PSL, terrorism, violence, corruption, power shortages… And through the cracks seeps probably the most pressing issue for humanity. Nuclear weapons? Negative. Extra-terrestrial life? Nopes. Jack Sparrow’s future? Nah, wise man. It’s our flickering, fading, faltering, failing earth. And bad news for the space junkies: Elon Musk’s plans would probably not be realised in your lifetime. We have one planet to look after. The threat is more than something you read in reports and comprehension passages. It’s real.
Changing seasons and an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events has impaired agriculture. The extension of tropical temperate zones means greater coverage of infectious diseases (e.g. malaria, yellow fever, etc), forest fires and interference with crop cycles (greater yields in middle-high altitudes, and lower ones in low-lying areas), floods, droughts, etc. The loss of habitats and species is another adventitious upshot. Sea levels continue to rise by 3 mm per year (up from 1.7 mm in the previous century).
All are things written, debated and advocated before. But how are our lives affected? 3 mm a year is so negligible. We’ll see about that. Here’s a reality check: when was the last time you had to pay for water (or had to do with groundwater) because your backyard reservoir went dry? Gone to a hill station expecting snow, and found sweat and sun? Hadn’t heard of a Dengue fever case in Pakistan? Or, better still, had to endure such a fleeting winter? Probably long before the 21st century. An altering climate is a slow but steady force. However, like the sluggish crawl of evolution, it metamorphosises the biotic and a-biotic in epic proportions: 3 mm a year may not look much, but if not impeded, it would inch into continental subversion.
And this is where we come to the definitive picture. What are we doing to cushion this threat, and is it enough? In Pakistan, the ministry of environment handled environmental monitoring, planning, reclamation and enforcement of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997 until 2012, when it was abolished by an implementation commission formed following the 18th amendment. Its thousands of employees were haphazardly re-appropriated into the relevant provincial and federal administrations. Following this devolution, there was no central environmental body besides the EPA for one year. The ministry of climate change was formed later in 2012, mostly to prepare for the COPs to the UNFCCC (Framework Convention on Climate Change), and working together with NDMA for capacity building.
The attached NDMA has been able to claim some efficacy in achieving its objectives. Besides this, the ministry’s departments have done little else, arranging training workshops, seminars, and other formalities. Implementation of the National Climate Change policy has been poor, except in AJK, where the relevant ministry came up with concept notes for countering lake outbursts. This has yet to be considered by the Green Climate Fund (within UNFCCC) for disbursement of $35 million. The EPAs, both in the centre and provinces, have been working at snail’s pace and have only a handful of projects under its belt since their inception. At the time when the US EPA is working towards mega projects like carbon sequestration, our EPAs are failing to monitor pollution levels, maintain equipment, and even decide on environmental lab certificate renewal applications.
The 2012 National Climate Change policy was a framework that lacked implementation measures, with unrealistic proposals clearly going awry due to lack of finances, due to the low priority climate change takes in Pakistan, as well as the inability of developed countries to fulfil their financial pledges to the GCF, a mechanism that would allow diversion of climate finance to developing countries.
The MOCC has even failed to follow its approach towards the NDMA properly. Capacity-building work, such as the kind for warehouses, is seriously under-financed. There has been no proposal for alternate energy projects, mostly due to lack of qualified personnel and the technical base for formulating such ventures. There has been limited success in implementation of the NEQs (National Environmental Quality Standards) in line with UN conventions. For example, the MOCC has achieved the 10% reduction target for HCFCs set by the 1987 Montreal protocol to protect the ozone layer. Implementation of regulations has also presented a sorry picture: there is a universal use of non-degradable plastic despite a 2015 regulation prohibiting their use, mostly due to lack of suitable alternatives and industrial pressures.
Water resource management, though not under the mandate of the MOCC, is a must for a high-stress country like Pakistan. Increasing shortage would inevitably affect the distribution of plant and animal species. Desertification could interfere with migration patterns. Due to a lack of precipitation, Pakistan mostly depends on an irrigation system to fulfil its needs (29% of power generation from hydel). As per a report by the World Resources Institute, Pakistan ranks 31st in the list of high water-stress country, with a baseline score of 4.31. From our immediate neighbourhood, only Iran has a higher score, ranking 24th with 4.78. This stress leads to consumers mining for groundwater, lowering the water table, which has a wide range of detriments (though it’s beneficial in the case of waterlogged regions, where the high water content makes cultivation impossible). The scarcity of clean water comes from 5 major independent sources:
1) Leaching of fertilizers and dumping of industrial waste directly into water bodies. Without proper treatment, this becomes unfit for consumption, or even fishing. The destruction of Manchar lake in Sindh has been a detestable chapter of this tale.
