PESHAWAR, Nov 5: Experts have expressed concerns over lack of awareness about management of natural resources, which they believe is causing environmental degradation in the country.

They raised their concerns at the 14th session of the five-day training workshop on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the manufacturing and processing industries, which concluded here on Monday.

The workshop was jointly organised by the NWFP Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pakistan Academy for Rural Development (PARD). Government officials and professionals from the public and private sectors took part in the initiative.

Dr Mohammad Bashir Khan, the director-general of the EPA-NWFP, Dr Amir Khan, a professor of geography, Dr Mohammad Aslam, an HEC professor, and others delivered lectures on the procedural methodology of the EIA.

The five-day training programme comprised lectures, group discussions and field visits. The focus of the initiative was on manufacturing and processing industries (man-made fibre, plastic products, oil and fats, vegetable ghee, sugar mills and steel mills).

The director-general of the PARD, Sheikh Naseer-ul-Haq, who was the chief guest for the concluding session of the workshop, explained the background of the programme and hoped that it gave the participants an opportunity to evolve better understanding about EIA’s regulations and overall preservation of the environment.

Environment meant the preservation of ecology and optimum utilisation of natural resources, he said, and added lack of awareness about natural resource management is causing environmental degradation in the country.

He asked the participants to utilise the knowledge, which they gained during the programme, in their routine work because without the active participation of all stakeholders the government could not implement projects for the betterment of the environment and preservation of natural resources.