UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND

TECHNOLOGY TAXILA

SUBMITTED BY:
Environmental engineering-I
Assignment No. 01
SHAKEEL AHMAD KHALIL

16-CE-35
Environmental Issues in
Pakistan, Causes & Solutions SECTION: C

SUBMITTED TO:

PROF. Dr. NAEEM EJAZ

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 Major Environmental Issues in Pakistan

Introduction to environment:
the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates
is known as environment. The natural environment encompasses all living and
non-living things occurring naturally. The term is most often applied to the earth or
some part of earth. This environment encompasses the interaction of all living
species, climate, weather, and natural resources that affect human survival and
economic activity.

Biophysical environment:

The biophysical environment is the biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism

or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their
survival, development and evolution. The biophysical environment can vary in
scale from microscopic to global in extent.

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A healthy environment is an absolute necessity for the well-being of all organisms,
including man. All our needs, big and small are being met by the environment.
However, man having reached the pinnacle of evolution is trying to bring about
changes in the environment to suit his convenience. Unfortunately, this
convenience is temporary. In the long run, man is losing out on a healthy
environment.

There are several issues that our country (Pakistan) is confronting today. Natural
issues are producing more risk of confinement then artificial ones. There are
numerous ecological issues in Pakistan that are creating problems for its citizens.
The number of inhabitants in Pakistan are increasing with the progression of time but
the main factor that is affecting its environment is its constrained resources. Yet at
the same time it also must work for the betterment of its environment by providing
realistic solution against most of the environmental issues.

Environmental issues are harmful effects of human activity on the biophysical

environment. Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the natural
environment on individual, organizational or governmental levels, for the benefit of
both the environment and humans. Environmentalism, a social and environmental
movement, addresses environmental issues through advocacy, education and
activism.

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Environmental issues in Pakistan:
Environmental issues are harmful effects of human activity on the
biophysical environment. Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the
natural environment on individual, organizational or governmental levels, for the
benefit of both the environment and humans. Environmentalism, a social and
environmental movement, addresses environmental issues through advocacy,
education and activism.

The carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere has
already exceeded 400 parts per million (NOAA) (with total "long-term" GHG
exceeding 455 parts per million). (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Report) This level is considered a tipping point. "The amount of greenhouse gas in
the atmosphere is already above the threshold that can potentially cause dangerous
climate change. We are already at risk of many areas of pollution...It's not next
year or next decade, it's now." Report from the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

"Climate disasters are on the rise. Around 70 percent of disasters are now climate
related – up from around 50 percent from two decades ago.

These disasters take a heavier human toll and come with a higher price tag. In the
last decade, 2.4 billion people were affected by climate related disasters, compared
to 1.7 billion in the previous decade. The cost of responding to disasters has risen
tenfold between 1992 and 2008. Destructive sudden heavy rains, intense tropical
storms, repeated flooding and droughts are likely to increase, as will the
vulnerability of local communities in the absence of strong concerted action."
"Climate change is not just a distant future threat. It is the main driver behind rising
humanitarian needs and we are seeing its impact. The number of people affected

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and the damages inflicted by extreme weather has been unprecedented. "followings
are the some major environmental issues in Pakistan

1. Pollution
a. Air Pollution
b. Water Pollution
c. Noise Pollution
d. Thermal Pollution
e. Soil Pollution
f. Light Pollution
2. Overpopulation

3. Deforestation

4. Nuclear issues
5. Global warming

Air Pollution:

Air Pollution is one of the major

environmental issues of Pakistan. It is
defined as “the change in the
composition of air by the addition of
harmful substances” e.g. industrial and
automobile gases and particulate matter.
All sources of air pollution are related to
human activities.

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Effects:
Air pollution in the form of carbon dioxide and methane raises the earth’s
temperature. It also results in Smog formation when the weather is warmer and
there’s more ultraviolet radiations. Decrease in the visibility and sight distances due
to presence of suspended particles in air. Air pollution also results in Soot formation,
Production of Hazardous air pollutants in the environment, Greenhouse gases and
Pollen Formation. This pollution effects human health badly, produces eye irritation
and respiratory diseases.

