National Sustainable Development Strategy Pakistan- draft.doc

7/29/2019 National Sustainable Development Strategy Pakistan- draft.doc

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Pakistan National Sustainable Development Strategy

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Pakistan National

Sustainable

Development Strategy

Pathway to aSustainable

Pakistan

May, 2012


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Pakistan National Sustainable

Development StrategyPathway to a Sustainable

Pakistan

May 2012

The Lead Author for the Pakistan NSDS is Malik Amin Aslam Khan (SeniorAdvisor UNDP and Former Minister of State for Environment) Support Author:

Ms. Amber Pervaiz (UNDP)

The work builds upon, and duly acknowledges, previous work done on the NSDS

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by SDPI (Sustainable Development Policy Institute) and Dr. Mohammad Aslam(Consultant) in 2009.

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary..... 5

1. Sustainable Economic Growth. 9

1.1. Population Dynamics and Sustainability1.2. Agricultural Productivity and Food Security1.3. Energy for Sustainable Development1.4. Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP)1.5. Trade for Sustainable Development1.6. Water Resource Management1.7. Industrial Production1.8. Sustainable Tourism for Growth and Development1.9. Green Economy Fuelled by Green Jobs

2. Environmental Sector .

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2.1. Environmental Sustainability2.2. Overall Environmental Governance2.3. Air Quality and Pollution2.4. Water Pollution and Quality Deterioration2.5. Solid and Hazardous Waste Management2.6. Forestry and Land Degradation2.7. Biodiversity Protection

3. The Emerging issue of Climate Change and Sustainable Develop-ment ..33

3.1. The Pakistan Context3.2. The Economics costs of Adaptation and Sustainable Development3.3. Potential Climate Mitigation and overlaps with Sustainable Development in Pak-istan3.4Carbon Market in Pakistan Financing Sustainable Development3.5Institutional Response to Climate Change in Pakistan

4. Social Sector

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4.1. Poverty Eradication4.2. Gender Equality and Women Empowerment4.3. Food Security4.4. Health and Sustainable Development4.5. Education for Sustainable Development

4.6. Water Supply and Sanitation4.7. Social Protection

5. Implementation Mechanism..54

5.1. Elements of Success

5.2. The overall driver A Framework for Action

5.3. Institutional Framework for Implementation

5.4. Means of Implementation

5.5. Monitoring of Implementation

List of Figures:

FIGURE 1: PAKISTAN'S GROWTH MODEL (2011) .................................................................................................11

FIGURE 2: HIGH POPULATION GROWTH

SOURCE: PAKISTANS NATIONAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2003.................................................12

FIGURE 3: POPULATION TRENDS IN PAKISTAN (PAST AND PROJECTED) .................................................13

FIGURE 4: PER CAPITA GDP GROWTH AND POVERTY HEAD COUNT, 1997-2005......................................13

FIGURE 5: ANNUAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION ( SOURCE: PAKISTAN ECONOMIC SURVEY 2010-2011)

..............................................................................................................................................................................................17

FIGURE 6: FOREST COVER IN PAKISTAN, 1990-2005............................................................................................35

FIGURE 7: ..........................................................................................................................................................................37

FIGURE 8: THREATS TO ECOSYSTEMS IN PAKISTAN........................................................................................39

FIGURE 9: A GENERALIZED ADAPTATION COST CURVE.................................................................................42

FIGURE 10: GHG EMISSIONS OF PAKISTAN (1994 2008)...................................................................................44

FIGURE 11: TOTAL GHG EMISSIONS 2011-50 (NEEDS, 2010)...............................................................................45

FIGURE 12: POVERTY HEAD-COUNT RATE IN PAKISTAN................................................................................52

FIGURE 13: THE TEN-CORE GREEN ACTION AGENDA........................................................................... ........ ..67

List of Tables:

TABLE 1: COST OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN PAKISTAN..........................................................28

TABLE 2: ANNUAL COST OF URBAN AIR POLLUTION HEALTH IMPACTS (BILLION RS.)......................30

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TABLE 3: SOURCES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE........................................................................................................33

TABLE 4: FOREST SERVICES: ANNUAL DEFORESTATION COST (MILLION RS.).......................................36

TABLE 5: PAKISTANS RANKING IN THE GERMAN-WATCH CLIMATE INDEX..........................................41

TABLE 6: TOP 10 NATURAL DISASTERS IN PAKISTAN (NEEDS, 2011)......................................................41

TABLE 7: ESTIMATES OF ADAPTATION COSTS PER ANNUM (2010-2040), (NEEDS, 2011).........................43

TABLE 8: SECTOR-WISE GHG EMISSIONS 2011 2050 (NEEDS, 2010)..............................................................45

TABLE 9: SECTOR WISE DISTRIBUTION OF PAKISTANS CDM PROJECT (MOE, 2010)............................46

TABLE 10: PAKISTAN: SOCIAL PROTECTION AND POVERTY RELATED EXPENDITURE (BILLION

RUPEES), 2003-2009..........................................................................................................................................................61

TABLE 11: PNSDS ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION (IISD, 2006).......................................65

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Executive Summary:Sustainable development has been defined1 as development that meets the needs ofthe present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their ownneeds. One of the central themes of this concept entails balancing the economic,social and environmental objectives of society the three dimensions of sustainabledevelopment integrating them wherever possible, through mutually supportivepolicies and practices, and making trade-offs where it is not possible. A strategicapproach to sustainable development implies new ways of thinking and requires policychanges in many sectors and ensuring coherence between them.

The Pakistan National Sustainable Development strategy (PNSDS) lays out an adaptive

system that can be continuously improved, through regular updates and responds toevolving challenges. The focus has been on integrating not only across the economic,social and environment al sectors, but also integrating the goals with the currentdevelopment paradigm and policies with the aim of directing it on to a moresustainable pathway.

The overall context of development and growth inPakistan:

The dilemma faced by Pakistan is typical of countries on the high growth curve, whichis to choose between economically growing first and then environmentally cleaning

up later or deciding on the more sustainable, and prudent, but erroneously attractive,option of preventing or mitigating environmental damage while developing. The issuesof unregulated growth including; unplanned and rapid urbanization, untenable pressureon natural resources such as forests and water, heavy dependence on the finite fossilfuel based energy, air and water pollution, all are demanding rethink. The GreenEconomy model, being currently framed globally, is a response to this challenge.

Within the above context, it is to consider that economic growth and development inPakistan over the past decade has faced certain unique and unprecedented challenges.

These include:

The countrys unintended presence as a front line state engaged and im-

pacted by the global war against terrorism. Dealing with millions of InternallyDisplaced People (IDPs) springing as an offshoot of the internal conflict, unrestand insurgencies, fuelled by the countrys continued war engagement

Facing up to a string of mega-natural disasters, most of them climatechange triggered,including two devastating floods in 2010 and 2011, three majorcyclones hitting the southern coast2 and the horrific earthquake which shooknorthern parts of Pakistan in 2005.

All of these have dampened and drained the countrys economic growth and directlythreatened and eroded its sustainability. It is, thus, no surprise that the past threeyears has seen Pakistan going through an unsteady phase with the economic growth

1 The 1987 Brundtland Report2 1999, 2007 and 2010

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averaging a meager 2.6 percent as compared to 5.3 percent in the past eight years-reflecting a slowing growth momentum for the countrys economy.

In addition to the above-mentioned extraneous, and mostly unavoidable andunwarranted challenges, Pakistans economic growth is beset with large inefficiencies,particularly in the water, agriculture and energy sectors, which are putting avoidableand undue stress upon its natural resource base.

Economic Challenges:

Economic progress, in any developing country, is the main pillar of development. InPakistans particular case, the model for economic progress and growth is marred witha number of inefficiencies in the important water, energy and agricultural sectors.Overall, it is challenged by the exponentially high population growth, rapidurbanization, weakly regulated industrialization, political un-stability and move towardsconsumerism all of which further drain an already strained economy. All these

challenges are elaborated in the PNSDS.

Pakistans inefficient economy, ironically, also provides an inherent opportunity toreverse these trends through, mostly, win-win options and shift the countrys economicgrowth towards a sustainable pathway. This pathway is defined in the PNSDS, througha number of strategic goals.

