Location and Boundaries

Geographical Location

Nueva Vizcaya in the Philippines.  It is one of the five (5) provinces of Region 02 and one of the four (4) mainland provinces of the region. It is the third largest province in terms of land area with 13.10% share of the regional total of 29,836.88 sq. km (PSA, 2015). The Province of Isabela and Cagayan are the two largest provinces with 46.17% and 34.75% share of regional area, respectively.

Topography and Slope

Elevation

Situated along the headwaters of Cagayan and Magat Rivers, Nueva Vizcaya has an elevation ranging from 200 – 2,920 MASL as shown in Figure C-a and Table C-1. The highest peak is located at Mt. Pulag in Kayapa at 2,860 meters MASL. The lowest point is below 200 meters MASL at the Magat Reservoir in Diadi.

• Elevation below 600 MASL

Areas with elevation of below 600 MASL comprise 25% of the province’ total land area. All 15 municipalities have areas within this category, with 65,393.25 hectares in the north and 47,339.03 hectares in the south. Located within this elevation range are mostly ricelands, croplands, production forests and built-up areas. Most of these areas are sprawled along the valley floor and along the Magat River and its tributaries.

Also located within this elevation are the two major bodies of water, the Magat and Casecnan Rivers. These rivers support two (2) large multi-purpose dams, the MARIIS in Ramon, Isabela and CMPIP in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija respectively, and the Bugnay River in Diadi.  These two rivers are the biggest rivers in the province in terms of drainage with a combined area of 322,228.85 hectares.

• Elevation 600-1,000 MASL

The dominant elevation in the province is 600-1000 MASL. These account to 46% of the total land area with 30,811.93 hectares in the north sector and 171,127.48 hectares in the south sector. Within this area are the production and protection forests, forestry plantations, agro-forestry areas and some built-up.

The Matuno River in Ambaguio and Kayapa as a tributary of Magat River is stretched along this 600-1,000 MASL elevation range. This river has been recognized for its potential for multi-purpose hydro-electric power source. The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) of Nueva Vizcaya had already developed an 8 MW ROR Mini Hydropower Project along Matuno River located 5.5 km downstream of the proposed NIA Multi-purpose dam which is being subjected for study.

• Elevation above 1,000 MASL

Areas with elevation of above 1,000 MASL comprise 29% of the province’s total land area with 10,566.28 hectares in the north and 117,486.83 hectares in the south. Most of these areas are situated in the southern municipalities of the province with Kayapa covering the largest area, followed by Alfonso Castañeda and Dupax del Sur. All of these areas are considered protection area and most are protection forests. This is the elevation where mossy forest and old growth forests still abound, as well as several areas devoted to agriculture for cash crops as source of livelihood of the upland dwellers. Bagabag and Diadi do not have an area under this elevation range.

Within the 1,000 MASL elevation range, the headwaters of Ganip River in Alfonso Castaneda, Dupax del Norte and Kasibu, Diduyon River in Kasibu, Dupax del Norte and Bambang, and the Pampang River in Kayapa and Kasibu are found. Outflows of these three (3) rivers head to the provinces of Quirino and Pangasinan, respectively.

Slope and Landforms

The topography of the province comes in various forms. Approximately 76% of the province is mountainous, characterized by steep to very steep landform; 7% is rolling to moderately steep, and only 2% is undulating to rolling. Ambaguio and parts of Quezon and Bayombong are considered mountainous in the north having slopes of more than 50% and the municipalities of Alfonso Castañeda, Kayapa, Santa Fe, and Dupax del Sur in the south.

Land resources potential for development

Land resources potential for development are the areas within the 0-8 slope ranges. The north sector of the province covers 41% while the south sector covers 59% of the total area for development of 64,121.43 hectares. Most of these areas are located in Bagabag, Solano and Bayombong in the North and Bambang, Kasibu, and Aritao in the south, these municipalities alone have combined area of 38,506.41 hectares or 60% of the whole area of the province’s potential for development. Bambang has the largest area with 9,461.71 hectares or 15% of the total area for development, while Ambaguio has the least with 1,264.51 hectares or 2% of the total area for development.

