Developing pro-poor markets for environmental services in the ...

interest, and the Barangay Council of Balian started intervening in domestic water supply
provision. Projects were being implemented without consulting the local organisation, and
worse, some of these projects were redundant. For instance, a national government initiative
built a reservoir in exactly the same location where one already existed, courtesy of SBPTI.
The new system could not be operated after construction, and the council wanted to turn the
management over to SBPTI. When the latter refused, the council tried to take over the
leadership of the organisation. It failed to do this, so the community is still relying on the old
system they themselves set up. More importantly, the SBPTI has maintained control over its
watershed and water-supply system. Because the organisation has such deep roots in the way
of life of the people in the area, local governments end up deferring to it.
A Taiwanese company is interested in putting up a mineral water-processing plant in the
upland portion of Balian. The spring source is located within private land, which the LK has
identified as a major source for its water supply. If the landowner decides to sell to the
Taiwanese company, the LK’s activities will be greatly affected. Not only will they have
wasted time and effort since they have already identified this as one of their water sources
and have started work in establishing the necessary boundaries. More importantly, there is the
threat that the increased demand for water for industrial purposes will have negative impact
on the whole community’s water supply. To resolve this, members of the LK, together with
the municipal LGU, have been lobbying hard to claim ownership over the rights to use the
water, based on constitutional provisions on the ownership of water by the state. If they are
able to convince the landowner that they do possess these rights and that they intend to
exercise them, the landowner will eventually stop entertaining the idea of selling to the
mineral water company. The landowner has not made any decision yet on whether to deal
with the company or with the LK. Another tact they are looking at is to buy the land from the
owner, so that the LK – i.e. the whole community – can own the spring source as well. They
are negotiating a lower price, however, and the owner is still thinking things over on this
issue as well. If the deal goes through, they will declare the area as a watershed sanctuary,
and commercial interests will not be prohibited in the area.
Another source of conflict is the presence of carabao grazers in the grasslands of the
watershed. In searching for grassy areas, carabaos sometimes accidentally tread on pipelines,
thereby breaking the supply of water to some households. SBPTI has tried to investigate the
identity of the carabao owners. In some cases these carabao owners belong to neighbouring
municipalities, and are difficult to control. The best that the organisation can do is to reach
out to residents living in the uplands, and train them to be more vigilant in watching out for
these carabao grazers.
The LK has likewise identified grazing carabao in the uplands as a source of soil erosion, and
they are constantly trying to convince the grazers they have identified not to do so in the
upland areas. One disincentive for these grazers is a municipal ordinance declaring illegal
carabao grazing in the uplands. The LK has promised not to squeal on the identified grazers
provided they stop their activities in the uplands, and that they participate in the
establishment of the 100-meter radius around the water sources of Balian.
A fourth source of conflict is with the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) which
manages the lake located beside Pangil, along with 26 other lakeshore municipalities, 22 nonlakeshore
municipalities, and 12 cities. Laguna Lake catches all the tributaries from the
provinces of Rizal and Laguna, as well as some from Cavite, Quezon, Batangas, and Metro
Manila. After delineating boundaries to indicate their total area of jurisdiction, the LLDA has
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