Makati hosts water, sanitation training

MANILA, Philippines - Makati City recently hosted a three-day training course on Water and Sanitation in Climate Sensitive Cities, which was sponsored by CityNet and the Seoul Metropolitan Government of South Korea.

CityNet is an Asia-Pacific regional network of local authorities committed to helping local governments solve challenges commonly faced by cities in working towards a livable, sustainable and healthy environment.

Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay said the participants from Makati and five other Philippine cities were able to learn about advance technologies on water supply and floodwater management and treatment from presentations made by experts from Seoul Waterworks Research Institute and Seoul Water Reclamation Department.

“The training served as a conduit for the transfer of technology on floodwater management and water treatment, which are crucial to survival amid erratic weather conditions and increasingly severe manifestations of climate change. There is clearly a need to invest in technology and infrastructure that would make our water safe for drinking and ensure continuous water supply even in times of disasters,” Binay said.

Binay said local governments should also develop policies that would support infrastructural developments on water and sanitation.

“In doing this, we should also encourage the private sector and researchers to participate so that viable plans and programs can be formulated,” he said.

During the training, Seoul also showcased projects that were successfully implemented in the city, including its sewerage treatment facilities, water circulation and prevention of flood hazards. The delegates also had the chance to visit the Manila Water’s treatment facility in Quezon City.

The UN Habitat, besides providing technical support to the training course, also presented an overview of water and sanitation from the global perspective, but with emphasis on local responsibility.

Other attendees in the training were delegates from Muntinlupa City, Valenzuela City, Quezon City, and Naga City and Ligao City in Albay. Foreign guests also came from UN Habitat and other Citynet members, namely, Kathmandu in Nepal, Colombo in Sri Lanka, and Hetaoda Municipality in Nepal.

Also undertaken during the training were the updating of information and verification of indicators for the 2013 Asian Sanitation Data Book, a joint publication of UN Habitat, Asian Development Bank and CityNet. The 2008 Sanitation Book was developed with 27 cities in the Asia Pacific Region participating, including the 13-member countries of CityNet, of which Makati is a member.

The training sought to improve the capacity of policy and decision makers in adopting climate resilient infrastructure and raising of water and sanitation standards, and promote greater city-to-city and business-to-city cooperation in the field of sustainable water management and sanitation. It also sought the adoption of Seoul’s water management policies and technologies in the region, with better integration across water and sanitation sectors and between public, private, not-for-profit and non-partisan operators, policy makers and researchers.

The city government of Makati had been the lead city in the Disaster Cluster of CityNet for four years. Makati serves as the co-lead of the Disaster Cluster for the next four years.  - Mike Frialde