Urges cooperation between stakeholders, gov’t

THE government and all other stakeholders must work together in order to achieve water security.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Antonia Loyzaga stressed that effective and sustainable management of the country’s water resources can be achieved through strong collaboration and cooperation between the government and other stakeholders, even amid the threat and other challenges facing the water sector.

“There is no substitute at this moment for coherence, convergence and synergy in water governance,” Loyzaga said in her keynote address at the recent Financial Inclusion for Women, Water and Climate Resilience Forum organized by the Financial Executives of the Philippines or FINEX.

“With your partnership, I know these are all possible and water security can be reached and achieved for the Philippines,” Loyzaga said.

Loyzaga explained that while it is considered as “most vulnerable” to climate change, the water sector holds the potential to lead change and deliver transformative solutions in the country’s “quest” for climate resilient, inclusive and sustainable development.

“Today, more than ever, there is critical need for nexus governance for climate and disaster resilience – one that pursues a strategic balance between supply, distribution and consumption of water for health, food, energy, human and environmental security,” Loyzaga pointed out.

“Building resilience through equity in the water sector requires us to address the ecological, political, socio-economic and engineering risks, as well as, perhaps quite important, the national and local capacity for science-informed governance,” she added.

Loyzaga disclosed that the government, through the DENR, embarks on synergistic approaches to solving the country’s water woes: an attempt at the effective management of water resources and the application of geospatial data.

She said the first synergistic approach was highlighted by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. establishing the Water Resources Management Office (WRMO) in the DENR through an executive order he issued recently.

The newly created WRMO integrates the functions of all agencies with water-related mandates to effectively manage the country’s water resources and achieve water security.

Loyzaga said the apex body will strengthen the coordination among various agencies and provide the venue for coherent policy formulation and rationalized functions to address cross-sectoral needs.

She also said that the implementation of the presidential directive is aligned with efforts to eventually establish a Department of Water.

“There are long-standing institutional issues which we now have a strong chance of solving and this unlocks some of the barriers in managing water,” Loyzaga stressed.

“It also opens the possibility of coordinating projects between agencies to enter with more efficient programs like the construction of multi-use dams and reservoirs,” she added.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Cory Martinez