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Watersheds play a vital role in sustaining our communities and the biodiversity within. They provide drinking water, food, air for humans and wildlife, and support habitat for plants and animals. Additionally, watersheds affect everyone’s lives especially on the health aspect. Hence, it is important to protect, preserve, and rehabili- tate the watersheds.

In Davao City, the Talomo-Lipadas Watershed in Toril District provides the drinking water supply of its people. Yet, the population of the city is increasing and the lone watershed cannot suffice the needed water of the people. To ease that, the adjacent Panigan-Tamugan Watershed in Baguio District, a sub-watershed of the Davao River Bantay Bukid Volunteers: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Frontliners in Panigan-Tamugan Watershed Basin, has been selected as the next source of drinking water wherein surface water from Panigan River combining with Tamugan River will be tapped.

However, there are realities in the upland areas affecting the health of the watersheds. Both the Talomo-Lipadas and Panigan-Tamugan Watersheds are continuously affected by various unsustainable economic activities such as monocrop agri-business plantations, massive deforestation, and conversion of forest lands into other land uses. Some people continuously violate the existing national and local environmental policies such as the basic implementation of required buffer zones in between conservation areas and plantations that resulted to further soil erosion, triggered landslides, and flooding in the lowlands and urban areas affecting both water quality and quantity. Agricultural farms are rampantly using synthetic pesticides through aerial or boom spraying that further heightened the risk of contaminating river systems, local aquifers, and water tables. Violation of proper waste disposal is also observed that poses threats to river waters and other ecosystems. Lastly, there are increasing numbers of poultry and piggery farms that operate around the conservation areas without permits. Some of them are directly throwing their wastewater into the river.

With these man-made destructions in the watersheds, it did not only affect the drinking water supply of Dabawenyos but it did contribute to increasing the im- pacts of climate change. Climate risks will continue to be exacerbated if destructions will not be stopped. While environmentalists advocate different ways to end these environmental issues, a lot of people are also making itworse and acting nonchalant about it.

While advocates are in the frontline of lobbying for environmental policies, whether for passage or implementation, the local communities are also in the frontlines of protecting, conserving, and rehabilitating the watersheds. Their active participation is important so policy recommendations are based on issues and concerns that affect them. Hence, actions and solutions will also benefit them. In 2011, the Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) has partnered with the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) in implementing the project Upscaling Community Action and Response (UCARE) in Talomo-Lipadas and Panigan-Tamugan Watersheds. The project led to the development of the Bantay Bukid Program (BBP) in support of the implementation of the Davao City Watershed Code and recognized by the city government the following year. Since the implementation of the program, Bantay Bukid volunteers has apprehended people in violation of environmental policies, specifically the Watershed Code and Forestry Code. Violations ranged from illegal poultry farming, illegal quarry operations, improper wastes disposal, to illegal fishing and illegal climbing/trekking at Mt. Tipolog. There were also violators of the Forestry code apprehended by the BBP. Illegal activities reported include cutting of trees and use of chainsaws.

In 2017, during the Watershed Stakeholders Summit, IDIS lobbied for the recognition and inclusion of Bantay Bukid Volunteers, and called for support from the LGU. In response, Mayor Sara Duterte ordered the concerned local government agencies such as the Public Safety Security Command Center and Watershed Management Council to partner with IDIS and Philippine Eagle Foundation in developing the guidelines on Bantay Bukid Program. Major functions of Bantay Bukid identified include watershed monitoring, biodiversity monitoring, river monitoring, and disaster early warning, preparedness, and response. It was also during that year that they started to receive a monthly allowance of Php2,000 each. In 2019, the LGU increased their monthly allowance to Php2,500.