Strategic goals:The sectoral sections of the PNSDS enlist the detailed strategic goalspertaining to each particular challenge. The focused green action plan provides thestrategic direction that can lead towards a greening of the, traditionally, pro-pooreconomic growth model used by Pakistan.

Promoting cleaner production and sustainable consumption patterns in so-ciety

Targeting reversal of inefficiencies in water, energy and agriculture sec-tors

Internalizing true environmental costs in all economic decision making toincentivize eco-friendly investments as well as generate green jobs.

Environmental Challenges:

Pakistan faces serious environmental problems, most of which can be attribute to

accelerating economic and demographic growth that have put acute pressure on thecountrys natural resource base, especially land and water, and significantly increasedlevels of local pollution. Thus, natural resource degradation and pollution, especially inurban areas, are the core environmental challenges facing the country.

Unless the management of natural resources isimproved and pollution levels reduced,they could easily jeopardize sustainable economic growth as is evident by the costs ofenvironmental degradation estimated at 6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per year.Integrating environmental concerns into the mainstream development process canassist in identifying and capitalizing upon the positive linkages between economicgrowth and environmental protection, and push the countrys development towards asustainable trajectory. Only this can address issues such as the unsustainable patterns

of consumption and production, resource exploitation and mismanagement, lack ofwaste management treatment and disposal, unsustainable forest management,

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mismanagement of scarce water and energy resources, air and water pollution, andindustrial and hospital waste and curbing climate change. All of these constitute anavoidable stress on the economy.

The climate change issue, however, is adding an additional and inescapable stressupon managing environmental sustainability.

Strategic Goals: The environment section enlists detailed strategic goals foraddressing air and water pollution, land degradation and forestry/land issues, wastemanagement, improving environmental governance and protection of the countrysunique biodiversity. The overall focus is on safeguarding the environment by:

Conserving biodiversity (gene, specie and ecosystem diversity) and man-aging natural landscape

Enhancing the life support system by addressing air and water pollutionand reducing ecological footprint of growth.

Strengthen prepardness for climate change and its accompanying uncer-

tainties through comprehensive adaptation and mitigation.

Social Challenges:

Sustainable development, in Pakistan, has to be translated into promotion of pro-pooreconomic growth that is also environmentally sensitive. The social developmentchallenges for Pakistan include; achieving high and sustained broad-based economicgrowth , providing essential social services and infrastructure to the poor and most-vulnerable; creating job opportunities, and improving the overall governance foreffective delivery.

Strategic Goals: In this context, the PNSDS through detailed strategic goals,highlights the need to improve the overall governance in the country and addresses thechallenges of delivery of services like health and education to the people andencompasses the promotion of targeted social support policies and programs leading toreducing the inequalities and also leading to improvement in food security, energysecurity or security against natural and man made calamities and emergencies. Theprimary focus is on establishing a just and progressive society, as outlined in theGreen Action Agenda through :

Alleviation of poverty and promoting equity amongst society Providing universal coverage of basic needs, particularly, food, health and

education and social security Extending social protection and safety for the poorest and most vulnerable Productively enabling the youth bulge of the country

Climate Change and Sustainable Development inPakistans context:

Climate change directly and very strongly impinges upon sustainable development inPakistan. It poses a major threat, directly as well as indirectly, to food, water andenergy security and livelihoods in the country. In addition, coastal and marine

environment, agriculture and livestock sector, forests/land and biodiversity and healthare other areas that will be seriously affected, as the climate induced melting of

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glaciers, cyclonic storm surges, tropical diseases epidemics, flash floods, droughts andvariable monsoons turn into an inevitable reality for Pakistan.

It, thus, comes as no surprise that the cost estimates for bearing and adapting to futureclimate impacts range in the U$ 6billion to U$ 14 billion per year range for Pakistanover the next 40 year horizon3. These figures re-enforce the inescapable linkagebetween climate impacts and sustaining future development in the country and theneed to not only integrate these into future planning but also develop a comprehensiveadaptation plan to control the costs and associated risks in the future.

Along with the impacts and threats, climate change also provides an opportunity forundertaking a number of win-win options that can lead to a low carbon development inthe country and also extend other benefits such as energy and water security andbenefits from improvement of local environmental conditions. The carbon market is aneffective financing mechanism that can be leveraged for this purpose.

Strategic Goals: A number of strategic goals have been enlisted in the climatechange chapter with the overall aim of preparing the country to adapt to this

unavoidable future reality through measures such as vulnerability mapping, communitybased adaptation and undertaking future climate resilient development especially forthe infrastructure sector.

Moreover, the goals provide for undertaking steps to grow along a low carbon trajectorythat is in line with national development priorities such as energy conservation andrenewable energy promotion, while suggesting an institutional framework, driventhrough a National Climate Change Fund, to facilitate and finance such activities.

Implementation Strategy:

To ensure an effective implementation of the PNSDS, the enlisted strategic goals aretranslated into a focused agenda, transgressing at all three levels of nationalgovernance along with an accountability structure. In this regards, the PNSDS hasidentified ten core program areas under a Green Action Agenda within the threeinterlocked and globally agreed development dimensions.

Institutional framework: To facilitate the achievement of this agenda, thestrategy has outlined a three level institutional framework at the federal,provincial and local levels that is based upon the existing national frameworkwith its current readjustments in the post-18th Constitutional Amendmentscenario.

The framework is spearheaded at the federal level by a N-SDC (NationalSustainable Development Commission) and it is proposed that the existing high-powered Pakistan Environmental Protection Council (PEPC) may be transformedinto this body. It provides an overarching coordinating body that extends astrategic focus to sustainable development activities in the country. At theprovincial level it is linked to a P-SDC (Provincial SD Commission) and then at thedistrict level with a L-SDC (Local SD Commission), which are responsible fordeveloping and implementing projects as well as periodically tracking theimplementation progress.

Means of implementation: The above-mentioned institutional framework,driven by the action agenda, will also require other facilitating factors to create a

enabling environment for implementation, which have been outlined in the3 Aslam, Malik Amin et al, Pakistan Climate NEEDS Study (2011), UNFCCC publication, Bonn.

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PNSDS. These include; a possible dedicated financing mechanism, capitalizinghuman and institutional capacity, incorporating targeted incentives, ensuringaccountability,transparency and efficiency, providing a legal backing to thePNSDS, enacting a science and innovation support network and finally leveragingcivil society and private sector support to ensure success of the strategy.

Monitoring progress for success: Additionally, a comprehensive process formonitoring supported by a feedback mechanism that can incorporate positivelearning and ensure continuous improvement has been added. This include;s theprovisions for annual progress and implementation reporting at provincial andlocal levels, generating three yearly global reports at federal level and regularupdates and evolutionary improvement of the PNSDS after every three years.

Finally, in implementing the PNSDS, the challenge is to evolve, and not rigidly impose asystem that can effectively reset the countrys development and growth trajectory onto a more sustainable pathway. There should be continued support and policy shifttowards sustainable development concerns, through a network of institutions in linewith the prioritized needs of the country and the evolving global agenda.

Chapter 1.

SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH

"Our foot is stuck on the accelerator and we are heading towards an abyss.""Our foot is stuck on the accelerator and we are heading towards an abyss."

(Ban Ki Moon, 2009)(Ban Ki Moon, 2009)

1. Sustainable Economic Growth

The economic dimensions, being the main engine of growth as well as povertyreduction, are central to the promotion of sustainable development. Within this context,the dilemma faced by Pakistan is typical of countries on the high growth curve which isto choose between economically growing first and then cleaning up later or decidingon the more sustainable, and prudent, but erroneously attractive, option of preventingor mitigating environmental damage while developing. A lot of countries that have tried

the former growth model are now paying a heavy cost for halting and reversing thetrends of environmental degradation deemed necessary to ensure a satisfactory andsustainable quality of life.

Moreover, it is becoming apparent that there is no assurance that a country can simplygrow out of environmental or social problems with economic gains. The issues ofunregulated growth including; unplanned and rapid urbanization, untenable pressureon natural resources such as forests and water, heavy dependence on the finite fossilfuel based energy, air and water pollution all are demanding a global rethink. TheGreen Economy model, being currently framed globally, is a response to thischallenge and an effort to develop an economic growth model which is environmentallyand socially sustainable and can reverse the alarming trends of global growth which are

resource inefficient and beyond the globes eco capacity. In the most recent focalpolicy titled Framework for Economic Growth (2011), Pakistan has made an attempt

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to define its growth along the social (focus on youth and community development),environmental (quality of governance, sustainable cities) and economic (marketsdevelopment, governance improvements) aspects and with an overall focus towardsadvancing the quality of life for its citizens.

