Pakistan covers 0.7 percent of the world’s land area, but accounts for a little over 2 percent of the world’s population. With a per capita income of hardly US$ 460 in current terms (ES, 1999), a fast depleting natural resource base, inadequate social services, and an arid or semi-arid climate where health issues remain a predominant concern, the country is particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of environmental degradation. Inefficient use of existing resources, particularly energy and water resources, have added to the country’s susceptibility.
Until a decade ago, there was very little understanding of the financial, social and health effects of environmental degradation and the subsequent costs they impose on the economy. As environmental concerns and assessment of impacts of environmental degradation gained prominence globally, understanding of these issues increased in Pakistan, prompting government as well as civil society institutions to focus on understanding and dealing with them. Pakistan’s premier environmental policy document is the National Conservation Strategy (NCS), published in 1992 just prior to the Rio Summit. However, the initial momentum unleashed during the process of the Strategy’s formulation has not been carried through to the implementation stage—much still remains to be done to conserve the environment. The Strategy identifies 14 core areas for priority implementation of mitigation programs, one of which is “preventing and abating pollution.”[1]
Air pollution is considered to be primarily an urban problem in Pakistan. As the rate of urbanization increases (Karachi, the largest city in the country, has an estimated population growth rate of over 3 percent), air pollution levels are expected to increase significantly (PCO, 1999). Emissions from point sources such as factory stacks are repeatedly mentioned in the NCS and by environmental groups as the major source of pollutants. This may be because such emissions are visible and prominent and have significantly added to the air quality degradation in the urban areas. In rural areas, air quality is considered to have been negatively affected in areas abutting industrial estates or isolated industrial plants set up outside city limits. Brick kilns, where the fuel used is often high sulfur coal, are acknowledged as a major source of air pollutants in peri-urban areas.
Emissions from vehicles are also considered to be major sources of pollutants. There are an estimated three million vehicles on the road in Pakistan, and the growth rate of the vehicle population is projected to be over 10 percent (ES, 1999). Given the lack of enforcement of motor vehicle fitness regulations, the increase in air pollution from the vehicle population alone could be alarming. The problem is compounded by the fact that the average life of vehicles in use in the country is quite long, as vehicles are luxury goods that cannot be easily replaced. As a result, vehicles in Pakistan are estimated to emit 25 times the amount of carbon monoxide, 20 times the amount of hydrocarbons and 3.6 times the amount of nitrous oxide of an average vehicle in the United States (GoP/IUCN, 1992). Once again, the urban areas are considered to be particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of vehicular emissions, as the bulk of the vehicular population is concentrated in such areas.
In recent years, there has been increasing concern about emissions from thermal power generation plants. Independent power producers started operations in Pakistan in the early 1990s, and thermal power generation now accounts for 65 percent of total power generation in the country (PYEB, 1999). Thermal power generation is a major source of emissions worldwide, particularly when power plants operate on furnace oil or coal as opposed to natural gas, which is a relatively clean fuel. Currently, 44 percent of thermal power generation in Pakistan is based on natural gas while 54 percent is based on crude oil (PYEB, 1999). In 1993-1994, a little over 50 percent of thermal power generation was natural gas based. With gas reserves fast depleting, there is a danger that crude oil will continue to replace gas as the major fuel for power generation, thereby adding to emissions.
Although the NCS considers air pollution in conjunction with water pollution, and places considerable emphasis on green issues, the legislative framework in Pakistan has tended to concentrate more on brown issues. Air pollution by its very nature is highly visible and has noticeable impacts on human health and on the environment. As such, it has received considerable attention as one of the primary environmental issues in the country. Nevertheless, measuring air pollution and assessing the extent of air quality degradation is a complex process and there has been little or no sustained effort in Pakistan to actually appraise air quality even in major urban centers. However, studies in Lahore and Karachi, the two largest cities, suggest that carbon monoxide, cadmium and lead levels in particular may exceed levels recommended by the USEPA (GoP/IUCN 1992 and SUPARCO, 1999).
There has been no serious study of the impacts of air pollution in Pakistan. The most obvious expected effects are those related to human health. Air pollutants are a major cause of respiratory and ocular diseases, which are highly prevalent in the country, particularly in the urban areas. Air pollution is also acknowledged to be a contributory factor in the increased incidence of smog in large cities in the winter season. In recent years, smog levels in winter have increased to an extent where air travel to and from cities to the north of the country has been seriously disrupted. The effects of lead emissions on inner city residents are also expected to be considerable.
[1] This program area covers both air and water pollution, but the NCS does not specify which form of pollution it considers more damaging.