A five-year project Pakistan Sustainable Transport Programme (PAKSTRAN) is in process to be simultaneously implemented in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad/Rawalpindi with the motive to reduce the demand for energy consumption. A senior IUCN official told APP on Friday that the project is aimed at reducing the related greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector in Pakistan, while simultaneously improving urban environmental conditions and supplementing country's trade competitiveness.
The project is being initiated by IUCN Pakistan in collaboration with UNDP/Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF) and other concerned departments including National Energy Conservation Centre (ENERCON,) Ministry of Water and Power, Sindh Transport Department, Punjab Urban Unit and Planning and Development Division, he said. The PAKSTRAN project to be completed in 2016 is being funded by GEF is urgently needed in the country as transport sector has grave environmental and economic impacts and impedes the overall development process of the country.
The programme will also lead to policy level interventions and on-ground activities to promote sustainable transport by demonstrating replicable models in the urban centres of the country. Under PAKSTRAN a two-pronged approach has been outlined to address issues related to transport by introducing policy interventions, institutional strengthening and capacity building.