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Environmental risk assessment for UNESCAP Pro-Poor Eco-Settlement Demonstration Project in Rodriguez PDF Print
Monday, 13 December 2010
Miraculous Hills SubdivisionESSC staff undertook an environmental risk assessment of the 30,000-square meter lot purchased by the Payatas Scavengers Homeowners Association, Inc (PSHAI) in Miraculous Hills Subdivision in Sitio Bangkal, Barangay San Isidro in Rodriguez, Rizal.
This assessment is part of a larger initiative of UNESCAP's Pro-Poor Eco-Settlement (PPES) Demonstration Project entitled "Eco-Efficient and Sustainable Urban Infrastructure in Asia and Latin America." This project seeks to develop a set of principles, guidelines, and strategies for policy makers and planners to develop eco-efficient and sustainable urban infrastructure. It also aims to merge eco-friendly options for housing, infrastructure, services, and livelihood provision that are affordable to the poor (and replicable) with participatory and community-led management.

In the Philippines, the UNESCAP research project selected the PSHAI housing area, acquired by the community in December 1998 through the savings scheme of the Homeless Peoples' Federation of the Philippines (HPFPI), of which PSHAI is a local community member.

ESSC was requested to take part in the PPES research consortium and provide technical assistance in developing the environmental risk assessment of the area. This assessment will be used as a basis for other professionals in the research consortium that includes architects and engineers.

ESSC's report recommendations include:

  • Doable actions to help stabilize slopes and reduce surface erosion, as part of drainage and erosion management
  • Maintenance of roads and pavements through digging and maintaining roadside drainage canals to reduce run-off passing over the concrete roads, building with rocks and gravel to prevent soil loss under the concrete roads and pavement to stabilize the foundation, stabilizing road cuts through vegetative cover or riprap, and using gravel rather than soil when improving the access roads to the housing site
  • Site planning and development based in the Geohazard Assessment Report that recognized that the entire lot is not critical for housing but necessary mitigation measures must be taken to address the existing hazards such as the steep slopes in the housing site.
  • Agroforestry as a land management system is identified as a good practice for soil erosion management and both appropriate systems and species are identified.

This environmental risk assessment was undertaken by Iris Legal, Dallay Annawi, and Pedro Walpole, SJ. To view the full report and the accompanying maps and posters, Click the following:

ESCAP-ESSC Environmental Risk Assessment Report (PDF 1.02Mb)

Map 1: PSHAI Topographic Plan (p6) [PDF 658kb]

Map 2: Topography and Watershed of Puray and Cogeo Rivers, Rizal (p12) [PDF 260Kb]

Map 3: Reading and responding to signs of slope problems, Blocks 1-10 (p21) [PDF 195Kb]

Map 4: Reading and responding to signs of slope problems, Blocks 11-15 (p22) [PDF 152Kb]

Map 5: Reading and responding to signs of slope problems, Blocsk 16-20 (p23) [PDF 129Kb]

Map 6: PSHAI Site Plan (p31) [PDF 689Kb]

Annex 1: General Zoning Map, Rodriguez, Rizal (p39) [PDF 92Kb]

Annex 2: Urban Zoning Map, Rodriguez, Rizal (p40) [PDF 90Kb]

Last Updated ( Friday, 17 December 2010 )