In the seemingly endless abyss of economic, social, and political problems that the country is grappling with, it has fallen into the trap of ignoring other, equally important and pressing, but largely ignored and subsumed concerns. Unsurprisingly, given how pandering to votes defines virtually every node of mainstream electoral contestation, while party manifestos almost always have grand and comprehensive solutions to the threats posed by climate change and water scarcity, these are often overlooked when parties actually come into power. This unending disregard comes in the wake of several statistics indicating that Pakistan is one of the most polluted countries in the world. While one must acknowledge that efforts have been made to preserve the environment of the country, it is difficult to accrue any substantive credit to these efforts, given how Pakistan currently ranks with regards to pollution and ecological preservation.
The fundamental environmental concerns that Pakistan grapples with are waste management and air quality, and of course the associated health and ecological risks that come with a de-prioritization of the environment. This is perhaps exemplified best by the 18th Amendment to the constitution, which configures environment management in a way that strips the federal government of all responsibility. As such, the federal cannot even proscribe a minimum standard of protection from environmental factors, and so all responsibility falls with provincial governments. See tourism industry in Pakistan.
For a claim to be made in favor of taking the environment seriously, it is also pertinent to outline what degradation of the environment means for Pakistan. Lack of waste management, in particular, represents an acute health problem: cities like Karachi are laden with large, labyrinthine slums that are characterized by contaminated water and tremendous amounts of waste. This often means disease runs rampant, only to be augmented by an acute lack of healthcare facilities. This is particularly acute for slums because there are little to no waste disposal mechanisms, and the government has historically paid no attention in alleviating environmental concerns in slums; most areas lack institutionalized municipal services. For the economy, growing hygiene and sanitation costs, and the absence of a healthy workforce is fatal.
With regards to air quality, the government has, as usual with issues that do not play a function in accruing votes, paid little heed. Those who can afford expensive air purifiers continue to breathe in peace, while most suffocate to death (literally) at the behest of the toxic fumes that industry and the burning of crops injects into densely populated areas of the country. There is little to no emphasis on building sustainable, mass-transit systems; rather, money is spent on building roads and thus allowing for further pollution through the use of private vehicles (which, again, are a luxury in Pakistan). Pollution is exacerbated by rapid deforestation (yes, despite the Billion Tree Tsunami); Pakistan does not meet the forestation standards set by the United Nations, and the modalities of urbanization within which planning is being foreseen pose a clear threat to the little forestation that the country still has.
Most substantive solutions are neither simple nor immediate. They require investments of time, political capital, and adroit economic decision-making. In essence, decision-makers must work to implement eco-friendly policies across the board- from urban development to agricultural planning. The country must also change it’s path to a model of economic growth that actively prioritizes the environment; this means that the use of fossil fuels, placing a priority on elite consumption (such as an emphasis on building roads rather than effective public transportation systems), and little to no checks and balances on industrial waste or carbon emissions cannot continue, for such unchecked growth shows substantial impacts in significantly deteriorating public welfare.
It is, then, extremely important for key decision-makers to take notice of environmental concerns. This requires an active, sustained, and intensive effort by civil society groups, which seems to be the only way to get the government to listen. The lack of a clear vote-based incentive in the past has significantly exacerbated environmental concerns that might have been less concerning had they been addressed earlier, and so it is essential for civil society actors to pressurize governments. As such, most attempts have been scarce and disorganized. It is not in the ambit of civil society to distribute smog-masks or to conduct water conservation campaigns, nor are private actors responsible for bringing to light acute environmental concerns.
What function should civil society play, then? First, it must create organized pressure groups that force politicians to bring environmental concerns to the national agenda. Yes, it may seem idealistic to say this, given how national agendas usually work in Pakistan, but it is not impossible. Amidst political point-scoring and pandering, raising concern for environmental issues will always be an uphill battle, but one that is essential for the country to fight if it is to create a long-term and sustainable growth model.
Second, it must identify key areas of concern and address causes, not symptoms. Distributing smog-masks in a high-end district in DHA is frankly not the solution to the grave environmental concerns that we face; civil society groups must mobilize towards actively outlining substantial measures that governments need to take, and use the electoral process, and the power of votes, to pressurize parties into taking the environment seriously.
Finally, while it is important to commend campaigns for the environment, such as that for the protection of heritage sites that the Orange Line destroyed, or the calls for implementing heavy fines on deforestation, it is also pertinent to recognize that such efforts have been far too few. There are substantial social and economic ramifications of a disregard for the environment. What is needed is greater awareness that links environmental insensitivity to the real and profound economic concerns that the country faces. It is only then that environmentalism will gain mass popularity in the country, and only then that we will see substantial strides from, and greater recognition by political parties and key decision-makers.
Pakistan rests at one too many crucial junctures for the environment to continue to be a non-issue. Waste management, air quality, water conservation, and forestation must become crucial national issues if it is to foster sustainable economic and social growth. The onus of this falls, at least for now, on civil society; it is through bringing a concern of the environment to the forefront within society that the national agenda will reflect a concern for the environment. Now is the time to move away from archaic political debates.
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