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.