CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—The delegates to the third International River Summit (IRS) held here last weekend have resolved to achieve the common goals set for their respective rivers and watersheds, including that of the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The IRS took note of the thematic statements and recommendations generated from the summit and building upon the outcomes of the previous IRS held in Iloilo City in 2012 and in Marikina City in 2014, as well as other water-related initiatives and events.
The third IRS was hosted by the League of Cities of the Philippines, the Cagayan de Oro River Basin Management Council, Cagayan de Oro City and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno, who delivered the IRS accord in behalf of all the participants and other stakeholders, outlined the summit’s requisite: healthy watersheds to ensure sustainable supply of clean water, support the economies of communities downstream and within its confines, and naturally capture, filter, store and release water that nourishes the quality of life and other ecosystems to include riparian habitats, wetlands, estuaries, corals and mangroves.
It was recognized that water is essential for broad-based agricultural production and rural development in order to improve food security and eradicate poverty, but we are also concerned with the increasing pressure on the limited freshwater resources, and the highly fragile upland environments across the globe that are already affected by a diverse array of agricultural and land use practices.
The accord is committed to concentrate efforts to combat deforestation, desertification and land degradation through programs that promote massive greening, adoption of sustainable forest-management practices, immediate restoration of degraded lands and wetlands, and conservation of biodiversity.
The delegates strongly urged the international community to support regional organizations to take primary responsibility in empowering their local government units and communities to be at the forefront in building the resiliency and integrity of their watersheds to ensure the uninterrupted provision of a wide range of services, which people, companies and societies rely upon for raw-material inputs, production processes and climate stability.
“We are confident that when society understands and takes responsibility on taking care of their upland ecosystems it is able to mobilize broad alliances of people, governments, civil societies and the private sector, all working together to secure the watershed as a protector of life and a provider of countless vital ecological services,” the accord said.
The accord added that the IRS will vigorously emphasize on good governance in the management of our rivers and watersheds characterized by transparency and accountability, with a stronger focus on enlisting the participation of all stakeholders and engaging upland and indigenous tribal communities, through community-based approaches that put premium to inclusivity and equity in benefit sharing, and encouraged urgent and sustained actions to the recommendations generated under the thematic sessions conducted during the summit.