Formulation of an Integrated River Basin Management and Development Master Plan for Marikina River Basin

The Philippines, through RBCO-DENR had defined 20 major river basins spread all over the country. These basins are defined as major because of their importance, serving as lifeblood and driver of the economy of communities inside and outside the basins. One of these river basins is the Marikina River Basin .
Marikina River Basin is currently not in its best of condition. Just like other river basins of the Philippines, MRB is faced with problems. These include: a) rapid urban development and rapid increase in population and the consequent excessive and indiscriminate discharge of pollutants and wastes which are; b) Improper land use management and increase in conflicts over land uses and allocation; c) Rapidly depleting water resources and consequent conflicts over water use and allocation; and e) lack of capacity and resources of stakeholders and responsible organizations to pursue appropriate developmental solutions.
The consequence of the confluence of the above problems is the decline in the ability of the river basin to provide the goods and services it should ideally provide if it were in desirable state or condition. This is further specifically manifested in its lack of ability to provide the service of preventing or reducing floods in the lower catchments of the basin. There is rising trend in occurrence of floods, water pollution and water induced disasters within and in the lower catchments of the basin.
The rivers that overflowed and resulted to exceptionally high and extensive flooding during the TS Ketsana event are the rivers that drain Marikina River Basin. These rivers contributed huge volumes of stormwater to the main Marikina River that cut across through densely populated areas of Rizal Province, Quezon City, Marikina City and Pasig City. As a result, flooding due to overflowing of the river tremendously damaged human lives and properties. Consequently, the floodings that occurred and any other flooding that will happen were and will be attributed to the poor management of the river basin.
Solving the problems faced by the MRB is not an easy task. Different resources, various stakeholders and numerous concerns in the different sectors that are present in a basin make the sustainable management of a basin complicated. Sustainable management of river basins requires careful planning following concepts and principles of an integrated river basin management (IRBM).
Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) considers the various resources and ecosystems inside a basin. IRBM considers the interaction among the following components, namely: forests, water, aquatic/marine resources, mineral resources, nutrients, plants/animals/micro-organisms, wetland, lands and man/communities/indigenous people.
The development of an Integrated River Basin Master Plan for various river basins including the Marikina River Basins is consonant with the plans and programs of the River Basin Control Office.