The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), in partnership with the Global Affairs Canada (GAC), conducted the pilot iteration of the Training on the Fundamentals of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) for the local government units (LGUs) with the city government of Baguio on 1-5 December 2025, at The Plaza Garden Hotel and Residences.
IWRM Technical Consultant Wilbur Dee discussing the mechanics for the session on Case Studies on Sustainable Landscape Planning. December 3, 2025.
“For cities like Baguio and many others represented here today, the challenge is real and immediate: How do we secure safe, sustainable, and resilient water systems for our people—now and in the future? This training is a vital step toward answering that question. Through the Building Resilience through Inclusive Development and Gender Equality (BRIDGE) Project, we are strengthening local capacities in water governance, disaster resilience, climate adaptation, and inclusive development—four pillars that shape the kind of future we want to build for our communities,” said Engr. Leandro Tabilog, Executive Assistant for Livelihood, Social Welfare & Health Affairs of Baguio City.
The 40-hour technical training covered the different concepts and processes of IWRM and Integrated Ecosystem Management (IEM), providing the participants with vital foundational knowledge and enhancing their skills on resource management and planning. The participants demonstrated their learnings during the sessions on case studies on land use planning for protected areas and ancestral lands and the workshops on Analysis Management Situations; and applied basic Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping in their Nature-based Solutions Vision Maps. A total of 24 LGU and stakeholders from the academe and civil society organizations successfully completed the training, producing several viable proposals on IWRM and IEM that are all primed for local implementation.
The IWRM training for LGUs is part of the activities under the GAC-funded project Building Resilience through Inclusive Development and Gender Equality (BRIDGE).
Article and photo by: Reina Manongsong | PDRF
