Combatting climate change
We need urgent solutions to meet the biggest challenge of the future
By Mohammad Niaz
The environmental degradation and the buzz word 'climate change' have caused growing concern and urgency among scientists and conservationists to evolve solutions to cope with the growing environmental challenges. Provided socioeconomic and technological development, increased number of human beings and their multiplying demands exert additional pressure because of the fact that every person is registering an impact of its own kind on the environment. That in past and present the emissions of green house gases (GHGs) have contributed to the global warming and climate change phenomenon, the world is now on track of future climate change.

A wishful thinking
One can only hope that labourers would not be disappointed after the announcement of the forthcoming budget
By Zulfiqar Shah
For Mohammad Anwar, 40, a power loom worker in Karachi's Baldia town life has never been easy but for the last one year he has been what he would like to describe "very tough". He works in one of the hundreds of small power loom units spread over the Baldia town. No raise in wages despite the fact that local factory owners' association had a written agreement with workers following their protest in May last year, frequent electric breakdowns and deteriorating law and order situation has resulted in further decline in his tiny piece rate earnings: two of his sons stopped going to school, his wife had fallen sick several times in a month and Rs500 was added to monthly rent of a one-room quarter he shares with his six other family members.

Perhaps one should not be surprised at the patent lack of interest that the Pakistani intelligentsia has demonstrated in the recently concluded Indian elections. After all, the war that is raging within our own country does not permit us the luxury to pay more than scant attention to goings-on next door. In any case, many people might say, the incumbent Congress Party has recaptured power, which suggests that little has changed and there is not much to analyse.

The fact is that India has much more to do with our fortunes than we are typically willing to admit. It is commonplace for us to attribute everything that goes wrong in Pakistan to the Indians (conspiracy theories about RAW's support for Taliban insurgents are becoming ever more popular), but given how significant a role India -- or rather the alleged Indian threat -- plays in Pakistan's political and intellectual discourses, it is disturbing that so little time and effort is invested in trying to understand the peculiarities and contradictions within Indian politics.

Of course, even the war that is currently spreading in the NWFP and FATA has much to do with India. The very jihadi forces that are now being depicted as existential enemies of the state have long been lauded for bleeding India in Kashmir and (in related vein) securing 'strategic depth' vis-a-vis India in Afghanistan. That the state has let the same jihadi forces takeover large swathes of territory in the NWFP and FATA without protest owes itself to the continued commitment to this India-centric strategic vision. Despite the military assault in Malakand and Waziristan, there is no conclusive evidence that the India syndrome will not continue to shape the Pakistani state's foreign and defence policies.

For this immediate reason and more, it is very important to understand what has gone on in India over the last few months, during and after the multi-phase election campaign. First, most observers perceive that the Congress has managed to secure another term in power in large part because none of its major political opponents offers a meaningful alternative. On the one hand, there is the religious right represented by the BJP, which has not been able to distinguish itself on the policy front. It has also not been able to make any further inroads through the use of its ideological card of Hindu supremacism.

It should be remembered that, in a manner not dissimilar to the rise of the right in Pakistan through the 1970s and 1980s, in India too the right emerged as a major force on the basis of an exclusivist politics. The BJP's coming to power in the wake of its stunning electoral triumph in the 1999 election was probably a one-off. It is unlikely that the Indians will ever vote the right back into power unless its political programme represents a clear alternative to secular forces.

Of secular forces, it has been the two Communist parties that have historically claimed to be the genuine representatives of India's poor. In 2004, the Communists won more seats than they had ever done by emphasising their commitment to a pro-poor agenda in which the neo-liberal policies championed by the BJP would be done away with. The Communists were not true to their word, and the bigger of the two parties which controlled the state government in West Bengal, the CPI(M), directly contradicted its own claims by creating an export processing zone that resulted in a massive, high-profile confrontation between the government and workers in Nandigram. In a way, the Communists were punished by the electorate for their inability to prove themselves a genuine alternative to the Congress.

The other important dimension of the electoral result is the number of seats won by regional parties. This trend has become more and more pronounced over the last few election campaigns and is yet another reflection of the fact that none of the national-level parties distinguish themselves from one another on the basis of their political programmes. The intensification of regionalism also reflects the Indian state's coming to terms with the articulation of regional identities, which it has not always been so keen to do. India now has at least 22 officially recognised languages and states (or what we in Pakistan call provinces) are free to choose their official language. The Centre continues to exercise a vice-like grip on some states, including Kashmir and Assam, but generally there has been a considerable measure of decentralisation over time.

All in all, there is much to learn from the Indian election result. If nothing else, it suggests that the common Indian citizen does exercise some power over the levers of decision-making, and that the very fact of the process continuing uninterrupted is as important as who wins and who loses. Then again, the result also shows just how limited the options have become for the average voter in the era of neo-liberalism and anti-terrorism. There is a pervasive sense that even those who claim to be against the system itself are unwilling and/or unable to provide a genuine alternative to it.

