Cooperation needed to combat Asia's killer air pollution
Cooperation needed to combat Asia's killer air pollution
Agence France-Presse, Manila
More cooperation between governments and the private sector is needed to combat Asia's killer air pollution, which leads to about half a million premature deaths annually, Asian Development Bank (ADB) experts said on Tuesday.
While governments have taken "important steps" to address the problem, "not enough has been done to ensure that people will be able to breathe clean air again in the foreseeable future," said Supat Wongwatana, Thailand's deputy director general for pollution control.
"We need the knowledge that the private sector has to take effective measures to reduce air pollution and we need the commitment of the private sector to ensure that such measures are equally taken," said Supat, who heads an ADB-supported regional anti-air pollution initiative.
The Manila-based bank came up with a set of policy guidelines to help Asian officials reduce vehicle emissions, said to be the number one culprit in dirtying the air.
The guidelines are contained in a series of studies compiled by the ADB after two years of workshops involving more than 700 experts from the ADB, governments in the region, the public sector and other environmental agencies.
Among others, governments are urged to adopt an integrated approach in maintaining engines and applying stricter emission standards. Governments should also ensure the availability of cleaner fuels and mandate regular inspections.
"Basically what we are saying here is that air quality in most urban areas in this region is extremely poor," Charles Melhuish, ADB's lead transport specialist who spearheaded the project, told a news conference.
"The reason why we are concerned with air quality is because of its adverse impact on health. Approximately 500,000 people die prematurely due to poor outdoor air quality in the Asian region," he said.
In the commercial hub of Shanghai in China, for instance, people inflicted with chronic bronchitis due to air pollution was estimated at 30,800 in 1999, half of whom were aged between 45 and 60 years.
Health costs associated with air pollution have topped US$400 million in the megacities of Manila and Bangkok in the past two years, Melhuish said.
"This is a very substantial amount. In Manila, it is at least equal to the total amount of bank lending or program lending for the Philippines that is being lost due to air quality here in the capital city," Melhuish said.
Governments also need to integrate transport policies together with land use to ensure better traffic management and a smoother flow of road traffic -- something that many Asian countries do not strictly follow, he said.
"Many of Asia's cities do not have the space for large amounts of additional vehicles. Improvements in public transport can help to get people out of their cars and thereby reduce emissions," Melhuish said.
Experts urged the private sector to link up with an ADB- supported program called the Clean Air Iniative for Asian Cities, involving 20 cities in the region, 15 government agencies and more than 40 non-government organizations and universities.
The project carries out activities in collecting and documenting information on air quality management as well as promotes training and projects aimed at reducing air pollution.