THE United States will continue to support the Philippine government’s effort to protect the environment and conserve the country’s rich biodiversity.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg said they are looking forward to working collaboratively with various stakeholders during a river clean-up operation coorganized by the Kapit Bisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig and ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc.
The US Embassy, partnering with the corporate social responsibility arm of network giant ABS-CBN for the first time, boosted the efforts to rehabilitate the Pasig River with the cleanup of Estero de Pandacan
“We have done cleanups before. We are involved in cleanup by the bay and other activities to try to clean the waters around Manila,” he said.
In terms of biodiversity conservation, he said, the US government has infused $46 million over the last decade for various activities geared toward protecting the environment, including funding program for research and development, and studies for programs on biodiversity conservation.
Goldberg briefly joined around 100 youth volunteers in removing plastics and other waste from the Estero de Pandacan prior to the Earth Day Concert, dubbed Earth Jam 2015 held at the covered courts of Barangay 841 in Pandacan.
The youth volunteers are from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, supported by the US Embassy and the River Warriors, which, in part, is supported by ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc.
The concert featured former Guns N Roses guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, The Voice Philippines 2015 champion Mitoy, Pilipinas Got Talent winner Jovit Baldivino and Pinoy rock legend Razorback.
“We have done other kinds of events. In terms of ABS-CBN, we are very happy to partner with them this time and to be able to do it collaboratively to clean the waters,” Goldberg said.
More river cleanup activities along the 2 kilometer stretch of the Estero de Pandacan, one of the tributaries of the Pasig River that connects the Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay, are expected to be done this year.
Other river tributaries that have been “transformed” through the efforts of Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig are the Estero de Paco, and those behind the Malacañang Palace, including Estero de San Miguel, Estero de Aviles, Estero de Uli-Uli, Estero de Quiapo and Estero de San Sebastian.
Before river cleanups, people living along rivers and river tributaries are relocated and the illegal structures that prevent the natural flow of water are removed.
People in the communities, on the other hand, are mobilized and trained to become River Warriors to protect the river against people who cause its degradation.
Dumping of garbage into rivers is one of the reasons rivers in Metro Manila are considered “biologically dead.”
Goldberg described the river cleanups and rehabilitation as a “huge effort,” noting the sorry state of some of the country’s rivers, they being used as a huge garbage dump.
Goldberg said people in the communities should be educated about the economic importance of rivers and other bodies of water. He said they will continue to support activities toward this end.
Helping other countries protect the environment and conserve biodiversity through people-to-people relationship, he said, is one way of strengthening the US government’s diplomatic relationships.