Generally, about 90% of the total areas for development lie within the 0-500 MASL elevation range and the rest at 500-1000 MASL elevation range.

Some of the areas for development, about 25,660.04 hectares, are found to be in A&D (21,596.62 hectares) and forest lands (4,063.41 hectares). Out of 25,660.04 hectares, 65% are in the North sector and 35% in the North sector. Diadi occupies the largest area with 3,783.92 hectares.

Agricultural land dominates the land use of the potential areas for development covering about 17%; followed by brush/shrubs at 15%. These lands are relatively leveled to gently sloping, with some areas particularly those near water bodies, prone to flooding, river bank erosion, and scouring. These are usually caused by heavy downpour and excessive siltation of waterways.

Geology and Soil

Geology

A Soil Characterization Study of Nueva Vizcaya by the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) in 2003 described the province’s geology as being subjected to geotectonic processes forming complex and rugged geologic features of mountain ranges. The province has 2 main classes of underlying rocks. These are the igneous and sedimentary rocks which are believed to be deposited and consolidated during the upper cretaceous and tertiary periods. Igneous rocks have the largest deposit in the area while sedimentary rocks are scattered, mapped mostly in the northern portion of the province as shown in Figure C-m and Table C-17.

About 75.3% of the total land area of the province is covered by igneous rocks. The five (5) types of igneous rocks identified are the Andesite Series, Metarocks, Quartz Diorite, Ultrabasic Rocks, and Volcanic Rock. Sedimentary rocks occupy about 24.3%. Five (5) types of sedimentary rocks identified are the Unconsolidated Conglomerate, Coralline Limestone, Crystalline Limestone, Recent Alluvium, and Sandstone and Siltstone. The remaining 0.3% covers the reservoir.

Soil

The 1985 Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) Nueva Vizcaya Land Resources Evaluation Study describes that majority of the soil resources of the province have clay loam texture. This is attributed to the abundance of fine grained volcanic rocks, sedimentary derivatives and pyroclastics. However, along the river terraces, silt loam is the dominant texture. Its hydrological properties are described as moderate to high water holding capacity except those soils along the river terraces and sedimentary hills. Except for clayey alluvial plains, all the upland soils are considered well drained both internally and externally. Infiltration rate varies from slow to moderate in all uplands. Permeability varies from moderately rapid to rapid in the upland soils and along the river terraces, while slow to moderately slow in lowlands.

Studies conducted by BSWM in 2003 shows twenty three (23) soil series, forty five (45) soil types, five (5) soil complexes and three (3) miscellaneous land types in the province. Likewise, it shows three (3) pedo-ecological zones, namely: a) upland; b) hilly land; and c) highland composed of an aggregate total of thirteen (13) major physiographic units that have been differentiated according to land form and their geologic formation.

Soil series with high to very high fertility in the province are Peñaranda, San Manuel and Quingua, and most are located in the alluvial plains. The dominant soil series with a land area of 168,781.13 hectares in the province as shown in Table 1-17 are the soil complexes which are mostly located at the mountainous regions of the province, and its fertility generally described as low. The description of the major soil series of the province are presented in Table C-18 and Figure C-n. These are Annam clay loam, Bago sandy clay loam, Bantay-bauang complex, Bantog clay loam, Brooke’s loam, Guimbalaoan annam complex, Guimbalaon clay loam, Guimbalaon clay loam eroded phase, Guimbalaon gravelly clay loam, Luisiana annam complex, Maligaya clay loam, Mountain soils, Quingua silt loam, Quinqud clay loam, Riverwash, Rugao clay, San juan loam, San manuel sandy loam, San manuel silt loam, Sevilla clay, Sibul clay, Sta. Flomena clay loam, Umingan loam, and some are unknown.

Climate Type

Climatic conditions are a result of long term observation of precipitation and temperature of a particular area. Based on the modified Corona’s Classification of Climate derived by Fr. J. Corona, the four climate types in the Philippines are Types I, II, III, and IV. The province falls under two (2) types of climate, namely Type II and Type III. Type II means no dry season with a very pronounced maximum rain period from December to February. There is not a single dry month. Minimum monthly rainfall occurs during the period from March to May. The northwestern part of the province falls within this type of climate. Type III means no very pronounced maximum rain period, with a short dry season lasting only from one to three months, either during the period from December to February or from March to May. This climate type resembles Type I since it has a short dry season. The eastern part of the province falls within this type of climate.

