Climate change: Capital suffers consequences of unplanned development
Islamabad triggers and intensifies climate change impacts due to violation of master plan
ISLAMABAD:
Due to funding problems, the Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity Assessment for Islamabad has still not materialised.
“The government has no funds to carry out this programme on its own, while donor agencies have set preconditions for funding the project including formation of environment policy, strategy and comprehensive action plan”, former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) director general Asif Shuja Pasha said.
At the same time, he said the government has formulated an environment policy and a strategy to implement the programme, while the comprehensive plan of action is also under discussion with the provinces.
Recently, UNHABITAT and the Climate Change Division had prepared a comprehensive study regarding Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity Assessment of Islamabad.
The study reveals that climate change impacts have been aggravated due to anthropogenic or human induced activities which are the root cause of climate change and global warming. Islamabad presents an ideal case in this regard for triggering and intensifying climate change impacts due to massive violation of original master plan.
The plan, prepared by Greek architect Constantinos Doxiadis in 1960, included provisions to minismise harm to the ecology of the area, particularly in zones III, IV and V, but several revisions of the master plans and relaxation in land use and zoning rules led to the relaxation of building height and floor area rules. The consequential impacts of these modifications in triggering climate change effects are clearly evident from unprecedented urban sprawl caused by conversion of 137.23 square kilometres of peripheral land into urban areas between 2000 and 2010, or 39.64 percent of the total urban area, the report says.
This phenomenon not only resulted in massive encroachment on watersheds and aquifers, but has also led to destabilisation of the ecological balance and has affected the sustainability of the fragile ecosystem. Due to urban sprawl, stress on basic urban infrastructure services such as the ground water level has gone down. The study said that the climate change venerability and adaptive capacity assessment of Islamabad reveals that the city of Islamabad and its surrounding capital territory is exposed to a host of factors accelerating climate change impacts such as erratic behaviour and marked changes in the intensity of frequency and variability of temperature, precipitation, floods and drought, among others.
The report also reveals that average temperatures in urban sectors and surrounding areas have increased substantially, while the wind profile and precipitation has also been affected.
The mean annual temperature change in Islamabad’s surroundings (capital territory areas) rose by one degree Celsius from 1960 to 2010, but more worrying was the rise in sector areas — 3.5 degrees Celsius — which was double the global average.
Rainfall has also dropped, during the period 1961-2010, compared to the trends during the 30-year base period of 1961 to 1990. This trend is attributed to the tremendous temperature increase during the same period. Projected temperature also show further increasing trends with high variability, which in turn could lead to worsened hydro-meteorological disasters.
Not only resulted in massive encroachment on watersheds and aquifers, but has also let to destabilisation of the ecological balance and sustainability of the fragile ecosystem. Further, due to urban sprawl and stress on basic urban infrastructure service, ground water level has gone down from 50 feet to 300 feet, while due to lack of proper planning and development of an effective rainwater drainage system, recurring urban flooding roughly once every three years in Nullah Leh, which causes huge losses of human life and property downstream in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Moreover, the built up urban area transferred into urban heat islands due to an increase in local atmospheric and surface temperatures in urban areas compared to the surroundings rural area caused due to increase in residential bulk from 60 percent with Floor Area Ratio(FAR) 1:0 .5-to 170 percent with FAR1;1.7 the other phenomenon contributing to climate change effects found were higher influx to trace elements, excessive amount of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds atmospheric aerosols , ozone depleting substance in the atmosphere, emitted from industries brick kilns, stone crushers, automobiles etc. for exceeding the permissible limits prescribed under National Quality Standards (NEQS) in the urban areas since the climate change impact is a recent phenomenon and its impacts is likely to became more and more severe in Islamabad and its peripheries.
What to do?
The study proposed that government may consider undertaking an urgent review of master plan, building bylaws and town planning regulations to incorporate climate change concerns and adoption of ‘climate smart’ planning processes. Further, the institutions responsible for planning development and city management — the Capital Development Authority, Islamabad Capital Territory Administration, and the Capital Administration and Development Division — are not geared to handle climate change challenges. It recommends that these institutions establish dedicated climate change units to adequately address emerging challenges, adequately equip the concerned institutions with proper training and capacity building programmes, further projects focused on reduction of greenhouse gases emission and increase efficient use of energy such as introduction of a mass transit system, effective water management, bioengineering for recycle and reuse of grey water for enhancing climate change resilience, and projects for minimising effects of urban flash flooding and conducting studies to increasing ground water recharge, and carbon sequestration in Margalla Hill National Park.
Recycling of inorganic solid waste, generation of energy from organic solid waste, and energy conservation in buildings should also be initiated to reduce the impact of climate change, according to the study.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2014.
