MWSS, MTFI to develop water restoration roadmap

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the Million Trees Foundation, Inc. (MTFI) are eyeing to develop a water restoration roadmap, following the success of a five year watershed rehabilitation project.

In a statement yesterday, the MTFI said it recently attended a strategic planning activity to develop a watershed restoration roadmap, along with the MWSS and watershed stakeholders.

“Tackled at the strategic planning activity were the gaps, challenges and opportunities to improve watershed restoration,”the MTFI said.

MTFI said the event was also a venue to formulate goals, strategies and arrangements to enhance the restoration of the seven critical watersheds particularly the Umiray, Angat, Ipo, La Mesa, Laguna de Bay, Kaliwa and Upper Marikina, which support Metro Manila’s water supply.

“These watersheds are threatened by destructive anthropogenic human activities and climate change, which leads to massive losses in forest cover, degradation and deteriorating water quality,” the MTFI said.

The planned roadmap, to be implemented from 2022-2030, will contain goals and outcomes, implementation strategies, institutional arrangements and action plans to achieve improved biodiversity, ecological health and ecosystem services.

During the event, the MWSS and the MTFI reported that more than five million seedlings have been planted from 2017-2021 through the Annual Million Trees Challenge (AMTC).

AMTC is a five-year watershed rehabilitation program spearheaded by the MWSS in partnership with various organizations that include national government agencies, local government units, civil society groups, and the private sector, which aimed to plant one million seedlings per year in seven critical watersheds in the country.

According to the report from 2017-2021, a total of 5.2 million seedlings have been planted in beneficiary watersheds. Of this number, 2.5 million were planted in Ipo-Angat; 853,580 in La Mesa; 404,043 in Laguna de Bay; 257,099 in Kaliwa Umiray; 1.04 million in Upper Marikina; and 143,904 in Manila Bay.

The tree-planting activities have resulted in the reforestation of 12,486 hectares in the watersheds as of end 2021, particularly in Ipo-Angat, 5,653.21 hectares; La Mesa, 1,913.59 hectares; Laguna de Bay, 802.73 hectares; Kaliwa-Umiray, 642.44 hectares; Upper Marikina, 3,150.99 hectares; and Manila Bay,323.13 hectares.

“Reforestation activities were undertaken through collaborative efforts of various organizations from national government agencies, local government units, civil society groups and the private sector,”the MTFI said.