El Niño and prolonged dry conditions affect available water for irrigation, hydroelectric generation, domestic, industrial and commercial purposes. Though we see the prominent problems, we rarely recognize the role of watersheds in the overall picture. A watershed is a delineated area of land which rainwater can drain to a common outlet point (which could be a dam, irrigation system, river, lake or sea). However, there is limited information for us to be able to make detailed projections on the effects of stresses such as that of El Niño and related events on the integrity of watersheds.

An answer to this is the development of water budgeting models for assessing the water budgets of watersheds. The models will also be useful in evaluating the impact of significant events/occurrences and in weighing the applicability of various watershed management strategies. The project will initiate the recognition of such tools by developing models for several major watersheds in the Philippines.

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