Regional: Mainstreaming Air Quality in Urban Development through South–South Twinning

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban policy, institutional and capacity development

Seven out of 10 cities in developing Asian countries have unhealthy levels of air pollution, when measured as annual levels of particulate matter with size range of not greater than 10 microns (PM10). Recent scientific understanding further highlights the pressing need to address air pollution. Recent estimates from the 2010 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) found that outdoor air pollution is a much more significant public health risk than previously known contributing annually to 2.1 million premature deaths in Asia. This is translated to 52 million years of healthy life lost in Asia alone, with significant economic implications that accounts to 2/3 of the burden worldwide. For the first time, outdoor air pollution is among the top 10 risks worldwide and among the top five or six risks in the developing countries of Asia. In 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared exposure to outdoor air pollution, especially particulate matter, as carcinogenic to humans. The IARC also classified diesel exhaust as a _known_ human carcinogen. Of primary concern is exposure to particulate matter and NOx from older diesel. Diesel emissions also include black carbon which contributes to global warming.

More people will be exposed to air pollution as hundreds of millions of people will be added to Asian cities in the next decades. Over 50% of the population now lives in cities, where exposure to roadside air pollution is high. For instance, 55% of the people in Delhi and 76% of people in Beijing are living within 500 meters of a freeway and 50 meters of a major road where exposure are high. Over the next 30 years, another 1.1 billion people are expected to be living in cities. A systematic and integrated air quality management approach is necessary to address the growing air pollution problems. Unfortunately, the status of air quality management in Asian cities vary widely and have not developed quickly enough to respond to the changing urban landscape and evolving challenges in reducing air pollution.

Some of the challenges of air quality management in Asian cities include:

" Cities need support in identification of effective air quality management measures and their prioritization. This includes assessment of existing resources and allocation of resources, as necessary.

" Reliability of air quality monitoring data is poor for several Asian cities because of the lack of technical capacity and support to sustain air quality monitoring systems.

" Cities still need technical assistance and guidance in conducting their own emissions inventories, source apportionment which are important inputs to effective air quality management.

The proposed TA addresses these issues to promote evidence-based long-term planning in air quality management and selection of appropriate strategies. The TA will assess the current status of air quality management in 10 Asian cities, representing different population size, and will set-up South-South twinning arrangements to facilitate sharing and learning of good urban air quality management practices in Asia. The TA will also have a provision to review the air quality management initiatives in People's Republic of China (PRC) and recommend improvements in key policy instruments for their effective implementation. The TA will provide opportunities to promote sharing of experiences and knowledge in air quality management among up to four countries in the region through workshops and working sessions. The participating countries and the beneficiary cities will be encouraged to develop and disseminate policy and project level interventions to improve air quality within their jurisdictions. The TA will make use of the Clean Air Scorecard Tool (CAST) (developed through a previous ADB technical assistance) to assess status of air quality management and to recommend actions for improvement.

Phase 1

Output 1. Development and application of selection criteria for participating cities and countries

Output 2. Recommendations on PRC's National Action Plan on Air Pollution Prevention and Control and Road Map for its Implementation

Phase 2

Output 3. Assessment of the status of clean air management in up to 10 Asian cities using CAST

Output 4: South-South city twinning arrangements established and air quality management experiences and good practices shared between twinned Asian cities

Output 5. South-South national-level twinning arrangements established and air quality management experiences and good practices shared among participating countries

Output 6. Summarize the learnings of the study in the form of a knowledge product

Progress of Phase 2

Clean Air Asia was engaged in Phase 2 through a new contract to undertake tasks for the completion of the following TA outputs: (i) Output 4-City south-south twinning arrangements established, and AQM experiences and good practices shared by twinned cities; (ii) Output 5- National south-south twinning arrangements established, and AQM experiences and good. practices shared by twinned countries; and (iii). Output 6-Study findings summarized in two knowledge products. In phase 2, the short-listed countries and cities of phase 1 further reviewed. Based on the consultation and willingness to participate, four cities and four countries have been identified. Clean Air Asia secured their consents in participating the TA.

In Phase 2, a review of air quality management status and capacity of these cities and countries is being undertaken, with recommendations to improve air quality management. Air quality management reports identify gaps, challenges and concrete recommendations for improving the air quality management capacities. Reviews are ongoing for the cities of Kathmandu (Nepal); Metro Manila (Philippines); and Chengdu and Xiangtan (PRC), and the countries Nepal, Philippines, PRC and Thailand.

The selected Asian cities arid countries could potentially benefit from the facilitated sharing and learning of good urban air quality management practices of other cities and countries; and they could better understand the potential areas for improvement in their air quality management systems. The main deliverables for Phase 2 are two knowledge products: (a) Review of air quality management in participating cities (both learning and leading cities) and countries which consolidates the results of the city and country reviews described below, and (b) Status of Volatile Organic Carbon (VOC) control in PRC and recommendations for other cities. The knowledge products will be published. in digital format. Few hard copies may be considered depending on the request from the participating cities and governments.

A key activity for Phase 2 is a workshop to be held in Bangkok in October 09-12, 2017 to which the above-named cities and. countries have been invited to validate the results of the AQM review and recommended air quality actions, share good practices and learn from each other's experiences in managing air quality. This workshop aims to foster peer-to-peer learning and spur clean air action and cooperation at local, national and regional levels. It will provide an opportunity for the city and country representatives to also identify areas where further assistance is needed in Asia to strengthen air quality management.

Progress: Phase 1 - Completed

Phase 1-Output 1. All activities have been completed which include (i) inception workshop that took place at Better Air Quality (BAQ) Conference 2014 in Sri Lanka, (ii) development and application of selection criteria for identifying participating cities and countries in the twinning.

Phase 1-Output 2. Six recommendations for the People's Republic of China (PRC) National Action Plan on air pollution prevention and control were developed based on reviews of the status of Air Quality Management (AQM) in PRC, stakeholder interviews, and review of international experience. All activities under Output 2 have been completed. Consultant's final report have been submitted to and accepted by ADB.

Phase 1-Output 3. It focused on identifying potential beneficiary cities through the Clean Air Scorecard Tool (CAST) - an Excel-based comprehensive analysis tool for understanding the air quality management status in cities - to more than 200 Asian cities. The results of the Air Pollution and Health Index (APHI) of CAST was used to shortlist the beneficiary cities. Cities with air pollution levels exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline values but have demonstrated some AQM capacity were identified. Results of the assessment were used to develop selection criteria to further narrow down the list of cities and countries which would be leading candidates invited to participate in the Phase 2 activities. The countries with cities included in the selection process were selected based on: (i) highest number of cities with critical to very poor APHI scores; (ii) large proportion of cities with air quality monitoring data; and (iii) demonstrated initiatives in air quality management. The short-listed countries identified were PRC, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam.