Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency
The Ministry of Climate Change oversees the Pakistan
Environmental Protection Agency, an executive branch of the Pakistani
government. The agency is responsible for protecting human health and the
environment by drafting and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by
Parliament.
Evaluation of Pakistan's environmental impact assessment system
The Environmental Protection Ordinance of 1983 served as the
foundation for Pakistan's introduction of environmental impact assessment
(EIA). The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process was strengthened by
the Environmental Protection Act of Pakistan 1997, which became operational
under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations 2000. Despite a
strong legal basis and comprehensive guidelines, evidence suggests that Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) has not yet evolved satisfactorily in Pakistan. An
assessment of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system against
systematic assessment criteria, based on interviews with Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) approval authorities, consulting firms, and experts, reveals
various shortcomings in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system. These
mainly include; insufficient capacity of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
approval authorities, deficiencies in review and scoping, poor quality of Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIAs), inadequate public participation, and insufficient
monitoring. Overall, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is currently used as
a project justification tool rather than a project planning tool to help
achieve sustainable development. While shortcomings are difficult, the central
government has recently shown a high degree of commitment to environmental
protection by making Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) mandatory for all
public sector projects that may have adverse environmental impacts. The
document identifies opportunities to take advantage of the current environment
to strengthen the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process.
Policy Options to Strengthen the Environmental Management Framework in Sindh Province
Examines each of the major types of environmental degradation in Pakistan's Sindh province and suggests specific policies that could be used to address each priority environmental issue. Environmental health and natural resource degradation kill nearly 40,000 people and cost between 11-19% of Sindh's GDP every year. Currently, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures and National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) are the main environmental policy instruments, which continue to be applied by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency. Environment (Pak-EPA) and Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sindh EPA). ). However, gaps in environmental policies, weak enforcement, and deficient technical capacity have characterized Sindh's environmental policy framework, and various environmental policy instruments have to address environmental priorities, including
(1) direct government regulations;
(2) economic and market-based instruments; and
(3) others, including public disclosure, legal action, and formal negotiation.
Less
gaps and undesirable incentives could be left in the wake.
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