Sustainable Solutions for the Cordillera Mountains

Cordillera Conservation Trust

Tignayan para iti Konserbasyon ti Kordilyera

Our Stories

The Cordillera Region of the Philippines is acknowledged as the major water reservoir of Northern Luzon and supplies for most of the irrigation needs of the plains that surround the mountain range.

 

Through a grant from the National Geographic Society the members of the Philippine Central Cordillera Traverse in April of 2005 walked across the Cordillera Mountains to map out the ancient trails that connect the mountain region and to do a study of the people and environment of the region. Today through the newly formed Cordillera Conservation Trust, created by the members of the Cordillera Traverse Expedition to further their goals of the equitable and sustainable development of our mountains, the results and analysis of this study will be made public through the Cordillera People and Environment report.

 

The research project, covering 51 settlements in the most remote areas in the region, aims to provide relevant recommendations based on current and locally contextual situations for the sustainable development and management of the mountain regions resources and people taking into consideration local cultural norms and nuances as well as ecological factors that affect development and management of the mountain region.

 

Several parameters or indicators of sustainability were used in the study among others were: Altitude, Population Density, Livelihood, Resource Status, Ethnic Grouping, and Accessibility. Notable among the observations was the high percentage of villages suffering from water shortages with 57% of the villages’ surveyed suffering from mild to severe water shortages.

 

With the results of the study the team was able to come up with cultural maps of the villages surveyed and based on the indicators were also able to identify the villages which are immediately vulnerable to environmental or natural resource degradation. The ethnographic mapping together with the environmental risk factors can also be used to determine potential hot spots for environmental conflict based on resource degradation, livelihood, and predisposition to conflicts.

 

Recommendations such as Cultural and Ecologically based resource management, Fuel Use Efficiency Development, Environmental Degradation Risk Assessment, Integration of women in decision making, and Conflict management through improvement of local ecological systems among others. The study and recommendations provides a holistic approach in managing natural resources that takes the people practices and culture into account as well as the local ecological systems unique characteristics to provide locally contextual solutions to environmental problems that affect the mountain region.

 

The report will be distributed to all the municipalities concerned so that they may use it in the local management of the ecosystem and resources.

Mountain Views

CCT Releases Cordillera Environment and People Report