The Laguna de Bay Institutional Strengthening and Community Participation (LISCOP) Project

Eco-trail to El Pueblo, Cavinti, Laguna

Various infrastructure development needs have been identified for the Laguna de Bay Region since the early 1990s. Subsequently, infrastructure needs and priorities were identified. As such, LLDA needs to prepare a comprehensive infrastructure plan for water-related infrastructure development in the Laguna de Bay region, and develop not only as an engineering challenge but more importantly as a “business and investment plan”. The plan shall assess the various infrastructure needs in terms of engineering feasibility and possibilities for partnership with other public agencies, LGUs, or private sector investors depending on the nature and the revenue generating potential of the projects.

Starting in 2004, the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), through a loan from the World Bank and a supplemental grand from the Government of the Netherlands, has been implementing the Laguna de Bay Institutional Strengthening and Community Participation (LISCOP) Project. This five-year project aims to meet the demands for integrated resource management, upgrade the capabilities of the LLDA and effectively address the stakeholder issues related to Laguna Lake’s multiple and oftentimes conflicting uses.

This year’s theme for the LdB Environment Monitor: “Sustaining the Protection of LdB Watershed” was inspired by the experience and success stories from the Laguna de Bay Institutional Strengthening and Community Participation (LISCOP) subprojects. The motivation also stems from the desire to document the upwelling of the lesson and the wealth of cases in order to exchange best practices and share insights on subprojects successes and challenges.

The experiences of five LGUs namely: the Municipalities of Cavinti and Liliw in the province of Laguna and the municipalities of Morong, Teresa and Tanay in Rizal Province are all unique in themselves, To protect the community and the Laguna de Bay, their uniqueness partly explains why the framework for presenting these cases does not follow a rigid format. The commonality is in the way that the LLDA LISCOP has powered LGUs and community partners to prioritize, plan, implement interventions and manage their development ijn a way that is consistent with the priorities within their respective micro watersheds. Collectively, such interventions redound to the environmental of the Laguna de Bay Region.

Integrated Waste Management Facility of Teresa, Rizal

Recycled materials

In essence, the stories unfold as a distinctive celebration of partnership for sustaining the lake watersheds protection and conservation.