ACTIONS

ACTIONS

4.1 SOCIO-ECONOMIC OPTIONS

1. AWARENESS BUILD-UP PROGRAMME

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

a. Awareness building, creating sense of responsibility, and emphasizing the impacts through all the media such as Television, Radio, Newspapers etc. Long term Ministry of Information

b. Creating awareness among the political actors and Local Government Institutions. Long term DoE, LGED, Ministry of Information

c. Publish air pollution index and its impact.

Short term DoE

d. Develop environmental curricula and make it compulsory for Secondary and Higher Secondary Level of education (on going). Long term DoE, Ministry of Education

e. Organize Training Programmes for vehicle owners, drivers and mechanics under the AQMP project, financed by the World Bank.

Long term DoE, NGOs and Training Houses

f. Extensive research needed to be conducted on the impacts of air pollution. All the research findings to be published in the daily newspapers and in different local and international journals.

Long term DoE, MoHFW

2. DATA DISSEMINATION

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

Establish Air Pollution Information Centre

Long term DoE

Digital Display Board will be set up in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna to display the air pollution index. (AQMP project)
Short term DoE

Dissemination of the results of the studies on air pollution will increase knowledge among citizens about the effects of air pollution and will lead to behavior change ---self-discipline, respect for the rights of others, and a willingness to fight for protection of community interest.
Long term DoE, Ministry of Information

3. REGULATORY MEASURES

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

a. Revise current Motor Vehicle Act to impose increasing penalty for repeatedly violation of Traffic Regulation. Short term MoLJPA

b. Revise and establish new and in use vehicle emission standards for all classes of vehicles. Short term DoE

c. Test for driving license should include knowledge on causes and consequences of vehicular air pollution. Short term BRTA

Ban on leaded petrol (being implemented).
Short term MoEF

e. Promote use of alternative fuel in vehicles (CNG) Long term MoEMR

f. Regulatory provision prohibiting setting up polluting industries especially in boarder areas. Long term Ministry if Industries

g. Control measures to prevent disposal of any kind of waste in the boarder area. Long term DoE

4.2 TECHNICAL OPTIONS

1. VEHICLE INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

Carry out monthly vehicle emission on-road inspection and enforcement programmes for vehicular pollution control concurrent with vehicle safety checks with the co-operation of civil society.

A vehicle inspection and enforcement programme focusing on on-the-road vehicles is essential. This programme should be tied to the vehicle safety checks programme for efficiency. Emissions standards for in-use vehicles will be needed to adopt.
Short Term DoE, Police

Acquire vehicle emission inspection monitoring equipment required for enforcement.

The vehicle inspection programme will need to be equipped with emissions monitoring equipment, computers and facilities designed to implement the programme effectively.
Short term DoE

Promote better vehicle maintenance by the proposed fitness certificates.

Care must be taken to ensure that the registration and fitness certificates are genuine and valid.
Short term BRTA

Automation for vehicle fitness inspection system.

The Government should install Automated Vehicle Inspection Centers (VICs) in six divisional cities of Bangladesh. The vehicles which do not meet the fitness standards should not be given license/renewal by BRTA.
Short term BRTA

BRTA will set up five Vehicle Inspection Centres (VIC) in Dhaka (Mirpur, Keraniganj), Chittagong (Hathajari), Khulna (Shiromoni Industrial Area), Rajshahi (Boalia). The project financed by ADB has been started on July, 1997 and yet to be completed.
Long term BRTA

Providing Smoke Meters to Police.
Short term Police

2. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING MEASURES

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

a. Phase out two-stroke three wheelers (Babi-taxi) and two stroke motor cycles. Long term MoEF, BRTA, Ministry of Commerce

b. Promoting and funding mass transit through fuel and road-user taxes.
Impose fuel and road-user taxes and earmarking the funds for mass transit, transportation planning and air pollution controls. Fuel users will be paying to clean up the air they have polluted. Fuel and road user taxes also provide a disincentive to pollute, support energy conservation and reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil.

Long term MoF, MoEF

Improvement of traffic planning, engineering & enforcement of traffic laws.

These measures will speed up traffic flow, greatly improve traffic safety, reduce pollution and allow the current road network to accommodate future vehicle growth. A high priority is to be given to restrict traffic flows on heavily polluted road junctions and divert them to alternative routes having less traffic.
Short term Police

3. FUEL REFORMULATION, PRICING AND TAX

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

a. Adjust gasoline & Diesel/Kerosene fuel taxes to make prices compatible.
If the price differential between gasoline and diesel/kerosene is reduced, the financial incentive to adulterate gasoline with these other fuels will be reduced. This will improve the quality of fuels used in vehicles, thereby reducing tailpipe emissions.

