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Author Topic:   Pakistan faces Pollution Crisis
DayDreamer
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posted March 05, 2007 07:29 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I think this is the biggest issue Pakistan needs to tackle!!!!!!!!! This is where the Pk government must put its focus and money into. Ditto for India.

I would love to live there, but the pollution just kills me.


Pakistan 'faces pollution crisis'

By Aamer Ahmed Khan
BBC News, Karachi

Air pollution in Pakistan's major cities is among the highest in the world, economic planners have warned.

Dust and smoke particles are "generally twice the world average" and "five times" higher than the developed world, the Pakistan Economic Survey found.

The pollution crisis is compounded by severe water scarcity, the report says.

The annual survey reviews Pakistan's social and political economy and was published ahead of the budget on Monday, which is world environment day.

Traffic woes

The survey, released by the government's principal economic adviser, lists an increase in the demand for energy and an unprecedented growth in the number of vehicles in Pakistan as the key reasons behind growing levels of air pollution.

quote:
Air pollution levels in Pakistan's most populated cities are among the highest in the world, causing serious health issues in the process.

Pakistan Economic Survey


Pakistan Economic Survey

The number of vehicles on the roads has increased five times in the past 20 years.

The biggest increase in the automobile sector is seen in two-stroke vehicles and diesel-powered goods lorries which are among the most polluting in the world.

Besides, more people are using cheap, inefficient and highly polluting fuels to meet their energy demands, the survey finds.

"In the cities, widespread use of low quality fuel, combined with a dramatic expansion in the number of vehicles on the roads, has led to significant air pollution problems," it says.

The government has been encouraging the use of vehicles powered by the less polluting compressed natural gas (CNG).

At present, CNG vehicles in Pakistan are estimated at just under one million, making Pakistan's CNG fleet the third largest in the world after Argentina and Brazil.

But lengthy bureaucratic procedures have impeded the growth of CNG filling stations, slowing down the expansion of the CNG fleet.

Toxic water

Similar pollution issues surround the water sector.

According to the survey, the annual per capita water availability dropped to 1,105 cubic metres - just above the 1,000 cubic metre threshold level.

With the present population growth rate and low rainfall, the scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic metres is expected to be reached by the year 2010.

A large part of the water scarcity problem has to do with increasing levels of pollution in drinking and agricultural water supplies.

This year in particular, thousands of people across Pakistan have reported falling ill after drinking polluted water.

Ineffective enforcement of laws regulating industrial effluents has allowed a large number of factories to dump their toxic effluents in main water bodies.

The water crisis is likely to become more acute in the coming years unless more reservoirs are built, the survey warns.

But large reservoirs are a politically sensitive issue in Pakistan, with the northern provinces where major reservoirs can be built strongly objecting to such projects.

Pakistan's government has proposed meeting water shortages by building hundreds of local water purification plants.

The government plans to build more than 6,500 water purification plants across the country over the next few years.
Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/5048308.stm

Published: 2006/06/05 10:33:04 GMT

© BBC MMVII

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DayDreamer
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posted March 05, 2007 07:46 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
State of Air Pollution in Pakistan

Brief Analysis by Hassaan Ghazali

Nowadays, nothing cuts through the ice quite like discussing the weather which of late has become noticeably more and more severe. If the experiences of extreme temperatures in Italy and England are anything to learn from, then Pakistan, if not South Asia, is more than likely to soon join the list of affectees. While climate change itself is a widely discussed issue with disastrous implications, prevention of air pollution becomes a responsibility shared by each and every government and citizen of the world.

With the growing complexities of social, commercial and industrial activity, Pakistan develops rapidly but with this development come negative externalities in the form of environmental pollution, which we all face, but few choose to resolve. The price of life as we know it is increasing day by day and we are doing little to solve the issues at hand. Our isolation from the consequences of our actions is more the result of an aggregate fooling itself into thinking either that its actions would have negligible impact on the surroundings, or that this impact would affect others who do not quite figure in the scheme of things. It remains to be seen if our naiveté and not our blindness would be our undoing for the air we breathe knows no boundaries.

