Stone bunds and small basins
(Philippines)
Pamugong sa yuta (Cebuano)
Description
Piling of stones and rocks along the contour to control run-off and soil erosion. It is also about the creation of small basins by removing stones and using them as barriers.
This is a low-cost erosion control technology by piling stones/rocks along the contour. The spacing of the piles depends on the slope and the availability/abundance of surface rocks. The stone bunds, usually 0.4 meter wide is intended to slow down run-off and catch/impound soil that moves downslope, etiher by water or by gravity. The technology is also about the creation of small basins by removing rocks and using them as barrier. In these small basins, water is impounded and allow to infiltrate. Soil carried with the run-off is deposited in these basins for the raising of high value crops. The technology is most especially applicable in areas where limestone and other rock outcrops and where the soil is commonly shallow and skeletal. With time, natural terraces can form. Limestone/rock outcrops are also used in the construction of check dams along small waterways. These check dams will result in the formation of flat-bottom valleys where transplanted rice is usually grown. Series of check dams will form terraces along valley floor in the long run.
Location
Location: Siquijor, Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, Philippines
No. of Technology sites analysed:
Geo-reference of selected sites
Spread of the Technology: evenly spread over an area (31.0 km²)
In a permanently protected area?:
Date of implementation: more than 50 years ago (traditional)
Type of introduction
-
through land users' innovation
-
as part of a traditional system (> 50 years)
-
during experiments/ research
-
through projects/ external interventions
Stone walls/small basin (Jose D. Rondal (Quezon City, Philippines))
Construction of check dam along small waterway. (Lorenzo Co)
Classification of the Technology
Main purpose
-
improve production
-
reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
-
conserve ecosystem
-
protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
-
preserve/ improve biodiversity
-
reduce risk of disasters
-
adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
-
mitigate climate change and its impacts
-
create beneficial economic impact
-
create beneficial social impact
Land use
-
Cropland
- Annual cropping: cereals - maize, vegetables - root vegetables (carrots, onions, beet, other)
Number of growing seasons per year: 2
Water supply
-
rainfed
-
mixed rainfed-irrigated
-
full irrigation
Purpose related to land degradation
-
prevent land degradation
-
reduce land degradation
-
restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
-
adapt to land degradation
-
not applicable
Degradation addressed
-
soil erosion by water - Wt: loss of topsoil/ surface erosion, Wg: gully erosion/ gullying
-
water degradation - Ha: aridification
SLM measures
-
structural measures - S2: Bunds, banks
Technical drawing
Technical specifications
Construction of stone bunds along the contour for run-off and erosion control
Date: 8-22-2002
Technical knowledge required for field staff / advisors: moderate
Technical knowledge required for land users: moderate
Main technical functions: control of concentrated runoff: retain / trap
Secondary technical functions: reduction of slope length, increase / maintain water stored in soil
Author: Lorenzo Co
Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs
Calculation of inputs and costs
- Costs are calculated:
- Currency used for cost calculation: Philippine peso
- Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = 50.0 Philippine peso
- Average wage cost of hired labour per day: 4.00
Most important factors affecting the costs
Labor for the removal and collection of stones for piling.
Establishment activities
n.a.
Establishment inputs and costs
Specify input |
Unit |
Quantity |
Costs per Unit (Philippine peso) |
Total costs per input (Philippine peso) |
% of costs borne by land users |
Labour
|
labour |
ha |
1.0 |
1000.0 |
1000.0 |
100.0 |
Equipment
|
tools |
ha |
1.0 |
20.0 |
20.0 |
100.0 |
Total costs for establishment of the Technology |
1'020.0 |
|
Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD |
20.4 |
|
Maintenance activities
n.a.
