Challenges for the Planet…

• At the end of World War II, the earth's population stood at two billion,
now it is nearing eight billion. lt took hundreds of thousands of years
to reach the two billion mark, only 50 years to triple it.

• This gargantuan rise in population has crowded the cities, overtaken

green spaces and created unprecedented demand for energy food, and
shelter.

• 70% of the world's marine fish stocks are fully or to over-exploited.

• The people of the world annually release 23 billion tons of carbon

dioxide into the air increasing the earth's temperature and threatening
the health and habitat of animals, plants and people.
 Challenges for the Planet…

• Estimates are that we lose 70 species a day, forever. And the

rate of destruction and loss is accelerating.

• No one country is responsible for these problems.

• Many nations have contributed to their causes, and they can

be addressed effectively only if the nations of the world
work together, adopting and implementing policies that are
result-oriented.
 Environmental Issues in Pakistan
• You may have heard about the rising sea levels, melting ice
caps, drastic change in weather patterns and significant
decline in the population of several species on the news.

• While you may think these events don’t affect you directly,
the truth is they are all signs of climate change that pose a
huge threat to the entire planet.

• Therefore, just like the rest of the world, there are several
serious environmental issues in Pakistan that need to be
addressed and dealt with on an urgent basis.
 Key Environmental Issues in Pakistan

• We basically live in an agricultural country where nearly

60% of the overall population lives in rural areas with little
to no access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities.

• Owing to the growing population, expansion of the

economic sector, urbanization, poor waste management and
a number of other factors, the environmental problems in
Pakistan are getting worse with each passing day.
 Key Environmental Issues in Pakistan

These are some of the major environmental concerns in

Pakistan that you should know about:

• Deforestation.
• Air Pollution.
• Water Pollution.
• Land Pollution.
• Global Warming.
 DEFORESTATION
• Deforestation occurs when humans destroy forests by cutting
down trees and not replanting then.
• This is most commonly done to obtain wood and fuel.
• However, urbanization, growing population and expansion of
cities are also leading cause of deforestation.
• Apart from destroying natural beauty, cutting down forests
also has a huge impact on our ecosystem as it affects wildlife
habitat.
• Unfortunately, Pakistan has a high deforestation rate, as more
and more rural areas are converting into farms and urban
centers.
 SOLUTION for DEFORESTATION…
• We need to plant more trees and conserve our forests.
• The government has been doing a lot to raise awareness about tree
plantation in Pakistan.
• As we all know, Pakistan already has a huge man-made forest in
Punjab known as Changa Manga.
• Other than that, the One Billion Trees initiative undertaken by the
province of KPK is also a noteworthy achievement in this regard.
• Just recently, P.M. Imran Khan launched a nationwide tree
plantation drive and announced August 18 to be marked as ‘Plant
for Pakistan’ day.
• Moreover, if we don’t want to lose our lush green forests, we need to
reduce our use of paper, can also help curb deforestation in Pakistan.
 AIR POLLUTION
• Air pollution can be defined as the presence of toxic solid and liquid
particles in the air along with certain gases that are harmful to the
environment. This type of pollution is mainly caused by the burning
of fossil fuel for transportation and production of electricity.
• The number of diesel vehicles that emit excessive carbon need to be
reduced.
• If you’ve suffered through the winter smog in Lahore and other big
cities, you would agree that Pakistan is going through an air
pollution crisis.
• The black smoke that you see coming out of vehicles on the road
along and out of factories in the industrial areas are all leading
causes of air pollution in Pakistan.
 SOLUTION for AIR POLLUTION…
• To deal with air pollution in Pakistan is to plant more trees.
• Concerned authorities must take actions to reduce the number
of diesel vehicles which emit excessive carbon in the air.
• The high content of lead in petrol is also an important issue that
needs immediate attention, as inhaling smoke from vehicles can
result in a high concentration of blood lead levels in children
and adults.
• On a personal level, you can reduce the number of trips you take
in your car or, if possible, riding a bicycle instead.
• People who live in the Northern areas of the country can also try
and reduce their use of firewood.
• Similarly, the use of wood stoves must also be reduced.
 WATER POLLUTION
• Dumping waste material in water bodies is the main reason behind
water pollution in Pakistan
• Caused when toxic substances such as chemicals, waste and certain
microorganisms contaminate a body of water, rendering it harmful
for human use or consumption. Drinking from polluted streams,
rivers, lakes and ponds, or using its water to bathe or cook, can be
extremely harmful to one’s health.
• The reasons behind water pollution could be a poor sewage system,
throwing chemical wastage from factories into the ocean and
increase in litter, especially plastic. Given that Pakistan is an
agricultural country with an arid climate, water pollution is also
harming our crops and land. This is also one of the main reasons
why a large chunk of population in the country does not have access
to clean drinking water.
 SOLUTION for WATER POLLUTION…

