Gov't pushes for major river basin restoration

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government is pushing for the restoration of over a million hectares of watershed areas in four of the country's major upper river basins, a senior official said today.

The four river basins are Chico in the Cordillera Region, Wahig- Inabanga in Central Visayas, Bukidnon in Northern Mindanao, and Lake Danao Watershed in Mindanao, said Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje.

He said that the seven-year Integrated Natural Resources and Environmental Management Program (INREMP) aims to redress the severe land and water degradation that has occurred in important watershed areas and by promoting the use of native species.

Aside from helping remediate past biodiversity losses, Paje said the project - which runs up to 2020 - seeks to provide livelihood to some 350,000 households living in 2,201 villages within the four river basins.

Of the four sites, the Upper Bukidnon River Basin has the highest coverage area at 446,620 hectares, while the Upper Chico River Basin covers 405,894 hectares, the Lake Lanao Watershed with 138,834 hectares and the Upper Wahig-Inabanga with 62,853 hectares.

INREMP has the goal of reducing the rate of soil erosion from the four upper river basins to a total 4.6 metric tons by 2020, the DENR chief said.

In 1999, an aggregate volume of 25.7 metric tons were found to have been eroded from the four river basins per year.