An indigenous bamboo dike now rising along the Taplan River is poised to protect farmlands, homes, and roadside communities in Barangays Magsaysay, New Pangasinan, and Concepcion by reducing bank erosion and seasonal flooding.
The on-going project stretches a combined 3,890 meters on both riverbanks. Crews are drilling and installing bamboo poles reinforced with bamboo twigs, then pairing the structure with bamboo propagules and napier grass planted within the dike zone. The nature-based setup is engineered to lock in soil, slow water velocity, and stabilize the riparian corridor for long-term resilience—an approach that can strengthen over time as vegetation matures.
The OPENRO design is engineered to deliver four key gains:
Shielding households, crops, and barangay roads from overflow during peak rains;
Preventing scouring and land loss along vulnerable river bends;
Reducing siltation downstream to keep waterways passable in wet months; and
Lowering life-cycle maintenance costs compared with purely concrete revetments, as living barriers thicken and root systems bind the banks.
The installation is funded through the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund of the Office of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer (OPDRRMO), in partnership with the Office of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (OPENRO), the City Government of Koronadal, and the barangay LGUs of Magsaysay, New Pangasinan, and Concepcion.
The Taplan River Indigenous Dike forms part of OPENRO’s Community-Based Upland Development and Natural Resources Management Program, which includes similar indigenous dike initiatives in Brgy. Maltana, Tampakan and Brgy. Poblacion, Lake Sebu—expanding the province’s portfolio of green, climate-resilient river defenses.
