Environmental pollution in Pakistan
Pollution refers to any kind of contamination present in water which is not there naturally but it affects the human life and every kind of living thing. In Pakistan there are high levels of air pollution in urban areas coupled with a severe shortage of safe drinking water. The environmental campaign organization WWF indicates that pollution from toxic chemicals threaten life gravely on this planet. Changing climate patterns are threatening human and marine life both.
In 2019 the Federal government banned the use of plastic bags in Islamabad. After few years these bags again came in use by the general public in Pakistan across the country but we cannot ignore the fact that the micro plastic is harming the aquatic life in dire proportions.
Due to Unplanned urbanization population densities are higher in main cities and this leads to many environmental issues as air and water pollution due to unplanned housing, smoke, smog and lack of waste management infrastructure. It leads to a struggle between environmental sustainability and modernization.
Current situation
Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Unfortunately, it is the biggest country for producing plastic waste in South Asia producing more than 3.3 million tons of plastic waste each year. Islamabad alone produces approximately 1,535 tons of solid waste daily.
In Pakistan less than 1 percent of waste water is treated by industries before being discharged directly in the rivers and drains. Clean water provides the basis for survival. The provision of clean drinking water to people is faced with problems due to water pollution. In 2022 UNICEF had pointed out that only 36 percent population of Pakistan had access to clean drinking water.
Problem
Pakistan faces significant environmental challenges as solid waste management, deforestation and even loss of fertility due to problem of pollution.
Due to untreated water there occurs contamination of water bodies and soil. A study conducted by UNICEF found out that 20 to 40 percent of the hospital beds in Pakistan are occupied by patients suffering from water related diseases like cholera, dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid, diarrhoea.
In our surrounding we find most of the things are made of plastic as it is easily accessible and durable. But studies reveal that the plastic products may take 500 to 600 years for decomposing.
Experts also say that the plastic waste which we generate per year if we pile it up then it can raise a mountain worth two Mount Everests.
Reasons
Water is being polluted due to different human activities. Plastic is a kind of bye product we generate from fossil fuel and petroleum products. Throwing of untreated waste plastic in the water bodies makes it get mixed with soil nutrients. This is passed on to the food nutrients and thus whole Eco system gets disrupted.
Sewage is the primary source of contamination of water and its extensive discharge in the drinking water supply makes the water highly toxic. Disposal of toxic chemicals from industrial effluents, pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture sources and their discharge in the water bodies aggravates the problem further. Aquatic life is threatened which in turn affects the food chain. In Karachi tons of syringes and other medical wastes are found on the Clifton beach which pose a serious threat to marine life. Illegal logging, clearing of land for construction and emissions from vehicles are still other significant causes for environmental pollution.
Impacts
Plastic bags choke the sewage lines and nullahs and stagnating rain water for many days caused by urban flooding becomes a reason for viral diseases and all this is extremely dangerous for human life. Facts reveal dengue is on the rise every year. In 2022 NIH Islamabad reported there were more than 79,000 confirmed dengue cases while in 2021 there were 52, 929 cases and 224 deaths owing to this.
Structural inequalities may cause biodiversity loss. This vulnerability also reflects socioeconomic disparity as those with less resources have a less capacity to adapt.
Case Study
Bangladesh tried to overcome the plastic bag problem and banned import, manufacturing and supply of plastic with a thickness below 50 microns and introduced a local substitute jute bag in the market. In Pakistan there is a strong need to sensitize the people to resort to such good practices for creating a conducive sustainable environment.
Obstacles
The major challenge with plastic recycling is that in Pakistan there are not many proper recycling facilities. At consumer level plastic is being produced and very many products are made of plastic. There are so many different types and every type of different plastic needs to be recycled properly.
Solutions
Globally only 9 percent of plastic waste is recycled. Providing formal waste management solutions to people is the need of the hour. In our country important steps must be taken now on individual and collective levels. Local communities, NGOs, NPOs can identify high risk areas and may work in collaboration with Government. The patronage of the government is necessary and it can lead to more allocation of budget on the areas which require more attention.
