We are proud and happy to present to you the first Annual Report of the CAI-Asia Center since it was incorporated as an NGO in June 2007.
In the Annual Report you can read about:
- the history and mission of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities
- the business case for addressing air pollution and the link with climate change
- our work in the four cornerstones of the CAI-Asia Center: knowledge management, capacity building, networking & policy development, and investment & implementation
- special attention is given to the Sustainable Urban Mobility in Asia (SUMA) program, funded by Sida
- our Board of Trustees, members and donors, staff of the Center, and Local Networks
- our financial performance in 2007
We hope you will find the Annual Report informative and inspiring. We look forward to your comments or suggestions. Also, if you would like to partner with the CAI-Asia Center on any air quality related activity in Asia please let us know.
Last but not least, we would like to encourage you to attend the Better Air Quality (BAQ) workshop and pre-events in November 2008, where the CAI-Asia Center, members of the CAI-Asia Partnership and other stakeholders will present their work on air quality, sustainable transport and climate change. For information see www.baq2008.org.
Kind regards,
Cornie Huizenga
Executive Director, CAI-Asia Center
Impacts of Air Pollution (page 4)
- In Asia, more than 530,000 premature deaths yearly are attributed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to urban air pollution.
Source:
Krzyzanowski, M. 2006. Why we need better air quality? Keynote address at the Better Air Quality (BAQ) Workshop 2006, 13-15 December, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. http://www.cleanairnet.org/baq2006/1757/propertyvalue-26669.html
- Different studies have reported economic losses of 2-4% of GDP of cities and countries as a result of ambient air pollution.
Sources:
Quah, E. and Boon, T. L. 2003. "The economic cost of particulate air pollution on health in Singapore" Journal of Asian Economics Volume 14, Issue 1 , February 2003, Pages 73-90;
World Bank, 2002. Philippine Environment Monitor 2002;
Syahril, S., Resosudarmo, B., and Tomo, H.S. 2002. Study on Air Quality, Future Trends, Health Impacts, Economic Value and Policy Options, Jakarta, Indonesia. Prepared for the Asian Development Bank. September 2002. Available: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Studies/Air_Quality_INO/air_quality.pdf (as of 19 September 2007);
Pan Yue (Deputy Minister Environment of China) interview, March 2005 - http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,345694,00.html;
He Kebin and Pan Xiao Chuan, November 2003. Energy Options and Health Benefits for China National Study - http://www.epa.gov/ies/documents/china_natl_assess/ies_china.pdf (as of 19 September 2007)
- China’s economic losses due to acid rain damage to forestry and agriculture are $13.25 billion annually as estimated by the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
Source:
Carmichael G.R., G. Calori, H. Hayami, I. Uno, S.Y. Cho, et al. 2002. The MICS-Asia study: model intercomparison of long-range transport and sulphur deposition in East Asia. Atmospheric Environment, 36, 175–199.
- Air pollution also affects visibility and results in corrosion of buildings and heritage structures, such as Taj Mahal in India
- In Kathmandu, 17% of tourists interviewed indicated that they would avoid visiting Nepal again because of poor air quality
Source:
KEVA, 2005. Tourism Survey on Kathmandu's Air Quality. http://www.keva.org.np/publication/KEVA%27s%20Publication/Tourism%20Survey%20results.pdf (last visited 19 September 2007)
"In 2007, the CAI-Asia Center, US Environmental Protection Agency and the Manila Observatory studied the linkages between air pollution and climate change and assessed how a co-benefits approach can be
mainstreamed in Asia." (page 5)
Source: Co-Benefits of Responding to Climate Change: Status in Asia
Three graphs (page 8)
Vehicle growth forecast in China (millions of vehicles)
Annual SO2 levels in Indian cities
Annual average PM10 concentration in cities, 2003 – 2006
Sources: CAI-Asia, 2008; National Centre for Hydrometeorology, 2007; HEPA, 2007
Examples of Collaboration with Regional Networks (Page 13)
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