As far as Pakistan is concerned, it is not altogether clear that any of the major political forces in India have pushed for in the past, or will in the future, a sustainable peace. This is where the similarities between the Indian and Pakistani states is crystal clear for everyone to see: in India, the security apparatus of the state, while not nearly as unaccountable as its counterpart in Pakistan, does exercise much more power than it should in a democratic dispensation. The Indian establishment has much to lose from peace with Pakistan (and for that matter with other countries in South Asia), because it is keen to make India a 'global power' with acknowledged nuclear capacity to boot.

For their part, the Communist parties did distinguish themselves from both the Congress and the BJP over the last two years or so by their opposition to the so-called 'strategic partnership' between India and the United States. Clearly, this did not offset their inability to provide a meaningful economic alternative to their own constituents, but nevertheless their stand is worth noting. In any case, Indian democracy has much to teach us, and for a change we should look to our big neighbour with something other than a suspicious glare.

Karachi's chronic water-deficiency problems stem from the fact that the city has long been caught in the nutcracker of a burgeoning population, on the one hand, and limits on the amount of water the city can draw from the River Indus at Kotri Barrage on the other. To compound the problem, the Hub Dam reservoir -- the only other source of bulk water supply to the city -- periodically goes dry, as it did in the early years of this millennium due to a six-year drought in its catchment area, reducing aggregate supplies to the city by 80 million gallons a day. These factors have combined to cut water availability for the city's current population of about 16 million to below 25 gallons per person per day, or less than half the figure of 70 gallons per person per day recommended by the United Nations as the minimum quantity needed for urban communities in developing countries.

Karachi's population is increasing by an estimated 6 percent a year. Three percent of this is indigenous growth and three percent is migration from other parts of the country. To sustain this growing population, Karachi needs an additional 200 million gallons a day of water over the next ten years. But it cannot draw any more water from the Indus where downstream flows have been dropping for years because of less snowfall in the mountains due to global warming, and the off-take of more water by Punjab from upstream reservoirs in the Indus basin river system for irrigation and other needs. Water disputes between Punjab and Sindh have become common, with Sindh accusing Punjab of "stealing" more than its fair share of Indus water and Punjab hotly denying the charge.

The barrage that India is building on the River Jhelum in occupied Kashmir and the Baghliar Dam it is building on the River Chenab, both of which are in contravention of the Indus Waters Treaty, are likely to further reduce downstream flows in the Indus, into which the Jhelum and the Chenab feed. Prolonged talks between India and Pakistan to resolve this issue have failed, with India insisting that it has the right to go ahead with the construction of the barrage and the dam and Pakistan arguing that India has no such right. As if all this were not bad enough, India is now also building a dam on the Neelum River (a tributary of the Jhelum) in an effort to preempt Pakistan's plan to build a dam on the same river, which flows along the Line of Control. Talks to resolve this issue have also failed.

Over the past twenty years, low flows in the Indus downstream of the Kotri Barrage have resulted in severe damage to the river's delta ecosystem, including its mangrove forests and fisheries. Drawing any more water from the Indus for Karachi would only aggravate the problems of the delta region and could lead to an environmental catastrophe. Yet Karachi has to have more water to meet its growing needs. The question is: where is this additional water to come from? It cannot come from the Hub Dam reservoir, which depends on rainfall for its supplies and is, for this reason, an unreliable source at best. Nor can it come from underground water sources because aquifers in the Karachi region contain only brackish water that is unfit for human consumption. Moreover, the brackish water that is available from such sources is limited and cannot meet Karachi's growing industrial, commercial and domestic needs. Given all this, the answer to Karachi's water problems would seem to lie in setting up large-scale desalination plants to convert seawater into safe potable water.

In this context, the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has initiated a scheme to set up a desalination plant to supply 25 million gallons a day of clear and hygienic water to Karachi, at a foreign exchange cost of $60 million. The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has provided a grant of $287,480 to partially fund the feasibility study for the project. The plant, which is to be built on KPT land, would not only supply potable water to the KPT for its own needs and for ships visiting the port, but also to the Water and Sanitation Department of Karachi City District Government for industrial and domestic use.

KPT officials have described the project as a "major initiative" that would also result in the transfer of water-related technology to Pakistan. They say the project can serve as a model for other desalination plants in Pakistan. In a related development, the Defence Housing Authority set up a desalination plant in Karachi with a capacity of three million gallons of water a day. The plant is also supposed to generate 56 megawatts of electricity. But the project has been bogged down with technical problems and is still having teething troubles. One can only hope that these problems will be sorted out soon and that the plant will come fully on-stream.

DHA COGEN, the plant's owner company, and Siemens are running the plant in collaboration with DHA. The plant is meant to supply desalinated potable water to the DHA area. The water is sold to the Clifton Cantonment Board, which performs the civic body functions in the DHA area. The excess electricity generated by the plant is meant to be sold to the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation. Work on the project is more than four years behind schedule.

The public sector-private sector partnership ventures sponsored by the KPT and DHA are the first desalination plants on this scale in Pakistan. They have been followed by two desalination plants that the City District Government of Karachi is building near Hawk's Bay in partnership with a foreign company. The key to the success of such ventures is the way they are structured.

