Urbanisation and climate change aggravated the water scarcity in the Philippines. On top of these issues, the major challenge in improving the access to clean water supply and sanitation in the country is the limited funding and institutional budget allocated for these sectors. Although there are existing technologies and technical capabilities for the effective treatment of wastewater, they are not readily accessible, costly, and not sustainable, particularly for those regions outside the capital region of the Philippines. With this, it has been acknowledged by the national government the potential of nature-based solutions (NbS) for water resources management (like mangroves) and wastewater treatment (like constructed wetlands or CWs). The most common type of NbS for wastewater management in the country is the CWs, with the most successful system of using a hybrid CWs and combining them with other grey infrastructures like anaerobic baffled reactor. Moreover, successful adoption of NbS would require a policy guide in the assessment and implementation, with local stakeholders’ support and national funding.
Book / book chapter