Unethical social and environmental practices must be under strict rules and penalized so that the harm to environment may be minimized.
There must be an educational campaign about environment in Pakistan about potable water and sanitation. Sociologically it can be argued that education system must instill a sense of environmental protection among the students. We need to educate the people about environmental issues and about sustainable development. Switching to cleaner energy sources like solar and wind power can be one of the solutions.
If we try collectively, combating plastic problem in Pakistan is possible. Technological advancements are required. Introduction of more incinerators to effectively dispose off the dangerous waste can be helpful in mitigating the harm.
There is also a need of bringing the waste collectors in some proper social safety nets. They can be employed on daily wages.
A rethink is the demand for encouraging the people to reduce pollution by employing the techniques of reuse and recycle. Some international models can be studied in this respect. In Russia there are reverse vending machines. Through these the users are rewarded for the eco friendly recycling action. The money earned can be donated to some charity organization then and there through that machine. In Finland these machines offer discounts to user for every return of drink container.
Likewise, promoting a culture of cleaning the environment is also crucial. We may note that in Japan it is manadatory for the kids to clean their class rooms and school lawns themselves on regular basis. The practise is not only confined to the schools only, the Japanese people are meticulous about taking due care of cleaning their surroundings.
Some other measures include use of electric vehicles, walking by foot more and using the public transport. In Luxembourg the public transport is entirely free. In Pakistan a modified version of this practise can be adopted reducing the fares for ease of poor who commute through vans and secondly trying to make public transport zones on the example of Australia to discourage private vehicles.
Evoking an environmental consciousness for proper disposal of waste is awfully required and solutions to handle Pakistan’s waste problem must be pondered upon seriously.
Encouraging the people to go for a shift from polyethylene bags to polypropylene bags can also be helpful in abatement of pollution to some extent. The authorities must go for building more and more reservoirs for harvesting of rain water.
We can stop water pollution by taking community action for keeping the surrounding cleaner. Working together we can make the world a better place. With collective efforts we together can make Pakistan prosper progress and move ahead.
Ghazala Anbreen
Plastic pollution
Plastic pollution
Plastic pollution
Environmental pollution in Pakistan Pollution refers to any kind of contamination present in water which is not there naturally but it affects the human life and every kind of living thing. In Pakistan there are high levels of air pollution in urban areas coupled with a severe shortage of safe drinking water. The environmental campaign organization WWF indicates that pollution from toxic chemicals threaten life gravely on this planet. Changing climate patterns are threatening human and marine life both. In 2019 the Federal government banned the use of plastic bags in Islamabad. After few years these bags again came in use by the general public in Pakistan across the country but we cannot ignore the fact that the micro plastic is harming the aquatic life in dire proportions. Due to Unplanned urbanization population densities are higher in main cities and this leads to many environmental issues as air and water pollution due to unplanned housing, smoke, smog and lack of waste management infrastructure. It leads to a struggle between environmental sustainability and modernization. Current situation Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Unfortunately, it is the biggest country for producing plastic waste in South Asia producing more than 3.3 million tons of plastic waste each year. Islamabad alone produces approximately 1,535 tons of solid waste daily. In Pakistan less than 1 percent of waste water is treated by industries before being discharged directly in the rivers and drains. Clean water provides the basis for survival. The provision of clean drinking water to people is faced with problems due to water pollution. In 2022 UNICEF had pointed out that only 36 percent population of Pakistan had access to clean drinking water. Problem Pakistan faces significant environmental challenges as solid waste management, deforestation and even loss of fertility due to problem of pollution. Due to untreated water there occurs contamination of water bodies and soil. A study conducted by UNICEF found out that 20 to 40 percent of the hospital beds in Pakistan are occupied by patients suffering from water related diseases like cholera, dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid, diarrhoea. In our surrounding we find most of the things are made of plastic as it is easily accessible and durable. But studies reveal that the plastic products may take 500 to 600 years for decomposing. Experts also say that the plastic waste which we generate per year if we pile it up then it can raise a mountain worth two Mount Everests. Reasons Water is being polluted due to