Category: AMERICAS

Hi everyone! In today’s second post of the week, I will be covering some academic material I discovered throughout the past few days.

I mentioned in my previous post that IQAir did not have any data on the air quality in Haiti. This finding was supported by Davis & Rappaport (2014). According to them, air quality data is remarkably limited in poor countries, and especially countries that have just resolved a conflict, or recovered from a disaster. In these countries, international relief efforts tend to focus on more pressing issues such as housing, water and sanitation, and infectious diseases. Water is a necessity for us to survive. Despite initiatives to manage water in a country like Haiti, why is water pollution still an issue for its people? This was not something that they covered. Instead, they focused solely on air pollution.

According to them, when a country is hit by an unfortunate event, such as war or a natural hazard, energy supply networks become stressed. For instance, “diesel generator use is significantly increased during periods of unstable energy supply, while the traffic congestion of high polluting old model vehicles is exacerbated by damaged road networks and crumbling infrastructure” (p. 22). Ironic, isn’t it? But this is the reality on the ground, and it is the reason why air pollution persists.

Even though Haiti is underdeveloped and does not have a lot of industries, there are still many non-industrial sources of air pollution. Haiti’s poor transportation infrastructure allows a congested mix of old vehicles that remain idle, and clog densely populated areas, thus releasing many air pollutants into the air, and worsening air quality. According to them, many people fall victim to both outdoor and indoor (as mentioned in the previous post) pollution because they tend to live near these sources of pollution. Because temporary camps and settlements get easily crowded after a natural disaster, people tend to together in less-safe areas that are less crowded. Despite this, there are barely any national or international organizations in these kinds of countries to monitor air quality, or regulate environmental and public health concerns.

The second paper by Trevors & Saier (2010) provides more room for discussion. They use Haiti as an example, but suggest various pathways people from developed nations can work towards. If we are to be worried about the welfare of mankind, and the elimination of pollution, we have to start from the source. We need to make sure unstable governments manage their ideological, cultural, or religious issues, before they make baseless claims to protect the environment and its people. We need to make sure international organizations have a common empathy to help nations in need. We also need citizens who are aware, and who are willing to fight for change. But is this really the kind of solution for people who are suffering from pollution in disaster-prone, and war-torn countries? The issues are complex. Can Haiti really achieve such a resolve? I hope to find a way to conclude my research on these many countries in the Global South on a hopeful note. Until then, I will focus on sharing the realities of those who are suffering from pollution.

Up next, Indonesia. See you in the next one! ✿

References

Davis, M. E. & Rappaport, A. (2014) Air Quality in Developing World Disaster and Conflict Zones – The Case of Post-Earthquake Haiti. Science of The Total Environment. 496, 22-25. Available from: https://www-sciencedirect-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/science/article/pii/S0048969714010055?via%3Dihub [Accessed: 18 February 2022].

Trevors, J. T. & Saier, M. H. (2010) The Crisis in Haiti, 2010: What’s to be Done. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution. 212, 1-2. Available from: https://link-springer-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/article/10.1007%2Fs11270-010-0338-8 [Accessed: 18 February 2022].

Hi everyone! To start off the week, let’s look at Haiti! Unfortunately, the usual IQAir website I refer to does not have any air quality data contributors. It might be due to the fact that Haiti is a relatively underdeveloped and understudied area. Regardless, data from IAMAT shows that the air quality is unsafe, because the PM2.5 concentration is 15 micrograms/cubic metre, which exceeds the recommended maximum of 10 micrograms/cubic metre. If you think of Haiti, I am sure you would think of the natural disasters that happened long ago. How do such events relate to pollution in Haiti?

Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake on the 12^th of January in 2010. The 7.0Mw earthquake exacerbated many of the current problems in the country. One of which is water pollution. Haiti has been struggling with sanitation problems for years. Its beaches are filled with trash its waterways are smelly, filled with swarms of dead fish and floating debris. The earthquake only worsened the conditions of water sources.

