Pakistan losing $1 billion per day due to environmental degradation

Pakistan is losing cumulatively $1 billion per day due to the environmental degradation while the successive governments have never given serious attention to the issue. This was the crux of the seminar on "Strategic Environmental Assessment - in the context of Framework for Economic Growth - Taking the bull by the horns" organised by the Planning Commission, in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), here on Wednesday.
Dr Nadeem-ul-Haq, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of Pakistan, Dr Ishfaq Ahmad, Advisor, Science and Technology, and Ghulam Mohayuddin Marri, Member (Infrastructure) from the Planning Commission Dr Aurangzeb Khan, National Project Director National Impact Assessment Programme (NIAP) and Syed Tanveer Hussain, Project Director, National Trade Corridor (NTC) Project were also present on the occasion.
Dr Nadeem-ul-Haq said that the environment had always been a subject of great concern and had deliberately been left out since environment was a crosscutting subject and having a chapter on it will marginalise its importance. "We cannot ignore one subject and address the other, everything is inter-related and we need to address all the issues very tactfully," he said. He stressed the need for involving the youth in all the developmental process so as to make development more sustainable.
For economic growth to be sustainable, the environmental impact of industrial operations, commercial enterprises and development projects must be strictly regulated. Two highly effective tools available for this purpose are; Environmental Impact Assessment "(EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).
Environmental threats damage economy of the state and have negative impact due to displacement of people and they lose their business and become burden on the economy. Ghulam Mohyuddin Marri said that NIAP is a unique initiative striving to meet development goals in a sustainable manner. "Pakistan faces many environmental challenges which need to be addressed since the economy is dependent on its natural resources. These challenges are grouped in two broad categories with varying degrees of impact; a combination of poverty and population growth and unplanned increase in industrialisation," Marri added.
Syed Tanveer Hussain said that Strategic Environmental, Poverty and Social Assessment (SEPSA) of trade and transport reforms has been undertaken in collaboration with the World Bank to identify likely impacts of trade and transport reforms to avoid or reduce negative impacts. He further mentioned that SEPSA aimed at analysing policy & institutional adjustments and making recommendations for improving the reforms. The SEA refers to a range of analytical and participatory approaches that aim at integrating environmental considerations with policies, plans and programmes and evaluate the inter linkages with economical and social considerations.
Jawed Ali Khan, Director General Environment, Ministry of National Disaster Management, highlighted the process through which SEA has been introduced in Pakistan. He mentioned that SEA was first conducted by the World Bank in 2007, the findings of which showed that Environmental damage costs 6 per cent of the GDP.
Dr Ishfaq Ahmed, Senior Advisor Climate Change and Development highlighted that Pakistan is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and global warming. He stressed the need to address climate change in a new context especially after the development of the Ministry of Environment and in light of the New Growth Strategy of the Planning Commission. "Our planet is becoming warmer and more crowded with each passing day that is why we need to conserve our resources and devise strategies that are drought and floods resilient," Dr Ishfaq said.