MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (DA-BSWM) is pushing for sustainable land management (SLM) practices to address land degradation and mitigate the effects of drought in the country.
SLM is the use of land resources for the production of goods to meet changing human needs while simultaneously ensuring the long-term productive potential of resources and the maintenance of environmental functions.
It was launched last August in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to achieve effective cross-sectoral national and local environment promoting integrated landscape management.
BSWM executive director Silvino Tejada, however, noted that it is not going to be an easy journey for all institutions involved as the project will require concerted, more focused and strategic efforts among national agencies, local government units (LGUs) and other stakeholders.
“Continuous dialogues to push the agenda will help make a difference in the lives of the beneficiaries of the project because the moment SLM demonstration sites are established, farmers will learn to adopt methods of soil and water resources conservation which will improve their crop production and income,” he said.
SLM is focused on systematic ways to abate the effects of drought and land degradation through mainstreaming sustainable land management policies and programs of LGUs over the supervision of government agencies concerned with land degradation.
“Our convergence with all stakeholders to address the alarming threats being brought by drought and land degradation and continuous monitoring of this project is expected to make a positive impact to our agricultural sector,” Tejada said.
According to BSWM, SLM practices will help increase the productivity of agricultural lands to achieve food security and provide livelihood opportunities to farmers while addressing the global concerns of land degradation and climate change.
Soil degradation and drought are also considered major threats to the economic growth of the country as 35 percent of the labor force is dependent on agriculture.
Approximately 33 million hectares or 45 percent of arable lands in the country are affected by soil degradation making them less productive.
“Through this strategy we can keep track of the program being implemented and ensure the reduction and prevention of the incidence and spread of land degradation in vulnerable ecosystems,” Tejada said.