Save Our Mother Earth

 

CONTRIBUTE TO A NOBLE CAUSE
 

There is a cute small round press button at the bottom right corner of almost all monitors: Please make use of this

 
   
Stop printing out Harry Porter, Jeffrey Archer and other e-books. This is a classic example of paper wastage.
   If you have forgotten to give double-side prints, make sure you make use of the empty sides as scribbling pads or for your kids' imposition   ! 
  
 
Take two minutes from your busy schedule before hurrying back home to shut down the computer. 

 
   
All of us are big time Googlers. Have you heard of the Blackle search engine? Blackle (Google powered) is a search engine designed all in Rich Black so that your system consumes less power. So change your homepage.

  
 
 
Plastic bags these days indeed come in bright and flamboyant colours and tempt us to take them home with us. But the saying, "Appearances are deceptive" holds true for these plastic things too. Next time, hold back or go prepared to counter temptation with a cloth bag.


 
 
Roses, Jasmine, Hibiscus and Peas; All these saplings cost hardly between Rs 10 - 20 each. Can't we afford to plant these in and around our houses? Also, more importantly, caring and maintain them as they grow?

  
 
Try to segregate the different kinds of waste into Bio-Degradable (Fruit or vegetable waste) , Recyclable (waste Paper, paper products) and Electronics (Floppy disks, CD-ROMS ). Once you have segregated your thrash, look for specialized trash cans to throw them away.

 

Try to minimize the use of horns. Honking has drastically increased and this adds to the noise pollution and does not provide a conducive environment to live in.

 
 
 
Use rechargeable batteries though it's an expensive product, it's one-time purchase. Recharge when required. (Same applies to cell-phones, MP3s, iPods and Laptops)

   
The best pens to use would be ink ones. Though if you have to use a ball point pen, buy refills instead of buying new pens. Pencils are much better for rough use! (That's why we used it at school!!!)

 
 
 
Remember to close water taps before preening in front of the mirror. Of course you are beautiful, but Water is a precious resource!

 
   
Let's not just wake up and walk out of finished meetings and conferences with a sigh of relief, let us remember to turn off the lights and projectors too.

 
 
Take few minutes to learn about topics like 'Global Warming' , 'Air / Noise /Land / Water Pollution ' etc apart from constant surfing of News, Latest Gadgets, Movies and Music.

 
  
Spread this message to your friends and colleagues. They too can make a difference.

 
 
 
The Earth has already become a dangerous place to live in for the animals and birds. Soon it might be our turn. So let's pledge to save our beautiful planet so that you and your future generations can live happily and peacefully ever after.

 

  

Save the Planet







Running a half empty machine, taking a bath instead of a shower or leaving the light on for no reason destroys the planet. Remember: turn your monitor off along with the computer, unplug chargers if you don't use them and use water wisely.

A bit of attention can go a long way!

پاکستان میں جنگلات کا مستقبل FOREST FUTURE IN PAKISTAN & OUR RESPONSIBILITY

 

پاکستان میں درختوں کی کٹائی جس طرح سے ہو رہی ہے اس سے یوں لگتا ہے کہ چند سالوں میں  پاکستان  اللہ پاک کی قدرتی نعمت آکسیجن سے جلد محروم ہو جائے گا۔ ماحول کو صاف  سُتھرا اور آلودگی سے پاک  رکھنے کے لئے درخت  انتہائی ضروری ہیں۔ اور کسی بھی ملک کے لئے  20 سے 25 فی صد علاقہ جنگلات پر مشتمل ہونا چاہئے۔ لیکن بد قسمتسی سے پاکستان جنگلات سے خالی ہوتا جا رہا ہے۔

 میں اس بات سے بھی آگاہ ہوں کہ  موجودہ  دور میں  گیس کی قلت اور  بجلی کی کمی پاکستان کی صنعتوں کو تباہ کرنے میں اہم کردار ادا کر رہی ہے اور حکومت کی ناقص پالیسیوں  اور لا پرواہی سے یہ مسئلہ مزید گھمبیر ہوتا جا رہا ہے۔

 صنعت کار گیس کے متبادل کے طور پر  بوائلرز میں لکڑی۔ مکئی کی بغیر دانوں کے چھلی۔ چاول کا چھلکا وغیرہ استعمال کیا جارہا ہے۔ لکڑی کا استعمال بہت زیادہ ہو رہا ہے اور کئی علاقے  جنگلات سے خالی ہو رہے ہیں۔ایک میڈیم سائز کا بوائلر 24 گھنٹے میں پانچ سو من 500 من لکڑی  استعمال  ہوتی ہے۔  اس طرح صرف ایک بوائلر  ایک ماہ میں 15 ٹن لکڑی  استعمال کرتا ہے۔ شیخوپورہ ضلع میں تقریباً 200 سو سے زائد صنعتیں بوائلر استعمال کرتی ہیں جن میں سے زیادہ تر لکڑی پر ہیں صرف ضلع شیخوپورہ میں ایک ماہ میں3000 ہزار ٹن درختوں کی لکڑی استعمال ہو رہی ہے۔ اور ایک سال میں  کم از کم 36000 ٹن استعمال یے۔ یہ صرف ایک ضلع کا کم سے کم تخمینہ ہے۔ اگر پورے پاکستان کی صنعتوں کا حساب لگایا جائے تو تخمینہ بہت زیادہ بڑھ جائے گا۔ 
اگر اس طرح اور اتنی تعداد میں لکڑی  استعمال ہوگی تو  جنگلات کا مستقبل کیا ہے۔ضلع بھکر لکڑی  کی بڑی منڈی تھی مگر اب وہ ختم ہونے کے قریب ہےاسی طرح  آہستہ آہستہ جنگلات ختم ہوتے جائیں گے اور جب نہ رہیں گے تو پھر کیا ہو گا۔ کیا ہم اس کا متبادل  ڈھونڈ پائیں گے۔۔ 
 ذرا  سوچئے