Figure 1: Pakistan's Growth Model (2011)4

Within the above context, it has to be appreciated that economic growth anddevelopment in Pakistan over the past decade has faced certain unique andunprecedented challenges. These include:

The countrys unintended presence as a front line state engaged and im-

pacted by the global war against terrorism. Dealing with millions of InternallyDisplaced People (IDPs) springing as an offshoot of the internal conflict, unrestand insurgencies, fuelled by the countrys continued war engagement

Facing up to a string of mega-natural disasters, most of them climatechange triggered,including two devastating floods in 2010 and 2011, three majorcyclones hitting the southern coast5 and the horrific earthquake which shooknorthern parts of Pakistan in 2005.

All of these have dampened and drained the countrys economic growth and directlythreatened and eroded its sustainability. It is, thus, no surprise that the past threeyears has seen Pakistan going through an unsteady phase with the economic growth

averaging a meager 2.6 percent as compared to 5.3 percent in the past eight years-reflecting a slowing growth momentum for the countrys economy.In addition to the above-mentioned extraneous, and mostly unavoidable andunwarranted challenges, Pakistans economic growth is beset with large inefficiencies,particularly in the water, agriculture and energy sectors, which are putting avoidableand undue stress upon its natural resource base. These inherent inefficiencies areoutlined in the sections below and clearly show that there is both a potential, as well asurgent need, to improve the eco-efficiency of the economic system in Pakistan.Ironically, these economic inefficiencies also provide the silver lining on the growthcloud and a win-win opportunity to shave off costs while producing more with lessresources and reduced ecological impact.

4 Framework for Economic Growth, (2011), GOP document.5 1999, 2007 and 2010

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Within the above context, following are the major challenges faced by the country in itsquest to strategize towards sustainable economic development:

1.1. Population Dynamics and Sustainability

Context: There is a strong, and undeniable,

link between population and sustainabledevelopment6. Pakistans current populationis estimated to be 176.9 million and isprojected to reach over 350 million by 2050,thus, further burdening the countrysalready fragile economy and puttingmounting pressure upon its already scarceand depleting natural resources. Thisburgeoning and growing population posesthe most serious challenge to any futureeconomic and environmental sustainability.

According to the Pakistans Framework forEconomic |Growth, as population has grownexponentially it has become evident that thecorresponding levels of poverty have alsoincreased in Pakistan.

Issues and Trends: According to Vision2030 ,Pakistan is projected to become thefifth largest country by 2030, with apopulation ranging between 230 and 260million people, with almost 60 percent livingin urban areas. Whereas Pakistans per

capita GDP (at constant market prices of2005) is expected to nearly quadruple by 2030, advancing from Rs.43,000 in 2005 toRs.164,000 in 2030. This is based on average annual growth rates of 7% and 1.4% inGDP and population respectively. These projected figures point towards trends ofexponential population growth as well as increasing urbanization. Already, Pakistan isthe fastest urbanizing country within South Asia (Figure-1). Pakistan fully recognizesthe links between population dynamics and sustainable development as population andeconomic growth are driving consumption in Pakistan and will continue to do so asmillions of consumers put additional demand for goods and services.

6 Identified in Principle 8 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.

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Figure 2: High Population GrowthSource: Pakistans National Human Devel-

opment Report 2003


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Figure 3: Population Trends in Pakistan (Past and Projected) 7

Another trend within this sector is that currently, Pakistans 50 per cent population isbelow 20 years of age and over 60 per cent below 30 years creating a massive youthbulge. Rising unemployment is creating an economic disconnect and impeding anypositive and sustainable reinforcements from this trend. It is essential to reap thisdemographic dividend by productively engaging and utilizing this huge potential workasset present in Pakistan otherwise, it could further burden the economy with a risingliability.

As the income levels grow in Pakistan, it is important to inculcate a consciousness forthe environment and not follow the high consumption and wasteful pattern of growth.

Strategy:

Undertake urgent measures to control the exponential growth in population.

Ensure universal access to food, health and education for this huge population,particularly focusing on the disadvantaged children and undertake measures for ef-fective family planning.

Focus on empowerment of women through education and awareness raising aswell as removing discrimination barriers to ensure productive integration of womentowards economic development.

Regulate and direct the in-creasing urbanization by focus-ing on making cities more sus-tainable and the engines ofgrowth, as also outlined in theFramework for EconomicGrowth (2011).

Undertake focused pro-grams for the burgeoning youthin the country through educa-tion and technical training pro-

grams as well as creating job7 Framework for Economic Growth, 2011, GoP Document

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Figure 4: Per Capita GDP Growth and PovertyHead Count, 1997-2005


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opportunities to productively enable the youth bulge increasingly present in Pak-istan.

Invest in people and develop their skill sets to enable them to aid, and not im-pede the countrys development.

1.2. AGRICULTURE PRODUCTIVITY AND FOOD SECURITY

Context: Agricultural sector has traditionally been a vital source of economic growthfor Pakistan generating about 21% of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP),employing over 50% of the rural labor force while accounting for 60% to 70% of exports.However, it faces serious challenges such as decreased availability of irrigation water,deteriorating soil health due to water logging and salinity and deterioration of thequality of sub-soil water all of which is alarmingly coinciding with a population ledexponential growth in demand. Additionally, a substantial amount of fertile farmland is

being increasingly lost to urbanization and waterlogging. All of this is increasinglyleading to not only food scarcity, but also food inflation that is alarmingly following theglobal trends of high food inflation.

Issues and trends: The agricultural sector has lost significant growth momentumslowing down to 2.7 percent in the last decade as against 4.4 percent in 1990s and 5.4percent in the 1980s. Alongside the structural and weak governance problems, themajor crops have also been the victim of climate change triggered natural calamities8

during the last few years. Thus, three out of last four years witnessed negative growthin the major crop sector. The livestock sector, having 55.1 percent stake in theagricultural sector, was also impacted by the massive floods and witnessed reduced

growth at 3.7 % in 2010-11 as compared to 4.3 % in 2009. The Fishery sector,however, grew by 1.9 percent in 2010-11 as against 1.4 percent growth in 2009 whilethe forestry sector has experienced negative growth of 0.4 percent in 2010-11 ascompared to positive growth of 2.2 percent in 2009.

Pakistans agricultural performance is heavily dependent upon availability of irrigationwater, that facing reduction in amount and quality. As against the normal surface wateravailability at canal heads of 103.5 million acre feet (MAF), the overall (both for Kharifand Rabi crops) water availability has been 20 percent below normal in 2010-11. TheGreen Revolution in Pakistan increased yields through use of high responsive crop

8 The floods in July 2010 destroyed two major crops, i.e. rice and cotton, an area of 2.364 million hectares

under Kharif crops 2010 was damaged.

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Source: Pakistan Framework for Eco-nomic Growth 2011


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varieties. However, an offshoot of this revolution was that it also increased the level ofenvironmental pollution by intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.Significantly, such practices have lead to nitration of water, contamination and soilsalination, as well as being the source for various respiratory diseases all negativelyimpacting on agricultural growth. The agriculture sector in Pakistan is also beset with

inefficiencies both in the use of irrigation water as well as fertilizers.

The overall trend created by these inefficiencies of use coupled with the continuedstress on agricultural production and exponentially rising population demand is leadingto a serious challenge in terms of sustaining food security in Pakistan. The NationalNutrition Survey 2011 for Pakistan, states that since 2006 food insecure population hasincreased by 12 million, while the number of severely food insecure population hasrisen from 9.6 million to 45.3 million that is 28% of the population. Also, the UN inanother study has tabulated that in 2008 almost 51% of the population (72 million)survived at less than 2100 calories per day.

Strategy:

The Government will aim for plugging the inefficiencies within the agriculturalsector and focus on both diversification and modernization to ensure food security.

Both public and private investments, as well as partnerships need to be encour-aged to strengthen the research and extension system for developing and dissemi-nating efficient technologies and practices.

