National Views on Air Pollution

2.1. National Overview on Air Pollution

In 1995, Bhutan ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The NECS is the focal agency for the UNFCCC and Bhutan’s National Communication to the Convention will be completed by March 2000.

Bhutan is undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization and the secondary sector doubled its contribution to the GDP within the last one-decade. About 16% of the population now live in urban areas compared to around only 5% ten years ago (Thimphu City Corporation). In urban areas, the number of vehicles and industries has been increasing at a rapid pace. Although air pollution is not yet a severe problem in Bhutan, incidences of urban air pollution are becoming more evident. Urban air pollution is mainly due to pollution from heating appliances and vehicle emissions.

Some of the issues that are becoming predominant are:

2.2 Existing Air pollution monitoring

Although air pollution in Bhutan is minimal at the moment, proper mechanisms have to be put in place to monitor the trends. The population of Bhutan is growing at an annual rate of 3.1%. The economy of Bhutan is growing at an annual average rate of around 6% elevating the living standards of the people. The per capita income of the people has increased to $545. With the rise in income there has also been an increase in the number of vehicles, which tripled, in the last ten years. Currently, there are more than 16,000 motor vehicles in the country. As a result of development programs the number of industries is also growing rapidly.

Since air pollution is not yet a major concern the NECS is the interim organization to coordinates activities on air pollution. To date NECS does not have the capacity to carry out major monitoring and data collection tasks. Therefore, NECS has been working in close collaboration with other organizations. Some of the organizations that NECS has been collaborating in air pollution control programs are listed in Table 2.

Table 2: List of organizations that work with NECS in monitoring air pollution
 
Type of Air pollution Organization
Industrial air pollution Ministry of Trade and Industry
Health problems related to air pollution Ministry of Health and Education
Vehicle emissions Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA)
Data and inventories Central Statistical Organization
Climate change and weather Meteorology Division, MTI
Urban Air Pollution City Corporations (Municipalities) and RSTA

2.3. Sources of air pollution

2.3.1. Forest fires

Forest fires, especially during dry winters, contribute significantly to air pollution in Bhutan. Most forest fires result from negligence on the part of the people and in some parts of the country it is often intentional in nature. According to the official records of the Forestry Services Division (FSD) 292 forest fires were reported between 1992 and 1997. Around 117,435 acres of virgin forests with an estimated value of over 5.128 million Ngultrums (royalty value only) were lost. Besides the financial loss, forest fires also lead to loss of forest cover and soil.

Forest fires in Bhutan are primarily due to anthropogenic activities. The major sources of forest fires are:

There is a need to set up a proper mechanism for fire fighting. Investments have to be made in training personnel and equipment. Public awareness and vigilance among the people is also needed.

2.3.2 Industrial air pollution

In 1999, the first comprehensive study on all existing industries was carried out by the NECS in collaboration with MTI and the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI). Technical assistance was provided by two reputed regional institutes; Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) and Shriram Institute for Industrial Development (SRI), New Delhi. However, this study did not attempt to determine the emission levels of industries, as appropriate equipment was not available.

There are 5 cement factories producing about 29,000 metric tons of cement annually. In 1998, there were 97 registered industries that used raw materials from forests, 46 agro-based industries and 27 mineral-based industries. Fuels used included kerosene, liquid fuels, wood and electricity.

2.3.3. Urban air pollution

In 1999, a survey on air pollution conducted in Thimphu. The survey identified vehicle emissions and heating appliances using fuel wood as primary causes of deteriorating air quality in Thimphu. Apart from being an aesthetic nuisance, deteriorating air quality has increased the frequency of respiratory diseases.
 
 

2.3.4. Vehicular Emission

In 1994 – 95 a survey on vehicle emission was conducted to collect baseline data for developing preliminary vehicle emission standards for Bhutan. The gross emission levels from the vehicles were high but negligible compared to other cities in South Asia.

In 1994, the NECS with the Motor Vehicle Section of the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) initiated a pilot project in Thimphu, with the objective to develop emission standards for Bhutan. Subsequently, with the creation of the Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA) under the Ministry of Communications, all activities related to motor vehicles were handed over to RSTA. RSTA is now the organization with the responsibility of registering vehicles, monitoring emissions and collecting baseline data.

Due to absence of vehicle emission standard in Bhutan no significant effort was made to monitor vehicle emissions. This has led to the continued import of vehicles without any emission limits, especially re-conditioned cars from third countries. The Royal Government recently banned the import of such cars. There is also a significant number of poorly maintained older vehicles, which are higher emitters. A positive trend is that RSTA has taken a decision to implement emission standards from the year 2000.

High vehicle emissions in Bhutan can be attributed to:

2.3.5. Domestic air pollution

It estimated that fuel wood is the primary source of energy for about 65,000 households in rural areas. This accounts to an annual consumption of around 130,000 metric tons of firewood per annum. This is the next major contributor to air pollution.

In rural Bhutan an open fire inside the house is commonly used for cooking, heating and lighting. There are no chimneys and proper ventilation systems. Owing to the inefficiency in combustion large amounts of incompletely combusted materials are produced as smoke and irritating gases. This can lead to severe indoor air pollution and concomitant adverse effects on human health (WHO1992).

During the combustion of biomass fuels a range of potentially toxic pollutants are emitted; these include SPM, carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and sulphur dioxide. Available data, albeit limited, indicate that WHO air quality guidelines are sometimes exceeded by several orders of magnitude in homes using biomass fuels. Although not monitored, it can be confidently claimed that the SPM concentration may be much higher, as in other developing countries, than the set WHO standards of 120 mg m-3 for a 24h averaging time and 60-90 mg m-3 for an annual average (WHO 1987).

The use of more efficient stoves and processed forms of biomass (charcoal, biogas or methanol), together with the adoption of simple ventilation measures, help to reduce indoor air pollution and to mitigate the risks to health associated with the combustion of biomass fuels. It has been estimated, that the emissions of SPM could be reduced by 60 percent, and those of CO by 86 percent, by the introduction of more fuel-efficient stoves equipped with a ventilating chimney (WHO, 1992). The use of more suitable stoves has the added advantage of increasing the cooking temperature and thus improving the elimination of food pathogens. The adoption of such stoves has, however, been slow and has encountered a number of social and cultural problems.