Causes:
Following are the causes of air pollution problems:
1. Burning fossil fuels releases gases and chemicals into the air.
2. Untreated smoke released from chimneys of factories produce air pollution.
3. Smoke released from the exhausts of the car causes air pollution.
4. Climate change also increases the production of allergenic air pollutants including
mold due to damp conditions caused by extreme weather and increased flooding
and pollens due to a longer pollen season and more pollen production.
5. Heavy and dense smoke emission from jets and space rockets.

Solution:
Following are the suggested solutions for air pollution problems:
1. Burn less gasoline to reduce air pollution and harmful effects of climate change.
2. Public transport should be preferred over personal transport to reduce the number
of vehicles on the road and hence less emission of gases.
3. Go for wind or solar power production techniques rather than coal power plants.
4. Ban the old and rough vehicles which emit smoke and harmful gases.
5. Smoke produced by factories and other sources should be properly treated before
its release in the environment.

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 Water Pollution:

Water Pollution is another

environmental issue of
Pakistan. It is defined as “the
change in the composition of
water by the addition of
hazardous substances”. Water
Pollution adversely affects the
health of people.

Effects:
Water pollution results in Enrichment of water with inorganic nutrients (nitrates and
phosphates) called as Eutrophication, Food Chain Contamination and Growth of
germs in water by Organic Pollutants called Epidemics. Water pollution is also
disturbing aquatic life on a large scale which is also very serious condition and it also
disturbs human badly and produce diseases like stomach problems, hepatitis and
cholera.

Causes:
Following are the causes of water pollution problems:
1. Disposal of untreated sewage waters directly into water bodies.
2. Disposal of waste water and materials from factories, mills and industries into the
water bodies without treatment
3. Disposal of untreated chemical waste of different plastic, drugs, sugar industries
in water.
4. Disposal of radioactive waste into water from atomic power plants.
5. Spillage of oil and adhesives into water from tankers and ships.
6. Throwing of plastics and organic materials into water.
7. Use of pesticides and fertilizers also pollutes the ground water.

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8. Seepage of waste water and chemicals from landfills and sewers into the ground
disturbing ground water.

Solution:
Following are the suggested solutions for water pollution problems:
1. Make people aware of the problems caused by contaminated water.
2. Make environmental laws tougher for industrialists.
3. Before releasing waste water from industries and sewage water, it should be
properly treated using different treatment techniques.
4. Throwing of plastic materials into water bodies should be banned and avoided.
5. Proper designing and construction of landfill sites to avoid seepage of chemicals
from them.

 Land Pollution:

Land or Soil Pollution is an

important resource and is the basis
for the growth of producers. In the
recent times, soil has been
subjected to Pollution. It is defined
as “the deterioration of the earth's
land surfaces, often directly or
indirectly because of man's
activities and their misuse of land
resources”.

Effects:
Causes:
Following are the causes of land pollution problems:
1. Agricultural activities involving use of pesticides and fertilizers produces land
pollution.

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2. Mining activities also pollute the land as many of the chemicals and machinery is
used in extracting the minerals from the Earth.
3. Construction activities are also a major source of land pollution. A lot of waste is
produced in the construction process and construction material is also stored on
the land causing disturbance to the land.
4. Waste material from domestic and industrial usage is also dumped on landfill
sites which produces a lot of pollution and it also produce smell.
5. Nuclear and radioactive wastes are also a cause of land pollution.

Solution:
Following are the suggested solutions for land pollution problems:
1. Suitable and safe disposal of solid waste material on proper landfill sites.
2. Recycling of waste materials to maximum possible extent to reduce the amount of
waste.
3. Stop the usage of plastic bags as they do not decompose & produce pollution for
long time.
4. Inorganic pesticides should be replaced by organic pesticides.
5. Proper treatment of the industrial and domestic solid waste before dumping.

 Noise Pollution:
Another issue affecting the
environment is Noise
Pollution. It is defined as “the
propagation of noise with
harmful impact on the activity
of human or animal life”. The
source of outdoor noise
worldwide is mainly caused by
machines, transport and
transportation systems.

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Effects:
Noise pollution results in loss of hearing abilities of humans and animals and
produce trouble in communication process. It also produces Sleeping disorders,
Cardiovascular issues, change the behavior of people, produces frustration and
decrease the working capacity of the people. Noise pollution also effects the wildlife.

