Rehabilitating a river bank

Bioengineering is a mix of natural and civil works interventions that make use of natural elements to prevent flooding, erosion, and other disturbances in riverbanks, gullies, mountain trenches and similar sites. Bioengineering emphasizes the use of natural elements like plants and natural land and stone formations to protect communities and farms and prevent further ecological damage.

One application of bioengineering is the rehabilitation of a denuded and barren area along the Cabadbaran River in Brgy. Cabinet, Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte. Besieged by floods during the rainy season, the area was chosen to serve as the bioengineering demonstration and expansion site of the Fisheries Resource Management Project (FRMP) in Reg. 13 in October 2002.

FRMP is a six-year project intended to rehabilitate damaged fish habitats, provide alternative livelihood to fishers, and build skills of fishers and local government units in fisheries and coastal resource management. It is being implemented till end-2005 by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). FRMP is being funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

BFAR-FRMP is engaged in bioengineering to prevent water run-offs in rivers that add to the deterioration of our seas. It is among FRMP’s integrated coastal resource management interventions, following a similar project first piloted in Puerto Princesa City.

Barangay Captain Catalina Duran expressed her gratitude when she heard that her barangay is the pilot beneficiary of the said project. "Akong daku nga kaikag sa pagdawat niini nga proyekto tungod kay makatabang kini pagpugong sa baha nga mosulod sa mga kabalayan dapit sa suba ilabi na kung kusog ang ulan. (I am very much eager to accept this project because this will help prevent flooding near the river during heavy rains.)," she said.

During FRMP’s training workshop on riverbank bioengineering, barangay kagawad Roberto Cebrian testified that Cabadbaran River used to run deep and clean, with its riverbanks teeming with plants and trees. Aquatic life used to be abundant and an islet could be found in the river. People in the locality usually fished the area for sustenance.

All this changed in the past few years. Cebrian observed that the fish in the river became scarce. The river’s waters became shallow and polluted, and the islet disappeared. Flooding occurred, especially during heavy rains and typhoons. While floodwaters washed out some trees, more houses were built along the riverbanks.

The establishment of the first riverbank rehabilitation demo project at Brgy. Cabinet in October 2002 boosted the fisherfolk’s resolve to rehabilitate the riverbank. Vetiver grasses, bamboos and trees (madre de cacao and talisay) were used as planting materials and poles. These materials served as the initial attempts to revegetate the area.

What had been planted since had grown. The fast development of the project is partly attributed to favorable conditions observed since the project started, like the absence of severe floods. The fisherfolk beneficiaries have also done their share in implementing their assumed tasks to sustain the project, regularly replanting the vetiver grass and cleaning up the site.

The Cabinet fisherfolk say the project site has become a head-turning sight along the river. The project looks like a hill, particularly when they implemented Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT).

In June 2003, heavy rains, springtide and strong wave actions caused some damages to portions of the rehabilitated riverbank, though no flooding occurred. The situation prompted the local community to rehabilitate the affected areas. The damaged portions were repaired in early September 2003. Despite the damage, the fisherfolk beneficiaries were thankful that the rains were not strong enough to flood their homes.

The Cabinet barangay council is now conducting several information drives to popularize the bioengineering project. Municipal Agriculturist Araceli Soria is optimistic that with more people getting to be aware of the project, other communities near the riverbanks would replicate the project in their own sites.

The riverbank rehabilitation project was also implemented in another pilot site at Brgy. Buhangin, Butuan City. After almost two years of implementation, residents living near the riverbank claimed that the project contributed much to control flooding in the area.

With these positive results of the bioengineering project, it was expanded to cover two other project sites in the towns of Buenavista and Nasipit in August 2004 during a Training-Workshop on Integrated Coastal Resource Management. The beneficiaries are confident that these projects would yield the same positive effects as that of the two earlier pilot sites in Reg. 13. (FRMP-IEC)