Strengthen science-based organizations and technology innovations in order toenhance basic agronomic and climatic research into new varieties and climate re-silient crops and to reduce the high level of post-harvest losses, and employ envi-ronmentally- sound multi-cropping and crop management practices.

The unregulated urbanization of fertile agricultural land needs to be urgentlycontrolled through targeted legislation, responsive urban planning and strict en-forcement.

Foreign direct investment in agriculture would be promoted through CorporateAgriculture Farming (CAF). Besides investment CAF would also bring environmentalfriendly technologies in Pakistan and lead to benefits of economies of scale.

Aggressively promote sustainable production in agriculture through diffusion ofappropriate technologies such as water conserving irrigation technologies, improv-

ing water storage/distribution and water harvesting, encouraging on farm watermanagement, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated Nutritional Man-agement.

Improve process efficiency through minimizing waste (and managing biologicaleffluent disposal).

Encourage access to export markets through improved transport and infrastruc-ture facilities, transportation and facilitating packaging and labeling that is able tomeet requisite international standards.

The concept of organic farming needs to be encouraged along with biologicalcontrol of pests through IPM techniques, rational use of agrochemicals as well as

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promotion of indigenous and non-hybrid variety of seeds.

Genetically modified seeds will be only promoted through a properly regulatedprocess of approval, application and monitoring.

Soil fertility management, rehabilitation of degraded lands and desertificationcontrol would be given high priority.

Livestock production would be increased through intensive investment in re-search to produce new high yielding breeds.

Short term targeted interventions would be developed to support vulnerablegroups in years of crop failure owing to natural calamities.

Government would develop an effective legislative infrastructure to tackle issuesof land disputes and to reduce the cost of litigation.

Aim for doubling of output of several crops, pulses, oilseeds horticulture, live-stock and fisheries production exclusively through productivity increases.

Shift the pattern of production towards higher value-added activities.

Increase production and appropriate application of fertilizers.

Ensure uninterrupted and prioritized energy supply for agriculture at subsidizedrates to ensure productivity increases and improve the food security in the country.

1.3. ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:

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Context: Access and availability of affordable energy is the most essential componentfor fuelling development and, subsequently, for eradication of poverty. Sustainableenergy accessibility is, thus, considered central to sustainable economic growth. Facingconsistent shortfalls of energy, Pakistan needs a special focus on this sector as thelosses arising from power and gas shortages alone have affected 3-4 percentage of

GDP in 2011-2012. The energy deficit, in both electricity and gas, has directlyimpacted the industrial growth in the country. It has not only directly crippled thecountrys economic growth but also, indirectly impacted the health and educationsectors as well as impeding the potential growth of cottage industries and smallbusinesses.

Issues and Trends: Pakistan energy mix is comprised of gas, oil, electricity and liquidpetroleum gas (LPG) with different levels of shares. The share of gas consumption is43.9 percent in total energy mix, followed by oil 27.9 percent, electricity 15.6, coal 11percent and LPG 1.5 percent. There has been an increase of 7.7 percentage points innatural gas consumption during 2009-10 compared to 2004-5, where as share of oilconsumption declined by 8.6 percentage points during 2010-11. The changing trend in

energy consumption mainly of gas and oil is due to raising cost of exported fuel (oil) ascompared to cheaper gas source. Also, the share of coal and Liquid Natural Gas (LNG)consumption increased slightly and that of electricity remained the same as it was in2004-05. The shift of energy consumption towards indigenous resources saved theconsiderable amount of foreign reserve during the period. During the period 2001-02 to2009-10, the consumption of petroleum products has increased by an average of 1.3percent per annum. There has been increase in gas, electricity and coal consumptionaveraging 6 percent, 4.9 percent and 9.1 percent per annum, Consumption ofpetroleum and gas increased by 2.8 percent and that of coal increase substantially by10.29 percent during 2010-11.

Figure 5: Annual Energy Consumption ( Source:Pakistan Economic Survey 2010-2011)

Pakistan aims to shift its primary energy mix from natural gas to hydel, coal andalternative and renewable energy sources. Pakistan will face large energy deficit duringnext 15 years, if it continues with business as usual scenario. This would imply thatthe major portion of this deficit would have to be met through imports of hydrocarbons,which will be unaffordable for Pakistans limited foreign exchange.

To avoid the imports of hydrocarbons, Pakistan will have to increase the share of coal-based generation and at the same time mainstream renewable energy and greater use

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of indigenous resources in its energy mix, thus reducing countrys dependency on anysingle source, especially hydrocarbons. Based on the estimates there is approximately185 billion Mtons of coal which is equivalent to around 617 billion barrels of crude oil(asset worth $US 30 trillion) will be enough to provide over 20,000 MW of electricity fora period of 40 years).

The current total Pakistans total energy consumption stands at 63.1 million tons of oilequivalent in 2009-10. The present total primary energy consumption of 55 MTOE isexpected to rise to 360 MTOE by 2030. The energy growth is envisaged at 7.2 per centup to 2010 and 8.8 per cent thereafter, with the total energy need of 361 MTOE by2030.

Strategy:

Radical shift towards energy policy focusing, on self-reliance and diversifying theenergy mix.

Urgent deployment of renewable energy technologies (RETs), so that RE providesa higher targeted proportion of the national energy supply mix, this will also reduce

the use of hydrocarbons.

Provide additional power supplies to help meet increasing energy demand in thecountry.

Introduce investment-friendly incentives, and facilitate renewable energy mar-kets to attract private sector interest in RE projects, help nurture the nascent indus-try, and gradually lower RE costs and prices competition in an increasingly deregu-lated power sector.

Coal will be the next dominant indigenous resource in future energy mix, espe-cially for power generation. A focus is required on employing the best available

clean coal technologies and utilize financing options from the growing global car-bon market to finance the costs of employing such technologies.

Develop Increase indigenous production of natural gas to minimum of 5 BDFD by2022.

Alternative and renewable sources of energy should be targeted at 12 percent ofthe total energy mix by the year 2022. xx

Initiate and introduce financially attractive policies on renewable, to attract inter-national and domestic investors.

Restructuring of the power sector by strengthening the Ministry of Water andPower.

xx

1.4. SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION (SCP)

Context: To pursue sustainable economic growth in Pakistan ,there is a need to reducethe intensity of consumption. This can be achieved by reducing the material/resourceintensity of growth through the application of eco-efficiency standards, which will delink

the economic growth from materials, land and energy use, whereby the rate of theiruse needs to be less than the growth of the GDP achieved. The result of delinking, also

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known as decoupling, that is a more efficient use of resources. Nevertheless ,this isnot sufficient to achieve environmental sustainability, which ultimately requiresabsolute reductions in the use of energy and materials to reach the level ofdematerialized growth. Hence, if material consumption can be brought to such limits,economic growth could be guaranteed to be sustainable.

Strategy

Improve eco-efficiency by changing the production and consumption patterns andenabling the internalization of environmental costs into pricing mechanisms.

Strive to promote sustainable production system by decoupling the increase in re-source use from the rate of economic growth in the first phase and to follow it upwith dematerialized growth in the next phase.

Promote sustainable production system in industries by the use of economic instru-ments, incentives and disincentives and invoking polluter pays principle.

Enhance sustainable consumption by sensitizing end users/consumers on environ-mentally friendly choices through awareness raising, behavioral change and othermeasures such as eco-labelling, information disclosure, corporate rating system andstrengthening of consumer associations.

Improve the eco-efficiency of consumption in Pakistan by framing and implementa-tion of right policies and involvement of stakeholders, Government, business andentre as well as involvement of all stakeholders-Government, business and en-trepreneurs as well as consumers and civil society.

Implement appropriate policies could provide individual consumers to make environ-mentally friendly choices.

Sensitizing the end-users about the social benefits of sustainable consumptionchoices and encourage wider participation and confidence of stakeholders for itssuccess of the policies.

A point on strengthening Corporate Social Responsibility is requiredSomething about compliance with NEQs, enforcement, and EIAs?

1.5. TRADE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Context: Trade is an important instrument of growth and plays a pivotal role in

enhancing production and competitiveness of an economy. Growth, enhancedproduction and competitiveness leads to development of the country and generalimprovement in quality of life for the citizens. However, rapid growth andindustrialization can also pose serious threats to the environment, climate. To addressthis serious threat, the Doha Development Agenda strongly called for sustainabledevelopment and measures to protect the environment and climate. Hence, the focusis on developing in a manner where environment is not abused for its resources but isconsidered to be a vital characteristic of growth itself.