Due to funding problems, the Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity Assessment for Islamabad has still not materialised.
“The government has no funds to carry out this programme on its own, while donor agencies have set preconditions for funding the project including formation of environment policy, strategy and comprehensive action plan”, former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) director general Asif Shuja Pasha said.
At the same time, he said the government has formulated an environment policy and a strategy to implement the programme, while the comprehensive plan of action is also under discussion with the provinces.
Recently, UNHABITAT and the Climate Change Division had prepared a comprehensive study regarding Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity Assessment of Islamabad.
The study reveals that climate change impacts have been aggravated due to anthropogenic or human induced activities which are the root cause of climate change and global warming. Islamabad presents an ideal case in this regard for triggering and intensifying climate change impacts due to massive violation of original master plan.
The plan, prepared by Greek architect Constantinos Doxiadis in 1960, included provisions to minismise harm to the ecology of the area, particularly in zones III, IV and V, but several revisions of the master plans and relaxation in land use and zoning rules led to the relaxation of building height and floor area rules. The consequential impacts of these modifications in triggering climate change effects are clearly evident from unprecedented urban sprawl caused by conversion of 137.23 square kilometres of peripheral land into urban areas between 2000 and 2010, or 39.64 percent of the total urban area, the report says.
This phenomenon not only resulted in massive encroachment on watersheds and aquifers, but has also led to destabilisation of the ecological balance and has affected the sustainability of the fragile ecosystem. Due to urban sprawl, stress on basic urban infrastructure services such as the ground water level has gone down. The study said that the climate change venerability and adaptive capacity assessment of Islamabad reveals that the city of Islamabad and its surrounding capital territory is exposed to a host of factors accelerating climate change impacts such as erratic behaviour and marked changes in the intensity of frequency and variability of temperature, precipitation, floods and drought, among others.
The report also reveals that average temperatures in urban sectors and surrounding areas have increased substantially, while the wind profile and precipitation has also been affected.
The mean annual temperature change in Islamabad’s surroundings (capital territory areas) rose by one degree Celsius from 1960 to 2010, but more worrying was the rise in sector areas — 3.5 degrees Celsius — which was double the global average.
Rainfall has also dropped, during the period 1961-2010, compared to the trends during the 30-year base period of 1961 to 1990. This trend is attributed to the tremendous temperature increase during the same period. Projected temperature also show further increasing trends with high variability, which in turn could lead to worsened hydro-meteorological disasters.
Not only resulted in massive encroachment on watersheds and aquifers, but has also let to destabilisation of the ecological balance and sustainability of the fragile ecosystem. Further, due to urban sprawl and stress on basic urban infrastructure service, ground water level has gone down from 50 feet to 300 feet, while due to lack of proper planning and development of an effective rainwater drainage system, recurring urban flooding roughly once every three years in Nullah Leh, which causes huge losses of human life and property downstream in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Moreover, the built up urban area transferred into urban heat islands due to an increase in local atmospheric and surface temperatures in urban areas compared to the surroundings rural area caused due to increase in residential bulk from 60 percent with Floor Area Ratio(FAR) 1:0 .5-to 170 percent with FAR1;1.7 the other phenomenon contributing to climate change effects found were higher influx to trace elements, excessive amount of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds atmospheric aerosols , ozone depleting substance in the atmosphere, emitted from industries brick kilns, stone crushers, automobiles etc. for exceeding the permissible limits prescribed under National Quality Standards (NEQS) in the urban areas since the climate change impact is a recent phenomenon and its impacts is likely to became more and more severe in Islamabad and its peripheries.
What to do?
The study proposed that government may consider undertaking an urgent review of master plan, building bylaws and town planning regulations to incorporate climate change concerns and adoption of ‘climate smart’ planning processes. Further, the institutions responsible for planning development and city management — the Capital Development Authority, Islamabad Capital Territory Administration, and the Capital Administration and Development Division — are not geared to handle climate change challenges. It recommends that these institutions establish dedicated climate change units to adequately address emerging challenges, adequately equip the concerned institutions with proper training and capacity building programmes, further projects focused on reduction of greenhouse gases emission and increase efficient use of energy such as introduction of a mass transit system, effective water management, bioengineering for recycle and reuse of grey water for enhancing climate change resilience, and projects for minimising effects of urban flash flooding and conducting studies to increasing ground water recharge, and carbon sequestration in Margalla Hill National Park.
Recycling of inorganic solid waste, generation of energy from organic solid waste, and energy conservation in buildings should also be initiated to reduce the impact of climate change, according to the study.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2014.