Towards a National Conservation Strategy for Pakistan
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TOWARDS A NATIONAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY FOR PAKISTAN -t :eo l> ~ c en l> Z l> -I -o Z l> r- n o Z en m ~ :c<> -I o- Z en -I ~ l> -I m C'l < --n~-" \ "33.7160S5 " ioceedings of the Pakistan Workshop PAK 4S1 1 , August 1986 /1 Canadian International GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN ENVIRONMENT & URBAN AFFAIRS Development Agency DIVISION International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources v/~ TOWARDS A NATIONAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY FOR PAKISTAN "Proceedings of the Pakistan Workshop ISLAMABAD Islamabad, 25-28 August, 1986 , ') . , Government of Pakistan, Environment and Urban Affairs Division Canadian International Development Agency International Union for Conservation of I . Nature and Natural Resources tlUIONAl llB:RARY O~ 'AlIIUli HjS This document is based .on the discussions and the papers prepared for the Worksho-p on the National Conserva tion Strategy for Pakistan held in Islamabad on 25-28 August, 1986 organised PREFACE by the Government of Pakistan, Environment & Urban Affairs Division, in collaboration with Canadian International Develop- ment Agency and International Union for Conservation of The urge for rapid modernization and development in the Third World Nature and Natural Resources. CIDA and· mCN also funded is overpowering and morally undeniable. However, as the consequences of the work of the Editor. The views expressed in the papers and unwise exploitation of natural resources, depletion of critical energy and proceedings are those of the authors and do not necessarily bio-genetic reservesand hazards of air, water and soil pollution become more reflect those of their employers, Government or collaborating and more obvious to the citizens of the world, the fundamental premise that development should be sustainable is also no longer refutable. Bringing agencies. out the need for an essentialrelationship between development and con- servation is one of the explicit themes of the World Conservation Strategy b (:) (WCS) launched by IUCN in 1980. In fact over the long run, there is no 93> '7 ,?S-q.'11 conflict between the two goals. Both concepts when expanded to their logicalfullness complement each other. Without the other, both are severely l)ll/~. deficient. Development that curtails options for the future is mis- development; conservation of poverty is an absurdity. One of the action pillars of the wqs is the recommendation that each country of the world prepare its own National ConservationStrategy. It entails re-thinking the entire set of developmental objectives through the prism r of future sustainability and re-ordering goals and priorities. As such it is a mojor policy review, which only a handful of countries have so far success- fully accomplished. Government of Pakistan has taken the decision to embark on the framing of a National Conservation Strategy. For the policy review to be successful; there are a number of pre-requisites. These include environmental awareness among citizens and broad consensus between decision-makers on objectives and scope as well as substantive content of a NCS. One of the rust steps towards attaining the pre-requisites was the holding of a National Workshop to assess the environmental problems facing the country, current trends and desirablealternatives. The National Workshop towards a National Conservation Strategy was organized and held in Islamabad on 25-28 August, 1986. This document is the report of the papers and proceedings of the 4-day workshop attended Published .,.198 /' by national experts. The purpose ofpresenting their papers and deliberations in the form of a book is to reach a wider audience. Asian Art Press, Lahore Cover Design: Zafarullah Convening the national workshop was made possible by the active support of the Minister, Housing and Works,Mr. Salim Saifullah Khan and the committed participation of Mr. A.R Mahsud, Secretary, Ministry of CONTENTS Housing and Works. The dextrous putting together of nuts and bolts for running the workshop was largely the dedicated labour of Mr. Ayaz Ali Page . Shah, Joint Secretary, and his team in the Environment and UrbanAffairs Division. Among this team Mr. Nasir Dogar deserves especial mention. Dr. Preface ill Roger Schwass, IUCN Consultant was the brain behind the format 0/ the Overview 3 Workshop and his wife Mary assisted him and the workshop team at all Summary of Proceedings 9 levels of implementation, with charm and great purpose. Ms. Aban Marker World Conservation Strategy and National Conservation Strategies 31 Kabraji, IUCN Pakistan Represenative, gave logistical support to the work- Conservation for Sustainable Development in Pakistan: Key Issues 55 shop and also later persuaded me to edit this book. To all these good persons and many others who actively shared the burden, the sponsors have asked Institutional and Legislative Framework for Environmental 83 me to convey and record their thanks. Management Pakistan's Agriculture by Year 2000. 