Rafael D. Guerrero III
Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development
doi.org/10.57043/transnastphl.1997.5948
Abstract
Water is essential for life and sustainable human development. Despite its vast freshwater resources consisting of lakes. swamps, rivers, reservoirs and ground-water, the Philippines has an impeding “”water crisis”” because of rapid depletion and deterioration of such resources brought about by increasing demand for human, agricultural and industrial.
Policies and laws for national conservation and management of the country’s freshwater resources seem adequate. There is an urgent need, however, to restructure and strengthen the national coordinating and regulating agency for water, promote public and private participation for rehabilitation of water-sheds and the efficient delivery of water services as well as the exercise of political will for water policy/law enforcement to ensure sustainable development of suchvital resources.