Environmental Impact Assessment

Pakistan perspective

Muhammad Ghayasuddin

In This Presentation !!!

Definition

Pakistan’s perspective in Detail along with

Recommendation & Guidelines

EPA Notices (Samples)

Qs about EIA

Special Thanks

References

ABBREVIATIONS

PEPA :

PAKISTAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT (1997)

IUCN :

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE & NATURAL RESOURCES

PEPO :

PAKISTAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ORDINANCE (1983)

UNCED:

UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT & DEVELOPMENT(1992)

MoE :

MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT

G A :

GOVERNMENT AGENCY

What is E I A ?

Environmental Impact Assessment means:

an environmental study comprising collection of data, prediction

of qualitative and quantitative impacts,

comparison of alternatives,

evaluation of preventive, mitigatory and compensatory

measures,

formulation of environmental management,

training plans and monitoring arrangements,

framing of recommendations and such other components as

may be prescribed.

EIA origin in Pakistan

Shortly after its creation in 1947, Pakistan adopted Lord Macaulay’s 1860 Penal

Code [covering all types of crimes, including against the environment] and

modified it when needed. In addition, separate legislation was promulgated for

addressing environmental issues from forest cutting to noise.

It was the cumulative effect of all factors plus a growing international concern for

the environment that Pakistan drafted a comprehensive law on the environment

in the mid-1970s.

on the other hand, it could not be made into the agenda of the Parliament for

years. As a last resort, the bureaucracy pushed this all through with a

Presidential Order, thus giving birth to the Pakistan Environmental Protection

Ordinance, 1983.

EIA origin in Pakistan… P-2

This Ordinance made Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) a

requirement for any proposed project with possible adverse impacts on

the environment.

EIA thus became part of the project planning process, and it was made

mandatory from July 1, 1994, to seek prior approval of the relevant

Environmental Protection Agency (PEPO, 1983).

For enabling the project proponents in designing EIAs, the Pak-EPA

first developed an elaborate form, and later completed guidelines and

regulations.

Hence, EIAs are conducted for all large developmental projects,

although with varying attention to public participation and

Environmental Management Plans.

The Operational order period

The newly formed Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency was

struggling on two fronts;

First to save the existence of the Agency by having the Presidential

Ordinance endorsed by Pakistan’s Parliament;

Secondly to prepare the necessary rules and guidelines for pollution

control and EIA.

One major achievement of the Pakistan EPA was the development of a 16-

page “Proforma for Environmental Impact Assessment” (Pak-EPA, 1990).

This was essentially an outline for an EIA Report that helped in presenting

the findings in a cohesive manner.

EIAs during that period limited to large developmental projects, such as

Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project (1991), and the oil and gas fields like

Dhodak (1991) and Qadirpur (1992).

The Operational order period… P-2

The Pakistan EPA continued its efforts on establishing environmental

standards.

Special committees were formed for such purposes with representation

from the concerned Government institutions, academia and the

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (SRO,

1993).

It is also a bitter fact that several governments in Pakistan tried to

soften the stance on EIA.

Ironically, this policy came on the heels of Pakistan’s coming out as the

leader of the developing countries (G-77) at the Earth Summit in Rio de

Janeiro, 1992.

The Operational order period…P-3

There, Pakistan had proudly presented the National Conservation

Strategy (IUCN, 1992), and signed important international

environmental treaties like the United Nation Conventions on Climate

Change and Biological Diversity.

Most importantly, Pakistan signed the all encircling Agenda 21, and

the Rio de Genero Declaration.

By doing so, Pakistan agreed to integrate environmental

consideration in decision-making “at all levels and in all ministries”,

and openly agreed that EIA would be used as a ‘National Instrument’

for all proposed activities that are likely to have significant adverse

impact on the environment, and that this process would be regulated

by a ‘Competent National Authority’(UNCED, 1992)

Post - PEPA Developments

Appearance of EIA Guidelines and Regulations caused a new surge of

interest in the EIA ‘Business’.

Small-scale EIA Consulting groups began to approach the business

community for consultancy assignment, the consultant would ensure the

issuance of EPA Clearance for the proposed project.

The key problem here was with the EIA, checking process, in the concerned

EPAs, the task of scrutinizing EIA Reports was given to mid-career or even

junior officials.

Most of them had no personal experience of conducting EIA, had little

knowledge of the location of the proposed project, and had no access to

baseline data, especially technical information that could be used to verify

any statements or claims made in the EIA reports.

The Role of Civil Society

Civil society in Pakistan has openly accepted EIA as a tool for protection the

environment in planning Any developmental project.

Now, all developmental agencies of the government truly arrange EIA for

their proposed large projects as an integral part of the planning process.

Similarly, the proponents of large projects in the private sector that come

under Schedule-II of the Pak-EPA Regulations arrange EIA Reports for EPA

approval.

It is not unusual to hear the need for proper EIA echoed if an environmental

concern related to Any proposed project catches the attention of the civil

society organisations or the media.

Today, in spite of the clouds of uncertainty surrounding the Environmental

Protection Act and the institutions designated for its implementation,

the EIA is most definitely here to stay!

EIA was introduced in Pakistan under the environmental

law in 1997, and more detailed regulations have been put

in place since then.

However, effective implementation remains an issue.

There are violations of the law, e.g. the process of EIA is

not initiated at the planning stage but much later at the

construction stage.

The Regulations provide a list of projects, which require

IEE/EIA, but this list is incomplete and needs to be

technically reviewed.

EIA: Legal Guidelines

EIA: Legal Guidelines..P-2

besides, the institutional structure is also very weak, with a

limited number of personnel available to review and monitor

EIAs with no adequate job qualification.

