An Integrated River Basin Management and Development Master Plan for Apayao – Abulug River Basin will be formulated by the River Basin Control Office and the Woodfields Consultants, Inc. (WCI) soon. Said river basin is considered as 1 of the 3 most vulnerable river basins to disaster in the country.

According to Dr. Orlando Balderama, WCI Consultant and Isabela State University (ISU) Director of Research and Development, the Apayao – Abulug River Basin is considered critical for its role in irrigation and is in need of rehabilitation. The proposed plan is then expected to address the following concerns: water resources management, watershed/ environment management, coastal and freshwater resources management, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction management, institutional linkages and organizational structure for the River Basin management, among others.

The project will involve two phases: Phase 1- the water policy and strategy formulation which involves preparatory activities, problem analysis, data collection, review of IRBM approach and strategy formulation; and Phase 2 – the formulation of the master plan which includes the revalidation of the problems and issues using the IRBM Approach, identification/ formulation of alternatives, formulation, presentation and finalization of the master plan.

During the regular meeting of the Regional Committee on Sustainable Development, NEDA 2 OIC-Regional Director MaryAnne E.R. Darauay recommended that they should also look for the master plan’s consistency in the enhanced-Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan (PDPFP) of the Province of Cagayan. She also suggested to make use of the Disaster Risk Vulnerability Assessment (DRVA) Report of the province which was prepared and endorsed by the Provincial Government.

For the next steps, Dr. Balderama informed that Recoinnaisance Survey will be conducted and community visits and stakeholder forum are among the scheduled activities for this month.