Workshop on the Application of the IIMS for River Basins Conducted

Quezon City, Philippines — Twenty-six participants from various regional offices of the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the provincial government of Batangas attended a training workshop on the Application of the Integrated Information Management System for River Basins (IIMS-RB) conducted from 12-14 March by PEMSEA and DENR. This workshop was a result of DENR's recognition of the potential of the IIMS based on the experiences of the Manila Bay Environmental Management Project, as well as DENR's subsequent desire to mainstream the IIMS within DENR offices nationwide.The training workshop aimed to begin a core group to help test and lead the nationwide use of IIMS-RB. Participants were introduced to IIMS-RB's various data tables, learned to install, enter and summarize data, and import data from IIMS-RB into a geographic information system (GIS). Ms. Bresilda Gervacio (PEMSEA) served as resource speaker while Mr. Robert Jara (DENR) facilitated the work planning to field test IIMS-RB in the Pampanga River Basin and roll out IIMS-RB nationwide.The upgrading of the Integrated Information Management System for Coastal and Marine Environments to support river basin management is a joint effort between PEMSEA and DENR. Key enhancements to IIMS include support for water resources and hazard management and support to be able to summarize data by watershed or river basin.