In the context of the declining influence and corruption of institutions in Pakistan, law becomes the single most important instrument for environmental change and control. However, the environment is less a ‘field’ (which evokes the steady tilling of a well-marked patch of productive land) and more a spaghetti junction of crosscutting disciplines, methodologies and issues. Conserving the environment therefore, calls for a multi-pronged participatory strategy, as we all are at once, part of the problem and part of the solution.

We can start understanding the grassroots issues at hand by considering the rickshaws that contrary to public understanding are not running on CNG, but on petrol and LPG.

Recently the local government in Lahore announced its decision to crack down on tampered rickshaw silencers in an effort to curb noise pollution. Perhaps this is the first in a series of directives targeting more complicated problems of a sector that has so far been greatly ignored. Up until now, all rickshaw drivers were able to remove components of the silencer, which gave them greater acceleration but sent noise levels skyrocketing so the action undoubtedly counts as a good first step in checking the menace.

Try turning the attention of the traffic police officer to the rickshaw emissions next time you see one at the red light—also, try to notice the handkerchief he wears to "protect" himself while breathing. This is not for vanity’s sake as there is now enough scientific research on prolonged exposure to vehicular pollution to cause an amendment in the old bumper sticker to read, "All cops are impotent pigs". Indeed, what we once studied to be an archetypal mixture of oxygen, nitrogen and other gases has evolved into a more deadly combination of sulphur fumes, suspended particulate matter and an alphabet soup-esque collection of volatile organic compounds such as benzene, vinyl chloride, dichloromethane and trichloroethylene. This knowledge alone makes one want to have a word with the chemistry teacher back at Aitchison College. Legislatively speaking, National Environmental Quality Standards that have been set by the Federal Government cover only noise, smoke and carbon monoxide—a framework that assumes an overly simplistic model of chemical reactions and overlooks key toxins such as lead compounds, nitrogenous compounds and hydrocarbons.

Suffice is to say that regulation of commercial transport vehicles requires high priority in any environmental management plan but certain issues regarding Lahore’s institutional capacity require consideration. Despite extensive provisions of the Motor Vehicle legislation, out of an estimated 40,000 rickshaws in Lahore only 12,000 are registered vehicles. The 70% remaining have never fallen under the purview of the motor vehicle examiners who are charged with certifying the condition of vehicles in Lahore. The government’s reliance on non-scientific visual inspections makes one wonder why these failing institutions were established and never strengthened in the first place.

Lahore also has a thriving adulterated fuel market that supplies rickshaws with cheap fuel and lubricant, the unregulated use of which greatly increases tailpipe emissions. Interestingly enough, clusters of this trade operate right in the vicinity of our provincial Environment Protection Department which has so far not found it necessary to have them removed.

It becomes increasingly apparent that although conversion to or induction of CNG technology in public transport would help mitigate vehicular air pollution in the short to medium term, the infrastructure for this is presently non-existent and expensive to develop. Nor is there any research to show whether the conversions lead to any measurable environmental benefits at all. Informal workshops all over Lahore have the capability to convert vehicles to CNG but their performance still needs to be evaluated.

The experience of cleaner fuels in India can be replicated where there is political will and funding from government agencies. This, however, is not the case in Lahore and development of the CNG sector for now seems to depend almost entirely on domestic vehicle owners seeking cheaper commuting.

Measurable medium-term benefits can be expected within the next 5 years by forcing fuel companies to reduce fuel additives such as sulfur and lead and for vehicle manufacturers to install emission control devices. Phased lowering of sulfur and lead can enable the use of emission control technologies such as catalytic converters which are overlooked tools for air quality management in Pakistan. Catalytic converters are perhaps the most feasible devices that can be installed in vehicles to reduce vehicular emissions but remain a thing of the future since their metallic reactants would be rendered useless by the level of additives present in fuel today. The question really is, would the oil companies find it financially feasible to bring down these levels? So far, they are marketing only unleaded petrol while diesel is an animal yet to be tamed.

An enabling environment demands that incentives be structured into the fiscal framework of technology transfer and procurement to help phase in cleaner engines calibrated according to international standards. Currently there are no realizable benefits for transport companies and importers to do so except for the recent decrease in duties for second hand vehicles and complete body units.

