Air Pollution in Dhaka, Bangladesh

It is heartening to see that the economy of Bangladesh is growing at around 6 percent annually, buoyed by a healthy garments sector and strong remittance inflows from the Bangladeshi diaspora. The rising incomes of Bangladeshis is also fueling a construction boom not only in the major cities, but in many for the smaller towns and villages dotted across the country. The population is also demanding more private transportation in the form of motor-cycles and cars. All this is undoubtedly also creating a lot of air and water pollution in the country, the negative externalities that reduce the quality of life in Bangladesh. Already, the World Health Organization has ranked Bangladesh as one of the worst countries in theworld in terms of urban air quality.  The government needs to ensure that growth can continue, while keeping such negative externalities at a minimum.

What are negative externalities? According to the textbook definition, they are the by-product of an activity that negatively affects the people not directly involved in that activity. For example, the factory spewing out pollutants in the air can cause respiratory ailments to the people who live around that factory. If growth continues without accounting for the sustainability of the environment, then these negative externalities can disrupt the normal functioning of life, put additional medical cost on families, and lower the quality of life. For example, a New York Times articlein July 14, 2013 highlighted the plight of school children at Genda Government Primary School in Savar, where the stench of the effluents from the surrounding factories severely affects the ability of students to concentrate in their studies. This may be a comical concept for a Bengali drama, but for the residents of those areas, the constant stench can severely disrupt their quality of life.

And it is just not the stench in Savar or Hazaribagh that are considered negative externalities in Bangladesh. The Air Quality Management Project (AQMP) funded by the government of Bangladesh and the World Bank estimated at 15,000 premature deaths, along with millions of cases of pulmonary, neurology and respiratory illnesses occurs just in Dhaka due to the poor air quality in the city. According to the World Health Organization, if particulate matter in the air rises above 20 micrograms per cubic meter (mcm), then it is considered hazardous. However, in Dhaka, the particulate matter can be as high as 463 mcm during the dry winter months. Another World Bank study found that almost 40 percent of the air particles in Dhaka’s air are coming from the brick kilns that surround the city, while another 20 percent comes from the road dust in Dhaka’s street.

In my economics class, I ask my students whether they want to be rich but live in a city with high levels of pollution, or sacrifice a part of their income and live in a city with cleaner air and water. Bangladesh also needs to ask this question. Economic growth can increase the money income of Bangladeshis, but if they have to spend a large portion of their income on treating their respiratory illnesses rather than enjoy consumer products, or have to live a shorter lifespan, then what good is that life? If the rivers become too toxic for the fish to survive, then what will happened to the thousands of fishermen whose lives depend upon this sector? Thus, the government must ensure that the air and water quality are improved. As most of the air pollutants in Dhaka come from brick kilns and road dusts, steps can be taken to encourage brick kiln owners to adopt cleaner technologies. Banning brick kilns will not help as the government has already faced opposition, but subsidizing the use of cleaner technology and encouraging brick kiln owners to adopt them can help clean up the air in Bangladesh by a large extent. Also, watering the major roads during the dry season can help to prevent road dust from floating in the air.  Similarly, the rivers and canals of Bangladesh needs to be cleaned so that the water is potable and fish can survive in them. Effluents need to be piped to a cleaning facility so that they do not pollute the waterways.

The costs of implementing such projects, but the benefit can be very high. It can reduce thousands of deaths, reduce different types of respiratory illnesses, and improve the general quality of life. The money can be easily raised by imposing a small tax on the products that contribute more to pollution (also called Pigouvian tax). For example, a 50 paisa tax on each brick can help to fund the air clean up operations in Bangladesh. Without steps to reduce these negative externalities, Bangladeshis will continue to suffer, which can put a huge dent in the overall development goals of Bangladesh.