District Mardan & It’s Environmental Problems

N.W.F.P & Environmental Problems… a bird eye view

Under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance 1983, Environmental Assessment is a requirement for all developmental projects in the country. After the approval of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act in 1998 it is now mandatory for all developmental projects to carry out environmental assessment before approval, thus making environmental assessment the most direct and effective means of combining development and conservation. To integrate environmental

procedures and results in policy and decision making, the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is the leading province to have identified/indicated environmental planning, management and assessment as an immediate priority under the auspices of Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy (SPCS), a sustainable development agenda for the province. Under the SPCS, various measures have been taken for institutionalizing environmental assessment in the operations of government departments. These measures include: modification of PC-I to include environmental impact; and the use of PC-II for financing EIA (PC-1 and II are the main planning documents of the government for project appraisal and approval); building capacity in environmental management and assessment of the planning staff of the government departments through various training courses such as policy analysis using strategic environmental assessment; public participation; and the establishment of an Environment Section and Environment Wing in the Planning & Development Department, the sole provincial department where all developmental projects go for approval. Moreover, an Environmental Cell has been established in the Local Government Department.
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan is richly endowed with natural resources including prime agricultural land, scenic landscapes, abundant forests and wildlife, a vast mineral resources base, a rich ancient culture, a network of rivers and streams, and a diverse climate. Some of these resources, such as forests protecting the watersheds, are of vital national importance. NWFP has established, and is maintaining, a high profile in the environmental arena in Pakistan. In many respects, this province is considered as the environmental conscience of the country. The province was the first to begin the implementation of Pakistan’s National Conservation Strategy when it decided to prepare the Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy in 1992. Other provinces are now following this lead and setting up similar strategic planning processes.
Keeping in view the continuing degradation of the environment, the government of NWFP is in the process of incorporating environmental procedures into developmental policies and plans. Presently, as in the past, the main focus of the provincial government is on institutionalization of environmental planning, management and procedures. Also there is an emphasis by the government on capacity building, as there is a need to build the capacity of professionals both from the public and private sectors in environmental planning, management and assessment.

Nature and Scope of Issues
The most pressing environmental problems in the NWFP can be listed as increasing population; narrow rural economic base; exodus to urban centers; congestion and pollution; brunt of Afghan refugees; water-borne diseases; deforestation; lack of awareness, education and research; and inadequate institutional infrastructure. With the enactment of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act in 1998, it is now mandatory to conduct environmental assessment for all developmental projects. However, like other developing countries, Pakistan did not have the institutional mechanisms or the professional capacity to effectively undertake environmental assessments, and this was particularly the case in government departments. In the public sector, there are very few organizations with an exclusive environmental mandate, including the
Environment Section of the Planning, Development and Environment Department (PE&D) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Both organizations are relatively new and still trying to establish their position in the provincial and national bureaucracy.

The activities of MF are as under…

  • To give comprehensive lectures on school and college level on Environmental Education to aware students how to protect our environment.
  • Environmental Education will consist on the following topics
  • Survey of schools
  • Lectures on Environmental Education
  • Drawing competition
  • Debates on Environmental Education
  • Formation of NC in schools and colleges 
  • Public awareness about Environmental Education
  • Walks, Seminars and Workshops
  • Through Radio
  • Through Television
  • Pumplets 
  • Calendars
  • Banners
  • Sign Boards
  • Plantation in District Mardan.
  • Plantation in schools of District Mardan
  • Plantation in deserted areas of District Mardan.
  • Plantation in Rural areas.
  • Plantation on Roads sides.
  • Water sanitation Program
  • To provide Water purification plant to Educational institution.