Causes:
Following are the causes of noise pollution problems:
1. Noise produced in the industries from working of heavy machineries.
2. Poor urban planning also increases the noise pollution
3. Social events which involve the usage of loud speakers also promote noise
pollution.
4. Noise of fast-moving transportation vehicles is also a source of noise pollution.
5. Construction activities involving the usage of machinery are also a prime source
of this kind of pollution.
6. Household Chores sometimes also produces noise pollution.

Solution:
Following are the suggested solutions for noise pollution problems:
1. Everybody can help reducing the noise in their homes by lowering the volume of
the radio, music system and the television and speakers.
2. Better urban planning can help in creating ‘No-Noise’ zones, where honking and
industrial noise are not tolerated.
3. Usage of loudspeakers should not be allowed in the residential areas.
4. Maintenance of transportation vehicles and machineries should be done to
minimize the noise producing from their usage.

Overpopulation:

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Human overpopulation occurs when the ecological footprint of a human population
in a specific geographical location exceeds the carrying capacity of the place
occupied by that group. Overpopulation can further be viewed, in a long term
perspective, as existing when a population cannot be maintained given the rapid
depletion of non-renewable resources or given the degradation of the capacity of
the environment to give support to the population.

According to studies the population growth rate in Pakistan is as follows

Causes:

1
http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/pakistan-population/

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From a historical perspective, technological revolutions have coincided with population
explosions. There have been three major technological revolutions – the tool-making revolution,
the agricultural revolution, and the industrial revolution – all of which allowed humans more
access to food, resulting in subsequent population explosions. For example, the use of tools,
such as bow and arrow, allowed primitive hunters greater access to high energy foods (e.g.
animal meat). Similarly, the transition to farming about 10,000 years ago greatly increased the
overall food supply, which was used to support more people. Food production further increased
with the industrial revolution as machinery, fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides were used to
increase land under cultivation as well as crop yields. In short, similar to bacteria that multiply in
response to increased food supply, humans have increased their population as soon as food
became more abundant as a result of technological innovations.

Significant increases in human population occur whenever the birth rate exceeds the death rate
for extended periods of time. Traditionally, the fertility rate is strongly influenced by cultural and
social norms that are rather stable and therefore slow to adapt to changes in the social,
technological, or environmental conditions. For example, when death rates fell during the 19th
and 20th century – as a result of improved sanitation, child immunizations, and other advances in
medicine – allowing more newborns to survive, the fertility rate did not adjust downward fast
enough, resulting in significant population growth. Prior to these changes, seven out of ten
children died before reaching reproductive age, while today about 95% of newborns in
industrialized nations reach adulthood.

Solutions:

Given the current levels of violence by this culture against both humans and the natural
world, however, it's not possible to speak of reductions in population and consumption that
do not involve violence and privation, not because the reductions themselves would
necessarily involve violence, but because violence and privation have become the default
of
our culture. Derrick Jensen. Endgame, 2006

There are several solutions and mitigation measures that have the potential to reduce
overpopulation. Some solutions are to be applied on a global planetary level (e.g., via UN
resolutions), some to be applied on a local government, state, city, or other organization level,
and some are to be applied on a family or an individual level. Some of the mitigations are ways
to implement social norms. Overpopulation is an issue that threatens the state of the environment
and therefore societies must make a change in order to reverse some of the environmental effects
brought on by current social norms.

Deforestation:

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Deforestation is clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is
thereafter converted to a non-forest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to
farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests.

When forest cover is removed, wildlife is deprived of habitat and becomes more vulnerable to hunting.
Considering that about 80% of the world's documented species can be found in tropical rainforests,
deforestation poses a serious threat to the Earth's biodiversity.

Disregard of ascribed value, lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of the
factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale. In many countries, deforestation, both
naturally occurring and human-induced, is an ongoing issue. Deforestation causes extinction, changes to
climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions
and in the past through the fossil record. More than half of all plant and land animal species in the world
live in tropical forests.