Historical Temperature Record

Temperature is the degree of hotness and coldness of an environment. The province’s mean monthly temperature in 2013 – 2017 increased for the months of May to June and September to December as compared to the mean monthly temperature for the two periods (1975-1984 & 2001-2003) but declined for the months of January to February as compared to the mean monthly temperature for the period 1975-1984. The month of August recorded the highest increase in mean monthly temperature while the month of February recorded the lowest between the observation periods.

Hydrologic Profile

WATER RESOURCES

WATERSHED

With its rugged topography, the province had produced a complex web of rivers, streams and creeks as shown in Figure C-m, in a form of watershed. Watershed, as defined by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is a land area drained by a stream or fixed body of water and its tributaries having a common outlet for surface runoff. The major watersheds in the province are the Magat, Pampang, Casecnan, Diduyon, Ganip, and Pantabangan, as shown in Figure C-m and Figure C-n.

The Magat Watershed covers all the municipalities of Nueva Vizcaya except for Alfonso Castañeda and it has 11 tributaries: (1) Bukig River, (2) Matuno River, (3) Santa Fe River, (4) Marang River, (5) Benay River, (6) Manga River, (7) Campote River, (8) Bugnay River, (9) Salinas River, (10) Santa Cruz River, and (11) Cabanglasan River, with a combined drainage area of 249,917.09 hectares as shown in Table C-17 (watershed/ drainage area). These rivers are characterized by steep gradient at the upstream and slightly decreasing gradient towards the downstream.

Specifically, these rivers are described as follows:

Bukig and Matuno Rivers. The upper streams of these rivers start in the Cordillera mountain ranges at the western part of the province, and traverse Ambaguio and Kayapa, respectively. The two (2) rivers end before Batu Bridge where the Magat River starts and connects to the Colocol Creek. Their watersheds comprise portions of Ifugao and Benguet province and the municipalities of Kayapa, Santa Fe, Aritao, Bambang and Ambaguio. The Imugan River coming from Santa Fe drains towards the Santa Cruz River.

Santa Fe, Marang, Benay, Manga, and Campote Rivers. These five (5) rivers originated from the eastern slope of Caraballo mountain ranges and flows northward. They merge before Indiana Bridge and later merge with Santa Cruz River before Cupas Bridge in Bambang and later join with Matuno River just before Batu Ferry Bridge and there it forms the mighty Magat River. The major watershed of the five (5) rivers covers the Municipality of Santa Fe, Aritao, Dupax del Sur, and Dupax del Norte.

Sta. Cruz, Cabanglasan and Salinas Rivers. These three (3) rivers contributes to the Magat River. Sta. Cruz River from Sta. Fe and the Cabanglasan River from Kayapa meets at  Aritao then goes to Bambang where Salinas River is located then to the Magat River.

Bugnay River. A small river located in the eastern part of Diadi which contributes to the Magat River and drains to the province of Isabela.

These eleven (11) rivers have influenced the social and economic development of the Southern Municipalities of the province. It is their major source of food and water for their rice lands. However, it is also a major factor in the decline of rice lands due to riverbank erosion and siltation. The municipality of Bambang is the most affected settlement since it is located at the confluence of these four major rivers. While it benefits from the irrigation water it provides, the destruction from floods and erosion remains a major challenge to the municipality.

As previously mentioned, the Magat River and its downstream river tributaries (Angadanan, Dumayop and Oriweng River) is considered as one major river that contributes largely to social and economic development in the province. It starts before Batu Ferry Bridge and flows through the floodplain of the province. It is then joined by the Angadanan, Dumayop and Oriweng Rivers in Bagabag, towards the reservoir of Magat High Dam in Ramon Isabela. The Magat River is the major source of water for the operation of the Magat Hydroelectric Power Plant (MHPP) at Ramon, Isabela.  Its watershed covers Bambang, Bayombong, Ambaguio, Villaverde, Kasibu, Quezon, Solano, Bagabag, Diadi and large portions of Ifugao Province. The Magat River is a major source of food, irrigation and domestic water supply of Bayombong, Solano and Bagabag which are the major settlements of the province. It is a major challenge in terms of taming the river to prevent flooding these settlements.

