January 2016 NEWS COVERAGE PERIOD from JANUARY 25TH to JANURAY 31ST 2016 ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS URGED for COAL-BASED POWER PLANTS Dawn, January 25Th, 2016
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January 2016 NEWS COVERAGE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 25TH TO JANURAY 31ST 2016 ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS URGED FOR COAL-BASED POWER PLANTS Dawn, January 25th, 2016 QUETTA: Partially endorsing the stance of a former speaker of the Balochistan Assembly on proposed coal-based power plants in Gadani area, the ministry of climate change has asked the Balochistan High Court (BHC) that effective safeguards should be ensured for protection of environment. In a petition filed before the BHC, former speaker Aslam Bhootani had said that the plants, once put into operation, would badly affect the environment and endanger human and marine life. He said that transportation of coal from the jetty to the plants would lead to degradation of environment already hit by rapid industrialisation of Hub town. The federal ministry of climate change, senior member of the Board of Revenue, Balochistan, environment secretary, and chief executive of Hubco power company were cited as respondents in the petition. Mr Bhootani said that coal-based power plants were fast becoming obsolete throughout the world and use of coal for generating electricity by the United States, China, Canada, France, Germany and other developed countries was being reduced. The ministry in its reply said that “there is a need of a detailed environmental impact assessment report”. It said the court might ask the proponent of the development project to fulfil all mandatory requirements under the Provincial Environmental Protection Act before seeking approval for those plants. “This may include safeguards, sensitivity mapping, risk assessment by a third party and a robust environmental monitoring plan, pre-shipment inspection of coal with acceptable specifications, post-shipment inspection of all the coal duly carried out by (the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority) PNRA/third party, certifying the permissible radioactivity levels in the shipment and heavy metals,” the court was told. http://www.dawn.com/news/1235212 DIRTY BUSINESS: WINTER BRINGS SEWAGE OUT ON CITY’S STREETS The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2016. Oonib Azam KARACHI: In most of the world, winter brings with it snow, fog or just pleasant weather but in Karachi, the season is synonymous with overflowing sewage. Since the last two months, residents have been left with no choice but to grapple with waste-filled roads on a daily basis. The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), responsible for keeping the city clean, has conveniently blamed cold weather to be behind the mess. KWSB’s deputy managing director (technical services), Iftikhar Ahmed Khan, told The Express Tribune that the self- cleaning velocity of sewerage reduces during winter. He said the accumulated silt in the lines usually sweeps away due to water pressure during the summer, but as the use of water decreases during winter, silt accumulates causing the pipes to overflow. This argument did not sit well with Amber Alibhai, the general secretary of Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment. The member of the pro-environment NGO said KWSB’s claim was completely nonsensical. “They don’t repair the broken sewers and come up with such lame excuses,” she said. Meanwhile, NED’s architecture and planning department head, Dr Noman Ahmed, believes winter is the best time for KWSB to repair the sewage infrastructure. “KWSB should fix the water and sewage pipes as pressure is low these days,” he suggested. Listing reasons for overflow of waste, Ahmed said sewers are either completely uncovered or semi-covered, adding that connections between houses and sewers are also broken, due to which dust and solid waste starts depositing. “The overflow is not because of winter, but due to the lack of a regular maintenance programme,” he claimed. The life of the trunk sewer – the main sewage line – has almost ended in the city, whereas sewers have increased, he explained, saying that is why pipes are unable to bear the load and joints have been disfigured. According to him, there should be comprehensive maintenance and rehabilitation of the sewers after every 10 years. The expert also blamed solid food waste including disposed of greasy leftovers as the cause of overflowing gutters. However, he said in developed cities there are filters which absorb grease and do not let solid waste enter the pipes. To all this, KWSB’s Ahmed responded by saying the population which was supposed to be increasing by three per cent is now increasing by six per cent. “The designs of the sewage lines are not according to the development taking place in the city,” he said further, adding that due to the construction of