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Our Environment & Lives are in Peril…
No to Laiban Dam!
Position of Haribon Foundation

The Laiban Dam project is a disastrous project in the offing. The environmental impacts of this $1B project are catastrophic as are the effects on peoples’ lives. At stake are not only flora and fauna, including its habitat but also peoples’ lives who are displaced from their inherited homes and farms to make way for the dam.

The proposed Laiban Dam is located in Mts. Irid-Angelo Important Biodiversity Area (IBA), an area declared as hot spot for conservation. Mt. Irid and Mt. Angelo are located on the boundaries between the provinces of Bulacan, Quezon and Rizal in the southern Sierra Madre mountains. Mt. Irid rises to 1,448 meters while Mt. Angelo is 1,315 meters high and as a mountain range Mts. Irid-Angelo is one of the remaining densely forested areas in the Philippines. Its extensive lowland and montane forests functioning as carbon sinks absorb and store large quantities of carbon and acts as life support for many threatened and restricted-range species of the Luzon Faunal Region. It serves as a major watershed for the Pampanga River Basin, Angat Dam and La Mesa Dam, and a major power and water source for Metro Manila.

Mts. Irid-Angelo forests provide many social, economic and environmental benefits in the communities. In addition, it provide wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, prevent soil erosion and flooding, help provide clean air and water, and contain tremendous biodiversity. Through the process of photosynthesis, forests produce oxygen on which most organisms depend and consume huge amounts of carbon dioxide which is one of the greenhouse gases that largely contribute to the global warming. By decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, forests thereby offset greenhouse gas emissions.

Mts. Irid-Angelo hosts Kaliwa Watershed Forest Reserve in which Laiban Dam is posed to be constructed was declared as a forest reserve by Proclamation No. 573 on June 22, 1968. In addition, under Proclamation No. 1636 issued on April 18, 1977, a portion of the watershed was declared as National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary or Game Refuge. Kaliwa Watershed has about 28,000 hectares of forests, ancestral and agricultural lands. The actual span of the proposed Laiban Dam is 1,380 hectares and at 113 meters high, it qualifies as a large dam. The International Commission on Large Dams regards dams that measure more than 15 m high as large dams. The Laiban Dam’s hydroelectric power capacity is expected to generate 25 megawatts of electricity.

The biggest portion of Kaliwa Watershed vegetation has approximately 12,147 hectares of residual forests which has 172 species (flora) recorded, 39 are endemic and 17 threatened (5 critically endangered, 4 endangered and 8 vulnerable). Notable species recorded in the area are endangered and rare Rafflesia manillana and jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys); and other critically endangered dipterocarp species like Red Lauan (Shorea negrosensis), White Lauan (Shorea contorta), Mayapis (Shorea palosapis), Bagtikan (Parashorea malaanonan), Tiaong (Shorea ovata) and Dungon (Heritiera sylvatica).

The location of Laiban Dam covers a protected mossy forest area of 103 hectares and a primary forest area spanning 2,479 hectares (REECS 1999), and said to be a natural habitat of 126 (fauna) species, 53% (or 67 species) of which are endemic to the Philippines where 12 of these endemic species restricted to Luzon Faunal region. Majority of the species are birds which comprises 88 species, 53 species are endemic to the Philippines and 10 of which are restricted to Luzon island. The threatened species found in the area includes the critically endangered Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), the Philippine Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus philippensis), the Philippine brown dear (Rusa marianna) formerly known as (Cervus mariannus) and the Philippine warty pig (Sus philippensis). 

In the study of dams made by the World Commission on Dams (WCD), established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), stated that large dams, “in too many cases an unacceptable and often unnecessary price has been paid to secure those benefits.” In the late 20th century widespread concern developed over the environmental effects of large dams. Many studies show that large dams have reduced the ability of rivers as well as the biology of the oceans receiving the river water. Moreover, a growing number of large dams are being decommissioned, mostly in Northern countries, mainly due to environmental reasons.

Despite studies and evidences that large dams have wiped out ecosystems, flooded large areas of lands, and displaced millions of people, the government aggressively pushes for the construction of the 113m high Laiban Dam. Building the dam can change the ecology of the surrounding area. It can devastate ecosystems, drown forests and wildlife (including threatened species), change water quality and sedimentation patterns, cause irreversible loss of agricultural lands and fertile soil and perhaps even affect climate. The climate change impact to be brought by the construction of Laiban Dam elevates to the level much higher than would occur from fossil fuel-based power generation facility. The expected increased production of greenhouse gases created by the dam acts as a source of methane and carbon dioxide due to accumulated plant materials and organisms in flooded areas. 

