Stakeholders’ Forum on Integrated Flood Risk Management in Cagayan River Basin: Basis in Writing Policy Recommendations

Abstract

The stakeholders’ forum aimed to enhance the capacities of policymakers, managers, and practitioners of river basin organizations on flood management through knowledge sharing of new approaches, techniques, methodologies, and good practices from partners here and abroad to help achieve effective implementation of integrated flood risk management as a component of integrated water resources management. The study followed a qualitative research methodology; thus, observation and documentation of each series of planned activities, semi-structured and unstructured interviews with the executive leaders of national agencies and international partners, and discourse analysis of the shared presentations and knowledge exchange between or among the stakeholders were conducted to surface specific themes that described how this stakeholders’ forum enhanced the implementation of integrated water resources management in the country through a multipartite communication platform. The research findings revealed that international and national partnership is fortified and R&D efforts will be rapidly realized through a multipartite information exchange, collaborative workshop, technology transfer, and other knowledge-sharing activities. Moreover, legal agreements entered by all stakeholders to scale up global and community linkages are a salient measure to encourage and motivate stakeholders to take part in the implementation of STI-based efforts stipulated in such legal documents. Joint field visits, series of fellowships, and use of websites for information dissemination also have pivotal roles in acquiring a profound understanding of dam situations in the Philippines and Japan, and how integrated water resources management will be communicated to various community partners. Thus, the forum served as a channel that bridged what the government agencies and organizations know about flood and sedimentation management and what the community partners need to understand to revitalize science-community-government-academe collaboration.