KARACHI, Feb 4: Recognizing the continuing degradation of environment both at the global and national level, a workshop on environmental concerns has stressed the need for integrating policies and for sustainable environmental development.

The one day workshop, which was arranged for the principals and heads of Karachi-based school, was inaugurated by the Sindh minister for environment, Hassan Ali Chanhio, here on Monday at a local hotel. Nine experts and administrative heads from different government and private organizations made presentations on global and local environmental issues.

At the outset of the workshop, titled “Environmental awareness-protection and promotion”, it was observed that environment continued to be damaged and large parts of the world population were still impoverished with disparities becoming more acute.

Increased population growth and population movements and changing social values were recognized as the major contributors to the deteriorating state of national environment, in addition to poor governance and paucity of funds.

It was suggested at the concluding ceremony of the workshop that environment assessment and management plans should aim to ensure that there was no significant environmental harm and that polluters should pay not only for pollution prevention and control but also for the administrative cost.

The workshop was jointly organised by an NGO called Foundation for Progress, the department of forest, wildlife and environment, Sindh, and the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency. Diplomats and chief executives of different local and multinational organizations attended the technical sessions.

The Sindh minister for environment, Hassan Ali Chanhio, said that damages caused to environment resulted in an accumulative loss of Rs1.8 billion to Pakistan’s economy. Major deterioration was witnessed with respect to forestation, air and water quality, soil, marine life and solid waste management, he added and blamed mainly the developed countries for the destruction.

The convener of the workshop, Dr M A Wajid of Progress, said that the aim of the workshop was to foster and develop a link and interaction between the government, NGOs and the private sector. He hoped that the workshop would go a long way towards educating, creating and strengthening leadership in educational institutions and to encourage, develop and enhance environmental awareness, responsibility and self-consciousness among one of the most important pillars of society, that is teachers.

In his presentation, the resident representative of UNDP, Islamabad, Onder Yucer, said that the lack of local and participatory development was one of the main causes of negative impacts on environment. If stimulation of a development process at local level could be inaugurated broadly, the fruits of development might reach more of the segments of the population than what the large and centralized schemes did, he added and mentioned that better adapted development projects and programmes were apt to engender broader public support and caused less undesirable social displacement than a few large centralized projects.

Onder Yucer said that since the historic Rio conference (Earth summit), the challenge of putting the world’s economies on a sustainable track had advanced only slightly, but significantly. “Trends are still headed largely in the wrong direction, but a shift in global consciousness is clearly discernible,” he said, adding that the UN world summit on sustainable development was scheduled for Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2002, which was supposed to be a forum for review of progress since the 1992 UN Earth summit and a chance to chart a new course towards planetary health.

Referring to the environmental problems in the industrialized world, he said that many problems like planning and management of land and water, were associated with the massive and mounting demands for energy and water by industry and consumer society, which were present only in an embryonic form in the less developed countries.

He informed the audience, including technocrats and diplomats, that UNDP and the government of Pakistan had recently signed a National Environmental Action Plan Support with the purpose to mobilize technical and financial assistance required to meet its environmental and natural resources conservation targets as set forth in the National Action Plans and Strategies. The programme has the flexibility to absorb funding from other partner donors, private sector and the government for a coherent response in dealing with environment and poverty problems under one umbrella, he added.

In another presentation, the secretary of the provincial Forest, Wildlife and Environment department, Shamsul Haq Memon, said that a lack of environmental laws and legislations, ineffective implementation of the existing legislation, lack of inter-departmental communication, unplanned development, particularly in the cities, etc.

Talking about different environmental hazards, the secretary pointed out that about 330 million gallons of industrial and domestic untreated effluents were being dumped every day into the sea, which was main sources of marine pollution. Only 30-40 per cent of the total industrial and domestic solid waste, ie 10,000 metric tons, generated in the city were transported and dumped into open landfills, while the rest was either left unattended or burnt, he added.

In his presentation on “Environmental awareness and Educational curricula” the director of The British Council, Charlie Walker, informed the audience about the national curriculum of England and said that there was great emphasis on the self-status of a student, his relationship with individuals and society and attitude towards environment.