BONTOC, Mountain Province — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide over $20 million for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the watershed and forest cover of the famous Chico River basin here to continuously serve as the primary source of abundant water supply for domestic, irrigation, industrial, and agricultural uses for the lowland communities in Cagayan Valley and parts of the Cordillera.

The fund is part of the $80-million environmental package to be given by the ADB to the Philippine government next year for the implementation of the integrated natural resources management in four river basins nationwide, including the Chico River.

Manny Poguiyed, provincial environment and natural resources officer of Mountain Province, said Chico River will get a bigger portion of the ABD funding assistance because of the urgent need to rehabilitate and revitalize the deteriorating situation in the watersheds and forests serving as the headwaters of the Chico River basin.

The Chico River traces its headwaters to the Mount Data and Mount Pulag National Parks at the tip of the region and serves as source of irrigation water for the vast tracks of agricultural lands in parts of Isabela, Cagayan, and Kalinga. (Dexter A. See)