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April 28, 2002
REVIEW: Now for the pioneers
PERSONALITY pays. The impetus to change surroundings is the mysterious ‘plus’ distinguishing leaders from followers. Green pioneers, the book under review, relates the stories of twenty social innovators. They are men and women from Pakistan who did not despair in a hostile system. They were able to maintain a vision of the intrinsic creativity of people and thus they sustained their ability to bring about improvements in society.
Environmental degradation, a top problem in today’s global scenario, has not received the attention it cries out for in Pakistan. While the government has formulated a national environment policy and laws exist on paper to curb pollution, the authorities seem helpless in the face of public indiscipline.
Yet environmentalists have not undertaken serious studies on these issues. At the most, sporadic articles appear in journals alerting the reader to the danger of industrial chemicals, the threat to animal and plant species and the risk of destruction of the habitat.
Given this apathy, the book under review will be welcomed by the environmentalists and others who care for their natural surroundings. A refreshing account of interventions by local leaders, the book provides information about their work and achievements. These men and women directed their activities to the grassroots to tackle the social and environmental problems that torment Pakistan.
These twenty stories of green pioneers abound in human interest as they educate the general reader about the varied terrain and disparate communities that comprise the multi-faceted Pakistani homeland. The teasing puzzle of what constitutes leadership is partly answered here. It is a question of coming to terms with the surroundings and striving for the possible, of imagination and sustained effort, of personal example leading to demonstrable results.
Based on interviews with these enterprising eminent individuals, the book shares their hopes and thoughts as well as their strategies with the readers.
The furthest reaches of Pakistan’s mountainous north contains the Khunjerab national park, an area of about 2270 square kilometres. The opening chapter, ‘Peace-making in the nation’s highest park’ describes the successful effort to balance the demands of human and animal dependence on the resources of the area which is also home to some rare, endangered species. The chief actor in this high altitude drama is Ashiq Ahmed, a highly educated professional now serving as chief technical adviser with the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan. He undertook a survey of the wild life in the park, counting the goats, sheep, cows, yaks and snow leopards. When controls were imposed to preserve these species, tensions ensued as the area was a traditional grazing ground for local people.
The story of Ashiq Ahmed is one about his success in negotiating to a position that satisfied the inhabitants, ensured the preservation of the animals, and engendered respect for authority.
When two enthusiastic young men, a dentist and an engineer, went trekking together in the famous Deosai plains at 13,500 feet above sea level, they discovered the rare Himalayan brown bear which is a world celebrity. Dr Anis ur Rahman and Vaqar Zakaria’s curiosity about these bears led them to make several visits to the pristine wilderness resulting in the establishment of the Himalayan Wildlife Foundation, an NGO dedicated to the study and protection of these unique bears.The two young men are strenuously engaged in curbing both bear and falcon hunting in the Deosai National Park, but would like to see greater official interest in this campaign.
Two of the personalities interviewed for the book have been steadily engrossed in community work through NGOs founded by them. Subsequently both were elevated to the rank of minister in the federal government. Their inclusion in the anthology had been decided prior to their appointments. Umar Asghar Khan is a high profile professional, activist and politician. The Sungi Development Foundation based in Hazara, NWFP, has functioned since 1989 as an all purpose NGO which included natural resource management in its agenda. Umar Asghar Khan’s struggle to halt deforestation, and his battle against the timber mafia make for a compelling story.
The other development worker-turned-minister is Zobaida Jalal. Her contribution to the education of girls in the remote interior of Balochistan is a national saga. She brings credit to her sex and to the NGO sector by her persistence in bringing schooling to girls in a region where they cannot go outside their homes. According to the Green pioneers story, Zobaida’s home district of Mand now has a hundred per cent child literacy owing to her determination in setting up schools and also a trust for teacher training. The mechanics of the entire enterprise makes an inspiring chronicle.
From education this dynamic woman’s attention moved to the environment and the pressing need for reviewing Balochistan’s irrigation system. Community participation was inevitable. Thus a Water User’s Association was born. “Saying no to external debt” is the ringing title of the last essay in the book. It relates the heroic efforts of NGOs to cope with Karachi’s sewerage and waste disposal. An action spearheaded by NGOs thus rejected a 100 million dollar debt while finding viable solutions based on ground realities.
Green pioneers highlights the Indus dolphin, Uch, the city of saints, and other natural and man-made treasures of Pakistan’s environment and the people who care enough to avert its degradation. Written collaboratively by Mehjabeen Abidi-Habib, a natural scientist and community development professional, and two journalists, Rina Saeed Khan and Faiza Hasan, with the maps generated by Salman Ashraf, this is a pleasant and informative read. This well-documented maiden publication accords depth of treatment to its subject which gives a sense of the organic relationship between human communities and the natural world with its multifarious life forms. The photographs make the book a treat to have.
Green pioneers: stories from the grassroots
Edited by Mehjabeen
Abidi-Habib UNDP and City Press, 316 Madina City Mall, Abdullah Haroon Road, Karachi-74400 Tel: 021-5650623, 5213916
Email: cp@citypress.cc Website:
www.citypress.cc
ISBN 969-8567-04-6 204pp. Rs675. US$20
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