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 shortages and 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 attracted international 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 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 and global 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 facilities and 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 Korea, the three countries are working on new research
cooperation activities for environmental conservation in East Asia. NIES
is involved in the research aspects of this work.
