Workshop: Employ green economy to protect G-B’s ecosystem, say speakers

GILGIT:

Proper disposal of solid waste, better utilisation of water resources, and minimising the use of smoke-emitting vehicles will help save the ecosystem of the region. This was said at a workshop on “Green Economy” held at a local hotel here on Thursday.

Environmentalists stressed on individual contributions to protect the fragile ecosystem of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B). They zeroed in on the concept of green economy, which helps in improved human well-being and social equity while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.

Haider Raza, Head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in G-B, said that Environment Impact Assessment and Strategic Environment Assessment are the basic tools used to preempt environmental, social, archaeological and cultural hazards during implementation of development projects.

A representative of the Building and Sanitation Improvement Programme underlined environment considerations with respect to construction and using energy saving methods that would ultimately decrease pressure on natural resources.

The workshop was organised by IUCN in collaboration with the Planning Commission, the embassy of Netherlands and the G-B Environmental Protection Agency.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2012.