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UrbanEnvironmentalChallengesandPovertyAlleviationinPakistan

INTL542,Dr.Weiss

KirstenRay

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InthisreportIwilldiscusssomeofthemostpressingurbanenvironmentalchallengesthat

Pakistaniscurrentlyfacing.Theseinclude;

à waterquality

à sanitation

à agriculture

à urbanairpollution

à solidwastemanagementand,

à climatechangeandnaturaldisasters

Iwillcontinuetoaddressthefollowingissuesregardingpovertyalleviation;

à politicaleconomy

à existingplansinvolvingpovertyalleviation

Lastly,IwillprovidesomesuggestionsthatarealignedwithSAARC’sideals.

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UrbanizationinPakistan

Pakistanisthesixthmostpopulatedcountryintheworldwithapopulationofover

200millionpeople(CIAWorldFactbook).TheurbanizationofPakistanisincreasingata

ratethatisquickerthananyotherSouthAsiancountry.Theurbanizationrateis3percent,

resultinginapopulationgrowthofmillionsofPakistaniseveryyear.

UrbanizationinPakistandatesbacktoPartitionwhenmillionsofIndianMuslims

crossedintoPakistanandsettledintourbanareas.MigrationintoPakistancontinued

severalyearslaterasmoreIndianssettledintoPakistaniurbanareasduringthewarsof

1965and1971(Kugelman).Inthe1990s,migrationintoPakistanoccurredagainasupto4

millionAfghanscrossedtheDurandLine.

Kugelmanidentifiestwomaincausesofpresent-dayurbanization:

1. Rural-urbanmigrations

2. NaturalincreaseofPakistan’spopulation

Peoplearemovingfromruraltourbanareasinordertoescapeconflictinruralareas.

Pakistanisarealsomovingtocitiesbecauserurallivelihoodshavebeennegativelyaffected

byenvironmentalconcernssuchaswatershortages.Figure1illustratesthecurrent

populationdispersioninPakistan,withthetwomostpopulatedcitiesbeingKarachi(9.3

million)andLahore(5.1million).Environmentalchallengesandpovertyalleviationefforts

aremostprevalentinthesepopulatedareas.

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Figure1:Populationdensity.Source:OCHA

UrbanEnvironmentalChallengesinPakistan

UrbanEnvironmentalChallenges:CleanWater

Pakistanreceives250mmofrainfallayear,makingitawater-stressedcountry.Water

scarcityisexpectedtoincreaseasPakistan’spopulationgrows.Inurbanareas,thewater

thatdoesexistisheavilypolluted,whichcreatesdiseaseamongthepoor(WorldBank).

Typhoid,diarrhea,wormsandhepatitisarethemostcommonwater-relateddiseasesin

poorurbanareas.

UrbanEnvironmentalChallenges:Sanitation

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Therapidurbanizationofcitieshasresultedinissuessurroundingaccesstoproper

sanitation.68millionpeoplelackaccesstotoiletsinPakistan.PublicdefecationinPakistan

isquitecommon,andispositionedthirdbehindIndiaandIndonesia.Thisleadsto

prevalentdiseasewithinthepoorurbanareasofPakistan(WaterAid).Thereareeffortsto

addressissuessurroundingsanitationatthefederallevel,throughtheMinistryofHealth,

andattheprovinciallevel,intheformoflocalgovernment.However,alackoffundingand

followthroughhasledtostagnantdevelopmentofthisissue.Poorsanitationfacilitiesadd

tothehighincidenceofdiseaseaswell.Childrenareespeciallysusceptibletowaterrelated

diseases.Water-bornediseaseshaveasignificantimpactontheeconomy.

UrbanEnvironmentalChallenges:Agriculture

Lackofwaterchallengesagriculturalgrowth.Pakistan,however,isreliantontheIndus

Riverforitssurfacewater,makingPakistanparticularlyvulnerabletowaterpollution.

FortypercentofthePakistanipopulationisemployedintheagriculturalsector

whichleavesmuchofthepopulationconcernedwithenvironmentalissuessuchaswater

quality(USAID).Environmentaldegradationhasledtoadecreaseinagricultural

productivityandaffectsthosewhoarepoor.Peoplehavelosttheirjobsasaconsequenceof

pollutedwateranddeforestation.Environmentalchallengeswithintheagriculturalsphere

actasacatalystforpoverty.

