ABOUT ECOSENSYA

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We have always had a love for water.

 

That love became a question: Where does the rain go?
 

 

Ecosensya Solutions for Environmental Sustainability, Inc. is an environmental consultancy and design firm advancing Nature-based Solutions for water security, climate resilience, and sustainable land management in the Philippines.

 

At the heart of our work is a simple belief:

 

Nature is not only something to protect. It is something we can learn from—and build with.

 

Through our BuWn — Building with Nature approach, we seek to understand how natural systems already manage water, soil, vegetation, and landscapes before designing interventions.

 

Because before asking “What should we build?”, we believe we should first ask:

 

“What is nature already doing here?”

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OUR STORY

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In 2019, a group of Environmental Management master’s students and lecturers from the Ateneo de Manila University, coming from different industries and professional backgrounds, found themselves drawn together by a common interest in water—how it moves through our environment, how deeply communities and ecosystems depend on it, and how better water management can contribute to a more sustainable future.

 

What connected us was more than our academic interest in environmental management. We shared a genuine love for water, a curiosity about the natural systems that sustain it, and a desire to help decision-makers find more sustainable ways of responding to environmental challenges.

 

That shared passion became the foundation of Ecosensya Solutions for Environmental Sustainability, Inc.

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The founding group was brought together by Antonina Lourdes “Queenie” E. Cunanan, who conceived the original idea and environmental philosophy behind Ecosensya and has continued to lead the development of its strategy, advocacy, research direction, and evolving approach to water and Nature-based Solutions. Each co-founder brought different professional knowledge and perspectives to Ecosensya, forming an important part of the company's beginnings and identity.

 

Over time, our shared love for water evolved into a clearer purpose:

 

THE ECOSENSYA WAY

 

Environmental problems are interconnected.

 

Water does not behave separately from soil.

 

Agriculture does not exist separately from water.

 

Flooding cannot always be understood separately from land use.

 

Groundwater cannot be managed only by looking at wells.

 

And human development cannot be separated from the natural systems that support it.

 

This is why Ecosensya begins with questions before solutions.

 

We call this our Questioning Approach.

 

Before deciding what intervention to introduce, we ask:

 

What is happening?

 

Why is it happening?

 

How does the whole system work?

 

What is nature already doing?

 

What happens if we work with that process rather than against it?

 

This leads us to our design philosophy:

 

BuWn — Building With Nature

 

BuWn is Ecosensya's approach to applying Nature-based Solutions.

 

It means understanding natural processes first and then exploring how human systems, landscapes, and infrastructure can be designed to work with nature rather than unnecessarily working against it.

 

In water management, this means understanding how rainfall naturally falls, flows, slows, infiltrates, is stored, supports ecosystems, and eventually moves through the water cycle.

 

Only then do we ask:

 

What should we build?

 

Sometimes the answer may involve engineered infrastructure.

 

Sometimes it may involve soil, vegetation, wetlands, farms, open spaces, or other Nature-based Solutions.

 

Often, the best answer may be a combination of both.

 

For Ecosensya, Building with Nature does not mean building less intelligently. It means designing with a better understanding of the system we are building within.

 

Where Does the Rain Go?

 

Our BuWn philosophy has led Ecosensya to one question that increasingly sits at the center of our work:

 

Where does the rain go?

 

The Philippines experiences both intense rainfall and periods of water stress.

 

During heavy rainfall, our instinct is often to move water away as quickly as possible.

 

Then, during dry periods, we begin searching for water again.

 

This apparent contradiction encourages us to ask a different question.

 

Instead of asking only:

 

“Where can we get more water?”

 

we also ask:

 

“How can we better manage the water we already receive?”

 

This thinking is behind our Bank the Rain philosophy.

 

Bank the Rain

 

We think of rainfall as a natural deposit into the landscape.

 

Healthy soil can retain water.

 

Vegetation can slow runoff.

 

Rainwater harvesting systems can provide storage.

 

Wetlands and appropriate open spaces can help regulate water.

 

Farms can potentially become part of the water-management system.

 

And where hydrogeological conditions are suitable, infiltration can contribute to groundwater recharge.

 

But Bank the Rain does not mean capturing every drop.

 

Rivers must flow. Wetlands need water. Ecosystems and downstream communities depend upon it.

 

Instead, we ask:

 

How much can we responsibly save?

 

And then:

 

What can that saved water make possible?

 

Our Water Savings Approach

 

Through Building with Nature, we are developing a simple way of thinking about how landscapes can manage rainfall:

 

RECEIVE

Understand the rain that enters the landscape.

 

RETAIN

Slow and hold water where appropriate.

 

RECHARGE

Help water return underground where conditions safely allow.

 

REUSE

Put appropriately captured water to productive use.

 

REGENERATE

Use better water management to help restore soils, agriculture, ecosystems, biodiversity, and livelihoods.

 

Receive. Retain. Recharge. Reuse. Regenerate.

 

Together, these principles support what we envision as a Water Savings Account for landscapes and communities.

 

Nature Is Part of Our Infrastructure

 

BuWn also asks us to reconsider what we mean by infrastructure.

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Concrete and engineered systems remain essential.

 

But nature also performs infrastructure functions.

 

Soil is water infrastructure.

 

Forests are water infrastructure.

 

Wetlands are water infrastructure.

 

Aquifers are natural water banks.

 

Farms can be water infrastructure.

 

Our role is to understand where these natural systems can perform effectively, where engineered infrastructure is necessary, and

where the two can work together.

 

That is Building with Nature.

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WHAT WE DO

 

Ecosensya provides research, education, advisory, and design services focused on Nature-based and integrated approaches to environmental and water challenges.

 

Our work includes:

 

Water Security & Water Resource Management 

Understanding water challenges from a systems perspective and identifying opportunities for more resilient water management.

 

Rainwater Harvesting & Water Retention

Exploring how rainfall can be captured, slowed, stored, infiltrated, and productively reused.

 

Groundwater Recharge

Assessing opportunities to support natural or managed recharge where local geology, water quality, and environmental conditions make it appropriate.

 

Nature-based Solutions

Designing interventions that work with soil, vegetation, wetlands, agricultural landscapes, and other natural processes alongside appropriate engineered solutions.

 

Climate Resilience & Sustainable Land Use

Connecting water management with climate risk, agriculture, land development, ecosystems, and community resilience.

 

Research, Education & Capacity Building

Helping government, businesses, communities, and institutions better understand environmental challenges so they can make more informed decisions.

 

OUR VISION

 

A Water-Positive Philippines

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We envision communities, farms, businesses, developments, and cities that understand not only how much water they consume, but also how effectively their landscapes receive, retain, recharge, reuse, and regenerate water resources.

 

We call these:

 

Water-Positive Landscapes

 

Places where development and nature are not automatically seen as opposing forces, but where thoughtful design allows human needs and natural systems to work together.

 

This is where our ideas come together:

 

We ask better questions.

 

QUESTIONING APPROACH

 

We design with natural systems.

 

BuWn — BUILDING WITH NATURE

 

We manage rainfall as a resource.

 

BANK THE RAIN

 

We build resilience into landscapes.

 

WATER-POSITIVE LANDSCAPES

 

And we work toward a larger vision:

 

A WATER-POSITIVE PHILIPPINES

 

ECOSENSYA

 

Where Rain Becomes Resilience.

 

Understand Nature. BuWn with Nature. Bank the Rain.

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