20000413

Environment action plan

to focus on

poorest communities

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Environment Omar Asghar Khan said on Wednesday that government was preparing an environmental action plan aimed at benefitting the poorest communities in the country.

Talking to agency after the mid-term review meeting of National Conservation Strategy (MTR-NCS), he said the work had been started in this regard and it would take a few months to finalise. He said the government is also considering to house the NCS in the proposed plan of district governments.

The NCS-MTR stake holders workshop was organised by Ministry of Environment in collaboration with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Omar said that citizens boards will be established to include the marginalised people in order to address their livelihood concerns and their rights to utilise land and water. He said that this issue is important as it has power nexus because at present rich people are in control of these resources.

The minister said the Environment Advisory Board is also giving its inputs and suggestions in the areas of clean air, clean water, solid waste management, bio-diversity and parks.

He said: "We are looking into institutional arrangements for bringing together inter-governmental and inter-departmental coordination and civil society to work for the preparation of the plan".

"It is a home-grown concept and not a donor-driven project", he said. The plan, he said, would focus on the needs of poorest of the poor because they are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of environmental degradation and they are the victims while rich can protect themselves.

"It is due to unsustainable life-style of rich, that is detrimental to our environment", he said.

The minister said that Ministry of Environment has approached Ministry of Commerce on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and it has also consulted Ministry of Agriculture on Plant Breeders' Rights Act.

He said the ministry of environment has also written to the Ministry of Water and Power on the issue of water and drainage, while it is also coordinating with the ministry of petroleum on the issues of concessions in the protected areas like Kirthar National Park, clean fuel and pricing issues.

Besides Minister of Environment, the panel at the Workshop comprised Secretary Environment, Shafqat Shah Ezdi; Director General of Ministry of Environment Mehboob Illahi; DG Environment Protection Agency Asif Shuja; former secretary, Ministry of Population, Dr G M Samdani; former president, International Institute of Sustainable Development, Dr Arthur Hanson and Dr Aziz Bouzaher from World Bank.

Presenting the draft recommendations of the MTR team, Arthur Hanson said the NCS should be fully owned by the government and the whole of the society. He said that it should be revitalised and re-committed at the highest levels of the government with a true strategic approach.

One of the draft recommendations called for strengthening partnerships among government, civil society and the private sector.

The MTR team has also suggested that stage for the NCS-2 should be set from 2001 and its focus should be reset to sustainable development, with attention to poverty reduction, economic growth and environment sustainability linkages.

It further recommended that there should be switch from supply-driven to bottom-up demand driven approach making it compatible with the devolution plan.ÑAPP