17 February 2004	Tuesday	25 Zilhaj 1424

ISLAMABAD, Feb 16: Minister of State for Environment Maj Tahir Iqbal (retired) has called upon the developed nations to share their experiences with developing countries and help them initiate effective measures for checking Ozone-layer depletion.

He was speaking at the open ceremony of the three-day Regional Meeting of South Asia Network Countries on 'Effective Policy Setting and Enforcement', here on Monday. The meeting has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Environment and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The minister said all developed and developing countries were equally responsible for protecting the environment and evolving result-oriented policies to meet future challenges.

In the existing scenario, developed nations have a critical role to play. Though extensive research is going on the subject but the developing countries need financial assistance so that they can also get benefits from the results of such research, he said.

He reiterated the government's resolve to implement the Montreal Protocol, saying a number of steps had been taken for its effective implementation. "We have developed National Environment Quality Standards; we have National Environment Act and put in place the Environment Implementation Assessment for all projects," he added.

Mr Iqbal said loss of biodiversity, degradation of ecosystems, droughts and dessertification, deforestation, disposal of liquid and solid waste, vehicular and industrial pollution were the result of several years of rapid growth by industrialized nations without any regard for the environment.

He said complexities of environmental problems were such that these were no longer confined to a certain country, which might have been responsible for environmental degradation in the first place.

Therefore, the adverse effects are far reaching as they transcend all borders and boundaries without any discrimination between the developed and the developing world.

The minister also referred to shifting of refrigerator- producing firms in the country to CFC-free products and increase in the environment ministry budget as part of the government's commitment to the cause.

He, however, said rules and regulations could not be implemented at once. A gradual change is underway and now the people are more aware of environment issues compared to the past.

"Now the chambers of commerce and industries are approaching us for provision of effluent-treatment plants, contrary to their previous indifferent response in this regard," Tahir Iqbal said.