An assessment of the potential for Payment for Ecosystem Services to support the sustainable management of Gabayan Watershed, Bohol, Philippines

Abstract

The Gabayan watershed is a heavily degraded multi-use landscape covering over 5,000 hectares in eastern Bohol, Philippines. The principal livelihood activities of subsistence agriculture - particularly rice and maize production - as well as livestock management and aquaculture, are closely bound to the ecosystem services provided by the watershed. The degraded nature of the watershed, which has been largely deforested and replaced with extensive agricultural and grasslands, has led to alternate flooding and drought episodes, an accelerated level of soil erosion as well as downstream sedimentation, all of which impact the livelihoods of local communities. Alternative land-use practices which continue to offer livelihood benefits are required to tackle these environmental problems bur remain nascent and technical capacity low. Incentivising these land use practices using a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) mechanism has been identified by local stakeholders as a potential solution and this study employs interdisciplinary techniques from participatory mapping to hydrological modelling to determine whether PES is a viable solution in the Gabayan watershed. Through a combination of scientific, policymaker and local ecological knowledge (MEK, PEK and LEK) the most important ecosystem services are identified, quantified and mapped. A series of simulated scenarios determine the relationship between land management practices and ecosystem services and a set of indicators for determining the viability of a PES scheme is offered. Finally, the architecture of a potential PES scheme in the Gabayan watershed is proposed