The proposal for a limestone lease and the establishment of a 10,000 tonnes per day (TPD) cement factory in the region designated as “Salt Range Nature Reserve Complex” in Tehsil Choa Saidan Shah, District Chakwal, has been strongly condemned by the media and residents since the proposed cement plant’s blasting and quarrying of raw materials would endanger the ecosystem of this region. Additionally, local farmers, residents, and caretakers of the forests are concerned that the new facility, on top of the pre-existing five cement factories in the district, could quickly deplete the subsurface water supplies, on which this rain-fed region depends; rendering the area water-scarce.
On April 29, 2022, the Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries department of the Government of Punjab issued a notice indicating that the region had 1,200 acres of natural reserves, which were home to a diversity of rare flora and animals. The Governor of Punjab has proclaimed that certain activities were severely forbidden by law under Section 8 of the Punjab Protected Areas Act 2020 (XXIII of 2020), including hunting wild animals, falling or tapping trees, and clearing land for mining.
The new facility, on top of the pre-existing five cement factories in the district, could quickly deplete the subsurface water supplies, on which this rain-fed region depends.
Cement production has a significant ecological footprint at all stages of the process. These include emissions of airborne pollution in the form of dust and gases, noise and vibration when operating machinery and limestone quarries that can permanently alter the local environment and micro-climate. It contributes to greenhouse gases directly by generating carbon dioxide when calcium carbonate is heated (forming lime and carbon dioxide) and indirectly by using energy, particularly if the energy is derived from fossil fuels. The cement industry accounts for roughly five per cent of worldwide anthropogenic CO2 emissions, with the chemical process accounting for 50 per cent and fuel combustion accounting for 40 per cent. The cement industry emits roughly 900 kg of CO2 for 1000kg of cement produced. The planned plant would emit around 9,000,000 kg of CO2 into the environment per day. Furthermore, cement manufacturing plants emit significant amounts of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides, and sulphur oxides. This contributes to negative environmental and health effects such as tropospheric ozone, acid rain, global warming, water quality deterioration, visual impairment, asthma, and cardiovascular disease. In addition to this, the locals have already witnessed the dried sacred pond of the historical site: Katas Raj Temples. The situation was reverted after the supreme court’s action.
The cement plant’s energy budget will also have a considerable influence since it will need around 3-6GJ of fuel per ton of clinker produced. The primary fuels for the cement kilns are coal and petroleum coke, with natural gas and fuel oil being used to a lesser level. To a limited degree, selected waste and by-products with recoverable calorific value can be utilized as fuels to replace a portion of conventional fossil fuels, only if they meet strict specifications.
In addition to environmental impacts, the negative social impacts include disturbance to the landscape, dust and noise and disruption to local biodiversity, especially the wild medicinal plants of the salt range terrain. These changes in a declared protected area may bring an apocalypse shortly, as the country is already facing a triple environmental and planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change, and has lost several thousand acres of precious forest this year due to people’s activities; floods; abrupt rain patterns and heatwaves. There is an immediate need of adopting acts that would protect the country’s relatively low forest cover (less than six per cent). While battling the severe effects of climate change, the government has added to its difficulties to meet climate objectives, boost biodiversity conservation, and preserve people’s livelihoods.
The cement plant has become a strong case of climate justice and community resilience towards prospective environmental threats due to the rapidly changing climate system. This monsoon has already shown the severity of the change in the climate system, global warming and species extinction. This project must be reconsidered by the authorities. Otherwise, detailed Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (EIA & SIA) of the proposed plant needs to be submitted to the relevant Environmental Protection Agency and a public hearing under Section XII of Pakistan’s Environmental Protection Act, 1987 must be conducted for a fair decision. Moreover, the relocation of the plant should also be considered instead of jeopardizing natural reserves of salt range.
The writer is Research Associate (Sustainable Development Policy Institute) and can be contacted at [email protected]