In April 2026, FutureWater delivered a four-day regional training in Manila, Philippines, on the application of the Rapid Evaluation of the Water, Energy, Food and ecosystem toolkit (REWEFe) and the Water–Energy–Food–Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus in the context of Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM). The training was organised under the GEF/UNDP/ASEAN project on reducing pollution and preserving environmental flows in the East Asian Seas, implemented through IRBM in ASEAN countries. The project supports the establishment of functional river basin management mechanisms to reduce pollution, sustain freshwater environmental flows, and improve resilience to climate change vulnerabilities in priority river basins across Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam.
FutureWater had previously tailored the REWEFe toolkit to the regional WEFE Nexus context and demonstrated its application for selected river basins. Building on this work, the April 2026 training aimed to strengthen regional capacity for using REWEFe as a decision-support instrument within basin planning and governance processes. Participants included representatives from national and local governments, IRBM Learning Centers, partner universities, and national coordinators from the participating ASEAN Member States.
The training combined technical and governance-oriented learning. FutureWater introduced the structure, data requirements, scenario setup, and interpretation of the REWEFe toolkit, while guiding participants through hands-on exercises to analyse baseline conditions, develop scenarios, and interpret WEFE-related synergies and trade-offs. The sessions placed strong emphasis on translating policy plans and sector strategies into structured quantitative scenarios, enabling participants to better connect analytical outputs with planning, investment, and policy dialogue.
The governance component was delivered in collaboration with Dipankar Aich, who contributed expertise on IRBM governance, WEFE Nexus thinking, cross-sector coordination, and the science–policy interface. His sessions supported participants in understanding how REWEFe outputs can be positioned within governance processes, policy dialogues, and decision-making cycles.
Through this assignment, FutureWater contributed to strengthening the practical uptake of REWEFe in Southeast Asia by linking technical modelling, scenario analysis, and governance processes. The training supported participants in using the toolkit not only as an analytical model, but also as a structured approach for dialogue on water, energy, food, and ecosystem trade-offs in river basin planning.
