Solutions for Mitigating Air Pollution from Agricultural Burning in Lao People's Democratic Republic

Overview & Synopsis

Critical knowledge gaps constrain the development of an effective strategy for Lao PDR to curtail open biomass burning and abate its resulting air-polluting emissions. One is the lack of reliable, quality-controlled time-series data measuring air quality from ground-level monitoring networks; lack of such data poses a crucial constraint to the effective management of air quality in Lao PDR. For the purposes of this report, two further knowledge gaps motivated the analyses, results, and recommendations presented: 1. The country lacks a comprehensive inventory of air-polluting emissions—a fundamental component of an effective air-quality management—in order (a) to identify the composition and contributions of polluting emissions and (b) to provide a system for tracking progress over time and taking the necessary corrective action. 2. Policy and decision makers need a means of selecting and prioritizing cost-effective interventions that target the distinct characteristics, contexts, and drivers of the two major sources of open biomass burning in Lao PDR. In order to address the gaps described above, this report focuses (1) on quantifying air-polluting emissions stemming from open biomass burning in Lao PDR, distinguishing between those attributable to ARFB activities and those stemming from CROB practices; and (2) on conducting rigorous assessments of potential interventions to curb biomass burning in Lao PDR and abate its air-polluting emissions, ranking them based on their cost-effectiveness and applicability to the country’s specific context.