Dhaka: Air pollution across the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills (IGP-HF) is posing significant challenges to health and productivity, marking it as one of South Asia's most pressing development issues. Nearly one billion residents in this region face the daily reality of unhealthy air, leading to approximately one million premature deaths annually and economic losses nearing 10 percent of the regional GDP each year.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the World Bank recently released a report titled 'Breath of Change: Solutions for Cleaner Air in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills.' This report identifies a series of actions that, if implemented across various sectors and jurisdictions, could substantially mitigate pollution, enhance public health, and stimulate economic growth.
The report outlines that air pollution in the IGP-HF, which spans parts of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, originates from five primary sources. These include the burning of solid fuels by households for cooking and heating, inefficient consumption of fossil fuels and biomass by industries, the use of inefficient internal combustion vehicles, the agricultural practice of burning crop residues, and the inadequate management of fertilizers and manure, along with the burning of waste by households and businesses.
The World Bank report suggests several scalable solutions, such as promoting electric cooking, modernizing industrial boilers, furnaces, and kilns, adopting non-motorized and electric transport systems, improving the management of crop residue and livestock waste, and enhancing waste segregation, recycling, and disposal practices.
The report categorizes clean-air solutions into three core areas. Firstly, abatement solutions focus on reducing emissions at the source across sectors like cooking, industry, transport, agriculture, and waste management. Secondly, protection measures aim to fortify health and education systems to safeguard children and vulnerable populations during the transition to cleaner air. Lastly, it highlights the importance of establishing strong institutions, backed by regulatory frameworks, market-based instruments, and regional coordination, to maintain multi-sector and multi-jurisdictional progress over time.
Martin Heger, Senior Environmental Economist at the World Bank, emphasized that the report presents actionable solutions and a practical roadmap for policymakers to implement coordinated, feasible, and evidence-based strategies on a large scale. He noted the financial and economic benefits for South Asian enterprises, households, and farmers in adopting cleaner technologies and practices, with government support being critical.
To facilitate the implementation of these solutions, the report underscores the 'Four I's': Information that provides accessible and reliable data for planning and accountability, incentives that drive behavioral and investment shifts towards cleaner options, institutions that coordinate action and ensure compliance, and infrastructure that supports clean energy, transport, and waste systems alongside modern industrial operations.
Ann Jeannette Glauber, World Bank Practice Manager for Environment in South Asia, highlighted the necessity of ongoing collaboration, sustained financing, and robust implementation at local, national, and regional levels to achieve cleaner air. She stressed that collective action by governments could significantly reduce pollution, save millions of lives, and ensure cleaner air for all.