Water service providers throughout the world face the challenge of meeting growing demand. A number of approaches may be considered. One approach is to improve water distribution systems' operations in order to reduce unaccounted for water. This results in augmenting water supplies by reducing losses from leaks, theft or other causes. Other options include better supply source management, promotion of water conservation technologies, and the introduction of tariff structures that discourage excessive water use.

At some point, however, water utilities will require additional supplies to meet growing demand from domestic, commercial and industrial consumers. In Karachi's case that point was reached more than ten years ago, underscoring the urgency of finding a solution to the problem.

A recipient of Tajima Award-International Development Network of Japan and Gerlach Award for International Cooperation, Prof Dr Saeeda Asadullah Khan is working as vice-chancellor of Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Rawalpindi, since March 2007. She did her PhD in English from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA, in 1982; and Master's in English and American Literature from Edinboro State (College) University, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1977.

A respected educationist, Dr Saeeda has vast experience of teaching and research at home and abroad. She served as professor / dean at National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, from June 2001 to March 2007; and as professor / pro-vice-chancellor at FJWU from 1999 to 2001. She has the distinction of working as coordinator for linkage programmes between NUML and George Mason University, USA; University of Franche-Comte, France; and Confucius Institute, China. She is also a Higher Education Commission (HEC)-approved supervisor for MPhil and PhD candidates.

Dr Saeeda has command over six languages: Arabic, English, French, Sindhi, Turkish and Urdu. She remained the editor of NUML's research magazine, and is also a member of Sindh Textbook Board and Sindh Bureau of Curriculum. The News on Sunday interviewed Dr Saeeda Asadullah Khan recently. Excerpts follow:

The News on Sunday: At which level of education should we concentrate: primary, secondary or tertiary?

Saeeda Asadullah Khan: If you look at Pakistan's education sector, every level is equally important. The primary level feeds the secondary level, which in turn feeds the tertiary level. Our tragedy, somehow or the other, is that we concentrate on one level and forget about the others, so there is a disconnect. If the policymakers make a genuine effort to understand what are our indigenous problems as a nation, where are we investing our money, how many people are getting benefit from it, why our literacy rate has not gone up and why standard of education has declined, probably they would find out this disconnect. As an educationist, I would say that we should devise a formula and concentrate on all levels by allocating funds accordingly. There must be coordination between different entities that impart education. What are our ultimate objectives? This is the primary question that we should try to answer while making any educational policy.

TNS: To increase literacy in the country, more funds should be allocated to rural or urban areas?

SAK: We have to allocate funds properly because both are equally important. Education is the basic right of every citizen, whether living in a rural area or an urban area. Education for all for is a global slogan, so I would say that we should pay equal attention to both and allocate funds accordingly.

TNS: There seems to be a lot of focus on science and technology these days, mostly at the cost of liberal arts, humanities and social sciences. Is this fair? If not, what needs to be done?

SAK: Internationally, there was a lot of focus on science and technology until recently, but now this has changed and the importance of liberal arts, humanities and social sciences is being realised again. There is a shift in the mindset of people and now they understand that without liberal arts, humanities and social sciences, science cannot address the issues that we are facing. In Pakistan, we are also following the same path and there is a growing realisation of the importance of liberal arts, humanities and social sciences. However, there is still a mindset in our society that by studying science and technology we can earn more than we can by studying liberal arts, humanities and social

sciences. We need to do something to change this mindset.

TNS: Are you in favour of separate educational institutions for women?

SAK: I am totally if favour of separate educational institutions for women, though I have myself studied only in co-educational institutions. Even in the West, especially in the United States, they have retained separate educational institutions for women. Separate universities do not mean that the students getting degrees from these institutions will lack anything that the students of co-educational universities will posses. In Fatima Jinnah Women University, we have never discouraged students from behaving like complete human beings. We encourage our students to compete in every field. We try to provide them competitive environment, by allowing them every opportunity to participate in different events, ranging from sports to debates. For this purpose, we also arrange a Women Week every year. Invitations are sent to all universities of the country and male students are also invited to come and compete with our students.

TNS: Isn't it better to have a single university with separate campuses but same faculty for male and female students, like Islamabad's Islamic International University?

SAK: I know each and everything about Islamic International University, because I am a member of its Board of Governors. It has a separate faculty for male and female students, but male teachers can also teach female students if female teachers are not available to teach a subject. The same is the case at Fatima Jinnah Women University; anyone can teach here. We have never banned male teachers.

TNS: Are you satisfied with the performance of Fatima Jinnah Women University?

SAK: You can never be satisfied because sky is the limit. Being an educationist, I have learnt one thing: you can never say I have learnt a lot, because there is still a lot to be learnt. A teacher remains a student for the whole life. Unless you have this commitment, you can never achieve excellence in your field. However, I can say with pride that Fatima Jinnah Women University has achieved many landmarks in a short span of 10 years, mainly due to the efforts of my predecessors.

TNS: Can you name some of the students of Fatima Jinnah Women University who made it big in their fields?

SAK: The graduates of Fatima Jinnah Women University are working in almost all sectors and serving the nation. One of our students, Bushra Kiyani, is working with the IMF. Zainab Khan, the vice-president of UBL, is also our graduate. Moreover, our graduates, as well as some of our current students, are working with leading TV channels and NGOs. I am a member of selection committee of many organisations and they love to hire our graduates as faculty members. Many graduates of Fatima Jinnah Women University are also teaching at other universities.

