Institutional capacity to conduct air pollution related studies exists in various private and public sector organizations in Pakistan. Over the past 25 years nearly 200 papers have been published by various researchers on the issue of air pollution in Pakistan. In this section, the institutional capacity and published studies are reviewed.
As part of this project, a nationwide postal survey was conducted to collect data on the expertise and technical resources available in the country. The information in this section is primarily based on the response received to the survey and on a review of the technical literature published by research organizations.
For the purpose of this review, five categories of organizations are defined:
1. Regulatory agencies
2. Public sector organizations
3. Educational institutions
4. Non-government organizations (NGOs)
5. Private sector organizations.
The capabilities of these organizations are discussed separately below.
This category includes the federal environmental protection agency (Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency or the Pak-EPA) and the four provincial EPAs (NWFP EPA, Punjab Environmental Protection Department, Sindh EPA and the Balochistan EPA). These organizations function under the power delegated to them by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997. The Act has assigned a broad-based role to the EPAs which includes promotion of research and the development of technology for prevention of pollution and protection of the environment.
The EPAs have very limited capacity to conduct in-house research on air quality issues. The Pak-EPA has developed an environmental laboratory for chemical analysis of water samples. The laboratory also has limited stack emission, vehicular emission and ambient air quality measurement capabilities. The Sindh EPA and the Punjab Environmental Protection Department have two mobile ambient air quality assessment stations.[1] The EPAs have commissioned few studies to assess the urban air quality in their respective provinces.
There are over 200 public sector research organizations in the country. Although none of them are dedicated to air pollution research, the mandate of many of these organizations includes work that is closely related to air quality. A handful of organizations have carried out work for the air pollution issue and have published research articles. The organizations that are particularly active in the field of air quality monitoring are:
1. Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP)
2. National Energy Conservation Center (ENERCON)
3. National Institute of Health (NIH)
4. National Physical and Standards Laboratory (NPSL)
5. National Transport Research Center (NTRC)
6. Pakistan Atomic Energy Agency (PAEC)
7. Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR)
8. Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD)
9. Pakistan Space and Upper Air Research Organization (SUPARCO).
Several of these organizations have published papers on air quality and the impacts of air pollution. SUPARCO and PCSIR have access to mobile monitoring stations which are used for ambient air quality assessment. PAEC has conducted several studies in air pollution related areas including transboundary transport of air pollutants using the RAINS-Asia model. Most of these organizations have laboratories that can be used to study dry and wet deposition. The capabilities of these organizations assessed on the basis of their mandate or published work is summarized in Exhibit 4.1.
In addition to the organizations listed above, there are several other organizations that can contribute in the assessment of air pollution impacts. These include the National Agricultural Research Center, Fuel Research Center, National Building Research Institute, National Institute of Oceanography, and Pakistan Medical Research Council, Pakistan Forest Institute.
Exhibit 4.1: Technical Capabilities of Public Sector Organizations for Air Pollution Research Studies
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|
HDIP |
ENERCON |
NIH |
NPSL |
NTRC |
PAEC |
PCSIR |
PMD |
SUPARCO |
|
Monitoring and Evaluation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ambient Air Quality |
|
|
|
|
|
Y |
Y |
|
Y |
|
Exposure |
Y |
|
Y |
Y |
|
Y |
Y |
|
Y |
|
Source Emission |
|
Y |
|
|
Y |
|
|
|
|
|
Emissions Inventory Development |
Y |
Y |
|
|
Y |
Y |
Y |
|
Y |
|
Assessment and Research |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ambient Air Quality |
|
|
|
|
|
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
|
Health Impacts |
|
|
Y |
|
|
Y |
|
|
|
|
Emission Factor Development |
Y |
Y |
|
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
|
|
|
Abatement Measures |
|
Y |
|
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
|
Y |
|
Pollutant Transport |