Uy V3 @ lead eer taar a PERT TRAINING ON ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS Ss AND RULES ; Bi ortver Inreooucrion Drotected, and what gets protected gets conserved. Pakistan’s national environmental laws are also based on ths premise. Uke the development of international lw in other ofeas, an attempt to formulate an interna. tional regulation with respect to environment was the result af a perceived necessity for international coopera~ tion to address human needs. Every nation has its own laws and legislations pertaining to the country’s needs. Poverty, over-population, literacy, ill health, inefficient energy use and unplanned sprawl of human settlements have been identified as severe pressures on the environment in Paki- stan. Moreover, Pakistan faces a number of serious enviton- mental problems such as soil erosion, pesticides, deforestation, ‘and urban pollution. To overcome these problems, the Govern- ‘ment of Pakistan has drafted cornerstone legislation to protect, the environment, namely the Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance, 1983, the first government commitment to environ- ‘mental improvement. the ordinance established the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council (PEPC) as the supreme enviran: ‘mental policy making body in the countty. Pakistan Environ- ‘mental Protection Agencies were formed both at the federal and Provincial levels to administer and implement the provisions of the ordinance. However, little or no action appeared to have been taken under the ordinance as the law was narrow in scope ‘and did not address important emerging environmental con- ‘eis. Further, there was no provision for the establishment of tribunals in the ordinance. There was a need for an overall com: prehensive legislation encompassing the broader canvas of envi= fonment. Therefore the Federal Government, through PEPC, drafted the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA), 1997. The Act delegates powers and provides a legal framework to concerned federal and provincial agencies to check environ- ‘mental pollution throughout the counity. Although PEPA became operational in 1997, it has re- mained largely unentorced because of the lack of public aware- ness regarding its existence, especially with regard to the com- plaint procedure an aggrieved person has to follow; non: functioning of environmental tribunals and environmental mag- istrates; lack of ambient air quality standards; and lack of trained personnel in the line departments, BacksRouND LEAD Pakistan, under the Program for Environmental Re- search and Training (PERT) conducted a one-day training on Envi- fonmental Laws and Rules in collaboration with the Pakistan Environmental Lawyers Association (PELA) and City District Gov- ferment, Lahore. The training event was held at Town Hall, city District Government, Lahore to enhance the knowledge of par ticipants regarding ‘the Environmental Protection Act (PEPA), 1997, and its laws and rules for conservation and protection of the environment. PERT was initiated in 2002 with financial support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE), with the objective to under- take capacity building, training and research for different target ‘groups in different areas of Pakistan on various topics. WWF— Pakistan and LEAD Pakistan jointly delivered 19 trainings out of a target of 40, over a period of two and a half years. Out of the femaining 21 trainings, LEAD, being a capacity building organiza- tion has been requested to conduct 15 trainings by WWF to com- plete them within the remaining PERT project period and the other six have been outsourced to the Cleaner Production Insti- tute (CPI), Karachi {in the training, the collaborating partner PELA extended its, support in inviting participants from the judiciary including pr vate and public lawyers, civil judges, members of the Bar Asso ation, students of environmental law and concerned line de- partments. | this training, the participants were provided an opportu: nity to: + Comprehend PEPA, 1997, its institutionalization and prace- dures (both civil and criminal) of application; © Understand the role of federal courts and their impact on PEPA and environmental tribunals; + Identity various sections of PEPA, their rules and regulations available for cross-references to deal with cases related to environment; ‘+ Identify importance of the Constitution and judiciary, and ‘their linkage to address and litigate environmental cases; ‘+ Understand the concept of General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GAM), World Trade Organization (WTO), the principles cof international environmental law and discussion of various environmental cases with regard to WTO implications at the national level. The training methodology was based on adult training techniques and the approach of experiential learning. Besides the presentations, discussion of basic concepts was encouraged to enhance the understanding of the participants on the related themes of the Environmental Protection Act, laws and statutes. Cases related to environmental litigation at the national level PERT is joint project of LEAD Pakistan and wwwF—Pakistanlike the Suo Moto case and the Shela Zia case were also dis- cussed. Dr Parvez Hassan, Senior Partner, Hassan and Hassan Advocate, presented a paper on the Federal Courts scheme, which detailed how this court, parallel to the existing judicial system, would actually impede the process of speedy justice it aims to facilitate, Ourcome the day ended by a revisitation by the participants to the learning objectives of the training. Due to the awareness cre- ated among the lawyers and the line departments regarding the environmental laws and rules, it was recommended by the participants that the training should be on a larger scale and {or a longer duration. the following points were suggested for future activities: The tules and laws available in PEPA, 1997 for environ- mental litigation should be followed; ‘+ The judiciary should work closely with the general public ‘and the Environmental Protection Department; + There should be a fine balance between development activities and the environment; I was agreed that infringement of environmental rights ‘means infringement of human rights: proper litigation meas- tures are required under the constitution and the law. Case Stupy The Shehla Zia case was the first to support environ- mental litigation in Pakistan. the case was filed due to the absence of specific treatment of environmental con- ceins posing a serious problem to 2 group of petitioners ‘who wanted to challenge the constitution of a high volt- age grid station in the residential area F-6/1 in Islama: bad, Pakistan. the residents were apprehensive of the public health affects of electro-magnetic waves posed by the proposed grid station and were also concerned at the violations of the city’s much prized green belt regulation, The case was filed in the Supreme Court, and from the record produced before the court, it was concluded that there might be a likelihood of adverse effects of electro- ‘magnetic fields on human health. This case is a milestone in environmental litigation in Pakistan; it provides an opportunity for lawyers to de- velop the understanding that development does not have to be in conflict with human rights and at the cost of hu- man health, This case sets a baseline to address other Prevailing enviconmental issues under PEPA 1997, TRAINERS: Dr Parver Hassan, Senior Hassan and Hassan Advocates Partner Jawad Hasan, Partner ‘Hassan and Hassan Advocates ‘Syed Mansoor Alishab, Afridi shah and Minallah, Lahore ‘Advocate Supreme Court ‘of Pakistan Mehnar Shiraz, Advocate Afridi Shah and Minallah, Lahore High court Saima Amin Khawaja, Aridi Shah and Minallah Lahore Senior Associate Atoe Nida han itor: Zabreen Hasan Designer: sama Hanif