The FAO-ESCAP pilot project on national water visions. From vision ...

annually, the Philippine population of about 70 million is expected to number slightly more
than 100 million by the year 2025. Current water supply coverage is only about 78 percent,
and sanitation coverage roughly about 69 percent. Sewerage coverage is only seven percent.
Some of the main sectoral concerns identified are as follows:
1. Non-systematic approach to water resources management
An integrated and holistic approach to water resources management is simply missing.
<strong>The</strong> sheer number of agencies involved compounded with the ambiguous definition of
their responsibilities result in overlapping work, lack of comprehensive data and a
fractional water resources management plan that is grossly inadequate in satisfying the
requirements for sustainability.
2. Very low priority given to sanitation and sewerage
<strong>The</strong>re is a lack of public awareness of the importance of sanitation facilities in relation to public
health and environmental well-being. Data is inadequate to determine the effectiveness of
sanitation and sewerage programmes. <strong>The</strong> existing facilities are generally unsatisfactory and
inadequate to protect public health. Mortality and morbidity rates from waterborne diseases are
still high. Investment in sanitation and sewerage programmes is minimal, which contributes to
their low level of affordability and makes people unwilling to pay for such services.
3. Inadequate financial support to water, sanitation and sewerage programmes
Major investments in water supply and sanitation programmes are not a priority of local
government units. Capital financing for major sanitation and sewerage programmes
remains a problem. High capital costs make the construction of conventional sewers in
many urban areas unaffordable without subsidies.
4. Unreliable water supply databases
It is said that many areas have exceeded the sustainable level of water utilization and it is
of concern that the true level of utilization is not known because the available data are
fragmented, incomplete and contradictory. <strong>The</strong> competition for water resources is not
well managed. In particular, in some regions and provinces, water resources availability
is becoming critical and will require bold planning decisions at regional level and new
ways of thinking about water.
5. Inadequate capacity building in the water supply sector, including operations and
maintenance
Most foreign-assisted <strong>project</strong>s include institutional-strengthening and capacity-building
components. Despite these efforts, many constructed water systems soon cease to
function and many more are in need of rehabilitation and improvement. While
community participation and management is universally recognized as a vital component
of water supply and sanitation <strong>project</strong>s, this strategy has yet to be fully applied. <strong>The</strong>
support system to address the technical, institutional and financial needs of communitybased
water supply and sanitation associations is not institutionalized. Private sector
participation is being encouraged, yet there is no effective and credible regulatory
environment for all aspects of the sector.
6. Poor community participation and management, especially among women in the
water sanitation and sewerage sector
<strong>The</strong> failure of most water and sanitation <strong>project</strong>s has been attributed to the low quality of
community participation and management, especially among women. <strong>The</strong> alarming
number of non-functioning community-based water and sanitation associations can
generally be attributed to the lack of sustaining activities after the turnover of the <strong>project</strong>
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