Maintenance inputs and costs
Specify input |
Unit |
Quantity |
Costs per Unit (Philippine peso) |
Total costs per input (Philippine peso) |
% of costs borne by land users |
Labour
|
labour |
ha |
1.0 |
40.0 |
40.0 |
100.0 |
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology |
40.0 |
|
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD |
0.8 |
|
Natural environment
Average annual rainfall
-
< 250 mm
-
251-500 mm
-
501-750 mm
-
751-1,000 mm
-
1,001-1,500 mm
-
1,501-2,000 mm
-
2,001-3,000 mm
-
3,001-4,000 mm
-
> 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
-
humid
-
sub-humid
-
semi-arid
-
arid
Specifications on climate
Thermal climate class: tropics
Slope
-
flat (0-2%)
-
gentle (3-5%)
-
moderate (6-10%)
-
rolling (11-15%)
-
hilly (16-30%)
-
steep (31-60%)
-
very steep (>60%)
Landforms
-
plateau/plains
-
ridges
-
mountain slopes
-
hill slopes
-
footslopes
-
valley floors
Altitude
-
0-100 m a.s.l.
-
101-500 m a.s.l.
-
501-1,000 m a.s.l.
-
1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
-
1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
-
2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
-
2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
-
3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
-
> 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
-
convex situations
-
concave situations
-
not relevant
Soil depth
-
very shallow (0-20 cm)
-
shallow (21-50 cm)
-
moderately deep (51-80 cm)
-
deep (81-120 cm)
-
very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
-
coarse/ light (sandy)
-
medium (loamy, silty)
-
fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
-
coarse/ light (sandy)
-
medium (loamy, silty)
-
fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
-
high (>3%)
-
medium (1-3%)
-
low (<1%)
Groundwater table
-
on surface
-
< 5 m
-
5-50 m
-
> 50 m
Availability of surface water
-
excess
-
good
-
medium
-
poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
-
good drinking water
-
poor drinking water (treatment required)
-
for agricultural use only (irrigation)
-
unusable
Is salinity a problem?
Occurrence of flooding
Characteristics of land users applying the Technology
Market orientation
-
subsistence (self-supply)
-
mixed (subsistence/ commercial)
-
commercial/ market
Off-farm income
-
less than 10% of all income
-
10-50% of all income
-
> 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
-
very poor
-
poor
-
average
-
rich
-
very rich
Level of mechanization
-
manual work
-
animal traction
-
mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
-
Sedentary
-
Semi-nomadic
-
Nomadic
Individuals or groups
-
individual/ household
-
groups/ community
-
cooperative
-
employee (company, government)
Age
-
children
-
youth
-
middle-aged
-
elderly
Area used per household
-
< 0.5 ha
-
0.5-1 ha
-
1-2 ha
-
2-5 ha
-
5-15 ha
-
15-50 ha
-
50-100 ha
-
100-500 ha
-
500-1,000 ha
-
1,000-10,000 ha
-
> 10,000 ha
Scale
-
small-scale
-
medium-scale
-
large-scale
Land ownership
-
state
-
company
-
communal/ village
-
group
-
individual, not titled
-
individual, titled
Land use rights
-
open access (unorganized)
-
communal (organized)
-
leased
-
individual
Water use rights
-
open access (unorganized)
-
communal (organized)
-
leased
-
individual
Access to services and infrastructure
Impacts
Socio-economic impacts
Crop production
from nothing to something
production area (new land under cultivation/ use)
area occupied by stone wall
land management
stone wall is also on obstruction
farm income
from nothing to something
Off-site impacts
downstream flooding (undesired)
groundwater/ river pollution
Cost-benefit analysis
Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive
Long-term returns
very negative
very positive
Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive
Long-term returns
very negative
very positive
Adoption and adaptation
Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
-
single cases/ experimental
-
1-10%
-
11-50%
-
> 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
-
0-10%
-
11-50%
-
51-90%
-
91-100%
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
To which changing conditions?
-
climatic change/ extremes
-
changing markets
-
labour availability (e.g. due to migration)
Conclusions and lessons learnt
Strengths: land user's view
-
Permanent
-
Clears the land for cultivation
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
-
Once established, it becomes permanent
-
Very effective in trapping sediment
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
-
Sancturies for pests
Cleanliness of the surroundings
-
Laborious during establishment
labor sharing
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
-
Stone wall serve as sanctuary for pests like rats and snakes
Cleanliness of the surroundings
-
Stone wall can be an obstruction in cultivation and mobility
References
Compiler
-
Philippine Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies
Reviewer
-
Deborah Niggli
-
Alexandra Gavilano
Date of documentation: March 16, 2011
Last update: June 14, 2019
Resource persons
-
Jose Rondal - SLM specialist
Full description in the WOCAT database
Documentation was faciliated by