THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it is now possible for the government to locate priority areas where the private sector can invest in terms of water supply services.
The DENR said it recently completed the national natural resource geospatial database.
“We have now completed the entire inventory of surface water in the Philippines. We are now able to match where there are water resources to actually service the needs of communities, industries and sectors. We have discovered that all over the country, there are still about 40 million people still unserved or underserved,” DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, said at the post- State of the Nation Address discussions in Pasay City yesterday.
Loyzaga said with the current data on-hand, DENR will collaborate with other government departments in identifying where to invest in water projects in the country.
“We identified 247 areas and from that 247, we received close to 100 letters of interest for water projects in the country,” Loyzaga said.
The DENR said it also found in its national natural resource geospatial database that of the 15 million classified forest lands in the Philippines, only around 7 million is still covered with forests.
“Forests are resources that will enable us to determine how much water we can store in our aquifers and river systems and receive them and impound them. We also value our forests in terms of soil erosion control for downstream flooding. We are also valuing our forests for carbon economy, carbon credits that we can realize in order for us to offset whatever is released by the country in terms of greenhouse gas emissions,” Loyzaga added.
The DENR said the inventory will also allow for the development, expansion and responsible extraction of metallic and non-metallic minerals that are needed to fuel the country’s plans for a low-carbon future.
Loyzaga said the DENR also recently completed the profiling of all 114 legislated protected areas which are in the process of assessment on their current conditions to make sure that they provide the ecosystem service needed to manage floods and ensure water availability.
The DENR is also scheduled to launch the first Philippine mangrove map which was made in coordination with the Philippine Space Agency citizen scientists all over the country.
Loyzaga said mangroves are crucial to be protected as they serve as protection from storm surge hazards.
The agency said there are also efforts with the Department of Public Works and Highways as well as with the National Irrigation Administration to design multiple-use infrastructure intended to control floods and store water.