different human activities. Plastic is a kind of bye product we generate from fossil fuel and petroleum products. Throwing of untreated waste plastic in the water bodies makes it get mixed with soil nutrients. This is passed on to the food nutrients and thus whole Eco system gets disrupted. Sewage is the primary source of contamination of water and its extensive discharge in the drinking water supply makes the water highly toxic. Disposal of toxic chemicals from industrial effluents, pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture sources and their discharge in the water bodies aggravates the problem further. Aquatic life is threatened which in turn affects the food chain. In Karachi tons of syringes and other medical wastes are found on the Clifton beach which pose a serious threat to marine life. Illegal logging, clearing of land for construction and emissions from vehicles are still other significant causes for environmental pollution. Impacts Plastic bags choke the sewage lines and nullahs and stagnating rain water for many days caused by urban flooding becomes a reason for viral diseases and all this is extremely dangerous for human life. Facts reveal dengue is on the rise every year. In 2022 NIH Islamabad reported there were more than 79,000 confirmed dengue cases while in 2021 there were 52, 929 cases and 224 deaths owing to this. Structural inequalities may cause biodiversity loss. This vulnerability also reflects socioeconomic disparity as those with less resources have a less capacity to adapt. Case Study Bangladesh tried to overcome the plastic bag problem and banned import, manufacturing and supply of plastic with a thickness below 50 microns and introduced a local substitute jute bag in the market. In Pakistan there is a strong need to sensitize the people to resort to such good practices for creating a conducive sustainable environment. Obstacles The major challenge with plastic recycling is that in Pakistan there are not many proper recycling facilities. At consumer level plastic is being produced and very many products are made of plastic. There are so many different types and every type of different plastic needs to be recycled properly. Solutions Globally only 9 percent of plastic waste is recycled. Providing formal waste management solutions to people is the need of the hour. In our country important steps must be taken now on individual and collective levels. Local communities, NGOs, NPOs can identify high risk areas and may work in collaboration with Government. The patronage of the government is necessary and it can lead to more allocation of budget on the areas which require more attention. Unethical social and environmental practices must be under strict rules and penalized so that the harm to environment may be minimized. There must be an educational campaign about environment in Pakistan about potable water and sanitation. Sociologically it can be argued that education system must instill a sense of environmental protection among the students. We need to educate the people about environmental issues and about sustainable development. Switching to cleaner energy sources like solar and wind power can be one of the solutions. If we try collectively, combating plastic problem in Pakistan is possible. Technological advancements are required. Introduction of more incinerators to effectively dispose off the dangerous waste can be helpful in mitigating the harm. There is also a need of bringing the waste collectors in some proper social safety nets. They can be employed on daily wages. A rethink is the demand for encouraging the people to reduce pollution by employing the techniques of reuse and recycle. Some international models can be studied in this respect. In Russia there are reverse vending machines. Through these the users are rewarded for the eco friendly recycling action. The money earned can be donated to some charity organization then and there through that machine. In Finland these machines offer discounts to user for every return of drink container. Likewise, promoting a culture of cleaning the environment is also crucial. We may note that in Japan it is manadatory for the kids to clean their class rooms and school lawns themselves on regular basis. The practise is not only confined to the schools only, the Japanese people are meticulous about taking due care of cleaning their surroundings. Some other measures include use of electric vehicles, walking by foot more and using the public transport. In Luxembourg the public transport is entirely free. In Pakistan a modified version of this practise can be adopted reducing the fares for ease of poor who commute through vans and secondly trying to make public transport zones on the example of Australia to discourage private vehicles. Evoking an environmental consciousness for proper disposal of waste is awfully required and solutions to handle Pakistan’s waste problem must be pondered upon seriously. Encouraging the people to go for a shift from polyethylene bags to polypropylene bags can also be helpful in abatement of pollution to some extent. The authorities must go for building more and more reservoirs for harvesting of rain water. We can stop water pollution by taking community action for keeping the surrounding cleaner. Working together we can make the world a better place. With collective efforts we together can make Pakistan prosper progress and move ahead. Ghazala Anbreen