PH Reaffirms Commitment to Water Preservation, Address Aridity

(DENR) — Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje on Wednesday reaffirmed the Philippine government’s commitment to preserve the country’s water resources and address aridity brought about by climate change.

Paje, who leads the Philippine delegation to the 7th World Water Forum being held in Gyeongbuk, South Korea, from April 12-17, said that the country strongly recognizes the inherent role of water in sustainable development and climate change adaptation.

The environment chief told delegates to the world’s largest meeting on water that the country is focusing its efforts on programs to protect its water resources and make communities more resilient to climate change, as well as infrastructure improvements to increase access to clean water.

“The Philippines ensures that the vast water resources of the country will be safe, sanitized and accessible to all our citizens through initiatives on the preservation of watersheds, guaranteeing good water quality, efficient allocation and water use, eradication of water pollution, and establishment of water facilities and infrastructures,” Paje said.

“Specifically, the Philippines arrests aridity, brought about by extreme weather events, by enhancing forest cover and water availability to communities and sectors, particularly agriculture,” he added.

Paje, however, underscored the need for appropriate financing, infrastructure and relevant technologies for water regulation and management to ensure the availability of water to areas and communities “at the proper time when needed.”

He said that the government also vows to incorporate major objectives and outcomes of the forum into the country’s national program for water management.

“Despite being continuously confronted with issues on water management and depletion, our country commits to support the 7th World Water Forum Ministerial Declaration through enhanced institutionalization and implementation of the Philippine Integrated Water Resources Management Framework,” Paje said.

“We will exert extra effort to translate our existing policies into concrete actions and align these with the 7th World Water Forum’s Implementation Roadmap.”

Being one of the nations most vulnerable to climate change impacts, Paje said that the Philippines further commits to “strengthen our resiliency programs stressing the importance of effective river basin approaches.”

As its contribution to the forum, Paje said the Philippines will continue to impart its experiences to provide water-related disaster awareness and key actions competently applied in the country.

Held every three years since 1997, the World Water Forum is one of the biggest international water events where all stakeholders can work together on joint approaches to global water challenges.

This year’s theme is “Water for Our Future,” which aims to identify actions and solutions to support implementation of the post-2015 development agenda on water. (DENR)