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Environmental Issues in Developing Countries
In developing countries seeking to expand their economic
activities, consideration for
environmental conservation often receives a low priority. In
addition, approaches used
in industrialized countries often cannot be applied directly in
developing countries. In
this context, NIES is conducting research on ways to conserve
the environment that
are appropriate for developing country conditions.
Water quality and air pollution are serious problems in
developing countries in the Asian
region. Air pollution in major cities marked by many factories
and heavy vehicle traffic also
have high concentrations of sulfur dioxide and suspended
particulate matter (SPM), at levels
Japan experienced in the past. In addition, problems such as
damage from acid rain and
transboundary pollution are growing more serious. Pollution of
rivers and lakes from
chemical substances (including agricultural chemicals) and
eutrophication (including
abnormal growth of toxic algae) are also occurring more
frequently, while water shortagesand tropical forest destruction
are worsening.
While many developing countries give economic development the
greatest priority, many
problems remain with basic needs such as safe drinking water and
food, as well as medical
and public health services. This situation often hinders
progress in addressing environmental
problems. In some countries, including Bangladesh, China and
India, negative health
impacts are growing over large areas due to fluorine and arsenic
pollution in air and
drinking water. In China, problems caused by sandstorms from the
inland deserts have
attracted international attention about aerosols and their long
distance transport mechanisms.
In addition, the local ecological damage and impacts on water
resources as a result of
construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the Changjiang (Yangtze)
River have attractedinternational concern.
Extensive use of coal in the Chinese industrial town of Taigen
causes some of the worst air
pollution in the country, and has been linked to respiratory
diseases and lung cancer.
Besides those concerns, in recent years, in the context of
growing internationalization, a
pressing need exists for responses to global environmental
risks, such as transboundary acid
deposition, dioxins and endocrine disruptors, and global
warming. To address such
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problems, NIES is conducting the following types of research
relating to the increasingly
complex environmental issues facing developing countries, in
cooperation with international
institutions and universities:
Environmental monitoring Field and epidemiological studies to
assess impacts on health and ecosystems(including living organisms,
rural agricultural productivity, hydrological cycles,
scenery, etc.) and development of response measures
Studies for the purposes of environmental risk assessments of
regional pollution andglobal environmental change, as well as
consideration of approaches to evaluate risk
awareness and raise the interest of the general public
Water pollution countermeasures such as household wastewater
treatment facilitiesand purification technologies using soils and
hydroponics based on "eco-
engineering"
Development of environmental restoration technologies such as
"bio-manipulation"that make use of the food chain to boost
effectiveness
Consideration of relationships between developed and developing
countries(including issues relating to trade and industrial
relocation).
Water quality improvement system using "eco-engineering"
In addition, through the cooperation of the environmental
ministers of China, Japan and
