Incorporating Integrated Ecosystem Management with Local Development Plans: The Case of General Nakar and Infanta Municipalities in Quezon Province

The traditional municipal development planning in the Philippines through the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) has been narrowly focused on settled communities, the urban and agricultural areas, and the alienable and disposable (A and D)lands. Forestlands and

watershed areas are often not included, or, if at all, just mentioned in passing in the CLUP. Looking at the context of the General Nakar and Infanta in Quezon Province that largely compose the Kanan-Agos River Watershed (KARW), the A and D Land and the forestlands are 10,426

hectares and 150,576 hectares, respectively for General Nakar and 8,005 hectares and 11,665 hectares, respectively for Infanta. In previous years, their CLUPs covered only about 6% of the total land area of General Nakar and 40.7% in the case of Infanta. The rest of the forestlands

and watershed are not covered in the CLUP, or if ever they have prepared plans for areas such as those covered by ancestral domain claims or protected areas, they stand separate and not linked to the traditional CLUP. This reflects limited understanding of the role of the highly

diverse forests and watersheds as provider of various ecosystems goods and services that are being enjoyed by both the upland and downstream communities.

Building on previous initiatives like those of the Haribon Foundation and the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, the World Bank/ Global Environment Facility-financed National Program Support for Environment and Natural Resources Management Project (NPS ENRMP) facilitated concerted actions to provide a context in linking the uplands, lowlands, and coastal areas following the ridge to reef landscapes of watersheds. The integrated ecosystems management (IEM) approach was adopted in Kanan-Agos Watershed to align land and resources uses within a highly diverse landscape. This article narrates the story of this intervention and its impacts to the community and the environment.