Ecological drift in Pakistan
English Essay on "Ecological drift in Pakistan" - Compositions on "Ecological drift in Pakistan"
The second environment summit has begun at Johannesburg from August 26, 2002. The first summit, known as the ‘Earth Summit’ took place at Rio in 1992. The present summit is being attended by more than fifty thousand participants from 184 UN member countries, NGOs and others. These UN summits are big jamborees in which high-sounding speeches are made and lofty resolutions passed with unanimity but their implementation is not even a quarter of the rhetoric. Agenda-21 which was adopted at Rio has hardly been implemented by the signatory countries.
The universal environmental concern is the global warming caused by ozone depletion owing to CFCs. This has led to a cloud around the earth which is abnormally warming it. These carbons are mainly released by developed countries whose industries and domestic appliances especially the refrigerators are responsible for it.educationsight.blogspot.com The Kyoto Treaty was signed under which major industrial countries undertook to, reduce the CFC release. However, the Bush administration has refused to ratify it leading to the ire of the whole world.
The buzzword in the diction of environmentalists is “sustainable development” which s defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In simple words it means that the present generation should not degrade the environment to an extent that it hampers the growth of the next generation. Only as many trees should be cut as were planted 15 or 20 years ago so that the stock of maturing trees does not diminish.
The fear of the environmentalists is that we are depleting the nature at a faster rate than its inbuilt reproductive capacity. The urge for greener earth has led to the formation of a Green political party in Germany but in many other countries the sustainable ecosystem management takes a second place to the universal rush for higher rate of GDP growth.
The present summit, besides considering topics which were discussed at the earlier summit, will be focusing on the problems of poverty reduction, improved access to water and energy for all and spreading the social benefits of economic growth. The problem of erosion, landslide, draining of lakes and other environmental problems will be focused.
The main emphasis, however, will be on harmonizing environmental concerns with poverty reduction as it is often argued that if developing countries get unduly obsessed with environmental considerations their economic growth may be retarded..The report before the summit indicates that air pollution kills three million people a year, 300 million suffer from malaria, one billion lack access to clean water and two billion lack access to proper sanitation facilities.
The environmental situation in Pakistan is worse than that depicted for the earth as a whole. It may be pertinent to quote from the Economic Survey 2001-02 issued by the Government of Pakistan:’ “A study by the Pakistan Medical Association indicates that the growth in traffic and dirty fuels have already had an adverse impact. In Pakistan, sulphur in diesel and furnace oil is one per cent and three per cent as compared to 0.05 - 0.5 and 0.5 - 1.0 per cent for other countries of the region, respectively.
“The lead in gasoline in Pakistan is 0.35 grams per litre while the average for other countries in the region is 0.1. grams per litre. Thus the blood-lead levels for children in Karachi, Islamabad and Peshawar are 36.9, 22.3 and 19.0 microgram per deciliter respectively, which are considerably higher than acceptable levels of 15 micrograms per deciliter. The blood-lead levels of traffic constables in Karachi are over three times and even those of adults twice than that of acceptable levels.”
Higher lead-levels do not only lead to stunted growth but also cause mental retardation. It is obvious that it reduces immunity in. the body and leads to several diseases. It is difficult to explain as to why the government has allowed higher levels of sulphur than in other countries of the region. In Japan the sulphur in high-speed diesel is 0.0005 and in most developed countries motor gasoline is totally lead-free. Our refineries which now claim to produce lead-free motor gasoline should have been directed to do so decades ago, but this could only have been done if the development policies were directed towards the “greatest good of the greatest number.”
‘Not only are the lead and sulphur level high but the suspended particular matter (SPM) is also very high in cities like Lahore. The SPM concentration in Lahore is 7.46 times the WHO guideline and the’ level in Rawalpindi is 5.93 times the WHO standard. Similar multiples of WHO guidelines are true in case of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide.
The same is true about the pollution in Pakistani rivers particularly nullahs. The ill-health of the nation and the low productivity of our work force is partially due to a very high level of pollution in Pakistan. No wonder that the same work force starts producing much more when it migrates to a greener environment. Environment of all sorts contributes to their higher productivity in foreign countries. New Delhi, Karachi and Lahore are among the most polluted cities in the world.
The Indian Supreme Court, acting on the doctrine of judicial activism has made it mandatory for public transport to use CNG instead of diesel. They have also ordered the industrial units to be relocated outside municipal areas. It is hoped that the pollution level in New Delhi will be reduced by 80 per cent as a result of these measures. Pakistan’s Supreme Court should also take similar measure under judicial activism to enhance its esteem.
The object of the UN summits is to highlight the main issues in different fields and to goad the member states to implement policies addressing those issues. Unfortunately, the issues are very well highlighted but the greed, of the governing classes or the ruling elites prevents pursuit of programmes and projects which will ensure a healthy present and future for all the six billion inhabitants of the world.