Pampang Watershed as one of the major watersheds can be found in the south near the provinces of Benguet and Pangasinan and connected to the magar watershed with a total drainage area of 27,630.16 hectares covering the mountainous municipalities of Kayapa and Santa Fe. It drains into the Ambayaoan River in San Nicolas, Pangasinan, and finally, towards the Agno River.

The Casecnan Waershed on the other hand can be found in the South of the province and is located at the municipalities of Alfonso Castañeda, Aritao, Dupax del Norte, and Dupax del Sur. It drains into the Cagayan River and is considered as one of its major headwater. The Casecnan River has a total drainage area of 72,311.76 hectares. The contributory rivers are the Biduk River, Casignan River, Abaca River, Taan River, Abuyo River, Delactan River, and Tabayoyong River. It is a major source of fish and irrigation for the Indigenous People living within the watershed.

On top of having important role to the province, the Casecnan River enjoys high regional importance because it is the source of water for the operation of the Casecnan Multi-purpose Irrigation and Power Plant (CMIPP) at Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija. The CMIPP contributes about 150 MW of power to the National Grid and expansion of the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System. It also stabilized the water requirement of Pantabangan Dam for it to generate power. The Pantabangan River which is connected to the Casecnan River covers the municipalities of Alfonso Castañeda and Dupax del Sur which has a total drainage area of 21,221.15 hectares. One of its tributary is the Balintugon River.

Diduyon Watershed covers the municipalities of Bambang, Dupax del Norte, and Kasibu which has a total drainage area of 62,529.18 hectares. The Tubo River is a tributary of the Diduyon River which drains into the Cagayan River. It is found in the Municipality of Kasibu and has its tributaries, the Papaya and Kasibu River. Its watershed is mostly located in the Municipality of Kasibu. The Tubo River is the source of fish and irrigation of the Municipality of Kasibu.

Ganip Watershed covers the municipalities of Alfonso Castañeda, Dupax del Norte, and Kasibu which has a total drainage area of 9,115.48 hectares. It is the smallest major watershed of the province, however, it is connected to Diduyon and Casecnan Watershed and it drains to the province of Quirino.

Table C-41: Name and Description of Watersheds in Nueva Vizcaya

Source: Watershed and Drainage Map, 2017

As per available data, the six (6) major watersheds of the province is being used according to existing land use as shown in Table C-42 and Figure C-s. Agro-forestry (6,325.06 hectares or 1.4%), annual crop (76,503.94 hectares or 17.3%), brush/shrubs (68,044.60 hectares or 15.4%), built-up area (7,419.52 hectares or 1.7%), closed forest (104,035.20 hectares or 23.5%), fishpond (126.58 hectares or 0.03%), grassland (56,312.65 hectares or 12.7%), infrastructure area (5,731.95 hectares or 1.3%), inland water (4,619.31 hectares or 1%), mining area (370.62 hectares or 0.1%), multiple use (20,592.59 hectares or 4.7%), open forest (82,079.45 hectares or 18.5%), open/barren (2,515.40 hectares or 0.6%), perennial crop (5,758.09 hectares or 1.3%), and tourism area (2,286.85 hectares or 0.5%) use the major watersheds namely; Magat, Pampang, Casecnan, Pantabangan, Diduyon, and Ganip watersheds.

The largest user of watersheds is the closed forest with a total of 104,035.20 hectares or 23.5%, in which Nueva Vizcaya is surrounded with mountains, while the smallest user is the fishponds with a total of 126.58 hectares or 0.03% where in only few established harvests tilapia and any other.

Figure C-q:

Figure C-r:

Table C-42: Land use per Watershed

Source: Land use per watershed map, PPDO-GIS, 2017

Figure C-s:

Groundwater

Groundwater is subsurface water that occurs beneath a water table in soils and rocks, or in geological formations as defined by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The province has a potential groundwater area of 211,838.52 hectares which helps supply drinking water, irrigation, industrial processes, and sources of recharge for rivers, lakes, and wetlands.

