In Israel, there is only one agency, the Israel Water Authority, which handles all matters pertaining to water, from generation, distribution, utilization for households and irrigation, recycling, desalination and even catching water vapors.
On Tuesday, during the second session of the Water Management and Conservation Course for Mindanao Local Government Executives, Israel’s water experts shared the key factor to the success of the country in managing a scarce resource and that is a singular agency which alone handles all activities involving water.
The Online Course on Water Management and Conservation is a 5-session program of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), the Israel Embassy in the Philippines and the MASHAV, Israel’s International Development Agency designed for Mindanao’s decision makers, including Governors and Mayors for a unified approach to address the water concerns of the region.
The Israel Water Authority is composed of several ministries whose operations would involve water concerns, among them the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, Water Resources, the Interior and Finance.
The basic operating philosophy states that “The country’s water resources are public property, controlled by the state and are designated for the needs of its residents and the development of the country.”
The management of scarce resource by only one supreme authority ensures that water generation, distribution, utiization for households and agriculture, recycling of waste water, desalination and the catching of water vapor are all included in one smooth and well-coordinated operation.
Recently, the state enforced a law that all new buildings will have to be equipped with water catchments which would pump back rainwater into the aquifers.
Now, compare that to the way we do things in the country.
Water use management, watershed management and water quality monitoring are only on paper and virtually non-existent.
In fact, we do not even have an accurate data on how many of our watersheds and headwaters are threatened by human incursions or how many village people do not have access to safe drinking water.
The National Economic Development Authority sets the policies, the Department of Public Works and Highways builds the infrastructure along with the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) which handles water for agriculture, the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources covers watershed management and then there are other agencies like the National Water Resources Board, PNOC, NPC, Dept. of Health, Dept. of Interior and Local Governments, the Bureau of Soil and Water Management, the Local Water Utilities Administration, the Local Government Units, the Local Water Districts and the private water concessionaires.
It is no wonder, therefore that while people drown in floods during the typhoon and rainy season, a 2-month dry spell could devastate agricultural production.
Our state of affairs in water conservation and management is a perfect example of the adage: “Too many cooks spoil the broth.”
There is an urgent need to implement a cohesive water management and conservation program but this would need the participation of our legislative bodies to craft enabling laws to put everything in order.
That is where we hit the wall for how could meaningful legislations be passed when our legislative bodies are inhabited by people who have direct interests or are working for groups with interests in our water resources?
God has given us the resources to excel as a nation but we are squandering the blessings.
#SoMuchWaterButWereThirsty!
#TooManyCooksSpoilTheBroth!
(Images attached were screen-grabbed from the presentations made during the Water Management and Conservation Online Course for Mindanao Governors and Mayors conducted by the MASHAv of Israel in collaboration with the Mindanao Development Authority.)
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