Issues and Trends: The sustainable trade issues of concerns to Pakistan can bedivided into two categories, the first include issues related to the production and exportof goods from the country and the other relates to the trade flows through imports.Both channels of trade are subject to meeting the environment and regulatory

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standards set through global regimes including the World Trade Organization (WTO)and other Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs ).

The country has to be guarded against the production of any export goods throughenvironmentally hazardous processes or the import of materials restricted through

various conventions to which Pakistan is a signatory such as Basel Convention,Convention for Interntional Trade of Endangered Species (CITIES), Genetically ModifiedOrganisms (GMOs) under Cartegna Protocol, UNFCCCC and import of Chloro-flouroCarbons (CFCs) under Montreal Protocol. Negligence to develop the crucial linkagesamong trade, investment and climate policies may impact Pakistan import and exportgoods for instance, restriction to enter the developed markets, shift in comparativeadvantage in agriculture sector with serious threat to food security, charges of ecodumping as well as degradation of domestic natural resources

Being cognizant of the above needs, the Government of Pakistan has taken severalpositive trade measures to promote sustainable trade and industrial production. Forexample, the duty on the import of environmental abatement equipments and

machineries has been reduced to help compliance with the National EnvironmentalQuality Standards (NEQs) and ISO 14000. The Government also provides 50%contribution in the processing fee, to the industries applying for ISO 14000 certification.

The Government also launched a program called Self Monitoring and Reporting Tool)(SMART) to monitor release of effluents and emissions from the industries. Also,Pakistan has developed product and process standards, such as NEQS, which are ofgreat relevance to the environment-trade interface.

Strategy

Better understanding and cohesion of trade, investment, industrial and legal frame-work and climate change policies would help to achieve the long term objective of

sustainable development.

Anti-environment/climate industrial and trade activities would be discouragedthrough fiscal measures.

Strengthen the private sector and upgrade its capacity.

Strengthen CDM Cell and help private sector to explore the opportunities of carbontrade in international market

Pursue financial assistance and technology transfer at international level to promoteclean technology in country to make the country more competitive in the interna-

tional market.

Promote green production and products in country and help the private sector to se-cure the international market.

1.6. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Context: The critical role of water in Pakistans sustainable development cannot beunderstated. Pakistan is one of the most water stressed countries in the world and israpidly heading towards becoming water scarce.9 Per capita water availability has

sharply declined from 2,900 m

3

in 1981 to around 1,100 m

3

in 2010 for a current9 A water stressed country has an annual per capita water availability of less than 1,700m3, while a water-scarce country

has an annual per capita water availability of less than 1,000m3.

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population of more than 160 million. This situation will worsen as the populationincreases. Based on current trends, it is likely that per capita water availability willdecline to around 800 m3 by 2025, which will make Pakistan a water scarce country.Effective future development and management of water resources therefore are vital toPakistan's overall economic development, food security and health of its population.

The country faces numerous challenges in the development and management of itsscarce water resources, including: increasing stress and decreasing water security,reducing water storage in the country, dilapidated infrastructure, an inadequateknowledge base, dependence on a single basin with no scope for additional water and adwindling water resource base, the potential threat of climate change, lack of financialsustainability, over exploitation and deteriorating quality of surface and ground water,poor governance, low water productivity, weakened institutions, low trust, weakinformation systems, and lack of strategic planning and poor management capacity.

Issues and Trends: It is quite evident that existing water resources would not be ableto fulfill the future rising demands for water. Pakistan is dependent on a single sourceof surface water, the Indus basin, particularly for agricultural irrigation10. However,Pakistan lacks adequate water storage facilities that can maximize the benefits from thewater availability. The existing water storage capacity in the Indus basin is only about12% with the existing reservoirs barely able to store 30 days of water which is low byinternational standards. Also, even this storage capacity is fast depleting due tosignificant sedimentation in the major reserviors.

Moreover, the current water use efficiency in irrigation is around 40% -- meaning thataround 60% of river water is lost in the system. To add to this inefficient utilization, thepotential impact of climate change is expected to have an enormous, and yetunpredictable, affects on Indus basin flows due to glacial melting and monsoonal shifts,both attribute to change in cliamte.

The groundwater abstraction for irrigation, drinking and industrial purposes hasexperienced a sharp increase, owing to substantial reduction in canal water suppliesand is fast approaching unsustainable limits.

In addition water pollution, both from municipal and industrial sources is also of graveconcern in Pakistan. The Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources (PCRWR)carried out a national water quality study in 2001, which indicated that the uncontrolleddischarge of industrial effluent has severely affected surface and groundwater,identifying the presence of lead, chromium and cyanide in groundwater samples inseveral locations across Pakistan. Consequently, only sixty-five percent of Pakistanspopulation is considered to have access to safe drinking water and the future

sustainability of the existing drinking water supply systems is also under extremestress.

The combination of poor coverage and quality of water supply and sanitation hassevere consequences for national health. In Pakistan, 25-30 percent of all hospitaladmissions are connected to water-borne bacterial and parasitic conditions, with 60percent of infant deaths caused by water infections. According to some estimates,more than 10,000 people die annually only of renal infection due to polluted water.

Strategy

Ensure the implementation of National Drinking Water Policy at all levels.

10 About 80% of the arable land and 90% of the agricultural output are entirely dependent on irrigation.

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Implement Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM)

Sustainable availability of water at macro and micro level through the equitable ac-cess to water resources. To ensure the sufficient and consistent availability of waterfor the agriculture, industry and domestic use.

Focus on the protection of watersheds, water-bodies and promotion of water conser-vation practices to ensure the adequate availability of water in future.

Increase coverage of water supply and water treatment facilities through the instal-lation of water treatment plants as an integral component of all drinking water sup-ply schemes to attain the objective of 93 percent coverage of population till 2015.

Employ a participatory approach in water management that will engage all stake-holders, particularly marginal groups like women and poor.

Low-cost water treatment technologies (also through bio-remediation) would be pro-

moted at the community and household levels. Point of use technologies would begiven special emphasis.

Appropriate rain water harvesting technologies and water re-use by at source segre-gation (grey and brown water) would be promoted in rural as well as urban areas.

Capacity building of major user groups and government agencies will be taken aspriority area rather than investment in infrastructure alone.

Government would construct medium and large size reservoirs to increase the stor-age capacity and reduce wastage of water within the system as well as to the sea.

xx XX

1.7. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION

Context: The Government of Pakistan recognizes environmental management andcleaner production as an opportunity to improve the efficiency of industrial sector. Tofacilitate this, the Government must provide an enabling environment includingaugmenting the science and technology apparatus of the private sector, bringingresearch institutions up to the international standards, and streamlining of technologycreation, absorption and diffusion systems to diversify production towards new and

clean technology-based industries.

Issues and Trends: Overall, the awareness of the environmental effects of industrialproduction in Pakistan is quite limited. Several cleaner production initiatives have beenundertaken in Pakistan in the past decade, primarily focusing on assessment of needs,energy audits, provision of technical assistance to the industry in adopting energyefficiency, promoting waste water recycling techniques and raising awareness ofcleaner production packages. Despite these initiatives, the manufacturing sector lacksknow-how and capacity for application of sustainable production technologies andawareness of the environmental impacts and potential financial benefits associatedwith them.

The National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) are intended to regulate thedischarge of industrial effluents to water bodies, however, in the absence of strong

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monitoring and enforcement, compliance is very low. It has been reported that inLahore, only 3 out of some 100 industries using hazardous chemicals treat theirwastewater adequately. In Karachi, two of the biggest industrial estates in Pakistanhave no effluent treatment plant, and effluent containing hazardous materials,including heavy metals, is discharged directly into the river and sea.

Strategy

Install Combined Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) in all major industrial areas.

Introduce and promote cleaner production incentives through market-based instru-ments including environmental taxes; user fees; polluter taxes, targeted subsidies;eco-labels etc.

Improve outdated and overlapping laws regarding the industrial sector and stream-line regulatory framework in tune with the needs for environmental regulation andcleaner production in the industrial sector.

