Posted June 2nd, 2012 by Othel V.
Campos [ manilastandardtoday.com ]
Iloilo City — Participants to the
first International River Summit in Iloilo City have signed a manifesto to
protect the world’s rivers and called for greater investment to address
environmental challenges.
“The first Philippine International
River Summit intends to emphasize the urgency for joint and collaborative
action to manage our waters especially since the adverse effects of climate
change on our water assets are becoming more pronounced every day,” Iloilo City
Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said at the close of the two-day summit at the
Centennial Resort Hotel and Convention Center.
Mabilog, who presented the manifesto,
said that the summit would establish a cooperative approach in confronting
challenges that threaten the environment.
The summit is a joint project of the
national government through the Environment Department, with the PLDT group and
the city of Iloilo as co-presentors. The
PDLT group has been implementing programs that seek to rejuvenate the country’s
river systems and has a continuing project to replant mangroves along the
Iloilo river.
The manifesto cited the need to
mainstream biodiversity management, disaster risk reduction management and
climate change adaptation, into national and local legislative agenda.
It also called for efforts to enhance
the capacity of the local government units and improve access to resources and
technical opportunities for river conservation.
(Published in the Manila Standard
Today newspaper on /2012/June/02)
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