Call for young scholars to design innovative solutions to tackle Air Pollution in Pakistan
SDPI Celebrating “World Environment Day 2019 on Air Pollution”
Due Date: Sunday, June 2nd, 2019 till 11:59pm
Approximately 92 per cent of people worldwide do not breathe clean air and 7 million people worldwide die prematurely each year from air pollution, with about 4 million of these deaths occurring in Asia-Pacific. The facts show that it costs the global economy $5 trillion every year in welfare costs. According to a World Bank report, 22,000 pre mature deaths per year are caused due to outdoor air pollution in Pakistan whereas indoor air pollution causes 28,000 deaths.
Given these shocking impacts of poor air quality on human life, this year’s World Environment Day 2019 on “Air pollution” urges governments, industry, communities, and individuals to come together to explore renewable energy and green technologies, and improve air quality in cities and regions across the world. According to a new UN report on air pollution in Asia and the Pacific, implementing 25 technology policies could see up to a 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide and a 45 per cent reduction in methane emissions globally, leading to a third of a degree Celsius saving of global warming.
China with its growing green energy sector, has emerged as a climate leader, will be a great global host of 2019’s World Environment Day celebrations, showcasing their progress towards a cleaner environment.
Profile of Air quality in Pakistan
Pakistan stands out to be 176 out of 180 countries in terms of air quality (The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) (Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, NA).
In the South Asia Region, Pakistan ranks as one of the countries with the highest levels of exposure to pollution, measured as mean annual exposure to the levels of PM 2.5 are concentrated in a range that is 2 to 14 times higher than the local and World Health Organization (WHO) standard. The dangerously high concentrations of PM 2.5 in Pakistan are associated with high costs to human health, ranging between 2.5 and 6.5 percent of GDP equivalent in welfare losses (Elena, 2018).
The rate of deaths attributable to air pollution (including indoor, PM 2.5, and ozone) in Pakistan is also well above global averages and decreasing far more slowly than elsewhere.
Call for nominations
In the line of agenda, SDPI announces a call for innovative ideas to manage air pollution in Pakistan. We encourage young students (15-30 years of age) from Colleges and universities to design, portray and communicate their innovate solutions using digital media such as graphics, art, 3-D models, digital photos, documentaries/short videos, and others.
The program aims to motivate young people for their active engagement and an opportunity to showcase their skills around problem solving, innovation, communication, entrepreneurship, and their ability to make an impact and a change. This way, young people can also inspire and stimulate institutions to engage more in reducing pollution and of course for a better future for everyone.
Eligibility: An individual (or a group) must be enrolled in a full time education system either university program or college and submit their final ideas and models by June 2, 2019 (Deadline). Please note that we only allow inputs using digital/visual form. The judgment will be based on the concept, understanding, sustainability of the model and the way of communicating the ideas around reducing/ tackling air pollution in the country.
Only shortlisted candidates will be given a chance to showcase their ideas in a high-level seminar being held at SDPI on World Environment Day, Monday, June 10th, 2019 (3:00-5:00 pm) at SDPI conference hall.
First prize: Rs. 10,000/-
Runner up prize: Rs. 5000/-
Certificates of participation will be given from SDPI to all shortlisted candidates.
All submissions and enquiries can only be made through email to:
Dr. Hina Aslam, Associate Research Fellow, SDPI, hinaaslam@sdpi.org
Ms. Maryam Shabbir, maryam@sdpi.org