Soil and Water Conservation and

Management in the Philippines

Student: Erika G. Ramos

Course Instructor: Engr. James Cabildo
Scope of Soil and Water Conservation Principles

 Purposes:
 ensure sustainable productivity of land through conservation of
water resources
 the prevention or reduction of soil erosion, land slides and debris
flow.

 All soft top soils when exposed to rains or streams are subject to
erosion. Washed off soil, when carried away by runoff water will
bring polluted material upon downstream and drainage. Therefore in
addition to the maintenance of fertility soil conservation should also
anticipate those problems.
Geological and Geographical Information of the Philippines

• Located in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is an archipelago

consisting of more than 7,000 islands.
• Longitude: 116° 40‘ - 126° 34' E; latitude: 4° 40' - 21° 10' N
• North: Luzon Strait ; East: Philippine Sea; West: West
Philippine Sea; South: Celebes Sea
• total area: 29,554,156 hectares (295,541 sq. km).
• It has one of the longest coastlines in the world, extending to
almost 36,289 km from north to south (BFAR 2012).
• Administrative units: As of March 31, 2018, based on the data
of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there are
regions:17, 81 provinces, 145 cities, 1,489 municipalities, and
42,044 barangays.
Source: https://www.worldatlas.com
Status of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines

Physical Conditions
 Atmosphere, climate and weather
 factors: geography and topography, principal air streams, ocean currents,
linear systems, such as the intertropical convergence zone, and tropical
cyclones.
 Country climate types according to rainfall distribution (DOST-PAGASA 2014).
- Type I - characterized by two distinct seasons, namely, dry season from
November to April and wet season for the rest of the year.
- Type II - no dry season but is marked with maximum rainfall in November
and December.
- Type III. Seasons are not pronounced but are relatively dry from November
to April and wet for the rest of the year for areas with.
- Type IV climate has an even distribution of rainfall throughout the year.
Corona climate classification
Status of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines
Status of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines

 Hydrographical characteristics
 70% of the total land area in the Philippines can be considered as watershed
areas.
 principal river basins : 419 ; drainage areas: 21 million hectares (DENR
2010).
 Source of irrigation water for agriculture, electricity for industries and
households, and drinking water for the general population.
Status of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines
Status of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines

 Soil characteristics
 It serves as a habitat to different organisms, supports various natural cycles, helps
regulate the Earth’s temperature, cleans and stores water, and detoxifies
pollutants (Asio et al. 2009).
 Bureau of Soil and Water Management (BSWM) currently recognizes nine soil orders
in the Philippines, i.e., alifsol, andisol, entisol, histosol, inceptisol, mollisol,
oxisol, ultisol, and vertisol.
 causes of declining soil quality : Accelerated land use conversions, deforestation,
kaingin (slash and burn) farming and other unsustainable farming practices, and
poor land and water management are some of the factors contributing to soil
degradation.
 Status of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines

 Soil erosion is the most common type of soil degradation in the Philippines. It has
affected the productivity of land, limited the rehabilitation or restoration of degraded
lands, lowered the quality of surface water, and modified hydrologic conditions by
changing land
Other types of degradation are dehumification, acidification, salinization,
compaction, water logging, and fertility degradation (BSWM 2013).
Status of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines

Land Cover

Figure 1. Land Cover of the Philippines, 2010

Data source: DENR-NAMRIA
Forest cover

Figure 2.Forest Cover of the Philippines

Data source: DENR-NAMRIA
 Forest Disturbances

Figure 3. Forest Disturbance in Area (thousand hectares) and

Estimated Value (million pesos), 2000-2012
Data source: DENR-PMED

Note: No data on area damaged and corresponding estimated value were reported in 2011.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Air Quality
 Pursuant to RA No. 8749, or the Philippine Clean Air Act of
1999, the pollutants monitored to measure ambient air
quality include pollutants at various concentrations,
including but not limited to Total Suspended Particulate
Matter (TSP), Particulate Matter with mass median
diameter less than 25-50 µm matter (PM10 and PM2.5),
carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen
dioxides (NO2), and Photochemical Oxidants as Ozone
(O3).
Water Quality

In 2013, there were 691 fresh and marine water bodies

classified according to their beneficial use. Of this, only
five water bodies belong to Class AA, namely Lake
Ambulalakaw in Benguet, the upstreams of Lipadas River in
Davao del Sur, Nagan River in Kalinga-Apayao, the
Ginabasan River in Cebu, and the Baganga-Mahab-Ub River
in Davao Oriental. Meanwhile, most classified water bodies
are categorized as Class C.
Natural Environmental Hazard
 The Philippines is vulnerable to natural disasters, primarily
volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and typhoons.
 Twenty-two volcanoes are active, and there have been several
destructive eruptions in recent times.
 The Philippines is seismically active country, with at least five
earthquakes occurring per day. One of those strongest
earthquakes in recent times occurred on December 29, 2018 in
Davao Region. .
 Tropical cyclones are the most common natural hazard in the
country. On average of 20 tropical cyclones pass through the
Philippine Area of Responsibility each year: a larger number than
for any other country.
Soil and Water Management and Conservation in the Philippines
PHYSICAL STRUCTURES IN A SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION SYSTEM

1. Contour canal.
 Contour canals are constructed on farmlands
where the soil is deep.
 They hold water longer and allow it to seep
slowly into the ground, thus increasing soil
moisture and draining excess water away from
the field.
Soil and Water Management and Conservation in the Philippines

2. Contour bunds
 In the process of digging a contour canal, place the soil on the upper
edge of the canal until a mound or bund is formed. (Note: The soil dug
out from the cane/ may also be placed on the lower edge of the canal).

