1

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN PAKISTAN

Presented By:

JAM ALEEM NAWAZ

EN-16/2014-15

Department of Environmental EngineeringNED University of Engineering & Technology Karachi

COURSE INSTRUCTORDr. Asif Ahmed Shaikh

2 OUTLINE

1.• Introduction

2.• Why concerns of environment in Pakistan?

3.• Current issues/Concerns of environment in Pakistan

4.• Conclusion

3 1. Introduction

Pakistan is basically an agricultural country.

Its economy depend on agro-based industries.

Poor management & unsustainable use of natural resources are leading country to environmental concerns.

42. Why concerns of environment in Pakistan?

Environmental concerns

Socio-economic

Agriculture Industrial development

Demographic

Population growth

53. Current issues/Concerns of environment in Pakistan

1. Limited natural fresh water resources

2. Quality & scarcity of potable water

3. Water pollution from raw sewage & Industrial wastes

4. Solid waste generation in Pakistan

5. Air pollution

6. Deforestation

7. Soil erosion

8. Water logging & salinity

9. Desertification

6 3.1 Limited Natural Fresh Water Resources

71% Earth surface is covered by ice & snow.

Only 0.3% of the fresh water or 0.007% earth

water can be readily accessed.

Like other developing countries of world,

Pakistan is also facing critical water shortage.

Among 2.5 % of fresh water

7 Water availability (m3/C/year)

1951 1990 20250

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Water availability (m3/C/year)Pakistan India China

8 Water availability (m3/C/year)

Another study shows that water availability in Pakistan is going to alarming situation.

1996-97 2006 20250

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Water availability (m3/C/year)

Pakistan

9 3.2 Quality & Scarcity of potable water

Water quality of most of rivers, lakes, ground aquifers of the country not to be safe for human consumption.

Study conducted by PCRWR about water quality of 21 cities 6 rivers and 10 reservoirs of the country in 2002-2006.

Conclusion of study reveals that an average of 84-89% of water sources throughout the country have water quality below the recommended for human consumption.

10

Source pH Turbidity(NTU)

TDS (mg/l) Coliform (MPN/100ml) E.coli (MPN/100ml)

/WHO Guidelines 6.5-8.5 <5 <1000 Must not be detectable in any 100ml sample

Must not be detectable in any 100ml sample

Rawal dam 7.9 24 208 >16 >16Sutlej River 7.5 694 580 >16 >16Mangla dam 8.2 4 93 >16 >16Ravi River 7.5 670 127 >16 >16Chenab River 7.6 580 115 >16 >16Kabul River 6.1 774 120 >16 >16Swat River 7.3 36 46 >16 >16Indus River 7.6 76 84 >16 >16Kanpur dam 8.1 2 222 >16 >16Tarbela dam 7.9 52 94 >16 >16Hanna lake 7.5 11 385 >16 >16Manchar lake 7.6 134 5318 >16 5Hub dam 7.2 5 743 >16 >16Jehlum River 7.8 419 132 >16 >16Hamal lake 7.3 12 4652 >16 >16Chashma lake 7.8 183 132 >16 >16

11 3.3 Water pollution from raw sewage & industrial effluents It has been estimated that around 2000MGD of sewage is being

discharged to surface water bodies in Pakistan. Latest estimates reveal that total quantity of wastewater produced in

Pakistan is 2637MGD, including 1846.6MGD from municipal and 790MGD from industrial.

The total wastewater discharge to major rivers is 1075MGD which includes 868MGD from municipal and 207MGD of industrial effluent.

It has been estimated only 1% of industrial wastewater in Pakistan is treated before discharge.

12 Wastewater discharge of major citiesCity Urban

population (lacs) 1998

Total wastewaterProduced (MGD)

% of total Receiving water body

Karachi 9,339,023 365 26.3 Arabian sea

Lahore 5,143,495 173 12.5 Ravi river, irrigation canals

Faisalabad 2,008,861 78 5.6 River Ravi, River Chenab

Gujranwala 1,132,509 43 3.1 SCRAP drains, vegetable farms

Rawalpindi 1,409,768 24 1.8 River soan, vegetable farms

Sheikhupura 870,110 9 0.7 SCRAP drains

Multan 1,197,384 40 2.9 River Chenab, irrigation canals

Sialkot 713,552 11.46 0.8 River Ravi, irrigation canals

Hyderabad 1,166,894 31 2.2 River Indus, SCRAP drains, irrigation canals

Peshawar 982,816 31.37 2.3 Kabul River

Other 19,475,588 583.48 41.8 -

Total 43,440,000 1389.31 100

13 3.4 Solid waste generation in Pakistan

According to various studies conducted on waste management in the country about 54,888 tons of solid waste is generated daily in urban areas of Pakistan.

On basis of annual growth rate of 2.6% in population an estimated projection of solid waste is 71,018 tons/d by the end of year 2015.

About 60 % is collected by municipal authorities, and 30-50% is not collected in most of the cities.

Average waste generation in country vary from 0.283kg/C/d to 0.613kg/C/d.

