SAFE, SUFFICIENT WATER FOR CEBU URGED

Metro Cebu’s water supply will only last until 2030, claims the report of the Dutch-funded Central Cebu Water Resources Management through Integrated Development (Water REMIND) Project.

Majority of the Metro Cebu’s 658,000 households are dirt-poor—so, access to sufficient and potable water for a better quality of life becomes a life-and-death struggle for the poor. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) show that the required water consumption per person is 2-4 liters a day; and each needs 2,000 to 5,000 liters of water to produce daily food.  Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) points out that like Metro Manila, Metro Cebu is densely populated and 24 of every 100 households are earning below P7,000.  Such vicious grip of poverty has prompted PBSP to carry out a five-year poverty reduction program reaching out to Cebu’s 15,684 households in 5 cities and 4 municipalities covering 105 barangays. Now on its third year, the program focuses on livelihood and enterprise; education; health; environment; and organizational system. Part of this includes the installment of 2 potable water systems benefiting 200 households.  With this, PBSP is pursuing the rehabilitation, protection, and conservation of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL). Moreover, PBSP makes sure that the coastal areas and marine waters in and surrounding Mactan and Olango islands are still able to support the livelihood of the fisherfolk and the local tourism industry in Cebu.

Published in the Manila Times, http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/regions/16713-safe-sufficient-water-for-cebu-urged ; 08 February 2012