Causes:
In Pakistan deforestation occurs

 To obtain Timber
 To obtain wood to burn
 For Construction

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 As a result of deforestation Pakistan has less than 5% of forests

Solutions:

Monitoring deforestation
Here are multiple methods that are appropriate and reliable for reducing and monitoring
deforestation. One method is the “visual interpretation of aerial photos or satellite imagery that is
labor-intensive but does not require high-level training in computer image processing or
extensive computational resources”. Another method includes hot-spot analysis (that is, locations
of rapid change) using expert opinion or coarse resolution satellite data to identify locations for
detailed digital analysis with high resolution satellite images. Deforestation is typically assessed
by quantifying the amount of area deforested, measured at the present time. From an
environmental point of view, quantifying the damage and its possible consequences is a more
important task, while conservation efforts are more focused on forested land protection and
development of landuse alternatives to avoid continued deforestation. Deforestation rate and total

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area deforested, have been widely used for monitoring deforestation in many regions, including
the Brazilian Amazon deforestation monitoring by INPE. A global satellite view is available.

Nuclear issues:
The nuclear power debate is a controversy about the deployment and use of nuclear fission
reactors to generate electricity from nuclear fuel for civilian purposes. The debate about nuclear
power peaked during the 1970s and 1980s, when it "reached an intensity unprecedented in the
history of technology controversies" in some countries. Observers attribute the nuclear
controversy to the impossibility of generating a shared perception between social actors over the
use of this technology as well as systemic mismatches between expectations and experience.

Causes:
The world's nuclear fleet creates about 10,000 metric tons of high-level spent nuclear fuel each
year. High-level radioactive waste management concerns management and disposal of highly
radioactive materials created during production of nuclear power. The technical issues in
accomplishing this are daunting, due to the extremely long periods radioactive wastes remain
deadly to living organisms. Of particular concern are two long-lived fission products,
technetium99 (half-life 220,000 years) and iodine-129 (half-life 15.7 million years), which
dominate spent nuclear fuel radioactivity after a few thousand years. The most troublesome
transuranic elements in spent fuel are neptunium-237 (half-life two million years) and plutonium-
239 (halflife 24,000 years). Consequently, high-level radioactive waste requires sophisticated
treatment and management to successfully isolate it from the biosphere. This usually necessitates
treatment, followed by a long-term management strategy involving permanent storage, disposal
or transformation of the waste into a non-toxic form.

Solutions:
The nuclear power industry has improved the safety and performance of reactors, and has
proposed new safer (but generally untested) reactor designs but there is no guarantee that the

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reactors will be designed, built and operated correctly. Mistakes do occur and the designers of
reactors at Fukushima in Japan did not anticipate that a tsunami generated by an earthquake
would disable the backup systems that were supposed to stabilize the reactor after the earthquake.
According to UBS AG, the Fukushima I nuclear accidents have cast doubt on whether even an
advanced economy like Japan can master nuclear safety.

Global warming:
Global Warming is the increase of Earth's average surface temperature due to effect of
greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels or from
deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth.

Global warming and climate change are terms for the observed century-scale rise in the average
temperature of the Earth's climate system and its related effects. Multiple lines of scientific
evidence show that the climate system is warming. Many of the observed changes since the
1950s are unprecedented over tens to thousands of years.

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In 2014 the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth
Assessment Report concluded that "It is extremely likely that human influence has been the
dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century." The largest human
influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
oxide; human activities have led to carbon dioxide concentrations above levels not seen in
hundreds of thousands of years. Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated
that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to 1.7 °C
(0.5 to 3.1 °F) for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to 4.8 °C (4.7 to 8.6 °F) for the highest
emissions scenario. These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of
the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or

international standing.

Causes:
Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human
expansion of the "greenhouse effect" that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from
Earth toward space. Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping.

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Solutions:
1. Reduce Fossil Fuel Use. Burning fossil
fuels increases the levels of
greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. ...
2. Plant Trees. Because carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas, planting trees
and other plants can slow or stop global warming. ...
3. Reduce Waste. ...
4. Conserve Water.
5. Reduce lawn size. ...
6. Recycle whenever possible. ...
7. Eat locally produced food. ...
8. Eat vegetarian meals. ...
9. Paint your home a light color if you live in a warm climate, or a dark color in a cold
climate.
10. Choose clean energy options. ...
11. Buy clean energy certificates and carbon offset

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