Author(s): Adelina Santos-Borja
Email (s): lennieborja@yahoo.com
Institution or organization of origin: International Lake Environment Committee Foundation, Southeast Asian Limnological Network
Country: Philippines
Abstract:
The implementation of Integrated Lake Basin Management is a daunting task especially in large lake basins, like the Laguna de Bay Basin in the Philippines, with a total area of 3,820 km2. There are twenty-four sub-basins occupied by 61 cities and municipalities with a total population of 16.2 million. With the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 2004, more emphasis was given on water quality management at a lake or river basin scale. In accordance with the law, the Laguna Lake Basin is a Water Quality Management Area (WQMA), which must be managed by a WQMA Governing Board. It is composed of the Board of Directors of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) with the addition of a representative from the NGO sector and a representative from the water utility sector. With these enabling environment, and with the principle that the water quality or a lake or a river is a reflection of the watershed, the organization of a Watershed Management Council (WMC) in each sub-basin was pursued by the LLDA. It is a multisectoral group composed of the LLDA, the Local Government Units in a sub-basin and representatives from various sectors. This brings the implementation of ILBM to the sub-basin level of which the specific case study is the Santa Rosa sub-basin. The direct engagement of officials and residents at the smallest political unit called barangay (village) has surfaced as a model which can be implemented in other villages in a sub-basin.