Short term BPC

b. Achieve 100% target of unleaded gasoline Short term BPC

c. Fix minimum standard for lubricant oil and import of any lower standard lubricant oil should be banned. Short term MoEMR,
MoC

Fix minimum octane number of petrol
The current Octane number of Petrol in Bangladesh is RON 80. The minimum Octane number should be RON 86 and this can be achieved by upgrading RON 80 and adjusting the quantity of indigenous / imported gasoline.

Short term MoEMR,
BPC, ERL

Reduce the sulphur content of diesel.
The Sulphur content of diesel in Bangladesh is abnormally high. It is currently 1.0% (max), although BPC imports diesel containing 0.5% Sulphur, Compared to 0.05% in the US, Europe and Japan. Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources should consider it as a policy and issue directives to BPC/ ERL for reduction of Sulphur contents to 0.05% (max).

Short term BPC

Study the Long-Term Environmental/ Economic viability of the Refinery/ Petroleum Sector
The existing processing units at the refinery are not suitable for meeting the stringent fuel standards, including complete lead removal. The current system of administered pricing does not leave much room for BPC to supplement domestic gasoline with much higher octane blending components such as ethers. To meet the need for cleaner fuels in Bangladesh, the long-term viability of the refinery and the petroleum sector in general should be examined.

Short term BPC

Determine the emission factor and retention factor in ash after coal burning.
Short term DoE

Import coal of low sulphur content.
Short term Ministry of Commerce

Enhance the technical capacity of ERL for production of unleaded gasoline.
Short term BPC

4. INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

a. Industries causing air pollution must set appropriate technology to measure emissions and also to reduce pollution to the minimum level possible. Long term DoE, Ministry of Industries.

b. All the brick kilns must have high altitude chimney and also must take necessary action for desulphurization of SO_xemission. Short term DoE

5. STANDARD SETTING

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

a. Setting new standards for gaseous emission for industries or projects keeping harmony with international standards. . Short term DoE, Ministry of Industries

b. Setting standards for coal burning. Short term DoE

c. Formulate standards for emissions from vehicles. Short term DoE, BRTA

d. Set emission standards for new industrial units and power plants. Short term DoE

Formulate engine specification standards for import of vehicle.

Short term Ministry of Commerce

6. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

Form Air Pollution Steering Committee of Stakeholders.

Formation of Air Pollution Steering Committee to provide participation by all interested parties including the academic community, industry, City Corporations, BRTA, Traffic-Police, NGOs, Vehicle Owners and Operators’ Associations and others. This steering committee will oversee, guide, and monitor implementation of the action Plan.

Long term DoE

Form Air Pollution Research Consortium of Research Laboratories and Scientific Establishments.
Technical and research-related issues that arise from the discussions of the Steering Committee will be directed to the research consortium. The Consortium will be composed of academic and scientific experts control measures. DOE will appoint members of the Consortium.

Long term DoE

c. Expedite the enactment of regulations under ECA, 1995 and ECR, 1997. Long term MoHA, MoLJPA, DoE

d. DoE has a programme of action against the vehicle emitting black smoke through the vigilance team. Short term DoE

e. Strengthen laboratory facilities and the capacity of DoE to monitor ambient air and source emissions. Long term MoEF

f. DoE should establish a separate Cell to deal with the air quality matters such as monitoring air quality, controlling air pollution and disseminating the data. Long term MoEF

g. Strengthen Police (Traffic) department through appropriate training and equipment. Long term MoHA

h. Set up a dispersion-modeling centre to address the Transboundary issues. Long term MoST

7. DISSEMINATION OF DATA

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

a. DoE should have a central Database on air pollution which will be ready for dissemination. Long term DoE

b. Government may host a web-site which will have the country-wide air pollution information. Researchers, academics, government officials and all other people in home abroad must have an easy access to this web-site. Long term DoE

8. SUB-REGIONAL COOPERATION

Recommended Actions Implementing Priority Implementing Agency

a. A Sub-Regional Action Committee is needed to formed only on Transboundary air pollution issue Long term UNEP, SACEP, SEI and member countries.

b. Establish a dedicated on-line communication among sub-regional organizations and member countries. Long term UNEP, SACEP, SEI and member countries.

4.3 SUB-REGIONAL CONCERN

There is no conflict between measures that reduce local, national and transboundary damage. The pursuit of appropriate economic and industrial policies will lead to a substantial fall in emissions of sulphur dioxide and of NO_x for most countries in the region.

A sub-regional agreement aimed at reducing transboundary environmental damage may, for a particular country, entail abatement measures whose cost cannot be justified on purely local and /or national grounds, including the benefits of the reductions made by other parties to the agreement as well as the wider economic and political benefits of international cooperation. The Stockholm Declaration, in the spirit of the Polluter Pays Principle, states that countries in this situation should bear the costs of reducing emissions to avoid causing significant damage to the environment in other countries.

