That air pollution has become a major public health hazard in the country is not news anymore. Indeed, as pointed out by a recent report by the World Bank (WB), "South Asia is home to 9 of the world's 10 cities with the worst air pollution, and Dhaka is one of them." Although the problem seems insurmountable to many, particularly with the constant presence of dust plumes due to construction efforts, and toxins being emitted by brick kilns and industry, pollution can be mitigated provided the right policy support and investments are made.
This is where it gets tricky. Cost-effective solutions (according to WB) would require coordinated policies and investments among neighbouring countries in South Asia, as air knows no national boundaries. Dhaka for its part is home not only to millions of people but its air is polluted by fine particulate matter "such as soot and small dust (PM2.5)", which apparently stands at nearly 20 times the WHO standard of 5 µg/m?. Prolonged exposure to extreme pollution is resulting in an estimated premature death of some 2.0 million people, and incurring a hefty economic cost for the country, since health issues like stunting and reduced cognitive development in children, respiratory infections and other diseases increase manifold.
Although Bangladesh is striving to get a handle on air pollution control management by way of adopting rules, the fact is that air pollution "travels long distances, crossing national boundaries-and gets trapped in large "airsheds" (an airshed is part of the atmosphere that behaves in a coherent way with respect to the dispersion of emissions) that are shaped by climatology and geography." The WB has identified six major "airsheds" in South Asia which are shared by Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Translated into common parlance, only one third of particulate matters originate from within cities like Dhaka, the rest of those travel from various airsheds. This means that merely combating air pollution in and around Dhaka will lead to a significant improvement in air quality.
What is noteworthy is that policymakers of four South Asian countries, viz. Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan have joined together to draw up the "Kathmandu Roadmap for improving air quality of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Himalayan Foothills". That neighbouring countries are coming together to recognise and address the common issue of air pollution is highly optimistic. Costs can be shared and results can be achieved faster and cheaper, at least in theory. This is not a one-off policy measure that all countries participating in the Kathmandu Roadmap adapt and implement.
It requires a phase-by-phase implementation of jointly agreed upon policies and roadmap. As stated in the report 'Striving for Clean Air: Air Pollution and Public Health in South Asia', Phase 1 would entail close monitoring of air pollution beyond the big cities where the public will have access to shared data; creating or strengthening credible scientific institutes to analyse these "airsheds". No mean task for any government, but that is what is required if governments across the region are serious about tackling this issue. The second phase of the implementation would entail interventions beyond power plants, large factories and transportation, and branch out into tackling air pollution from agriculture, solid waste management, cooking stoves, brick kilns, and other small firms. The final phase of implementation involves giving economic incentives "to enable private-sector solutions".
The above certainly is a very tall order for a region that doesn't always see eye to eye on regional matters. Cooperation has hardly been a buzzword in South Asia, especially with contentious relations between India and Pakistan. That said, while the report lays out what needs to be done, the first order of business would be to strengthen existing institutions like the Department of Environment, not only with personnel and technology, but a true mandate to enforce rules already in place. For too long, public institutions have been powerless to act and that needs to change. Rules of business will have to change where polluters can and will be taken to task for polluting. Again, this requires policy commitment, not just in Bangladesh but beyond. To what extent that will be possible is of course, a million-dollar question, but these are common goals for common problems across the region. Perhaps in this case, pressure from other members of the group could actually get things moving in the right direction.
It is too early to comment on the second or third phase of implementation. Rather, policymakers of the participating countries of the Kathmandu Roadmap need to come to a common understanding that unless they move forward together, air pollution is here to stay. The economic burden of this pollution will affect people of all four nations and in the long run, the productivity of the labour forces will be affected. At a time when each South Asian country is desperately trying to recover from the Covid pandemic and now the war in Europe, efforts need to be taken to keep the general populace in sound health.
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