Pakistan-Energy

From 1947 to the early 1990s, the economy made considerable  progress in the transformation from a wood-burning base to modern energy sources. The  process remains incomplete. Bagasse (the woody residue left over from crushed sugarcane), dung, and firewood furnished about 32 percent of all energy in FY 1988. Some localities had been denuded of firewood, forcing the local population to use commercial energy sources, such as kerosene or charcoal. Domestic sources of commercial energy accounted for 77 percent of all commercial energy in FY 1990. The major domestic energy resources are natural gas, oil, and hydroelectric power. The remainder of energy requirements are met by imports of oil and oil products.
Crude oil production increased sharply in the 1980s, from almost 4.0 million barrels in FY 1982 to 22.4 million barrels in FY 1992. This increase was the result of the discovery and development of new oil fields. Despite this expanded production, however, about 28 million barrels of crude oil were imported annually in the early 1990s. The production from domestic oil refineries also rose in the 1980s, reaching 42 million barrels annually in the early 1990s. However, oil products imports accounted for about 30 percent of the value of all oil imports.
Pakistan vigorously pursued oil exploration in the 1980s and early 1990s and made a number of new discoveries. In the early 1990s, the most productive oil field was at Dhurnal in Punjab, accounting for 21 percent of total output in FY 1993. The Badin area in southern Sindh was the site of a number of discoveries in the 1980s, and its proportion of total output has continued to increase over the years. In the early 1990s, more favorable terms on pricing and repatriation of profits stimulated the interest of foreign oil companies. About twenty foreign companies are engaged in oil exploration, but poor security for workers and property in remote areas of Balochistan and Sindh remains a significant constraint on foreign investment.
The large Sui natural gas field in Balochistan was discovered after independence. Production at Sui began in 1955 and peaked in 1985. In the early 1990s, it remained the nation's most productive gas field, accounting for 46 percent of production in FY 1993. The second largest gas field, also located in Balochistan at Mari, accounted for 20 percent of all production. Twenty-five gas fields were operational in FY 1993. Natural gas recoverable reserves were estimated at 662.0 billion cubic meters, with an extraction rate in the early 1990s of around 14.0 billion cubic meters, up from 9.3 billion cubic meters in FY 1982 and 1.3 billion cubic meters in FY 1970.
Natural gas pipelines, in which the government owns controlling shares, link the Sui gas field and a few others to the main population centers and the major crude oil production areas. The southern pipeline leads from Sui to Hyderabad and Karachi, and a spur supplies Quetta. The northern pipeline branches at Faisalabad. One branch goes a little farther north of Lahore; the other branch is connected to the crude oil fields and supplies gas to Islamabad and Peshawar. There are plans for a new gas pipeline through which Iran would export natural gas to Pakistan.
Coal reserves were boosted substantially in May 1992 when a large coal field was discovered in the Thar Desert in Sindh. In early 1993, these reserves were estimated at 17 billion tons. However, much of Pakistan's coal has a low calorific value and a high ash and sulfur content, which limits its value. Output was 1.3 million tons in FY 1992, down from 1.8 million tons in FY 1982. The bulk of production is from small, privately owned mines whose owners generally lack funds, expertise, and interest in expanding output. A public-sector firm, the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation, accounted for about one-fifth of output in the early 1990s. The corporation has six operational mines--at Degari, Sor Range, and Sharigh in Balochistan; Lakhra and Meting in Sindh; and at the Makerwal/Gullakhel complex straddling the border between Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province.
Hydroelectric power is an important domestic primary energy resource, and hydroelectric potential is estimated at around 10,000 megawatts. A large number of additional sites with major potential exist in the mountainous north, but the difficulty of access and the high cost of transmission to the populous south make development a distant prospect. A large proportion of hydrogenerators are located at two large multipurpose dams. The Tarbela Dam located on the Indus River in the North-West Frontier Province has an installed capacity of 2,164 megawatts, and the Mangla Dam situated on the Jhelum River in Azad Kashmir has an installed capacity of 800 megawatts.
In 1965 Pakistani officials contracted with the Canadian government for the supply of a 125-megawatt pressurized, heavy-water nuclear reactor, which in 1972 became operational near Karachi. This was Pakistan's only nuclear power plant in 1994, and its operating record is poor. In 1983 plans for a nuclear plant at Chashma, on the Indus River in Punjab, about 240 kilometers south of Islamabad, were announced. The construction of this plant was delayed, in part because of the reluctance of foreign governments to supply needed fuel and technology because of concern over possible military use of the atomic energy program. In 1993 Pakistani officials expected the plant to open in 1997 with a capacity of 300 megawatts. China is providing the necessary technology and materials for the Chashma plant. Pakistani officials expect that fuel for the plant will be provided by the uranium enrichment plant at Kahuta near Islamabad. Some observers, however, believe it is unlikely that the plant will be ready in 1997.
In FY 1992, the country had a total installed generating capacity of 9,293 megawatts, of which approximately 62.7 percent was thermal, 35.9 percent hydroelectric, and 1.5 percent nuclear. In FY 1991, industry consumed 34.2 of percent of electricity, households 31.7 percent, agriculture 21.4 percent, commercial businesses 4.3 percent, and other users 8.3 percent. A rural electrification program increased the number of villages having electricity from around 14,000 in FY 1983 to nearly 41,000 in FY 1992, leaving only about 5,000 villages without electricity. After the late 1970s, considerable improvement was made in transmission facilities. By 1983 a grid connected generators and urban centers of the more populous areas, largely in Punjab and Sindh. Installations of high-voltage transmission lines and other facilities helped reduce power losses. Nonetheless, in 1993 the World Bank estimated that 28 percent of electricity generated in Pakistan was diverted illegally in transmission and distribution, and even the government puts this figure at 12 percent.
In 1993 the government planned a rapid increase of generating capacity, in part through the expansion of existing hydroelectric and thermal units and in part through the construction of new plants. Nonetheless, observers expected shortages of electricity to continue in the early 1990s and probably longer. In much of 1993, both urban and rural areas experienced three power cuts a day lasting a total of around two hours. Industrial and commercial users are required to reduce consumption by an even greater amount, and they risk being disconnected if they violate "agreed-on levels." Peak demand for electricity is estimated to exceed the supply by around 30 percent.
In 1991 the power sector was opened to private capital, both foreign and domestic. In that year, a World Bank consortium that included investors from Britain, Saudi Arabia, and the United States agreed to finance a project for a new US$1.3 billion, 1,292 megawatt oil-fired power station at Hub Chowki in Balochistan, forty-eight kilometers west of Karachi. Construction began in September 1992. The consortium is responsible for the construction and operation of the power station, while its output is sold to the national grid. In 1992 the government announced plans to privatize the Water and Power Development Authority's thermal plants and area electricity boards, but in 1994 legal and political obstacles prevented implementation of this policy.
Some development of renewable energy sources has been undertaken, primarily for rural areas so isolated they would not otherwise have electricity in the foreseeable future. The aim is to upgrade village life while lowering urban migration, reducing reliance on firewood, and providing power to pump water for irrigation where possible. For example, a small family-owned biogas plant uses human and animal waste (from three or four water buffalo, for example) to produce around 2.8 to 4.2 cubic meters of gas a day for heating and lighting. Larger biogas plants serve a number of homes or a village. Construction costs are too high for most villagers unless the government underwrites installation.

