Why GCash is planting trees at the Ipo Watershed
Earlier this year, Manila was gripped by a water crisis. At its peak, large parts of Metro Manila had zero water supply, prompting water rationing from local governments and concessionaires. There were viral videos of condominium dwellers fetching water from their pools and barangay residents fighting around water trucks. It was traced to the late onset of the rainy season, coupled with demand that has outgrown available infrastructure. Much was heard about the then declining water supply at the Angat Dam, Metro Manila’s main water source, and the La Mesa Dam, the emergency reservoir. But there wasn’t much talk about the Ipo Watershed, the deforestation of which is believed to be one of the root causes of depleted water supply in the reservoirs. The Ipo watershed was declared a protected area by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) but forest cover in the watershed is now only at 40%, a drastic drop from 85% several years ago, accordi...