Manila: The Philippines and the UAE have teamed up to restore the Pasig waterway, the world’s most polluting river, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
The Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources signed an agreement with the UAE-based nonprofit Clean Rivers Foundation on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai last week in a ceremony witnessed by First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos.
“The agreement will provide the framework for projects that support the improvement of the Pasig River and prevent waste from leaking into it, which will also promote the preservation of the river ecosystem, enhancing economic opportunities and advancing tourism activities,” the DFA said in a statement.
The Pasig River, which runs through the heart of the Philippine capital, was ranked as the most polluting river out of over 1,600 others around the world in a 2021 study published in the Science Advances journal.
The Philippines is also the largest contributor of plastic waste that ends up in the world’s oceans, emitting more than 356,000 tonnes annually — about 63,000 of which came from the Pasig River.
The agreement also “expands the partnership between the Philippines and the UAE to areas that will prioritize the preservation and enhancement of the environment toward securing a sustainable future,” the DFA added.
As part of the partnership, Clean Rivers had announced its commitment of up to $20 million for Philippine programs aimed at rehabilitating the Pasig River and supporting initiatives that prevent waste leakage.
“We look forward to working closely with the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and local organizations to turn the tide on river pollution,” Clean Rivers said in a statement.
The fund pledge from the UAE will also help “support sustainable solutions for communities” living along the Pasig River, as it will restore its ecological, commercial and residential value, DENR said in a statement
“With plans for green infrastructure to trap waste and projects to stop pollution at its source, the partnership marks a major step toward a cleaner, healthier Pasig River,” DENR said.
For Filipino environmental NGO BAN Toxics, the new cooperation with the UAE is a welcome first step in rehabilitating the waterway.
“We’re hopeful that it could do something good for the rehabilitation of the Pasig River, which we know has been, historically, a victim of environmental degradation,” Jashaf Shamir Lorenzo, BAN Toxics deputy executive director, told Arab News.
Though efforts to prevent waste leakage are helpful, Lorenzo said that such projects would be more effective if they tackled the root of the pollution issue.
“The thing with waste management is it should start with waste reduction,” he said. “We could reduce the waste in the first place, not just waste leakage, but the production of these products and how we could replace them with more sustainable alternatives, how we could prolong the lives of these products.”