high-rise buildings the discharges in sewage lines have increased while the infrastructure is the same. Superintendent engineers of most of the city’s districts failed to divulge how often they clean the sewage lines. District East’s superintendent engineer, Wajid Iqbal Siddiqui, said they did not have any specific timetable for cleaning the sewers. “Wherever we find overflowing gutters, we clean them,” he said. His counterpart in District West, Muhammad Ovais Malik, repeated the same. However, he claimed most sewers in the area fell under the administrative domain of the District Municipal Corporation and thus they did not clean them. District Central’s superintendent e ngineer, Muhammad Ali Shaikh, also said they only clean gutters when they start overflowing. KWSB’s chief engineer of water and sewerage, Muhammad Jamil Akhtar, complained of lack of manpower. “We need at least 3,000 sweepers to clean sewers and yet only have half the number,” he said, adding that 275 sweepers were also recently sacked. He explained that KWSB has a 350km-long sewage line and 250,000 manholes in the city under its watch. “How can we monitor all of that with such limited resources,” he asked. http://tribune.com.pk/story/1033524/dirty-business-winter-brings-sewage-out-on-citys-streets/ RS100 BN NEEDED TO PLANT 1.2 BILLION TREES IN KP The News, January 25, 2016 Tariq Butt ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan requires at least Rs100 billion to plant 1.2 billion trees in his party ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for which he launched a campaign last year, estimates, given by reputed forest conservators, show. Whether or not the cash-starved KP government will be able to spare or mobilise such massive money for three years’ drive is an open question. It has often complained of lack of funds. Imran Khan is not known to have launched a public appeal for donations to finance this otherwise encouraging but ambitious campaign. If the cost per tree is slightly more than Rs80, according to conservators, around Rs100 billion would be needed to fund the drive. However, the cost of plantation of every pine tree runs between Rs100 and Rs150 because this is expensive compared to others. Thus, the overall cost would go beyond the estimated one. For such a huge number of plants, 1.2 billion, an minimum area of 2.75 million acres will be required if 436 trees, as recommended by conservators, are planted in one acre with each plant occupying 100 square feet space. However, the KP has sufficient area, some 18.4 million acres or 74,521 kilometers, to accommodate such a phenomenal tally of trees. Among the provinces, it is worst hit by deforestation by the timber mafia, which has earned billions of rupees through the illegality over the past without any check or balance. Of this extraordinary number of trees, Imran Khan has so far planted 10 million trees as per his claim. At the very outset, he had announced to plant these trees in one year while he recently extended the period to three years. A conservator, who has done doctorate in forestry, told The News on condition of anonymity that hundreds if not thousands of nurseries would be required to provide such a colossal number of plants for the drive. He said the nurseries can’t produce such a gigantic number of plants instantly but would take quite a long time to prepare them. Every tree to be purchased from them will cost around Rs30. It will be a big challenge for the KP government to have such a large number of nurseries to provide 1.2 billion trees in three years. The total area of 2.75 million acres required for 436 trees per acre at the rate of 100 square feet space for every plant will go up considerably if pine trees will be planted because they require more area. Some trees planted too close engage in a competition to get maximum sunlight, and in the process some become weaker and die, meaning they don’t grow for having been outsmarted by the others. The ‘thinning operation’ has also to be done after a few years to take out the weak plant, which will strengthen the growth of other trees. This operation is also carried out to provide space for strong trees. The trees, which are planted afresh, have a big “mortality rate” of 30pc. If 60-70pc survives, it becomes a big achievement. The conservator said that apart from the expenses incurred on planting the tree, they will have to be looked after later as well. The job doesn’t come to end by just planting a tree. It has to be saved from the animals and other hazards later. In the mountainous areas, the new plants have no problem in getting water due to rainfalls. Trees like mangoes and kinnow take more space, usually occupy nearly 200 square feet space. Same is the case with poplar plants. In KP, conservators said that areas of Dir, Swat, Haripur and Mansehra are suitable for pine tree plantation. They said that it was generally advised that somewhat grown trees should be planted as their growth rate was better.