As show in Table C-43 and Figure C-t, the province has a total groundwater potential area of 211,838.52 hectares which covers the 15 municipalities. Kasibu has the largest groundwater potential area with a total of 40,156 hectares or 19% and followed by Kayapa with 30,490.57 hectares or 14.4%. The municipality of Sta. Fe has the smallest groundwater potential area with 292.84 hectares or 0.1% only.

However, there are areas difficult for groundwater development with about 209,704.61 hectares from all the municipalities except the municipalities of Ambaguio, Kayapa, Solano, and Villaverde. The largest difficult area for groundwater development is the municipality of Alfonso Castañeda with 45,580.72 hectares.

Table C-43: Groundwater potential area and difficult area for development by municipality

Source: Groundwater Potential Area Map, PPDO-GIS, 0217

 Figure C-t:

Land Use and Forest Resources

1. LAND USE AND PHYSICAL FRAMEWORK

Land use is discussed in the following order: a) general land use b) settlement land use c) production land use d) protection land use. The framework is discussed in the following order a) physical framework b) settlement framework c) production framework d) protection framework e) infrastructure framework

IV.1. EXISTING GENERAL LAND USE

Land use is the manner of utilizing the land, including its allocation, development and management (PSA). The National Framework for Physical Planning (NFPP) which was adopted by the National Land Use Committee (NLUC) categorized the country’s land use into four broad general categories, namely: a) Protection land; b) Production land; c) Settlement Land; and d) Infrastructure Land.

Existing general land use categorizes land cover based on HLURB policies and land characteristics such as slopes, suitability and condition. Table IV-1 and Figure IV-a show the existing general land use of the province.

1. Protection area includes the NIPAS, Non-NIPAS, areas prone to natural hazards, other environmentally constrained areas and the SAFDZs. In terms of use, the protection land is categorized into a) protection forest, b) protection wetlands/ water bodies, c) protection buffer, d) multiple use zones and e) protection agriculture. Total classified protection area is 339,081.88 hectares, equivalent to 76.59% of the total provincial area. Most of these areas are found in the southern section of the province.

733. Protection forests are those parts of the protection areas classified as forestland. There are 252,733.77 hectares classified as protection forest. This accounts to 74.53% of the total protection area and 57.09% of the total provincial area. Protection forests are found mostly in the south with 221,338.44 hectares as compared to 31,395.33 hectares in the north. The Casecnan Protected Landscape, Dupax Watershed Forest Reserve, Capisaan Karst Landscape and its cave systems, parts of the Sierra Madre’s Palali-Mamparang Mountain Range, and Mt. Pulag National Park are found in the southern section of the province (Table IV-1 and Figure IV-f).

554. Protection wetlands/ waterbodies and buffers are the major natural waterways and buffer zones. Protection wetlands and buffers are the waterways and easements of minor natural waterways and protected areas. A total of 8,554.51 hectares are classified as protection wetlands and 3,173.55 hectares are classified as buffer zones. These two land-uses total 11,728.06. Of these, 6,889.05 hectares (protection wetlands and buffer zones) are found in the south and 4,839.01 hectares are found in the north. This area accounts to 3.46% of the total protection area and 2.65% of the total provincial area (Table IV-1 and Figure IV-g).

620. Protection agriculture is the SAFDZs of the province. Multiple use zones are those part of the protection area that either fall in protection forest, protection wetlands/ water bodies and protection agriculture that were classified as A&D, issued with tenurial rights such as CADT and CBFM, existing settlement areas and areas with 2 or more uses like protection wetland/ agricultural or protection cave/ eco-tourism. A total of 74,620.05 hectares are classified as protection agriculture, with the south sector having 40,755.38 hectares and the north, 33,864.67 hectares. This area accounts to 22.01% of the total protection area and 16.85% of the total provincial area (Table IV-1 and Figure IV-e).

2. Production land uses are areas primarily used for production purposes and not included as protection land. These are generally categorized as production agriculture and production forests. Table IV-1 shows that 69,107.17 hectares are classified as production area, accounting to 15.61% of the total provincial area.

