Opportunities for a Clean and Green Pakistan : A Country Environmental Analysis
This document aims to deepen the understanding of the effects of environmental pollution on health and standards of living in Pakistan. It seeks to assess institutional capacity to facilitate a transition to environmentally sustainable growth, as w...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/746031566833355389/Opportunities-for-a-Clean-and-Green-Pakistan-A-Country-Environmental-Analysis http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32328 |
| Summary: | This document aims to deepen the
understanding of the effects of environmental pollution on
health and standards of living in Pakistan. It seeks to
assess institutional capacity to facilitate a transition to
environmentally sustainable growth, as well as to strengthen
dialogue among different stakeholders. The Country
Environmental Analysis (CEA) builds on a substantial body of
related work. This includes a CEA conducted in 2006, as well
as documents addressing environmental management in Sindh,
sectoral water resources, forestry and fisheries management,
and analyses of climate risks. The CEA recognizes the
importance of increasing climate resilience (Pakistan is the
fifth most exposed country in the world to climate change)
but climate change management is not themain focus. The CEA
is written within the context of recent important
institutional and political development, including the 18th
Amendment of 2010. These changes included a greater focus on
devolution. Most environmental oversight functions were
decentralized from the federal government to the provincial
administrations, and also involve local governments. Four
technical areas of analysis, on the health costs of air and
water pollution, on decentralization, on environmental
management in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and on environmental
management of industry in Punjab—provide key inputs. The
document builds on consultations involving stakeholders from
the national and provincial governments, nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), and international cooperation
agencies. Although the CEA recognizes the importance of
addressing natural resource degradation and air and water
pollution in rural areas, recommendations focus on measures
to addresspollution in urban areas. The conclusion is that
air and water pollution and natural resource degradation
continue to impose heavy costs on Pakistan’s citizens and
the economy through their impact on health and productivity.
A more environmentally sustainable growth path will play a
key role in Pakistan’s longer-term development and
transformation to an upper-middle income country. Priorities
for improved environmental management focus include (a)
improving environmental monitoring by environmental
protection agencies (EPAs) and local governments; (b)
enhancing the devolution of environmental responsibilities
for better service delivery; (c) improving coordination
among the federal, provincial, and local levels, and among
sectors; (d) ‘greening’ future investments, and (e) using
the power of public pressure. |
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