Environmental issues of Pakistan

Environmental issues of Pakistan 

• 1. Environmental issues of Pakistan 
• 2. Environment• An "environment" is the whole of surrounding things OR• the surroundings of humankind
• 3. Environmental issues of Pakistan• A variety of environmental problems now affect our Pakistan. As globalization continues and the earths natural processes transform local problems into international issues.
• 4. Environmental issues of Pakistan• Some of the largest problems now affecting the Pakistan are:• Acid Rain• Air Pollution• Global Warming• Hazardous Waster• Ozone Depletion• Smog• Water Pollution• Overpopulation• Rain Forest Destruction
• 5. AIR POLLUTIONEvery day, the average person inhales about 20,000 liters of air. Every time we breathe, we risk inhaling dangerous chemicals that have found their way into the air.Air pollution includes all contaminants found in the atmosphere. These dangerous substances can be either in the form of gases or particles.
• 6. Air pollution can be found • producing increasing both outdoors and amounts of pollution as indoors. Pollutants can time has progressed, and be trapped inside they now account for the buildings, causing majority of pollutants indoor pollution that released into the air. lasts for a long time.The sources of air pollution are both natural and human-based. As one might expect, humans have been
• 7. Fundamental Causes of Air Pollution• Industrialization set in motion the widespread use of fossil fuels which are now the main drivers of pollution as we know it.
• 8. • Population growth causes the demand for food and other goods to go up, which is met by expanded production and use of natural resources. This then leads to higher levels of atmospheric pollution.
• 9. • Globalization has in a way become a facilitator of air pollution. Big industry takes advantage of lax environmental controls in developing nations and moves its manufacturing facilities to such “pollution havens” from where air pollution travels around the world without any obstacles.
• 10. Air Pollution EffectsAtmospheric pollution would be such a bigproblem, its harmful effects on humans, animals, trees and the wider environment.Air pollutants enter the body primarily through the respiratory system which thus becomes their main victim.Each air pollutant exerts their own specific adverse impacts, ranging from mild to really damaging.

MAJOR ISSUES ON ENVIRONMENT OF PAKISTAN

ISLAMABAD (MEDIA)
A safe environment is prerequisite for healthy life. Major environmental issues currently confronting Pakistan include water, energy, pollution and waste management, salinity and water logging, irrigated agriculture, biodiversity and climate change. Pakistan being one of the most urbanized countries of the region is facing overall deterioration in all these areas.
Environmental hazards have become a major global issue in of this century. Rapid economic development and manmade interference to the natural systems are the main reasons behind this problem. To address this issue, the initial step is to monitor the extent of these hazards.
The Institute of Space Technology (IST), Karachi Campus in collaboration with National Space Agency (SUPARCO), organized a Five Days short training on Integrating Ground Based Methods and Spatial Techniques for Environmental Monitoring, from 24-28 October, at its National Centre For Remote Sensing and Geo-Informatics Karachi, for sensitizing the above mentioned issues. The Institute of Space Technology, established in year 2002 offers graduate and undergraduate programs in a number of specialized fields of engineering and science. The objective of this course is to train various stakeholders in an area where integrated approach utilizing geospatial and ground based monitoring techniques are required to address environmental issues.
Recent advances in application of Satellite Remote Sensing (RS) for environmental monitoring have provided the capacity to acquire the needful information at spatial and temporal scales. Through integrating Remote Sensing data with ground based data, an advanced approach to study environmental issues are now possible. SUPARCO has been actively promoting uses of space science and technology for the socio economics uplift in the country as well as in the Ummah. Its research and application programs cover remote sensing for earth resources and environmental studies.
The course was inaugurated by Imran Iqbal, Member Space Applications and Research of SUPARCO. A number of participants hailing from brotherly Islamic countries are participating in is course.
This training program encompassed a number of areas such as Environmental Issues (both local and Global), Environmental Monitoring and Impact Assessment, Introduction to Satellite System and their Application,
Satellite Based Environmental Monitoring, GIS for Water Resources using hydrological, model Arc Hydro (ESRI Software), Snow and Glacier Monitoring and Modeling, Environmental problems of Pakistan and their Solutions (success stories by environmental experts of Pakistan), Hands on Exercises using Remote Sensing, GIS and Hydrologic Software.

Pakistan-Climate

Pakistan lies in the temperate zone. The climate is generally arid, characterized by hot summers and cool or cold winters, and wide variations between extremes of temperature at given locations. There is little rainfall. These generalizations should not, however, obscure the distinct differences existing among particular locations. For example, the coastal area along the Arabian Sea is usually warm, whereas the frozen snow-covered ridges of the Karakoram Range and of other mountains of the far north are so cold year round that they are only accessible by world-class climbers for a few weeks in May and June of each year.

