CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—This city will be the host to the third International River Summit (IRS) from November 24 to 26, a biennial multipartner national initiative, which serves as avenue to identify opportunities, problems and best practices.
The conference aims to effectively manage rivers across four vital issues on governance, biodiversity conservation and management, climate change and disaster risk-reduction management and water quality.
The summit’s organizers expect more than 1,600 participants coming from the different local government units (LGUs) in the country, leading experts, scientists, policy-makers, river administrators, indigenous communities, support groups, people’s organization and practitioners. About 200 foreign guests and experts are expected to attend. The mayor of the host city, Oscar S. Moreno, said the holding of the summit here is a bold move of the organizers and the LGU to gather the participants to tackle a huge environmental issue and take the challenge to protect river basins in the country.
“Mindanao for the last five years has experienced severe flooding, including that which devastated this city where more than a thousand died and countless bodies are yet to be found during the flood brought by Typhoon Washi [local name Sendong] thus, the decision to hold this summit,” Moreno said.
The third IRS, with the theme “Healthy Watersheds, Clean Rivers Safer Communities,” is a global platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience toward the building of an inclusive agenda for sustainable development and resiliency of river-basin ecosystem, said Dr. Hilly Ann Roa-Quiaoit, Summit chairman, 3rd IRS.
Quiaoit said the state of Mindanao’s eight river basins, part of the 18 river basins in the entire country, will be highlighted during the summit where eminent leaders and stakeholders would share knowledge and best practices to formulate a blueprint of needed actions to address pressing issues affecting river basins and their communities.
Consistent with the initiatives in the first summit held in Iloilo City in 2012 and second summit held in Marikina City in 2014, the Cagayan de Oro summit would foster information and exchanges on the latest technology, research, approaches and best practices on the watershed and river-basin governance.
The organizers said the summit is also the venue to build consensus that will address gaps in policy and program implementation of the river-basin management from international down to the local levels, and to expand avenues for greater cooperation in finding sustainable solutions for development and environmental stewardship. Quiaoit said the cross-cutting issues during the summit are gender development; best practices and lessons learned; river laws and policies; sustainable-funding mechanism; and youth, women and community empowerment.