Members of civil society, private sector and government agencies attended and proactively discussed issues related to existing environmental laws of Pakistan, their implementation and relevance to local environmental issues in a day long seminar organised jointly by IUCN Balochistan Programme, IUCN Law Programme and Rootwork. Discussions during the course of the daylong session included the effect of brick kilns on fruit orchards in District Mastoong, the need to clamp down on vehicular pollution particularly in Quetta city, its impact on human health, the need for CNG mass transport systems, water scarcity including access to clean and drinking water, role of the Balochistan EPA, and the need for public and civil society action, education and participation in ensuring effective implementation of environmental laws and services.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest Mr. Imtiaz Hussain, Secretary Law, Balochistan, highlighted the role of civil societies in supporting governments in identifying and bringing environmental concerns to the fore. He said the Environmental Protection Agencies and Environmental Tribunals have been established and the Government of Balochistan was particularly taking effective measures to deal with hospital and municipal waste management and disposal. He also reiterated that the simple promulgation of laws was not enough to cater to the protection of the environment, unless awareness was created amongst the masses about the importance of these issues and they were educated regarding the legal aspects available to take these issues forward. He also stressed that the daylong workshop would be helpful in familiarizing the participants regarding their duties in protecting the environment.

Mr. Khurram Rasheed, Barrister at Law, Surridge and Beecheno spoke about the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, by providing the participants an overview to the Constitution of PEPA, the functions and powers of EPAs, the set up and powers of Environmental Tribunals, and most importantly the system of appealing to these tribunals. He highlighted the need to implement laws and make the Tribunals functional by notifying the Chairperson and Members of these Tribunals, and building capacity of and disseminating information to civil society and citizens. This he said would empower them to submit environmental cases to the Tribunals. Barrister Khurram Rasheed highlighted that other than Environmental Tribunals, the second judicial forum available to aggrieved persons and/or agencies was that of Environmental Magistrates. The purview of this forum included cases related to hazardous waste and motor vehicles pollution. He also presented the penalties Environmental Magistrates could issue under their jurisdiction. Furthermore, the processes of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) were also presented. To illustrate the efficacy of these environmental laws, Tribunals and Magistrates, Barrister Rasheed cited several localized, context specific environmental cases from Pakistan.

Dr. Abdul Majeed, Head, Water Programme, IUCN Pakistan spoke on air and water pollution, with special reference to groundwater. Dr. Majeed highlighted the sources of air and water pollution and contamination, like vehicular, railways, natural gas, solid waste and industrial pollution. Tracing the relationship between air pollutants and health, he pointed out that air pollution had its impact on the central nervous system resulting in impairment of time intervals discrimination and loss of eyesight, skin irritation, cancer, liver and kidney damage, infertility, respiratory and non respiratory disorders. Regarding the impact of groundwater, he elucidated the natural constituents found in groundwater like silica, iron, calcium, chloride and nitrate, and their impacts and effects on their usability.

Mr. Saleem Chisti, Head IUCN Balochistan Programme, introduced the work of IUCN both globally and in Pakistan. He gave an extensive overview of IUCN Pakistan’s initiatives towards the development of District Visions and Conservation Strategies, including the process undertaken in Districts Gawadar and Qilla Saifullah by the IUCN Balochistan Programme. Regarding the workshop he said that it was also important for all those present to spread this message forward and make sure that other citizens, journalists, government agencies and NGOs profited from this knowledge.

Ms. Huma Ikramullah, Focal Person, IUCN Law Programme presented the role of civil society in dealing with local and public environmental issues. She based her presentation on two training manual’s developed by IUCN Pakistan, entitled ‘You Can Make a Difference’ and gave a step by step breakdown to the participants regarding the processes that should be undertaken in order to address both these local and broader public issues. Ms. Ikramullah also provided a chronological overview on the development of Environmental Legislation in Pakistan, particularly all major Environmental Acts and Regulations promulgated since the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 upto the NEQS Amendments, 2000 and most importantly the Environmental Tribunal Rules, 1999. She later gave some contextual examples through case studies published by IUCN Pakistan in a manual entitled ‘You Can Make a Difference’. These cases related to local environmental issues of Pakistan in which concerned citizens and civil society organizations had successfully mobilized laws and institutions to address environmental threats to various geographical areas of the country. The presentations included the Quetta Highrise Building case which emerged after the Quetta 1935 earthquake, the Haleji Lake case resulting from large scale commercial fishing in the lake, and the Kirthar National Park case study following the threat to the protected area from the proposed construction of the Indus Highway.

The workshop completed with the distribution of certificates to the participants and a vote of thanks from Ishrat Jabeen, Director, Root works and Mr. Saleem Chisti, Head, Balochistan Programme of IUCN.

For more information contact:

Tehseena Rafi, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Pakistan.
Tel: (021) 537 4072/73/74, e-mail: tehseena.rafi@iucnp.org