The fight to save the Buasao and Mount Poswey watershed. (Cordillera NGOs Race Against Time to Save the Earth).

The worsening environmental crisis in the Cordilleras, especially in resource-rich areas like Abra, has raised the need to protect particularly vulnerable areas and create interventions for its conservation.

The spotlight has mostly been concentrated on the mineral-rich mountains of Benguet and the adjoining provinces, but Abra, with its own Buasao and Mt. Poswey watershed, is also as rich in resources and is also as endangered. As one of the remaining frontiers of the Cordilleras, Buasao and Mt. Poswey are home to diverse, endangered species such as deers, hornbills, cloud rats and plant species like orchids, pine trees, narra and other hardwood species. However, economic activities being done in the area, like logging and mining, have threatened the ecological balance.

These realities inspired NGOs such as Igorot Tribal Assistance Group (ITAG) and the Foundation for Philippine Environment (FPE) to protect portions of Buasao lying in Besao, Mt. Province in 1993.

In 1995, CCAGG (Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Governance), continued the earlier efforts on the Abra side. Aware of the presence of endangered species which are crucial to the areas' ecological balance, CCAGG enlisted the help of the United Nations Development Program, the FPE and the Municipality. CCAGG is now working at organizing and strengthening the communities within Buasao and Mt. Poswey. They are encouraging the communities to strengthen positive indigenous practices such as the "lapat" system which protects particularly vulnerable areas from exploitation.

The CCAGG has also initiated livelihood programs in the area such as agro-forestry and rice field rehabilitation in the attempt to prevent community members from engaging in activities which might endanger the forest resources.