USAID boosts PH SIBOL, water access projects
THE country’s biodiversity conservation and water access and sanitation services will be further boosted with the help of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), represented by Secretary Roy Cimatu and the USAID recently signed a five-year partnership for the Sustainable Interventions for Biodiversity, Oceans and Landscapes (SIBOL) and the Safe Water projects.
“Given the current pandemic, the DENR is committed more than ever to address the country’s environmental challenges. We can easily attain this goal if we have partners like USAID,” Cimatu said, adding that the international development agency has been a “time-tested partner for the environment.”
The SIBOL and Safe Water programs are among the projects under the P7.25 billion (US$150 million) USAID-Philippines agreement on enhanced ecosystems and community resilience signed by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and USAID in February 2021.
The DENR is one of the implementing partners that will manage the delivery of program results toward the achievement of the objectives, while the USAID will provide technical assistance for the SIBOL and Safe Water initiatives.
SIBOL is a P1.1-billion project (US$22 million) that aims to improve natural resource governance, stimulate public and private sector investments in conservation, and reduce environmental crimes.
Meanwhile, the Safe Water initiative is an P870-million project (US$18.4 million) that intends to increase access to resilient water supply and sanitation services, improve the sustainable management of water resources, and strengthen the governance and regulation of the water sector.
The DENR through the Biodiversity Management Bureau and Forest Management Bureau, various DENR field offices across the region, as well as the NEDA, and the National Water Resources Board will be carrying out these projects in the next five years.
“Together, through these projects, we will advance our shared goals of environmental sustainability and improve the lives of Filipino communities,” Cimatu said.
For his part, Acting Mission Director of USAID Sean Callahan said: “The long history of the partnership between DENR and USAID has been fruitful and together we have achieved much in creating a more secure environment that sustains both ecological integrity and human development.”
