ABSTRACT
As the case studies have demonstrated, there is substantial variation in the degree to which governments in the East Asian newly industrializing economies (NIEs) are successfully addressing the environmental problems attending high-speed urban industrial growth (see Figures 7-1 and 7-2 and Table 1-2). Singapore has achieved and sustained a high level of ambient air quality, as determined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and it has a low organic water pollution intensity of industrial output. Malaysia and Taiwan are approaching OECD levels of ambient air quality, and they also have relatively low organic water pollution intensities of industrial output. China has been able to improve ambient air quality in a significant number of the country's major cities, but these improvements fall significantly short of OECD levels. At the same time, ambient environmental air quality in many of the country's smaller cities continues to deteriorate, and the organic water pollution intensity of industrial output is high. Even though Indonesia has been able to get large industrial water polluters to reduce their wastewater emissions, the organic water pollution intensity of industry is relatively high, and this effort to reduce industrial wastewater emission has had little effect on ambient water quality. Moreover, Indonesia has not made much progress in reducing industrial air emissions. When combined with growing vehicular emissions, ambient air quality in major cities, such as Jakarta, remains poor. And to date, Thailand has had the least success in reducing industrial pollution and improving ambient environmental quality.
