Title: Economic analysis of alternative pollution abatement policies: the case of Buriganga River, Bangladesh

Authors: M. Ashiqur Rahman; Tihomir Ancev

Addresses: Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University, Bashundhara, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh ' School of Economics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

Abstract: The Buriganga River is a prime example of serious surface water pollution problem. So far the emphasis of pollution abatement policy for this river has been solely on the application of command and control (CAC) mechanisms (standards on emission discharges), however little success has been achieved as the polluters seem to be reluctant to comply to these measures. This study evaluates the existing system for pollution control in this particular river and determines the economic costs that are likely to result under alternative policy instruments for pollution abatement, such as, uniform reduction, taxes and tradable permit system. The results from the simulation exercise show that application of the approaches based on economic incentives (taxes or tradable permit systems) could achieve significant cost savings for pollution abatement compared to the command and control-based approach (uniform reduction system).

Keywords: Buriganga River; BOD5; pollution abatement; abatement policy; simulation; economic analysis; Bangladesh; water pollution; pollution control; taxes; tradable permits.

DOI: 10.1504/IER.2014.062138

Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 2014 Vol.15 No.1, pp.66 - 87

Received: 23 Apr 2013
Accepted: 15 Mar 2014
Published online: 02 Jul 2014 *

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