TNS: Is Fatima Jinnah Women University doing something to hire PhD faculty members and do you have enough funds for this purpose?

SAK: Yes we are trying to hire PhD faculty members and we have sufficient funds for this purpose also, but the problem is that there are 16 universities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, thus the competition is tough. Moreover, people do not want to join as permanent faculty members, because by remaining visiting faculty members they can earn ten times more and there are lesser responsibilities. Still, we are trying our best to hire PhD faculty members.

TNS: There is a general perception that an average student of Fatima Jinnah Women University is mediocre in comparison with students of other public sector universities, as evident from a below average performance in various curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. How would you defend it?

SAK: That is totally wrong. I do not think that students of Fatima Jinnah Women University are mediocre in comparison with students of other public sector universities. I would rather say their performance is better than students of other universities. As I said earlier, I am a member of Board of Governors of Islamic International University and they love to hire our graduates.

TNS: Are you satisfied with the admission policy of your university as far as MPhil and PhD intakes are concerned?

SAK: Yes, I think our criteria for admission to MPhil and PhD is of international level. We first take a written test and then interview every student. We try to assess their research and thinking ability, as well as their writing skills, because if you do not have good writings skills, you can never succeed at this level. If you do not have the ability to write, then it would be difficult for you to become a good research scholar.

TNS: Why the subject of Women Studies has been made compulsory for all students? Is there a need for this subject at this level?

SAK: If you had gone through the course outline of this subject, you would not have asked this question. It has been made compulsory in order to create awareness among the students that being a woman in Pakistan is not a disqualification. Most of the students that we take have done their FA and BA as private students or from Allama Iqbal Open University, so they have no awareness. Therefore, we try to make them realise that they have the potential to deliver.

TNS: What are main problems faced by Fatima Jinnah Women University?

SAK: The biggest problem faced by us is that we do not have foreign qualified faculty, though we have sufficient funds.

TNS: Are you satisfied with the role of the Higher Education Commission?

SAK: Yes, as far as Fatima Jinnah Women University is concerned, I am fully satisfied with the role of the Higher Education Commission, because it has always tried to facilitate us. It is up to us to do proper homework and make the commission release funds for our projects.

The state and the citizen have a contractual relationship based on the principle of trust. The nature of this trust is economic: between a creditor and debtor. When a child is born -- a new citizen arrives in the republic -- the state gives the credit of security. That is the original function of the state, because it has been taxing the parents of the newborn citizen. It means that the state was originally a borrower and now -- by providing physical, psychological and medical security to the newborn -- it is being a good borrower, by returning the debt of the taxes collected from the parents. At least that is the theory.

According to the second essay in Friedrich Nietzsche's book 'On the Genealogy of Morals', the entire system of morality is based on the credit of safety provided by the public sphere and the subsequent moral debt of the individual. It is the same relationship between the taxpaying individual (the lender) and the state (the borrower). When a state taxes an individual, it is making certain promises, which are supposed to be already public through various documents and codes, such as the constitution, the penal codes for the violators of the social contract, the bylaws for running social welfare departments and the healthcare policy, etc.

These documents and codes work as guarantees for the taxpayer or the lender. The guarantee is based on the assumption that the state cannot renege on its own promises, thus the individual readily pays the taxes. By the same token, the state derives the moral right to punish those who evade taxes.

In Pakistan, the entire system of trust has collapsed. The state taxes the individual, but does not keep the promises on which the right to tax the citizens is based. On their part, the citizens evade taxes because they have been betrayed time and again by successive governments, which have not been able to provide universal health care, education, social security, etc.

The average Pakistani citizen is virtually in a desert of social security, despite the fact that every cola bottle, every tea-bag, every pinch of salt, every drop of oil he or she buys includes several indirect taxes. If the citizen tries to avoid certain taxes, it is because of the deficit of trust on behalf of the state. This scribe has seen the working of many social welfare states, which was also the ideal form of the state as expressed in many founding documents of this country, and the citizens of these states are often satisfied with the facilities and utilities they are receiving in return for the taxes they are paying.

For the entire year of 2007, I paid my taxes in Germany. By Nov 2007, the state started declaring publicly that it had achieved the annual tax target, thus Dec 2007 was going to be a tax-free month for the salaried class. This was a level of transparency I had never experienced in my own country and the pay for December arrived without any tax deductions. Moreover, the taxes I had started paying by working in the German economy had also entitled me to a health care card that worked in the entire European Union. It meant that for paying taxes in Germany, the German government was making sure that I was also going to be looked after in Portugal, Spain, Iceland, Norway, etc, regardless of the cost of treatment in those countries.

Now look at the difference in the promises we read in government documents as incentives for paying taxes and the actual delivery of those promises. For example, there is not even a single footpath in my locality, Mozang, which is suitable for walking. It makes me think that the Clause 9 of the 1973 Constitution ("No person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law") is a false promise. My lungs are not safe when I walk on a road because of all the smoke. My ears are not safe because of the noise. My entire being is not safe when I walk on a footpath. Therefore, the burden of proving the Clause 9 of the Constitution a true and believable promise rests with the state, so that I am happy when I pay my taxes.

In Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association successfully argued a case against environmental pollution by citing Article 32 of the Bangladeshi Constitution: "No person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty save in accordance with law." The argument was based on the universal agreement that environmental pollution is dangerous to human beings; therefore, the constitutional "right to life" also inherently contains the right to clean air, clean water and a healthy environment. The court, in its decision, directed the government to control pollution in the country.

When the state does not keep its promises and still continues to extract revenue by direct and indirect taxation levied on its citizens, is it not an immoral state similar to the criminals who rob and steal? What options do the citizens have when dealing with an immoral and untrustworthy state? To solve the problem posed by the trust deficit on behalf of the state, various political theorists have suggested different solutions.

Herbert Spencer, for example, argued in 1884 that the citizens should be given the right to ignore the state too in the same way as the state ignores them after extracting taxes. He called it the Right to Voluntary Outlawry, because "citizenship involves payment of taxes" and because the state is "simply an agent employed in common by a number of individuals to secure to them certain advantages, the very nature of the connection implies that it is for each to say whether he will employ such an agent or not." Other political theorists have also argued that the citizens have the right to stop paying taxes if they think the state is not fulfilling its promises.

Therefore, the burden of proof, after repetitive betrayals, is on the state of Pakistan. The state has to prove that it is a trustworthy, promise-keeping borrower before it goes to the citizens again for taxing them in the next fiscal year. If the state continues to break its promises, it should also allow citizens the option to opt out of the mutually binding social and moral contract. After all, the public sphere is supposed to be fair, transparent and un-exploitative.

On the sidelines

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was established for rescue, relief and rehabilitation of those affected by natural as well as human-induced disasters. It was supposed to "act as the implementing, coordinating and monitoring body for disaster management". However, in the wake of the ongoing military operation in the Malakand division, a Special Support Group has been formed for recovery and rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), which shows the government's lack of confidence in the NDMA's ability to manage

the crisis.

The NDMA was established through the National Disaster Management Ordinance 2007 to coordinate and facilitate the implementation of national plans on disaster management. Its mandate is not only to manage disasters, but also to provide technical assistance and plans to the provinces for the purposes of "preparedness, response, recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction". Besides this, the NDMA is also responsible for promoting awareness about disaster management among the general public.

Ironically, the federal government has engaged Mangla Corps, instead of the NDMA, for providing assistance to the IDPs, whose number has exceeded three million according to the latest estimates. This raises many questions about the efficacy of the disaster management authority, though it had been engaged in a number of similar activities in the past. For example, the NDMA was tasked with relief and rehabilitation of those affected by the flood in Balochistan in 2007 and by the earthquake in Ziarat in 2008, besides providing relief to the IDPs during the previous military operation in 2008.

After learning lessons from the Oct 8, 2005, earthquake, which shook AJK and some parts of the NWFP, the government conceived the idea of a comprehensive system for disaster management at federal, provincial and district levels to prevent and mitigate disaster risks, instead of emergency response only. In this regard, the National Disaster Management Commission was established under the chairmanship of the prime minister. The commission's members also included leaders of the opposition in the Senate and the National Assembly. The NDMA was made the secretariat of the commission for implementation of policies and plans, as well as for developing guidelines, for disaster management.

Following the failure of the Swat peace deal, a full-scale military operation was launched in the Malakand division against the militants and subsequent migration of the local population from the affected areas was always on the cards. However, when the exodus of civilians from Swat and Buner started, the NDMA was given no role. Instead, the federal government formed a new body to coordinate with the NWFP government for relief and rehabilitation of the IDPs.

When a concerned government official was asked why the government has formed a new ad hoc body to deal with the crisis of IDPs, he said since the magnitude of this human-induced disaster was large, the NDMA would have failed to cope with it single-handedly. Therefore, the federal government had to call the army to mitigate the sufferings of those who had left their home for the sake of peace in the region. The official maintained that there was no blinking the fact that the Special Support Group was doing its best to provide relief items and medical facilities to the IDPs living in different camps throughout the NWFP.

As far as the absence of the NDMA from the scene of the current disaster is concerned, another government official said undoubtedly it was the job of the authority to respond to such crises. "However, this organisation is still in its embryonic stage and is operational only at the federal level," he added. It is important to remember that provincial disaster management authorities (PDMAs) and district disaster management authorities (DDMAs) have not become fully operational yet. More importantly, the total strength of the NDMA is currently 111, including 26 officers, and rehabilitation of millions of IDPs had been impossible for it at this stage. Hence, the federal government had to rely on the army for speedy and timely assistance to the IDPs.

However, some reliable sources inform on condition of anonymity that the NDMA was initially involved in the management of the crisis and it also made an action plan for the IDPs. This plan was even discussed with American officials during President Asif Ali Zardari's recent visit to the country. The American officials lauded the action plan, because it covered all aspects of rehabilitation of the IDPs. The sources further said the NDMA had developed the culture of contingency planning and it had the capacity to deal with this kind of situation. Unfortunately, however, difference of opinion among the stakeholders, including the NWFP government and donor agencies, regarding the number of IDPs and the strategy to be adopted for providing relief to them sidelined the NDMA.

