WB provides funding for Laguna Lake rehab

The World Bank has provided a P47.13-million loan package for the rehabilitation and development of the Laguna Lake under the Laguna de Bay Institutional Strengthening and Community Participation (LISCOP) project.

According to Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) general manager Casimiro Ynares III, the LISCOP project aims to improve the environmental quality of the lake micro-watershed interventions and strengthen the LLDA, local government units and community organizations within specific watersheds of the lake region.

Under the LISCOP project, the LLDA will conduct an environmental action planning process to identify, prioritize and develop watershed improvement projects in the lake region.

Two of the pilot projects that have been identified by the World Bank are the Cavinti ecotourism and the Tanay micro-watershed enhancement sub-projects.

The World Bank has provided P14.122 million for the Cavinti ecotourism project, and P33.008 million to the Tanay project.

The LISCOP development agenda calls for a broad-based participation of local communities and stakeholders within the region, said Ynares at the launching of the LISCOP project in Quezon City.

Laguna Lake is the largest inland body of water in the Philippines. Its watershed occupies 1.3 percent of the country’s total land area.

The lake, whose shape resembles a bird’s foot, is divided into four bays and has a total volume of 3.2 billion cubic meters and an average depth of 2.5 meters.

Its watershed encompasses the entire provinces of Rizal and Laguna and portions of Metro Manila, Cavite, Batangas and Quezon — or a total of 12 cities and 49 municipalities.

Laguna Lake, which has 188 lakeshore and 2,469 inland barangays, has 24 hydrological sub-basins and drains into the Napindan Channel in Taguig, then flows into the Pasig River and finally Manila Bay.