Sec. Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
USAID and PBSP Water Forum
Keynote Message
Call to Collective Action for Water Security
A priority program of this administration is achieving water security. And I am happy to report that within the last ten months, we have made significant headway towards this goal. The four elements of water security are:
Effective governance and capacity building
Availability of water resources
Accessibility to safe and affordable water
Improved water quality
Allow me to discuss each one in the context of the work we are doing with our partners and stakeholders. Some of these have been mentioned briefly by Usec CP earlier.
In April of this year, the President signed EO 22 establishing the Water Resources Management Office (WRMO) to coordinate all water-related efforts. This also paved transferred key agencies with water-related functions including the MWSS, LWUA, and the 500 plus water districts to join the National Water Resources Board, LLDA, River Basin Control Office, watershed management, water quality division and groundwater mapping in DENR. The President also directed NIA, DPWH, and DILG to coordinate their efforts with the WRMO.
To help manage and maximize our water resources, the DENR through the Geospatial Database Office (GDO) has completely mapped out and quantified all watersheds and waterways of the country (ppt slide). Such a database is key towards maximizing the benefits we derive from our natural assets.
Earlier this month, we successfully unlocked a key water resource with a novel policy that the WRMO has created. I am speaking of converting all NIA water rights into multipurpose water use which other than for agriculture excess water can be used for hydropower, aquaculture, and potable water supply. We also hope to tie water supply development with the two hundred billion DPWH flood mitigation through the inclusion of water impoundment and floodplain reclamation as effective, IWRM-certified flood control strategies.
The accessibility to safe and affordable water does start with having a viable source of water but can only be fully achieved with the necessary water distribution infrastructure. For this reason, we are again working closely with DPWH and DILG on their regular barangay water supply projects. There is just too many infrastructure work needed and we hope to enjoin the private sector to invest in priority projects we will be announcing in the next few weeks.
Finally, to ensure that we have clean water for generations to come, we are embarking on a different strategy towards the reforestation of our watersheds. For the last twelve years, it is only the government through the 2.4 billion peso per year National Greening Program or NGP that takes on the majority of the efforts. In 2024, we will release 1 million hectares as Potential Investment Areas (PIAs) for various types of forest projects including those for carbon credits for emission offsetting. As with all our other efforts in protecting the environment and maximizing the use of our natural resources, we hope to engage the private sector to partner with us in these important programs.
