The Ngerikiil Watershed project in Airai was funded by the Global Environment Facility and is part of the GEF Pacific Integrated Water Resources Management Project.
Chris Paterson, consultant for GEF Pacific IWRM Project and Portia Franz, Executive Officer for EQPB signed the $586,900 MOA project.The main objective of the project is to improve the water resources and water management in the Pacific Island, particularly for 14 countries including Palau.Paterson said the Ngerikiil watershed restoration will be a “ridge to reef and community to congress” efforts.It will bring different sectors together to plan and manage water resources.Paterson said they will assess storm water specifically the Compact Road and will set up a system to manage storm waters in the areas.He added they will also develop a program to monitor the echo system health.Franz said the project is important because it will reduce impact to water resources.Franz said in Babeldaob areas, over 70 percent of water resources comes from rivers and whatever is learned in the Ngerikiil watershed restoration project will also help the other States to ensure that their water system is protected.She said this will also minimize expenses in treating the water resources for drinking.