Water pollution is still a problem, because Haiti experiences frequent hurricanes. Hurricanes contribute to coastal flooding, and in Haiti where coasts are filled with rubbish, water pollution seems like an incessant threat that cannot be fought. Some of you might think, “Why can’t they just pick up the rubbish themselves, or throw rubbish in appropriate areas?” Locals have shared that they cannot simply do so because they need to use any time they have to earn money, because they are poor. They also cannot move elsewhere, because it is equally polluted elsewhere in the country. Its government is too occupied dealing with recovering its economy, that environmental issues get set aside.

Locals also do not have proper kitchens to cook. Just like the natives in Fiji, many households depend on indoor cooking, which worsens air pollution risks. The image below shows how some mothers cook for their family. These rudimentary stoves cause smoke to be concentrated in a tight area. Mothers can suffer from eye and respiratory issues because of the harmful chemicals, particulate matters, and carcinogens released from the burning of charcoal to cook.

If you click on the link which directs you to where this image was from, and scroll down to the end of the article, you will read about initiatives from the grassroots. Some people have suggested households to utilize ethanol-based fuel rather than charcoal to reduce mothers’ exposures from cooking using open fires. But how effective have such initiatives been? In the next post of the week, I will be looking at 2 research papers on Haiti.

See you in the next one! ✿

References

Dover, F. (2010) Haiti’s Legacy of Environmental Devastation Compounded by Earthquake. 1 March. Scientific American. Available from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talk-haitis-legacy/ [Accessed: 14 February 2022].

Herlinger, C. (2018) Environmental Vulnerabilities are Linked to Every Other Problem in Haiti. 19 April. Available from: https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/environmental-vulnerabilities-are-linked-every-other-problem-haiti [Accessed: 14 February 2022].

IAMAT (2020) Haiti General Health Risks: Air Pollution. 16 April. Available from: https://www.iamat.org/country/haiti/risk/air-pollution#:~:text=In%20accordance%20with%20the%20World,maximum%20of%2010%20%C2%B5g%2Fm3. [Accessed: 14 February 2022].

IQAir (2022) Air Quality in Haiti. 14 February. Available from: https://www.iqair.com/haiti [Accessed: 14 February 2022].

Mount Sinai (2019) Indoor Cooking and Air Pollution Risks in Homes in Haiti and Around the World. 27 September. Available from: https://health.mountsinai.org/blog/indoor-cooking-and-air-pollution-risks-in-homes-in-haiti-and-around-the-world/ [Accessed: 14 February 2022].

Hi everyone! In today’s second post of the week, I will be going through 2 journal articles and 1 book I found.

The book I discovered was written by Robins in 2011. It features the silver mining industry in the Andes. I briefly read through the book, but to better let you understand what happened in this part of South America, I thought that it would be great if you could watch this simple video instead.

Mining contributes to the country’s economy, and as you can see in the video, it is a precarious form of work. Robins’ book examines the interrelationships between silver (and mercury) production, urban environments, and the people who live and work in them. He specifically focuses on telling the stories of the natives and indigenous people in the region. This complements the paper done by Jacobi et al. (2016). They emphasize that local knowledges are important in development projects, because they better understand the lived and material consequences of pollution. A lot of what was being discussed in the paper ties in well with a political ecology perspective, something that I learnt in GE4219 in NUS. I believe it forms the crux of GE4232 Global Political Ecologies as well! Regardless, in our module that is mainly about environmental pollution, we can still learn about how important integrating local knowledges into pollution management strategies.

Finally, the paper done by Kirikkaleli & Oyebanji (2022) focus on the links between carbon emissions, trade (and globalization), and pollution. Though the paper centres around discussions related to climate change, it does provide some insights on pollution in Bolivia. In some parts of Bolivia, polluting industries continue to pollute because the regulations to monitor pollution are weak. This is a recurring problem in many developing countries in the Global South. Nevertheless, as you did see in the IQAir projection in the previous blog post, the air quality in Bolivia is much less polluted than in other countries in the Global South. It would be ideal for these countries to follow Bolivia’s path. Although imperfect, it is proof that developing countries can instigate improvement themselves.

Up next, Fiji. See you in the next one! ✿

References

BBC News (2014) ‘The mountain that eats men’ in Bolivia – BBC News. 9 October. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHZS74Z9qlM [Accessed: 4 February 2022].

