Reducing Effluent While Raising Affluence: Water Pollution Abatement in Malaysia. How did Malaysia Manage to Nearly Eliminate its Leading Water Pollution Problem, without Simultaneously Blocking Growth of the Industry Generating the Pollution

摘要

Production of crude palm oil (CPO) in Malaysia more than tripled between 1975 and 1985. This expansion solidified the industry's ranking as the largest in the world - it accounted for half of world production and three-fourths of world exports in 19801 - and made it the country's second largest earner of foreign exchange by 1984. In 1975, the CPO industry also held another, more dubious, distinction: it was the country's worst source of water pollution. Pollution caused by the organic wastes from CPO mills was equivalent to pollution generated by a population of more than 10 million people. This was nearly as large as the entire population of the country. No proven treatment technology for palm oil effluent (POME) existed. Extrapolating from 1975 pollution loads, the industrial expansion that occurred between 1975 and 1985 should have increased the population-equivalent of the industry's pollution load to 33 million people. In 1985, however, the population-equivalent pollution load actually fell to 0.08 million people. How did Malaysia manage to nearly eliminate its leading water pollution problem without simultaneously blocking growth of the industry generating the pollution. What lessons does Malaysia's experience hold for other industries and other countries. Is it a unique case, or does it illustrate general principles for designing policies to improve environmental quality without sacrificing economic growth. These questions are answered in the report.