Pakistan has are four seasons: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. The onset and duration of these seasons vary somewhat according to location.

The climate in the capital city of Islamabad varies from an average daily low of 2° C in January to an average daily high of 40° C in June. Half of the annual rainfall occurs in July and August, averaging about 255 millimeters in each of those two months. The remainder of the year has significantly less rain, amounting to about fifty millimeters per month. Hailstorms are common in the spring.

Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, which is also the country's industrial center, is more humid than Islamabad but gets less rain. Only July and August average more than twenty-five millimeters of rain in the Karachi area; the remaining months are exceedingly dry. The temperature is also more uniform in Karachi than in Islamabad, ranging from an average daily low of 13° C during winter evenings to an average daily high of 34° C on summer days. Although the summer temperatures do not get as high as those in Punjab, the high humidity causes the residents a great deal of discomfort.

Most areas in Punjab experience fairly cool winters, often accompanied by rain. Woolen shawls are worn by women and men for warmth because few homes are heated. By mid-February the temperature begins to rise; springtime weather continues until mid-April, when the summer heat sets in. The onset of the southwest monsoon is anticipated to reach Punjab by May, but since the early 1970s the weather pattern has been irregular. The spring monsoon has either skipped over the area or has caused it to rain so hard that floods have resulted. June and July are oppressively hot. Although official estimates rarely place the temperature above 46° C, newspaper sources claim that it reaches 51° C and regularly carry reports about people who have succumbed to the heat. Heat records were broken in Multan in June 1993, when the mercury was reported to have risen to 54° C. In August the oppressive heat is punctuated by the rainy season, referred to as barsat, which brings relief in its wake. The hardest part of the summer is then over, but cooler weather does not come until late October.

Pakistan-Pollution and Environmental Issues

Little attention was paid to pollution and environmental issues in Pakistan until the early 1990s. Related concerns, such as sanitation and potable water, received earlier scrutiny. In 1987 only about 6 percent of rural residents and 51 percent of urban residents had access to sanitary facilities; in 1990 a total of 97.6 million Pakistanis, or approximately 80 percent of the population, had no access to flush toilets. Greater success has been achieved in bringing potable water within reach of the people; nearly half the population enjoyed such access by 1990. However, researchers at the Pakistan Medical Research Council, recognizing that a large proportion of diseases in Pakistan are caused by the consumption of polluted water, have been questioning the "safe" classification in use in the 1990s. Even the 38 percent of the population that receives its water through pipelines runs the risk of consuming seriously contaminated water, although the problem varies by area. In Punjab, for example, as much as 90 percent of drinking water comes from groundwater, as compared with only 9 percent in Sindh.
The central government's Perspective Plan (1988-2003) and previous five-year plans do not mention sustainable development strategies (see Development Planning , ch. 3). Further, there have been no overarching policies focused on sustainable development and conservation. The state has focused on achieving selfsufficiency in food production, meeting energy demands, and containing the high rate of population growth, not on curtailing pollution or other environmental hazards.
In 1992 Pakistan's National Conservation Strategy Report attempted to redress the previous inattention to the nation's mounting environmental problem. Drawing on the expertise of more than 3,000 people from a wide array of political affiliations, the government produced a document outlining the current state of environmental health, its sustainable goals, and viable program options for the future (see National Conservation Goals , this ch.).
Of special concern to environmentalists is the diminishing forest cover in watershed regions of the northern highlands, which has only recently come under close scrutiny. Forest areas have been thoughtlessly denuded. Deforestation, which occurred at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in 1989-90, has contributed directly to the severity of the flooding problem faced by the nation in the early 1990s.
As industry has expanded, factories have emitted more and more toxic effluents into the air and water. The number of textile and food processing mills in rural Punjab has grown greatly since the mid-1970s, resulting in pollution of its rivers and irrigation canals. Groundwater quality throughout the country has also suffered from rapidly increasing use of pesticides and fertilizers aimed at promoting more intensive cropping and facilitating self-sufficiency in food production.
The National Conservation Strategy Report has documented how solid and liquid excreta are the major source of water pollution in the country and the cause of widespread waterborne diseases. Because only just over half of urban residents have access to sanitation, the remaining urban excreta are deposited on roadsides, into waterways, or incorporated into solid waste. Additionally, only three major sewage treatment plants exist in the country; two of them operate intermittently. Much of the untreated sewage goes into irrigation systems, where the wastewater is reused, and into streams and rivers, which become sewage carriers at low-flow periods. Consequently, the vegetables grown from such wastewater have serious bacteriological contamination. Gastroenteritis, widely considered in medical circles to be the leading cause of death in Pakistan, is transmitted through waterborne pollutants (see Health and Welfare , this ch.).
Low-lying land is generally used for solid waste disposal, without the benefit of sanitary landfill methods. The National Conservation Strategy has raised concerns about industrial toxic wastes also being dumped in municipal disposal areas without any record of their location, quantity, or toxic composition. Another important issue is the contamination of shallow groundwater near urban industries that discharge wastes directly into the ground.
Water in Karachi is so contaminated that almost all residents boil it before consuming it. Because sewerage and water lines have been laid side by side in most parts of the city, leakage is the main cause of contamination. High levels of lead also have been found in water in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Air pollution has also become a major problem in most cities. There are no controls on vehicular emissions, which account for 90 percent of pollutants. The National Conservation Strategy Report claims that the average Pakistani vehicle emits twenty-five times as much carbon monoxide, twenty times as many hydrocarbons, and more than three and one-half times as much nitrous oxide in grams per kilometer as the average vehicle in the United States.
Another major source of pollution, not mentioned in the National Conservation Strategy Report, is noise. The hyperurbanization experienced by Pakistan since the 1960s has resulted in loose controls for heavy equipment operation in densely populated areas, as well as in crowded streets filled with buses, trucks, automobiles, and motorcycles, which often honk at each other and at the horse-drawn tongas (used for transporting people) and the horse-drawn rehras (used for transporting goods).

