Chief Editor
Environmental issues in Pakistan have been disturbing the balance
between economic development and environmental protection. As a great problem
for the nature and nation of Pakistan and As Pakistan is a large importer of both
exhaustible and renewable natural resources and a large consumer of fossil
fuels, the Ministry of Environment of Government of Pakistan takes
responsibility to conserve and protect the environment.
We should definitely like to see Pakistan without any environmental
issue but currently there are lots of challenges. As in fact we are growing at
the rate of more than 8 percent in GDP and creating lots of economic
opportunities, this is also growing stress and implications on environment. The
constant growth in population is another massive challenge. As we grow
economically, we have to decide at this point in time that we ensure better
quality of life. At the end of the day, when we have more money but our quality
of life suffers and we can’t breathe and drink pure water; then it is not worth
it.
A number of serious environmental problems are inherent in the
country, which are of great ecological concern in terms of its sustainable
economic future. These include soil erosion, pesticide misuse, deforestation,
desertification, urban pollution, water logging & salinity, freshwater
pollution and marine water pollution, just to name a few. The major constraint
to overcoming these problems, in-fact perhaps the main contributor to their
intensity is the population growth, which is very high in contrast to the
natural limited resources that are available to the people. Also included in
the constraints is the unsustainable use and management of these resources.
Around 140 million people live in this country, making it the seventh most
populous country in the world. The rate of population growth is one of the
fastest and according to estimates it would double in just 25 years (UNDP
1997). What is obvious from this is, if the population continues to grow at
this rate, it would take a severe toll in the environment. The reason being
that the country is not endowed with the resources required sustaining a huge
population. Although it is primarily an agricultural country, the landscape is
predominantly arid. Water, already a scarce commodity in most parts of the
country, is now facing further shortages. This is also due in part to
inadequate distribution and the coercion of the water-tanker mafia. This
shortage is hindering the country's potential to develop agriculture. There are
limited indigenous sources of energy, fossil fuel reserves are low and there is
no great potential in the biomass energy.
The combination of a large population and poor resource environment
means that judicious means of energy use and minimum waste systems of
production as well as lifestyles must be employed for sustainable development.
The picture in Pakistan is however very different in fact totally opposite to
this. Energy use is excessively inefficient; Pakistan's GDP per unit energy
used is 4.0, which ranks it 69th out of 110 countries for which data is
available . (UNDP). This waste of energy
is combined with the need to import fossil fuels and as a consequence there is
a very low productive per capita use of energy.
Environmental issues
Current issues: Water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes,
and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of
the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil
erosion; desertification. Little attention
was paid to pollution .Some are these Related concerns, such as sanitation and
potable water, received earlier scrutiny. In 1987 only about 6 percent of rural
residents and 51 percent of urban residents had access to sanitary facilities;
a Greater success has been achieved in bringing potable water within reach of
the people; nearly half the population enjoyed such access by 1990. However,
researchers at the Pakistan Medical Research Council, recognizing that a large
proportion of diseases in Pakistan are caused by the consumption of polluted
water, have been questioning the "safe" classification in use in the
1990s. Even the 38 percent of the population that receives its water through
pipelines runs the risk of consuming seriously contaminated water, although the
problem varies by area. In Punjab, for example, as much as 90 percent of
drinking water comes from groundwater, as compared with only 9 percent in
Sindh.
The central government's Perspective Plan (1988–2003) and previous
five-year plans do not mention sustainable development strategies. Further,
there have been no overarching policies focused on sustainable development and
conservation. The state has focused on achieving self-sufficiency in food
production, meeting energy demands, and containing the high rate of population
growth, not on curtailing pollution or other environmental hazards.
In 1992 Pakistan's National Conservation Strategy Report attempted to
redress the previous inattention to the nation's mounting environmental
problem. Drawing on the expertise of more than 3,000 people from a wide array
of political affiliations, the government produced a document outlining the
current state of environmental health, its sustainable goals, and viable
program options for the future.
Environmental affects
Impacts on health
The poor cannot deal with the impacts of a degraded environment. Their
habitats are environmentally vulnerable and they do not have access to many
facilities. As a result they are prone to diseases because they reside in
low-income houses usually in industrial areas and have little choice in the
quality of their nutritional intake. This increases their vulnerability to
diseases, which they do not have the capacity to treat. They have minimum
access to health services and spend long hours in polluted work places
(factories) or work as unskilled labour. In the rural areas also, the poor
usually work as labour on somebody else's farm and the incessant use of
pesticides and fertilizers increases their exposure to health risks.
Degradation of the urban
environment
Urban growth is estimated to be 4.6% per annum. This is mainly a
consequence of the high rate of rural-urban migration that contributes to the
rapid decay of urban environment. Estimates indicate that 6 million (16%)
people are unemployed and this is expected to increase by 500,000 annually. The
increase in population, unemployment, and pressure on agricultural lands means
migration to urban areas.
The migrants usually are poor and are forced to live in urban slums.
Out of the total population 45% of the people in Sindh and 50% in Punjab live
in one-room houses. They often are not linked to water supplies and sanitation.
The reason is their lack of financial resources and the administration does not
provide these because that might give them legal status. They also do not
invest in their residences as they either do not have the money or are afraid
of being evicted.
When the utility services are not available, unhealthy practices are
adopted. Waste is dumped out in the open and becomes a source of water
contamination.
HEALTH ISSUES
Water contamination causes serious problems and water supply standards
set by WHO are rarely met (SDPI 1995). 50% of the population has access to
piped water (Dr. Mehboob Ul Haq - 1997) and the rural water supply coverage in
1997-98 was 90% according to an appraisal done by the World Bank (Human
Development Index, 2003). However this did not take into account the private
sector's provision of potable water. The surveys by UNICEF/Ministry of Health,
give different indications. In the 1995 survey by UNICEF (Multiple Indicator
Cluster Survey), it was revealed that 17% of the rural households have piped
water and 52% had family hand pumps (Social Development in Pakistan, 1999).
Water quality is deteriorating due to biological contamination from
human waste, chemical pollutants from industries and agricultural inputs,
salinity and siltation. Piped water also gets contaminated because pipes are
laid very close to sewerage lines or open drains and chemicals like chlorine,
which is mixed to kill bacteria, corrode the supply lines. 62% (UNDP) or 33%
(Haq, 1997) of the people have access to sanitation and only 55% to health
services. (Haq 1997, UNDP 1997). In the HDI it is reported that approximately
65% of Pakistan's population has access to essential medicine. 45% of infant
deaths have been attributed to diarrhea and 60% to overall infectious
waterborne diseases. 25-30% of the diseases are gastro-intestinal in nature
(WHO).
Infant Deaths
Rate
During first four weeks of life
57%
First six months
two-thirds
Before first year
One in ten
Under five
137/1000
Message for the youth
This environmental movement is your movement and we can fight
environment degradation through a movement because of the young people of
Pakistan. If we want to make a better Pakistan for upcoming generation,
youngsters, both male/female, should take part actively and learn about the
environmental issues and try to tackle the problems. One of the best solutions
to the environment is to change our bad habits of wastage of water, electricity
and dispersal of garbage etc.
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