Lesson 1.

1: Watershed and Watershed

Management Defined: A Review
Lesson Summary

Watershed is a broad term and can be defined depending on how you view such ecosystem as
everyone actually lives in a watershed. As we go over this lesson, we will learn important
facts about watershed and watershed management. Students in this class are also expected to
read related articles mentioned in the “additional resources”. There are a number of materials
on watershed management that that can be obtained from the internet where the term
watershed is defined. They can help students broaden their knowledge on this topic.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this class, students are expected to:

1. Define watershed and watershed management;
2. Discuss watershed management strategies; and
3. Explain the benefits of watershed management.

Motivation Question
What is a watershed for you?

Discussion

What is a watershed?

The term watershed can be defined in various ways with reference on how a person
perceived its relevance. Below are some definitions taken from PCAARRD-DOST et al.
(1990) :

A watershed is defined as a topographically delineated land area which rain water can drain
as surface runoff via a specific stream or river system to a common outlet point which may be
a dam, irrigation system or municipal water supply take off point or where the stream/river
discharges into a large river, lake or sea.
A watershed can also be defined as a discreet geographical unit capable of providing water,
timber and non-timber products including food, fiber, minerals, medicine and many intangible
goods such as aesthetics and wholesome environment with solar radiation, precipitation, land,
labor and capital as major inputs.
A watershed is not necessarily an upland or a mountainous land form, it may also occur in
lowland setting, and the land surface may be a major site for residential, commercial,
industrial, agricultural, educational, experimental, environmental and forest land uses. May of
these land uses are conflicting and competing with each other for the limited watershed land
resources.
A watershed is also viewed as a major source of nutrients and pollutants which are deposited
in lakes, coastal areas, lowland plains and rivers.
Watersheds vary greatly in size and often extend over boundaries of one or more political
administrative units. The table below is an example of a mechanism for defining various
watersheds in the Philippines (PCAARRD-DOST et al. 1999).
In order to provide a better view of a watershed, it is likewise important to know the areal
extent, administrative coverage, possible coordinating agencies as well as types and scopes of
watershed management plans. Thus, a table on watershed management typology is presented
below.

Table 1. Watershed management typology (Source: PCAARRD-DOST et al. (1999))

Type Areal Administrative Institutional Type and Scope of
Extent Coverage Coordinating Watershed Management
Agency Plans
Nation Whole country National inter- Coordination and
agency prioritization of different
watershed levels of watershed
resources management within a
management national strategy framework
forum/
national
watershed
management
body
River Over Typically, the Inter-regional Plans aimed at broad sector
basin 1000km2 topographic river basin development planning, and
boundaries would authority land use zoning.
include land Identification of degraded
occurring within and/or economically
three or more important medium to large
provinces and watersheds within the river
two or more basin. Identification of
regions medium-large areas in need
of protected areas status.
Large <500- Typically, the Regional level Plans aimed at identifying
watershed 1000km2 topographic watershed broad land use zones and
boundaries would management areas (small to medium
include land council that is watersheds) where there is
occurring within interprovincial a need for improved
three or more in extent watershed management.
provinces and at Identification of small-
least one but no medium areas in need of
more than two protected area status
regions
Medium <100- Typically, the Provincial Plans aimed at identifying
watershed 500km2 topographic level areas within the watershed
boundaries would watershed where there is a need for
include land management field level activities.
occurring within council Implementation plan target
at least one but activities only on the
not more than critical parts of the
two provinces watershed
Small 10- Typically, the Provincial/ Plans aimed at field level
watershed 100km2 topographic municipal implementation of
boundaries would level improved watershed /land
fall within one watershed management interventions.
province and management Plans cover the whole (or
include land council/ most of the) watershed and
 occurring within committee adjacent land of the
one or more participating communities
municipalities
Micro Under Typically, the Municipal/ Plans aimed at field level
watershed 10km2 topographic barangay implementation of
boundaries would community improved watershed /land
fall within one level management interventions.
municipality and watershed Plans cover the whole
include land management watershed and adjacent land
occurring within council of the participating
one or at most communities
two barangays

This is how a typical watershed looks like which is composed of various components like
forests, urban areas, river system, farmlands, and other related ecosystems.

Figure 1. A typical watershed (Source: https://www.dupagerivers.org/watershed/)

Watershed Management

Due the enormous resources and the multiple benefits that can be obtained from watersheds,
there is a need to manage them properly in a sustainable manner. While watershed
management can be defined also in several ways, below is a simplified definition with stated
aims or objectives from PCAARRD-DOST et al. (1999) that we should adhere.

