1. Introduction

In 1998, Pakistan, along with other South Asian countries, signed the Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and Its Likely Transboundary Effects for South Asia.As a signatory, it was required to draw up and implement a national action plan to strengthen its capacity to understand the origin, transport, and impacts of air pollution and to reduce it.Pakistan has prepared this document in fulfillment of its commitment.

1.1 Model for Air Quality Management

Management as a technical discipline has been described as one a technical discipline in which five distinctive steps are continuously performed.[1]These are:
1.Definition of the objective and the problems that appear to interfere with the attainment of that objective

2.Planning the approach, that is, the identification of the targets to be achieved and how they will be achieved

3.Implementation or execution of each of the steps

4.Control of the activities involved leading to the attainment of the defined objectives

5.Evaluation of the effectiveness of the each of the previous steps.

An analogous four-step model for air quality management is shown in Exhibit 1.1.In this model the definition and evaluation steps are merged into a single step and the process is shown to be cyclical to emphasize its continuous nature.

The process starts with the definition of the problem.The first activity is identification of objective management, which in this case is the provision of clean and healthy air to citizens.Air quality monitoring, impact assessment and emissions inventory are the tools that are required to identify the problems interfering with the attainment of the objectives.These result in a concrete definition of air quality issues that are to be addressed.

The second step is planning.It starts with the identification of all technological, regulatory and socioeconomic options available to control pollutant emissions.An analysis of issues and barriers follows.In this exercise, the technological, cultural or financial barriers in the implementation of each available option are identified and evaluated.This is followed by selecting feasible options and prioritizing them for implementation.Finally, an implementation strategy is developed.The strategy sets targets, defines implementation mechanisms, and identifies resource requirements and generation mechanisms.

Implementation of the air quality control options starts with the development of various instruments, such as air quality standards, regulations, and economic incentives.Development and strengthening of institutional capacities is required before the regulatory and economic instruments can be implemented.

The implementation of control options results in increased mass awareness, installation of control equipments, technological changes, and enforcement of regulations.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the control measures brings the process back to the first step.Air quality monitoring, emissions inventory, air quality indices, and health indicators and other tools provide information on any changes, or lack of them, in the air quality due to the control measures.A reassessment of the problem follows and the entire process starts all over again.

These steps, Although defined sequentially, these steps are often performed simultaneously and continuously.Usually, one long-term broad strategy covering ten to fifteen years is developed.It is supplemented with shorter-term strategies that set targets for two to five years.Air quality monitoring and impact assessment is carried out continuously to evaluate the effectiveness of the control measures.The evaluation results in periodic review and revision, if necessary, of the regulatory and economic instruments, and the air pollution abatement strategies.

1.2 Pakistan Clean Air Program

The Baseline Report on Air Pollution in Pakistan discusses in detail the status of air pollution, air quality monitoring, the available technical and human resources, the research conducted, and the response to air pollution issues in Pakistan.To some extent, all the activities in the air quality management model described in the previous section have been undertaken.However, the lack absence of an overall management program results in many problems, such as lack of focus in monitoring and research, generation of redundant or insufficient data, and an inefficient reporting mechanism including reporting in non-standard formats.For example:
aVarious public and private sector organizations undertake random measurements of air pollution levels, mostly in large cities.Systematic air quality monitoring covering both urban and rural areas has not yet been done.The data generated in this way is scanty and has limited utility.It gives some indication of air quality at the sampling locations but, in the absence of an air pollution monitoring network and periodic data collected at the same location, no conclusions can be drawn regarding the overall ambient quality of the city and the temporal and spatial changes in it.

aFew studies have been conducted regarding the impacts of air pollution on human health and vegetation.These studies are useful in identifying and confirming the presence of air pollution related problems.However, in the absence of nationwide ambient air quality data, the scale of the impact on the entire population of the country or the entire crop cannot be determined.

aIn 1992, a National Conservation Strategy (NCS) was developed for Pakistan.It includes a strategy for air pollution abatement.However, NCS is basically a policy document that provides only the broad abatement measures and lacks the details required to execute the air quality management program.

aFew programs to mitigate impacts of air pollution have been initiated.These include the program for fuel efficiency improvement in the transport sector and the on-going establishment of a clean production center for the petroleum production industry.The programs have resulted in limited success but initiation of a coordinated program can make them more focused.

aThe national environmental quality standards (NEQS) for gaseous emissions from industries have been notified.The NEQS set maximum limits on the maximumconcentration of pollutants in industrial emissions.General ambient air quality standards have not been developed.

These efforts have produced some desirable results, but, as a whole, represent only a beginning in initiating and promoting healthy and clean air.The failure of these programs to produce a significant improvement in the air quality can be attributed to lack of a clear political will, economic and financial constraints, and absence of coordinated efforts among the researchers, regulatory agencies and the public.

The problem of rapidly deteriorating air quality demands that an integrated effort be developed and implemented with the coordination of all concerned government, research and private sector organizations.

In this regard, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) is proposinges to develop a national clean air program.The program will be based on a medium- to long-term strategy to protect and enhance the air resources of the country while ensuring that economic growth takes place in a sustainable manner.The elements of the proposed program, to be called the Pakistan Clean Air Program, are outlined in Section 2 of this document.

1.3 Objectives of the Action Plan

As pointed out earlier, Pakistan needs to develop an air quality management program to address the air quality issues currently facing the nation and those that are likely to occur in future if the deterioration of air resources is allowed to continue unchecked.The first objective of this action plan is to provide the means to develop the Pakistan Clean Air Program (PCAP).
Planning is the second step in the air quality management model outlined previously.The prerequisite to planning is knowledge of the ambient air quality so that responsive and targeted actions can be planned to combat air pollution.As discussed earlier, though limited information on the ambient quality in the large cities is available, it is insufficient to quantitatively establish the air quality and its diurnal, seasonal, and long-term trends or to identify the ‘hot-spots’ of air pollution.The second objective of the action plan, as laid down in the guidelines,[2] is to carry out activities to fill the gaps in the knowledge or understanding of air pollution issues identified in the baseline report.This includes improving the air monitoring networks, assessment tools, reporting mechanisms, and networking among experts.

The development and execution of the PCAP will need human and financial resources, considerable research, and planning.However, evidence suggests that some of the air quality issues facing the citizens of this country require urgent actions.The third objective of the action plan is to suggest short-term and medium-term abatement measures for air pollutants of immediate concern.The actions will rely on identifying the air quality issues on the basis of available information and addressing them, to the extent possible, using in-country available resources.

1.4 Organization of the Action Plan

The organization of the Action Plan is slightly different from that recommended in the guidelines.A section on the PCAP has been added after this one, which we believe is crucial to the success of the whole program in Pakistan.Secondly, we have discussed the implementation details of individual programs with the main sections.This, we felt, was necessary because the programs needed diverse implementing arrangements andlumping discussing them together was affecting the document’s readability.