Strengthen monitoring and reporting mechanisms. xx

1.8. SUSTAINABLE TOURISM FOR GROWTH DEVELOPMENT

Context: Sustainable tourism is a vital sector that has the potential to contribute tothe economic growth, development and employment creation while also leading to asustainable management and conservation of ecological resources as well as lifesupport systems.

Issues and Trends: Although the tourism sector, if efficiently managed, is consideredone the biggest income-generating sectors it remains under considerable stress inPakistan. The lack of adequate support infrastructure, poorly regulated resourceutilization (e.g. water consumption, waste generation and indiscriminate energy use),lack of initiatives to promote tourism, the destructive effects of natural disasters(earthquake and floods) particularly on tourist infrastructure, security challenges due tocountrys engagement in the war on terror in all the provinces especially KhyberPakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Sindh and Baluchistan, negative image portrayal of thecountry abroad, absence of entertainment options and other socio-cultural constraintsall impede the potential development of this promising sector in Pakistan.

Strategy:

Provide incentives to provinces to promote tourism and strengthen the existing poli-cies on tourism that can contribute to preserving the natural and cultural assets ofthe country as well as generating increased revenues for conservation.

Promote eco-tourism as well as sustainable adventure tourism in the country focus-ing on the national parks, protected areas as well as unique wetlands present in thecountry. An eco-tourism plan of action should be initiated and finalized to includethe provision of support infrastructure as well as focused marketing strategy espe-cially to niche customers.

The private sector should be encouraged and should take the lead for tourismdevelopment through a government regulated system that can ensure ecological

preservation. Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) should further bestrengthened by concentrating its activities in the marketing, promotion, and devel-

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opment of tourism.

Marketing efforts for tourism at cultural sites should also be identified and aggres-sively pursued.

The involvement of Pakistan embassies/missions abroad for tourism promotion tobe enhanced.

The tourism related legislation would be revised to reflect the growing needs ofeco-tourism.

Training in tourism services will be improved in collaboration with internationaltourism and hotel management institutes to create maximum job opportunities forlocals within this industry.

An emphasis will be placed on provision of landscape coherent physical infra-structure at tourist attractions will be enhanced and complemented with sustainableenvironmental improvement programs.

xxx

1.9. GREEN ECONOMY FUELLED BY GREEN JOBS:

Context: As the above has shown, Pakistans economy is beset with a lot ofinefficiencies but possesses the potential opportunity to not only slow-dowm, but alsodo so in a sustainable and cost effective manner. The concept of Green Economy,which is still under a defining debate at the global level, can become a reality inPakistan by tackling the resource inefficiencies within the water, energy and agriculturesectors as well as addressing the damaging trends of unregulated urbanization andrising unemployment. In order to make it politically palatable as well as implicitlysustainable it is essential that the concept get translated into possible green jobs thatcan be generated through a shift towards an alternate development pathway.

Trends and Issues: In recent years, areas such as clean and efficient technology,renewable energy, chemical and waste management, biodiversity based business, andsustainable cities, buildings, construction, and transport are attracting investments andemerging as the new engines of economic growth. They have also become avenues forcreating green jobs.

Green jobs are defined as work in agricultural, manufacturing, research anddevelopment (R&D), administrative, and service activities that contribute substantiallyto preserving or restoring environmental quality. Specifically, but not exclusively, thisincludes jobs that help to protect ecosystems and biodiversity; reduce energy,materials, and water consumption through high efficiency strategies; de-carbonize theeconomy; and minimize or altogether avoid generation of all forms of waste andpollution.

A UNEP11 report shows that at global level green jobs are now being generated in somesectors and economies and it is estimated that investment in low-greenhouse-gasenergy could well reach $1.9 trillion by 2020. Shifting patterns of investment flows intoareas from renewable energy generation to energy efficiency and pollution control

projects at the household and industrial level are creating avenues for generation of11 UNEP, 2008, Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable Low-Carbon World, Nairobi

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green jobs. Also, the bulk of documented growth in these jobs has so far occurredmostly in developed countries, along with some rapidly developing countries likeBrazil12 and China.

There is a tremendous scope for such initiatives and creation of green jobs in Pakistan,but this potential needs to be strategically identified, economically weighed and thenpolitically owned, to ensure its sustainability. One area where Pakistan has alreadyachieved great success in creating green jobs is CNG industry13.

Strategy:

Implement the commitment made in Vision 2030 to make employment andemployability, a central theme in economic and social policieswhile aiming forsustainable development.

Promote green investment and green jobs for the purpose as far as possible bycarrying out a scoping exercise for jobs in the various green initiatives.

Encourage the political buy-in of sustainable development strategies in the countryfocusing on the creation of new jobs through an alternate economy as an incentive.

Ministry of Disaster Management and United Nations organized consultative process for NSDS in allprovinces from 5 12 April 2012. Pakistans Economic Survey 2010-2011, pp.1 ibid, pp.25 Population andSustainability Network Rio+20 policy narrative,http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/content/documents/305SYNTHESIS%20REPORT-2.pdf Synthesis report onPakistans preparatory process for UNCSD 2012, pp.8-9 Pakistans Economic Survey 2010-11, Overviewof the Economy, pp.ix, HYPERLINK"http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey_1011.html"http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey_1011.html ibidIntegrated Energy Plan: 2009-2022, Report of the Energy Expert Group, March 2009 Integrated EnergyPlan: 2009-2022, Report of the Energy Expert Group, March 2009 Policy for Development of RenewableEnergy for Power Generation, 2006, GoP HYPERLINK"http://www.pc.gov.pk/Policies/PakistanREDevelopmentPolicy-Dec092006.pdf"http://www.pc.gov.pk/Policies/PakistanREDevelopmentPolicy-Dec092006.pdf Integrated Energy Plan:2009-2022, Report of the Energy Expert Group, March 2009, pp.17

Pakistan Infrastructure Implementation Capacity Assessment (PIICA), Nov 22, 2007, Report No. 41630-PK, South Asia Sustainable Development Unit (SASSD) South Asia Region

National Drinking Water Policy, 2009, Ministry of Environment UNWATER, IWRM Tourism Development,HYPERLINK "http://pc.gov.pk/mtdf/26-Tourism/26-Tourism%20Dev.pdf"http://pc.gov.pk/mtdf/26-

Tourism/26-Tourism%20Dev.pdf

12 Brazils bio-fuels sector has been creating nearly a million jobs a year13 Pakistan has made great strides in CNG retrofitting in just a few years. Today, it is the largest CNG con-

suming country among Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) countries. There were only 62 CNG stations in Pakistan

with only 60,000 CNG-converted vehicles in1999, which increased to 2700 CNG stations and 2.0 millionCNG vehicles with an investment of Rs. 70 billion according to Pakistan Economic Survey 2009. The in-dustry had already attracted investment of Rs 60 billion creating 60,000 jobs across the county in 2007.

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Chapter 2.

ENVIRONMENTAL SECTOR

2.1. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITYLike most other developing countries, Pakistan faces serious environmental problems,most of which can be attribute to accelerating economic and demographic growth thathave put acute pressure on the countrys natural resource base. The combination oflow aggregate income, widespread poverty, and inadequate provision of basic humanneeds has created pressure for rapid socio-economic development. This together withthe high rate of population growth continues to place already scarce natural resources,especially land and water, under extreme stress and has significantly increased levelsof local pollution. Thus, natural resource degradation and pollution, especially in urbanareas, are the core environmental challenges facing the country.

Given such internal pressures, it is not possible to place a higher priority, within theGovernments development agenda, on any objectives other than poverty eradication,human resource development, and general economic growth, as already outlined in theEconomics and Social chapters of this Strategy. Within this priority framework, the agri-culture and industrial sectors form the backbone of the countrys development strategywith a gradual switch occurring from the former toward the latter.

Unfortunately, both sectors are plagued by unchecked and unabated development thathas impinged upon the countrys limited resource base and considerably raised pollu-tion levels. For instance, industrial pollution combined with pollution from urban activi-ties creates an immediate threat to health and human welfare. Unless the managementof natural resources can be improved and pollution levels reduced, they could easily

jeopardize continuous economic growth. Any environmental focus or strategy needs tobe grounded in this reality and adequately correspond to and incorporate these needs.

