Possible Pilot: Pampanga River Outfall

To provide an example project/location, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency wants to plan for a pilot location to be developed. One of the main issues with motivating Nature-based Solutions in the Philippines is a lack of good example projects; the construction of a pilot location may solve this problem. Moreover, the pilot location can be considered the first project arising out of this strategy and the wider Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan. This chapter will discuss the layout, possible construction methodology, institutional arrangement, and conceptual cost estimates for a pilot location at the Pampanga River outfall.

The Pampanga River outfall is a location where various issues related to flood protection and, natural habitats and protection of critical habitats come together. The river has been diked far from the original outflow (see Figure 3‑5). Most of the mudflats and coastal mangrove forest are transformed into fishponds or fishpens, and the riverbed and foreshore seabed are being used as mining areas. The pilot aligns with the plans of the Building with Nature Asia Landscape proposition [7] and ongoing efforts by the DENR to declare the lower Pampanga River as a Critical Habitat which together seeks to restore natural habitats and protect ecosystems and biodiversity along the North Manila Bay coastline. The removal of fish pens/ponds also contributes to a direct reduction in flooding upstream, according to [21].