City Population (millions) 1998

Population (millions) 2004

Solid waste generation rate(kg/c/d)

Solid waste generated (tons/d)

Solid waste generated(Tons/year)

Karachi 9.269 10.818 0.613 6632 2,420,680

Faisalabad 1.979 2.307 0.319 902 329,230

Hyderabad 1.151 1.343 0.563 756 275,940

Gujranwala 1.124 1.312 0.469 615 224,475

Lahore 5.143 6.4 0.515 5000 1,825,000

Peshawar 0.988 1.153 0.489 564 205,860Quetta 0.560 0.654 0.378 247 90,155Banu 0.046 0.054 0.439 24 8,760Sibi 0.082 0.095 0.283 27 9,855other urban areas 27.261 31.818 0.453 14,414 5,261,110Total of urban areas 42.458 49.554 4.078 24,181 8,826,065Rural areas 88.21 102.853 0.283 29,108 10,624,420Sub total 130.121 152.407 4.361 53,289 19,450,4853% hazardous 1599 583,635Grand total 54,888 20,034,120

153.5 Air pollution in Pakistan

Air pollution is rapidly growing environmental concern in Pakistan Some major causes of ambient air quality deterioration in the

country are Highly inefficient use of energy Accelerated growth in vehicle population and vehicle kilometers

travelled Increasing industrial activity without air emission control Open burning of solid waste Use of ozone depleting substances (ODSs)

16Average air pollutants in Karachi

Residential Areas (june 2005)

Traffic intersection (june 2005)

020406080

100120140 SO2 concentration

SO2 (ug/m3) WHO guidelines

Residential areas (june 2005)

Traffic intersection (june 2005)

0

50

100

150

200NO2 concentration

NO2 (ug/m3) WHO guidelines

Residential areas (june 2005)

Traffic intersection (june 2005)

0100200300400500600 PM concentration

PM (ug/m3) WHO guidelines

0150300

PM10 concentration

PM10 (ug/m3) WHO guidelines

17 Ambient air quality of Islamabad & major cities Punjab.

City SO2 (ppb)

NOx (ppm) CO (ppm) TSP (ug/m3)

Islamabad 28.5 148.5 1.55 520

Lahore 44.6 156.6 2.82 709

Rawalpindi 30.7 74.7 1.83 895

WHO Guidelines 36-52 - 9.0 150-230

18 3.6 Deforestation According to a study that forest, scrub and trees on farmland covers 4.2 million

hectares or 4.8% of the country. The deforestation rate has been estimated 0.2-0.5% per annum, the worlds

second highest rate of deforestation. Two recent studies revealed that Pakistan’s woody biomass is declining at a rate

of 4-6% per year. The principal cause of deforestation is the consumption of fuel wood and

timber. The majority (40%) of the forests are either conifers or scrubs. Almost 7000-9000 hectares deforested annually, this rate is severe in north part

of country where per capita consumption is 190 times greater due to severe winter.

It is estimated Pakistan’s woody biomass will be consumed with in next 10-15 years

19 3.7 Soil erosion

In Pakistan around 15.9 million hectares of land (18% of total is affected by soil erosion).

Out of this 11,172,000 hectares (11.1 million hectares) affected by water erosion, while 4,760,000 hectares (4.76 million hectares) affected by wind erosion.

Soil loss by water erosion is estimated to be 150-165 tones/ha/year in the Indus catchment between Tarbela reservoir and upstream.

Wind erosion is reducing productivity of land by 1.5 - 7.5% per year. It is quite common in the sandy desert of Thal, Cholistan, Tharparkar and

sandy areas along Makran coast.

203.8 Water logging and salinity

According to soil survey of Pakistan, the total water logged summer rain area in the country is 4.11 million hectares. And water logged area doubled during post monsoon.

High water table has serious adverse effects on agriculture. Over 25 % of the Indus basin the water table has risen to 2m of soil surface, in result 40000 hectares of land being lost.

Over 5.7 million hectares land is salt affected and 2.4 million hectares is highly saline according to soil survey of Pakistan.

The soil of 13.6 million hectares was surveyed 23% of this in Sindh and 13% in the Punjab.

213.9 Desertification

Desertification is a process that turns productive land into non-productive desert. It mainly occurs in semi arid areas (mean rainfall less than 60mm).

According to an estimate more than 60% of the natural grazing area have production level lower than one third of country has been classified as under risk of desertification (45mha).

Deforestation, over cultivation, excessive cutting of fuel wood and incorrect irrigation practices all have a share in this problem.

22Conclusion

A number of serious environmental problems are inherent in the country, which are of great ecological concern in terms of its sustainable economic future.

Only 1% of the industrial wastewater is treated before discharge There are serious sewage & effluent problems and lack of sanitation

affecting the natural resources and posing health risks.  Quality of drinking water is not fit for human consumption. Water scarcity is also going to alarming condition. The use of raw materials is also inefficient and many reusable resources are

discarded as waste.

23Conclusion

The major constraint to overcoming these problems, in-fact perhaps the main contributor to their intensity is the population growth, which is very high in contrast to the natural limited resources that are available to the people.