Who Is The Pioneered Analytical Studies On Pasig River And Some Local Plants?

As it appears, the first person to conduct what could be regarded as an analytical study along the Pasig River was Eduardo Quisimbing, a Botanist. Quisimbing collected, identified and cataloged a host of plants, but in particular orchids, from within the area on two separate occasions, namely in

• 1934, when he visited Manila and the surrounding area, and in
• 1947-48, when an expedition took him to Manila, its vicinity, Samar and Luzon.

As a result of his work, including these and a list of other expeditions throughout the Philippines, Papua and Borneo; over 129 scientific articles relating to medicinal plants and orchids, as well as his rebuilding of the Herbarium at the Philippines' National Museum, Quisimbing received a range of highly distinguished rewards, namely the:

• 1954 Distinguished Service Star, outstanding contribution to Systematic Botany; the
• 1966 Orchidology Diploma of Merit; the
• 1966 Malaysian Orchid Society's Fellow Gold Medal and the
• 1975 Most Outstanding Reward of the PhilAAS

More detailed information regarding Eduardo Quisimbing and his work can be gleaned from the following sources:

• nhi.gov.ph
• Nationaal Herbarium
• Wikipedia

Since the early 1960s, the Pasig River has undergone a whole host of analytical studies as a result of its intense pollution. This pollution was beginning to rear its ugly head from as early as the 1930s and gradually worsened, leading to the river being declared biologically dead by 1990.

In December 1989, efforts to revive the river were set into action with the PRRP, a rehabilitation program for the Pasig River established with the help of Danish authorities. The PRRP was subsequently replaced with the PRRC as the result of the Executive Order signed by President Joseph Estrada in 1999. This order gave the PRRC additional powers with regards to waste management and the resettling of squatters.