The Integrated Natural Resources and Environmental Management Project or INREMP is a 10-year project amounting to P2.6 billion and is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It is projected to address the unsustainable watershed management in four upper river basins, namely: the Chico River Basin in CAR, Lake Lanao Basin in the ARMM, the Bukidnon River Basin in Region 10, and the Wahig-Inabanga River Basin of Bohol in Region 7. The project encompasses the municipalities of Dagohoy, Danao, San Miguel, Trinidad, Jagna, Inabanga, Pilar, Carmen, Sierra Bullones, Sagbayan, Buenavista, Duero and Talibon. Just a week ago, Gov. Edgar M. Chatto was able to discuss the latest developments on the project with Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III, Sec. Ramon Paje of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), DENR-7 Regional Director Isabelo Montejo, and Bohol's PENRO Nestor Canda.

The project will particularly focus on indigenous people and resource-poor communities and will aim to reduce and reverse degradation of watersheds and associated environment services caused by forest denudation and unsustainable farming practices. It will also provide incentives to local communities, local government units, and the DENR for improving natural resource management by generating sufficient and tangible economic benefits. The project components are the river basin and watershed management and investment planning; small holder and institutional investments in forest protection and conservation, reforestation, rehabilitation and improvement of rural infrastructure; strengthening of river basin and watershed management capacity and related governance mechanisms; and project management and support services. To succeed, advocates formulated certain mechanisms to achieve its objectives, namely: the Payment for Environmental Services (PES) including water regulation, soil conservation, carbon offsets, and biodiversity; income generation from sustainable use and management and value-added processing of timber and non-timber forest products; and improvement of natural resource productivity and climate resilience in project watersheds in order to increase rural household incomes and LGU revenues in the Wahig-Inabanga River Watershed.

These mechanisms are expected to improve the condition of the watershed and generate livelihood benefits in the project area. Development interventions are still necessary to keep it going like the management of natural resources, small infrastructures and livelihood investments. In this case, natural resource management would be in the form of either reforestation or afforestation, assisted natural regeneration (ANR), sustainably-managed natural forest, agro-forestry, and commercial tree plantation. As to small infrastructures, the project would be needing access road rehabilitation, communal irrigation, potable water supply, and trading centers. On the other hand, its livelihood investment would require micro, small and medium-sized agro-business; post-harvest management; micro-credit; seed fund; and, conservation farming practices. Adding to this, there are National Greening Program (NGP) sites within the Wahig-Inabanga River Watershed like in San Isidro, Trinidad and in Concepcion, Danao which could greatly augment said project. The Provincial Government, with appropriate endorsements from the DENR and the national government, are urging everyone to also support the three national irrigation systems namely the Malinao Dam in Pilar, the Bayongan Dam in San Miguel and the Capayas Dam in Ubay, covering a vast 10,040-hectare area, which are also targeted to support the INREMP. (Janet Lim-Villarojo)