Public participation is only restricted to reviewing of an EIA,

with no public participation happening at screening, scoping or

monitoring stages.

The law relies strongly on self-monitoring and there is no

adequate structure for regular monitoring,

Hence monitoring and enforcement are both weak.

Provincial Status …

As a follow-up of the Stockholm pronouncement of 1972,

Pakistan established the Ministry of Environment (MoE) in

1975.

It was anticipated and drafted the first consolidated

Federal Environmental Law, i.e. the Pakistan Environment

Protection Ordinance, in 1983 (the “1983 Ordinance”),

which was applicable to all provinces of Pakistan.

Section 12 of the Federal and Punjab Acts and 15 of the

Balochistan Act require filing of an EIA for projects that are

likely to cause adverse environmental effects.

The term “adverse environmental effect” means

impairment of, or damage to, the environment and

includes:

Provincial Status… Cont’d

(a) impairment of, or damage to, human health and safety or to

biodiversity or property;

(b) pollution; and

(c) any adverse environmental effect as may be specified in the

regulations

However, the Ordinance did not define or explain the process of

an environment impact assessment.

In 2010, through the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of the

Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, environment became a

purely provincial subject, empowering each province to make

its own law.

In 2012, Punjab adopted the Federal Act with minor

amendments, calling it The Punjab Environmental Protection

Act, 1997 (the “Punjab Act”).

Provincial Status… Cont’d

In early 2013, Balochistan also framed its own law—The

Balochistan Environmental Protection Act, 2012 (the

“Balochistan Act”).

The Balochistan Act, while primarily built upon the

Federal Act, had some substantial additions and

improvements in it over and above the Federal Act.

KPK is in the process of framing its own law and the

Federal Act continues to be applicable to this province in

the interim.

Sindh promulgated the Sindh Environment Protection

Act in March 2014.

In addition to the Acts, at present all the provinces are

following the Regulations 2000 and the existing Federal

Guidelines.

Problems & Issues

The present categorization needs a thorough technical

review.

Problems include missing project types, projects in the wrong

category and an incorrect threshold between IEE and EIA, e.g.

renewable energy (solar, wind, etc.) large buildings and

hospitals are not included in any list.

Some projects in Schedule I (IEE) can at times have significant

impacts because of their size or other reasons and therefore

need reviewing for re-classification.

Cross-country oil and gas pipelines can have significant impacts

but are covered by an IEE whereas, they should be covered by

an EIA.

Similarly, coal-fired power plants even if smaller than 200 MW

merit an EIA.

Problems & Issues..P-2

Some types of projects, the total project cost is used to

determine the size of the EIA, with inflation, the thresholds

change and in many cases the existing division is meaningless,

e.g. Highways with total cost of Rs. 50 million or less require an

IEE.

No highway, however small, can be constructed in Rs. 50

million. Modifications to existing projects are often undertaken.

The regulations and guidelines do not provide any directions on

how to handle environmental assessment of these types of

projects.

Sometimes, projects change during the course of

implementation. Again, the regulations and guidelines are silent

on change management.

Review & Approval Authority for IEE/EIA

As per law, the relevant body that is to review the EIA is the

Government Agency (GA).

The GA in turn is defined as the division, department,

attached department, bureau, section, commission, board

office or the unit of the federal or provincial government; a

development or local authority or a company controlled or

established by government; Provincial Environmental

Agency or any other body

Provincial EPAs were entrusted to review EIAs for projects

in provinces and projects shared by more than one

province or in federal areas were reviewed by the federal

EPA.

The Balochistan Act has made substantial amendments in

the structure and has further devolved the power at district /

regional level linked with a provincial EPA

EIA PROCESS IN PAKISTANEIA PROCESS

Planning & Project

Preparing IEE Preparing EIA

EIA RequiredNo EIA Required

Preliminary Scrutiny of Documents

Advisory Committee /

Committee of ExpertsPublic Hearing

Review

Decision

Construction /

Operation of Project

Conclusions and Recommendations

To make the IEE/EIA process more meaningful and potent, it is

essential to amend the law in the following areas:

The definition of EIA needs to be amended in the light of the more

comprehensive international definitions.

The existing Schedules need to be revised with the assistance of

technical experts and include in the list of IEE/EIA all other

technologies which may have adverse environmental impact; and to

enhance monetary benchmarks to make the thresholds more

meaningful.

The regulations should provide for periodical revisions of schedules

to meet the changes of time.

The Regulations 2000 need to be amended and a proper structure

for Committee of experts, and other committees for reviewing

purposes must be provided,

Conclusions & Recommendations…p2

The Acts and Regulations 2000 may be amended to make public

participation mandatory at screening, scoping and reviewing stages

of an IEE/EIA.

To make public participation more meaningful, the Regulations 2000

may be amended to provide a formal structure for public participation.

For better enforcement of EIAs it is important to restructure

Environmental Tribunals to bring them within the domain of the

mainstream judicial system for better implementation.

It is also important to train the judiciary, especially the Tribunal

judges, in environmental laws with special focus on tools used for

accessing environmental impacts for appropriate interpretation of the

law.

For meaningful implementation of IEE/EIAs, it is important to

promulgate ambient standards.

EPA NOTICES

Some Question about EIA

Do you think EIAs have been successful in their

mandate or are economic issues still at the forefront?

What about in the future…???

Are they empty statements?

special Thanks for

the audience to have patience during My

Presentation

REFERENCES

a) PAK -IUCN

b) EPA – PAK

c) EIA for PAK

ABBREVIATIONS

PEPA : PAKISTAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT (1997)

IUCN : INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE & NATURAL RESOURCES

PEPO : PAKISTAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ORDINANCE (1983)

UNCED: UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT &

DEVELOPMENT(1992)