Green economy: ‘Research needed to identify opportunities’

‘Agriculture, transport among sectors identified for green policies’.

LAHORE:

Research and development can help identify sectors where more environment-friendly technologies can be used to lessen the emission of green house gases, Environment Secretary Saeed Wahla said on Friday.

He was speaking at a seminar, titled ‘Green Economy, Does it Include You?’, organised jointly by the Environment Protection Department and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The secretary said the government had so far decided to implement environment-friendly policies in transport, agriculture, power generation, construction, land-use planning and industrial technology sectors.

In the transport sector, he said, the government intended to replace fuel-intensive means with fuel efficient ones and improve road infrastructure to improve fuel efficiency of vehicles.

The secretary said hydroponic agriculture (plantation using mineral nutrients in water, without soil) should be promoted in the province in view of the shortage of water and arable land.

He said currently 57.2 per cent of the province’s land was being used for farming.  The irrigation system consisted of 12 headworks and barrages constructed at various points on Rivers Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej. He said agriculture contributed 53 percent to the country’s gross domestic product.

In industry, the secretary said, wastewater treatment plants and air pollution control equipments could be installed to lessen the adverse impact on the environment. He said technology should also be used to improve fuel efficiency of industrial equipment. “Use of automatic temperature control; and water, light and occupancy sensors and recycling of waste products are some other ways to be environment friendly,” he said.

Secretary Wahla said the EPD had, in the Environment Protection Act, formulated rules and regulations for different sectors of the economy, simplified the procedure for IEEs and improved monitoring and inspection methods.

“Green economy means thinking out of the box and finding more sustainable methods in businesses,” he said, “The government will have to take the lead by devising pro-environment policies before requiring the businesses to use environment-friendly technologies.”

Ahmed Rafay Alam, the Lahore Electric Supply Company chairman, briefed the audience on the energy demand in the country and measures that could help reduce dependency on non-renewable resources.

He identified transportation and water and waste management as sectors that required immediate attention in terms of their impact on the environment.

Dr Muhammad Nawaz Chaudhry said consumers also needed to share responsibility with businesses if a shift was to be made to a green economy.

AR Saleemi said the concept of competition should be replaced with cooperation if a more serious effort was to be initiated for conservation of environment.

Senior Assistant to Chief Minister on Environment Mansha Ullah But, the chief guest, said the government would use all available resources to promote environment-friendly polices. He said more such seminars should be arranged to educate people about threats to the environment.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2012.