ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN SOUTHERN ASIA: ARSENIC, AIR POLLUTION, IMPORTED WASTE

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Environmental problems in Southeast Asia include logging depleted rain forests and overfishing the once-plentiful fish supply in the Gulf of Thailand. The megacities of Southeast Asia can not adequately dispose of all the garbage and waste they produce. Asia is home to many of the world's most polluted cities. Pollution is not just a local phenomena. It can be a global one. Scientists estimated in 2010 that one third of the ozone in Los Angeles originates in Asia. The fecal coliforn count in Asia’s rivers is 50 times greater than United Nations guidelines.

The environmental policy across Asia has been “grow now and clean up later.” According to a 1997 Asian Development Bank report, "Asia is the world's most polluted and environmental degraded region.” During the past 30 years, Asia has lost half of its forest cover, and with it countless unique animal and plant species. A third of its agricultural land has been degraded. Fish stocks have fallen by 5 percent. No other region has so many heavily polluted cities, and rivers and lakes are among the worlds most polluted."

Southeast Asian countries are among the world's worst ocean polluters and need tougher regulations for plastic packaging a 2019 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report said. More than half of the region's marine plastic waste came from Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, while China was identified as the largest single contributor globally. Rapid population growth, increasing use of single-use plastics, and inadequate waste collection and recycling systems were major causes of the problem. The report called for stronger regional policies to regulate plastic packaging and improve waste management. UNEP warned that plastic pollution was harming marine ecosystems, and harming marine animals such as whales and sea turtles. ASEAN adopted a declaration in 2019 to combat marine debris, although implementation depended on individual member governments. Several countries also introduced national measures to reduce plastic waste. Thailand, for example, announced plans to phase out several common single-use plastic products and banned plastic bags at major supermarkets beginning in 2020, with the goal of eliminating billions of disposable bags each year. [Source: Patpicha Tanakasempipat, Reuters, November 14, 2019]

The 1997 economic crisis resulted in a reduction of pollution as people drove less and bought fewer cars, factories reduced their output or were closed, construction ceased and development projects were scrapped. But not all news was good. Spending on the environment fell and poverty caused by the crisis led to increases in legal logging, wildlife poaching, overfishing, cyaniide fishing and slash and burn agriculture.

Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism and Environmentalism

Buddhism is a very environmentally-friendly philosophy. It promotes the idea that natural world and the human world are interconnected and thus should be revered and treated well. It denounces waste, consumption and forbids killing animals. Buddhist told his disciples in the 5th century B.C. that mankind must embraces all living things "as a mother cares for her son, her only son." He also said, “The forest is a unique organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends protection to all beings, offering shelter, even to the axeman who destroys it.”

Jain Hierarchy of Beings

The cornerstone of Jain philosophy, which has had a strong influence on Hinduism and Buddhism, is the belief that all living things, even the tiniest insects. have a immortal soul ( “jiva” ) that is continually reincarnated within the bounds of karma. Karma is seen as a form of matter that is attracted to the soul through good and bad desires. According to the BBC: Jains condemned any form of animal sacrifice as part of religious rituals. Animals must not be kept in captivity, starved, or treated cruelly. Jains believe that all living creatures depend on each other. One text says "All life is bound together by mutual support and interdependence." Mahavira said: "One who neglects or disregards the existence of earth, air, fire, water and vegetation disregards his own existence which is entwined with them".

Buddhism also has tradition of wildlife preservation. Over 2000 years ago, Emperor of Ashoka issued the Fifth Pillar edict, perhaps the first conservation law ever. It declared that animals such as "bats monkeys, rhinoceroses, porcupines, and tree squirrels" were to be strictly preserves and that "forests must not be burned, either for mischief or to destroy living creatures."

Asian philosophy stress the notion of harmony between nature and mankind but this philosophy doesn't seem be reflected in their record on environmentalism and attitude about littering and eating wild animals. Ullas Karanth, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's India Program, told the New York Times in 2006: “If you look at the Hindu religion, there's real guilt associated with the killing of an animal. So if you are protecting a park and you catch a poacher, this sense of guilt puts the enforcement officials at an advantage. Another thing, at the core of our religion is the belief that man is a part of nature. This supports the idea that wild animals have a right to survive. I've talked with farmers whose crops have been raided by elephants, and they really hated them. But when you asked, "Don't elephants and tigers have the right to exist?" they always said yes. [Source: Claudia Dreifus, New York Times, August 16, 2005]

