Workbook EPC (1)

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Environment: Warming up

By Rina Saeed Khan

January 2, 2011

The massive flooding that hit Pakistan in the summer of 2010 has drawn the worlds

attention to the adverse effects of climate change on this region. At the UN Climate ChangeConference 2010 held recently in Cancun, the Pakistani floods were highlighted in severalspeeches and sessions. The Pakistani delegation also held a side-event in Cancun on theWorlds most devastating floods: Pakistans extreme climate event.

According to a report released in Cancun by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO),global warming caused the extreme Asian summer monsoon which resulted in such heavyrainfall this year. The report states that the year 2010 is almost certain to rank in the top threewarmest years since the beginning of instrumental climate records in 1850. The WMO adds that

recent warming has been especially strong in Africa, and parts of Asia and the Arctic.

There is a paragraph in the report describing Pakistans floods: Pakistan experienced the worst

flooding in its history as a result of exceptionally heavy monsoon rains. The event principallyresponsible for the floods occurred from July 26-29, when four-day rainfall totals exceeded 300millimetres over a large area of northern Pakistan centered on Peshawar. There were additionalheavy rains further south from August 2-8 which reinforced the flooding. The total monsoonseason rainfall for Pakistan was the fourth-highest on record.

This information for 2010 is based on climate data from networks of land-based weather andclimate stations, ships andbuoys, as well as satellites. Pakistans Met Office also contributed to

the data according to Qamar-uz-Zaman Choudhry, who is currently serving as Vice President ofthe Asian division of the WMO (he has been elected for four years). In fact, the WMO hadrelocated their regional office from Bahrain to Pakistan from October 1 to November 15, 2010 toassist Pakistans Met Office. They had also sent an expert mission to Pakistan for a week to

have extensivediscussions with relevant authorities on how to strengthen the early warning system heexplained.

Mr Choudhry has recently been appointed an Advisor on climate affairs by Pakistans Ministryof Environment and is drafting Pakistans first national policy on climate change. It will include

sections on agriculture, disaster management, energy and forest protection. The draft has been

submitted to the relevant stakeholders for suggestions and input and should be finalised inJanuary. The cabinet now has to approve it. Pakistan ranks very low amongst the list ofgreenhouse gas emitting countries, so its focus is primarily on adaptation. The country expectsfunding from the newly announced global Green Climate Fund for adaptation.

This will entail how to deal with changes impacting Pakistan, like monsoon variability, sea-levelrise in coastal areas, and glacial melt in the high mountains. A high level report released by theUN Environment Programme in Cancun stated that The third fastest rate of loss is among
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glaciers in the northwest United States and southwest Canada followed by ones in the highmountains of Asia, including the Hindu Kush and Himalayas.

This will affect water flows into the main rivers dependent on these glaciers like the Indus.

According to the Deputy Director General, International Centre for Integrated MountainDevelopment (ICIMOD), Without doubt the main driving force behind the rapid melting ofHimalayan glaciers and formation of the catastrophic Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) iswarming due to climate change. The risk to lives and livelihoods in the fragile Hindu Kush-Himalayan region is high and getting higher. Immediate action by the global community onlaunching long-term adaptation and resilience-building programmes is urgently needed.

The report also calls for more investment in glacial research and monitoring and run off intorivers. Pakistan is one of the first countries in line to get funding from the smaller UNFramework Convention on Climate Changes Adaptation Fund for a project on reducing risk and

vulnerabilities from Glacier Lake Outburst Floods in the Northern Areas by building human and

technical capacities of local communities.

While this is good news for Pakistan, what is urgently needed is an overall action plan foradaptation across the country. Once the national policy on climate change has been approved bythe cabinet, the next step should be a specific action plan to be implemented immediately. Weneed a list of concrete measures with time lines; without this the national policy will degenerateinto an unachievable wish list.

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Pakistan makes headway on environmentissues

By Our Staff ReporterJanuary 30, 2011

ISLAMABAD, Jan 29: Pakistan has achieved 100 per cent reduction target for the importand consumption of first generation of ozone depleting chemicals with the help of industrialcommunity and other concerned national and international partners.

We are now successfully heading towards the stage to phase out other substances like HCFCs,

Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Director-General Dr Bashir said. He said the EPA lawswere being implemented in letter and spirit and all possible measures were being taken to savethe environment which was directly affecting social and ecological systems.

He was speaking at a `Workshop for Youth Awareness on Ozone Layer and Montreal ProtocolActivities in Pakistan` here on Saturday.

Joint Secretary (IC) National Project Director (Ozone Cell), Ministry of Environment, Abid Alisaid the object of this workshop was to develop awareness among the youth about the depletionof the ozone layer and to update all activities related to Montreal Protocol in Pakistan. He saidexcessive depletion of ozone layer due to release of man-made chemicals such aschlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Halons, carbon tetrachloride (CTC) and methyl bromide causedthinning of ozone layer.

This has started to affect the life and environment. In order to fulfill Pakistan`s commitmentsunder the Montreal Protocol, the Ozone Cell, Ministry of Environment, has played a major rolewith the cooperation of national and international partners for replacing the use of ozonedepleting substances in foam, refrigeration, metal cleaning and fire-fighting industries.