Poorly maintained vehicles amidst an aging fleet account for approximately 90% of vehicular emissions and it would be wise to deem mandatory inspection and maintenance of gross polluting vehicles as being vital to pollution prevention programs. This authority falls within the collective domain of the motor vehicles examiners, the transport authority and the traffic police although the success of these programs will depend on the capacity that these institutions have. Devising such a scheme not only requires financial commitment and transparency but also requires participation and awareness amongst the public in its deployment—a difficult task when citizens view such programs as extortionist measures carried out by the state.

The notion of maintaining good air quality has been the center of attention of concerned stakeholders around the globe and nowhere was this more evident than in Manila at the Better Air Quality Workshop 2003 where over 600 people converged to discuss, share and learn from their experiences in prevention of air pollution. The lessons learnt made possible an evaluation of our presently dismal position to combat air pollution and gave vision in terms of the direction in which developing countries ought to be heading.

The quality of life our future generations will have depends on the responsibilities we take upon ourselves, and the soundness of the decisions we choose to make today. So while the world moves on with its environmental initiatives, we face the choice of having to actively protect ourselves and others from the effects of pollution or to carry on living in oblivion where ignorance truly is bliss.
http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/article-58369.html

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DayDreamer
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posted March 05, 2007 07:57 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This is another problem related to and part of the reason for the pollution crisis in Pakistan........

Environmental Scarcity and the Pakistani State

Pakistan's physical environment has deteriorated markedly since independence. State policies and the character of the state itself have created critical environmental scarcities throughout the country. These scarcities have been demand-induced (the result of a growing population and rising per capita resource consumption), supply-induced (a consequence of resource depletion and degradation), and structural (the result of an unequal distribution of resources within society).41 Moreover, they have been accompanied by processes of "resource capture" and "ecological marginalization."

Resource capture occurs when population growth combines with a decline in the quantity and quality of renewable resources to encourage powerful groups to alter the distribution of resources in their favor.42 Resources are in effect appropriated by elites, increasing environmental scarcity among poorer or weaker groups as a result. Groups experiencing this scarcity are then often ecologically marginalized as they migrate to rural or urban regions that are ecologically fragile. The resulting high population densities in the receiving areas, along with the migrants' lack of capital and knowledge of how to protect local resources, act to generate further environmental damage and chronic poverty.43

In the case of Pakistan, such scarcities and the patterns of behavior they generate owe much to the state's lack of accountability, its vice regal approach to economic development, and its penetration by special interests.

Lack of Accountability and Rising Scarcity

Over the years, the widespread lack of accountability of state officials and their supporters, along with Pakistan's vice regal approach to development, has produced excessive exploitation of the country's resource base. The result has been a progressively increasing nation wide scarcity of renewable resources (Figure 1).



Fashioned to meet the needs of a colonial ruler, the vice regal system was founded on the principle of efficient resource exploitation of the "hinterland" to generate maximum profit for the British Empire. With rapid economic growth as this system's chief aim and Britain as its sole focus, issues of resource sustainability and of the host population's welfare were, at best, secondary. Early on, therefore, the perception of the appropriate relationship between natural resources and human need was distorted.44

With independence, Pakistan's elite adopted this colonial model wholesale. The system and its organizational culture remained intact, only the identities of its chief beneficiaries changed. Exploitation of the nation's resource base continued apace, although now in the service of the new state's elites and their supporters instead of a foreign colonizer. The masses remained the last to be considered.

Models of national development stressed growth in commodity production and consumption as the benchmarks of success,45 and industrial and agricultural strategies emphasized cheap and rapid production at the expense of conservation. Industries using low-cost, highly polluting technologies proliferated. Mega-projects, such as reservoirs and dams, were conceived with an eye more to boosting national development than to their impact on local communities.46 And agriculture relied on techniques aimed at increasing short-term production. Although heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides raised yields, the potential long-term impacts were generally ignored.

The pervasive lack of accountability inherent in the political system reinforced these features of the Pakistani development process. Strong and institutionalized means for popular expression and input were not available to constrain social exploitation and environmental degradation. The state did not legislate rigorous environmental guidelines; elites unburdened by concerns of responsibility to the broader public ignored those guidelines that did exist.

It was also impossible to change significantly the distribution of wealth yielded by development. Since elites could not be held responsible for their actions, the fruits of development went mainly to the government and its supporters. There was minimal articulation of popular demands for greater investment in human development, and there was little pressure on elites to respond to such demands.

