MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES OF PUNJAB

Pakistan, the most populous Muslim nation after Indonesia, houses 144.6 million citizens over an area of 307,374 square miles. Of that the province of Punjab shares 59% of the population and around 30% of the geographical area. The “land of five rivers”; the Punjab consists of a varied landscape over four distinct ecological zones; Temperate forests, the sub-tropical forests, the tropical areas and the alluvial plains. A large part of Punjab is still quite rich in flora as well as fauna. However deteriorating environmental conditions and poor management policies are rapidly destroying the habitants. It is feared that if the existing environmental degradation and poor management policies are not revaluated and checked, an irreparable damage is likely to occur to the biodiversity of the flora and the fauna. Major environmental threats are from four sectors; Agriculture, Industry, Municipal waste and the Traffic. A fifth source is the Trans Border Pollution, which is becoming a growing threat with the passage of time. An overview of all the threats are as follows.

1. Agriculture

Agriculture is occupying 64% land of the Punjab and around 80 % of the population is tied down to this profession. This is itself an instable situation wherein 8 out of 10 persons are deployed on food production only. Elsewhere in the world much smaller number has been able to produce much larger quantities of food. Added to that is hazards caused by use of hazardous pesticide and artificial fertilizers, the use of which has, over a period of past ten years, has increased seven folds. In pesticides there used to be 900 tons of active ingredients which have now been increased to 6000 tons. Similar is the pollution caused by addition of chemical fertilizers. The DDT and 24 Eldrin and Dieldrin are biologically non degradable. No clear research has been carried out at a large scale in Pakistan. Research in a parallel situation in USA has shown that the Great Lake System is in danger and Eutrophication is taking over. A hard pan of clay and fertilizer has blocked the upper soil at most of the places and it is leading to the death of trees like Shisham. Kikar and Mango orchards. The drained out pesticide and fertilizers finally fall in the River System of Punjab which is the vital life line knitting the province into a sustainable economic unit. If the addition of pollutants continues at the same rate, alongwith the loss of the arable land, the river system will simply turn in to a drainage network for all the industrial and domestic affluent of the Province. Loss of river system would mean loss of hydal power.

IMPORTANT ACTION REQUIRED IN AGRICULTURE SECTOR

i) Through a good planning the pressure of dependence of 80% population on Agriculture should be gradually brought down to 40% over next five years. While planning that the 2.9% annual increase of population must be incorporated. The human resources spared by Agriculture should be trained and deployed on industry, construction, opportunities abroad, mechanical works or information technology.
ii) There is an urgent need of building up a sound database to measure the hazards with which our land resource is faced with. Monitoring of the effects of pesticides, fertilizers and weedicides is essential on perpetual basis.
iii) Such measures should be popularized which do not cause eutrophication. Green manure of form yard manure should be popularized.
iv) Pesticide manufacturers should be legally bound to focus on pesticides which do not persist.
v) Agriculture extension service may be advised to educate the farmer on the use of appropriate pesticides/insecticides at appropriate time in most appropriate dosage. For example presently some cotton growers apply 17 sprays at odd times without much effect when only one at correct time can kill the insect larvae.
vi) Methods to control the clay and fertilizer hardpan formation must be worked out and shisham and kikar should be saved from further death.

2. INDUSTRY

Punjab has a formal sector of medium and large scale industries and an important sector of small scale industries. It is the medium and large scale industries which contribute hazards to the environment in the form of effluents which may contain Toxic heavy metals like chromium, lead and mercury, metal salts, oils, suspended matter and bacteria. Addition of highly toxic and acidic materials with high pH to rivers and water bodies hinder the microbial activity and makes the pollutants to stay longer. The heavy metals enter the food chain of human and cause cancer, genetic mutation, neurophysiological damage, behavioural change and at times even the chromosomal distortion. The suspended particles cut down the light and cut off the photosynthesis. The medium and large industries are mostly concentrated in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Kala Shah Kaku. Also the area between the Ravi and Sheikhupura is occupied by a large number of factories. River Ravi, where it winds its way around Lahore gets most polluted. And a total absence of an effective environmental legislation for industrial effluent material has taken the situation from bad to worse.

