mongster's nest

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Wet, dry and panic season

Anti-terror law takes effect, my blog entry for Global Voices.

There is already water scarcity in the archipelago. According to the World Health Organization, population with access to improved drinking water decreased from 87 to 85 percent in the period 1990-2002. Last year, individuals without access to safe and sustainable water reached 17.3 million. There is an estimated 212 waterless municipalities with a total population of 9 million.

That this is actually happening in a country surrounded by bodies of water is as puzzling as the prevalence of hunger in a land described as ‘pearl of the orient’. Decades of water resource mismanagement and lack of infrastructure investment may be the major reasons why water is inaccessible to many households. But why is everybody blaming the weather? Global warming should not be made as convenient excuse to obscure our faults.

The country has 18 major river basins, 343 principal river basins and 12 water resources regions. But only 1/3 of the river systems is used as source of drinking water. Coliform has been found in 58 percent of the country’s groundwater. Visayas islands face water insecurity mainly due to aquaculture malpractices and mangrove conversions. Unregulated extraction of groundwater has aggravated the sinking of land in coastal communities in Northern Manila Bay, disproving claims that this is due to climate change. Land in north of Manila is sinking at a rate of 5-9 cm/year or 100 cm or 1 meter from 1991 to 2003.

In 1998, the National Water Resources Board reported that there are potential water shortages in Regions 2, 3, 4 and 7. What has been done to avert a possible water crisis? Aside from blaming the lack of rains, we should be probing what projects were implemented (or not implemented) to guarantee water balance in the country.

Water rationing is pathetic and reflects the short-sightedness of government. Exhorting the public to conserve water may be reasonable but unnecessary. Majority of the poor are using water prudently. Why not appeal to golf clubs to stop wasting precious water resources? Besides, government should be informed that almost 3 million households are sharing faucets and 2.4 million families are using community piped deep wells. Let us assume that these households have little opportunity to squander limited water supply.

Government should continue focusing on “sustainable aquaculture, regulation of water extraction, water sanitation, ecological sanitation and comprehensive land use”. Community participation is also needed in the management and development of water resources. We also need competent and functioning water management institutions.

Can we not maximize our coastlines by using modern technology to transform salt water into drinking water? We should revive polluted rivers. We should enhance protection of watershed areas. What will be the impact of the expansion of mining areas in the sustainability of groundwater supply?

Congress can investigate the implementation of the Clean Water Act of 2004 and the 1976 Water Code (which was used as model for other Southeast Asian countries). There are proposals to amend the 1974 Provincial Water Utilities Act to provide more water subsidiaries in communities.

Government officials warn of power blackouts because of depleted water supply. Actually, power shortage is just one of our problems. We need to realize the catastrophic impact of dwindling clean water resources on domestic water supply, irrigation, fishery, commercial sector, industry, tourism, environment and hydropower.

The other problem is the government’s response to the energy and water crisis: privatization. Because these are extraordinary times, the public might be forced to accept emergency measures which would prove more damning in the future. Remember the PPA in your electricity bills?

Related entries:

Water runs dry
Tudaya falls.
Preserve mineral wealth

posted by: mongpalatino at July 30, 2007 01:33 | link | comments |
greens

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