Land Pollution

Land Pollution: As Pakistan is not a rich country, it doesn’t have enough money to spend on waste disposal systems. As a result most of the home waste and other kinds of wastage is usually thrown away on empty plots next to the houses and is then burned which may be harmful to the people living in the area. Only less than 5% of the waste is recycled and most of it is disposed directly on the ground. There are only a few garbage cans along the roads so people living far away have to dispose off their waste somewhere else. This attracts flies which then spread diseases. Apart from this, the rubbish thrown would disintegrate in a 1000 years from now. Hence an increase in land pollution may in turn slowly destroy our natural environment which is already at risk.

Water Pollution

Water Pollution: this is a major problem in Pakistan. There are many sources of water pollution in Pakistan. Most of them are found in Karachi as it is an area of industries. Although it is a government policy to filter the industrial water and then release it into the sea many industries here are dumping contaminated water in seas thereby increasing the threat of

extinction of marine life as well as polluting the water. Almost the whole of city’s sewerage is dumped into rivers and the sea. As a result of this Karachi is facing many problems in the access of clean water and most parts of the city are still without water. Even in my home we get 2 small tankers weekly as there is no water in the supply. The oil spill incident has increased the amount of pollution in the sea as well as has caused most of the beaches to be polluted. It is said that the oil spill disaster from Tasman Spirit has killed hundreds and thousands of fishes as well as destroyed much of the marine life. It has also caused eye infections and respiratory problems to those living near the sea. Further leakages in pipelines have polluted the clean water which we have so little of

AIR POLLUTION

 
1. Air Pollution: in Pakistan the most common source of air pollution is mainly vehicles whose exhaust fumes pollute the air. Unlike other developed countries where there are catalyc converters and efficient vehicles which may cause less pollution, the situation in Pakistan is totally opposite. As most of the people are poor they don’t have enough money to repair or spend money on their vehicles so that they can become environment friendly. Even the car manufacturers don’t make their cars much environment friendly and the people are forced to buy these cars. More fuel is burned as most roads of Pakistan are broken and there are a lot of traffic jams which increases the journey time. Many industries in big cities such as Karachi and Lahore give out harmful pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. The government and the authorities take little concern about these industries. As a result of this the sky of Lahore and Karachi are covered with thick smog .This may lead to many respiratory diseases and may also be harmful to the animals living in such places. Even in Islamabad, the cleanest city in Pakistan I could see thick smog over the city from the Margalla hills and while traveling to Murree there was so much of exhaust fumes from vehicles that we had to keep our car windows closed.

AYOUBIA PARK ABBOT ABAD

Ayubia National Park is a protected area of 3312 hectors located in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Northern Pakistan. It was declared a national park in 1984. Ayubia was named after the late Muhammad Ayub khan (1958 to 1969), Second President of Pakistan. The area sports temperate coniferous forest and temperate broad leaf and mixed forest. Ecoregean habitats, with an average elevation of 8000 feet above the sea level.



Ayubia National Park is representative of Himalayan moist temperate forest.Problems related to conservation at Ayubia National Park are similar to those found elsewhere in the Himalayan. Mountains degradation due to overgrazing by livestock , uncontrolled tourism , collection of Non-Timber forest produce encroachment for human habitation, cultivation and human wild life conflicts. In addition poaching also threatens many mountain, ungulates inside protected areas at Ayubia National Park. The collection of fodder is seen by conservation agencies and the forest department as heaving a negative impact on biodiversity consequently there is a need for understanding the variety of modes of management of fodder with in agricultural and wasteland areas as well as in rangelands  in order to reduce the impact of fodder collection on biodiversity .
Women in Ayubia National Park are responsible for fodder collection and understanding in their knowledge and practice related to fodder or management is important for the development of sustainable management models. Leopards have been in the news recently, and it is time that the public is made aware of the importance of protecting one of the most beautiful animals of the world .Due to reckless hunting there are only a few leopards left in Ayubia National Park. Common leopards have survived in very small numbers in Ayubia National Park. Starving and hungry they strange into villages, and towns in search of food during winter month. The sight of leopards creates un explained terror.
Leopard is called lion in Ayubia National Park, because of the dread and the urge to kill, the common leopard has become a threatened species in Ayubia National Park. The leopard is a solitary animal of the bush and forest and is nocturnal in habit. It is an agile climber and frequently stores the remains of its kills in tree branches. Leopard spotting viewing by binocular photo graphing and feeding would be interesting and a good sport. Killing and gunning down this animal is criminal act. Leopard in Ayubia National Park deserve attraction, because their survival is threatened. The provincial government is requested to enact legislation to save the leopard. The black bear and the Monkey’s, fines and Jail terms are suggested for trappers and killers.
A civilized country guarantees security of life and honor of its citizen, preserve its flora, fauna and conserves its birds and animals by proper lows, education and public awareness. In our criminalized society no one is safe anymore. Human beings are routinely gunned down without remorse. Birds especially partridges, bustards and quails and shoot and netted indiscriminately out of reasons. And forest mafias have destroyed forest so recklessly that thick Jungles have been turned into deserts. When the Law and the Order degrades both humans and animals suffer. While thousands of  men, women and children have been gunned down by terrorists and sectarian killers who have yet to be dealt with properly country’s world life i.e both birds and wild animals has been  destroyed with a vengeance. VIP,S hunt and kill precious and endangered leopards, black bears, monkeys , markhors , foxes , Jackals, Chakors , Ramchakors and Partridges with bloody relish. The colorful boards warning peoples not to kill leopards, monkeys, pheasants, chakors and partridges at Ayubia National Park.
No One cares that the endangered leopard, black bears and monkeys are being killed.
The Pakistan society and culture is to be blamed for the contempt in which animals are held. Educating the public to love animals and birds and protect the threatened and near extinct wild life should be the priority of every citizen of Pakistan.Staff of K.P.K forest department entered Ayubia National Park on 20^th Sep, 2012 on the directions of the secretary environment Govt of K.P.K and illegally chopped of trees over arching the famous pipe line trail between donga gali and ayubia. These trees had fallen down under heavy snow several years back a made over head bridges on the trail. The trees were not removed by the wild life department because they did not pose any threat to visitors and did not hamper their movement. It was exactly in accordance with the provisions of the K.P.K wild life low which says that no plants whether dead or alive should be removed from a National Park. The fallen trees are a component of park ecology as they provide food to the cavity nesting birds and also add to the soil organic matter as decomposition.
In addition termites and other insects which breed in these fallen trees become a feed for the birds and thus the cycle of biodiversity.
Removal of fallen trees is also a temptation for the timber hungry mafias to destroy the forest in the pretext of wind falls. Ayubia National Park is being managed by the wild life department since 1984 it has been saved for axe and saw of the timber mafia supported by the forest department from almost three decades and now gives a look of a green island surrounded by desolate rock mountain.
The wild life department resisted the order of the secretary environment to cut and remove the trees to the utmost with the consequence that the forest department was order to carry out its traditional and well known function of chopping and removal of wind falls.The trees in the national park are likely to fall in winds and snow in future too. And if the policy of their removal by the forest department continues, the national park will meet the same fate as many other forests have met in the guise of wind falls.
Ayubia National Park is internationally known for its naturalness and pristinely and is the most protected piece of moist temperate conifer forest.Declaration as National Park is the only legal tool to save our valuable forest.However today tyrannical and illegal move by the so called custodians is has rendered even this tool ineffective.The civil society and the comity of nature conservationist condemn this illegal action in the national park. And request the Chief Justice of Peshawar high court to take suo-moto notice of this illegal action and save the Ayubia National Park

