Sanity should prevail on environment
By Technology Times at June 25, 2011 | 12:46 pm | PrintA- Reset A+
For the last couple of months, the federal government’s decision to devolve some ministries to provinces has evoked sharp criticism not only from within the ministries but also from those who want Pakistan grow at a fast pace. Ministry of Environment is amongst those ministries in the process of being devolved, which has rung alarm bells at home as well as in the world. Not only that but also the abolition of the ‘Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997’ would critically impact the environment in Pakistan. Following the devolution of this ministry, critical questions are being raised about the fate of this important sector which has drawn international concerns especially when the climate change has started taking toll in shape of droughts, floods, global warming, glaciers melting, etc. Similarly, the fate Pakistan Environmental Protection Council, headed by the Prime Minister, is now hanging in the balance. No doubt, that before devolution the federal government had marked no tangible progress in handling the environment issue as deforestation, land erosion, flood-control strategy and rising pollution were the critical sectors that had remained virtually unheeded. But now its devolution to provinces would certainly be disastrous especially for the future generations as none of the federating units has any policy to handle this sensitive issue and maintain the international standards. Moreover, a number of international Conventions, Protocols and Agreements the government of Pakistan has signed have come in the red zone as in the post-devolution period the environment would be a provincial subject. This has strengthened the apprehensions of the relevant international institutions regarding the seriousness of Pakistan especially in this critical issue. In its recent report, the World Bank has termed the environment protection agencies in the provinces just ceremonial as no practical has even been taken on this subject. The report has also revealed that Pakistan faced a cost of Rs one billion per day as far as damages to environmental and natural resources are concerned while meagre budgetary allocations and ineffective approach of the federal government are drastically incapable to improve the environment. The environment subject should remain with the federal government, which also needs to come out of its continuous slumber and rise to the situation as until and unless an effective and result-oriented approach is not adopted the fears about droughts, floods, reduction in per acre yield, food crisis, pollution, health problems, damage to biodiversity as well as natural resources would continue multiplying.