Federal Minister for Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi has said ozone layer is essential forlife on earth, but unfortunately it has being affected due to a few man-made chemicals.

Some 196 member countries of the world have signed the Montreal Protocol which shows thecommitment of the entire world to tackle this core issue. The global warming and climatechanges have become a reality and we in the developing countries are most vulnerable. It is

encouraging to see that world community has decided to face this menace collectively. Severalprotocols like the Kyoto Protocol have been signed to limit the emissions of green house gasesand minimize the worse impacts of climate changes, said Hameedullah Jan Afridi, adding thatflood last year were ample proof of extreme climatic conditions caused by global warming thatexposed vulnerabilities to it.


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CONCLUSION:


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UN official to discuss global warming inPakistan

By Our Reporter | From the NewspaperFebruary 6, 2011

ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: Executive Secretary of United Nations Framework for ClimateChange Convention (UNFCCC) Christiana Figures is arriving here tomorrow (Monday) todiscuss with government officials the effects of climate change and global warming onPakistan.

Ms Figures will attend a briefing at the Ministry of Environment on flood relief andrehabilitation activities being carried out in the flood affected areas.

The UNFCCC chief will also visit the flood-affected areas of Dadu and Sehwan. She will alsoinspect mangrove plantation and turtle hatchery at Sands Pit area of Karachi.

She will call on the federal minister for environment and attend a meeting of members andexperts of core group for climate change in the Ministry of Environment where a presentation onthe devastating effects of climate change and global warming in Pakistan would be given. Theclimate-related disasters were estimated to have cost Pakistan to the tune of $4 billion.

In the backdrop of International Panel on Climate Change prediction that there could be a 50 percent decline in wheat and rice yields in South Asia, Pakistan wants a review of its vision of

vulnerability to the climate change and develop a holistic approach covering physical, economicand climate related aspects to help evolve more effective strategies to address adverse impact ofclimate change as it wants to ensure more equitable allocation of resources in this regard,according to the officials of environment ministry.

The devastating floods have heightened the need for integrating the effects of climate change innational economic policy and planning as the `climate cost` put huge financial burden on theeconomy i.e. more than 5 per cent of the GDP.

The ministry of environment has initiated the process of developing a national climate changepolicy involving various economic sectors such as energy, water resources, agriculture and

forestry. It has also initiated a long-term strategy to reduce emission of various harmfulsubstances.

With the support of UNFCCC, Pakistan is currently in the process of estimating its futurefinancial needs for adapting to unavoidable climate change as well as moving towards a lowcarbon development pathway.
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CONCLUSION:


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Ministries at odds over environment laws

By Jamal Shahid

February 25, 2011

ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Commerce are at odds asboth are not clear about the environment laws and blaming each other for posing threat toenvironment by letting the import of second hand cars.

In 2009, the Ministry of Environment made significant efforts and convinced all the local carmanufactures to upgrade technologies to introduce Euro-II compliance models in Pakistan. Theministry had also joined hands with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to persuadethe refineries to upgrade their equipment to achieve Euro-II fuel standards.

The initiative consumed six to seven months of intense negotiations and all petrol vehicles had

been made Euro-II compliance in 2010 and all diesel vehicles would be brought as per standardby 2012 because of massive up gradation which cost millions of dollars. We achieved the goal ofconverting petrol engines to make them Euro-II compliance, said former Minister forEnvironment Hameedullah Jan Afridiexplaining how Euro-II compliance would get a cleaner environment because of cars emittingless hazardous pollutants.

However, in a recently issued order, the Ministry of Commerce amended Import Policy Order2009 and reduced specifications on the five years old imported cars from Euro-III emissionstandards and allowed Euro-II standard or Pakistan Emission Standardsa move thatenvironment advocates believe would have long-term environmental consequences particularly

on the air quality.

The move undermines Ministry of Environments efforts to improve air quality in the country.It also impacts our endeavours to adopt Euro-II compliance vehicles in Pakistan, said theannoyed former minister. He said: The imported cars are already five years old and will be

inefficient on fuel that will cause emissions. They might as well allow cars that are 15 years oldto worsen the air quality in the country, which is already very poor.

Mr Afridi who was the only one to oppose the amendment in the Cabinet said that it would alsodiscourage local car manufacturers to adopt Euro-II or Pak-II emission standards for locallyassembled cars.

We are writing to the Ministry of Commerce to voice our concern in this regard, said Mr

Afridi.

According to Environment Ministry, the Ministry of Commerce did not take environmentadvocates into confidence before going for a major amendment.


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We already have Euro-III emission standard cars running on our roadsHondas and Toyotasexcept Suzukis Pre-Euro Mehran and Bolan besides other models and the manufacturers areminting money by selling garbage to the innocent people, said a senior official with the

Ministry of Environment.

According to the official, in their meetings between Ministries of Environment and Commerceand concerned stakeholders it was clearly decided that vehicles below Euro-III emissionstandards would not be permitted into Pakistan.

This was approved by the Cabinet and published it in the Import Policy Order 2009, said the

sourceHowever, a senior official with the Commerce Ministry dispelled the impression that it wasviolating laws and said: It was Mr Afridis office that wrote to us to bring down emission

standards from Euro-III to Euro-II. We received their letter in which they voiced their concern.We are writing back to them and attaching their recommendations to remind them that it wastheir call and that Pakistan was not producing the particular fuel for Euro-III cars.

