Photo: Collected
Geopolitical challenges stand in the way of South Asian countries joining forces to address the issue of air pollution despite the region leading in the number of world's most polluted cities, experts and activists told.
Last week, Swiss air quality technology company IQAir released its sixth Annual World Air Quality Report, based on data from 7,812 cities around the globe. The report lists Bangladesh, Pakistan and India as the top three most polluted countries in 2023. The researchers also found that 83 of 100 world's most polluted cities were in India.
"Despite the potential for cross-border collaboration to tackle pollution challenges collectively, obstacles such as geopolitical tensions, differing policy priorities, and logistical challenges need to be addressed," Abdul Waheed Bhutto, professor and pro-vice-chancellor at Dawood University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi, Pakistan, said.
The expert suggested that efforts to facilitate open communication channels, encourage mutual understanding and prioritize shared environmental goals can stimulate collaboration among the countries in the region to tackle the issue.
At the same time, the issue of climate change has not been in the focus of public discussion in South Asian countries, lagging behind the matters of security, economic stability and social welfare, Bhutto observed.
"Despite major cities in South Asia frequently ranking among the world’s most polluted, mega projects are actively pursued across the region, promising economic benefits and infrastructure advancement but also carrying environmental risks," he added.
Ronak Sutaria, founder and CEO of Respirer Living Sciences, a Mumbai-based climate science start-up, suggested that India can reduce its urban air pollution without sacrificing economic growth via elimination of waste burning in cities, use of better road construction technology and higher quality fuel to lessen road dust and vehicular pollution, crackdown on using solid fuels for cooking purposes and tight regulation of industrial pollution.
"Cross-border collaborations would be beneficial and helpful in reducing the impact of air pollution and exposure to high levels from across the border. Political tensions across the borders do tend to be the main obstacles. Inability to hold meaningful governance-based dialogues with policy makers is one main obstacle," he said, adding that citizen science and community-led groups are making headway and "these can provide alternate non-governmental solutions to mitigate air pollution."
CHINESE EXPERIENCE
In many ways, South Asian countries are walking the same path as China did decades ago, when it emerged as a global economic and manufacturing powerhouse while also topping global worst air quality rankings. However, in recent years, the country made considerable efforts to mitigate the situation, which could be emulated by other nations.
"The Chinese experience can provide examples of how air pollution can be tackled without sacrificing economic growth. My first suggestion is for the authorities to adopt the mindset that developing sustainability becomes a priority, that is, to see development from a sustainable perspective. In China, the authorities adopted ‘ecological civilization’ and ‘ecological progress’ as a development pathway," said Christine Loh, chief development strategist at the Institute for the Environment at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
The expert cited the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a "great learning experience" for cooperation between the authorities and air quality scientists, which was spread to other areas of China, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, which hosted their own major public events in later years.
"At the same time, the authorities invested in educating a generation of air quality science experts at universities, who then went on to join government environmental protection agencies. China collaborated with US and European scientists to learn from them, but Chinese scientists also realized their situation had special features and they needed to find ways to deal with them. Our scientists in HK [Hong Kong] were very much part of the process from the early 2000s," Loh continued, adding that "South Asia can cooperate with others to help solve their problem, and Chinese scientists and regulators are a good group of people."
Messenger/Mumu
