Project Overview
Davao City is one of the Philippines' most progressive cities which contains 8 watersheds. Davao, Talomo and Lipadas rivers are critical areas. | The coastal aquifers of Talomo and Lipadas watersheds provide 99% of the supply volume of the city’s water district which in turn serves 57% of the water consumption of the whole city. All the eight river systems are for domestic, agricultural (15,000 hectares of banana and pineapple plantations and fruit farms), and industrial uses. | The Davao City side of Mt. Apo Natural Park is about 11,131 ha and shared by the Lipadas, Talomo and Sibulan watersheds.
Ecosystem Services
Provisioning
- Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.
- Fresh water: Ecosystems play a vital role in the global hydrological cycle, as they regulate the flow and purification of water. Vegetation and forests influence the quantity of water available locally.
Regulating
- Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
Habitat / Supporting
- Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.
- Habitats for species: Habitats provide everything that an individual plant or animal needs to survive: food; water; and shelter. Each ecosystem provides different habitats that can be essential for a species’ lifecycle. Migratory species including birds, fish, mammals and insects all depend upon different ecosystems during their movements.
Cultural
- Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.
- Tourism: Ecosystems and biodiversity play an important role for many kinds of tourism which in turn provides considerable economic benefits and is a vital source of income for many countries. In 2008 global earnings from tourism summed up to US$ 944 billion. Cultural and eco-tourism can also educate people about the importance of biological diversity.
Major Issues
Soil erosion
Soil erosion
Heavy siltation in rivers and Davao Gulf
Heavy siltation in rivers and Davao Gulf
Massive expansion of banana plantations
Massive expansion of banana plantations
Talomo and Lipadas basins have poor health
Talomo and Lipadas basins have poor health ratings with non-point sources of pollution
Unregulated groundwater use
Unregulated groundwater use
EH Engineering Solutions
To tap the Tamugan-Panigan River for drinking
To tap the Tamugan-Panigan River for drinking water, a private company was given permit by the city to construct a water treatment plant which will also be powered by its own run-of-river hydroelectric power plant
Project Activities
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A GIS-based profile of each of the eight river basins
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Physical demarcation of critical areas and establishment of key monitoring sites
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Rehabilitation of critical areas
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Revising the Land Use Plan and the Zoning Ordinance
Expected Outcomes
Groundwater and surface water are soundly-managed keeping Davao city liveable and globally competitive