Section One – The Backdrop

Chapter 1: Compendium

Specific Objectives

• Review of NCS implementation status [progress in terms of NCS outcomes and processes, failures and their reasons]

• Identification of issues and constraints

• Identification of emerging issues under the changed context

• Identification of priorities in the face of changed context

• Identification of key informants for detailed discussions with the external review team

1. Who Were Consulted

A major question was who to talk to. As it appeared, there were several generations of stakeholders in view. One, those who were actively involved in development of the NCS as senior tier of public service (secretaries, director generals, etc.). Most of these had been retired and thus approaching this tier was nearly impossible. Two, those who were second lieutenants at the time of NCS development, now holding the offices of secretaries and director generals at federal and provincial levels. Collecting these people for workshops would have been extremely difficult due to their responsibilities. Three, those who are currently responsible for implementation of public sector programs (directors, section officers, deputy directors, technical officers, and research officers, etc.). It was therefore decided that the secretaries at the federal and provincial levels would be consulted individually while the others would be invited to participate in workshops.

• The Process

Public consultations were designed in two stages as mentioned above, (i) Individual meetings with secretaries, additional secretaries, joint secretaries, and heads of federal and provincial departments; (ii) A one-day workshop with key informants.

When the individual meetings were held at federal level, the direction became clearer. The analytical framework was modified in the light of discussions held with federal level officials. At the same time, the political situation changed and it did not remain possible anymore to conduct the workshop in Islamabad. It was therefore decided to take the process to provinces and administrative regions. The Northern Areas, which was least affected by the changed political scenario at the time, was chosen to kick off the discussion process. The workshop in Gilgit, further refined the approach. Since, during the first hour of the workshop it became apparent that the focus group discussion methodology in its theoretical sense will be too limiting to generate a meaningful response from the participants. The scope of discussion was therefore expanded. By that time Dr. Arthur J. Hanson had come on board as the team leader for the MTR external review team. His input at this stage proved to be of immense value. He guided the refinement of the consultation process.

 

The workshop agenda included:

• Presentation on NCS, its scope and mid term review process in order to set the tone of discussion.

• Presentation and discussion on definition of sustainable development in order to ensure a common understanding of the subject.

• Presentation followed by discussion on the analytical framework developed for NCS – MTR

• Identification of indicators for progress towards sustainable development followed by extensive discussion.

• Identification of processes implied followed by extensive discussion on linkages.

• Identification of issues and constraints followed by discussion.

• Identification of future priorities followed by discussion.

The consultation process continued at provincial level with Quetta, Peshawar, Lahore, and Karachi being the locations for more workshops. In case of the Azad State of Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), further political changes took place around the workshop schedule. The NCS – MTR team visited AJK twice in order to pull through the organization of workshop. However, in vain, it was decided that another round of thorough individual meetings should ensure gathering the necessary information from stakeholders.

The federal level workshop was last in line. The decision to hold the federal level workshop towards the end paid off, as the MTR team was able to share their provincial experiences and gauge the response from the federal representatives.

2. Reflections

1. The responsibilities have been devolved but without adequate empowerment.

2. The financial resources available to implementers both at personal and professional levels are far from appropriate.

3. The rules of business and availability of resources have little space for institutionalization of debate processes for planning and monitoring.

4. Allocation of qualified expertise among departments and line agencies is done irrespective of their field of specialization.

Section Two – Consultations With Public Sector

Chapter 2 Minutes of Individual Meetings

Federal Government

• Seeking view of key actors in the public sector on implementation of NCS

• Seeking views of top level decision makers on future course of action for sustainable development

• Gearing up participation of key stakeholders in the MTR process;

• Nomination of Focal Points in the relevant Ministries for in-depth interaction vis-à-vis NCS MTR.

He used term achievement instead of improvement, and that was in the context of Mass Awareness. People are more aware of environment and its relative problem then they were in 1980s.

He was also of the view that NCS brought several new ways of working but those could not be institutionalised due to several factors such as:

• Frequent transfers of staff; several people were technically trained but how many of them are working in the Ministry of Environment;

• Lack of political commitment; he termed it as the most important factor for institutionalisation of any element. He repeatedly emphasised that the PM has to be convinced about the importance of environment and the implications of negligence of this vital area.

• Vague mandate of the NCS Unit; "NCS Unit has been groping in the dark since its inception", he said. It lacks clarity of vision, clarity of mandate and the powers that are imperative to monitor implementation.

He suggested the following way forward:

• First and foremost political advocacy to gauge political commitment; Parliament should be mobilised.

