Feature Story: Collaborative land management in Mindanao promotes climate-adaptive strategies for uncontrolled water hyacinths

In Agusan del Sur, the GIZ project “Responsible Land Governance in Mindanao (RLGM) has promoted the concept of Collaborative Land Management (CLM) focusing on common pool resources as a sustainable mechanism for conflict-sensitive, gender-sensitive, and climate-resilient land management.

In 2022, the RLGM pilot testing of CLM in Lake Kilobidan was successfully adopted by the community and the local government, benefitting about 45 families in 37 households. The CLM approach supported a lake community’s livelihood by teaching them to create floating gardens using invasive water hyacinths as soil medium, so that vegetables and reforestation would be possible the whole year.

“We are thankful that this project reached our homes in Kilobidan. The project Team really immersed themselves here to see how we live and see our daily challenges and how to address them, we hope this will be sustained,” says Elenna D. Montes, Head, Audit Committee, Katibuan tu Mangingisda tu Kilobidan (KMK, Group of Fisherfolks in Kilobidan).

Lake Kilobidan, a common pool resource, sits along the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, one of the most ecologically significant wetlands in the Philippines, covering about 40,000 hectares and storing more than 15% of the country’s freshwater resources in the form of swamp forests. The Marsh acts as a "giant sponge" which soaks up excess water, from a yearly rainfall of four meters, protecting downstream cities and towns from devastating floods. The AMWS is also one of Asia's most important transit points for migratory birds.

In recent years, flooding in Lake Kilobidan has intensified and lasted longer. During the monsoon season, much of the farmland along the lake is covered by water, making it impossible to grow crops. Even when the floods recede, the land remains waterlogged restricting vegetable farming for locals to feed themselves and generate income. Another challenge is the presence of water hyacinths that block the waterways and crowd the Lake itself, damaging fish nets; fishery being a source of local livelihood.

To address the water hyacinth invasion, RLGM, through its partners taught the community to create floating gardens. According to Mr. Jeffrey Capacillo, KMK Public Information Officer “Many positive changes happened from this collaboration. We started dreaming again about a bright future for our family.”

As the RLGM Project ends in mid-2023, the pilot CLM has been successful in getting stakeholders to engage in a dialogue and undergo the necessary steps to achieve a collective agreement in managing Lake Kilobidan.

“For the longest time, we have been waiting for this kind of support and assistance to address our needs here in Kilobidan, and we are hopeful that this is the answer to our prayers,” says Jobert Flores, Head of Environment Committee, KMK Board of Directors.

As a way forward, the Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Office (PENRO) of Agusan del Sur will replicate the process of establishing a collaborative management structure in other barangays within the Marsh, noting that “The RLGM CLM concept truly empowered the community to make suitable agreements and policies that will manage and regulate the activities in the Lake. This approach has never been introduced in the Marsh and the community is grateful for this pilot-testing experience.” The PENRO plans to propose a budget from the provincial government to replicate and sustain CLM with the communities.

Commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in May 2018, and implemented by GIZ, the RLGM Project partnered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, the Department of Housing, Settlements and Urban Development, selected local governments, and other relevant national agencies and civil society organizations. Photos @GIZ Philippines