Poor management: Provinces ‘ill-equipped’ to handle environment issues

ISLAMABAD: With severe repercussions of climate change for Pakistan, there is a need for institutions that would make national environment laws, said speakers at a seminar. If the Ministry of Environment is devolved, more problems are likely to evolve, they said.

According to a World Bank report, Pakistan faces an environmental cost of Rs 1 billion a day.

Arshad Abassi Advisor, adviser Water and Energy, said the World Bank report mentioned that the environmental protection agencies in the provinces are only ceremonial, therefore it was not feasible to leave this responsibility to them.

The seminar was organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here at National Press Club on “Institutional Arrangement for Climate Change: Role of the Ministry of Environment”.

Shafqat Kakakhel, senior adviser environment and former diplomat and high-ranking official of United Nations, conducted the proceedings.

“It is important to consider that environmental issues have no physical boundary; wind and water have their impact across borders as well as it happens in the case of India and Pakistan. Institutions need to be trained before making such decisions,” he said. Instead of shelving the ministry, it is important to review it and evaluate its performance, he suggested.

Head of Climate Change Study Centre Shakeel Ahmed Ramay presented the cost of damages to environmental and natural resources.

He said estimated costs were $1867 million for water, sanitation and hygiene, $1,167 million in terms of soil erosion and salinisation and $2200 million in terms of air pollution. He said that actual cost of damages to environment and natural resources was even higher.

Kakakhel mentioned that in a country like Pakistan where livelihoods of most of the people depend on agriculture, repercussions of climate change will be devastating for the economy. Pakistan is
rated amongst the most vulnerable countries to climate change, he said.

There will be oscillation between floods and drought that will be directly attributed to climate change. He also gave certain recommendations during his presentation: there should be climate wings in all relevant ministries and it needs to be integrated in developmental policies, inter-ministerial coordination needs to be improved, all the organs related to climate need to be strengthened, economic policy for climate is needed, prime minister’s committee on climate change can serve as an apex body and and there should be increased cooperation on international, regional and bilateral level.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2011.