Unplanned urbanization
destroying environment: IUCN report on Sindh
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Karachi,
June 02: Poverty cannot be reduced
in the province without halting and reversing
rural decline, said a baseline resource
document on various sectors released by
the IUCN, the world conservation union,
at a ceremony on Thursday. According to
the report, reasons for the rural decline
include widespread water shortage and deterioration
in irrigation systems, reduced agricultural
yield, depletion of livestock holdings,
intensification of exploitation of the ‘hari’
by landlords, and a worsening law and order
situation.
The natural resource management ought to
be improved; and there should be the promotion
of greater equity regarding the distribution
of water, added the report, |
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prepared in collaboration
with the Planning and Development Department,
government of Sindh.
The IUCN held a ceremony to launch the baseline
information and data, coupled with an action
plan, titled ‘Sindh - state of environment
and development’ at a local hotel. Adviser
to the chief minister on Environment and Alternative
Energy, Mohammad Noman Saigol was the chief
guest. |
The report, considered as a compendium of
environmental, social and economic information
of Sindh, says that in terms of the human
development index (HDI) ranking within Pakistan,
the urban areas of Sindh have the highest
ranking with an HDI of 0.659, greater than
that of Pakistan as a whole, while the rural
areas of Sindh have an HDI of 0.456, which
is the lowest in the country.
More than 11 million men and women in Sindh
are unemployed and around 15 million live
below the poverty line.
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The privatization
of public owned enterprises and institutions
has contributed to unemployment.
The report mentioned that urbanization
in Sindh was a major environmental issue,
as 48.9 per cent of the province resided
in urban areas. Karachi alone contained
63 per cent of Sindh’s urban population.
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