Air Pollution in Asia

Air pollution is one of Asia's most serious environmental and public health problems. The main sources are the burning of coal, oil, natural gas, wood, crop residue, and other fuels for electricity, industry, transportation, and household cooking and heating. Rapid urbanization, industrial growth, and increasing numbers of motor vehicles have greatly increased emissions in many parts of the region. Air pollution contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and shortens the lives of millions of people. [Source: AFP, December 5, 2012; William Pesek, Bloomberg, December 2006]

Rapid economic growth has raised living standards across Asia but has also increased environmental pressures. Expanding industries, coal-fired power generation, and rising vehicle ownership have contributed to worsening air quality in many countries, particularly China and India. Environmental experts have warned that continued economic development without stronger pollution controls could lead to greater health costs, reduced productivity, and increased environmental damage.

Air pollution in Asian cities

Many analysts argue that Asian countries face the challenge of balancing economic growth with environmental protection. While industrialized countries also experienced severe pollution during earlier periods of development, Asia's much larger population means that similar levels of pollution could have far greater global consequences. Governments throughout the region have increasingly adopted stricter emissions standards, expanded renewable energy, and promoted cleaner transportation, but reducing air pollution remains one of Asia's most significant long-term environmental challenges.

Health Impacts of Air Pollution in Asia

In the 2000s, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that air pollution caused about 537,000 premature deaths each year in Asia. By 2008, a WHO study estimated that 800,000 of the world's 1.3 million premature deaths linked to air pollution occurred in Asia. Researchers have warned that without stronger pollution controls, the health toll could continue to rise. [Source: AFP, December 5, 2012; William Pesek, Bloomberg, December 2006]

Environmental organization Clean Air Asia has warned that worsening air quality could lead to increasing numbers of pollution-related deaths. According to the group, rapid economic growth has increased energy consumption and vehicle use, making transportation and fossil fuel combustion major sources of pollution. At a regional air quality conference in Hong Kong, Clean Air Asia reported that 7 out of 10 cities in developing Asia had air pollution levels harmful to human health.

The group also reported rising levels of PM10, airborne particles measuring 10 micrometers (0.0004 inches) or less in diameter. These particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and increase the risk of respiratory and heart disease. Clean Air Asia projected that the number of vehicles in Asia could exceed 1 billion by 2035, while fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions could increase by 400 percent compared with 2005 levels.

Researchers from the Health Effects Institute warned that, without stronger environmental policies, deaths linked to air pollution could double by 2050. Growing populations, expanding cities, increased industrial production, and continued dependence on fossil fuels are expected to place additional pressure on air quality across the region.

Deadly Haze from the 1997 and 2015 Fires in Sumatra and Borneo

Satellite image of 2015 Southeast Asian haze: On September 5, 2015, the Operational Land Imager on the Landsat 8 satellite took this image of smoke billowing from fires in Jambi Province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra; The false-color image was made with a combination of visible (green) and infrared light so that fires and freshly burned land stand out; Fires glow orange, and newly burned land is dark red; The blue smudges running diagonally across the image are smoke; Bare soil or older burn scars are a lighter shade of red; Clouds are white; The fact that the fires burned within well-defined rectangular grids suggests that these were agricultural fires intentionally set by growers; According to land-use maps published by Global Forest Watch, the fires burned within a palm oil plantation; Palm oil production is highly profitable, and the commodity is an important export for Indonesia, the world’s largest producer; The Jakarta Post reported that heavy smoke from the fires in Sumatra caused levels of air pollution to spike throughout the island and in parts of Malaysia

The 1997 Southeast Asian haze stands as one of the region's most severe environmental disasters, driven primarily by massive forest and peatland fires on Borneo and Sumatra that raged continuously from July to November. While land-clearing in Indonesia generated the bulk of the smoke, seasonal agricultural burning and forest fires in Mainland Southeast Asian countries—including Laos and Vietnam—further compounded regional air pollution, creating a widespread transboundary health and environmental crisis.

The overwhelming accumulation of smoke caused severe operational disruptions across transport and daily life throughout the region. Dense haze reduced visibility so drastically that motorists were forced to drive with their headlights on during the daytime, and maritime navigation became hazardous. In the hardest-hit areas, authorities were forced to shut down major airports, grounding flights and effectively cutting off remote villages and communities from essential supplies and medical assistance.

