|
|
|
Driving a car in Rawal Lake
Being an ecologist it was astonishing as well as scary for me to drive a car in Rawal Lake. Never had I imagined that a day would dawn when the lake would be so empty of water that cars could be driven in it.
This once glistening man-made lake covers an area of 8.8 square kilometres. The terraced garden and the lake are ideal for picnicking, fishing and boating. The highest point in the garden commands a panoramic view of the lake, besides Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Rawal Lake had a storage capacity of 47,230 acre-feet when it was built in 1960. Sedimentation over the years has reduced its storage capacity to 31,000 acre-feet. The sedimentation originates from natural and man-made factors, including construction activities in its catchment area.
Data on sedimentation rate, water quality and quantity already available with WASA need to be correlated with construction activities in the catchment area to ascertain the real cost of these developmental activities.
To be sure, the near drying up of Rawal Lake is representative of the many ecological problems facing Pakistan today. The major ones pertain to earthquakes and the drought-like conditions prevailing around us. Other areas include soil erosion, pesticide misuse, deforestation, desertification, urban pollution, waterlogging and salinity, freshwater pollution and marine water pollution.
Ecology is the branch of science that studies habitats and the interaction between living beings and the environment. In ecology, an ecosystem is a naturally occurring assemblage of organisms (plant, animal and other living ones) living together with their environment and functioning as a unit.
Karachi
Twenty years ago, they swam and caught fish along the banks of Lyari River, say residents of Karachi. Today the tributary snakes like a long stain through the city, its waters black with sewage and toxic waste. Its banks are lined with piles of burning trash — a putrid combination of decaying food, medical waste, dead animals and millions of plastic bags.
By any measure, Karachi’s environment is in ruins. The nazim of Karachi recently declared that the city’s water and sewage system was “on the verge of collapse”.
Air pollution in Karachi and in other Pakistani cities is estimated to be twenty times greater than the World Health Organisation standards. The country’s percentage of land under forest is among the lowest in the world and the rate at which the same is disappearing is among the highest.
The coastline near Karachi is ravaged by oil spills. There are also question marks against the country’s disposal of nuclear waste.
The biggest constraint to overcoming the problems, in fact perhaps the main factor contributing towards them, is population growth, which is very high in contrast to the natural limited resources that are available to us. Also included in the list of constraints is the unsustainable use and management of resources.
About 140 million people live in Pakistan, making it the seventh most populous country in the world. The rate of population growth is one of the fastest on the planet and according to estimates the population would double in just 25 years (UNDP 1997). Obviously, if the population continues to grow at this rate, it would take a severe toll on the environment.
A huge majority of the population does not have access to safe and clean drinking water. Water pollution from untreated sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff from insecticides are issues that must be addressed as soon as possible in order to prevent ecological disasters.
International environmental agencies recommend that a country should have 20 to 25 per cent of its land under forest cover. The official figure in Pakistan stands at about 4 per cent. Dr G.M. Khattak, former chief conservator of forestry for the NWFP, estimates that the real figure is just 2 per cent.
“In areas where the poor live, the people are desperate,” he says. “Not a blade of grass stands, not a tree, not a shrub.” Pakistan is losing timbre at a rate of 5 million board-feet a year. In a decade, the country’s forests may cease to exist altogether.
People have gradually chopped down entire forests for fuel which is needed to heat their homes. However, environmentalists blame other factors as well: an epidemic of corruption among government officials, poor environmental planning, and poverty that leaves a majority of Pakistanis illiterate and subsisting on less than $500 a year. In a country struggling to feed its people, environmental protection has never been a priority.
The writer is a freelance contributor
|
|
|
|
