Daily Times

Pakistan’s major problem is water scarcity. The country faces acute water scarcity by 2025 and will be the most water-stressed country in South Asia within two decades. Almost 30 million Pakistanis have no access to clean water. In 1997, the then-government enacted the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act to safeguard, conserve, rehabilitate and improve the environment of Pakistan through sustainable development measures and pollution control, among others.

Black carbon is highly dangerous for a number of reasons. With its extremely small size, it can make its way deep into lung tissues where it can cause scarring or a reduction in full lung function, as well as having carcinogenic properties, leading to increased instances of cancer of the lungs, throat and stomach. The terrible effect that black carbon can have on the environment. It has the ability to absorb solar radiation and give it off directly as heat, causing cities to see large increases in temperature that can have knock on effects to both the climate as well as human health and wellbeing. Nitrogen dioxide (N02) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), both of which are also released from vehicles, with nitrogen dioxide being particularly prominent in areas of high traffic. Other chemicals include volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) such as benzene, labelled as ‘volatile’ due to their nature of becoming gases at very low temperatures, thus having the added danger of being easier to respire once in the air. Fumes from burnt plastics would include chemicals such as dioxins, furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, as well as dangerous metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium. Others would include carbon monoxide (CO), stemming from the burning of wood as well as combustion units such as boilers, which is well known for being a very dangerous household contaminant, which if not ventilated thoroughly enough can lead to deaths occurring very quickly, due to its odorless and colorless nature. Analyzing the data taken over the last few years, it appears that the levels of air pollution in Pakistan have improved overall, with some exceptions such as Karachi actually showing worse numbers in more recent times than in years past. So as mentioned, all cities apart from Karachi made an improvement, but Pakistan still has a long way ahead of it if it is to move itself out of its dire pollution situation.

Natural resource management needs to take place at multiple levels to be effective, with the success of state policies ultimately depending upon the support from and response of individuals, communities, civil society and other regional and global actors

Health issues would include ones such as all manner of respiratory ailments, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) very likely to develop, which contains within it a number of respiratory ailments such as pneumonia, bronchitis, emphysema and aggravated asthma attacks. Another danger is that the small air sacs that are responsible for allowing oxygen to enter the blood either accumulating and causing damage or reduced lung capacity, or passing into the circulatory system via the blood barrier, where they can cause a number of equally destructive issues such as ischemic heart disease, which arises when the heart does not receive enough blood to keep the tissues function at full capacity. Other cardiac issues include increased risk of stroke, heart attacks, arrythmias, as well as damage to the blood vessels and filtration organs such as the liver and kidneys due to this dangerous particulate matter actually being in the blood. The real importance for people to not only keep themselves safe and reduce exposure, but to take steps towards reducing their own pollutive output and taking part in initiatives to keep their countries air as clean as possible, lest their younger generation suffer greatly as a result.

Pakistan requires greater progress in environmental protection. Water scarcity is increasing, land productivity is decreasing, and climate change is worsening. The risk of natural disasters, also exacerbated by climate change as well as economic shocks, adds to existing vulnerabilities. We are promoting the integration of climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable policies into development plans and programs in Pakistan.

UNDP is supporting projects across the region in Pakistan to respond to the growing threat of climate change; to mainstream environmental concerns into national development planning processes; and to expand access to environmental and energy services for the poor. In particular, UNDP has sought to ensure that the poor have stronger capacities to manage, adapt to and monitor climate change.

Climate Change is a huge development challenge as well as a huge environmental challenge. Apart from the global impact, it is hitting the poorest and the most vulnerable first and hardest. It is a growing problem of the here and now. The effects of climate change also weigh disproportionately on the poorest, and on women and children. Successful climate change adaptation, coupled with forceful mitigation, holds the key to human development prospects

Natural resource management needs to take place at multiple levels to be effective, with the success of state policies ultimately depending upon the support from and response of individuals, communities, civil society and other regional and global actors. Steps that can be taken by the government to mitigate the challenges faced in the areas of environmental insecurities, energy scarcity and climate change and then highlight appropriate responses on the part of non-state actors. The achievement of sustainable development in the environment necessitates a holistic effort in all areas of society to meet the appropriate criteria. Current debates about urban sustainability not only tend to focus on carbon emissions, energy consumption, and waste management but also the role of facility managers in dealing the environmental problems towards sustainable development and environment. Inevitably, there is a need to specify the permissible building specific environmental that must be compatible with overall sustainability targets. Clean Green Pakistan and The Billion Tree Tsunami projects are launched by the government of Pakistan, as a response to the challenge of global warming are good initiatives and reversing worsening forest loss.

These remarkable initiatives have been highly acknowledged by international media is a part of Clean Green Pakistan Effort. National conservation policy need to be readdressed according to our environment and climate change requirements with ecofriendly hybrid vehicles and advocacy for emission reductions from power plants.

Dr. Shahid Raza is an Entrepreneur , Educationist , Writer & Renowned multi-disciplinary Researcher Email: mianrs@yahoo.com