Environment and life

In a fast-changing world where development is linked to technology and decision-making is influenced by social media, it is important to take cognizance of non-traditional threats to human security and rethink approaches to development and conservation of nature.

While environment and climate change are technically two separate subjects, they share cross-cutting elements where deterioration or improvement in one amplifies the impact on the other. Put simply, a warming planet is harmful to the environment and environmental degradation contributes to global warming. Mismanagement of both will result in resource scarcity, hunger, loss of biodiversity and decline in the quality of human life.

Environmental science emerged from the fields of natural history and medicine during the Enlightenment. Today it provides an integrated, quantitative and inter-disciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems that include physical biological and information sciences. The key elements of effective environmental management are pegged on the ability to relate space and time relationships as well as quantitative analysis.

Approaching the environment through the lens of science came alive as a substantive field of scientific investigation in the 1960s and 1970s. This was largely driven by a need a multi-disciplinary approach to analyze complex environmental problems, supported by the arrival of environmental laws requiring specific environmental protocols of investigation and a growing public awareness of a need for action to address environmental problems.

Environmental scientists brought a systems approach to the analysis of environmental problems, which led to increased interest in social sciences for understanding human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment and engaging in environmental engineering with focus on design and technology for improving environmental quality in all aspects of life.

The environmental story of Pakistan is full of neglect and lack of due diligence. The air quality in major cities hovers between unsafe and hazardous, tap water is not safe for drinking in any city, rivers and streams are polluted and waste management remains an unresolved agenda. Pakistan has poor forest cover and, while fragile areas are declared as national parks, their management plans are rarely implemented. The consumption of contaminated water is associated with stunting and poor air quality with a decline in human health and productivity.

In the mountain regions of Pakistan higher rates of emission of black carbon are contributing to acceleration in glacial melting and lack of provision of basic services is forcing communities to exploit the fragile habitat – fragmenting land, disrupting the flow of goods and services in ecological corridors and contributing to losses in biodiversity. The high rate of migration from rural to urban areas and emergence of unplanned settlement is adding to the rapidly increasing pace of environmental degradation.

After the passage of the 18th Amendment, environmental protection falls within the domain of provincial governments but its impacts affect the whole country. At the country level, there is no legal tissue that binds the provinces with the center to follow a coordinated policy on environmental protection. This however will require passage of appropriate legislation and effective environmental science measurement and projections to understand the socio-economic cost of lack of investment in the environment and the long-term risks associated with environmental degradation. At the regional level, the entry point for cooperation can be explored by initiating a conversation on taking an air shed approach to improve air quality. This is particularly important with regard to management of black carbon and its rapid melting action on glaciers.

As the resource base shrinks and the population pressure continues to mount, the imbalance between supply and demand will heighten the challenge of coping with environmental protection and meeting the needs of the people, based on current production and consumption patterns driven by corporate interests and consumer demands.

Striking a balance between meeting society’s needs through sustainable approaches to development and maintaining a healthy environment are possible to achieve through modifications that require a shift in our thinking by converting from a wasteful consumer society to a responsible way of life that takes into account the needs of all living species as an essential part of maintaining the planetary equilibrium.

The Clean Green vision for Pakistan supported by a comprehensive strategy for eco-system restoration and nature-based solutions to help the country meet its adaptation and mitigation commitments are all positive steps initiated by the government. They need to be supported at all levels by the public and private sector as well as the civil society to improve the environmental indicators of Pakistan.

As the significance of the environment and its direct impact on our lives become more palpable, highlighted by the looming threat of climate change and the devastating experience of the Covid-19 pandemic, it becomes increasingly important to renew our resolve to tackle this issue not as a peripheral subject but as one of central importance for human security and the health of the planet.

The writer is the chief executive of the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change. Email: aisha@csccc.org.pk

Twitter: @aisha4climate