The Continuing Struggle of Pollution Control in Tanneries

Despite earnest efforts by the Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA), the battle against pollution caused by discharge of untreated effluents continues. With over 1200 tanneries employing nearly 200,000 people and contributing 7% of total exports, the leather industry is an important sector of the economy. However, outdated equipment and production techniques, lack of access to solid waste disposal sites, low investments in affluent treatment plants and poor coordination between the private sector and the city, provincial and federal governments have resulted in continued pollution.

The PTA has made several suggestions, including waiver of Export Development Surcharge on treatment plants, provision of landfill sites and support in access to technical and financial resources, but progress has been slow. However, there is a silver lining to the cloud, with functional treatment plants in Karachi's Industrial Trading Estate (KITE), Kasur and Sialkot and the adoption of cleaner production technologies with help from UNIDO and the Netherlands government, helping reduce environmental pollution. Furthermore, as reported today, the development of a special zone in Sialkot on a public private partnership basis, will bring all tanneries into a spatially contiguous area and allow for common services for treatment and disposal of effluents.

eWaste, anyone?

Technological innovations and planned obsolescence in the electronic industry in general and the computing industry in particular have an unwanted outcome: accumulation of old, discarded and outdated equipment, otherwise known as e-Waste. Developing countries are often used as dumping grounds for this e-waste and Pakistan is no different. According to the IUCN, import of second hand computers adds to the 50,000 tonnes of solid waste generated in the country every day. These concerns echoed again at a recent discussion organised in Islamabad on 'Cost effective or technology defective’ where speakers from both public and private sectors emphasised the need to dig deeper in to the dumping carried on in the garb of bridging the digital divide.

Some 500,000 old computers are imported into the country, mainly from the US, EU and Singapore. Although Pakistan is a signatory to the Basel Convention on eWaste--initiated in response to numerous international scandals regarding hazardous waste trafficking that began to occur in the late 1980s--the import of these old computers as well as phones, TVs etc. continues, adding to the environmental hazards faced by the country.

Greenpeace did an interesting photo-essay on eWaste in Pakistan, where they tracked what happens to eWaste in Lyari in Karachi. You can view the photo-essay here. There are several other sites such as Lyari across Pakistan, particularly in Lahore, where such hazardous activities are going unabated and unchecked. The Federal and Provincial Environmental Agencies appear to be woefully incapable of addressing this issue. On the flipside, the livelihoods of thousands of people are linked to this work and one is not sure of the impact any regulatory move would have on these jobs.

My own view on this is that while eWaste is definitely an issue and the Pakistani government as well as the companies in the developed countries themselves need to assume greater responsibility, an argument could be made to avoid a complete crackdown on this flourishing informal sector activity. The Pakistani government could develop and enforce minimum safety standards, and help sustain jobs in this recycling industry, while the governments in the developed world should ensure that companies in their respective countries follow the Basel Convention!

And lastly, here's an updated status on which companies are acting responsibly as regards eWaste.

Banking on Better Corporate Governance

Amidst all the hoopla generated by the global financial and economic crisis, the need for a stronger and more robust regulatory regime has emerged as a common theme echoed by pundits of all ilk. However, in this drive for assigning a greater role for the state, the role of self-regulation should not be consigned to the bin of history. It was therefore good to read about Saleem Raza, the Governor of the Pakistan central bank, calling upon the banking sector to improve their corporate governance practices and enhance transparency through greater disclosure.

Click here to read what the Governor said.

Corporate Sector Rallies in a Time of Need

The ongoing army operations against militants holed up in the North West Frontier of Pakistan has led to what the UN terms as one of the largest mass migrations in recent history, with more than 3m people having to flee to safer zones. As can be imagined, massive relief efforts were required to cater for the immediate needs of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including shelter, food and medicines. The corporate sector in Pakistan has played an active role in contributing to these efforts, with the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) donating Rs. 150m in the form of relief goods, the Jang Group (Pakistan's largest media house) raising millions of rupees thru telethons and offline campaigns, local airline AirBlue teaming up with an NGO HelpCounts for airlifting of relief goods, the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation setting up free Public Call Offices at the IDP camps and the telecom companies donating Rs.100m to the Prime Minister's fund for IDPs. Employees of a very large number of other firms have donated a day's salary to the fund and even Emirates airlines has pitched in, shipping 120 tonnes of supplies for the IDPs.

Despite all these efforts, the scale of the challenge is enormous and the government is seeking more donations in cash or kind. If you want to help, visit http://helpidp.org/, http://www.geo.tv/swat/ or see details of the Prime Minister's Fund to which you can send your donations. If you're in Pakistan, you can donate Rs.10 per SMS by typing FUND and sending it to 1199 for donating to the Prime Minister's Fund. And remember, every bit helps.

Green Accounting for Staying Out of the Red

With the UNDP estimating that environmental degradation costing Pakistan over Rs. 350b every year, the need for following green agendas is self-evident. At a recent workshop, experts suggested the introduction of 'green accounting' frameworks to calculate the costs of environmental depletion. The WWF agrees with earlier assessments that the costs of environmental degradation are as high as 6% of the GDP and needs a concerted mix of fiscal, monetary and managerial steps to reduce these costs. Businesses often tend to ignore or underestimate such costs but as was clearly indicated by speakers at the event, it's time their books stay in the green in the more ways than one.