Impact of leather tanneries on environment: WWF-P, SCCI organise awareness raising seminar

World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) and Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has organized an awareness raising seminar on the impact of leather tanneries on environment at Sialkot, which was attended by local traders, industrialists and exporters.
According to a WWF-P's spokesperson here on Monday, the seminar focused on the water stewardship initiatives in Pakistan by WWF-Pakistan's project titled 'City wide partnership for sustainable water use and water stewardship in SMEs in Lahore, Pakistan', funded by the European Union (EU). The seminar was attended by Dr Ejaz Ahmad, Senior Director, WWF-P, Ali Hasnain Sayed, Manager Water Security and Stewardship, WWF-P, and Sohail Ali Naqvi, Senior Project Officer, WWF-P.
Dr Ejaz Ahmad gave the project's overview and Ali Hasnain Sayed briefed the audience about the project initiatives, especially pollution reducing practices, to meet global trade challenges under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime. He also explained that future training workshops in Sialkot will focus on the leather sector and Best Water Management Practices (BWMP), which will train industries' professionals on water conservation, pollution reduction and energy savings. Sohail Ali Naqvi gave a presentation on the initiatives taken in different SMEs and business cases for the implementation of BWMPs. Mir Alamgir Meyer, Senior Vice President of SCCI, discussed several challenges faced by the leather industry, especially environmental pollution. He informed participants that Sialkot's leather industry has been facing several challenges due to environmental pollution, yet exporters are striving to find solutions to the problem.