KARACHI, Sept 16: At a time when the World Ozone Day is being observed amid rapid rise in atmospheric pollution, leading to constant increase in greenhouse effect across the province, there appears to be a need to revamp the provincial environmental protection agency.

It was not only that the EPA-Sindh was exposed to acute shortage of staff to adequately realise its responsibility of strict vigilance of organisations and institutions, leading to a wide range of environmental degradation, but lack of proper training and qualification among the existing staff was also a major problem.

It may be mentioned that EPA was created as a mandatory, advisory and regulatory body on all environmental matters under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance 1983. The ordinance was later substituted by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, which itself needed modification.

The year when the said ordinance was initially approved was the period when there happened to be no provision for higher education in environmental sciences, and vacancies were filled by personnel holding degrees in environmental engineering.

However, with the passage of time, qualified individuals with postgraduate degrees and PhDs in environmental Sciences were produced, competent enough to undertake the responsibility. But a senior environmentalist said: "This, at the same time, must be coupled with adequate training programmes on a regular basis, for technical staff associated with the agency."

Ironically, the EPA-Sindh laboratory, itself not internationally certified and its reports challenged by various quarters, was thus providing an easy chance to violators to avoid penalties imposed under relevant laws.

It was again only recently that the environmental courts were reactivated in Sindh after a lapse of considerable period. There, now, lay a great responsibility on the shoulders of EPA to come forward with strong cases so that violators were made to account for their wrong doings, committed at the cost of public health and conservation of nature.

As said above, the responsibilities of EPA as a monitory body ranged from monitoring driving of a vehicle to drilling of an oil well; from running of an industry to sweeping of a street; and ensuring safety of water courses and the sea.

Authorities associated with EPA-Sindh had themselves frequently referred to the difficulties they had to face due to lack of adequate human resources. However, to address the situation, EPA had adopted strategies to overcome the same through partnerships with relevant institutions.

It may be reminded that non-technical personnel had generally been assigned to head the extremely technical body, which definitely had its impact on the body's performance, constituted to undertake a major responsibility directly linked with the quality existence of land as well as its inhabitants. - APP