ASEAN launches integrated river management project

Jakarta – A project on reducing pollution and preserving environmental flows in East Asian Seas through the Implementation of Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) was launched in Manila by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to develop practical and innovative ways for communities, industries and governments to work together to revitalise the region’s rivers.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, the Philippines’ Undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Carlos Primo David stressed that effective governance will allow people to continue to utilise the water and other ecosystem services that river basins provide despite the threats of extreme events and climate change.

Dr. Selva Ramachandran, UNDP Resident Representative to the Philippines, added water use among ASEAN countries is growing rapidly, while water quality and quantity challenges threaten to derail much-needed economic growth.

Meanwhile, Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community affirmed the project is a testament of ASEAN’s collective and forward-looking action to improving water resources management in our region.

Dr. Inthavy Akkharath, Chair of the ASEAN Working Group on Water Resources Management explained the project will integrate knowledge about the vital connections between rivers and seas in the region.

Supported by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project will establish functional IRBM mechanisms in the major river basins of six ASEAN Member States – Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

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

Indonesia, as the chair of ASEAN this year, is preparing a roadmap to support the full membership of Timor Leste in the regional association.

The 15th annual council meeting of the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC) will take place in Seoul on February 16-17, marking the first in-person gathering after three years between the two sides’ high-level officials to discuss measures to boost bilateral partnership.