Provided that the total benefits of emission reductions to all the countries involved exceed the costs, there should be ample scope for those who benefit most to assist individual South Asian countries to meet more ambitious targets. By lowering the net cost of reducing transboundary flows, countries could afford to act earlier or to adopt more stringent reduction targets.

1. AWARENESS BUILD-UP PROGRAMME
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
a. Awareness building, creating sense of responsibility, and emphasizing the impacts through all the media such as Television, Radio, Newspapers etc.	Long term	Ministry of Information
b. Creating awareness among the political actors and Local Government Institutions.	Long term	DoE, LGED, Ministry of Information
c. Publish air pollution index and its impact.	Short term	DoE
d. Develop environmental curricula and make it compulsory for Secondary and Higher Secondary Level of education (on going).	Long term	DoE, Ministry of Education
e. Organize Training Programmes for vehicle owners, drivers and mechanics under the AQMP project, financed by the World Bank.	Long term	DoE, NGOs and Training Houses
f. Extensive research needed to be conducted on the impacts of air pollution. All the research findings to be published in the daily newspapers and in different local and international journals.	Long term	DoE, MoHFW

2. DATA DISSEMINATION
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
Establish Air Pollution Information Centre	Long term	DoE
Digital Display Board will be set up in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna to display the air pollution index. (AQMP project)	Short term	DoE
Dissemination of the results of the studies on air pollution will increase knowledge among citizens about the effects of air pollution and will lead to behavior change ---self-discipline, respect for the rights of others, and a willingness to fight for protection of community interest.	Long term	DoE, Ministry of Information

3. REGULATORY MEASURES
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
a. Revise current Motor Vehicle Act to impose increasing penalty for repeatedly violation of Traffic Regulation.	Short term	MoLJPA
b. Revise and establish new and in use vehicle emission standards for all classes of vehicles.	Short term	DoE
c. Test for driving license should include knowledge on causes and consequences of vehicular air pollution.	Short term	BRTA
Ban on leaded petrol (being implemented).	Short term	MoEF
e. Promote use of alternative fuel in vehicles (CNG)	Long term	MoEMR
f. Regulatory provision prohibiting setting up polluting industries especially in boarder areas.	Long term	Ministry if Industries
g. Control measures to prevent disposal of any kind of waste in the boarder area.	Long term	DoE

1. VEHICLE INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
Carry out monthly vehicle emission on-road inspection and enforcement programmes for vehicular pollution control concurrent with vehicle safety checks with the co-operation of civil society. A vehicle inspection and enforcement programme focusing on on-the-road vehicles is essential. This programme should be tied to the vehicle safety checks programme for efficiency. Emissions standards for in-use vehicles will be needed to adopt.	Short Term	DoE, Police
Acquire vehicle emission inspection monitoring equipment required for enforcement. The vehicle inspection programme will need to be equipped with emissions monitoring equipment, computers and facilities designed to implement the programme effectively.	Short term	DoE

Promote better vehicle maintenance by the proposed fitness certificates. Care must be taken to ensure that the registration and fitness certificates are genuine and valid.	Short term	BRTA
Automation for vehicle fitness inspection system. The Government should install Automated Vehicle Inspection Centers (VICs) in six divisional cities of Bangladesh. The vehicles which do not meet the fitness standards should not be given license/renewal by BRTA.	Short term	BRTA
BRTA will set up five Vehicle Inspection Centres (VIC) in Dhaka (Mirpur, Keraniganj), Chittagong (Hathajari), Khulna (Shiromoni Industrial Area), Rajshahi (Boalia). The project financed by ADB has been started on July, 1997 and yet to be completed.	Long term	BRTA
Providing Smoke Meters to Police.	Short term	Police

2. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING MEASURES
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
a. Phase out two-stroke three wheelers (Babi-taxi) and two stroke motor cycles.	Long term	MoEF, BRTA, Ministry of Commerce
b. Promoting and funding mass transit through fuel and road-user taxes. Impose fuel and road-user taxes and earmarking the funds for mass transit, transportation planning and air pollution controls. Fuel users will be paying to clean up the air they have polluted. Fuel and road user taxes also provide a disincentive to pollute, support energy conservation and reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil.	Long term	MoF, MoEF

Improvement of traffic planning, engineering & enforcement of traffic laws. These measures will speed up traffic flow, greatly improve traffic safety, reduce pollution and allow the current road network to accommodate future vehicle growth. A high priority is to be given to restrict traffic flows on heavily polluted road junctions and divert them to alternative routes having less traffic.	Short term	Police