He also made it clear that the condition was only applicable to heavy diesel vehicles and thatthere never were any restrictions applicable on small/family cars.

Ministry of Environment denied these allegations and was expecting a response from theCommerce Ministry in writing.

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Tree plantation for better environment

From the Newspaper

March 4, 2011

PLANTING trees is a Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and itsreward continues even after the death of the person who plants a tree.

Today the world is facing environmental problems. Global warming, ozone depletion andpollution are burning issues. Solution to these problems lies in planting more trees.

Trees and plants are the prime source of environmental purification and beautification. Treesinhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen, reduce temperature and create a healthy effect, bothphysically and psychologically, on human beings.

In fact, forests are the only natural industry which produces oxygen. According to internationalstandards, area under forests should form at least 25 per cent of the total land inhabited by ahuman population.

But the area covered by forests in our country has been reduced to about 4.8 per cent of the totalland. These statistics do not include the frontier areas. In such circumstances we should plantmore and more trees.

In pursuance of this resolve, students of a public sector medical college of Khyber Pakhtunkhwaorganised a tree plantation campaign.

These students devoted their Sunday to planting saplings and beautification of the college. Theenvironment of the college lawns was drastically changed in just one day because of treeplantation by these students.

It is true that the youth of Pakistan possesses a great potential and spirit to change society. Theycan change every negative into a positive aspect.

They can change any calamity into an opportunity. All they need is proper guidance andencouragement.

Considering the zeal of the college students we can say that the future of Pakistan is bright,

secure and prosperous because future belongs to the youth.

SHAH FAISAL KHAND.I. Khan

Natural gas & deforestation

ONLY three per cent of Pakistans land consists of forests, which are rapidly decreasing because


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of growing population. Deforestation is resulting in global warming. Trees not only provideoxygen, but also beautify the environment.

A large number of people are chopping down trees to use wood as a fuel to cook food.

Although Balochistan provides natural gas to the country from Sui, ironically it is badly affectedby deforestation as a number of cities do not have natural gas to cook food.

As Balochistan is deprived of natural gas, people have no option but to use wood as fuel in theirhouseholds.

Some people are also involved in cutting trees for their personal gains and businesses likemaking furniture and sport goods.I request the government to provide Balochistan natural gas which is its right.

It will also stop deforestation in the province.

BILAL NOOR BOLANIBolan

CONCLUSION:


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Environment: Climate change realities

By B.Khan

April 3, 2011

The short-term memory has already classified the winter of 2010-2011 as both long andcold in the majority of the country whichfollowing as it did on the heels of a few years ofrelatively mild wintersit may well have seemed to be. Yet, in reality, it was nothing of thesort, serving instead to further highlight the dangers of unfolding climate change.

Winter has traditionally always begun during mid-November and run through until at least theend of February in the plains and a month or so longer in upland areas of the country with theshort spring. March and April follow by five months of summer, turning to autumn in Septemberin the hills and at the beginning of October in the plains. This pattern, however, has undergone a

drastic change over the last 10 to15 years and is having a knock-on affect on both the agriculturaland horticultural sectors. Plus, it has also increased demands for electricity and gas which, as adirect result of this climate change, are in increasingly short supply.

The four seasons of the year now run something like this: the winterJanuary through February;the springMarch. The summer starts in April till the end of October and the autumn beginningin November to the end of December. This trend towards shorter winter, almost nonexistentspring, very long summer and late, compressed autumn also includes more extreme climateeventsin the form of storms, flooding and extended periods of droughtthan earlier weatherpatterns underwent what is, in climate terms, an extremely rapid alteration. This phenomenon, ifit continues at this pace, will, within the next 10-15 years diminish winter and autumn even

further, delete spring completely and leave the country subject to an almost permanent summerbeset by periodic, intensive storms be they wet storms or dry ones.

This potentially devastating alteration of seasons is obviously not confined to Pakistan alone: it isa global phenomenon although the lengthening and shortening of specific seasons differs fromcontinent to continent depending on latitude and longitude. But the overall effect on foodproduction remains roughly the same.

What this means for food security in Pakistan is worrying indeed as longer, hotter summerswhen, according to scientific experts, monsoons may or may not arrive and if they do, are liableto be of high intensity over a shortened time span, will adversely impact agricultural and

horticultural production across the board. Farmers are already facing problems in this respect astraditional sowing times of traditional crops grown in traditional areas often no longer apply.

Generally speaking, sowing can be performed earlier than has been the practice for precedinggenerations but, particularly in barani areas that are heavily dependent on rainfall patterns, thispromptly leads to complications as rain fall patterns have not moved forward in line with sowingtimes. If a farmer sows his crops according to currently emerging weather patterns he may well


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lose everything when rain fails to materialise when it is most required, which is one of thereasons that farmers need expert guidance on how to cope with climate change as of now.

These rapid seasonal changes are also having an adverse effect on the natural world as nature,which is attuned to changes taking place over thousands, even millions of years, is largely unable

to adapt fast enough to keep abreast with the current scenario.