UrbanEnvironmentalChallenges:UrbanAirPollution

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Pakistanisaheavilyurbanizedcountry.Urbanairpollutionisadirectresultofthegrowing

urbanizationofPakistan.Theprimarysourcesofairpollutionarepoorlymaintained

vehicles,factoriesandpowerplants.Theconcentrationofparticulatematterinthecitiesof

Karachi,Lahore,Islamabad,Peshawar,QuettaandRawalpindiareaboveWorldHealth

Organization’sguidelines(WorldBank).Thepoorairqualityyieldsnumeroushealth

effectsthroughoutPakistan,asdefinedinTable1.Inadditiontoparticulatematteremitted

byvehiclesandfactories,thereisahighamountofairbornelead.Leadcanbecome

airbornefromavarietyofsources,includingleadpipesandleadpaint,andcauses

disabilitiestothoseexposed.In2005,morethan22,600adultsdiedfromurbanair

pollution(Ahmed).Rapidurbanizationleadstoanincreaseinvehicleuseandvehicle

emissionsarethemaincauseofairpollution(figure2).Ingeneral,thereisalackof

enthusiasmfromthePakistanigovernmenttoaddressissuessurroundingairpollution.

Figure2:MotoristsinPakistan.Source:WorldBank

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Poorairqualityisnotlimitedtovehicleemission.32percentofurbanPakistani

householdsmakefiresfrombiomassfuelsinsidetheirhomes(WorldBank).Thisleadsto

bronchitis,asthma,andrespiratoryinfectioninwomen,childrenandtheelderly.

ThereareseveraleffortstocombatenvironmentalissuesinPakistan,asoutlinedinthe18th

AmmendmenttotheConstitutionofPakistan.Specifically,theNationalEnvironmentPolicy

andtheNationalClimateChangePolicyareexpectedtobeinfluential(Sheikh).

UrbanEnvironmentalChallenges:WasteManagement

ProperwastemanagementisasignificantconcerninPakistan’surbanareas.Accordingto

Pakistan’sEnvironmentProtectionDepartment,thereareseveralmainproblemsregarding

wastemanagement:

- Thereisnoproperwastecollectionsystem

- Wasteisdumpedonthestreets

- Differenttypesofwastearenotcollectedseparately

- Therearenocontrolledsanitarylandfillsites

- Citizensarenotawareoftherelationshipbetweenwaysofdisposingofwasteand

theresultingenvironmentalandpublichealthproblems

Thehealthhazardsassociatedwiththisareextensive;infectionanddiseaseareprevalent

amongtheurbanpoor.Improperwastemanagementalsoleadstogroundwater

contamination,whichineffectleadstowaterissuesdiscussedearlier.Thereisnot

currentlyanylegislatureaddressingthisissue(EnvironmentProtectionDepartment).

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ClimateChangeandNaturalDisasters

ClimatechangehasparticularlydevastatingpotentialinPakistan,asPakistanislargely

reliantonthemonsoonandglacialmeltforproductivity.Asaresultofclimatechange,

floodshavebecomemorecommon,disruptingagricultureandcreatingfoodsecurityissues

throughoutPakistan.

Pakistandealswithnaturaldisastersinareactionarymannerandmostofthefocus

onreliefisonflooding.Since1955therehavebeenaseriesof5-yeardisastermanagement

plansinPakistanthatprimarilyfocusonfloodmanagement(Cheema).Thecurrentdisaster

managementplaniscalledVision2030.Vision2030will“povertyalleviationthrough

controlovernaturalcalamitiessuchasfloods,droughtsormanmadeeventssuchaswars,

andthroughintroductionofagricultureinsuranceagainstdrought”(PlanningCommission

ofPakistan)

Figure3:Source:Cheema

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PovertyAlleviationinPakistan

PovertyAlleviation:PoliticalEconomy

Sinceindependence,thePakistanigovernmenthasnotprovidedpropersupporttothosein

need.ThisfailuretoassistthepoorhasledtoanincreaseinimpoverishmentinPakistan.

