Integrated River Basin Management Project Newsletter - Edition 11

The second quarter of 2026 focused on technical capacity development, regional and global knowledge exchange, and basin-level implementation under the GEF/UNDP/ASEAN Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) Project. Activities during the quarter included the Regional Training on the REWEFe Toolkit and Water–Energy–Food–Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus Application; knowledge exchange on marine litter governance and Source-to-Sea cooperation; and the formalization of partnerships for Project implementation in the Kedah River Basin, Malaysia. 

In April, representatives from the six ASEAN Member States participating in the Project took part in the hybrid Regional Training on the REWEFe Toolkit and WEFE Nexus Application, held in Manila, Philippines. Participants were introduced to the Project’s basin-level WEFE Nexus assessment and the REWEFe Toolkit comprising the User Manual and Guide. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on exercises, they examined the governance and technical dimensions of applying the Toolkit, developed user-defined scenarios, and analyzed trade-offs and synergies across the WEFE nexus. The training also explored how scenario results can support cross-sector coordination and inform IRBM strategies and action plans, pilot project development, and stakeholder discussions at the river basin level.

Regional knowledge exchange continued in May through the PEMSEA Resource Facility’s participation in the International Summer Course on Marine Litter Management, Policy and Integrated Coastal Governance in the East Asian Seas Region, hosted by IPB University in Bogor, Indonesia. Ms. Nancy Bermas, Regional Project Manager of the IRBM Project, delivered a lecture on cross-country mapping of marine litter governance and management. She introduced PEMSEA’s Framework for Sustainable Development of Coastal and Marine Areas and presented the Manila Bay experience to illustrate how partnerships among governments, academic institutions, the private sector, development partners, civil society organizations, and communities can support coordinated responses to managing marine litter. She also discussed how the IRBM Project and the MOF/PEMSEA Marine Plastics Official Development Assistance (ODA) Project contribute to marine litter and plastic waste management. 

Also in May, the Project shared its experience in applying the Source-to-Sea approach during the webinar, Source-to-Sea Cooperation: Practical Guidance for Implementation in Transboundary Basins, jointly organized by GEF IW:LEARN and the Secretariat of the UN Water Convention at UNECE. During the practitioner panel, Ms. Bermas explained how the IW:LEARN guidance has informed the Project from concept and project development through implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and learning. She highlighted its application in identifying priority flows and basin hotspots; conducting stakeholder mapping and governance baseline assessments; strengthening multisectoral and interagency river basin mechanisms; developing and implementing pilot projects to address the priority flows; and establishing monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems, including indicator-based State of River Basin Reports. She also emphasized the need for more on-the-ground examples showing how integrated river basin management, integrated coastal management, and marine protected area networks can be linked through the broader Sourceto- Sea framework. 

In June, the Project officially launched implementation in the Kedah River Basin following the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the Universiti Sains Malaysia and the PEMSEA Resource Facility and a Memorandum of Understanding among the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia, the Kedah State Water Resources Board, and Universiti Sains Malaysia. The agreements formalized partnerships to strengthen the coordinating mechanism for IRBM implementation, undertake a baseline assessment of the river basin and associated coastal areas of Kedah State, and prepare a State of River Basin Report and IRBM Strategic Action Plan. The Project will also support the development and implementation of pilot projects addressing priority concerns, including flooding, declining water quality, and sedimentation. 

This edition also features a closer look at the Project’s WEFE Nexus assessment, and the application of the REWEFe Toolkit supported by a User Manual and Guide. The feature explains how these resources contribute to understanding basin conditions, assessing future scenarios, and informing IRBM strategies, action plans, and potential interventions across the seven priority river basins.