Tree species such as apricots, plums and apples, widely cultivated in upland areas, are cominginto blossom earlier each year and now often bloom before their locally indigenous pollinatorsare active. This can result in reduced pollination and therefore reduced crops, a situation furtherexacerbated by indiscriminate use of pesticides which wipe out useful insects along with theharmful ones.

All plant species, not just cultivated ones, are under abnormal levels of stress as seasonsshrink/expand, average temperatures rise and rainfall/snow patterns spin out of the norm and it

will take time, perhaps a number of years, for the full effect of these changes to become known.

The danger is that whilst being aware that change is going on, concerned agricultural andhorticultural departments do not move fast enough to avert future shortages of fresh food byeducating growers as to how best to cope with potential problems and also by introducing newcrop species able to tolerate anticipated climatic conditions.

CONCLUSION:


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PCSIR prepares water purification sachet

APPApril 18, 2011

LAHORE: The Pakistan Council of Science and Industrial Research (PCSIR) has prepared asachet to clean contaminated water up to the standard set by the WHO.

Talking to APP here on Monday, sources said that each sachet costs Rs 5 and can adequatelyclean five litres of water, preventing water borne diseases. The purified water can be used fordrinking and cooking purposes and is safe for preparing baby food.

The manufacturing capacity of PCSIR is around 5,000 sachets per day that may be enhanced asper requirements and its technology is transferable as well, sources added. The council has

distributed 1,000 sachets among flood victims after 2010s floods.

CONCLUSION:
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Pakistans first climate change policy ready

Suhail YusufMay 26, 2011

ISLAMABAD: After being devastated by the most severe flood in history, Pakistan hasformally approved its first draft of the climate change policy.

In fact Pakistan is among the few developing countries which has prepared such a

comprehensive national policy on a subject which is on top of the global priority agenda may beafter war on terror, said Dr Qamaruzaman Chaudhary, former director general ofMeteorological Department of Pakistan and leading author of the policy.

The policy draft has already been accepted by the countrys Ministry of Environment and is

ready for the cabinets approval.

In 2008, the Climate Change Task Force was formed for the policy draft. Some 40 experts fromdifferent but related fields strived for two years to finalise it. The task force also consultedfederal and provincial agencies, organisations and other experts.

The country has diverse ecosystems which include coastlines, deserts, arid zones, mountains andglaciers. These areas are in danger due to population growth, lack of planning andmismanagement.

For Pakistan, climate change is a reality as data of temperature from the last 100 years shows a

visible increase in heat. It is also among the top countries vulnerable to climate change.

Particularly, during the last two decades, extreme weather events like heavy rains, heat and

droughts have increased, Chaudhary said.

This pattern of extreme weather could be noticed in Thar. The region is an arid zone wheredrought arrives after every three years, and may stay put for 12 months or more.But there is a harsh twist in this pattern: the third drought in the cycle tends to be longer andmore severe than the first two and parches the land for three years. This triggers the massmigration of locals to the other green areas.

The policyfrom aims to implementations

The main objective of the policy is to sustain economic growth by addressing the challenges ofclimate change.

The sectors of water resources, agriculture, human health, forestry, biodiversity and others arealso among the top priorities along with the areas of mountains, pastures, marine and coastal eco-systems. The policy is to also to be integrated by other related policies.
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The policy is a multi-sector approach in which the long term project will come under theNational Climate Change Action Planea road map for adaptation and mitigation of seriousproblems, said Jawed Ali Khan, Director General (Environment) at the Ministry ofEnvironment.

The policy also stressed upon the importance of learning, training, technical, and capacitybuilding approach. These targets are to be achieved by awareness, national and internationalcooperation, technology transfer and funding.

Chaudhary has confirmed an action plan as the next step and hoped it will be ready within nextfew months.

The policy also needs immediate implementation because the country faced extreme floods in2010 in which 2,000 people died, 20 million were displaced and one-fifth of the country wasunder water.

The upper margin of the country is dotted with glaciers and mountains which serve as watertowers for the country. Pakistan has already been observing snow liquefy floodswithout anyrainand melting glaciers. Thus the threat of extreme monsoons could also occur in future.

Increase in extreme weather events, melting of glacier and rising temperature in arid places are

the top three challenges. There are reported events of low yield in arid zones related to increasein temperature. Investigations of farmers and marine workers from 2006 confirmed that there issomething wrong with Pakistans climate, said Dr. Muhammad Mohsin Iqbal, Head,

Agriculture and Coordination Section at the Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC),Islamabad.

The GCISC, a research center for climate change, also contributed to the policy draft.

The US based Pakistani Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Cener for the Study of Longer-Range Future and author of IPCC report, Dr. Adil Najam has welcomed Pakistans first policy

draft on climate change.

I think what the draft says is correct, but may already have been said in a whole host of otherpolicy documents. The challenge is to turn the general statements into specific targets andtimetables, said Najam.

Good policy should also be rooted in the specific priorities and contexts of the nation. From this

standpoint, it seems to be that any climate change policy for Pakistan has to confront the energyissues, especially in the context of constant load-shedding.

Additionally, it would seem to me that investments in the area of agriculture and water should beprioritised and specific goals and targets be determined, said Najam.


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CONCLUSION:


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Environment: Nature and human needs

By Zainab Mehar

June 4, 2011

Our survival depends on the survival of nature. Nature should be given more importancethan our so called needs, because if nature is destroyed, we too will be.