2) Water mafias collaborating with local administrations for profit, ‘hoarding’ public water and selling at much higher rates in tankers.
3) Lack of adequate storage facilities to counter drought in high-risk areas.
4) Lack of irrigation facilities for the more arid regions. A good example is the Thal canal (completed during the twilight of British rule) that irrigates much of the Thal desert. Similar procedures are needed for the Thar, Cholistan and Kharan regions.
5) Failure to build barrages and dams as per the Indus water treaty means there is pressure from India, as the neighbour rushed to fulfil its obligations.
Water is billed to be a strategic hotspot in the coming decades. For all reasons known to common sense, it needs to be conserved and well managed. A national Water Policy needs to be drawn up, with the Water and Power ministry (declared the worst of federal ministries as per a report of IPRI, a Pakistani think-tank) responsible for management.
Control of industrial effluent, fertilizer discharge, etc is also required. Lead and mercury are in particularly high concentrations, especially in the Indus Delta regions. Surveys inland are alarming as well, more due to household and municipal waste, such as in the Degh Nullah (Lahore), Leh Nullah (Rawalpindi) and tributaries near Kasur. Besides being a threat to public health and river life, the clutter has despoiled the country view. If Pakistan has to make it as a tourism industry, implementation of the existing regulations would prove adequate. Like in most cases, industrial pressure groups and a lack of will have colluded to evade regulation so far.
Climate monitoring and environmental impact assessment need much development. The field faces a dearth of environmental experts, consultants, and instruments. It can only be hoped that improvement in this sector is one of the adventitious outcomes of the CPEC, similar to the recent decision to upgrade weather monitoring systems.
Deforestation, particularly the lack of control over it, has stripped Pakistan of hundreds of square kilometres of forest. The present amount and management of national parks is highly inadequate. An example, in this case, is the Deosai National Park. Opened in 1993 with high hopes of being a signature park, it has since then fallen into disarray. According to reports, the burden falls almost entirely on the officials assigned there, who collaborate with poachers and loggers. More strict control, with cross-checking, is required for such parks, which can be an asset as Pakistan looks forward to international tourism. The recent inception of the Green Pakistan Programme, if well enforced, managed and maintained, is a step in the right direction.
The Zoological survey department (ZSP) of the MOCC handles conservation-related studies and has been successful to a limited degree in increasing numbers of iconic animals such as the Markhor and Urial, with controlled trophy hunting contributing to the communities where these are found. However, this study has been limited to one or two sanctuaries a year, such as the Chumbi Surla sanctuary in Chakwal. There is a need for greater scale in these operations, as well as the inclusion of river (especially the River dolphin, Bhulan) and wetland communities in the studies.
Probably the most disappointing facet of this issue is the dearth of community involvement. There is little impetus provided in educational institutions to participate in conservation efforts. A possible way this could be enforced is through compulsory, short summer camps focusing on the development of technical and interpersonal skills, with environmental conservation and internships at national parks included. Bringing NGOs and CBOs into the national conservation program can promote implementation, and accelerate data collection due to local manpower. Social media tools can be easily employed to this end.
While environmental management usually takes a backseat in the priority list of most countries, it must be stressed here that Pakistan will inevitably fall prey to changing seasons, which would affect crop cycles (no farmer would like rain during harvest). As an agro-based economy, Pakistan has to take environment as long-term policy hotspot and enforce programs with definite budgets and time-frames. If Pakistan is to indutrialise, proper environmental law enforcement is required unless we intend to drain our abode down the U-bend. It must also be noted that our country boasts of probably every possible type of ecosystem region (except rainforests, probably) in a small area of 800,000 square kilometres. There is great tourism potential if well-managed with proper infrastructure. Managing the environment would increase Pakistan’s value as a tourist destination.