Watershed Management is defined as the process of guiding and organizing land and other
resource uses in a watershed to provide desired goods and services without adversely
affecting soil and water resources (Brooks et al. 1991 as cited by PCAARRD-DOST et al.
(1999)). It involves the planning and implementation of both technical and policy initiatives
to enable the natural and human resources of individual watersheds to contribute to one or
more of the following aims (PCAARRD-DOST et al. (1999):
1. Improve rainwater management within individual watersheds so as to (a) provide
quality water from both surface and groundwater sources on sustainable basis to meet
 the needs of different water users (human settlements, lowland farmlands/irrigation
system, power generation, and transport infrastructure, fishponds and coral
reefs/coastal resources) within and downstream of the watershed, and (b) provide
increased protection from flood and sedimentation damage for the downstream of the
watershed;

2. Improved standard of living through the maintenance and enhancement of existing

and development of new, suitable livelihood opportunities for those individual
households and communities whose welfare needs are met wholly, or in part, by the
utilization of watershed resources;

3. Improved maintenance, enhancement and protection of those areas that are important
for the preservation of the present biodiversity of flora and fauna in the Philippines;
and

4. Improved care and management of natural resources within individual watershed

thereby enabling them to be used for economically productive purposes (water,
forestry, agriculture, tourism, power generation, etc.) on a sustainable basis while
maintaining and enhancing their social and environmental services/functions.

PCAARRD-DOST et al. (1999) also pointed out that the challenge for watershed
management in the Philippines is to find ways in which the above aims can be met
simultaneously. In some instances, watershed management will require total protection of
some areas (e.g. biodiversity preservation or wildlife protection). However, for most of the
Philippines, the ultimate aim of any watershed management project or program should be to
promote the use of the natural resources (soil, vegetation, fauna, water, etc.) within a
watershed for economically productive purposes. This should meet the requirements for
sustainable water production, and to a practical extent flood protection for communities
downstream. This will require the development and adoption of improved management
practices that are not only productive but also conservation effective. Such practices should
enable the users of watershed resources to increase tree, crop and/livestock production in
ways that would enhance the sustain, rather than degrade the natural resource base
(PCAARRD-DOST et al., 1999).

Examples of Watershed Management Strategies

Watershed management strategies can be many and varied but the overall objective
will be to conserve and enhance the watershed resources to protect the environment and
provide raw materials for the good of the community and the nation. These strategies can be
grouped into three broad categories (PCAARRD-DOST et al. (1999):
1. Prevention-Ideally an approach where the strategy is to prevent watershed resource
degradation from occurring by enabling those who use the resources (rural upland
communities, corporate forestry/agriculture bodies) to adopt land use enterprises,
field level technologies and farm/forestry management practices that yield short term
production benefits (e.g. financially attractive) whole being conservation effective
(e.g. maintain and enhance soil productivity, vegetative cover, biodiversity and
downstream water availability). Also included here are enforcement of environmental
protection laws where necessary and feasible, and the designation of specifically
sensitive areas (e.g. rare/endangered biodiversity) as protected areas.

2. Policy-As a rule, land use/forest management practices are strongly influenced by the
policy environment in which specific resource users operate. National policies usually
aim to conserve, preserve and enhance watershed resources, but can be implemented
 in such a way that can lead to low forestry/farm productivity and watershed
degradation at the local level. Community participation can lead rural communities to
formulate their own by-laws to set and enforce rules and regulations for the use of
local resources. The strategy is to establish a policy environment which can
accommodate the diverse perspective and development priorities of different interest
groups and at the same time encourage the responsible use of resources for the long-
term benefit of the community and the nation.

3. Corrective-Whereas the ideal is to prevent watershed degradation from occurring in

many watershed areas, the process of degradation due to misuse of the land has
already had an adverse on-site and off-site impacts. On-site impacts include declining
soil productivity and loss of vegetative forest cover while off-site impacts can be seen
in declining dry season water flow and downstream sedimentation. In such cases, the
strategy is one where the primary emphasis is to correct the current non-sustainable
situation by removing the underlying causes, adopting improved resource
management practices and taking appropriate specific restorative intervention
measures.