To navigate the hazardous air quality, local populations relied heavily on surgical masks when outdoors. Medical experts issued urgent health warnings, estimating that breathing the dense smoke during the peak of the 1997 fires was equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. Physicians cautioned that prolonged exposure to high concentrations of toxic particulate matter dramatically elevated long-term health risks, including increased rates of leukemia, severe respiratory illness, and various forms of cancer.

A study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters in 2016 estimated that toxic haze from Indonesia's forest and peatland fires caused about 100,000 premature deaths across Southeast Asia during the severe fire season of 2015. Researchers from Harvard University and Columbia University found that the smoke, which spread across the region between July and October, caused approximately 92,000 excess deaths in Indonesia, 6,500 in Malaysia, and 2,200 in Singapore. The researchers concluded that most of the deaths resulted from cardiovascular disease, although the haze also contributed to respiratory illnesses. Their analysis focused on adult mortality, while additional research was planned to examine the effects on children. The researchers suggested that the haze likely increased cases of childhood pneumonia and other respiratory diseases in Indonesia. Many of the fires were started to clear land for agriculture, particularly for palm oil plantations and paper pulp production. Scientists combined satellite measurements of fire emissions with weather data to track the movement of the smoke and estimated the health impacts by comparing expected mortality rates with those during the haze episode. [Source: Jeevan Vasagar, Financial Times, September, 19 2016]

Fire-driven air pollution is a problem elsewhere in Southeast Asia. In Laos and Vietnam, annual slash-and-burn agricultural land clearing and dry-season forest fires routinely release high levels of airborne particulate matter (PM 10). Combined with industrial expansion and growing vehicular emissions, transboundary smoke haze continues to pose a persistent threat to public health and economic stability across Southeast Asian borders.

Asia's Brown Cloud in the 2000s

In the early 2000s, scientists identified a massive layer of air pollution known as the Asian Brown Cloud that covered much of South and Southeast Asia. The haze, estimated to be about 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) thick, stretched more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) across the region and was linked to hundreds of thousands of respiratory disease deaths. It was produced largely by the burning of low-quality coal, wood, crop residue, and dried animal dung for cooking and heating, as well as emissions from industry and vehicles. [Source: Charles W. Petit, U.S. News and World Report, March 17, 2003]

Atmospheric scientist V. "Ram" Ramanathan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography first recognized the cloud's enormous extent during a flight from Mumbai to the Maldives. Research conducted during the Indian Ocean Experiment in the late 1990s used ground stations, aircraft, and satellite observations to study the haze and its effects. The findings led to numerous follow-up studies across Asia and helped launch the United Nations' Project Asian Brown Cloud.

Scientists found that the cloud consisted of sulfates, soot, organic compounds, dust, fly ash, and other fine particles known as aerosols. The haze extended across India, Bangladesh, Southeast Asia, and parts of China. Satellite observations showed that it significantly reduced the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface. In parts of India, sunlight declined by about 10 percent, and researchers estimated that the reduced sunlight lowered rice yields by 3 to 10 percent in some areas.

Coal burning was identified as one of the region's largest sources of pollution, while agricultural burning, wildfires, and dust storms also contributed to the haze. In China, dust from western deserts mixed with industrial pollutants as it moved eastward across the country. Scientists also detected Asian aerosols crossing the Pacific Ocean and reaching North America, demonstrating that air pollution could travel thousands of kilometers across continents and oceans.

Asia's Brown Blamed for Flooding and Drought

Scientists concluded that the Asian Brown Cloud affected not only air quality but also regional climate. Unlike lighter-colored sulfate particles found in many industrialized countries, the soot-rich Asian haze absorbed sunlight, warming the atmosphere while cooling the Earth's surface below. This altered temperature patterns and disrupted normal atmospheric circulation. [Source: Charles W. Petit, U.S. News and World Report, March 17, 2003]

Researchers believed these changes affected rainfall by reducing evaporation over the northern Indian Ocean and suppressing the formation of rain clouds over land. Aerosols also produced large numbers of tiny cloud droplets that were less likely to combine into larger raindrops, reducing rainfall over land while allowing more rain to fall over the ocean. Some scientists suggested that this process shifted rainfall away from land areas and toward the sea.

Climate models indicated that the haze could alter the South Asian monsoon by changing where rain fell. Some studies suggested it contributed to increased flooding in southern and eastern India while reducing rainfall in northern India and the Himalayan region. Researchers also warned that reduced snowfall and snowpack in the Himalayas could affect the long-term water supply for major Asian rivers.

