Mitigating environmental pollution

Environmental pollution poses a major threat to ecosystems, agricultural productivity, and human health in all countries, and affects vulnerable groups the most. In addition, some pollutants – methane, tropospheric ozone, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons – are responsible for up to 45 per cent of current global warming. Thus, reducing environmental pollution offers a multitude of potential co-benefits, and the SDC supports initiatives that have the potential to generate substantial co-benefits for health, food security, the environment and the climate. These initiatives include raising the profile of pollution on policy agendas and testing and sharing effective approaches to reducing environmental pollution.

🧺Themes and potential focus areas

• Reducing air pollution such as black carbon and particulate matter through support of air quality monitoring, clean air policies, and action plans and awareness raising on multiple levels
• Reducing water pollution by improving wastewater treatment and reducing pesticides and nitrogen-based fertilisers in agriculture
• Reducing waste through a circular economy approach
• Supporting initiatives that enhance environmental protection, and addressing environmental pollution from natural and technological disasters (hazardous materials) or other type of crisis

💡Project examples

• Clean Air Project in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (CAP IGP) - Phase 2: With Swiss expertise, this project addresses transboundary air pollution with a financial contribution to the World Bank’s regional Air Quality Management program to provide cleaner air to 680 million people, by developing states and regional plans and supporting coordinated sectoral measures by decision-makers in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
• Climate and Clean Air in Latin American Cities + 2 (CALAC+2): The project is implemented by Swisscontact and supports its partner countries in developing and implementing ambitious air quality management plans and policies, with a focus on urban public transport and non-road mobile machinery with direct interventions in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
• Air Pollution Impact on Health, Mongolia: The project goal is to reduce the risks of air pollution to maternal and child health through enhanced knowledge, evidence based policy, improved institutional capacity and action on the ground to reduce exposure. It also aims at strengthening health services for vulnerable children and pregnant women, and will contribute to reduced incidence of 1) pneumonia amongst children under 5, and 2) of air pollution related pregnancy risks.

Further Projects:

• Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)
• Air Pollution Impact on Health, Mongolia
• Waste to Value, Laos
• Clean Air Project in India (CAP India)
• Sino-Swiss Cooperation on Air Pollution Source Apportionment for Better Air: Breaking down the dome
• Climate and Clean Air in Latin American Cities + 2 (CALAC+2)
• Clean Air Project in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (CAP IGP) - Phase 2
• South East Asia Climate and Clean Air Initiative (SEACAI)

👓Further Resources

• Clean Air Policy – Insight paper
• The SDC’s engagement for clean air for all – Strategies publication
• Impact of Air Pollution on Maternal and Child Health – Magazine
• Impact of Air Pollution on Maternal and Child Health in Mongolia
• Reducing impact of aur pollution on maternal and child health
• Energy efficiency in the building sector for a more sustainable Mongolia