per cent from the renewable water supply for domestic use, 21 per cent for industrial use and 61 per cent for agricultural use,” he said.

Nationwide, the government’s National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) estimates that only 67 per cent of the total population of 75 million have access to clean water and only 35 per cent can avail of water for sanitation.

During the World Water Week in Stockholm in June last year, Dr. Lester Brown of the reputable Worldwatch Institute warned that by 2025, another 2.5 billion people will inhabit an earth already lacking of water for drinking and sanitation. He warned that vanishing freshwater systems will decapitate communities from the ecosystem that once supported them.

“Death of freshwater systems will mean people will suffer deep economic recessions, farms and fishing grounds will be reduced to nil and countries will suffer tremendous bio-diversity and soil loss. Diseases, inadequate food and social unrest will likely occur,” he added.

Water, Water Everywhere But Where….?

While deforestation, pollution and growing population are named as the direct causes behind the death of freshwater ecosystems, other reasons make water unavailable for use. One may think that with the countries along the Mekong River and Bengal Bay being flooded, there is water everywhere for everyone No so, as in the Philippines.

The Philippine Center for Water and Sanitation (PCWS) says that the reasons why only three out of five Filipinos have access to safe water and only two out of five have safe sanitation are corruption, poverty and ignorance. But it says corruption has the most impact, in obvious regard to the companies responsible for providing water in the country.

The common modes of corruption which affects the water and sanitation situation in the country, PCWS says is overpricing of water, outright bribes, theft of water, poor materials and services and inappropriate water use. In fact, it claimed the water and sanitation system in Metro Manila are below standard.

The information only portrays that the very inadequate water from freshwater ecosystems extracted for the public undergoes graft and corruption that bears much on a population already begging for water.
This situation is worsening the already precarious water resources nationwide which are inadequately protected, conserved and rehabilitated, PCWS Director Rory Villaluna said.

Villaluna also lamented the fact that there is no Code of Conduct for the water and sanitation sector. PCWS has proposed a conduct that encourages qualitative improvements and safeguard water resources by users especially communities.

Villaluna added that many policies and guidelines of the Philippine Water Supply System are inadequately being implemented. She is advocating for a need to re-educate the citizenry on groundwater management, conservation, protection and water resources rehabilitation.. Such call blends well with IUCN’s Freshwater Initiative which calls for local communities to be educated in designing, implementing and managing water resources on their own./MICHAEL A. BENGWAYAN