WHO Air Quality Monitor screen-shot of Asia and the Pacific
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A senior editor in Thailand is being victimized for putting spotlight
on an issue that the World
Health Organization (WHO) refers to as "invisible killer" of
over 6.5 million people globally every year. Air pollution warrants much
more urgency to save lives and help people breathe life, and not inhale deadly
disease-causing polluted air.
According to the WHO, 92% of the global population lives in places where
ambient air pollution is so high that it makes air unsafe to breathe. As much
as 36% of lung-cancer deaths, 34% of stroke deaths, and 27% of heart-disease
deaths in a year are attributed to air pollution. More alarmingly, climate
change and air pollution are closely interrelated, further escalating the
economic costs and health hazards for humankind. Yet it does not seem to be
invoking governments to act with the compelling urgency.
Air pollution is biggest environmental crisis we
face: WHO
Air pollution causes 1 in 9 deaths and is the biggest environmental health
crisis we face, says WHO. Over 80% of the
world's cities have pollution levels exceeding WHO's guidelines for safe air.
Is feeling concerned about the quality of air we breathe, a crime? In Thailand,
Pim Kemasingki, Editor, Citylife
Chiang Mai magazine, has been on the forefront of several initiatives
over the years for helping make Chiang Mai city in northern Thailand, a better
place for everyone. Recently, Citylife
Chiang Mai magazine aimed to draw attention to the region's sometimes
dangerously unhealthy air pollution, probably caused by crop burning and
traffic. Editor of Citylife Chiang Mai was charged by authorities for posting
on Facebook a student's painting of ancient kings wearing pollution masks. Even
more shockingly, instead of supporting Thai citizens' initiative to raise
awareness about the invisible killer- air pollution - the Governor of
Chiang Mai recommended that police should investigate and charge the
publication for being disrespectful and endangering tourism. According
to a news published in The Bangkok Post, Citylife Chiang Mai Editor
Pim Kemasingki could be imprisoned for up to five years if convicted under the
Computer Crime Act, which has several broad provisions, including criminal
penalties for undermining national security and entering false information into
computer systems.
Editor Citylife Chiang Mai
Pim Kemasingki told Reuters
that "I shared this picture (a student's painting of ancient kings wearing
pollution masks) thinking it was pertinent and powerful" and "For decades I
have been promoting the city and loving it... so it's quite unsettling that
fighting for healthy air for my fellow citizens has turned into me besmirching
the city."
Hope sanity prevails, and justice ensues for not only protecting and promoting
citizens' call for improving air quality, but also for protecting those who
bravely stand up to defend human rights -- right to breathing clean air!
No air-pollution data from most polluted cities
WHO
says "Many cities in the world, including some expected to be among the
most polluted, do not collect information or report on its ambient air
quality." Similar news
comes from India where unmonitored cities had much higher air pollution levels
than those cities that came under the radar for monitoring air pollution. Not
surprisingly, countries, such as Thailand, that share air-pollution data in a
spirit for collective action and shared learning to ensure that citizens
breathe life (read clean air), get noticed.
Undoubtedly, we need reliable data on air pollution from every country/ city
so that appropriate action is taken without delay. Targeting only those
cities or countries that are reporting and sharing air pollution data will do
more harm than good. Targetting or profiling of those who raise issues such as
air pollution is even more worse. The larger issue should be to encourage every
country to share reliable data on air pollution and take urgent evidence-based
action to address the issue and mitigate human suffering, and avert untimely
deaths.
Profiling those spirited crusaders, such as Pim, who raise a long over-due
alarm on air pollution, and targeting them will not help address the cause;
rather it might be detrimental for efforts to save lives from non-communicable
as well as from infectious diseases and fail us in averting untimely deaths.
It is important to mention that Thailand is among the 190+ countries that
promised to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the United
Nations General Assembly in September 2015. Some of these SDGs aim to reduce
untimely deaths due to heart disease and stroke, lung cancer, asthma, among
other diseases, by one-third by 2030 -- a lion's share of these diseases is
caused by air pollution.
It is important for the government of Thailand, and every other government in
the world, to have coherent policies, programmes and actions on the ground to
help progress towards delivering on the promise of SDGs. Uncalled for targeting
of citizens who champion human rights causes, like the one to control air
pollution, will only take nations further away from achieving these goals and
will be a setback for efforts to build a better tomorrow.
Shobha
Shukla and Bobby
Ramakant, CNS (Citizen News Service)
- Shared under Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License
