RP, WB sign loans and grants to improve Laguna de Bay

A $5 million loan agreement and a $5 million grant agreement from the Netherlands government were signed recently to support the Laguna de Bay Institutional Strengthening and Community Participation (LISCOP) Project. The project aims to reduce pollution and improve the environmental quality of Laguna de Bay, the second largest freshwater lake in Southern Asia.

The agreements were signed by Finance Secretary Juanita Amatong, World Bank Philippines Country Director Robert Vance Pulley, and Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) General Manager Fatima Valdes. Witnesses to the signing were Environment Secretary Elisea Gozun and Ambassador Robert Vornis of the Royal Netherlands Embassy.

"LISCOP is the first World Bank-assisted project in the Philippines that supports an integrated and decentralized approach to watershed management. It accords an opportunity for all the partners to focus attention and mobilize concerted effort toward the improvement of the Laguna de Bay, whose environmental, social and economic significance cannot simply be overlooked," said Pulley.

The project has two components. The first component, co-managed micro-watershed environmental interventions, which will be funded from the loan, will assist the LLDA, local government units, private sector and community groups to reduce pollution of the lake and improve the environmental quality of the Laguna de Bay watershed by supporting the following activities: Financing investments by LGUs to improve solid and wastewater management; control soil erosion through reforestation and expand opportunities for eco-tourism; expanding incentives for enterprises and local governments to improve their environmental performance be complaint with water quality standards; providing increased opportunities for community groups to participate in planning and implementing environmental solutions; and supporting LGUs and stakeholders to develop integrated plans at the microwatershed level.