A number of experts stressed the need to involve the NDMA at all levels to mitigate the sufferings of the IDPs, because "we have invested time and money in establishing this organisation for disaster management." MK Hussain, a social worker, said the NDMA should at least provide guidance to the NWFP government, because it has the mandate to lay down guidelines for preparing disaster management plans and providing necessary technical assistance to the provincial governments. Baqir Khan, who works with an NGO involved in relief activities for the IDPs, said the NDMA should have been involved, so that it could at least learn lessons for managing disasters in the future.

The current disaster has highlighted many weaknesses of the government, such as lack of coordination between its various agencies. To deal with the crisis, the government formed the Emergency Response Unit, rather than effectively establishing the PDMA and DDMA. Therefore, all the provincial governments need to show seriousness in establishing disaster management authorities at provincial and district levels without further delay. Another issue that needs serious attention is developing coordination between NGOs and donor agencies working on disaster management and rehabilitation of the IDPs and the federal government and its concerned departments.

Undoubtedly, the formation of the NDMA was a step in the right direction. However, there is a need to establish at the earliest a full-fledged setup of disaster management at provincial and district levels too. Moreover, the expertise and experience of the NDMA should be used during rehabilitation of the IDPs. Most importantly, we should not wait for another disaster to point out our shortcomings and inabilities.

The building and construction sector is vital for a country's growth and advancement. According to a United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report, titled 'Building and Climate Change: Status, Challenges and Opportunities' (2007), the building and construction sector typically provides 5-10 percent of employment at the national level and normally generates 5-15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). It lays the foundation stone for sustainable development, by providing opportunities for housing, work, social interaction and economic development. But, at the same time, it may also have negative impacts, particularly on the environment.

Viewed in the perspective of rising global temperatures, dwindling water and energy sources, and deterioration of natural habitats, the building and construction sector has serious implications. For example, it has the seminal outcome of global warming on account of significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The building sector has a large share in the world's total energy consumption. According to the International Energy Agency (2005), 30-40 percent of the worldwide energy is used in buildings. Up to 90 percent of the energy is used during the operational stage of buildings, for the purposes of heating, cooling and lighting. The dominant source of energy generation for this purpose is fossil fuel burning in high- and middle-income countries, while biomass is relied upon in low-income regions.

Interestingly, the consumption of energy, including electricity, in residential buildings is more as compared with commercial buildings. In rural areas of developing and developed countries, the residential consumption of energy is many times more than the non-residential consumption. Certain salient characteristics influence energy consumption patterns in buildings; including the climatic zone where the building is located, the type of the building, and the economic development and status of the area. In terms of international averages, 60 percent of residential energy is consumed for space heating or cooling, depending upon the climate zone.

According to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), building-related carbon dioxide emissions (including the use of electricity) could increase from 8.6 billion tonnes in 2004 to 11.4-15.6 billion tonnes in 2030. The demand for energy in the building sector is ever increasing, especially in the scenario of rapidly growing economies of developing countries. The expanding economies of Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America shall contribute substantially to the carbon dioxide emissions from the building sector.

The silver lining is that the expected huge building boom in developing countries also provides an unprecedented opportunity to minimise or reduce the emissions, through employment of alternate energy or energy efficiency measures. The IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, based on the results of more than 80 studies in 36 countries worldwide, concludes that with proven and commercially available technologies, there is a global potential to reduce approximately 30 percent of the projected emissions from residential and commercial buildings by 2030 very cost effectively. The potential is the highest and, at the same time, the cheapest among all sectors studied. In Europe only, more than one-fifth of the present energy consumption and up to 45 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year could be saved by 2010 by applying more ambitious standards to new and existing buildings.

Both natural and social scientists have come to believe that there are no characteristically universal solutions for improving the energy efficiency of buildings, because of their variety and uncontrolled variables. General guidelines must be adjusted for different climatic, economic and social conditions in different countries. The report titled 'The Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism, and the Buildings and Construction Sector', published by the UNEP's Sustainable Buildings and Construction Initiative (2008), refers to energy saving as an achievable goal through the adoption of a range of measures, including smart design, improved insulation, low-energy appliances, high efficiency ventilation and heating / cooling systems, and incentives to building users to conserve energy.

Integrated building designs and the modification of building shapes, orientations and related attributes can also reduce energy demand, as they can change energy-wasting behaviour and improve operations and maintenance. The report also draws attention to renewable energy sources, such as solar heat for heating and cooling of a building. But the writers do make a point that the building sector does not offer a few big emission reduction strategies; rather, it calls for many small, carefully designed and meticulous interventions in a large number of buildings.

In Pakistan, energy conservation in buildings and alternate sources of energy at minimal possible cost offer multiple dividends in the ever mounting energy crisis scenario. Since the last two years, the country is facing an energy crisis. Though per capita electricity consumption is around 500-kilowatt hours per year, which is one-fifth of the global average of 2,500-kilowatt hours per year, six to 18 hours of outages during summers have been appalling. The scenario for gas is also not much different. The indigenous gas discovered from gas fields located across the country is meeting only about 50 percent of Pakistan's energy needs. Shortage of gas and electricity has made many local industries stop their operations and further closure of industries is feared if drastic steps are not taken immediately.