Over time, the effects of vice regal development and low accountability became increasingly apparent. Unhampered exploitation of resources in the name of economic growth encouraged the rise of supply-induced scarcity as development practices degraded and depleted renewable resources, such as agricultural land, water, and forests. At the same time, lack of investment in human development and social welfare fueled scarcity from the supply side, as a highly impoverished, poorly educated, and politically disenfranchised Islamic population grew rapidly. Meanwhile, the weakness of institutional constraints on elite practices ensured that a seriously inequitable form of development proceeded largely unchecked, which perpetuated elite privilege and, consequently, structural scarcity.

Scarcity and the Penetrated State

Environmental scarcity and resource degradation have been accompanied by a gradual increase in resource capture by elites and a consequent ecological marginalization of large numbers of poor and disadvantaged. Here, environmental scarcity has interacted with the highly penetrated nature of the Pakistani state to encourage both processes (Figure 2).

As noted above, unhampered exploitation of resources along with high population growth have progressively eroded the country's natural resource base. As scarcities of critical renewable resources - such as forests, land, and water - worsen, their prices increase, which in turn increases the incentive for powerful groups to acquire them and extract quasi-monopolistic economic rents. The deeply penetrated structure of the Pakistani state encourages this appropriation or "capture" of scarce natural resources: elites often already have preferential access to and control over resources; moreover, resources are a key means by which power and privilege are retained and expanded in the country's corrupt political system.

To reward, co-opt, or bribe potential challengers, the Pakistani regime often distributes concessions allowing powerful individuals and groups to exploit natural resources. This political behavior breeds chronic corruption and inefficiency: bribes and buy offs are commonplace at the highest levels of the state, and these practices are replicated at lower levels and in private transactions. Most importantly, it allows favored individuals and well connected entrepreneurs to appropriate valuable state lands, forests, and other resources at relatively low cost.

Such activity yields great profit for those involved, since they can sell, rent, or speculate on the resources in question. It also leads to misery for the local communities that depend on these resources for their livelihoods. The result is often the ecological marginalization of those affected. As resources are appropriated and exploited for profit, they become less available to local populations, increasing pressure on remaining stocks. These stocks are quickly depleted and degraded, and growing impoverishment eventually leads people to migrate, often to Pakistan's urban centers.

The rural-urban migrants generally settle in low-income areas, characterized by high population densities and rudimentary living conditions. Because of high urban land prices, they are often forced to build their settlements on the least desirable lands - areas that frequently flood, that lack basic services, or that lie beside transportation infrastructure, such as highways and railways. Despite their low quality, these lands are also often subject to resource capture by powerful urban entrepreneurs, and the terms of settlement for incoming migrants can be highly exploitative.

http://www.library.utoronto.ca/pcs/eps/pakistan/pak1.htm

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DayDreamer
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posted March 05, 2007 08:08 PM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Actually the Peace & Conflict dept @ u of t does a good job of dissecting some of Pakistan's modern day problems so i'll post the website first:

Environmental Scarcity and Violent Conflict:
The Case of Pakistan

There's three parts to it.


Urban Decay

Urban growth has been staggering, averaging from 4 percent to almost 5 percent per year in most major cities (Table 11); such rates imply a doubling time for urban population of between 14 and 18 years. Over the past decade, some of the influx has been produced by the entry of about 3 to 3.5 million Afghan refugees into the country (as a result of the Afghan War) and the return of over 1 million Pakistani workers from the Middle East. Still, the majority of migration emanates from rural areas within the country, accounting for a full 22 percent of total urban growth.130

Along with already high natural growth, such migration has placed enormous demands on urban infrastructure, facilities, and services. Invariably, however, municipal institutions cannot accommodate these needs. In particular, there has been insufficient investment capital to meet the absorption costs of the rapidly growing population. According to Syed Ayub Qutub, the investment resource pool generated by Pakistan's recent annual 6 to 7 percent GNP growth covers only 28 to 32 percent of urban investment requirements. With capital investment per capita likely to remain low, and with trends indicating that over three-fifths of future Pakistani population growth will occur in urban areas, an increase - absolute and proportionate - in unserviced urban populations is inevitable.131

