With the theme “Protecting Bohol’s Water Resources”, the provincial government of Bohol convened all stakeholders and groups to a provincial water summit. The 1-day activity was aimed at presenting to the people the state of the province’s water resources and to discuss the challenges and future directions for its effective development and management. The issue of integrated water management has been put forward as a centerpiece of the province’s development efforts with the challenge to meet the demands of a growing population and the call to effectively safeguard the biodiversity and health of the environment.
At the exhibit, project staff from ICRAF showcased Landcare as an approach to effectively enable communities to meet their present economic requirements while protecting their environment and natural resources for future needs.
Prior to the summit, a series of workshops were conducted towards the formulation of the Bohol integrated water resources management plan and the creation of the management board. As Landcare has been acknowledged as one effective approach in empowering communities towards environmental stewardship and livelihood development, the Bohol Landcare Coordinator was nominated to the Technical Working Group for Watershed Management.
The summit highlighted the signing by the provincial governor of the Executive Order creating the Bohol Integrated Water Resources Management Board. The keynote address was delivered by the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines, Tony Hely, who also witnessed the signing of the executive order.
Erico Aumentado (Bohol Governor), left, examines the Landcare display with Sam Zappia (Australian Counsellor on AusAID-Development Cooperation), centre, and H.E. Tony Hely (Australian Ambassador to the Philippines).