In Pakistan an excellent document on National Conservation Strategy was prepared in run-up to the first summit in 1992 and another is being prepared with expatriate skills for the present summit. For how long will these documents continue to gather dust and the environment in Pakistan will get murkier day by day?
The universal environmental concern is the global warming caused by ozone depletion owing to CFCs. This has led to a cloud around the earth which is abnormally warming it. These carbons are mainly released by developed countries whose industries and domestic appliances especially the refrigerators are responsible for it.educationsight.blogspot.com The Kyoto Treaty was signed under which major industrial countries undertook to, reduce the CFC release. However, the Bush administration has refused to ratify it leading to the ire of the whole world.
The buzzword in the diction of environmentalists is “sustainable development” which s defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In simple words it means that the present generation should not degrade the environment to an extent that it hampers the growth of the next generation. Only as many trees should be cut as were planted 15 or 20 years ago so that the stock of maturing trees does not diminish.
The fear of the environmentalists is that we are depleting the nature at a faster rate than its inbuilt reproductive capacity. The urge for greener earth has led to the formation of a Green political party in Germany but in many other countries the sustainable ecosystem management takes a second place to the universal rush for higher rate of GDP growth.
The present summit, besides considering topics which were discussed at the earlier summit, will be focusing on the problems of poverty reduction, improved access to water and energy for all and spreading the social benefits of economic growth. The problem of erosion, landslide, draining of lakes and other environmental problems will be focused.
The main emphasis, however, will be on harmonizing environmental concerns with poverty reduction as it is often argued that if developing countries get unduly obsessed with environmental considerations their economic growth may be retarded..The report before the summit indicates that air pollution kills three million people a year, 300 million suffer from malaria, one billion lack access to clean water and two billion lack access to proper sanitation facilities.
The environmental situation in Pakistan is worse than that depicted for the earth as a whole. It may be pertinent to quote from the Economic Survey 2001-02 issued by the Government of Pakistan:’ “A study by the Pakistan Medical Association indicates that the growth in traffic and dirty fuels have already had an adverse impact. In Pakistan, sulphur in diesel and furnace oil is one per cent and three per cent as compared to 0.05 - 0.5 and 0.5 - 1.0 per cent for other countries of the region, respectively.
“The lead in gasoline in Pakistan is 0.35 grams per litre while the average for other countries in the region is 0.1. grams per litre. Thus the blood-lead levels for children in Karachi, Islamabad and Peshawar are 36.9, 22.3 and 19.0 microgram per deciliter respectively, which are considerably higher than acceptable levels of 15 micrograms per deciliter. The blood-lead levels of traffic constables in Karachi are over three times and even those of adults twice than that of acceptable levels.”
Higher lead-levels do not only lead to stunted growth but also cause mental retardation. It is obvious that it reduces immunity in. the body and leads to several diseases. It is difficult to explain as to why the government has allowed higher levels of sulphur than in other countries of the region. In Japan the sulphur in high-speed diesel is 0.0005 and in most developed countries motor gasoline is totally lead-free. Our refineries which now claim to produce lead-free motor gasoline should have been directed to do so decades ago, but this could only have been done if the development policies were directed towards the “greatest good of the greatest number.”
‘Not only are the lead and sulphur level high but the suspended particular matter (SPM) is also very high in cities like Lahore. The SPM concentration in Lahore is 7.46 times the WHO guideline and the’ level in Rawalpindi is 5.93 times the WHO standard. Similar multiples of WHO guidelines are true in case of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide.
The same is true about the pollution in Pakistani rivers particularly nullahs. The ill-health of the nation and the low productivity of our work force is partially due to a very high level of pollution in Pakistan. No wonder that the same work force starts producing much more when it migrates to a greener environment. Environment of all sorts contributes to their higher productivity in foreign countries. New Delhi, Karachi and Lahore are among the most polluted cities in the world.
The Indian Supreme Court, acting on the doctrine of judicial activism has made it mandatory for public transport to use CNG instead of diesel. They have also ordered the industrial units to be relocated outside municipal areas. It is hoped that the pollution level in New Delhi will be reduced by 80 per cent as a result of these measures. Pakistan’s Supreme Court should also take similar measure under judicial activism to enhance its esteem.
The object of the UN summits is to highlight the main issues in different fields and to goad the member states to implement policies addressing those issues. Unfortunately, the issues are very well highlighted but the greed, of the governing classes or the ruling elites prevents pursuit of programmes and projects which will ensure a healthy present and future for all the six billion inhabitants of the world.
In Pakistan an excellent document on National Conservation Strategy was prepared in run-up to the first summit in 1992 and another is being prepared with expatriate skills for the present summit. For how long will these documents continue to gather dust and the environment in Pakistan will get murkier day by day?
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