Lets take the example of the lungs of Earth trees. They clean the air we breathe by taking incarbon dioxide and giving off oxygen. The quality of our environment, air, soil and waterdepends on the role trees play.

Trees help create rain as they expel moisture into the atmosphere; their roots draw it from the

soil and their leaves return it to the air. Trees are home to many animals, birds and insects andare a big source of food to humans and animals in the form of fruits, nuts, leaves, bark and roots.Also, many medicines are made from different parts of plants.

Unfortunately, mankind is cutting down trees at a faster rate than planting them. And because ofmass deforestation, we are seeing the effects of global warming everywhere.

In the name of development we are creating concrete jungles. If we keep on doing that very soonwhat once used to be a green forest will turn into a desert. So we should immediately stop thatand plant as many trees as we can.

Everyone knows that there are many species of both plants and animals that are endangered andare heading fast towards extinction. Why is this happening? Well, it is happening because of youand me. Animals are important to mankind in many ways. Every animal fits into the system ofnature. If any one species becomes extinct before its time, it will cause an imbalance, and bothhumans and nature will suffer the consequences.

Animals provide food for both man and plants, and, at the same time, they destroy life by killingother animals and damaging crops. In this way they help to keep in balance the total number ofplants and animals on earth. The more animals you remove from the ecosystem, the more riskthere is of the entire system collapsing.

Earth has limited resources. If we wont use them wisely they will not last long and will befinished even before our future generations are here. So dont think that that wood, oil, coal,animal species and water will stay forever if we keep destroying the environment.

Through this article, I wish to bring the readers attention towards the critical phase our

environment is going through. We should do whatever is possible, such as saving nature byplanting more trees, using water with care without wasting it in everyday chores in the bathroom


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and kitchen and by being caring about animal life. We need to care for everything in ourenvironment only then will it remain in a condition that will be favourable for our survival.

CONCLUSION:


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Flood body censured over last years

devastation

By Khaleeq KianiJuly 20, 2011

ISLAMABAD: A three-member judicial commission headed by Justice Syed Mansoor AliShah of the Lahore High Court has held the federal and provincial governments and theFederal Flood Commission (FFC) responsible forthe devastation caused by last yearsfloods and recommended accountability of former and incumbent heads of the floodcommission.

There are latent structural disconnects and omissions which, by and large, stem from anindifferent and disinterested provincial irrigation and planning (I&P) department, said the

commissions report which was released on June 30.

The commission, which also included Abdul Sattar Shakir and Shafqat Masood, said some of theissues had been on the agenda of provincial and federal governments for many years supportedby substantial funds, but no tangible results have come forth and even today there is no policyfor flood plain management or hill torrents management. The commissions report said the FFChad not lived up to its objectives and morphed into a post office, which simply compiled floodschemes of various irrigation departments in the country.

The Punjab governments I&P department, it said, lacked expertise, research, innovation, vision

and dynamism befitting a department that had to lead the largest contiguous irrigation network in

the world for the welfare and uplift of the people of Pakistan and its heavily dependent agro-economy. The overall flood governance seems to be in disarray.

The report quoted Pepco as having said that under the rural electrification programme,connections were extended to people living in the vicinity of the riveractive flood plains.Although no fatal accident took place on account of the electrification network during floods, thereport noted that even the active flood plains were electrified by Wapda under the programmewhich encouraged habitation within the plains.

The report said the National Flood Protection Plan clearly laid down the foundation and aframework for the development of a flood management plan way back in 1978, but since then

the FFC has miserably failed to provide the vision and the plan it was set out to give.

The FFC has been reduced to a post office, stamping away flood protection schemes prepared

and developed after every flood season by zonal chiefs of the I&P department.

The report said there was no master plan or holistic flood management plan which controls thescope or tests usefulness of the schemes. Besides, it added, the schemes prepared by the zonalheads lacked research, innovation and ingenuity. The schemes which go through are usually the
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one that are pushed by the local political patronage, leading to a series of haphazard,unstructured and ineffective flood protection schemes at a heavy financial cost on the nationalexchequer.

The judicial commission said: The current and previous chairmen of FFC are accountable for

their failed stewardship of the commission since 1977. The country does not have an integratedflood management plan; this omission is criminal and its chairmen must be held accountable forit.

The federal government must hold a detail audit of the FFC by a panel of experts, includingmembers from civil society, to assess the performance of the FFC since its inception. Why hasthe FFC failed to develop a flood management plan and continued to approve localised floodsector schemes without first assessing their need in the larger context of the flood managementplan?

The FFC needs to be pulled out of its cocoon; it is not to act as a lame secretariat or a post

office for PIDs (provincial irrigation departments), but assume its real role of a principal floodsector authority of the country.

It is recommended that the federal government must ensure that the FFC develops the first-everNational Flood Management Plan before the start of the next flood season and shares it withflood managers of the provinces.

The Federal Flood Commission simply rubberstamps flood sectors schemes prepared at the end

of every flood season by zonal officers of the irrigation department. This is not the role of FFC.The federal government must immediately pull up this apex flood institution to perform its roleunder the law.