In Pakistan, the diversity of buildings and their distinct usage pose a challenge to energy conservation measures. The investment cost is high enough to discourage any energy efficiency initiative. The decisionmakers' level of information on possible solutions is deplorable. The systemic barricades, lack of focus, disintegrated approach and commitment deficit makes the implementation of energy efficiency measures a hard nut to crack. Side by side, we must consider that the energy efficient products, services and materials are either not available or are too costly for the general masses caught in the quagmire of inflation.

The Building Energy Code of Pakistan was prepared by The National Energy Conservation Centre in 1990 and is now undergoing a review by the Ministry of Environment. It is expected that the implementation of energy codes would help control the wastage and would save up to 20-30 percent of the energy being used in buildings. The implementation of the energy codes would be initiated in the near future and would be made mandatory after five years from now, the ministry sources state.

In this scenario, we must not forget the power of end-users -- the people. Technological solutions can only be helpful when those for whom they are made are committed to implement them and are devoted to the cause. Many factors, such as age, gender, education and socioeconomic conditions, influence stakeholders' attitude towards energy efficiency and conservation, thus reducing or increasing their share of greenhouse gases. A proper analysis of these variables should be carried out to effect a behavioural change. A generic or prototypical approach may not work and get desired results. Educational and awareness raising campaigns can serve crucially in the process of ensuring energy efficiency of buildings.

(Email: asma.rashid@gcisc.org.pk)

Combatting climate change

The environmental degradation and the buzz word 'climate change' have caused growing concern and urgency among scientists and conservationists to evolve solutions to cope with the growing environmental challenges. Provided socioeconomic and technological development, increased number of human beings and their multiplying demands exert additional pressure because of the fact that every person is registering an impact of its own kind on the environment. That in past and present the emissions of green house gases (GHGs) have contributed to the global warming and climate change phenomenon, the world is now on track of future climate change.

Given current retrogressive trends, the international community celebrates the World Environment Day on June 5 each year to commemorate the opening of the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment in 1972, with the objective of enhancing awareness about environmental issues, stimulating individual and political action for betterment of the environment, and ensuring international cooperation to protect the environment from degradation.

The theme for the World Environment Day 2009, 'Your Planet Needs You -- Unite to Combat Climate Change', is a universal call for all people of all nations, regions, races, and sects. It reflects that climate change is not just the problem of one nation but of all nations, besides the fact that tackling the poverty-environment nexus is crucial for improved management of natural resources and the environment at local and global levels. A better solution for coming out of the environmental quagmire is to think globally and act locally, because global responsibility demands local responsibility. If all of us do little, we will not need to do more.

A number of driving factors and contributing indicators would cause irreparable loss to the environment, including progressive concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere, burning of fossil fuels, global warming, desertification, air and water pollution, hazardous waste, depletion of ozone layer, melting of icecaps, rising ocean levels, deforestation, depleting biodiversity and fresh water reserves, and variations in weather patterns. Given the global village scenario, it is imperative that all individuals and nations fulfil their responsibilities to combat climate change within the purview of their own commitments and obligations. The following measures can be adopted to pursue this goal proactively:

1. Establishment of wind mills and farms, as well as the promotion of solar technology. Wind and Solar energy are cheap sources to be effectively tapped for use in power generation and heating, and in the transport sector. This could be a worthwhile investment to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, such as gas, oil and coal that are active contributors of carbon dioxide that causes climate change. There is also a rising concern that the multiplying demographic demands would soon exhaust the available reserves of fossil fuels.

2. Adoption of energy efficient approaches and technologies by industries, businesses and households. Energy is one of the basic needs and requirements of everyday life. Due to increased consumerism, it is imperative that energy efficiency and improvement techniques and approaches are adopted as important measures for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Industry is the main energy consumer and carbon dioxide emitter. Introduction of improved energy efficient technologies in industry would benefit global environment and reduce energy consumption at large.

3. Because of its diversified applications, hydrogen has significant potential as an alternate future fuel, with environmentally friendly characteristics of not contributing to the GHGs emissions. In the transport sector, it is an environmentally sound alternative for gasoline, diesel, heating oil, natural gas and other fuels.

4. Energy-efficient buildings that meet energy-efficient standards. Reports indicate that emissions of carbon dioxide at global level from residential, commercial and institutional buildings over a period of two decades are estimated to increase from 1.9 Gt C/yr in 1990 to 1.9–2.9 Gt C/yr in 2010. High standard energy efficient buildings not only provide a healthier living environment to humans, but also contribute significantly to minimising environmental degradation. An energy-efficient home design, site selection, building orientation, use of materials, and lighting and appliances can provide improved comfort for occupants while helping the environment. It can also ensure decreased fuel costs in the future.