• The Ministry of Environment should explore the ways in which environment and sustainable development can be integrated into the work of other line ministries e.g. explore ways of integrating population and environment.

• For doing it the NCS Unit should identify right people from the Ministries. With them work on setting priorities and identify the areas for integration.

• He very kindly suggested that he would nominate an appropriate person from his Ministry to act as a focal point for the NCS Unit.

• The MTR Team provided a brief on the process and possible outcome of the NCS MTR.

• In response to a query, the AS confirmed that Finance Ministry is a key actor when it comes to policy formulation i.e. all priorities and policies in the country are set with the consent of this Ministry.

• Concern was expressed by the FA on scope of NCS. He elaborated that the priorities and programmes chalked out for NCS were too broad to monitor. As a result there’s a constant lack of coordination. He also critiqued the mandate of the NCS Unit stating that in its present capacity the NCS Unit can not coordinate or monitor the conservation related activities and results of investments made in the environment sector by other Ministries and departments.

• The following were recommended by the AS and FA.

1. The NCS should be crisply reprioritised;

2. The Ministry of Environment should thrive to set up models such as pilot projects for environmental conservation.

3. These projects should be closely monitored and lessons learnt should be carefully recorded.

4. On the basis of those results major policy changes can be brought about.

The NCS-MTR team gave a brief overview of the scope and purpose of MTR exercise.

In response to a question on what have been the gaps in implementation of the NCS, the Secretary said:

• The basic issue in implementing NCS is that of good governance. How much calibre is acknowledged right at the top. Find a good leader. For example, the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) is totally based on lack of merit.

• A more inter-sectoral approach was imperative for implementation of NCS that was largely an issue of good governance structures. Sectors such as population should have been integrated within the environmental agenda.

• System is in place, but the core of that system is missing.

• He also said that NCS has always been seen as an ‘ambitious document’ and probably what needed was to look at its recommendation within more practical realities. There generally has been a short-term vision among the development sector across the country.

• He gave several examples of public sector institutions and infrastructures that require immediate reforms such as P&D Auditorium, National Library, University Grants Commission.

 

The Secretary also discussed some future possibilities:

• NCS implementation should be devolved at provincial level and governance structure at the provinces should look after the project under NCS. For example, a cell on NCS implementation can be set up within the Chief Minister’s office.

• In order to carry forward the inter-agencies and intra-sectoral links, every stakeholder’s area should be focused within the given parameters of line departments and agencies involved.

• Economic reforms are the key to sustainable restructuring. We have been living beyond our resource limits.

• Much of resources available to us went into infrastructure developments such as large dams. However, the governance structures were not created as strong as they should have been to manage these developments. Maintenance of these dams should have been a major focus after their establishment to ensure longer and effective lives of these projects.

• The operational decisions must be taken at the level that is more accountable for implementation such as the secretaries and the their staff. Instead of following orders from their higher ups that are not fully involved in carrying out these decisions, the implementers themselves should be given more power of decision making. For example, the system of PM being chair of most of the decision making committees which affect projects’ implementation directly should be disbanned.

• Similarly, ENERCON within the Ministry of Environment and the provincial EPAs should examine the environmental impact of programmes and projects. And all RBOD/LBODs should go to EPA for EIA as a mandatory procedure.

• The EPA Director General should be a member of the ECNEC & CDWP where the development plans are finalised.

• Projects like NDP that are envisaged to have great impact at the grassroots level should be scrutinised more in detail. So far it has been a piecemeal approach. More efforts are needed to study the feasibility for appropriate disposal of affluent under this project.

The NCS team provided a brief background of the NCS MTR exercise.

The JEA commented on the sustainable development scenario and highlighted the following:

• He said that there are a few improvements that are visible in the environmental and sustainable development scenario

• Measures like CEEP – a capacity building project.

• Integration of environmental issues into text books

• Nevertheless, these improvements were marked with some gaps in the design such as:

• Limited input in terms of resources and management structures.

• Most of the projects were one shot operation.

• There remained the dire need of orientation of a large number of teachers.

• Various messages on environmental issues were designed however they should have been designed in more befitting manner and aiming at larger population.

The JEA also highlighted some fundamental constraints to implementation of NCS recommendations:

The ministry of Education didn’t have funds. Several proposals have been submitted to the Ministry of Environment to initiate joint activities. However the process is not going as rapidly as it should.

The JEA also suggested the following:

• Based on the outcomes, the successful projects should have been expanded and replicated nation wide.

• Compulsory syllabus of matriculation must have environment as an integrated subject matter.

