Introduction:
Poor natural resource management over many years and continuing high population growth have had a negative impact on Pakistan's environment.
Agricultural runoff--caused by ongoing deforestation--and industrial runoff have polluted water supplies, and factory and vehicle emissions have degraded air quality in the urban centers.
Please note: the material is updated until May 2000
Similar to other developing countries, Pakistan has focused on achieving self-sufficiency in food production, meeting energy demands, and containing its high rate of population growth rather than on curtailing pollution or other environmental hazards. As a result, "green" concerns have not been the government's top priority.
Yet, as Pakistan's cities suffer from the effects of air pollution and unplanned development has caused degradation, environmental issues have become more salient. Safeguarding public health, as well as preserving Pakistan's natural wonders, has made environmental protection increasingly important.
In an attempt to redress the previous inattention to the nation's mounting environmental problems, in 1992 the government issued its National Conservation Strategy Report (NCSR) outlining Pakistan's state of environmental health, its sustainable goals, and viable program options for the future with the National Conservation Goals
Building on the Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance of 1983, the NCSR stipulated three goals for the country's environmental protection efforts: conservation of natural resources; promotion of sustainable development; and improvement of efficiency in the use and management of resources.
Fourteen program areas were targeted for priority implementation, including energy efficiency improvements, renewable resource development/deployment, pollution prevention/reduction, urban waste management, institutional support of common resources, and integration of population and environmental programs.
In addition, in 1993 Pakistan applied National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) to municipal and liquid industrial effluents and industrial gaseous emissions, motor vehicle exhaust, and noise.
However, attempts to legislate environmental protection have fallen short, and regulations have not been enforced strongly. Enforcement does not imply effectiveness, though--even if regulations were strictly enforced, many industries would be unable to comply: when new environmental regulations were implemented in 1996, only 3 percent of industries were able to pass the test for compliance.
Oil and Gas Exploration in Kirthar National Park:
Although Pakistan has the laws and regulations in place, its ability and commitment to protecting its environment has been questioned.
Pakistan has tried to maintain the balance between developing its economy and preserving its natural wonders, but nevertheless, controversy erupted over former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government's decision to allow oil and gas exploration in Kirthar National Park.
The 1,192-square-mile park, which is about 90 miles northeast of Karachi, is the country's oldest national wildlife park, home to several rare or threatened species, including the Sindh Ibex, Urial sheep, and the chinkara gazelle.
The controversy first began in July 1997 when the Sharif government opened the park to prospectors, inviting British Premier Oil to search for an estimated 3 trillion cubic feet of gas believed trapped in the porous rock.
Resistance from environmentalists kept the project dormant, and the Sind Wildlife Department turned down earlier requests by Premier's consultant to conduct an environmental impact assessment.
In May 1999, though, the regional Sind government and environmental groups, including the World Wildlife Fund, reached an agreement by which a committee was formed to conduct an independent assessment of the park, with a view toward looking into the ecological and management concerns at Kirthar.
However, environmental groups claim that the government backtracked on the promise to conduct the independent assessment of the park.
In August 1999, while inviting tenders for parties interested in carrying out the environmental impact assessment, Pakistan's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources went ahead and gave Premier Oil Exploration, Lasmo Oil, and Shell Exploration a license to explore for oil and gas.
Exploration is to take place in the Dumbar Block, which forms 95 percent of the area of the park.
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), the country's leading environmental group, has stated that any mining or exploration in the park is illegal according to the provisions of the Sind Wildlife Ordinance (Amendment) Act of 1993 and that it would violate the country's international commitments to protect biodiversity made under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Air Pollution:
The level of air pollution in Pakistan's two largest cities, Karachi and Lahore, is estimated to be 20 times higher than World Health Organization standards, and continuing to rise.
Islamabad, the capital, is perpetually smothered by a thick cloud of smog that hides views of the Margalla Hills that tower over the city's tree-lined streets.
As industry has expanded, factories have emitted more and more toxic effluents into the air. Also, as in other developing countries, the number of vehicles in Pakistan has swelled in recent years--from 680,000 in 1980 to 3.8 million in 1998.
Although the number of motor vehicles (1 per 143 people) in Pakistan is still well below that of the U.S. (1 per 1.3 people), the 1992 National Conservation Strategy Report claims that the average Pakistani vehicle emits 25 times as much carbon dioxide as the average U.S. vehicle, as well as 20 times as many hydrocarbons and more than 3.5 times as many nitrous oxides in grams per kilometer.
With few controls on vehicular emissions and little enforcement, reports show that motor vehicle exhaust accounts for 90 percent of the pollutants in Pakistan's air.
The government has begun to take notice of the degrading air quality in the capital, which adversely affects the health of some 16 million people. A recent advertisement placed by the government in a newspaper warned, "Take care of your tune-ups before the poison in the air takes care of you."
Many Pakistani environmentalists say that poor fuel quality is also to blame for the country's serious air pollution problems. Fuel consumption rose by 188% in Pakistan from 1980 to 1998, and gasoline continues to contain high levels of lead and sulfur.
An estimated 550 metric tons per year of lead emissions are generated by vehicles in Pakistan burning poor-quality fuel, with the resulting air pollution adding about $500 million per year in related health care costs.
Various grades of gasoline sold contain 400 to 600 mg/liter of lead--in comparison, leaded gas in other countries usually contains no more than 150 mg/liter. Dr. Asif Qayyum Qureshi, a research fellow at SDPI, claimed that the problem of air pollution could largely be solved if the government were to tighten its lax fuel quality standards.
However, the government's 1995 Clean Fuel Initiative was largely ineffective, and now authorities are looking at the possibility of using alternative fuels for vehicles.
As many as 150 compressed natural gas stations will be set up throughout the country by 2001, and 100,000 cars fitted to use the "green-friendly" fuel, which pollutes less than gasoline.
In addition, in March 1999 the World Bank's Lahore Urban Transport Project was instituted, integrating traffic engineering and signal control improvements. The aim of the project was to reduce engine idling time, thereby reducing pollution from vehicle emissions.
Source: United States Energy Information Administration.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
