economy and politics

Launch of the ASEAN Integrated River Management Project

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A five-year regional project on pollution reduction and pollution reduction was launched in Manila. preservation of environmental flows in the East Asian Seas through the application of Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM), in order to develop practical and innovative ways of collaborating between communities, industries and governments to revitalize the rivers of Southeast Asia.

Many of the largest cities in the region were built along rivers: the Vietnamese city of Ho Chi Minh has the Saigon, the Malaysian Kuala Lumpur the Klang, the Indonesian Jakarta the Ciliwung and the Philippine Metro Manila the Pasig. These rivers provide natural habitats for various plants and animals, food production, and water sources for millions of people. As many rivers flow through densely populated cities, the waste and sediment end up flowing into the sea. According to the ASEAN Regional Action Plan to Combat Marine Debris, plastic is estimated to account for 80% of all marine debris in the ocean.

With support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the project will establish functional integrated waste management mechanisms in major river basins in six ASEAN member states. : Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam.

“It will integrate knowledge about the vital connections between rivers and seas. Best practices and pitfalls will be shared so that other rivers can emulate and avoid them,” explains Inthavy Akkharath, Chairman of the ASEAN Working Group on Water Resources Management.

Launch of the river management project

The launch was inaugurated by Carlos Primo David, Under Secretary for Integrated Environmental Sciences and Supervising Under Secretary of the DENR Office of River Basin Control of the Philippines, the host country of the launch, who states that “effective governance will allow us to continue to use water and other ecosystem services provided by river basins despite threats from extreme events and climate change.”

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“Water use among ASEAN countries is growing rapidly, while challenges related to water quality and quantity threaten to derail much-needed economic growth,” adds Selva Ramachandran, UNDP Resident Representative in the Philippines. “We are pleased to help address the critical issue of freshwater governance in river basins beyond national jurisdictions, addressing transboundary issues such as pollution, river basin management, climate change effects and catastrophic risks. .”

“The project is a testament to ASEAN’s forward-thinking and collective action to improve water resource management in our region,” said Ekkaphab Phanthavong, ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

Associations for Environmental Stewardship of East Asian Seas

Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), the executing agency for the project, will work closely with governments and stakeholders in ASEAN Member States to improve governance from the source to the sea, as well as to develop planning capacity and strengthen river basin management mechanisms.

“We see this project as a natural extension of PEMSEA’s work on integrated coastal management, as rivers are natural conduits to our coastlines and open seas,” explains Aimee Gonzales, PEMSEA Executive Director.

According to the ASEAN Regional Action Plan to Combat Marine Debris, plastic is estimated to account for 80% of all marine debris in the ocean

“We are excited to institutionalize the use of the integrated river basin management approach, produce river basin status reports, which will be the first of their kind in the region, test innovative solutions in selected pilot sites within the identified river basins , while incorporating gender equality and social inclusion from design, planning and all the way to implementation at regional, national and river basin levels,” he added.

The launch was organized in conjunction with a Project Inception Workshop and the first Project Steering Committee Meeting to discuss, among other things, the implementation arrangements for the project. It was attended by representatives of the ASEAN Working Group on Water Resources Management, the ASEAN Secretariat, UNDP, PEMSEA and the project implementing partners.


Collaborator in ReporteAsia.





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