Benefits of watershed management

Sustainable watershed management can provide an array of on-site and off-site economic,
social and environmental benefits. These benefits are outlined below (PCAARRD-DOST et
al., 1999).
1. Economic benefits- in suitable areas and with appropriate practices (including conservation
and mitigation), the following range of economically valuable activities can be
undertaken within individual watersheds:
a) Water supply-domestic or industrial use, irrigation of annual and perennial crops;
hydroelectric and geothermal power plants
b) Forestry-felling of natural forest trees for timber, poles and fuelwood; harvesting of
minor forest products e.g rattan, vines, fiber, wild foods (fruit nuts, fungi, honey, ant
eggs, etc.), medicinal plants; felling of commercial tree plantations for timber, poles,
fuelwood and pulp; felling of trees within small-scale individual/community
forest/tree plantations for timber, poles and fuelwood.
c) Agriculture-annual crop production (dry land and rain-fed/irrigated paddy);
perennial crop production (fruit trees, coconut, rubber, coffee, sugarcane, banana,
pineapple, fiber like abaca); felling or pruning multipurpose trees and /or shrub
species grown in association with crops for timber, poles, fuelwood, fodder, and
green manure (using one or more agroforestry systems)
d) Livestock- small-scale backyard piggery and poultry production; large scale
production of pigs and poultry; rearing of carabaos and horses for draft power;
ranching/extensive grazing
e) Fishery-aquaculture in reservoirs and fish ponds; freshwater fishing; coastal/inland
fisheries including utilization of mangroves and coral reef fish resources
f) Mining-quarrying of rocks for construction purposes; limestone quarrying for lime
and cement production; river bed/floodplain sand and gravel extraction for
construction purposes; mining of minerals and gemstones
2. Social Services-there are several social services that would emerged through improved
watershed management as follows:
a) Tourism- eco/cultural-tourism, scenic landscape preservation, beach-based tourism
b) Recreation-mountain climbing; water sports; wildlife watching
 c) Historical-protection of historical monuments
d) Cultural-protection of areas of cultural importance (burial places, sacred sites,
ancestral monuments, etc.); protection of indigenous cultures, beliefs and knowledge
e) Health-control of water-borne diseases; prevention of malnutrition through
improved cropping practices
f) Social services-livelihood security, social security and poverty alleviation, reduction
in risk of loss of life and property due to natural disasters; regulation of urban-rural
migration
3. Environmental Services-the following can also be provided through improved watershed
management:
a) Biodiversity-preservation of endangered flora and fauna; preservation of
ecosystems; preservation of the natural and agricultural gene pool
b) Soil conservation-soil erosion control; maintenance of soil fertility
c) Water conservation-retention/storage; quality control
d) Carbon sequestration-carbon sink in vegetation and soil organic matter
e) Oxygen generation-plant photosynthesis releasing oxygen to the atmosphere
f) Microclimate amelioration-amelioration of temperature extremes; rainfall/humidity
enhancement; wind speed reduction

Cost of failed watershed management

If watershed management fails to achieve its objectives, expected benefits will not be
realized resulting to a number of losses as follows (PCAARRD-DOST et al., 1999):
1. Social losses
a) Tourism-Decreased ecotourism and unrealized ecotourism potential
b) Recreation-decline of the number of park visitors and destruction of land features
with high recreational value
c) Historical-loss of national and cultural heritage
d) Cultural-deterioration of areas of indigenous cultural significance
e) Housing-damage to housing, factories, and urban physical services due to increased
incidence of flooding
f) Health-increase incidence of water-borne diseases due to reduction in fresh flowing
streams/rivers
2. Environmental Losses
a) Water conservation-reduction in ground water recharge due to reduced infiltration ;
contamination and depletion of ground water resources; increased incidence of
floods and droughts; siltation of rivers and lakes
b) Biodiversity-wildlife habitat destruction; loss of endangered and threatened wildlife;
gene pool deterioration
c) Soil conservation-excessive surface soil erosion; fertility loss
d) Carbon sequestration--increased atmospheric carbon emission
e) Oxygen generation-decline due to decrease in plant cover
 f) Microclimate deterioration-rise in local air temperature; increased
evapotranspiration potential; loss of windbreaks

State of Philippine Watershed Management

PCAARRD-DOST et al. (1999) pointed out that traditionally, DENR is the primary
government agency that has administrative control and jurisdiction over the watersheds in the
country. Through the years, other government agencies have been given authority and
administrative control over watersheds which support major power plants and irrigation
structures like the National Power Corporation, National Irrigation Authority and Philippine
National Oil Company. In the recent years, the management and administration of a number
of watersheds have been translocated from DENR to other sectors. A number of watershed
are now under the control of the LGUs in line with the Devolution Law mandating LGUs as
comprehensive land use managers. By virtue of authority and responsibilities as provided for
in the Water Code of the Philippines. Some local water districts are also now vested with the
jurisdiction and control over a number of watersheds. In the passage of the IPRA, the
indigenous communities also become administrators of watersheds within their domains. In
the coming years, it is likely that more agencies, groups and even individuals can be
authorized to control and regulate the use of watersheds in the country, all in accordance with
the principle of participatory and collaborative watershed management (PCAARRD-DOST et
al., 1999).

Learning Tasks/Activities
1. Identify one major watershed in your municipality (specify the name, and the
location like barangay and municipality). You can use google earth for this purpose
if possible.

2. Submit three photos showing three major components inside the watershed (e.g.
forest, river, farms, residential areas, and others).

Assessment
1. What are the major land uses in the identified watershed in your municipality?
2. Explain why resources management is essential for that given watershed.
3. Are there existing programs or ordinances for watershed management in your
locality? Kindly enumerate and provide highlights on these programs.

Instructions on how to submit student output

Submit your answers from the learning tasks and assessment above one week after I posted
this module in our virtual classroom or after you receive this lesson.