• One of the best ways to counter this environmental problem in

Pakistan is to set up proper sewage treatment and management
system.

• The agricultural sector of the country also needs to reduce its use of
pesticides and fertilizers, as these contain harmful chemicals that
easily find their way to water bodies and lead to pollution.

• Steps must also be taken to ban people and companies from

disposing of their waste and rubbish into lakes, rivers and oceans.
 LAND POLLUTION
• Banning single-use plastic products can be a good start to curbing
this environmental problem in Pakistan.
• Like most developing countries, land pollution is a serious
environmental issue in Pakistan.
• Annually, the country generates approximately 48.5 million tons of
solid waste with a 2% increase each year. Since we don’t have a
proper waste disposal system, most of it is either burned, causing air
pollution or buried on vacant land, causing soil erosion. The rest of
this waste is just dumped on empty lots, damaging the environment
and leading to land pollution.
• Urbanization and use of harmful chemicals and pesticides are also
some of the major causes of land pollution in Pakistan.
 SOLUTION for LAND POLLUTION…
• You can minimize land pollution by adopting a zero-waste lifestyle
and reducing your use of plastic. In fact, authorities in Pakistan
recently proposed a ban on plastic bags in order to actively fight
against plastic pollution.

• Other ways to help tackle this ecological problem of Pakistan include

recycling and reusing things, buying organic products and avoiding
using harsh chemicals such as industrial cleaners and bleach
solutions.

• Furthermore, Karachi Cleanliness Drive is also a great example of

how we must take steps to deal with these environmental issues in
Pakistan.
 GLOBAL WARMING
• The terms global warming and climate change are not
interchangeable. However, it’s a common mistake that most people
make.
• Global warming refers to the long-term warming of the planet due to
pollution, whereas climate change is broad phenomena referring to
abnormal variations to the Earth’s climate. To put it simply, one can
say that global warming is a symptom of climate change.
• Now, unfortunately, Pakistan is one of the biggest victims of global
warming in the world. The heatwaves and cold snaps that we have
been suffering through for the past several years are all due to the
increased global warming. The main reason behind this is the
emission of fossil fuel; however, it is definitely not the only culprit.
 SOLUTION for GLOBAL WARMING…

• If we want to help protect the ozone layer from depleting

at such a quick pace and help reduce the size of our
carbon footprint on the Earth, we should consider
adopting a sustainable, minimal-waste lifestyle.

• It will help minimize our impact on the planet’s natural

resources as well.
 Environmental Protection Laws & Agencies in Pakistan
• In 1997, then-government enacted the Pakistan Environmental
Protection Act to safeguard, conserve, rehabilitate and improve the
environment of Pakistan through sustainable development measures
and pollution control, among others.

Here are a few more agencies that deal with the ecological problems
of Pakistan.:
• Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency.
• Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.
• Pakistan Forest Institute.
• National Council for Conservation of Wildlife
• The Zoological Survey Department of Pakistan.
FURTHER SUGGESTIONS…
FURTHER SUGGESTIONS…
 TOPICS FOR FINAL EXAM…

• WEEK 10: CPEC (Handout).

• WEEK 11: Pakistan’s Foreign Policy (Principles, Making

Agencies & Determinants: Handout).

• WEEK 13: Challenges Faced by Pakistan after 9/11.

• WEEK 14: Role of Small & Cottage Industries & It’s

Types.

• WEEK 17: Key Environmental Issues of Pakistan& its

Solution.