IRBM Project Completes Mission for River Basin Pilot Project Development and Implementation

^{Discussion with the Office of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer and DENR-Environmental Management Bureau Region IV-A on priority issues, existing management programs and financing mechanisms for environmental programs and investments in the Imus-Ylang Ylang-Rio Grande Rivers in Cavite, Philippines.}

 

The Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) Project Management Unit, in collaboration with EnviroStrat, recently completed a visit to the priority river basins including Pasac Guagua Watershed, Imus-Ylang Ylang-Rio Grande Rivers in the Philippines; Kampong Bay River Basin in Cambodia; and Nam Tha River Basin in Lao PDR on 6-15 May 2025. 
 

The mission aimed to understand local contexts, including priority environmental issues, existing management programs, governance structures, and financing mechanisms, to support the development of solution templates for IRBM pilot project development and implementation.
 

 

^{Site visit along the Sasmuan Pampanga Coastal Wetland in the Philippines together with the representatives of the Provincial Government-Environmental and Natural Resources Office of Pampanga.} 

 

^{Interaction with the national and local government partners in Kampong Bay River Basin in Kampot City, Cambodia.} 
 

Observations from the four river basins across three countries consistently highlighted the need for  comprehensive solutions and integrated management. High priorities include integrated water and waste management, covering water supply, sanitation, and efficient waste management, including enhanced water quality monitoring and early warning systems for floods and droughts. Nature-based solutions (NBS), such as mangrove rehabilitation and nursery establishment, upper catchment afforestation, river bank stabilization, ecotourism, and carbon afforestation, were also recognized as potentials for IRBM pilot project development.
 

Looking ahead, the IRBM Project, through EnviroStrat and in consultation with national and local governments, will design a generic solutions template that will be tested and implemented later this 2025. This undertaking is part of the ongoing implementation of the GEF/UNDP/ASEAN IRBM Project on improving integrated river basin governance and management.