The constitution of Pakistan does not articulate the issue of environmental protection and preservation in any of its provisions, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Saturday.
Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day South Asia Conference on Environmental Justice, the chief justice said the superior courts of Pakistan had interpreted ‘right to life’ in Article 9, therefore the right to life was the most basic principle of environmental justice.
He said the protection of environment, socio-economic development, safeguarding human rights and strengthening democratic institutions were the core values of every society.
He said no environmental plans could achieve their objectives without mobilising the public opinion and a wake up call to the stakeholders.
“What is really required from the concerned authorities of Pakistan is to have an overview of environmental law from all the three perspectives i.e. international, sub-regional and national,” he said. He said the South Asian region was highly vulnerable to extreme climate changes and hydro-meteorological disasters like flash floods, monsoon flooding, tropical cyclones and storm surges. “Our future generations must not bear the cost of our exploitation and mismanagement of environmental issues; rather we have to mitigate the environmental damage for the survival of the generations to come,” he said.
The CJP said the objective of sustainable development could be achieved through consultation on national policies and sustained commitment on the part of SAARC countries.
He lauded the efforts of ADB and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for conserving the environment and highlighting environmental issues nationally and internationally are highly commendable.
“The role of print and electronic media is also laudable, as much of the credit of the relief provided by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in suo motu actions goes to them,” he said.
The chief justice said urbanisation, unplanned and ill-structured constructions, increased industrialisation, poor sewerage systems, illegal brick kilns and crusher machines on privately owned lands, deforestation, damage to wildlife and mountain ranges and particularly the lack of will towards improvement are also some other factors obstructing the development of environmental law.
“This conference needs to consider these aspects and suggest workable mechanism for effective protection of the environment at the Federal and Provincial levels,” he stated.
He said the role of courts in environmental justice was crucial for the reason that when the courts themselves were blind towards the science of ecology, they cannot administer fair justice in this field of law. “Therefore, the role of courts throughout the SAARC region needs to be enhanced,” he said.