25 Jul 2019 | Air pollution solutions

A more efficient brick sector through collaboration and mitigation actions

ICIMOD concluded two key regional meetings in Bangkok aimed at planning collective actions for cleaner and more sustainable brick production in South Asia. Brick entrepreneurs from the region came together for the third Federation of South Asian Brick Kilns Association (FABKA) meeting on 18 and 19 June 2019 to strengthen the association, which was formed in February 2018, and outline its regional approach towards improving the brick sector. FABKA founder members – Federation of Nepal Brick Industries (FNBI), All India Brick and Tile Manufacturers Federation (AIBTMF), Bangladesh Brick Manufacturing Owners Association (BBMOA), and Brick Kiln Owners’ Association of Pakistan (BKOA) – worked with an appointed lawyer to finalize and officially endorse the FABKA draft Constitution and Roadmap over the course of the workshop. ICIMOD will continue to strengthen FABKA during this crucial nascent stage till it is ready to function independently.

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Inauguration of the newly established FABKA secretariat in Kathmandu. ICIMOD, 2019.

At the second Policy and Advocacy Network Asia (PAN) meeting on 20 and 21 June 2019, ICIMOD provided government representatives and decision makers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan with an overview of existing gaps, issues, policies, and way forward. Speaking during the meeting, Eklabya Sharma, Deputy Director General, ICIMOD, urged representatives from brick sectors to meet the demand for bricks in a clean and sustainable way by optimizing South–South learning and adopting cleaner technologies from China, Latin America, Myanmar, and Vietnam. ICIMOD worked with country-level sector experts to develop country-specific issue briefs on the brick sector in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. These were finalized during the meeting and will be a valuable resource in planning the way forward.

Dechen Tsering, Regional Director of UN Environment’s Asia and the Pacific Office, highlighted the need to elevate the agenda of the brick sector and short-lived climate pollutants, given their impacts on air pollution, health, and the environment. Bidya Banmali Pradhan, Programme Coordinator – Brick Initiative, ICIMOD, reinforced the potential trifecta of benefits from clean brick production: to the environment, to production practices and productivity, and to social and working conditions.

The FABKA event was organized by the Department for International Development (DFID)-Nepal funded Clean Brick Initiative project. The PAN Asia event was conducted through the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)-funded Mitigating Black Carbon and Other Pollutants from Brick Production project.

1. The brick sector can help countries achieve their mitigation goals, address air pollution, and reduce local impacts while significantly contributing to reduce global warming. Photo: ICIMOD