Studies in China found that declining sunlight and changing temperature patterns may have altered storm tracks, contributing to flooding in southern China and drought in the north. Some scientists also suggested that pollution over the western Pacific Ocean could influence sea surface temperatures and evaporation, potentially affecting the development of El Niño events. Although many of these climate effects remained the subject of ongoing research, scientists agreed that the Asian Brown Cloud had significant impacts on both regional air quality and climate.

South Asian Air Pollution Linked to Pacific Storms and Himalayan Glacier and Arctic Melting

Research published in Nature in 2007 found that Atmospheric Brown Clouds over South Asia and the Indian Ocean contributed significantly to atmospheric warming. Formed mainly from the burning of wood, crop residue, and other biomass for cooking and heating, the haze absorbed sunlight and increased atmospheric heating by about 50 percent more than previously thought. Scientists concluded that the pollution contributed to the retreat of Himalayan glaciers in addition to the warming caused by greenhouse gases. [Source: Michael Casey, Associated Press, August 3, 2007]

Researchers emphasized that the brown cloud was not the only cause of glacier loss but an important additional factor. The soot and aerosols warmed the atmosphere, accelerating glacier melting that feeds many of Asia's major rivers. Other scientists agreed the haze likely played a role but said more research was needed because glacier retreat also depends on factors such as glacier size, altitude, orientation, and monsoon patterns. Scientists warned that continued glacier retreat could reduce the long-term water supply for rivers across South Asia. They suggested that reducing soot emissions by replacing traditional cooking fuels with cleaner energy sources could help slow glacier melting while also improving air quality.

A NASA-led study found that black carbon (soot) from South Asia also contributed to warming in the Arctic. Satellite observations and computer models showed that soot particles traveled thousands of kilometers through the atmosphere before settling on Arctic snow and ice. When soot darkened snow and ice, it reduced their ability to reflect sunlight, causing them to absorb more heat and melt more rapidly. Soot particles also warmed the atmosphere and influenced cloud formation and precipitation patterns. The study estimated that about one-third of the soot reaching the Arctic came from South Asia, with the rest originating from vegetation fires and emissions from Europe, Russia, and North America. [Source: Miguel Bustillo, Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2005]

Pollution from Asia is helping generate stronger storms over the North Pacific, according to research by a team led by Renyi Zhang of Texas A&M University,. Satellite measurements have shown an increase in tiny particles generated from coal burning in China and India in recent decades, researchers report in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Changes in the North Pacific storm track could have an impact on weather across the Northern Hemisphere. [Source: Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press March 6, 2007]

Zhang’s team studied pollution and clouds between 1984 and 2005, concluding that increasing particles enhanced the cloud updraft to generate more intense thunderstorms than previously. Comparing 1984-1994 with 1994-2005 they found an increase of 20 percent to 50 percent in deep convective clouds. "The intensified storms over the Pacific in winter are climatically significant," the researchers wrote. "The intensified Pacific storm track can also impact the global general circulation."

The Pacific storm track, they noted, plays a critical role in global atmospheric circulation, and altering this weather pattern could have a significant impact on the climate. A particular threat, they added, is the potential for increased warming of polar regions. The research was supported by National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Arsenic Contamination in South Asia

Arsenic contamination of groundwater is one of the most serious environmental and public health problems in South Asia. Naturally occurring arsenic in river sediments contaminates shallow aquifers used for drinking water, exposing millions of people to long-term health risks. According to UNICEF, about 137 million people worldwide were exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water, with about 80 percent living in Asia. The World Health Organization (WHO) described arsenic poisoning from groundwater as one of the largest mass poisoning events in history. [Source: AFP, July 11, 2008]

In 2008, a Swiss-led research team published a study that identified areas in South and Southeast Asia at high risk of arsenic contamination. Using digital models that combined geology, topography, and soil chemistry, the researchers created a probability map for Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The map was designed to help health agencies, water managers, and planners identify areas where groundwater was likely to exceed the WHO guideline of 0.01 milligrams of arsenic per liter of drinking water.

The study found particularly high risks in Bangladesh, the Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar, the Red River Delta in Vietnam, the Chao Phraya Basin in Thailand, the floodplain around Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, and parts of eastern Sumatra in Indonesia. Field samples generally confirmed the model's predictions. However, researchers noted that local geology was also important because deeper aquifers often contained much lower arsenic concentrations than shallow groundwater.

