Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission gets international award

MANILA, Philippines — The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) was conferred the first Asia River Prize Award by the International River Foundation (IRF), which found its efforts at bringing the Pasig River back to life as a still ongoing success story.

The IRDF conferred the award during the 21st International River Symposium held in Sydney, Australia on Oct. 16.

In announcing the winner, the IRF said the judges were impressed with the scale of the problem and the response initiated by the PRRC.

“Critical to the success of the story was bringing the community, around 18,000 people, to decent housing and transforming these communities and their lives into environmentally responsible citizens,” the IRF said before announcing the winner.

The 27-kilometer Pasig River beat the other finalist, Yangtze River of China, which was represented by the Asian Development Bank.

The IRF recognizes and rewards organizations that are making a difference through effective river basin restoration and management programs.

The IRF said the Pasig River was declared biologically dead in the 1990s due to persistent pollution caused by population growth and industrial development along its riverbanks. 

From 1999 to 2017, the PRRC resettled 18,719 families living along the riverbanks to decent homes, dismantled 376 encroaching private structures, established 37,471.68 linear meters of environmental preservation areas, developed 17 of its 47 identified tributaries, diverted almost 22 million kilos of solid waste and transformed communities into environmentally responsible citizens.  

“This has resulted in significant water quality improvement, as well as the revitalization and development of the Pasig River system,” IRF stated on its website.