• Teachers training project has tried to integrate environmental education (EE) in the education programme. However, this needs to be taken a step further in the form of a mega project on EE. Text books for classes 6^th, 7^th and 8^th should be revised.

• Political commitment should be like ‘ghee in every salan’. Without a strong political commitment none of the initiatives will go very far.

The JS commented on several initiatives that depict progress toward NCS implementation. In his comments he gave example of some projects/programmes such as:

• The Pakistan Environment Programme – a capacity building initiative under taken as one of the recommendations in the NCS.

• As a result of programmes such as Pep, environment has been on the priority agenda of government and some of the donors as well such as, JICA’s offer for a grant, EPA has environment as a priority, ADB is also involved in some environmental initiatives, EU has been actively investing in environment, etc. This shows that environment can remain on priority of several stakeholders/investors. Nevertheless, NCS has not been able to invite as much prioritisation among the donors for environment as was needed to implement the NCS recommendations.

Some of the constraints and gaps were also highlighted by the JS in his discussion:

• Events like the sanctions following the nuclear explosions played a major role in halting and/or decreasing the pace of development in Pakistan.

• Several proposals from the EAD has gone to the Ministry of Environment abut a response is still awaited.

• Governance is also a major issue within the Ministry of Environment particularly and within all government institutions at large.

Some of the suggestions for way forward were also discussed:

• Programme like PEP should go beyond capacity building.

• In light of suggested reforms and changes coming in October the Ministry of Environment must get its act together.

• Environment should gain more priority within the donor community.

• Programmes like PEP, aimed at capacity building should be supported by supporting projects for capacity building.

• The Director General of PEPA should be combined with the NCS Unit.

• There should be more coordination within the different components of Ministry of Environment such as follows:

• Ministry of Environment should monitor the coordination between federal and provincial EPAs and other departments.

• In the present circumstances the donors can influence this indirectly as a governance issue

• The new projects and programmes should have a built in conditionality that on the basis of their success they will go further other wise they will be pulled out.

The Secretary was requested for his comments on the progress made towards environment and sustainable development in Pakistan. The Secretary pointed out several issues and commented on problems that are hindering development per se. Following were the important discussions that took place in this regard:

• Since last 8 years, the Ministry of Environment has not approached this Ministry for any collaboration. This is clear indication of lack of coordination and inter-ministerial collaborations. Women’s development is seen as a cross cutting supporting programme in NCS but there is not much happening in different projects that are on ground.

• Governance issues are primarily restricting the much needed collaborative process necessary for NCS implementation.

• The basic purpose for creating NCS unit i.e. coordination has not been achieved. MoWD was never consulted in any of the initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Environment be it planning or monitoring of projects or be it communications and awareness campaigns carried out by the Ministry of Environment.

Commenting on any outcome against NCS recommendations the Secretary said:

• IUCN is doing a good job in the environment sector which indicates NGOs’ and private sector interest and invest going into this sector.

• There are government initiatives also that depict improvements and more devolution of decision making at the grassroots such as the SAP, Area Development Programme, and BCS, community participation is at the core of all these initiatives.

Suggesting for future directions the Secretary said:

• Models need to be created at all levels that can provide case studies for other sectors to incorporate good practices for environment and sustainable development.

• More incentive should be defined for communities and district and local government level implementers.

• Female population should be considered an active stakeholder in NCS implementation. This needs to be made apparent in all project designs such as water supply schemes, pesticides/pollution control programmes, NRM projects including empowerment components, social and economic empowerment plans, health schemes specifically mother and child health care, and all livelihoods programmes.

• Donors need to play an important role in giving priority to women issues in all environmental related programmes and projects. Moreover, they should come forth to allocate more resources for women development issues integrated within programmes and projects.

The JS was requested for his comments on the progress made towards environment and sustainable development in Pakistan. He pointed out several initiatives that he thought have been helping the development process. Following were the important discussions that took place in this regard:

• Efficient fuels industry has seen several major initiatives such as establishment of HDIP – a major step towards fuels that produce least possible emissions

• OGSP programme of CIDA has been successful in reducing noise and air pollution levels to a great extent

• The reduction of sulphur – power plants are using 3% HSF to LSF 1%

• Refineries are also producing LSF and imports are being encouraged to bring the levels down to 1.5%

However, there are several issues as well which are hindering the progress. While shedding light on some of these issues the JS mentioned:

• Limited funds are major problem. PSO is the only agency to import and private sector is not involved in this process.

