Integrating development and environment

Several proposed social development projects have come under fire from the environmentalists who deem these projects as likely to have a significantly adverse impact on the green environment of the Capital.

These controversial projects include a chair lift on the Margalla Hills, a recreational area in Fatima Jinnah Park, a recreational resort at Rawal Lake, and a sports club on the green belt between F-6 and F-7. Two restaurant projects on Margalla Hills are also being objected to by some environmentalists.

The environmentalists, both the NGOs and the official Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pepa), seem to have succeeded in shooting down the chair lift project - for the time being at least. But planning and designing of the recreational facilities in Fatima Jinnah Park and at Rawal Lake are apparently going on, with reports that foreign experts, consultants and firms are in contact with CDA with regard to these two projects.

Given the increasing population, growing affluence and changing lifestyles and consumption patterns in the Capital, social development projects are being considered by the government as a way of fulfilling the aspirations of the people and keeping them contented.

In this endeavour, the government is supported by those who question policies that prioritize conservation in development, and who consider sustainability as a "degraded" kind of development that only ties people to their natural environment without offering them a way to move forward.

Preserving areas rich in biodiversity, they maintain, may save some rare species from extinction or a beautiful green or water reserve from destruction, but it will deprive the people from the benefits of development.

However, as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan once said: "The issue is not environment versus development, or ecology versus economy. Contrary to popular belief, we can integrate the two."

Since international concern first surfaced in the 1980s about the need for development to encompass elements of sustainability and environmental consideration rather than being defined solely in terms of economic and social progress and growth, countries around the world have become increasingly aware of the need to examine and study the impact of intended development projects on the environment through a process called the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

EIA is now the internationally accepted planning tool for integrating environmental considerations in development projects from the planning stage. Some countries, like Canada for instance, have a constituted Environment Assessment Agency, accountable to parliament through the minister of environment, which administers the environmental assessment process for all projects.

According to Pepa, the EIA for some of the proposed development projects in Islamabad, particularly that of the Rawal Lake resort, has not been undertaken. Yet EIA is supposed to be a legal requirement for major development projects in all South Asian countries, including Pakistan.

The policy and law supporting EIA in the country include the National Conservation Strategy (1992) and the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (1997). The latter Act provides for, amongst other things, the appointment of Initial Environmental Examinations (IEE) as well as Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA).

Some progress has been made in recent years in building the EIA capacity in Pakistan. But according to the Pakistan Environment Assessment Association (PEAA), which is a member of the South Asian Regional Environmental Assessment Association, like other countries in the region, Pakistan faces difficulties in effectively using EIA because of a number of reasons. These include half-hearted political support, institutional weaknesses, procedural flaws and ill-trained practitioners.

According to PEAA, proposed development projects generally fall into three main categories, viz., Category A projects, which have adverse impact on the environment and hence EIA is required; Category B projects, in which the impact on the environment is uncertain and hence an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) is required; and Category C projects, in which the adverse impact is considered insignificant and hence there is no need for IEE or EIA.

The time limit for EIA report processing includes notification to the proponent of the development project (10 days), public comment (30 days), and assessment (90 days). This works out to a total of about four months needed at least to convey the EIA decision on a proposed project.

Under the present environment institutional framework, Pepa through the minister of environment, is the authority that is supposed to control the EIA system and administer the environmental impact assessment process at the federal and the provincial levels. How effective it is able to do this, depends in large part on political will.

Integrating environment and development certainly makes development a more cumbersome task. Nevertheless, it is recognized as the best way, not only internationally but also nationally, to achieve social and economic progress in the face of growing population and shrinking resources.

While it is the job of the government to provide the people of Islamabad with the kind of social development that they aspire to have, it is the job of the environmentalists to ensure that the environmental effects of proposed projects are examined carefully, and that ways to eliminate, minimize or mitigate harmful effects through modifications in the project plans are determined and implemented in consultation with all interests concerned.

If implemented efficiently, the EIA process can act as an effective tool to achieving sustainable development, but if implemented inefficiently, it will be a deterrent to development.

Sea bounty

Karachians don't realize how lucky they are; otherwise they would be eating more fish. Far out into the sea, fishermen net or reel in some really magnificent species, ranging from the flat, silver-skinned pomfret to the meatier, heftier red snapper. There is nothing more wonderful than picking out the freshest fish early in the morning at one of the city's more crowded markets.

One of these is situated in Dhoraji where the fish seller is surrounded by baskets full of prawns, lady fish, shrimps and salmon. "I sell everything from A to Z," he says proudly. "Order ahead and I'll get you lobsters and crabs. Fish is the best thing you can eat. My whole family thrives on it."

But the mystery remains: what does he do with the remaining fish - and considering the thrifty neighbourhood community - a lot must be left over at the end of the day? "Well, we store them in ice. We sell them at cheaper rates to hotels, caterers, or to customers." He hastens to add: "We look at the customer first (read judge him by his appearance)."

While a lot of fish sellers bring fresh ware to your doorstep, not everyone knows how to cut it. Toddlers prefer fish fingers or fillet cuts, while those into oily curries want the fish cut through the bone, with the skin left on.

Fish is also being packaged and sold now, and much of it is a good buy. The main problem remains one of cost and accessibility. Fish is still more expensive than red meat and not every locality has a fish market.

