The USAID Water Security for Resilient Economic Growth and Stability (Be Secure) Project prepared this report in collaboration with the Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD) in the Philippines.
Water security is a major input to achieving economic growth in the rapidly growing Philippines. While nationally there is an abundance of resources, water scarcity is increasingly felt at the local level. Water quality is an increasingly serious problem, with degraded water quality affecting human and ecosystem health.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Water Security for Resilient Economic Growth and Stability (Be Secure) | 2012–2017
The short film "Your Water, Your Choice" aims to give audiences a better understanding of what climate impacts are to water, how it affects water security in the Philippines, and the need to take action. This educational and entertaining film promotes water conservation and water use efficiency. It shows specific and doable water efficiency actions that can be done at the local or household level, and the benefits that can be gained from doing so.
Water security has been a growing concern for many cities in the Philippines.
Freshwater supplies are shrinking due to over-extraction, saltwater intrusion, forest degradation, and pollution. Costly leaks in distribution pipes, as well as excessive and wasteful use of water in many households, do not help to preserve this precious resource.
The Water Security for Resilient Economic Growth and Stability (Be Secure) Project in the Philippines is a four-year activity that seeks to improve water security to support resilient and stable economic growth in the Philippines. It is being implemented by AECOM International Development with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in close coordination with the Government of the Philippines.
This toolkit is intended as a guide to those water districts and/or companies, agencies or academic institutions wishing to take first steps to becoming more water efficient and ecologically responsible. Please note that it does not substitute for expert technical guidance and advice. The technical information in this toolkit is standard practice and state of the art at the time of writing. Every user and every location needs to adapt these tools to their own circumstances.
This toolkit provides methodologies for a water utility to develop three documents that are essential to improve its climate resilience: a vulnerability assessment, a climate-resilient business plan, and an emergency response plan. These three documents and associated practices are interconnected and should be implemented holistically to achieve optimal climate resilience. These documents require regular updating and, in the case of the emergency response plan, strength testing through annual desktop exercises.
The Philippines has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia, with GDP growth averaging 6 percent between 2010 and 2016. Despite the growth, poverty still persists, exacerbated by 15 million Filipinos lacking access to clean water, and 26.5 million with little or no access to sanitation facilities.
Much of the population is vulnerable to changing weather patterns that include less rain, longer dry seasons, increased flooding, and more violent storms. Further complicating the situation are the approximately 20 typhoons that hit the country annually.
The Water Security for Resilient Economic Growth and Stability (Be Secure) Project in the Philippines is a four-year activity that seeks to promote good governance and build capacity for long-term water security, improve access to water and wastewater treatment services, and build more resilient communities.
