Marikina to host 2014 river summit

MANILA, Philippines - Marikina City will host the 2nd International River Summit at the Marikina Convention Center from Nov. 19 to 21, 2014.

The summit is in collaboration with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP).

For this undertaking, Marikina Mayor Del de Guzman, DENR Secretary Ramon Paje and LCP president Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista will sign a memorandum of understanding to ensure the success of the summit.

The second summit will focus on the proper river management and how it is relevant to sustainable development, thus the theme “Reviving Rivers, Rebuilding Civilizations.” The first was hosted by the Iloilo City government.

De Guzman said Marikina best represents a community that has flourished through time since they revived and protected the river. He added that the summit will be a good venue to share their success with different communities here and abroad.

Iloilo Mayor Jed Mabilog will present a revisit of the agreement made during the first summit, with the aim of establishing continuity of networking efforts that have already been initiated.

The conference will be a convergence of international and local leaders, practitioners, professionals and experts on environmental management.

The organizer hopes to bring in more than 1,000 participants. Aside from lectures and sharing of experiences, there will be study tours as part of an array of break out sessions to choose from, such as river and watershed management activities, presentation of technologies and actual operation of related facilities in and around Metro Manila.

The conference will also deal with topics concerning disaster risk mitigation and climate change issues and concerns, with the hope of identifying and putting into action long-lasting, concrete and doable solutions.

Details and procedures for registration will be posted at the summit’s official website,  www.internationalriversummit.com starting January 2014. Interested parties may contact (632) 646-1634 or e-mail   [email protected].