QURAN PAK The Book of Scientific Riddles

 
Whenever we buy an appliance or a product, the manufacturer hands us manual carrying essential instructions about ‘how to handle it & operate it?”. If we do not follow instructions given, we’d never succeed in operating the gadget. God is the creator, Quran is the scripture and we are the users. If we wish to unveil the hidden mysteries of Universe we must have to follow the manual “Quran”.

UNIVERSE CAME INTO EXISTENCE
The origin of universe is explained in theQur’an as follows: “He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth.”(TheQur’an, 6:101)
Astrophysics today says that the entire universe came into existence as a result of a great explosion of a single point “The Big Bang” that occurred in no time proved that the universe was created from nothingness.   This discovery served as evidence for the Big Bang, which is the scientific explanation of the fact that the universe was created from nothingness. Thus proves the Creation of universe by Qur’an 1,400 years ago.

The Expanding Universe:
 Qur’an revealed the expansion of the universe & wasdescribed like this: “And it is We who have constructed the heaven withmight, and verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it.”(Al Qur’an, 51:47)
The word “Heaven “refers to space & universe, in the Qur’an it is revealed that the universe “Expands”. Till 19th century it was believed that universe has a constant nature and it has existed since infinite time. In the beginning of 20th century researchers Alexander Friedmann & Georges Lemaitre theoretically calculated that the universe is in constant motion and that it is expanding.
Orbits:
Quran emphasizes that sun & moon move in a definite orbit:
 ”It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They swim along, each in an orbit.”(Al Quran- 21:33)
Another verse proves its motion:
 ”And the sun runs to its resting place. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.”(Al Quran- 37:38)
These facts have been proven by astronomical studies today telling us that Sun is traveling at Speed of 720,000 km/h in the direction of star Vega in a specific orbit called the Solar Apex. It means that sun travels roughly 17,280,000 km/day.Along with the Sun & all planets & satellites within its gravitational system also travel the fixed paths % orbits as Quran says: “By the sky full of paths and orbits”. There are about 200 billion galaxies in the universe, having nearly 200 billion stars each. These entire heavenly bodies move in précised orbits, each moving in its own orbit in perfect harmony & order with all the other orbits.
Night & Day:
 ”He has created the Heavens and the Earth for Truth. He wraps the night up in the day, and wraps the day up in the night.”(Al Quran-39:5) .Arabic word “Takwir” is translated as “To wrap” .This verse gives information about the day & the night wrapping each other up, including accurate information about the shape of the earth is round. Before it was thought that the world was a flat plane.
Atmospheric Layers:
 ”Then He turned to heaven when it was smoke. In two days He determined them as seven heavens and revealed, in every heaven, its own mandate.”(Al Quran- 41:12)
The word “Heavens”, appearing in many verses refer to sky, as well as the entire universe. Given this meaning, it is seen that Earth’s sky, or atmosphere, is made up of 7 layers;

