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Environment
Environmental issues, needless to say are an integral part of Sustainable Development. Without preservation of South Asia's environmental integrity, agriculture and other sectors will dry up as natural resources exhaust themselves.
Environmental problems in Pakistan are growing fast. These wide ranging and complex problems include natural hazards and disasters, urban and industrial growth, increasing air and aquatic pollution, waste disposal and material use, coastal and marine pollution.
 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Since Pakistan:
a) Does not have proper treatment infrastructure including disposal technologies
b) Does not have a national inventory of pesticides, dioxins, furan and PCBs
c) Does not have capacity to manage and monitor POPs
We recommend the Government to:
1. Prioritize the POPs issue
2. Expedite the program leading to the ratification of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
3. Devise national action plan to combat the disastrous effects of POPs
4. Create awareness in the masses against the injuries and health risks associated with exposure to POPs
Civil society and donor community could come forward in assessing economic implications, environmental degradation and health risks posed by POPs to human and animal health.
Water
Pakistan, described in World Development Report 1995 as having one of the highest water potentials per person out of 130 countries, has a vast irrigation system comprising three main reservoirs, 19 dams and 43 canals with a conveyance length of 57,000 km.
The problems of water are too gigantic ranging from water apportionment among the provinces to lack of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, from mangrove destruction to mixing of industrial waste in fresh water reservoirs.
Experts say ‘NO’ to big dams
Experts including environmentalists, economists and civil society activists have given a call to reject large dams as a solution to the water crisis.
Speaking at a meeting organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Sungi Development Foundation, ActionAid Pakistan, and Oxfam UK in Islamabad, experts said that large dams were damaging to the environment, eco system and people.
Speakers were of the view that water problems could be resolved by providing good governance in political, social, economic and administrative systems. They stressed the need for effective and integrated water governance for the conservation and management of water resources.
Speakers said that in the past, local communities undertook control and management of water but now due to the increasing role of the state and bureaucracy, control and regulation of water rested with public institutions. Unfortunately, public institutions have no cognizance of social, economic and environmental consequences of such mega projects. Although the process of dam construction in development perspective seems to be a good effort by the government but in reality these mindless development initiatives, wherein people’s rights are not respected, always jeopardize the very notion of development and further exacerbate the problems.
Criticizing the government's Water Vision 2025, speakers said it was a $50 billion vision that aimed to fulfill water needs of Pakistan in the next 25 years. Can we by virtue of being a citizen ask the government where and how this amount is going to be spent? Rather than building dams, we should focus on the conservation and sustainable management of existing water resources, said the speakers.
Earth Day: Speech Contests in 7 schools on Water Pollution (please click here to view details)
October 2005 Earthquake
Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Fund Updates Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Activities Updates
Earth Day 2006 (please click here to view details)
SDPI and Parliamentarians' Rally for the Fair Compensation for Tehsil Murree and Kotli Satyan Earthquake Victims
The 8th October's earthquake had severely damaged some 5000 houses in Tehsil Murree and Kotli Satyan located on seismically fragile Patriata ridge (except top of ridge- the place reserved for the controversial New Murree Project). After this tragedy, despite Punjab government's tall claims and reassurances for the monetary compensation to the affectees, it is unfortunate that no compensation has been paid so far to the intitally victims of earthquake and now victims of our own government. To make things more worse and complicated, the Government of Punjab has now reffered the compensation case to Federal Government by asking the Prime Minister to provide the estimated compensation cost to Punjab government to resolve this issue. On the other hand, the local people/affectees vigorously continue their peaceful efforts to get a fair amount of compensation.
As part our continued efforts to ensure a justified compensation and to highlight government's constant denial to the genuine demands of local residents/affecttees, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Action Committee of the Earthquake Victms of Tehsil Murree and Kotli Satyan, Members of National Assembly of the area along with other parliamentarians and notable leaders of other political parties held a peaceful rally in front of Parliament House on Friday 28th April 2006. During today's peaceful rally, the participants also registered their opposition to controversial New Murree Project.
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