· Background

This project was conceived through the initiative of the Water Resources/Coastal Resources/Marine Resource Group of the Exchange Program in Environmental Engineering, a 10-year joint project headed by the Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT) and the University of the Philippines under the Core University Program of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Researchers belonging to the JSPS Group1 (Atmospheric Circulation of Water and Air and Environmental Problems) from both the Philippines and Japan with various specialties like oceanography, coastal environments, limnology, hydrology, urban environments, remote sensing held a meeting  in Manila, Philippines last November 22-26, 1999. It was agreed upon that a promising collaborative effort that is comprehensive, integrative, large scale and multi-disciplinary in nature is the study of Manila Bay-Laguna Lake and the its surrounding environmental system.

Later on, the project expanded on to cover other key coastal and marine ecosystems in the Philippines such as Puerto Galera in Mindoro Islands and the Bolinao reef complex in Pangasinan. Research on this field focuses on the assessment of the environmental conditions of coastal areas where various forms of coastal developments are occurring.

· Purpose

For a complex and multipurpose water resource system such as the Manila Bay-Laguna Lake System and a coastal ecosystem rich environment such as Puerto Galera and Bolinao there exists many problems, issues and concerns encompassing a range of technical, environmental, economic, social and political considerations. The concern of the project will be mainly investigating the technical and environmental issues and concerns through field measurements, numerical modeling and remote sensing.

· Plans and Activities

       ·        Bolinao field survey this November 2007
       ·        Intensive field survey at West Bay, Laguna Lake (Aug. 2007)
       ·        Puerto Galera intensive physical and bio-chemical observation (Feb. 2007)
       ·        Manila Bay and Laguna Lake October 2001 Field Survey
       ·        The 1st IMSWES WORKSHOP, November 2000 (view Proceedings here)
       ·        Resource book writing:
        
The group plans to write a comprehensive document or report on the State of Manila Bay-Tributary Lake System: Problems and Conditions which can serve as a source book and provide benchmark information for further studies of the group.
· Current and Propose Research Works


· This Project is co-organized by:

Dr. Kazuo Nadaoka                                      
Department of Mechanical and
Environmental Informatics
Graduate School of Information
Science and Engineering
Tokyo Institute of Technology
2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku,
Tokyo 152-8552, JAPAN 
Tel.no.+81-3-5734-2589 
Fax no. +81-3-5734-2650
E-mail: nadaoka@mei.titech.ac.jp

Dr. Guillermo Q. Tabios III

Department of Civil Engineering and
National Hydraulic Research Center
College of Engineering
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City
1101 PHILIPPINES 
Tel. no. +63-2-927-7176 or
+63-2-927-7149 
Fax. no +63-2-927-7190
E-mail: gtabios@engg.upd.edu.ph

       UPDATES

       ·        Bolinao, Pangasinan field measurements this November 2007
       ·        48 hour intensive survey conducted at West Bay - Laguna Lake
       ·        Puerto Galera intensive hydro-bio-chemical survey, February 2007
       ·        IMSWES and coastal environment studies results presented at SIDE 2006
       ·        Nadaoka Lab-Tokyo Tech and LLDA collaboration formalized
       ·        Puerto Galera field survey, June 2005