MANILA, Dec. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Contrary to a US media report lately,Asia's air quality is improving by some measures instead of worsening, a senior ADB official told the opening session of the ADB-supported Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2004 conference in India on Monday, according to an ADB news release Tuesday.

    Quoting an ongoing Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) study that summarizes data from 20 Asian cities, Director General of ADB's Regional and Sustainable Development Department Jan van Heeswijk said that there has been a moderate to slight decrease in pollution levels for total suspended particulates and fine particulates as well as sulfur dioxide.

    Although particulate levels were still harmful to human health,average sulfur dioxide levels had fallen below guidelines set by the World Health Organization, proving that air quality management policies can work in Asia.

    He said the success of CAI-Asia as an organization was reflected in an evaluation in which 83 percent respondents feel their involvement in its activities had improved their personal understanding of air quality problems and solutions in Asia.

    "The most important result of the evaluation for me was that 75 percent of the respondents responded that CAI-Asia activities had resulted in more Asian cities undertaking concrete air quality management activities," he said.

    CAI-Asia is the cohost of the three-day workshop, which together some 600 delegates from 35 countries to share experienceson management of urban air quality and discuss ways to improve airquality in Asian cities in the context of a political economy.

    The latest issue of the US "Time" magazine said in its front-page report that "rapid economic growth has led to record levels of pollution". But it also said that "this is a mess that can be cleaned up".

    This is the fourth BAQ workshop and is jointly organized by the Central Pollution Control Board and SIAM and sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and CAI-Asia.

    CAI Asia has been promoted by ADB, World Bank, and USAID.       Enditem¡¡