Household rubbish in seen lying beside a stagnant lake in front of a liquor distillery. Last week the Asian Development Bank warned that some Asian countries face a hefty clean-up bill because not enough money or effort had been put into environmental conservation over the years. Pic: Hein Latt Aung

DAMAGE to the environment is common wherever industries are established in Myanmar, but the impact of commercial activity is not a problem for the bulk of the country, local experts say.

Vast areas of land untouched by modern industry and infrastructure mean much of Myanmar’s 676,500 square kilometres have been spared the pollution common to more densely populated areas. However, poor awareness of conservation issues points to problems ahead if companies and consumers don’t start taking better care of their surroundings, sources said.

“Myanmar has no excuses for any problems related to environmental degradation,” said U Khin Maung Win, a prominent local figure on environmental issues who serves as managing director for a water purification and sewage treatment company, Myanmar Water Engineering and Products Ltd.

“The country needs to enhance awareness about the need to protect the natural environment even though the level of industrial development is less than neighbouring countries like Thailand and Bangladesh,” he said.

A draft environmental law prepared by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) and the National Committee for Environmental Affairs – an agency under the Ministry of Forestry – in cooperation with local experts, would play a major role in promoting conservation issues, said U Khin Maung Win, who helped draft the law.

Existing laws, such as those that apply to forestry and mining, are not broad enough to effectively protect the environment as a whole, he added.

“Both industrialists and consumers need to be more aware of the impact that industrial development can have on the environment. There are several examples at home and abroad,” he said, pointing to the depletion of mangrove forests in southern Myanmar that are thought to have halved over the past 50 years.

Mangrove areas in Tanintharyi Division fell by 10 percent in the 1990s to 14,770 hectares, according to U Khin Maung Win.

“The main causes are the development of prawn culture ponds and the chopping down of mangroves for firewood and charcoal,” he said.

In Thailand, intensive prawn farming projects along its coastal areas resulted in the pollution of the ocean in the early 1990s.

“Excess feedstuff and waste discharged by prawns were the main causes of pollution,” U Khin Maung Win said.

“In order to avoid problems like this and have as minimal an impact on the environment as possible, a scheme known as the Environment Management System (EMS) should be applied by industries here,” he said.

The system – which is recognised worldwide and requires recycling, research to ensure maximum output is achieved through minimum use of raw materials, and the implementation of an environmentally friendly waste management system – falls within the ISO 14000 certification. Currently, few Myanmar businesses qualify for this, U Khin Maung Win said.

U Win Myint Aung, chief executive of consultancy Green Environment Techno Myanmar, cited the Thiri Mingalar commodity market in Kyeemyindaing township as a prime candidate for improved waste treatment.

Early last year the company presented the YCDC, which runs the wholesale centre, with a recycling plan that would turn the 60 tonnes of rubbish created by the market each day into fertiliser – but at a price that essentially pushes the project out of reach.

“The proposed US$500,000 recycling facility could process the rubbish into 15 tonnes of natural fertiliser a day,” U Win Myint Aung said.

Meanwhile, replacing conventional plastics with bioplastics that break down within months of being disposed should also be made a priority, he said. Bioplastics are derived from plant sources such as hemp oil, soy bean oil and corn starch rather than petroleum.

A recent graduate of the Yangon Institute of Economics, who did his masters thesis on consumer plastic bags in Myanmar, said his research showed domestic factories had a lot to learn about environmental sustainability.

“Almost all factories focus on their finished products, but not on the disposal of their waste,” he told The Myanmar Times on condition of anonymity.

U Win Myint Aung said damage to the environment around a production site could create a legacy of neglect as new operations rejected implementing cleaner waste disposal systems on the grounds that the area was already polluted.

But while it may cost a little extra to protect surroundings, the cost of doing nothing may be much higher.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on August 7 warned that Asia is facing a huge bill to clean up its polluted rivers and groundwater because countries had not invested enough in infrastructure for disposing pollutants.

In Shanghai, for example, Chinese authorities had to spend $1 billion to clean the Suzhou Creek, which runs through the metropolis and used to be a health risk to residents. Chinese officials acknowledged the cleanup costs were many times higher than the cost of preventing the pollution, the bank said.

India, meanwhile, is estimated to lose more than $230 million each year in tourism revenue because of perceptions of poor sanitation, the ADB added.
U Khin Maung Win said Myanmar needed to establish an independent agency to serve as a watchdog for environmental issues.

But he stressed that consumers need to play their part, too.

“We have to encourage customers to use environmentally friendly products. Our country has very limited knowledge on this matter,” U Khin Maung Win said.

“Products from factories that practice EMS get ISO 14000 recognition. So, let’s say a customer is going to buy shampoo; one brand has ISO 14000 certification but another one doesn’t. It’s up to the customer to make the right choice.”