The continuous conversion of farmlands to subdivisions in areas like Bulacan and Rizal, as well as the deterioration of Laguna de Bay’s water quality, threatens the food security of Metro Manila and Calabarzon.
In a briefing on Monday, Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) General Manager Neric O. Acosta told the media that data from the Philippine Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (Phil-Waves) showed land conversion increased the population of those living along the lakeshore.
“If it’s business as usual, the same number of aqua structures, more or less the same kind of water pollution, and then give or take another million or so people in the whole Calabarzon [Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon] and lake basin every year, the numbers are going to be quite dismal,” Acosta said.
Acosta added that land conversion caused the rapid decline of the water quality of the lake and endangered the fish that could be harvested from the Laguna de Bay.
Based on the Phil-Waves findings, land conversion has more than doubled at a rate of 116 percent between 2003 and 2010. These converted land could have been used for agriculture or watershed purposes.
The extent of land conversion, Acosta said, has already reached at least the lower level of the Sierra Madre mountains, Luzon’s primary defense against violent typhoons coming from the Pacific Ocean.
“We are making the assumption that over 100 percent din ang nawala that is related to food security, whether its a provisioning ecosystem service of irrigation or actual rice or whichever production of particular crops,” Acosta said.
With the increase in land conversion, data showed that 81 percent of the pollution—measured in Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)—in the Laguna Lake was due to domestic waste.
Data showed that the rest of the pollution came from industrial (9 percent); agricultural (5 percent); solid waste (3 percent); and forest (2 percent).
With the deterioration of the water quality, Acosta said, the Laguna Lake has also seen the increase of the knife fish population, which is a major threat to the bangus population in Laguna Lake.
“Knife fish is a terribly invasive fish specie. Before it gets to 1 kilo, it already has eaten up 7 kilos of fingerlings of bangus,” Acosta added. “That’s the opportunity cost for food security.”
Acosta said, however, that the LLDA could not prevent land conversion, particularly those sanctioned by local government units (LGUs).
He said that this is because the LLDA is only a quasi-judicial body and that LGUs in the country are considered autonomous based on Republic Act (RA) 7160, or the 1991 Local Government Code.
The LLDA general manager said that having a Land Use Act could help address the issue on land conversion. However, the piece of legislation has not been passed into law, even after 20 years.
“As the findings suggest, we need to improve the management of the environment and natural resources in these pilot areas (Laguna Lake and Southern Palawan). As these areas are microcosms of the state of the country’s ecosystems, this improvement is critical for growth to be inclusive and sustainable,” said National Economic and Development Authority Deputy Director General Emmanuel F. Esguerra.
The development of the Laguna Lake ecosystem accounts was based on the data collected and analyzed primarily by the LLDA with the assistance of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other government agencies. The LLDA is responsible for the water and land management of the Laguna Lake Basin.
Meanwhile, for the Southern Palawan ecosystem accounts, development was spearheaded by national and local technical working groups that consist of the DENR and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD).
PCSD was created under RA 7611, known as “Strategic Environment Plan [SEP] for Palawan Act,” to implement and enforce the laws to ensure sustainable development in Palawan in accordance with the SEP law.
Waves is a World Bank-supported global partnership that aims to account for the natural capital and services provided by ecosystems to know the full value of these resources for better planning.
The Philippines has been selected as one of the eight core implementing countries where the Waves Global Partnership Program has been launched.