International water workshop slated today

To better understand and address pressing water concerns in the country, particularly in Cebu, Mega Cebu will host an international water workshop in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (Unesco) Office in Jakarta.

The International Workshop on Water Tariffs, Governance and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) for Sustainability is set today Aug. 10 until Aug. 12, at the Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center, 35 Lopez Jaena St., Cebu City. The workshop will feature discussions on IWRM, Water Tariffs and Water Governance from local and international experiences and perspectives.

“The workshop aims to understand and analyze the overall status and to enable key stakeholders to identify critical processes and components in water resources management of Cebu in particular and for the Philippines in general,” said Evelyn Nacario-Castro, director of the MCDCB Research, Program and Organization Development Program Management Office.

The workshop includes discussions on IWRM for Water Security in Asia and the Pacific, Challenges of Water Governance in the Philippines, Case Studies and Experiences from Australia and other Asean countries, and technical sessions on Challenges of Water Governance, Water Prices, and Tariffs in Cebu and other cities and regions in the Philippines.

International and local experts will take part in the summit. Professor Shahbaz Khan, director of the Unesco Regional Science Bureau of Asia and the Pacific, Professor Soontak Lee, governor of the World Water Council, and Dr. Olivia O. Castillo, member ex-officio of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, will lead the discussion on IWRM and Water Governance.

Water is not only considered a basic necessity of society, it is also considered a key driver for economic development. Economic and social development of nations should therefore come hand in hand with the sustainable management of water and other natural and environmental resources.

“The need for sustainable management of water resources is of fundamental importance in a rapidly urbanizing city and city-region such as that of Cebu, the most water-stressed city and city-region in the Philippines. Growing at a rate of 2.23 percent, Metro Cebu’s population has reached 2.85 million as of 2015,” said Castro.

The workshop is organized by the Unesco Office in Jakarta and Mega Cebu, in collaboration with Rafi-Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center, Metropolitan Cebu Water District, Sustainable Development Solutions for Asia and the Pacific, Province of Cebu, and the National Economic and Development Authority Region 7.