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India
History and Objectives
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/India Mission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the IES-India project in February 2002. The team selected the city of Hyderabad, a city of 6 million people in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, as the project site. Hyderabad is known for its emerging high-tech industry and its rapid growth in the past decade. Key government officials in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Central Pollution Control Board, Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board, and the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad supported the IES effort and participated in a February 2002 scoping meeting that identified specific project objectives, which were to:
- Provide policymakers with quantified information on the public health, environmental, and economic impacts of selected integrated measures to improve ambient air quality.
- Engage policymakers and other key stakeholders in a discussion on the benefits of an integrated approach to addressing environmental problems.
- Build support among key stakeholders, including public officials, businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and civic organizations, for the effective implementation of promising measures.
- Build capacity in Hyderabad and India for multidisciplinary policy analysis.
Team
The Environmental Protection and Training Research Institute (EPTRI) served as the lead technical partner and project coordinator, and the Institute of Health Systems led the air pollutant health effects assessment.
The team conducted the preliminary analysis in coordination with an EPA assessment of better transportation planning for the city of Hyderabad. EPA, ICF Consulting, and the Indian partner RITES (a consulting group affiliated with Indian Railways) developed transportation planning scenarios to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and reduce associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the city. The IES-India team, led by EPTRI, quantified the multiple benefits of the scenarios developed by RITES.
Two nongovernmental organizations - Winrock International-India and the Confederation of Indian Industries - coordinated elements of the outreach campaign.
Methodology
The IES-India ambient air quality analysis focused on measures in the transportation and industrial sectors. RITES, the transportation analysis partner, developed four scenarios for analysis:
- A more effective public bus transit service (bus lanes, better bus stops, and better trunk lines).
- More effective traffic management and strategies to improve traffic flows (flyovers, traffic signals, and foot paths).
- Training for operators of two-stroke vehicles on the proper maintenance and operation of their vehicles.
- A multi-modal transport system.
After developing an emissions inventory, the IES-India team estimated the effects of the alternative transportation scenarios on air quality and associated GHG emissions. The emissions from alternative scenarios were compared to an estimation of a “business as usual” baseline scenario.
In addition to transportation sector scenarios, the team developed scenarios to consider how Hyderabad’s growing industrial sector could most effectively limit the growth of its air pollutant and GHG emissions, including:
- Use of additives in boiler fuel oil
- Use of particulate controls on all uncontrolled solid waste fired boilers
- Use of natural gas in coal fired boilers
- Use of renewable sources of energy (biomass gasification) in fuel oil boilers
The team focused its analysis on particulate matter (PM10) as the air pollutant of most concern and carbon dioxide (CO2) as the major greenhouse gas. As part of this work, the team developed estimates of exposure to PM10 using existing data on total suspended particulates (TSP), established conversion factors used in other cities, and monitored data for PM10 in Hyderabad. It then conducted ambient air quality analysis using the Industrial Source Complex (ISC-3) model.
Once the team estimated pollutant emissions and human exposure to various concentrations, the team analyzed the health effects of measures to address ambient air quality, adapting concentration-response relationships from comparable developing country cities for use in Hyderabad. The team estimated health impacts of alternative scenarios and a “business as usual” scenario. In addition to estimated deaths caused by air pollution, IES researchers calculated health impacts using cases of respiratory illness, hospital visits, emergency room visits, and other health end-points. IES researchers also conducted an economic valuation of the health effects of air pollution using methodologies such as the Cost of Illness (COI) approach and willingness to pay assessments based on local information, where available, and on studies conducted internationally and adapted as appropriate, using a benefits transfer approach.
To learn about the second phase of IES-India, see the Source Apportionment page.
Study Results
The IES-India team synthesized the multiple impacts analyzed and completed a policy analysis of each ambient air quality measure considered. This policy analysis included a cost-benefit analysis and recommendations on promising measures. In June 2004, the IES-India team presented its final report on its key findings, including cost-benefit analysis and recommendations, to government officials at the central, state, and municipal level and then revised the report per their feedback and suggestions. The team completed the final report (PDF) (409 pp, 5MB, About PDF) in April 2005.
Highlights from the report include the following:
- The maximum PM10 concentrations are found in the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) area, due to high vehicular population. The projected average concentrations for the “business as usual”-2021 scenario are very high due to the projected growth.
- The effective bus transit mitigation scenario shows greatest reductions in PM10 and GHG emissions. For this scenario, ambient pollutant concentrations are reduced to one-third of “business as usual” levels.
- For the “business as usual”-2021 scenario, Patancheru and Rajendranagar are the most polluted areas (after MCH), due to their vicinity to the air polluting industries.
- Industrial mitigation scenarios do not show significant PM10/GHG reduction in MCH area, but they are significant in reduction of ground level concentrations in industrial areas.
In addition to these core IES activities that focus on the quantification of the costs and benefits of alternative measures, IES-India project activities also include outreach to key constituencies to build support for the implementation of the most promising alternative measures. Public sector officials, local businesses and trade associations, and Hyderabad civil society (as represented by nongovernmental organizations, civic groups, and neighborhood associations) have been identified as key constituencies. The local India team developed outreach activities to engage these groups in a discussion on the benefits of an integrated strategies approach and to develop an action plan for implementing alternative scenarios to better meet Hyderabad’s public health, economic, and environmental objectives.
For more information on the outreach campaign, visit the Documents page.
Outcomes
In follow-up to the Hyderabad Study, the IES-India team decided that further validation and improvement of the emissions inventory, and a better understanding emission sources, would prove valuable in informing policy decisions. This decision led to the second phase of the IES-India program, a source apportionment study for Hyderabad.
Documents
Contains documents generated through the IES-India analysis.
Links
Environment Protection Research and Training Institute (EPTRI) 
EPTRI, located in India, provides training, consultancy, applied research services and advocacy in the area of environmental protection to industries, regulatory bodies, government organizations, and nongovernmental organizations. It is the lead partner for the in-country IES-India work.