The judicial commission also criticised the federal government and said: We notice with deep

concern that the National Water Policy is still a draft and has been awaiting approval since 2005.Additionally, the National Flood Protection Plan-IV (2008-18) has not been approved. Thisgovernmental and perhaps bureaucratic inertness is most disturbing and can be listed as a causebehind the recent devastation.

The commission called for early development of a flood plain management plan as part of thelarger integrated flood management plan.

Flood plains must be clearly zoned and demarcated. Inhabitants and built up structures within

the flood plains be subjected to special regulation which ensures extra protection for their lifeand property, the commission said.


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CONCLUSION:


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Roads, flyovers playing havoc withenvironment, court told

Bureau ReportAugust 3, 2011

PESHAWAR, Aug 2: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday put on notice the PeshawarDevelopment Authority (PDA), the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) and provincial ministry of environment in a writ petition challenging somemega projects in the provincial capital terming it environmentally unsafe.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai and Justice Nisar HussainShah issued the notices after preliminary hearing of the petition filed by the Citizens for CleanEnvironment (CCE), a group of civil society organisations.

The petitioner stated that the ongoing developmental projects of road widening and flyovers onthe University Road and G.T. Road were taking a toll on the remaining few old trees and greenbelts in Peshawar.

The CCE comprises of Kalash Environmental Protection Society, Frontier Heritage Trust,Sarhad Conservation Network, Gandhara Hindko Board, De Laas Gul and Institute of Architectsof Pakistan.

Advocate Syed Haziq Ali Shah appeared for the petitioner and requested the bench to stop workon these projects till final disposal of the writ petition. He contended that the government had not

conducted the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and the Environmental ImpactAssessment (EIA) of these mega projects which was in violation of section 12 of the PakistanEnvironmental Protection Act, 1997.

He contended that the government had to submit a preliminary environmental review of thereasonably foreseeable qualitative and quantitative impacts on the environment of a proposedproject to determine whether it was likely to cause an adverse environmental effect.

Mr Shah contended that for the last over five months the post of chairperson of theenvironmental protection tribunal had been lying vacant since the then incumbent, MussaratHilali, was made the federal ombudsperson over sexual harassment. He added that the petitioner

would have approached that tribunal, but as it was presently non-functional, therefore the presentpetition was filed.

The respondents in the petition are the ministry of local government through its secretary,provincial ministry of environment through its secretary, the Peshawar Development Authoritythrough its director general and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agencythrough its director general.


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The petitioner stated that the local government minister never got tired of talking about Rs8billion development projects including road widening and flyovers in Peshawar district but infact such projects threatened the physical and mental welfare of the citizens as these deprivethem of green belts and trees sustaining a healthy environment.

The CCE said a huge USAID fund meant for the uplift of historical gardens was being misusedowing to lack of professional advice.

It is stated that the government had totally forgotten that Peshawar had over 3,000 year oldheritage and they were committing a crime by disfiguring and ruining its aesthetic and historicidentity. It is added that these projects would also affect the centuries old City Wall, which was aheritage of the inhabitants of the city.

CONCLUSION:


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Growing energy demand adds stress to watersupply

AFPAugust 24, 2011

SINGAPORE: A Google search for world water shortage will produce more than four

million results in 0.17 seconds. It will also use a tenth of a teaspoon of water, experts say.

Given waters role in power generation, the impact of about 300 million Google searches a day is

around 150,000 litres dailyin a world where water supplies are increasingly a major concern.

These two thingswater and energycome together and thats a big thing for the world tounderstand, says Len Rodman, a US-based water and energy expert.

If you squander water, if you indiscriminately use power, then in the long run that will have

implications for the world, the chief executive of Black & Veatch, a major global water andenergy company told AFP in an interview.

Water is used not only to generate power through dams and steam but also as a coolant fornuclear, coal and gas-fired power plants, which are competing with agriculture, industry andurban consumption for water supplies.

The Asian Development Bank has forecast the regions energy demand to double by 2030 to

6,325 million tonnes of oil equivalent, or about 74 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

Water will play an increasing role as a power source for Asia but supplies are already underthreat, said the ADB.

China and India, the worlds most populous nations, are expected to have a combined shortfall of

one trillion cubic metres of water within 20 years.

Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam are already under water

stress conditions, meaning they are experiencing periodic or limited water shortages.

During an international water conference in Singapore in July attended by Rodman, industry

players and government officials called for better integration of water and energy policies to helpfind solutions to looming shortages.

There is a growing realisation that we can no longer think about energy and water separately,

Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute in California, said at the conference.

A recent survey of more than 700 US utilities firms by Black & Veatch showed that for the firsttime, water supply was the top environmental concern among the respondents.
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Asia is likely to face the same problems, Rodman said.

It will truly be exacerbated in this region because of the urban densities that are there. Youve

got tremendous numbers of highly concentrated urban areas, he said.

The needs ofthe regions agricultural sector can also affect power supplies.

In 2008, 2.2 billion cubic metres of water were diverted from three major hydroelectric plants inVietnam for agriculture, leading to a shortfall of 430 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, Black& Veatch said.

Research is continually being carried out on water treatment technologies that require less energyas well as power-generation facilities that would need less water, experts said.

Advanced technologies to treat polluted water as well as recycle water from toilets, kitchen sinksand sewers for use in homes and industries will help address Asias future needs, they said.