Perhaps the city government, while it is still there, could contribute greatly to healthy eating habits by ensuring that fish sellers find a permanent niche from where they can sell their catch.

Incidentally, people eat fish nowadays the year round. Previously, there was this reluctance about eating fish during months that did not have an "r" and a "ry" in them. Was there something to it?

Working in tandem

Until three or four years ago music buffs used to complain that barring an occasional concert no music event was held in Karachi, unlike the fifties and the sixties when music was alive in the city.

Thanks to Sampurna, Amateur Melodies, Mausiqar and the recently established Karachi Chapter of the All Pakistan Music Conference, musical shows are held these days almost on a monthly basis. What is heartening is that these organizations often collaborate with one another.

Earlier this year Amateur Melodies and Mausiqar worked in tandem and held two shows, one of which was devoted to national songs. Some time back the director-general of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), Raja Changez Sultan, offered premises to Mausiqar when they were looking for a place to set up their summer coaching camp.

The coaching camp which had no age or gender restriction trained not just youngsters but some in their middle ages also, and at least one who was in his late sixties. The camp's popularity has made them think in terms of making it an annual affair.

Ever since the secretary-general of Mausiqar took over as the honorary resident director of the PNCA, the bond between the two organizations has become stronger. The first important show was the Qawwali night organized by the PNCA during Ramazan when Maqbool Sabri and his party enthralled the audience.

The musical feast was followed by a sumptuous sehri. But more recently the PNCA and Mausiqar collaborated to hold Chamanzar-i-Ghazal at the FTC Auditorium, which was a hugely attended programme.

Karachi will be the venue of the first ever ghazal festival, which the PNCA is to hold in the first week of February. With such big names as Farida Khanum, Iqbal Bano, Abida Perveen, Ghulam Ali, Tina Sani, Ghulam Abbas, Tarannum Naz and Pervez Mehdi and some talented newcomers scheduled to participate in the three-day programme, one is expecting a large number of music lovers to turn up.

Since there is a strong link between music and poetry, when you think in terms of ghazal singing, the fourth day will be devoted to ghazal as a verse form. Ahmad Faraz has agreed to be there and will be joined by two Karachi poets.

They will recite their ghazals and there will be discussions on this genre of poetry as a whole and their ghazals in particular. Prizes will be awarded on the final day, one of which will be a Lifetime Achievement Award for the ghazal king, Mehdi Hasan.

Macaws find a sanctuary

Shamim Mumtaz, a Karachi-based entrepreneur, has been fond of birds and animals for as long as he remembers. Cuddly baby chimps, talking mynahs, magnificent macaws and a wide variety of parrots live happily with his family members.

Mumtaz's fascination with birds started over 23 years ago. At present, his collection stands at 3,000 birds, including some extremely rare varieties. His bird farm in an industrial area provides a sanctuary to those species which are threatened with extinction. Along with the birds live local chinkara deer, South African springbok, Eurasian fallow deer and long-tailed African monkeys.

Mumtaz beams with prides when he points out that his farm possesses over 100 such macaws which are threatened with extinction. The number of these long-tailed, large-beaked members of the parrot family has dwindled to dangerous levels all over the world.

All those who attend to the birds at the farm were thrilled when a couple of months ago two Ruby macaws, a hybrid between Scarlet and Military species, hatched out.

Magnificent Macaws, the brightly-coloured large-beaked and long-tailed members of the most endangered species of the parrot family, have also found a sanctuary at Mumtaz's bird farm.

The farm also have around 15 of the total 30 varieties of conure found in the world, including rare golden species, exotic varieties of parakeets such as Derbyan and Monk. There are also Blue Pionus, Lori and Lorikeet.

If an individual like Mumtaz can raise such rare birds on his farm, one wonders why relevant government department, with all the resources at their disposal, cannot do the same?

Cleanliness campaign

Cable operators in Lyari and Saddar towns have come up with a new idea to convince people in these localities to keep their neighbourhood clean. Like cable operators all over the city, they beam a movie channel on which they run pirated movies.

On this channel they run advertisements and earn a considerable sum of money. (It goes without saying that under the law enforced by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, they are not supposed to do this.) But unlike other cable operators, the ones in Lyari and Saddar towns run public service messages on the movie channel.

"Don't throw your domestic waste on streets from your apartments. Use your dustbin and keep your Mohallah clean," one message says. They also quote verses from the Quran to impress upon the viewers the need for keeping their neighbourhood clean. Another message says: "According to Islam, cleanliness is half the faith and we should follow our religion."

The cable operators insist their cleanliness drive is aimed at making people aware of the advantageous of a clean neighbourhood. "Providing entertainment to our subscribers is our business, but we should also do a bit of public services," Mohammad Zahid, a cable operator in Lyari, says.

He says that he also runs such public service messages on an Indian channel and hopes that running the tickers on two of the most watched channels will certainly change things for the better.

"Our people do their utmost to clean their homes but dump their refuse on streets. We are trying to convince them that our children could live safely if they find a healthy environment," Zahid says. Since Lyari is one of the oldest colonies of Karachi and is believed to be the dirtiest area of the city, such a campaign might bear fruit.

email: karachi_notebook@hotmail.com.