Foreign, Filipino students to help in Butuanon river rehab

CEBU, Philippines — At least eight Dutch students from the Netherlands and 22 Filipino students will participate in the river scan at the Butuanon River in Mandaue City in order to come up with ideas that will help in rehabilitating the city's largest body of water.

The activity was started yesterday which will run until November 24. They will be utilizing the newly-constructed viewing deck of the river for their research.

The participants of the activity dubbed as Mandaue Scan Challenge will be divided into five groups.

They are from Dutch universities such as the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and the Hanze University of Applied Sciences.

Students from the University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu are also included in this activity together with the Dutch nationals.

The activity is in line with the 4th International River Summit on Nov. 22 until Nov. 24.

This is hosted by the city government in coordination with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The three universities will intensively work together in an intercultural setting such as site visits and getting the perception of residents along the Butuanon River.

They will also help in providing analysis of the water quality of the river and plastic pollution assessment. A workshop involving river experts will also be part of the program.

They are expected to come up with proposed plans which will be presented to the stakeholders including the Mandaue City Government and the DENR.

In an earlier statement, City Mayor Gabriel Luis Quisumbing  said they hope that they can address the concerns pertaining to the revival of Butuanon Rivee which was left unattended in the past decades.

Aware that the restoration efforts is long process, Quisumbing said "the after effects will be fruitful in the future." (FREEMAN)