To meet the associated challenges of efficient management and utilization of naturalresources, and control pollution growth, the country needs to integrate environmentalconcerns into the mainstream development process. This would assist in identifyingand capitalizing upon the positive linkages between economic growth and environmen-tal protection, and shift the countrys development onto a sustainable trajectory. Onlythis can address issues such as the unsustainable patterns of consumption and produc-tion, resource exploitation and mismanagement, lack of waste management treatmentand disposal, unsustainable forest management, mismanagement of scarce water and

energy resources, air and water pollution, and industrial and hospital waste.

In addition the rise in frequency and intensity of climate triggered natural disastershave added to the burden of managing environmental sustainability. The Governmentof Pakistan has, however remained cognizant of the challenges and has been takenpolicy and institutional initiatives towards effectively managing these issues. In thatrespect, a number of measures have been undertaken, such as developing acomprehensive legislation on environment replacing Environmental ProtectionOrdinance14, 1983 with the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act15, 1997 andapproving the National Environmental Quality Standards [NEQS] in 1993 for liquid,solids, and gaseous emissions, which were reviewed and revised in late 1990s inconsultation with the industry, environmental experts and other stakeholders to

14 Ordinance is a law enacted by President of Pakistan.15 Act is a law passed by the parliament.

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facilitate the implementation of these standards in Pakistan effectively. Some othermajor achievements and initiatives of the Government included; the development ofpolicies and strategies like National Environmental Policy (GoP, 2005a), NationalSanitation Policy (GoP, 2006a), Pakistan National Operational Strategy on CleanDevelopment Mechanism (GoP 2006b), Draft National Forest Policy (GoP, 2002),

Biodiversity Action Plan for Pakistan (GoP, 2000) and National Energy ConservationPolicy (2005b) etc.

Despite these initiatives, limited success was achieved for two reasons. Firstly becausethese polices, strategies and initiatives could not be integrated into overalldevelopment policies of the country, where environment is still considered as a sectorrather than a cross cutting issue. Secondly, Governments efforts alone,are not enoughand demand a much larger participation and support from other stakeholders including;industry, private sector, civil society, and public at large as well as donors. The countrythus continued to experience environmental degradation at a great loss during the lasttwo decades. The World Bank (2006) Country Strategic Environmental Report,monetizing these losses, states, The mean estimated cost of environmental and

natural resources damage is about 365 billion rupees per year in Pakistan or 6 per centof GDP. (See table below). This comes to loss of about a billion rupees a day.Moreover, this environmental degradation and the adverse economic and humanimpacts, in general, affecst the poor disproportionately as they have weaker capacity toinsulate themselves.

Table 1: Cost of Environmental Degradation in Pakistan

Type ofEnvironmental Damages Estimated Annual Costin Pak Rupees

Inadequate Water Supply, Sanitation &

Hygiene

112 Billion

Agricultural Soil Degradation 70 Billion

Indoor Pollution 67 Billion

Urban Air Pollution 65 Billion

Cost of Lead Exposure 45 Billion

Rangeland Degradation &Deforestation

6 Billion

Total 365 Billion

Source: World Bank (2006) Pakistan Strategic Country Environmental AssessmentReport

Overall Environmental Governance:Along with targeted sectoral interventions, outlined ahead, concise strategic steps

need to be taken to improve the overall environmental governance in the country andin this regard, the following steps are proposed:

Strategy:

Improve environmental governance at all levels and enhance community-levelenvironmental management by strengthening the capacity of union councils, tehsil

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municipal administration and district governments (local level).

An effective system to internalize the environmental costs in mainstream deci-sion making and the planning system in Pakistan needs to be encouraged throughundertaking the cost-benefit analysis of all development projects and leading to-

wards presenting of a green budget to include the true costs to the environmentin all budgetary decisions.

The recent enactment of Green Benches16 at all courts in Pakistan need to befacilitated and optimally utilized through institutionalized knowledge and legalsupport system for which a focused implementation plan will be developed.

The advice17 of including the environmental rights into the Constitution ofPakistan needs to be taken up by the elected bodies in the Senate and NationalAssembly of Pakistan and steps will be undertaken to facilitate that.

Pakistans environmental priorities encompass pollution issues, including; air, waterand land pollution, as well as issues of natural resource degradation, including;deforestation, land degradation as well as institutional and governance weaknesseswhich hamper environmental sustainability. The sector challenges are outlinedbelow:

2.2. AIR QUALITY AND POLLUTION

Context: Air Pollution, especially from suspended particulates, has shown an alarmingrise in most urban and industrial areas owing to rising and weakly regulated domestic,transport and industrial emissions. This air pollution primarily affects urban areas

where the high density of industrial and vehicular emissions is aggravated by low airdispersion. From the scanyt data that is available, a rapid decline in air quality is evi-dent in the rising incidence of associated health problems.

Issues and Trends:

Urban Air Pollution: Data on urban air quality in Pakistan is scarce but, nevertheless,alarming and with rising economic consequences. The limited information availableindicates that concentrations of particulate matter in most cities are already aboveacceptable levels for human health.

Vehicle emissions represent the greatest source of air pollution in the country, reflect-

ing the rapid and unregulated growth of vehicle use in Pakistan. Subsequently, motorvehicle emissions account for about 90 percent of total emissions of hydrocarbons(smog), aldehydes, and carbon monoxide, all of which have dangerous health implica-tions, especially in densely populated urban centers18. Meanwhile, an older surveyfound that only 3 percent of industrial plants treated their waste and effluents accord-ing to commonly accepted international standards19.

The absence of systematic air quality monitoring and poor enforcement of National En-

16 The Bhurban Declaration adopted on March 25th 2012 at the South Asian Judiciaries conference17 Speech of Chief Justice of Pakistan at the South Asian Judiciaries conference in Bhurban, March 201218 World Bank. 1996. Pakistan: Economic Policies, Institutions, and the Environment. South Asian

Region Report, World Bank.19 Brandon, C. 1995. Valuing Environmental Costs in Pakistan. The Economy-Wide Impact ofEnvironmental Degradation. Washington, DC: World Bank, Asia Technical Department.

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vironmental Quality Standards (NEQS) has resulted in an onerous situation. Resultsfrom some monitoring surveys conducted in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta,Rawalpindi and Islamabad by SUPARCO are presented in Figure 3.5. In this study, thehighest levels of fine Particulate Matter (PM) were recorded in Lahore and Quetta, butthe levels recorded in all the cities exceed internationally accepted standards, with sig-

nificant consequences for the health of their citizens.

Urban air particulate pollution is estimated to cause around 22,700 premature deathsannually, with the total health costs associated with the deaths and sickness caused bysuch pollution amounting to between Rs. 62-65 billion, approximately 1 percent of GDP(World Bank, 2006).

Indoor Air Pollution: Indoor air pollution in Pakistan is also very high and poses manyserious problems. The use of biomass fuels such as wood, dung and crop residues isquite common in the country. Majority of rural households (86 percent) and a largeproportion of urban households (32 percent) rely on these as their primary cooking fuel(GoP, 1998, Population Census of Pakistan). Biomass burnt in poorly ventilated homes

has severe health consequences, particularly for women, young children and theelderly who are most likely to be exposed to indoor pollutants.

The estimated annual health impacts of indoor air pollution, according to the WorldBank (2006) accounts for over 28,000 deaths a year and 40 million cases of acuterespiratory illness. Total annual cost of indoor air pollution is estimated at Rs 55-70billion, with a mean estimate of Rs 62 billion or approximately 1 percent of GDP (WorldBank, 2006).

Strategy:

Implement the National Clean Air Act and ensure effective enforcement of the

National Environmental Quality Standards on air pollution.

Establish standards for vehicles at the manufacturing stage and promotion ofcleaner production technologies.

Introduce more greener fuel options, and making them affordable for public. TheGovernment is already on this path, but it needs to further this policy initiative withthe active involvement of the private sector.

Facilitate cost effective inter-city mass transit systems in major cities through PublicPrivate Partnerships.

Introduce clean cook-stoves, especially in rural areas not only to prevent indoor air-pollution but also to save lives, improve living conditions and empower women20.

Improvement in fuel quality, financial instruments, alternate fuels (CNG), domesticfuels,

Table 2: Annual Cost of Urban Air Pollution Health Impacts (Billion Rs.)

