FVR urges regional water reforms

Southeast Asian nations must set aside their fragmented water resource management policies to prevent scarcity woes in a region in one of the world's fastest growing regions, according to former President Fidel Ramos.

Warning that even some of the richest reservoirs of renewable fresh water could not meet the pressures of a 500 million population that is expected to grow by 50 percent by 2025, the former chief executive batted for integrated and holistic approaches to water supply, demand management, pollution control, and watershed and groundwater protection.

Ramos, an adviser to the World Water Commission, gave the keynote address at the World Water Forum's Asia Day in the Netherlands last Wednesday.

He called for re-engineering of weak institutional water structures and broader stakeholder consultation in water resources management.

Ramos also stressed the need to maintain sustainable population growth by establishing population carrying capacity of ecosystems, and stimulating countryside development to relieve migration and infrastructure pressure in urban centers.

He bewailed that ambitious masterplans have neglected the wisdom of community-based systems that preserved water resources for centuries. He called on Southeast Asia leaders to tap indigeneous peoples for techniques on conservation, use and distribution of water.

"The preservation of cultures and tradition, and the promotion of equitable gender involvement in all stages of water development must be part of our shared commitment," Ramos emphasized.

"Watershed protection and management must be promoted with maximum community participation," he said.

Noting the need to maintain productivity of agricultural, forest and aquatic assets, and the assimilative capacity and quality of air, water and land resources, Ramos urged more economic incentives for the use and manufacture of pollution control systems.

"The establishment of waste water treatment facilities must be accorded top priority -- for the minimization of waste generation and the constant and recycling and reuse of waste water," he said.

The former president said impractical populist blueprints, which erroneously promote the concept of water as a free social good, must give way to efficient models.

Southeast Asia will have to make tough choices, including between what is efficient and what is less burdensome to people, he stressed.

"The common experience in most countries will confirm that even poor people are willing to pay for clean potable water," said the former chief executive.

He pushed for "users' pay" and "polluters' pay" policies. The challenge, he emphasized, is to create the legal and social framework as well as operational mechanism to allow a market-based approach.

This would mean appropriate payments by gainers to compensate losers - particularly the poor and the environment - from water reallocation, he added.

Ramos said government revenues from raw water charges, effluent taxes and sewerage fees must be earmarked for water resource management, the support of cross-subsidies in favor of the poor and sectors that rely on higher-cost sources of water.