352. Production forests based on the National Framework for Physical Planning (NFPP), these are areas in the forestland that do not fall within the Protection Area. This land-use covers an area of 58,352.76 hectares. This accounts to 84.44% of the total production lands and 13.18% of the total provincial area. These areas are those that can be used for the production of timber, bio-fuel and other secondary forest products and agro-forestry crops. The slope usually ranges from 0 – 50% slope and below 1,000 meters above sea level. The brushland/open grasslands/ barren and agricultural cover dominate the production forest. These lands offer an opportunity for livestock development, bio-fuel production or for forest plantation. The potential lands for livestock and plantation development are the large open grasslands in production lands located in the different municipalities. Currently, these areas are used for livestock, agro-forestry production and as undeveloped open grassland. Some are under fallow period due to the practice of rotation farming of the Indigenous Peoples (Table IV-1 and Figure IV-d).

754. Production agriculture covers those areas in the A&D lands not classified as protection area. Usually these areas are the remaining agricultural land not classified as SAFDZs. These areas are usually located in areas more than 8% in slope and suitable for the production of perennial tree crops, short term crops and livestock. Usually these areas are potential expansion areas for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes. Existing production agriculture area is estimated at 10,754.40 hectares. This accounts to 15.56% of the total production land and 2.43% of the total provincial area (Table IV-1 and Figure IV-c).

3. Built-up lands are generally urban use areas or areas with urban activities and land uses. Urban activities may include settlement & growth and development in industries, commerce, trade, services, and institutions. This land-use is often of intensive use with much of the land covered by structures. It includes cities, towns, villages, strip developments along highways, transportation, power, and communication facilities, and areas occupied by mills, shopping centers, industrial and commercial complexes, and institutions that may, in some instances, be isolated from urban areas (PSA Board Resolution No 01, Series of 2017 – 111). A total of 7,496.46 hectares is categorized as built-up area. This accounts to 1.69% of the total provincial area (Table IV-1 and Figure IV-b).

4. Infrastructure lands are areas of major infrastructures such as road networks, irrigation, area of dams, reservoirs, airports and other facilities. These infrastructure lands can be found within or across different land uses. Based on existing general land use, a total of 829.19 hectares are categorized as infrastructure lands, given existing infrastructure facilities established and can be potentially constructed in the area. This accounts to about 0.19% of the total provincial area.

5. Multiple Use Zones are usually those areas in the protection forest classified as settlement areas, those with social tenurial instrument (ISF and CBFMA) and are cultivated for agriculture. A total of 26,210.10 hectares are categorized as multiple zones.

Comparing the northern and southern sections of the province in terms of their existing protection and production land uses, the southern area has greater protection and production land area. In terms of built-up area, almost equal areas are found in each section. This comparison implies the dominant role of southern Nueva Vizcaya in food & timber production and in the protection of watersheds and forest zones. Northern Nueva Vizcaya is more of a settlement/ built-up area.

Municipalities that have the large protection lands are Alfonso Castañeda, Kasibu, Kayapa and Dupax del Sur. These municipalities do not have large production land because their protected agricultural land is included in the protection land. Hence, these municipalities’ economic activities are more constrained given higher consideration to environmental protection. In terms of production areas, the large areas are in Bambang, Dupax del Norte, Kasibu and Quezon. This implies that these municipalities have larger roles in ensuring production activities in the province. As for built-up areas, Bagabag, Bambang, Bayombong, Bambang, and Solano show more concentration of settlement areas; followed by a considerable built-up concentration in Aritao, Dupax del Norte and Kasibu. This implies that these municipalities also have high concentration of economic activities and institutional services, given the proximity of settlement areas from access points. It must be noted that given land-uses, Kasibu is consistently with relatively large areas. This implies the dominant role of Kasibu as a leading municipality in production, protection and built-up. 

Table IV-1: Existing general land use areas in Nueva Vizcaya by municipality (in hectares)

Note: Existing Land Use are land uses based on HLURB policies of categorizing land resources into its land uses based on land characteristics

Total existing built-up area includes the settlement area backlog of 75.6 hectares

Source: Existing Land Use Map, PPDO-GIS, 2017