Jakarta (VNA) – A project on reducingpollution and preserving environmental flows in East Asian Seas through the Implementationof Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) was launched in Manila by the Association of Southeast As💝ian Nations (ASEAN) to developpractical and innovative ways for communities, industries and governments towork together 🌱to revitalise the region’s rivers.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, the Philippines’ Undersecretary of the Department of Environmentand Natural Resources Carlos Primo David stressed thateffective governance will allow people to continue to utilise the water andother ecosystem services that river basins provide despite the threats of extremeevents and climate change. Dr. Selva Ramachandran, UNDP Resident Representativeto the Philippines, added water use among ASEAN countries is growing rapidly,while water quality and quantity challenges threaten to derail much-neededeconomic growth. Meanwhile, Ekkaphab Phanthavong, DeputySecretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community affirmed theproject is a testament of ASEAN’s collective and forward-looking action toimproving water resources management in our region.

Dr. Inthavy Akkharath, Chair of the ASEAN Working Groupon Water Resources Management explained the project will integrate knowledge about the vitalconnections between rivers and seas in the region.

Supported by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project will establishfunctional IRBM mechanisms in the major river basins of six ASEAN Member States– Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PܫDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seasof East Asia (PEMSEA), the implementing agency of the project, will workclosely with the governments and stakeholders in ASEAN Member States to improvesource-to-sea governance, as well as build the capacity to plan and strengthenriver basin management mechanisms./.