Companies like Siemens Water Technologies are doing research aimed at integratingdesalinationan energy-intensive process to purify seawaterwith solar power.

Rodman said encouraging people to change their consumption patterns of water and energy byhelping them understand the link between the two is equally important.

Gone are the days when water is independent from energy, he said.

CONCLUSION:


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As environment agency gasps for funds: Airpollution rises in city

By Imran Ali TeepuSeptember 8, 2011

ISLAMABAD, Sept 7: Air pollution is rising in the city`s I-9 industrial area but theEnvironment Protection Agency (EPA) can do little because its Environment MonitoringSystem (EMS) has been gasping for funds for months.

Environmentalists say that the EPA is out on a limb since the Federal Ministry of Environmentwas devolved to the provinces and funds to the EMS blocked.

An official watching the development told Dawn that the EMS had been lying dormant since it

was put under the development division of the federal capital`s administration. Because theEPA has no funds to run it, no notices could be issued to the polluting industries during the lastthree months, he said.

According to the EPA website, Japan had granted the EMS project Rs973 million in the form ofmachinery and equipment while the Pakistan government was to provide Rs260 million to run it.

Its function was to send weekly and monthly monitoring reports about air quality to EPA to warnand act against the pollutants.

There are several industries in the area which are the main polluters but cannot be taken to task

because the EMS is not operational, sources said.

A visit to I-9 industrial area revealed few steel mills still operating there, spewing poisonousgases into the air.

I can`t stand this massive black smoke, not even for a few minutes and have to wear a mask topass through the I-9 industrial area, moaned Majid Khan, a resident of main market of I-9sector. His physician has diagnosed him of dust allergy.

When questioned about the situation, the director general of the Pak-EPA, Assadullah Faiz,admitted that the EMS was inoperative and said he too was concerned at the rising pollution in

the city.

Conscious that the air pollution must be very high now, he said at least six steel mills were stillworking in the Industrial Area, thanks to the dysfunctional monitoring set up. The strict check inthe past used to keep the polluters on their toes and the air in I-9 industrial area relativelycleaner.


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We are terribly concerned that pollution has gone up but hope to fix the problem once funds arereleased for the EMS operations, the EPA chief said.

CONCLUSION:


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Control of dengue fever

From the Newspaper

September 13, 2011

NOWADAYS it is a grave situation in Punjab and every day hundreds of people are beingaffected by dengue fever. Hospitals are full of patients with no room for people with otherproblems. This is an alarming situation and both the government of Punjab and the federalgovernment are trying their best to manage the dengue fever vector but without any majorsuccess.

The federal government is trying to spray insecticides belong to pyrethroid group(permethrin/apla-cypermethrin) while the Punjab government is trying deltamethrin, but theinsecticides have failed to give any promising results.

This is because the mosquito, which is a vector of dengue virus, has developed resistance tothese and other groups of insecticides. Recently our group has published the data in a scientificjournal, which suggests that the dengue fever mosquito has developed resistance to variousinsecticides in Punjab.

If any insect develops resistance to a particular group of insecticides, then it could also showcross-resistance to other groups because of common mechanism of resistance.

The same is the case with dengue mosquito. It has developed resistance to organosphosphatesand pyrethroids groups of insecticides due to common resistance mechanism.

Therefore, the only option to control the mosquito in Punjab and other parts of Pakistan is tocontrol it by overcoming this mechanism.

We, at the Institute of Biotechnology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, have identifiedthis common mechanism of resistance and have also found two ways to overcome themechanism of resistance.

We can control resistant mosquito first by mixing certain chemicals in the existing group ofinsecticides, and, secondly, by using alternative groups of insecticides. Both these methods aregiving promising results in our experimental studies.

We have informed the federal and Punjab governments about our scientific results but it seemsthe governments have different priorities than controlling the dengue vector. We offered ourservices to the government of Punjab without any benefits but even then no one wants to takeadvantage.

We would like to inform the government through these columns that we would be delighted tosort out the dengue issue in Pakistan as without controlling the vector of the virus, it wont be

possible to manage the fever.


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This year the situation is worse than what it was last year and if the government does not pay anyattention, then the next year could bring more havoc and the epidemic could be uncontrollable.

Should anyone require further information, he is most welcome to contact us at 0315-6237604and ask for me.

DR HUSSNAIN SAYYEDForeign Faculty Professor,Institute of BiotechnologyBZ University, Multan

Raising awareness

DENGUE fever is a viral infection spread from person to person by bites of mosquitoes whichattack between 6am to 9am and 4pm to 10pm. People who become infected produce antibodiesin response to the virus.

The FDA-approved new test detects the IgM class of these antibodies in the blood of infectedpeople, and a positive result aids in the diagnosis of a person with characteristic signs andsymptoms.

A high fever (105 degrees Fahrenheit), severe body pains, itching, red spots, bleeding from nose,teeth and severe pain behind eyes are distinguishing symptoms.

Warning signs for a severe disease which predisposes to dengue haemorrhagic shock areabdominal pain, ongoing vomiting, liver enlargement, mucosal bleeding, high haematocrit withlow platelets and lethargy.

Patients should use paracetamol only. Never use dispirin.

As there is no vaccine for dengue virus, so precaution is mandatory. This is done by reducingopen collections of water through environmental modification.