Evidence of Pakistan's inability to cope with the "urban explosion" is abundant. In Karachi, while population rises at 6 percent per annum, far above the current national rate of 3.1 percent, urban services expand by only 1.2 percent.132 Housing for low-income groups has become a major problem, with the government able to meet only about one-eighth of demand. Meanwhile, an informal system of illegal occupation and subdivision of state land for sale to low-income families has developed. The uncontrolled growth often encroaches on valuable agricultural land and the plant and animal life inhabiting it. While Lahore and Faisalabad had several tracts of good agricultural land 25 years ago, there is now no arable land within their city limits.133 Similarly, the city of Peshawar has lost over 2,700 hectares of agricultural land to urban users over the last 20 years.134

Acute shortages of electricity and water are pervasive in Karachi, and sanitation services are often nonexistent. In 1983, per capita water consumption stood at approximately 80 liters per day - a level well below international standards.135 Only 40 percent of all households received piped water, usually for only a few hours a day. Others were served either by standpipes (about one pipe per 270 persons) or purchased water from tankers.136 And one-fifth of all households had sewerage connections.137

The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation generates over 1,700 megawatts against a peak demand of approximately 1,450 megawatts, yet the city faces constant electricity shortages due to a decaying distribution system and inadequate maintenance.138 Theft rates have been reported to be as high as 20 percent.139 And in the absence of additional generation capacity, the corporation anticipates a net shortfall of over 1,200 megawatts by the year 2000.140

Karachi and Islamabad are the only two cities in Pakistan possessing sewage treatment plants and these facilities are overtaxed. In Karachi, only 15 to 20 percent of sewage is treated, while the rest flows directly into the sea. Similarly, only 33 percent of the city's solid waste is transported to dump sites; the remaining refuse is picked over by scavengers in the streets.141 Waterborne illnesses due to poor sanitation account for 25 to 30 percent of total cases in public hospitals and dispensaries nationwide and for an estimated 40 percent of deaths.142

Industrial pollution of water and air from chemical plants, cement factories, and the like poses additional hazards. In Karachi, industrial activities result in high concentrations of metals, metal salts, bacteria, acids, and oils in bodies of water and their surrounding lands. Tests also show industrial contamination of seawater.143 Studies indicate that in Punjab, large segments of the population are suffering from respiratory ailments and eye problems due to air pollution, and plant and crop damage is evident as well.144 A growing number of automobiles, along with widespread burning of solid wastes for heating, lighting, and disposal, compounds this pollution problem (solid waste is one of the nation's chief fuels). According to the final report on the Pakistan National Conservation Strategy, "the average Pakistani vehicle emits 20 times as much hydrocarbons, 25 times as much carbon monoxide, and 3.6 times as much nitrous oxide in grams per kilometer as the average vehicle in the United States."145

Quantitative studies of the economic impact of this pollution are rare, yet, based on evidence from other developing countries, there are strong grounds to assume that the costs are large, in terms of both labor productivity and income. In India, for instance, waterborne diseases alone are responsible for the loss of some 73 million workdays annually; the cost in medical treatment and lost production is estimated at US$600 million per year. A comparative study of health and economic output across 22 African, Asian, and Latin American nations has found that the influence of health on economic output is quite high relative to other factors, including agricultural production.146 Pollution also has indirect costs; in particular, it boosts the expenditure of time and energy required to secure clean services. The search for adequate water supplies and sanitation facilities reduces the resources and labor available for activities that increase economic output and earnings.147

Table 11: Rural and Urban Population Size and Rates of Growth: 1951-1991...is found on:

http://www.library.utoronto.ca/pcs/eps/pakistan/pak3.htm

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DayDreamer
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posted March 09, 2007 10:31 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Prudent steps urged to harness water resources

ISLAMABAD: Amidst concerns about impending water scarcity and rising pollution, delegates at the Asia-Pacific Conference on Thursday urged multi-dimensional and prudent measures to harness water resources.

Gathered here to participate in the 13th Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians Conference on Environment and Development (APPCED), delegates from 20 countries of the region discussed in detail the future challenges in the water and development sectors.

They urged to address the trans-boundary issues, better storage, wise use of the available resource and ending discrimination against the marginalised communities by ensuring better opportunities and alternate resources for the people in polluted water areas.