1. Troposphere
2.  Stratosphere
3.  Ozonosphere
4.  Mesosphere
5. Thermosphere
6. Ionosphere
7.  Exosphere

Protecting Roof:
“We made the sky a preserved and protected roof yet still they turn away from Our Signs.”(Al Quran- 21:32)
Earth’s atmosphere only lets rays required for life reach the Earth. It destroys meteors reaching Earth, prevents them from falling to earth.This shield not only protects the earth from the freezing cold of the space,which is about minus 270° C, but also from very harsh sun energy bursts,keeping Earth an perfect intermediate.
The Returning Sky
“By Heaven with its cyclical systems”.(Al  Quran- 86:11)
This word “Cyclical” here means “Sending back” or “Returning”.As Earth’s atmosphere consists oflayers .i.e. The troposphere condenses the water vapors and turns them back as rain, Ozone layer, reflects UV radiation back to space.Ionosphere, reflects radio waves broadcast from the Earth back down todifferent parts of the world, thus makes wireless communication, radio, andtelevision broadcasting possible over long distances.The magnetosphere layer turns the harmful radioactive particles emitted bythe Sun and other stars back into space before they reach the Earth.
The Iron Miracle:
In Surah Hadid, meaning Iron, we are informed:
“…And We sent down iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses for mankind….”(AL Quran- 57:25)
The word “Sent down,” is proved by modern astronomical findings that the iron found in our world has come from outer space.When bigger stars than the Sun having hundred million degrees oftemperatureexceeds the amounts of iron in it, it explodes in form of “Nova” or “Supernova”,resulting in scattering of iron containing meteorsaroundthe universe & they move until are attracted by the gravitational force of a heavenly body.
Creation in the pairs:
“Glory be to Him Who created all the pairs: from what the earth produces and from themselves and from things unknown to them.”(AL Quran- 37:36)
A British scientist Paul Dirac, proposed that matter is paired with its opposite (anti-matter).It carries the opposite properties to the matter.i.e. the electron of anti-matter is +ly charged &its protons are -ly charged.
Relativity of the Time:
Albert Einstein, showed that time is dependent on mass and velocity. Quran told us about time’s being relativein 610.i.e.
“He directs the whole affair from heaven to earth. Then it will again ascend to Him on a Day whose length is a thousand years by the way you measure.”(AL Quran- 32:5)
“He will say, ‘How many years did you tarry on the earth?’ They will say, ‘We tarried there for a day or part of a day. Ask those able to count!’ He will say, ‘You only tarried there for a little while if you did but know!”(AL Quran- 23:12)
Amount of Rain:
“It is He who sends down water in due measure from the sky by which We bring a dead land back to life. That is how you too will be raised (from the dead).”(AL Quran- 43:11)
Modern research has recently discovered measured quantity. It is estimated that 16 million tons Water/second evaporates from the Earth; it means 513 trillion tons of water/year. Hence it’s exactly the same quantity just as told in the Qur’an.
Rain Formation:
After the invention of weather radar it possible to discover the stages of rain formation that takes place in 3 stages.1^st vapors rise up into the air with the wind. Later, clouds are formed & finally raindrops fall.
“It is God Who sends the winds which stir up clouds which He spreads about the sky however He wills. He forms them into dark clumps and you see the rain come pouring out from the middle of them. When He makes it fall on those of His slaves He wills, they rejoice”(AL Quran- 30:48)
Seas not mixing with one Another:
“He has let loose the two seas, converging together, with a barrier between them they do not break through.”(Qur’an, 55:19-20)
Oceanographers recently discovered that, because of the “surface tension” caused by the difference in the density, the waters of neighboring seas do not mix, just as if a thin wall were between them.
Area controlling our Movements:
“No indeed! If he does not stop, We will grab him by the forelock, a lying, sinful forelock.”(AL Quran- 96:15-16)
“the lying, sinful forelock” in the above verse the “cerebrum” that’s responsible for the management of particular functions of the brain, lies in the frontal part of the skull. While Qur’an pointed it out 1,400 years ago.
Three Stages of the Baby in the Womb:
“… He creates you stage by stage in your mothers’ wombs in 3 fold darkness. That is God, your Lord. Sovereignty is His. There is no god but Him. So what has made you deviate?”(Qur’an, 39:6)
Indeed, modern biology has revealed that the baby’s embryological development takes place in three distinct regions in the mother’s womb.(1)Pre zygotic stage(2)Embryonic stage(3)Foetal stage
The Fingerprint:
“Yes, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers.”(AL Quran- 75:3-4)
Emphasis on fingerprints has very special meaning, because everyone’s fingerprint is unique to him/herself. Anyone who is alive or who has ever lived has his own unique fingerprints. Allah points to fingertips 1400 years ago.

POPULATION GROWTH

The idea of Earth’s carrying capacity goes something like this Humans need certain resources to survive at subsistence level most commonly air, food, water and usually some kind of shelter. A sustainable habitat is one in which supply of and demand for these resources are balanced.
Different peoples are using different resources on this planet earth scientists believed that human poputaion is increasing in higher amount while the resources on this planets are going to be limited in a certain period of time.
While the envirocivil team was taking an interview of the pakistani young boy and a student of environmental sciences “IKRAM UL HAQ” about the population expansions he added that ” Earth’s population has become 7 Billion and if earth is continuously stricken with upsurge of population it will be hard to sustain the food for human beings. Virtually human population growth rate is at root becoming the world’s biggest environmental problem. Although the growth rate of world’s population has slowed slightly since the 1999.
The world’s population is increasing about 77 million human beings per year. The Population Division of the United Nations (UN) predicts that the world’s population will increase from 6.23 billion people in 2000 to 9.3 billion people in 2050. The UN estimates that the population
will increase more than 11 billion in 2200. Other experts foresee that population will continue to rise into the foreseeable future, to as many as 19 billion people by the year 2200. Dreadful situation it will be.
Although the growth rate of population is now much slower in the developed countries than in the developing countries. In developing countries the most important factors necessary to decrease the population are democracy and social justice. And these factors are lacking other than that we need to aware the people from this foresee dreadful situation and the educated persons can play vital role in this for that we need to create a colony of environmentalist in every country for awareness about environment and That can be possible if every government set a modern environmental movement in their country like US rooted New England Philosophical movement called as transcendentalism in 19th century.

ENVIRONMENT ISSUES IN PAKISTAN

We should definitely like to see Pakistan without any environmental issue but currently there are lots of challenges. As in fact we are growing at the rate of more than 8 percent in GDP and creating lots of economic opportunities, this is also growing stress and implications on environment. The constant growth in population is another massive challenge. As we grow economically, we have to decide at this point in time that we ensure better quality of life. At the end of the day, when we have more money but our quality of life suffers and we can’t breathe and drink pure water; then it is not worth it.

Now the Government must show scores of commitment to guarantee that as we grow, we also ensure that the quality of life of our citizens is made better and we, as a country, might be called an environment friendly country. The government should announce the ‘National Environment Policy’ with considerably increase in the budget for environment.

Let us have a look at some of our burning environmental issues.

1. Need for tree plantations in urban centres – There is no doubt that planting trees help in maintaining good environment. Trees in urban centres help clean environment and reduce pollution. Islamabad, for instance, is one of most protected cities of the world with lot of vegetation and clean healthy environment. So there is need to plant trees in other cities like Islamabad.

We do plant lots of trees every year but the problem is the nurturing of the plants. Trees must be considered as an essential item of environmental service. Even in our religion, trees have been given enormous importance.

