Collaborative modelling for National Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) planning in the Philippines

Purpose:

The project seeks to strengthen the capacity of national level institutions in planning for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

Process:

The Philippines is endowed with plentiful water resources, but their state is often described as a paradox of abundance and scarcity. This situation is also set to worsen with projections showing that, under a low economic growth scenario, water availability deficits will occur in most of the regions. Accordingly, the urgency of formulating solutions to address national integrated water management has become even more pressing. Tacloban River Basin was selected as a pilot study to address these challenges.

A collaborative modelling approach aims to support the study of the challenges and it has been employed during the pilot situation analysis for the Tacloban River Basin. This approach combined Group Model Building with the water security framework (AWDO). The Group Model Building process helped decision makers and stakeholders to better identify the most relevant water-related issues in the basin and understand their interactions, whilst the water security framework helped to create the links to the ambitions, goals and targets for the master plan.

Partnership:

The partners involved in this project included Deltares, UNESCO-IHE institute for water education as the Dutch partners and Philippine Water Partnership as the Philippine partner. We conducted the project in close collaboration with all relevant stakeholders in Philippines including  Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and its River Basin Control Office (RBCO); and the National Water Resources Board (NWRB); the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) under the Office of the President; the National Economic and Development Authority; the National Hydraulics Research Center (UP NHRC) and the National Engineering Center (NEC) of the University of the Philippines (UP).

Products:

  • Practical guidance and planning tools
  • : Laura Basco Carrera