The Carood Watershed Project in the Philippines is working to restore and rejuvenate the natural environment within the Carood Watershed area. The project helps to demonstrate the importance of environmental restoration to livelihoods and food security.
The Watershed Project, supported by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), focuses on restoring degraded forests, preserving water reservoirs, and promoting sustainable land management practices. The initiative also connects ecological health and food security.
As part of the restoration project, community members planted cash crops, perennial crops, and high-value crops that offered sources of livelihood.
According to the FAO, ecosystems play a crucial role in agriculture by providing vital services like nutrient cycling, soil fertility, and water regulation. When mismanaged or degraded, these ecosystems directly impact agricultural productivity, soil quality, and water availability, affecting food production. But by enhancing agricultural conditions, the U.N. agency is helping communities access diverse and reliable food sources.
The U.N. Global Water Security Assessment reports that three-quarters of the global population resides in countries grappling with water insecurity.
“One third of food production is reliant on rivers. Freshwater systems produce or influence more than half of fish consumed globally. An increase in extreme poverty in developing countries — for the first time in two decades — is inextricably linked to the global food insecurity crisis almost 40 percent of global croplands already experience water scarcity,” Lis Mullin Bernhardt, Officer of Freshwater Unit, Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), tells Food Tank.
In the Philippines, agriculture captures the majority of the country’s exploitable water resources, according to Harold (Krystian) Javier, Program Policy Officer, Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) for WFP Philippines.
Through the Project, the FAO collaborated with the Philippine government to devise innovative, participatory, and nature-oriented forest management methodologies. This led to the establishment of the Carood Watershed Model Forest Management Council, where various stakeholders—ranging from chief executives and local government units to community groups and academies—join together in collaborative decision-making.
“We need to do more joined-up thinking to look at interconnected ecosystems, for example watersheds and forested areas which are critical to cities. Urban areas are particularly vulnerable and affected,” Bernhardt tells Food Tank. “The Philippines Carood Watershed Model Forest Project is a great example of this kind of thinking.”
UNEP believes that collaborative endeavors akin to the Carood Watershed Project can serve as blueprints for transformative change. Through proactive initiatives, inclusive governance, and investment in sustainable practices, nations can pave the way for a more resilient and secure future, ensuring equitable access to vital resources while safeguarding the planet for generations to come.
“Delayed action is no longer an option in the face of the devastating effects of climate change, the extinction crisis and severe land degradation globally,” Bernhard tells Food Tank. “We must embrace change, complexity and circularity to create water-resilient food systems.”
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Photo courtesy of Hitoshi Namura, Unsplash