This is the preferred method of control, given the concerns of negative health effect frominsecticides and greater logistical difficulties with control agents.

People can prevent mosquito bites by wearing clothing that fully covers the skin, using mosquitonets while resting, and/or the application of insect repellent.

DR SAIF UR REHMANMedical hepatologistCentre for Liver Diseases and Liver Transplant, PIMSIslamabad


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CONCLUSION:


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Better than cureFrom the Newspaper

September 18, 2011

With the vast majority of dengue cases initially plaguing Punjab, almost half the districts inSindh are also in the grip of the mosquito-borne fever now.

There have been 116 deaths and more than 10,000 infections in the city of Lahore alone.

Whereas, the latest figures released by Sindhs provincial dengue surveillance cell showed that

567 patients suffering from dengue fever were admitted to various public and private hospitals inKarachi and 13 other districts.

As preventative measures, among shutting down educational institutions, students have also beeninstructed to wear full-sleeve shirts until the epidemic ceases. And health workers have

fumigated parts of various cities in Pakistan.

Despite these precautions, the outbreak is rapidly increasing. Is the governments response inpreparing the country for the epidemic adequate?

More importantly, is the public responsibly observing precautionary measures?

CONCLUSION:
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Breaches in LBOD blamed for colossaldamage

Bureau Report | From the NewspaperOctober 3, 2011

HYDERABAD: Leaders of public opinion have blamed governments inefficiency for

breaches, both man-made and natural, in the Left Bank Outfall Drain and other salinewater drains, which have devastated 21 districts of the province and affected about 15million people.

Speaking at a conference convened by the Awami Tehrik (AT) at the Mumtaz Mirza Auditoriumof Sindh Museum here on Sunday, they said thousands of villages had been destroyed and theprovince had suffered losses to the tune of billions of rupees.

On an average 30 to 40 people were dying of hunger and diseases every day while about 700,000displaced people were living in camps and many others in the open, they said citing a report ofthe National Disaster Management Authority.

They said three million people were suffering from diseases and nine million heads of cattle hadperished in rain-related incidents.

Referring to a UN report, the speakers said there would be a catastrophe if the affected peoplewere not provided succour on an emergency basis.

The speakers included ATs leader Rasool Bux Palijo, chairman Ayaz Latif Palijo, Ghulam NabiMughal, Anwar Memon and Ms Afroze Shoro.

Resolutions adopted at the conference demanded that all districts and union councils affected byrains should be declared calamity-affected and all the displaced people be provided food andmedical facilities.

One of the resolutions called for transparency in distribution of relief goods and ending the roleof MNAs, MPAs, Waderas and bureaucrats in the distribution.

The conference demanded payment of adequate compensation to the affected people and said

rain-hit farmers should be given free of cost seeds, fertiliser and agricultural machinery andshould be exempted from land revenue, water charges and bank loans.

Another resolution appealed to the Supreme Court to take notice of the flawed design of theLBOD and fix responsibility.

It said the rain affected-people should be provided free electricity for six months and studentsshould be exempted from fees.


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Stagnant rainwater should be drained out on a war footing and all encroachments in and alongwater ways should be removed.

The conference said the affected people should be settled in Hyderabad and Karachi. It termedPakistan Card and financial aid of Rs20,000 a cruel joke. It demanded that each affected family

should be paid at least Rs500,000.

STP meeting

The Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party has blamed flawed design of the LBOD for the colossal damagecaused by heavy rains in 21 district of the province.

A meeting of the central executive council of the STP chaired by Dr Qadir Magsi on Sundaycriticised what it described as insensitivity and callousness of the government and national andprovincial disaster management authorities.

The meeting urged the government to declare Sindhi national language and the only officiallanguage in Sindh and said Sindhi should be taught as a compulsory subject in all private schoolsof the province.

The meeting demanded that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement should be declared a terroristorganisation and banned.

It expressed no confidence in the ongoing Rangers operation in Karachi. It advised the

government to expel terrorists recruited in the police department.

CONCLUSION:


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Kill dengue through environment

From the Newspaper

October 8, 2011

Is the spraying of insecticides for killing dengue mosquitoes as effective as is beingclaimed?I dont think so. It seems to be doing very little harm to the virus. However, its

damaging the natural defence system of nature by killing the helpful creatures (insects andbacteria included) which consume the mosquitoes and their larvae.

According to the little knowledge that I have, researchers have found that some larva of denguehas been able to survive in sewerage water, icy temperatures, and other extremities like that, onlyto spring up in the favourable conditions that follow.

The only option to get rid of this nuisance is to get it and its larvae be consumed by the little

friends of nature. Guppy fish or Pakistans local goldfish is a hearty eater of the mosquitoes andlarvae. Breeding the fish in water ponds is surely helpful.

Planting Neem trees may also bring the nature in harmony again. Guggal or googal (available atany good karyana store) is another herbal insecticide which when smouldered preferably withdried neem leaves is a repellent for mosquitoes but does not harm the natural fighters like spiderswhose deadly cobwebs do not let the mosquitoes pass through.

Keeping the environment clean and dry during the rainy season and disposing the inorganicwaste to let the drainage holes be kept open. Let us do our duty.

CONCLUSION:

Workbook EPC (1)

Documents

Transcript of Workbook EPC (1)