Study shows RP rivers among most polluted in the region

THE PHILIPPINES ranked in the middle of the pack of Asia-Pacific countries in terms of having the healthiest rivers, imperilling the country’s economic prospects, according to a draft study the Asian Development Bank (ADB) released yesterday.

The study, titled “Asian Water Development Outlook 2011” and presented yesterday on the fourth day of a regional water summit, showed Philippine rivers getting a score below 0.40 on a scale of 0.00-1.00, with 1.00 being the healthiest.

The river health index (RHI) gauges the quality of a country’s rivers and its vulnerability to water-related disasters, which the ADB said has direct impact on economic development. It was the first time that the Manila-based lender released the index.

The score for the Philippines implies that more than 60% of the country’s rivers are already polluted, and put it at 17th place among 39 countries in the Asia-Pacific with the healthiest rivers.

Solomon Islands has the healthiest rivers with an RHI of more than 0.90, while Armenia has the lowest score at below 0.10.

The Philippines, in particular, is vulnerable to flood, wind storm and drought with a low resilience index score on a separate scale that measures water-related disaster resilience.

The ADB said the economic prosperity of the region is imperiled by the poor health of its rivers.

“Eighty percent of the region’s rivers are already polluted and/or otherwise compromised by unsustainable development practices that have failed to protect the integrity of natural and human systems in the Asia’s river basins,” ADB lead professional for water resources management Wouter Lincklaen Arriens said in his presentation of the draft study.

“More disasters [in Asia can be expected] than any other region in the world,” he said.

In an interview at the sidelines of the summit, Arjun Thapan, ADB’s special senior adviser for infrastructure and water, said: “We need to take a look at Asia’s unfolding water crisis which is multidimensional. We have to expand waste water management through effective partnerships and policy reforms.”

The ADB stressed the need to adopt policies and legislation that will foster integrated water resource management in river basins. “To reduce pollution, nothing short of a waste water revolution will produce necessary results. This revolution calls for investments, incentives to promote the right technologies and better governance,” a preview of the study read. — G.K.L. Gallezo, Businessworld