3. Bench terrace.
 Bench terraces can be dug at the hillside. The steeper the hillside' the
smaller the terraces. It is recommended that the topsoil be removed first,
the terraces constructed and then the topsoil placed evenly on the
terrace.

4. Contour hedgerow.
 The simplest soil erosion control structure for a
hillside is a contour hedgerow.
Soil and Water Management and Conservation in the Philippines

3. Bench terrace.
 Bench terraces can be dug at the hillside.
The steeper the hillside' the smaller the
terraces. It is recommended that the topsoil
be removed first, the terraces constructed
and then the topsoil placed evenly on the
terrace.
Farm Management Practices

 Crop Rotation
--Two or more crops alternating on same land
--provides continuous soil cover provides
continuous soil cover

 Relay intercropping
-- A technique in which different crops are planted
at different times in the same field, and both (or
all) crops spend at least part of their season
growing together in the field.
Farm Management Practices

 Countour cultivating and planting

 Laying crop residues along the contour

Traditional soil and water conservation
(SWC) technologies

 Traditional soil and water conservation (SWC) measures

were pioneered by the natives and/or ethnic groups found
mostly in remote areas of the uplands.
 These upland areas have long established settlements and
have been practicing these technologies for centuries,
even before the advent and popularization of modem
technologies.
 These technologies, rooted on sociocultural and religious
beliefs, had been developed over many generations and
had passed the test of time.
Traditional soil and water conservation
(SWC) technologies

GEN-GEN -- CONTOUR COMPOSTING

 refers to a bank or barriers of turf trashes and or earth constructed
to control or confine water or prevent passage especially of
something undesirable.
 an age old practice among mountain cultivators in the Cordillera
(Ikalahans) as well as the Caraballo and Sierra Madre mountains.
 This hillside structure is one way of controlling sheet erosion and in
sustaining valuable soil nutrients.
Traditional soil and water conservation
(SWC) technologies
TUDLING
 vegetative soil and water conservation practice of the Batangueffos which
aims not only to control soil erosion but also to encourage bench terracing
in the field.
 Essentially, the fammer's choice of the practice in the area is primarily
governed by the needs or demand of feeds for cattle

BALABAG/BABAG OR ITSAKA
 obstruction (of any kind) usually oriented perpendicular to a known and
recuing path so as to stop or control entry, passage, movement or, in this
case, water flow.
 This practice of the Naaladnons in Naalad, Cebu, primarily aims to arrest
the downward movement of soil, especially after heavy rains, thus
extending the productivity of the marginal slopes.
Traditional soil and water conservation
(SWC) technologies

CANOPY STRUCTURE AND MAINTENANCE

 presence of multi-layered arrangement of crops in a single area which minimizes the

energy of falling raindrops or conserving water down the slope.

 Soil and water conservation is achieved by harvesting the crops in blocks. In addition

to the yield benefits for several varieties managed separately, the harvesting of small

areas leaves little bare soil exposed.

Traditional soil and water conservation
(SWC) technologies
DAY-OG OR MULCH COMPOSTING
 another age-old soil conservation technology by the Cordillera
forest dwellers, including the Ikalahans.
 involves gathering of grasses and other plant debris to be spread
over the area intended to be planted. Finally, these trashes will
undergo decomposition and will serve as organic fertilizer to the
crop plants.
PLANTING OF TALA GADA W (TIGER GRASS)
 Some farmers in the Benguet area plant tiger grass as hedgerow
species instead of leguminous species. They practice this not only
to enhance soil conservation but also to generate additional
income when these are made and sold as soft brooms.
Conclusion
 Soil and water conservation is a worldwide strategy in the context of a sustainable
and poverty-orientated natural resource management (Rauch 2007).
 Soil and water conservation are those activities at the local level which maintain or
enhance the productive capacity of the land including soil, water and vegetation in
areas prone to degradation through prevention or reduction of soil erosion,
compaction, salinity; conservation or drainage of water and maintenance or
improvement of soil fertility.
 Introducing soil and water conservation may further the sustainable utilisation of
natural resources for the benefit of local. Its success will depend on the
participation of local people with their traditional knowledge. After the
detailed analyses of the watershed they will together select, implement and carry
out the soil and water conservation measures suitable for natural and human
conditions.
References

• Comia, R. A. (n.d.). Soil and Nutrient Conservation Oriented Practices in the

Philippines. Los Banos , Laguna, Philippines.

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2000). Land

Resources Information Systems in Asia. In R. Brinkman (Ed.), World Soil
Resorces Report, (pp. 41-50). Manila. Retrieved February 11, 2019, from
http://www.fao.org

• Howard, B. B. (2018). Super Typhoon, Hurricane: What's the Difference?

Retrieved February 2019, from National Geographic:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com

• Ojekunle, O., & Eruola, E. (n.d.). Principles of Soil and Water Conservation.

• Philippine Statistics Authority. (2018, April 23). 12 New Barangays Established

in the First Quarter of 2018. Philippines.
THANKQ!