Scientists determined that the arsenic originated naturally in rocks and sediments eroded from the Himalayas and carried downstream by major river systems, including the Ganges-Brahmaputra, Mekong, Irrawaddy, and Red rivers. In river basins, naturally occurring bacteria released arsenic from sediments into groundwater, where it accumulated in shallow aquifers. This natural process had occurred for thousands of years but became a major public health problem only after millions of shallow tube wells were installed to provide drinking water instead of using contaminated surface water. [Source: Stanford Report, May 27, 2010]

Bangladesh was the country most severely affected. Millions of shallow tube wells installed during the 1970s and 1980s successfully reduced waterborne diseases but unintentionally exposed tens of millions of people to arsenic. Long-term exposure increased the risk of skin lesions, respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease, developmental problems in children, and cancers of the skin, bladder, and lungs.

Arsenic contamination also affected agriculture because rice readily absorbed arsenic from contaminated soils and irrigation water. In 2008, researchers at Okayama University in Japan identified two proteins that transported arsenic from the soil into rice plants. Rice plants lacking these transport proteins accumulated much lower levels of arsenic in their stems and grains [Source: Tan Ee Lyn, Reuters, July 14, 2008].

The researchers also found that the same proteins transported silicon, an important nutrient that improves rice growth and resistance to pests and disease. Eliminating the transport proteins reduced arsenic uptake but also reduced silicon absorption. Scientists suggested that future breeding or genetic engineering could produce rice varieties that absorbed silicon while limiting arsenic uptake. They also proposed using silicon fertilizers, which compete with arsenic for absorption and may reduce the amount of arsenic entering rice plants.

Asia: A Dumping Ground for Western Waste?

For many years, Asian countries received large amounts of waste exported from Europe, North America, Japan, and other developed economies. Electronic waste, plastic scrap, and other recyclable materials were shipped to the region for sorting, recycling, or disposal because processing costs were lower than in the countries where the waste was generated. According to industry estimates in the 2010s, about 80 percent of the electronic waste collected for recycling in the western United States was exported to Asia. While some of this material was processed by legitimate recycling companies, much of it ended up in poorly regulated facilities that polluted the surrounding environment. [Source: Mike Ives, New York Times, June 7, 2019]

For decades, China was the world's largest importer of recyclable waste. However, in 2017, China sharply restricted imports of foreign waste under its National Sword policy, citing environmental damage caused by low-quality recycling operations. The ban disrupted global recycling markets and diverted large amounts of plastic waste to Southeast Asian countries, particularly Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Malaysia quickly became the world's largest importer of plastic scrap after China's restrictions took effect. Plastic waste imports rose dramatically, increasing from about 22,000 metric tons per month to about 139,000 metric tons per month by March 2018. The largest exporters included the United States, Japan, Britain, and Germany. Many of the imported shipments were handled by licensed recycling companies, but others were processed by illegal facilities that dumped waste, burned plastic in the open, or contaminated nearby rivers and farmland.

Growing public concern over pollution prompted governments across Southeast Asia to tighten waste-import regulations. Malaysia closed numerous unlicensed recycling plants and returned containers of illegally imported waste to their countries of origin. Thailand imposed an indefinite ban on imports of electronic waste, while Vietnam stopped issuing new waste-import licenses and announced plans to end plastic scrap imports. The Philippines also returned several shipments of foreign waste, including containers sent from Canada, after a diplomatic dispute.

Environmental organizations argued that stronger controls were necessary because illegal recycling operations released toxic smoke, contaminated water supplies, and contributed to marine plastic pollution. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) supported efforts to improve regulation but warned that complete bans on imported recyclable materials could also affect legitimate recycling businesses. Many manufacturers in Southeast Asia relied on clean, properly sorted imported plastic as a raw material because local waste collection and recycling systems were often inadequate.

Recycling experts noted that not all imported waste was hazardous. Properly sorted plastic scrap could be recycled into new products or processed into alternative fuel for industries such as cement manufacturing, reducing the need for fossil fuels. They argued that governments should distinguish between contaminated waste destined for dumping and high-quality recyclable materials that could be safely reused. Clear regulations and effective enforcement, they said, would protect public health while allowing legitimate recycling industries to continue operating.

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Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, , AFP, , Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, NBC News, Fox News and various books and other publications.

Last updated July 2026