3. FUEL REFORMULATION, PRICING AND TAX
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
a. Adjust gasoline & Diesel/Kerosene fuel taxes to make prices compatible. If the price differential between gasoline and diesel/kerosene is reduced, the financial incentive to adulterate gasoline with these other fuels will be reduced. This will improve the quality of fuels used in vehicles, thereby reducing tailpipe emissions.	Short term	BPC
b. Achieve 100% target of unleaded gasoline	Short term	BPC
c. Fix minimum standard for lubricant oil and import of any lower standard lubricant oil should be banned.	Short term	MoEMR, MoC
Fix minimum octane number of petrol The current Octane number of Petrol in Bangladesh is RON 80. The minimum Octane number should be RON 86 and this can be achieved by upgrading RON 80 and adjusting the quantity of indigenous / imported gasoline.	Short term	MoEMR, BPC, ERL
Reduce the sulphur content of diesel. The Sulphur content of diesel in Bangladesh is abnormally high. It is currently 1.0% (max), although BPC imports diesel containing 0.5% Sulphur, Compared to 0.05% in the US, Europe and Japan. Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources should consider it as a policy and issue directives to BPC/ ERL for reduction of Sulphur contents to 0.05% (max).	Short term	BPC
Study the Long-Term Environmental/ Economic viability of the Refinery/ Petroleum Sector The existing processing units at the refinery are not suitable for meeting the stringent fuel standards, including complete lead removal. The current system of administered pricing does not leave much room for BPC to supplement domestic gasoline with much higher octane blending components such as ethers. To meet the need for cleaner fuels in Bangladesh, the long-term viability of the refinery and the petroleum sector in general should be examined.	Short term	BPC
Determine the emission factor and retention factor in ash after coal burning.	Short term	DoE
Import coal of low sulphur content.	Short term	Ministry of Commerce
Enhance the technical capacity of ERL for production of unleaded gasoline.	Short term	BPC

4. INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
a. Industries causing air pollution must set appropriate technology to measure emissions and also to reduce pollution to the minimum level possible.	Long term	DoE, Ministry of Industries.
b. All the brick kilns must have high altitude chimney and also must take necessary action for desulphurization of SO_xemission.	Short term	DoE

5. STANDARD SETTING
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
a. Setting new standards for gaseous emission for industries or projects keeping harmony with international standards. .	Short term	DoE, Ministry of Industries
b. Setting standards for coal burning.	Short term	DoE
c. Formulate standards for emissions from vehicles.	Short term	DoE, BRTA
d. Set emission standards for new industrial units and power plants.	Short term	DoE
Formulate engine specification standards for import of vehicle.	Short term	Ministry of Commerce

6. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
Form Air Pollution Steering Committee of Stakeholders. Formation of Air Pollution Steering Committee to provide participation by all interested parties including the academic community, industry, City Corporations, BRTA, Traffic-Police, NGOs, Vehicle Owners and Operators’ Associations and others. This steering committee will oversee, guide, and monitor implementation of the action Plan.	Long term	DoE
Form Air Pollution Research Consortium of Research Laboratories and Scientific Establishments. Technical and research-related issues that arise from the discussions of the Steering Committee will be directed to the research consortium. The Consortium will be composed of academic and scientific experts control measures. DOE will appoint members of the Consortium.	Long term	DoE
c. Expedite the enactment of regulations under ECA, 1995 and ECR, 1997.	Long term	MoHA, MoLJPA, DoE
d. DoE has a programme of action against the vehicle emitting black smoke through the vigilance team.	Short term	DoE
e. Strengthen laboratory facilities and the capacity of DoE to monitor ambient air and source emissions.	Long term	MoEF
f. DoE should establish a separate Cell to deal with the air quality matters such as monitoring air quality, controlling air pollution and disseminating the data.	Long term	MoEF
g. Strengthen Police (Traffic) department through appropriate training and equipment.	Long term	MoHA
h. Set up a dispersion-modeling centre to address the Transboundary issues.	Long term	MoST

7. DISSEMINATION OF DATA
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
a. DoE should have a central Database on air pollution which will be ready for dissemination.	Long term	DoE
b. Government may host a web-site which will have the country-wide air pollution information. Researchers, academics, government officials and all other people in home abroad must have an easy access to this web-site.	Long term	DoE

8. SUB-REGIONAL COOPERATION
Recommended Actions	Implementing Priority	Implementing Agency
a. A Sub-Regional Action Committee is needed to formed only on Transboundary air pollution issue	Long term	UNEP, SACEP, SEI and member countries.
b. Establish a dedicated on-line communication among sub-regional organizations and member countries.	Long term	UNEP, SACEP, SEI and member countries.