Air Pollution Reduction and Control in South Asia

In order to understand the importance of reducing air pollution and its likely trans-boundary effects, it is important to first review the socioeconomic situation of the South Asian member states. South Asia with a combined population of roughly 1.6 billion people, is a low-income region and is home to half of the world’s poor. Traditionally, the South Asian economies are centered on agriculture, however recently manufacturing and services have become major contributing sectors as well. The strong recovery in India and the growth in the economies of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the primary reasons for this economic rebound (World Bank, 2010a). India, as an emerging economy of the world is the dominant political power in the region. The state of education and health in the region leave much to be desired. With the worst score on the Global Hunger Index (GHI)1 , South Asia along with Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from the highest level of hunger (International Food Policy Research Institute, 2010).