SE Asia smog symptom of environment neglect<\/p>\n
By Nick Edwards<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuter): The throat-clutching smog now choking much
\nof Southeast Asia shows just how much the environment has been
\nneglected in a quick and dirty dash for growth, environmental
\ntechnology experts say.<\/p>\n
Asia has recorded phenomenal economic growth over the last two
\ndecades and with it has come heavy pollution, a problem
\nexacerbated in Southeast Asia in recent weeks by smoke from
\nIndonesian forest and bush fires.<\/p>\n
Malaysia has declared a national disaster because of the haze
\nand yesterday its eastern state of Sarawak announced a state of
\nemergency.<\/p>\n
In clean and green neighboring Singapore air pollution hit its
\nworst level ever on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The common argument that the need to provide jobs in a poor
\nand populous region outweighs concerns for the environment is
\nindefensible, the technological experts say.<\/p>\n
\"It's a cop-out,\" said Mark Harrison, business services
\nmanager at the Singapore-based Regional Institute of
\nEnvironmental Technology (RIET).<\/p>\n
\"What we're up against is inertia and the belief that the free
\nmarket will always provide the most effective means of
\nproduction. It's a cop-out and the biggest obstacle.\"<\/p>\n
Justin Taylor, of the Singapore energy consultancy Super
\nSolutions, blamed the \"ying and yang\" approach to development in
\nAsia.<\/p>\n
\"If there is a benefit, it is a given that there must be a
\ncost, which is the rationalization for waste and damage,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Southeast Asia's fast-burgeoning consumer class grows
\nwealthier by the day.<\/p>\n
Factories pour out pollutants and cities grind to a halt in
\nchoking traffic while the age-old tradition of burning off
\ntropical bush and forest to clear land for agriculture sends
\nsmoke billowing into the air.<\/p>\n
This year, with drought gripping much of Indonesia, the old
\nslash and burn clearances have raged out of control.<\/p>\n
The smoke has spread across Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and
\nSingapore, trapping modern cities under a leaden grey dome,
\nblotting out the sun and choking their inhabitants.<\/p>\n
Though Southeast Asian countries are loathe to criticize each
\nother over what they consider internal affairs, the pollution has
\ngrown so serious that it topped the agenda at a meeting of
\nregional environment ministers in Jakarta earlier this week.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto apologized to the ministers of his
\nneighboring countries for the choking haze but said Indonesia was
\ndoing its best to put the fires out.<\/p>\n
\"We don't lack laws and regulations, perhaps we have too many
\nof them. It takes a huge crisis for us to really see that we have
\na basic problem of governance,\" Environment Minister Sarwono
\nKusumaatmadja told reporters.<\/p>\n
\"The problem with us is that we don't enforce these laws.\"
\nElsewhere in Asia air pollution has set in hard.<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization says New Delhi is the fourth
\nmost polluted city in the world. It estimates that in 1996, 1.2
\nmillion of the city's nine million people were treated for, and
\n7,500 died prematurely from, pollution-related disease.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists say China's toxic mixture of ageing and
\ninefficient industry, heavy reliance on coal and roaring economic
\ngrowth would strain even the loosest targets for controlling
\ngreenhouse gases blamed for global warming.<\/p>\n
Acid rain strips the leaves from trees across much of southern
\nChina, while dirty air is blamed for high incidences of
\nrespiratory disease in cities such as Chongqing on the pollution-
\nclogged Yangtze River.<\/p>\n
South Korea's car industry, one of the miracles of its
\neconomic development, has come back to haunt the 12 million
\npeople of Seoul. The Environment Ministry says vehicle exhaust
\nemissions are the overwhelming cause of pollution.<\/p>\n
At least 6.5 million tonnes of toxic waste are generated every
\nyear in and around the Philippine capital of Manila, where no
\nmajor facility exists to treat it.<\/p>\n
The Regional Institute of Environmental Technology says
\npollution, including contamination of ground and surface water,
\ndeters investment and tourism in the Philippines, but said
\nsignificant business potential exists for companies that could
\nbuild a waste treatment plant, estimated to cost US$50 million.<\/p>\n
Air quality in Thailand's traffic-clogged capital of Bangkok
\nis also plagued by exhaust fumes and dust from numerous
\nconstruction sites.<\/p>\n
A study by the Thai Science Technology and Environment
\nMinistry showed healthcare costs for pollution-related illnesses
\nwere about US$65 per person per month. Treatment of patients with
\nother ailments costs about US$9 per month.<\/p>\n
Taiwan says its pollution problem has improved after years of
\nefforts, including daily fines of up to US$10,500 for companies
\nbreaking environment laws.<\/p>\n
But the use of pesticides is still heavy and fishermen
\ncomplain of high sea temperatures in areas where nuclear power
\nplants discharge non-radioactive water.<\/p>\n
Japan, which 30 years ago had the problems faced by Southeast
\nAsia now, has tough anti-pollution laws born out of some of the
\nworst cases of industrial pollution.<\/p>\n
\"There's only one way to sell ecology in Asia and that's to
\ndress it up as a profit-making business. Which it is,\" RIET's
\nHarrison said.<\/p>\n
Wiser use of resources, introduction of efficient technology
\nand tough regulation would force business to become more eco-
\nfriendly.<\/p>\n
\"We can solve this problem with market-based systems, but it
\nrequires the game rules to be set by governments,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Taylor, of Super Solutions, said between 30 and 40 percent of
\nall power generated in Asia was wasted by inefficient practices
\nand equipment.<\/p>\n
\"What we're saying is that the quickest, easiest, cheapest
\nroute (to growth) isn't the one companies in the region have been
\non,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Studies show the cost of efficiency is cheaper than the cost
\nof burning fuel.\"<\/p>",
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