99 Environmental Impact of Surface Irrigation: Waterlogging SYED AYUB QUTUB and Salinity in Pakistan 113 EDITOR Livestock Development and Conservation 137 Conservation Strategies for Marine Environment and Fisheries 175 Forests and the Environment 203 Nature Conservation in Pakistan 221 Industrial PoUution in Pakistan 251 Minerals and Energy 261 PoUution and Sanitation 281 State of Population: A Constraint for Sustainable Development of Pakistan 295 Enabling Environment, Sustainable Livelihood and Social Sector Development 325 Conservationist Viewpoint on Human Settlements, Health, Education and Community Development. 343 TOWARDS A NATIONAL CONSERVA.TION STRATEGY: AN OVERVIEW TOWARDS A NATIONAL CONSERVATION SfRA TEGY AN OVERVIEW. What is a National Conservation Strategy (NCS); Why does Pakistan need one? These are the basic questions that this overview addresses. It also attempts to provide an illustration of the typical process the NCS for Pakistan must follow in order to be implementable. There is a new vision of living resource conservation in the world. It is no longer limited to preservation of endangered or vulnerable species. It is no longer limited to post-disaster pollution abatement techniques or regulations limiting range stock based on rules-of-thumb. The new vision asserts that there are conservation objectives of the same level of generalised power and domain as economic and social objectives. Three main objectives of livingresource conservation are: a) to maintain essential ecological processes and life-support systems (such as soil regeneration and protection, the recycling of nutrients, and the cleaning of waters), on which human survival and development depend; b) to preserve genetic diversity (the range of genetic material found in the world's organisms), on which depend the functioning of many of the above processes and life-support systems, the breeding programmes necessary for the protection and improvement of cultivated plants, domesti- cated animals and rnicro-organisms, as well as much scientific and medical advance, technical innovation, and the security of the many industries that use living resources; and c) to ensure the sustainable utilization of species and eco-systems (notably fish and other wildlife, forests and grazing lands), which support millions of rural communities as well as major industries. The vision has been put together in the World Conservation Strategy (WCS)considering that: 1) The combined destructive impacts of a poor majority struggling to stay alive and an affluent minority consuming most of the world's resources 5 4 Federation of Pakistan, why does the country need yet another major set are undermining the very means by which all people can surviveand flourish. of objectives which would undoubtedly add to the complexity of decision- making? Not to attain international stature by joining an international 2) Humanity's relationship with the biosphere (the thin covering of the club nor to provide employment to some international experts. Certainly planet sustaining life) will continue to deteriorate until a new economic not. The answer is that Pakistan has no alternative. Given the fragility of order is achieved, a new environmental ethic adopted, human populations many essential ecological processes and .life support systems; the deserti- stabilize and sustainable modes of development become the rule rather fication that is threatening our rangelands which comprise 60% of the than the exception. Among the prerequisites of sustainable development is country; waterlogging and salinity that endangers our irrigated plains which the conservation of livingsources. produce the bulk of o_urfood and fibre, and soil degradation that threatens life in the mountains and continued operation of irrigation systems; the 3) Development is defined as the modification of the biosphere and the water-borne diseases that cause 40% of deaths in our cities, leave us with no application of human, financial, living and non-living resources to satisfy alternati~ but to seriously embark on a national conservation strategy. human needs and improve the quality of human life. If we do not we will doom our children to poverty and unimaginable misery. ._' -' 4) Conservation is the management of human use of the biosphere so that Experts in Pakistan met in a workshop in August, 1986. They came it may yield the greatest sustainable benefit to the present generation while out with an impressive consenus in support of framing a national conser- maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future vation strategy. Their consensus