Health end-points Attributed TotalCases

Total AnnualCosts

Premature mortality adults 21,791 58-61

20 http://cleancookstoves.org/ (funding support could be taken from Global Alliance for Clean cook-stoves

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Mortality children under 5 658 0.83

Chronic bronchitis 7,825 0.06

Hospital admissions 81,312 0.28Emergency room visits/Outpatient

hospital visits1,595,080 0.80

Restricted activity days 81,541,893 2.06Lower respiratory illness in children 4,924,148 0.84

Respiratory symptoms 706,808,732 0.00

Total62-65

Source: World Bank (2006)

2.3. Water Pollution and quality deterioration:

Context: Pakistan faces serious deterioration of surface and ground water quality be-

cause of unabated industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution. In the absence of aregular surveillance or monitoring program and weak regulatory enforcement, severaldrains, irrigation canals, and rivers have become severely polluted. The indiscriminatedischarge of untreated industrial wastewater, municipal sewage, as well as uncheckedagricultural runoff is causing serious damage. This includes; contamination of ground-water (including drinking water), surface water in major rivers, and seawater; and harmto aquatic life.Issues and Trends:

The associated adverse health and productivity impacts are significant, with the poorbearing the brunt. Polluted drinking water is the cause of a rising incidence of water-borne diseases such; as diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, pneumonia, and hepatitis. As

shown in Table 3.1, the estimated health costs of polluted water in the country run intoRs 112 billion annually. According to other studies, water-related infectious and para-sitic diseases account for almost 40 percent of all patients and 60 percent of infantmortality21.

Add something about eco-toxicology, and other detrimental affects (i.e. on crops, etc.etc)

This situation is worsened by the fact that the poor, who are the most economically dis-advantaged, are made even more so by their high vulnerability to these health prob-lems. This is because of their greater exposure to the sources of polluted water, aug-

mented by low nutritional intake, unhygienic and crowded living conditions, and lack ofaccess to good and timely medical facilities. The positive nexus that exists between wa-ter-related illness and income, thus, further worsens the situation in a poverty-strickencountry like Pakistan, making this one of the most pressing environmental issues forthe country.

Strategy:

Provision of clean drinking water to all within next 5 years through installation ofwater filtration plants.

21 World Bank, 1996.

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Improvements of old sewerage systems in large cities and installation of newsewerage systems where not present on an urgent basis.

Installation of Combined Effluent Treatment plants at all large industrial estates toensure treatment of polluted effluents into water bodies.

Periodic scientific monitoring of water aquifers and drinking water bodies in allcities.

Bio-remediation means through PPP and community stake, Re-cycling and Re-use of water

2.4. SOLID AND HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT

Context: Solid and hazardous waste is also causing a great damage to Pakistans frag-ile eco-system, due to lack of management and disposal methods. There are six typesof hazardous solid waste that have been identified in the Guideline for Solid Wastemanagement Report: agricultural pollutants, hospital and laboratories, small-scale in-dustries, large scale industries, commerce and household22.

Issues and Trends: The daily production of solid waste in the country is about 48,000tons of which about 20,000 tons originate in urban areas23. Due to lack of resources andweak planning at the implementation level of local bodies, only about 60 percent of ur-ban solid waste can be transported to final disposal sites, which generally are opendumping systems. In the absence of any operational sanitary landfill system in thecountry, the rest of the waste blocks the sewer system or spreads all over the cities,agricultural lands etc.

The main issue associated with solid waste is the present management systems inabili-ty to cope at the various stages of waste handling, transport, and disposal. Future esti-mates of solid waste production indicate that the situation could worsen unless a con-certed effort is made to improve the waste management, instead focus only on trans-portation and dumping.

22 Draft Guideline for Solid Waste Management Report, June 200523 Aslam, Malik Amin (2001), Country Environment Policy Integration Study, ADB document, Manila,

Philippines

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Table 3: Sources of Hazardous Waste24

Sectors Sources Types of wastes

Agriculture Planting areas and paintprotection/agriculture department,

warehouse

Obsolete pesticides, herbicides,insecticides, used chemicals

contaminated soils.Hospitals,Clinical andLaboratories

Clinic consulting rooms, operationtheaters, hospitals, wards,

laboratories

Infected human tissues and organs,excreta, blood, sharp instruments,laboratory equipment and tissue

cultures drugs etc.

Small ScaleIndustries

Metal processing ,photo finishing,textile processing, printing, leather

tanning

Acids, heavy metals solvents, acids,silver cadmium, minerals acidsolvents, inks, dyes solvents,

chromium etc.

Large ScaleIndustries

Bauxite processing, oil refiningpetrochemical manufacture,

pharmaceutical manufacture, chlorineproduction

Rig mud, spent catalysts, oily waste,tarry residues, solvents, mercury.

Commerce Vehicles services and airports, drycleaning, electrical transformers, bus

stations, workshops, petrol pumps

Oily, hydraulic fluids, halogenatedsolvents, polychlorinated

biphenyls(PCBs), water management,specialist tires , plastic etc.

Household Homes Used fluorescent tubes, batteries,drugs, cosmetics, and vehicles care

materials.

In Pakistan, there is an increasing trend of discharging untreated sewage and industrialeffluent into aquatic and marine ecosystems. Major cities continue to dispose of largelyuntreated sewage into irrigation systems, streams and rivers. This causes loss of fishand contamination of potential drinking water causing impact on health and theeconomy. Yet, there is still no integrated solid waste management program at national,provincial and local level.

Also, there is a growing concern about rising quantities of e-waste25 (electronic wastee.g. used computers, cell phones, wires, television etc.) in Pakistan. There is, however,no current estimation of the amounts of e-waste entering the country from variousdeveloped countries as this is not an issue which has, yet, been addressed at thenational level and neither is any one body made responsible for its control. There islack of local awareness about the issue and scant knowledge about e-waste and itsharmful affects on health due to lack of technical expertise in this area.

Strategy:

Develop an integrated solid waste management program to empower local bodieswith human and technical capacity to handle the collection, transport and disposalof solid waste.

Promote waste reduction, re-use, and waste segregation at source.

Employ public-private partnerships for waste management especially forconcentrated urban populations.

Strengthen the self-monitoring and reporting (SMART) program, to assist theindustry to structure and implement their environmental improvement plan. Its

24 Guideline for Solid Waste Management, June 2005, GoP25 http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/10/pakistan-e-waste-goldmine/

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implementation to be made mandatory in the industrial zones as well has hospitals.

Introduce additional training programs in hospitals across the country for safe andenvironmentally sound handling, transportation and storage of hazardouschemicals, contaminated equipment and waste generated from the hospitals.

Promote the concept of shared hospital waste incineration in big cities.

Address the issue of e-waste management and regulate laws for e-waste disposal.Develop guidelines and institutional framework for implementation of BaselConvention.

Promote waste re-cycling.

Improve sanitation, hygiene and health through implementation of NationalSanitation Policy.

Waste to energy

Waste to fertilizer

CDM/carbon financing opportunities

Taxation of waste (environmental tax/user levey)

Alternate, bio-degradable products

Regulations for e-waste (trade requlations)

Scavenging

Penalties (industrial) Behavioral change, ()

2.5. FORESTRY AND LAND DEGRADATION

Context: Pakistan has 4.8 % of the total area covered by forests and trees whichmakes approximately 3.3. million ha. According the National Economic andEnvironmental Study, Pakistan has a high deforestation rate and the forest cover, theforest depletion in Pakistan is increasing rapidly with the annual change rate of -1.8%

between 1990-2000 and -2.1% in 2000-2005. This makes the forest cover the lowest inthe World and even South Asia26.

26 National Economic and Environmental Study (NEEDS), Feb 2011

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Figure 6: Forest cover in Pakistan, 1990-200527

Also, Pakistan boasts one of the largest canal irrigation systems in the world,accounting for 90 percent of agricultural output. However, owing to seepage throughunlined canals and underinvestment in their operation and maintenance, almost 40percent of the total water supply is lost in the network before reaching the farm gate28.Subsequently, irrigated agriculture is severely affected by problems of waterloggingand salinity, with annual losses due to these problems estimated at Rs 70 billion(Table3.1).

Issues and Trends: The Natural Forest Resource Assessment Study (NFRRAS, 2004)shows that the forest resources are declining in Pakistan. It is estimated that the most

valuable coniferous forest is declining at th

National Sustainable Development Strategy Pakistan- draft.doc

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Transcript of National Sustainable Development Strategy Pakistan- draft.doc