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Ecology bodies not yet formed
PESHAWAR, March 29: The Pakistan Environmental
Protection Act's provision requiring establishment
of sectoral committees of environmental experts
remains unfulfilled even after six years of its
enforcement in 1997 , reveals information gathered
from different sources.
As per section 8-(6), of the Pakistan
Environmental Protection Act (Pepa), 1997, all the
four provincial governments are required to
establish special committees of experts relating
to different sectors to assist the provincial
environmental protection agencies in their
endeavours to improve environmental standards.
The committees, advisory in nature, were supposed
to consist of credible and well-known
representatives and stakeholders belonging to
different sectors - education, health,
non-governmental organizations, etc.
Pepa, 1997, reads: "For assistance of the
Provincial Agency in the discharge of its
functions, the provincial government shall
establish sectoral advisory committees for various
sectors and appoint members from amongst eminent
representatives of the relevant sector,
educational institutions, research institutes and
non-governmental organizations".
However, even after a lapse of six years since the
introduction of Pepa (in December 1997) the
Environmental Protection Agency, NWFP, has not
constituted the committees showing disregard to
the law under which it came into being.
"We have not constituted the committees," was the
reply by a senior officer of EPA, NWFP, when
contacted by Dawn. He said that in place of
establishing sectoral advisory committees, the EPA
had been engaging academicians of eminent
institutes and environmental experts to get input
about environmental issues and raise
recommendations on studies concerning environment.
But the independent circles said that the EPA's
practice to consult environmental experts on
need-basis had not been effective and could not be
regarded as a prudent replacement of the sectoral
advisory committees.
"Instead of going for setting up 24 district
committees, establishment of five or six sectoral
advisory committees would be much more effective,"
said a Peshawar-based representative of an NGO.
The DAWN |
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Pakissan.com; Advisory Point
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