Enforcing EIA on the motorway construction

Road improvements are frequently driven by the need to facilitate better movement of vehicles. However, the construction and operation of road projects may cause various environmental, social and economic impacts. Owing to the potential environmental, social and economic repercussions of transport infrastructure development, environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a mandatory requirement for such projects costing Rs50 million and above.

After lapse of many months, the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has taken cognisance of the way the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway also known as M-9 is being constructed. The construction has caused tremendous trouble for thousands of the commuters, who travel on this important road. SEPA has issued notices to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) project director and the chairman of the National Highway Authority over a lack of safe and suitable diversions, as well as other hazards, that have made travel highly dangerous. The notice issued by SEPA says, “all mitigation measures recommended in EIA report should be complied with, for achieving negligible impacts on physical, ecological and socio-economic environment of the area. Sindh Environmental Quality Standards (SEQS) for ambient air quality, noise, emissions, wastewater and drinking water shall be followed in letter and spirit”.

As per law, after approval of an EIA and before commencing operation of the project, the proponent, in this case the National Highway Authority and the FWO are expected to inform the provincial EPA that all conditions of approval have been complied with and submit its environmental management plan (EMP), indicating mitigating measures to be taken along with compliance documents. On completion of construction of the project, the proponent shall submit another report of completion with the provincial Environment Protection Agency and subsequently submit annual reports regarding operational performance of the project with reference to the conditions of approval and maintenance and mitigating measures adopted by the project. The provincial EPA is empowered to cancel approval on the basis of information regarding non-compliance received from any source or through inspection of the site and project when it is of the opinion that the conditions undertaken in EIA are not being met, after giving a fair opportunity to the proponent to justify why its approval should not be cancelled.

The Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance 1983 made EIA a requirement for any proposed project with possible adverse impacts on the environment. Environmental impact assessment means an environmental study comprising collection of data, prediction of qualitative and quantitative impacts, comparison of alternatives, evaluation of preventive, mitigatory and compensatory measures, formulation of environmental management and training plans and monitoring arrangements, and framing of recommendations and such other components as may be prescribed.

EIA became part of the project planning process, as it was made mandatory from July 1, 1994, to seek prior approval of the relevant environmental protection agency. Subsequently, Pakistan initiated integration of environmental consideration in decision-making at all levels and explicitly agreed that EIA would be used as a national instrument for all proposed activities that are likely to have significant adverse impact on the environment. In 1997, the much awaited Pakistan Environmental Protection Act was promulgated 1997. Later on, the Pakistan EPA was able to develop detailed EIA guidelines and regulations. After the 18^th Amendment, provincial governments are now solely responsible for the environmental pollution and ecology under their jurisdiction. Prior to that, the Pakistan Environment Protection Act of 1997 governed all operations and activities that had the potential to cause environmental degradation.

Moreover, legal requirements of public consultation or participation are a significant aspect of EIA that makes it unique compared with other decision-making support instruments, which may be associated with actions that potentially have severe effects on quality of life. However, the public is normally involved only after taking irreversible decisions pertaining to the project site and start of construction activities. In the entire EIA public participation process, there is no step to determine whether the proposed site of a project is in accordance with the provisions of the land use or master plan of the area. The substantive quality of an EIA report and influence of public concerns on the final outcome are weak. Whatever the conditions of environmental approval are, proponents try to avoid implementing those. In order to transform public participation into a fruitful exercise, there is a need to involve the public as early as possible in the project planning and development cycle through participation mechanisms, which facilitate more interactive communication, shared analysis, negotiations and trade-offs. To ensure an environmentally and people friendly outcome of a development, involving experts and potentially affected communities during project implementation and monitoring is imperative.

Pakistan has come a long way since the introduction of EIA in the early 1980s. However, we cannot afford to adopt the business as usual model, which is not suited to further improve the system over time. Development pressures are now much greater than they were a few years ago. The population of the country has almost doubled in the last 20 years. This requires a strong leadership from the respective institutions to address associated environmental problems. The political parties will have to be engaged to improve the political will for EIA in the country. The health of EIA is contingent upon the health of the institutions. It is imperative that the institutions are strengthened for effective delivery of EIA at all stages. In addition, the responsibility for EIA implementation will have to be diversified and should not only remain the responsibility of EPAs and planning and development departments.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2017.

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