"If arsenic is present in the water, large number of people are exposed to it," said Fresh Water and Toxic Programme WWF Director, Hammad Naqi Khan, in response to a question by Pakistani Parliamentarians about arsenic contamination in some areas of the country.

"You cannot remove it from the source," Khan said, proposing a testing and monitoring mechanism, provision of alternate water and arsenic removal filters in the high risk areas.

He urged the MPs from Pakistan to involve the Parliament for addressing this issue and maintained that efforts underway were insufficient. In his presentation, Khan identified the issue like sedimentation in our reservoirs, seawater intrusion, depletion of ground water, water contamination due to industrial effluent and lack of surface water quality standards in Pakistan. For industrial sector, he proposed to promote water use efficiency, pollution reduction, separation of wastewater streams and material savings.

Richard Garstang, National Programme Manager Pakistan Wetlands Programme warned of decreasing water quality and quantity, increasing pollution and inequality in access to water.

"Population growth and unequal access to water combines to accelerate the process of degradation of the resource itself," Garstang said.

He expressed apprehension that environmental discrimination and unequal access consequently resulting in loss of livelihood for marginalized groups forcing them to migrate away from reliable water sources and the elite impound water resources and use them for political ends.

Rafiq Qadir representing the UNDP referred to widespread violation of the basic human right to have equitable access to water resource. "This violation results in nearly two million avoidable child deaths, huge gender inequalities and losses in wealth creation," he said adding, unclean water is trapping millions of the world's poorest in cycles of deprivation.

"Chronic water stress poses a huge threat to human development that is visible in the collapse of ecological systems, intensifying competition for water and cross-border tensions," he said.

When questioned about usurping others right by certain countries, he said, there are agreements between the countries that need to be implemented in letter and spirit and in case of violation mutual or international mediation can help reach a solution. app

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C03%5C02%5Cstory_2-3-2007_pg5_6

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DayDreamer
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posted March 09, 2007 10:32 AM           Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Pakistan going dry, warns WWF

Published: Saturday, 3 March, 2007, 09:09 AM Doha Time
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan's water resource is drying up because of bad water use practices in the country and what little remains is getting heavily polluted, warns a report.
“Use practices will have to be changed if Pakistan is to survive the next few decades”, says the report titled “Pakistan's Waters at Risk”, prepared by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Endorsed by six NGOs, the report suggests that with financial constraints and a water resource problem across the country, it is imperative that the service providers move towards better water management practices.
In addition, water conservation, re-use, and industrial water recycling are areas that are crucial in any water-scarce country.
Better management practices can also be used in agriculture sector such as switching from high delta crops to those crops requiring less water inputs. There should be an incentive based public campaign emphasising the need to conserve water at all levels.
In households, leaking taps, tank overflows, irresponsible use of potable water for washing cars and watering lawns and plants must account for a significant proportion of non revenue water.
According to the WWF report, the government only contributes about 0.2% of the GDP to this sub-sector for both urban and rural development. This equates to only 0.8% of total government expenditure on public health facilities.
Water and sanitation providers being mainly public sector organisations, the quality of service is below the minimum required. In the situation, funds provided for improvement have to be spent in the most efficient manner, the report emphasises.
Most of the urban water supply and sewerage systems are old and decrepit. Physical leakages in water supply distribution systems are high, often accounting for the loss of more than 40% of water production.
WWF says further investment is needed to keep the existing infrastructure intact by continuing rehabilitation and asset replacement.
But the Asian Development Bank has observed that in Pakistan the expansion of water sector investments is hindered by – apart from frequent disagreement among the federal and four provincial governments – the lack of capacity for sector planning and strong management to take on new projects.
“Sometimes it seems as if Pakistan is not one country but several under a weak federal organisation,” an ADB publication quoted its director of Central and West Asian Department Katsuji Matsunami as saying.
WWF report also notes that underground sewerage networks, are in a state of disrepair in most cities and towns resulting in sewage leakages and consequently pollution of underwater aquifers and water supplies.
Government funding is limited and competed for by numerous other sectors. To meet even a fraction of the capital investment requirements, finance will need to be drawn from other sources.
These sources include foreign aid, commercial loans, and private investments. – Internews


http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=135911&version=1&template_id=41&parent_id=23

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