Quoting a figure first floated by the World Bank in 2007, the prime minister informed a gathering on Thursday that environmental degradation is costing Pakistan a billion rupees a day. Shocking as it is, this figure is on the low side. As the World Bank pointed out, Rs365bn — nearly $4.4bn a year and six per cent of GDP in 2007 — is a conservative estimate. For want of data, the World Bank could not assess key areas such as fisheries and coastal zone degradation. Though yet to be quantified, the losses here are huge.

Raw sewage is dumped into the Arabian Sea, causing untold damage to fish stocks. The massacre of mangrove stands is destroying both hatcheries and a natural barrier against tidal rise. Reduced river flows due to poor water management are also a factor in sea intrusion which is either swamping arable land or rendering it infertile. Clearly, environmental degradation is costing us considerably more than a billion rupees a day.

The highest losses stem from contaminated water combined with poor sanitation and hygiene. Pakistan’s poor, especially those in rural areas, are the hardest hit. Unclean drinking water and inadequate sanitation breed disease across the country, increasing human misery and crippling an already cash-strapped healthcare system. Livelihoods are lost through sickness and children are pulled out of school, perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Ill workers also means lower productivity in the country as a whole. Urban air pollution is another major impediment in the way of good health, and child development in particular. Agricultural soil degradation also features prominently in the list of losses incurred due to our callous disregard for nature’s resources. Since growers in many areas pay a flat rate for water, they use it indiscriminately and over-water their fields. The result: waterlogging which ultimately causes salinity as salts rise to the surface. Poor water management is also responsible in part for reduced river flows and the resultant damage to riverine and marine ecosystems.

Consider also that poverty alleviation and environmental protection go hand in hand. Environmental fiscal reform, or EFR, is the need of the hour. Metering irrigation water supplies and billing growers as per usage is an obvious place to start. Polluters, meanwhile, must face far stiffer financial penalties and that money should be ploughed back into conservation efforts. Investing in environmental protection now will not only cut current losses but also produce higher revenues over the long term. That is what sustainable development is all about. The investment required is but a fraction of the economic losses we suffer today. Action is needed because business as usual is not an option.