Jacobi, J., Mathez-Stiefel, S. L., Gambon, H., Rist, S. & Altieri, M. (2016) Whose Knowledge, Whose Development? Use and Role of Local and External Knowledge in Agroforestry Projects in Bolivia. Environmental Management. 59, 464-476. Available from: https://link-springer-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/content/pdf/10.1007/s00267-016-0805-0.pdf [Accessed: 4 February 2022].

Kirikkaleli, D. & Oyebanji, M. O. (2022) Consumption-Base Carbon Emissions, Trade, and Globalization: An Empirical Study of Bolivia. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. Available from: https://link-springer-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/article/10.1007%2Fs11356-022-18495-6 [Accessed: 4 February 2022].

Robins, N. A. (2011) Mercury, Mining, and Empire: The Human and Ecological Cost of Colonial Silver Mining in the Andes. Indiana University Press. Available from: https://muse-jhu-edu.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/book/12859 [Accessed: 4 February 2022].

Hi everyone! To start off the week, let us dive into Bolivia! I was slightly shocked after searching up on this country because unlike other countries in the Global South, Bolivia is not severely polluted at all! As you can see in the image below, IQAir shows that the AQI index is 2 in Lapaz. That is a significantly low number! It is also shaded in green, which means that the air quality is good.

You can also see in the image some areas of fire. According to IAMAT, Bolivia faces seasonal agricultural fires in the dry months during May to November. It is currently January, so this might the reason why pollution levels seem so low. Apart from that, pollution in Bolivia is mainly caused by oil refineries, on top of usual causes of pollution in other countries, such as vehicle emissions, and waste burning in households and agricultural land.

Other sites tend to praise the efforts by the country in managing pollution levels. According to the UNEP, Bolivia manages its chemicals and waste decently well. Bolivia is considered a low-middle-income country, and in some parts of the country, chemical management policies are not effectively carried out. Regardless, in 2019, these parts of the country have partnered with the UNEP to strengthen national capacities to properly manage chemicals and waste, though the establishment of a Chemicals and Waste Unit in the country. A specific budget has also been allocated to ensure that the government’s treasury department supports other activities under this project. Permanent personnel have also been hired to ensure the operation of this project goes well during the short and long term.

There is also an effective wastewater treatment process in place in the country since 2017. This was developed by the Ministry of Environment and Water, to better regulate wastewater disposal, and to promote a circular economy. This video below explains the initiative better. Maybe other countries in the Global South could emulate such initiatives!

During that same year (2017), there was a nationwide car-free day. The initiative began since 2006, and it has been continuing since, because the country’s people realize how beneficial it is to not use vehicles. You can read more about it by clicking the link! If only many more people in the Global South could live in societies governed by capable leaders. In the next post of the week, I will be delving deeper into understanding how Bolivia can effectively keep pollution levels low.

See you in the next one! ✿

References

Alvestegui, A. (2020) Reuse and Reduce: The Case for Better Wastewater Treatment in Bolivia. 19 March. World Bank Blogs. Available from: https://blogs.worldbank.org/water/reuse-and-reduce-case-better-wastewater-treatment-bolivia [Accessed: 31 January 2022].

Farthing, L. (2017) Pollution Levels in Bolivia Plummet on Nationwide Car-Free Day. 3 September. The Guardian. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/sep/03/bolivia-car-free-day-pollution [Accessed: 31 January 2022].

IAMAT (2020) Bolivia General Health Risks: Air Pollution. 16 April. Available from: https://www.iamat.org/country/bolivia/risk/air-pollution#:~:text=Contributors%20to%20poor%20air%20quality,November)%20due%20to%20agricultural%20fires. [Accessed: 31 January 2022].

IQAir (2022) Air Quality in Bolivia. 31 January. Available from: https://www.iqair.com/bolivia [Accessed: 31 January 2022].

UNEP (2019) Bolivia Takes Steps to Protect its Rich Natural Landscapes and Strengthen Environmental Practices. 8 November. Available from: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/bolivia-takes-steps-protect-its-rich-natural-landscapes-and-strengthen [Accessed: 31 January 2022].

World Bank Water (2020) Working Towards Better Wastewater Treatment in Bolivia. 19 March. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APTRAHJT62A&feature=emb_imp_woyt [Accessed: 31 January 2022].