The Laiban Dam may also alter the water temperatures and microhabitats downstream of Kaliwa River Basin. Studies prove that water released from behind dams usually comes from close to the bottom of the reservoirs, where little sunlight penetrates. This frigid or freezing water significantly lowers the temperatures of sun-warmed shallows downstream, rendering them unfit for certain kinds of fish and other wildlife as they are largely dependent on a regular cycle of temperatures and the balance of other fauna may also be affected by the change of oxygen content. Natural rivers flow and meander, creating small pools and sandbars that provide a place for young fish, insects, and other river-dwelling organisms to thrive. But as studies show, large dams alter the river flow and artificially slow water to a near standstill causing the organic matter to settle to the bottom of the reservoir eliminating microhabitat and in some cases, their inhabitants.

Indeed, the proposed Laiban Dam will drive countless species of birds, plants and animals into extinction- all of which are woven together into one intricate web of life. Kaliwa Watershed not only supports wildlife resources but about 10,000 residents are found living within and around the watershed area directly benefiting from it. Portion of the watershed is classified as agricultural farms which are irrigated lands where farming activities like planting of cereals and sugar cane are being done by indigenous peoples and migrants in the communities as sources of their livelihood.

Large dams also wreak havoc on human populations. Similarly, the proposed Laiban Dam will lead to the disruption of a large segment of the local population. The diversion of river flow into the reservoir that will be created entails a reduction of available water for irrigation. The dam’s reservoir will inundate entire communities of Barangays Laiban, San Andres, Sta. Ines, Mamuyao, Tinukan and Cayabu in Tanay, Rizal and Barangay Limutan in General Nakar, Quezon to make way for the construction of the dam. Communities will be forced to seek out new places to live and work. Many of the residents are indigenous cultural communities of Dumagat and Remontado who are expected to suffer from ecological degradation and are at risk of losing their cultural identity because of the project. The culture of Dumagats and Remontados centers on Kaliwa Watershed who consider the watershed as part of their ancestral land. They will be forced to change their way of life when Laiban Dam will be constructed destroying the watershed, forever eliminating the culture built around them. The pending application by Dumagats and Remontados for Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claim (CADC) exacerbates the problem. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) has yet to act on the CADC application which covers the portion of Kaliwa Watershed.

The huge scale of the project magnifies the dangers posed by massive construction since a range of scientific studies show that the proposed dam will be constructed along in an active geologic fault i.e. Infanta fault (part of the Philippine fault), West Marikina fault, East Marikina fault, Daraitan fault and Lenatin fault. Studies prove that large lakes formed behind dams have been indicated as contributing to seismic activity due to changes in loading and/or height of the water table of dams. Besides, with the construction of Laiban Dam and in the event of dam breaks, a repeat of destructive flood in Northern Quezon in November 2004 which has resulted in an awful catastrophe is possible to happen. This was when an immense volume of water and mud with multitude of logs from the mountain rushed down to the towns of Real, Infanta and General Nakar which had damaged vast amount of properties and left 4,985 families homeless, 333 dead, 176 missing and 33 injured.

The Laiban Dam is to be built along the Sierra Madre mountain range which is considered as the largest remaining tract of rain forest in the country. Yet, conservation efforts in the mountain range have been stifled by profit-driven and flawed government policies in forestry and mining. These policies have often fallen into the trap of impositions-treating forests as hinterlands to be exploited for the social and economic benefit of the few, or to provide environmental services on someone else’s terms.

The Laiban Dam is not the answer to the looming “water crisis” in Metro Manila by 2015. Viable alternatives to Laiban Dam do exist, and more sustainable and cheaper. One of the most viable solutions to meet the demand of water in Metro Manila is for the government to restore denuded forests in existing watersheds like Angat and La Mesa which provides water to Metro Manila and its environ. Conservation of these restored forests will ensure continued supply of water in these existing dams for years to come. In addition, the government must rehabilitate the existing water reservoirs and implement an efficient water distribution systems and facilities. The devolution under the Local Government Code of 1991 is also an important option which provides the local government units with the central role in the provision of water supply and sanitation services to their constituents. Another key alternative is the lifestyle change of Metro Manila residents which includes among others water conservation that not only address water shortage but impacts of climate change as well. Furthermore, another simple and economical option is to reduce the demand for water coupled with improvement of the efficiency of services of water concessionaires i.e. Manila Water Company, Inc. (MWCI) and Maynilad Water Serices, Inc. (MWSI), by reducing their non revenue water (NRW) lost to leakages in water pipes.

Haribon opts for sustainable decisions. Building infrastructures poses more threats to biodiversity; choosing efficient and equally effective systems is not the answer to the “water crisis”.