AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL organization recently launched a project in Manila aimed at reducing water pollution and restoring rivers in southeast Asia, especially those where major urban centers have been built alongside.
The Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) project was launched in Manila on Feb. 16 “to develop practical and innovative ways for communities, industries and governments to work together to revitalize Southeast Asia’s rivers,” the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) said in a statement.
Inthavy Akkharath, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) working group on water resources management, said the IRBM will integrate knowledge about the connections between rivers and seas.
“Best practices and pitfalls shall be shared for other rivers to emulate and avoid.”
Philippine Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo C. David, for his part, said that “effective governance will allow us to continue to utilize the water and other ecosystem services that river basins provide despite the threats of extreme events and climate change.”
The project is supported by the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Programme or UNDP.
Plastic is estimated to account for 80% of all marine debris in the ocean, according to the ASEAN Regional Action Plan on Combatting Marine Debris.
Less than a fourth of the total recycled waste in the ASEAN, moreover, is recycled. The way plastics are produced, used, and managed “often does not reflect the economic benefits of an approach to a circular economy and results in harm to the environment.”
A number of the region’s largest cities were built beside rivers: Viet Nam’s Saigon in Ho Chi Minh, Malaysia’s the Klang in Kuala Lumpur, and the Philippines’ Pasig in Metro Manila.
These rivers provide habitats for various flora and fauna, as well as food production and water sources for millions of people. As many rivers pass through densely populated towns and cities, waste and sediment eventually flow out to sea.
PEMSEA, the implementing agency of the project, said it will work with the six member states’ governments and stakeholders to improve source-to-sea governance, and build the capacity to plan and strengthen river basin management mechanisms.
Aimee T. Gonzales, PEMSEA executive director, said that state-of-the-river-basin reports are among the expected outputs of the IRBM. It is also expected to institutionalize the use of the integrated river basin management approach.
“We view this project as a natural extension of PEMSEA’s work on integrated coastal management,” she said. — Patricia B. Mirasol