A-PAG aims to reduce air pollution by 20-30% by 2025. Our initial focus is on the Indo-Gangetic plain, given that the issue here is even more acute than it is around the country. Unlike a number of other civic organisations that work on broader environmental issues, our emphasis is entirely on air pollution.
Air pollution has debilitating effects on human life. Globally, it ranks 4th among leading risk factors causing deaths. In India, the situation is more critical. We stand as the second-most polluted country in the world. Living in Delhi shortens lifespans by 10 years, and the statistics are equally bleak for most cities in India.
Our approach involves supporting the government to reduce air pollution. We work with them at all levels, and have a strong focus on making things happen on the ground. We are sector-agnostic and work across all 5 sources of pollution, i.e. dust, industrial, domestic, biomass, and vehicular. Our focus is on piloting programs in small geographies, learning from them, and scaling them in ways that ensure maximum impact. Our approach is three-pronged:
We deploy Project Management Units (PMUs) at Center, State and municipal levels of government to ensure appropriate enforcement and implementation.
We produce toolkits and resources that help address key issues, and can be used by governments, intermediaries, and civil society organisations (CSO’s)
We are working toward supporting decision-making at the executive and legislature, and ensuring that air pollution gets the focus it merits.
Our approach is sector-agnostic, and we work across all 5 sources of pollution, i.e. dust, industrial, domestic, biomass, and vehicular. Our focus is on piloting programs in small geographies, learning from them, and scaling them in ways that ensure maximum impact.
A-PAG’s projects and interventions broadly fall into two buckets:
A-PAG assists the government’s implementation efforts, engaging with them at all levels and collaborating with Centre, State, and municipal bodies
A-PAG supports the government’s through training, monitoring, and skill and capacity building initiatives. Our knowledge resources include a sensitization toolkit and a clean air project dashboard.
In August 2019, A-PAG launched the #pollutionkakyaplanhai campaign to draw attention to the gravity of the pollution problem and position it as a critical poll issue.Â
Our work is primarily based on running pilot programs, which if successful, are scaled rapidly across geographies. A-PAG works with the centre and state governments as well as municipal bodies to assist their implementation efforts in fighting air pollution. At times, our work also entails addressing knowledge and resource gaps.