5. Promoting biomass energy. There is a likelihood that the biomass energy can not only significantly contribute to the energy requirements of developing countries having immense opportunities to materialise this, but being a carbon neutral energy it is also environmentally sound and desired. The prime sources of biomass energy include agriculture residues, municipal and industrial waste, animal waste, sewage water and carbon dioxide from flue gases. These can be converted into fuels in three states of matter: solid, liquid or gaseous fuels. If the development of biomass energy can be carried out in ways that effectively address concerns about other environmental issues (such as impacts on biodiversity) and competition with other land uses, biomass could make major contributions to both electricity and fuels markets.

6. Using environmentally sound technology, vehicles, compressed natural gas (CNG) and bio-diesel as an alternate source of fuel that reduce the GHGs emissions.

7. Controlling deforestation and increasing forest cover through afforestation. Slowing deforestation and promotion of regeneration, forestation and agro-forestry serve as the primary mitigation measures for carbon conservation and sequestration. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, about 33 million acres of forestland around the world is cut down annually. Growing crops for fuel represents another potential way of reducing GHGs by replacing fossil fuels.

8. Using bicycle instead of driving a vehicle for short distances would contribute to reduce contribution of GHGs per vehicle.

9. Adopting environmentally sound policies, plans and measures.

10. Ensuring international collaboration and coordination in minimising impacts of climate change through consistent monitoring, and compliance of the obligations and fulfilling of commitments and responsibilities under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Kyoto Protocol.

For Mohammad Anwar, 40, a power loom worker in Karachi's Baldia town life has never been easy but for the last one year he has been what he would like to describe "very tough". He works in one of the hundreds of small power loom units spread over the Baldia town. No raise in wages despite the fact that local factory owners' association had a written agreement with workers following their protest in May last year, frequent electric breakdowns and deteriorating law and order situation has resulted in further decline in his tiny piece rate earnings: two of his sons stopped going to school, his wife had fallen sick several times in a month and Rs500 was added to monthly rent of a one-room quarter he shares with his six other family members.

"Last year was very tough," he just takes a sigh after narrating his ordeal in one breath. "It has never been such a difficult time in life like the last year. It was some ill fate that struck this year." He can easily explain that ill fate: "Everything has gone up and even mere survival has become impossible." You cannot buy rice, pulses, ghee and vegetables, says Anwar, because prices of all essential items have been skyrocketing and earnings have gone down drastically. He can recall all those nights the family slept without having morsel; more haunting was his inability to take his wife to a doctor because there was no money at all.

Anwar's is not a unique story in today's Pakistan; almost 70 percent of the country's 50 million labour force has similar tale to tell, thanks to globalisation-led economic policies of donor agencies. On top of people's woes is high inflation rate that has broken the backbone of workers and other low-income groups. "God knows, things may change in few days or not," Anwar holds a hope on the basis that a co-worker told him that the prime minister in a statement had announced that "the new budget will be people-friendly". He has also been told that the President Asif Ali Zardari has brought a lot of money from abroad, which will bring down the prices of commodities.

Money brought from abroad will be spent on bringing price hike down sounds like a dream, but there are many people who expect a relief ahead of every budget. It is another story that their hopes are shattered as soon as the finance minister finishes his budget speech. Ironically, most of the budgets, including the current one -- the first budget of the PPP government, after eight years of military regime -- has not brought any relief to the common people, particularly the working class. Defence expenditure, debt servicing and public expenditures eat up 75 percent of the budget, leaving almost nothing for labourers like Anwar who keep having false expectations from the budget.

"We understand that there will be no major changes in allocations in coming budget, but we would like to see some diversion from traditional heads to those directly benefiting workers," says Mirza Maqsood, a trade union activist, while responding to the question what did the labourers want in the next budget. "We would like to see an increase in the budget for education and health, as well as increase in wages and decrease in price hike. That will be a truly labour-friendly budget," he adds.

If you look at Anwar's story, some of his problems, very much economic in nature, could have easily been solved had there been a reasonable social protection system in place in the country. Social protection schemes cover illness and schooling, in case one cannot afford due to declined wages, and some subsistence to survive when there is no work. Unfortunately, Pakistan lags behind in this very important aspect of social development. In Asian Development Bank's Social Protection Index (SPI) of 31 Asian countries, Pakistan has the lowest SPI value in South Asia and only second lowest in Asia.

Despite such low ranking and the fact that price hike, unemployment, sudden illness and other economic crises leave people devastated, because no one comes to rescue them, social protection has not been the priority of elected representatives. In the last year's federal budget, the government allocated only Rs4.8 billion to social protection, of the total outlay of Rs2.3 trillion.

Mirza's thinks that the government should allocate Rs100 billion to social protection and this amount can easily be diverted, if not from military expenditure then from debt servicing. The government allocated more than Rs600 billion for debt servicing last year. About 9 percent, suggests Mirza, should be allocated to education and health combined if we want to see a positive change. "This will have a direct impact on working classes who are deprived of both education and health facilities."

Official statistics suggest that on an average inflation was more than 20 percent last year, with food inflation as high as 35 percent. The rupee also depreciated by about 20 percent against the US dollar and all this was enough to wipe out little income of the people, particularly of the working classes. In such a depressing scenario, workers like Anwar and trade union activists like Maqsood would not like to listen to another announcement of an increase of in minimum wages, but measures that ensure every worker receives a minimum income to live a dignified life.