(Weiss).Whilemostgovernmenthasbeengenerallylacklusterinsupportingthepoor,

Bhuttoprovestobeanexception.Lievenwrites,inPakistan:AHardCountry,

“ZulfikarAliBhuttoistheonlyPakistanileadertohaseverspokentothepoorasifthey

mattered”(Lieven238).Itisarguablethatthecurrentgovernmentdoesnotinfact

acknowledgetheneedsofthepoor,asthosewholiveinimpoverishedurbanareasstill

sufferfromlackofaccesstocleanwater,sanitation,andhousing,tonameafew.

PlanstoAlleviatePoverty

ThePakistanPeople’sPartyattemptedtoalleviatepovertybyestablishingtheBenazir

BhuttoIncomeSupportFund(BISF).Thisfundallocated34billionrupeestosupportthe

monthlyincomesofimpoverishedfamilies(Weiss).Thematriarchofthefamilyreceived

themoney,therebysupportingwomen’sempowerment.Thisprogramhasreceivedsome

critique.SomeconsideredtheBISFnotapovertyalleviationeffort,butasubsidyprogram.

Thefunddoesnotdirectlysupporteducationordevelopment.Accusationssurrounding

‘missingfunds’exist.

TheInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF)releasedareportin2010outliningeffortsto

reducepovertyinPakistan.Twomaincomponentsofthisreportincludeareformed

generalsalestax,andanelectricityreform.Theelectricityreformaimstoaddressloan

sheddingandprovideelectricitytothepoor.

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Recommendations

AlthoughSAARChasconsideredenvironmentalissuesinPakistan,therehasbeenalackof

follow-throughfromthePakistanigovernment.Urbanenvironmentalissuesandpoverty

arecloselyrelatedandPakistanwouldbenefitfromreconsideringpoliciesregarding

environmentalchallengesandpovertyalleviation.

à Investintechnologiestobuildinfrastructuresuchaspublictransportation,clean

energy,andwaterandsanitation.Urbanairimprovementshouldbeapriority

becausecurrenttrendssuggestthattheairqualitywillworsendramaticallywith

time.Thismightlooklikeaninvestmentinpublictransportationinfrastructureand

apromotionofnon-motorizedtransport.

à StrengthenSAARC’sinstitutionalframeworksurroundingnaturaldisasterplans,

andutilizealessreactionaryapproachthanwhathasbeenusedinthepast.

Specifically,afloodpreparednessprogramwouldbegreatlybeneficialasfloodsare

commonanddevastating.

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WorksCited

Ahmed,Amin."Pakistan’sUrbanAirPollutionofftheCharts:WorldBank."DAWN.COM. Dawn,14July2014.Web.16Nov.2016.Cheema,Abdur."ExploringtheRoleoftheMosqueinDealingwithDisasters:ACaseStudy ofthe2005EarthquakeinPakistan."Diss.MasseyU,2012.Web.--"EnvironmentalIssuesandImpacts."EnvironmentalIssues(n.d.):5-22.WorldBank.World Bank,14Nov.2016.Haider,Murtaza."Pakistan’sPowerCrisis:Trans-MissionImpossible."DAWN.COM.N.p.,24 July2015.Web.16Nov.2016.Kugelman,Michael.UrbanisationinPakistan:CausesandConsequences(n.d.):n.pag. UrbanisationinPakistan:CausesandConsequences.NorwegianPeacebuilding ResourceCenter,Jan.2013.Web.13Nov.2016--"Pakistan:PopulationDensity(asof26August2013)."ReliefWeb.OCHA,36Aug.2013. Web.16Nov.2016.PlanningCommissionofPakistan.Pakistaninthe21stcentury:Vision2030(2007). Islamabad:PlanningCommissionofPakistan,GovernmentofPakistanQasim,Mohammed."PakistanFailstoControlRapidGrowthofPopulation."Islamabad. International,11July2016.Web.16Nov.2016.Sánchez-Triana,Ernesto."WorldBank."SpringerReference(n.d.):n.pag.Cleaning Pakistan'sAir.WorldBank,2014.Web.Nov.2016.Sheikh,AliTauqeer."ClimateChange:Pakistan'sExistentialChallenge."Democracy, SustainableDevelopmentandPeace.Oxford:OxfordUP,2014.315-32.Print.--"WasteManagementSeries."SolidWaste:Assessment,MonitoringandRemediationWaste ManagementSeries(2004):1-5.PakistanEnvironment.13Nov.2016.Weiss,Anita.“SurvivingPakistan’sCities:AComplexWebofChallengesandAlternatives.”(2013):1-26