2. Cutting of forests – A lot number of forest trees are being cut in northern areas for timber as well as fuel wood. People must not cut trees and use wood as fuel. There are various biodiversities, climate change and other environmental issues which are linked with forestry.

In 1992 Government announced a policy against forest cutting and the cutting of forest was banned but that policy doesn’t seem to have been successful. It is suggested that the government should pass legislation for a sustainable harvesting of forest so that there’s a controlled management plan through which forestry can be saved. Local community also has to understand the value of forests.

We must also develop the strategy for carbon financing at policy level. It is a very innovative instrument across the world where you can do is that we provide value to the trees because trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air. Through this mechanism the developed countries of the world are going to provide financial aid in this regard. The government should announce the strategy to make sure that investment comes in and trees are treated as the environmental commodity not just as the item of fuel.

3. Pollution from factories – We need a cooperative compliance from the factories. The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) should take a lead in this regard. It is the time to be strict with the industries that are not compliant. Now there’s a lot of pressure on factories from law of the land and from buyer because buyers are not buying from the parties who are not meeting environmental criteria. After the implementation of WTO, we have to meet the environmental standards and unless we do that we cannot export our goods abroad.

Environment is going to be a non-tariff barrier for all our exports and sooner the industries realize this the better it would be for them. There is also pressure from the lenders; almost all the banks of the world say that the industries that don’t meet the environmental criteria will not be given money. We must try to enforce the law of land and for that we have to start a voluntary self-monitoring program because it is not possible to send inspectors to every industry in the country. The industry owners should take the responsibility and provide data in this regard to relevant government agencies.

4. Greenhouse effect & Pakistan – The planet has been affected in current times with the greenhouse gasses which is detrimental to maintaining life and sustainable environment on earth. Pakistan is a very small contributor in greenhouse effect; Pakistan contributes only 0.2 % greenhouse gases of the whole world.

Pakistan is very much aware about it and has taken lead on this issue at the international level. Pakistan is party to the “Kyoto Protocol”, The Kyoto Protocol is a document signed by about 180 countries at Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997. The protocol commits 38 industrialized countries to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases between 2008 to 2012 to levels that are 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels. Pakistan needs to develop a strategy and attract investment to come to Pakistan on this issue. The industries in Pakistan should also be involved; if one actually invests in projects and get carbon credit that is going to be credited on commodity exchange. It is the first environmental commodity of the world and the predictions of the World Bank are that this market is going to be somewhere in the range of 5 to 10 billion dollars a year on exchange on this carbon emission.

5. Carbon monoxide emissions in Megacities – Carbon monoxide emission levels in Karachi and Lahore have considerably exceeded WHO’s recommended levels. It however happens only during crowded hours not 24 hours a day. We should be concerned about it and a Clean Air Program must be initiated to ensure safe level carbon monoxide emissions especially in megacities.

6. High Pollution in Karachi – One can see so much pollution (noise pollution – air pollution) in the city. The main difference is of population; Karachi is a very crowded city housing people from all parts of the country. Besides other dilemmas, we have the problems of transport and industrial pollution because we are economically growing very fast and all these issues arise from that. Karachi’s main issue is air and noise pollution which again is linked with the increase in transport on the roads. Getting a car has become so easy with the emergence of bank-leasing options. It is though a good sign as far as growing economy is concerned but on the other side, due to lack of infrastructure, pollution issue has increased which is quite alarming. To tackle the situation we need to develop a ‘Clean Air Program’. Major part of this program should include converting public transport on to CNG and removing 2 strokes engines like rickshaws & converting them to 4 strokes engines etc.

7. Running of old vehicles on road – It is also one of the causes of air pollution as these cars are not discarded and thus add their share in increasing the pollution. The “Clean Air Program” should also include old vehicle retiring program. In developed countries the older the car gets the more tax they have to pay. This incentive urges them not to keep old vehicles on road. In Pakistan, low income groups keep old vehicles that have no accurate standard of pollution controlling. We also need to strengthen the motor vehicle testing program in which private sector should be invited to setup testing stations and it should be made mandatory for cars to get fitness certificate every year without which they should not be allowed to come on roads.

8. Exploiting IT technology for Environment Protection – Government is hardly using IT technology in this regard. There must be software programs developed for registering industrial data on environment. This program should be linked to every industry with the Internet and it may be given access to a centralized database in Islamabad. Other than that, the government can also be advised that all the ministries should start adopting similar IT programs and train their staff for e-governance. In this way, the IT technology can be exploited productively.

9. Demand for Environmental Managers – There is a lot of demand for environmental managers especially from the lenders i.e. World Bank and ADB. All these multilateral banks want to lend to Pakistan as well as want to ensure that the projects are also environmentally capable but we have very little proper professional capacity. NGOs have very good work and capacity with regards to advocacy and raising awareness but they are not qualified researchers as such. We need to opt for environmental studies in our universities.

Youngsters, both male/female, should do Masters in environmental studies as this field has a great future in Pakistan. The government is increasing environment budget and they would need lots of people who are qualified in environmental studies. It is a new field and is going to grow without any doubt. As the world is also growing, it will create so many environmental challenges and lots of environmental managers would be in great demand in coming years. Universities in Pakistan, i.e. Karachi University, Punjab University, Quaid-e-Azam University and few other private sector universities are offering programs in environmental studies. So it is highly recommended that youngsters, both male/female, should go for environmental studies.

10. Message for the youth – This environmental movement is your movement and we can fight environment degradation through a movement because of the young people of Pakistan. If we want to make a better Pakistan for upcoming generation, youngsters, both male/female, should take part actively and learn about the environmental issues and try to tackle the problems. One of the best solutions to the environment is to change our bad habits of wastage of water, electricity and dispersal of garbage etc.

Let’s think global but act local.
Author: Tahir Hasnain is a veteran researcher, writer and development practitioner serving the non-government development sector since two decades. Currently he works for Shirkat Gah as Programme Manager, Environment & Livelihood. He can be contacted at – tahir@khi.sgah.org.pk