IMPORTANT ACTIONS REQUIRED IN INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

i) An effective environmental legislation must be enforced. The industrial waste must be treated appropriately so as to ensure that no harmful ingredient is added to the environment.
ii) A continued system of Field Research should be introduced wherein the quality and quantity of the effluents of every industry must be checked.
iii) Environment oriented NGO’s should be encouraged to come in the field and participate in enforcing the measures necessary for the control of industrial pollution.
iv) Through mass awareness, the industrialists and public at large should be made conscious about the hazards of industrial pollution. Industries should be asked to pay a part of their earning to the agencies looking after the environment.

3. MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT

Pakistan produces 35000 tons of human excrete every day. Of this Punjab contributes 21000 tons, wherein 25% is urban which is mostly water borne and flows into nearby water body, stream or river. For 5000 tons of urban excrete of Punjab 403 tons of oxygen are required to decompose it to water and minerals. This huge quantity of oxygen, when drawn from the water bodies, takes the oxygen level below the optimal level of biological oxygen demand and the water life dies. The fish and other small river life has died between Lahore Balloki headworks. This problem is emerging on a large scale as the population of Punjab, in general, is rising at a rate of 2.9 % every year, and through a rapid urbanization process the population of cities is rising by 6% annually. By and large poor municipal governance is leading to degradation in the municipal system and the drinking water and sewerage out flow may get raised up at certain points and lead to Hepatitis, cholera, meningitis, typhoid, malaria and large number of infections diseases.

IMPORTANT ACTIONS REQUIRED IN MUNICIPAL SECTOR

i) All municipal bodies must make arrangement for solid waste and water waste treatment. No dirt should be allowed to be spilled into rivers and nullahs untreated. The sewerage water being pumped into River Ravi must be treated before it is pumped into the Rivi by WASA.
ii) Awareness campaigns should be run to make the councilors and all stake holders aware of the problem so that due action is initiated at every appropriate level.
iii) Continuous monitoring should be set up to assess the oxygen level of the water and air around us. A continuous assessment of the BOD should be made.

4. THE TRAFFIC SECTOR

Every moving automobile has an engine and it consumes oxygen to run. Our roads are therefore oxygen depletion corridors, and the cities and town are the oxygen deficient spots where the BOD may not be available. The defective exhausts omit carbon monoxide, sulphur fumes, smoke and oil to spoil even the breathing air. The noise level is at places deafening. According to a JICA survey certain spots in Lahore have an air pollution and noise level upto such limit that the population of that area should “either be half mad or as good as dead”. Although some order has been introduced in the traffic of Lahore and Rawalpindi, but by and large the disorderly traffic, intermixed with non-vehicular objects, provide an irritating scene on our roads. The vehicle checking and passing system leaves much to be devised. The traffic load on the roads has increased five folds over past ten years.

IMPORTANT ACTIONS REQUIRED IN TRAFFIC SECTOR

i) All tongas and rikshaws should be abolished. In their place 60 seater comfortable and mechanically sound buses should be run. The tongawalas and rikshawalas may be given a share in the new bus company and they may also be given suitable jobs in the bus company. This will take a lot of physical and noise nuisance from the roads.
ii) All small shops which open on the main streets should be closed and banned. Keeping all those shopkeepers as shareholders multistorey plazas should be built by Government. The price of shops and parking facility can be charged through leases or instalment as the case may be. This will suck away all the crowding from streets. Place vacated by fronts of the shops should be decorated with flower beds, flowers pots and other landscape features.
iii) Traffic laws must be enforced strictly. For that the law enforcing authorities and a section of road users should be trained. The Radio/TV/Print media may run a campaign to educate people on traffic sense.

5. TRANS-BORDER POLLUTION

Hadiara drain flows from India to Pakistan and brings along all the effluents from its catchment. In a study carried out by Fisheries Department Punjab revealed that Hadiara drain brings large quantities of Chromium, heavy metal salts and tanning industry effluents, which add to the pollutants already added to the Ravi. This needs to be projected at international level, as and when any opportunity arises.