• Including private sector can be beneficial in that the limited input by PSO can be expanded

• There are several political reasons playing behind this mechanism

• It is an established fact that petrol is a major source of environmental pollution

• Coal has not been used as fuel by a large section of industry even though we have huge deposits of coal that can be utilised by open pit mining

While mentioning a few recommendations to be taken forward as part of the sustainable development agenda, the JS stressed on following points:

• Energy efficiency is the main thrust of this Ministry and it should focus its resources and expertise on the same – e.g. coal resources can be a very good source of energy if used effectively

• The major oil source contains Higher Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFP) which needs to be checked

• Refineries use crude oil and therefore natural gas and petrol produce a lot of sulphur which is going unchecked

• Water is the future of energy

• Natural gas is not the future recommendation for ecologically fragile areas of Pakistan such as NAs

• Pakistan has huge resources of gas and new deposits are being explored – the need is to strategize future plans carefully

• Import of gas from Turkimanistan would be the cheapest mode of gas import for any country – but this require careful planning and implementation

• Political struggles and strives have been leading the country to pay heavy prices on part of its natural resource for the benefit of a few privileged entities

• Political leadership is required out of the span of traditional power loops of a few political figures in order to retain a sense of betterment in the coming days

The AS was requested for his comments on the progress made towards environment and sustainable development in Pakistan. Holding an important position as that of inter-provincial coordination, his comments were of immense interest to the MTR team. However, due to time constraint a detailed discussion did not take place. While commenting on Pakistan’s development scenario following discussion took place with the AS:

• Information exchange is the major area where lack of coordination is present within and among provinces

• If the financial resources are not shared within provinces as well as federal level, how can we expect them to provide information and assist and any other possible way

• There is wide evidence of conflicts between provinces which largely hinder any kind of collaborative efforts

• The bureaucratic procedures are used to their full efficiency for creating more block holes instead of facilitation

• The continuous tussle between centre and provinces merely counts for questioning back and forth of clarifying each other’s roles

He further suggested that a cabinet committee be called to look after this issue of lack of coordination and devise a mechanism for such coordination. Federal ministries should establish liaison with the provinces on not just projects but on policy and decision making issues as well. Although, provinces hold their autonomous status of decision making bodies but decisions of national interest, particularly if they affect any of the provinces, should be made in full confidence of the provinces.

The JS was requested for his comments on the progress made towards environment and sustainable development in Pakistan. With his background as the Chairman PAARC, he was able to make important contribution to the discussion on improvements made towards Pakistan’s development agenda over the last seven to eight years.

The JS pointed out several initiatives that he thought have added to the development process of the country:

• National Arid–Land Development Resource Institute (NAD) project, initiated during the reign of President Laghari, provided an important ground for fulfilling the research needs in the arid agriculture area with particular reference to soil conservation

• Private sector initiatives have also been significant. E.g. Hamdard research institute and PCSIR’s role in agricultural research activities

• A number of agriculture projects specifically irrigation efficiency projects can be directly traced to the recommendations of the NCS

While discussing the evolving scenario of socio-economic context of Pakistan in the agriculture sector, the JS pointed out some major issues:

• Food security

• Production increase vertically instead of horizontally – e.g. Jojobar Project

• Social development plans succumbing to political pressure

• Governance issues – lack of structural reforms not limited to agriculture sector alone

• Translation of governance to grassroots level and bringing transparency to existing operations

While suggesting the future course of action, the JS suggested following considerations for reprioritisation of development plans:

• Implementation on policies and frameworks is the weakest area in Pakistan that needs immediate attention in all sectors

• The explicit disparity in the feudal systems predominant particularly in the agriculture sector need to the addressed

• The question of sustaining initiatives and approaches taken by the development projects need to be assessed before making huge investments without proper phasing out processes

The JTA was requested for his comments on the progress made towards environment and sustainable development in Pakistan. While commenting on Pakistan’s development scenario following discussion took place:

• While identifying the list of projects for NCS implementation, the expectation was that the NCS Unit will coordinate the process of locating resources for these projects

• Cross cutting project coordination role was identified for the Ministry of Environment as it was thought at the time that technically they are more equipped than anyone else in Pakistan

• A number of projects started in this line of action – e.g. solid waste management projects, NIO, PCSIR, study on Rawal Lake pollution levels, etc.

• Advocacy to the donors for investing in the environment

He added by mentioning the key building blocks that were largely absent to operationalise these extensive plans:

• Political commitment coupled with allocation of sufficient resources

• Accountability and transparency in government operations

• Mechanisms to follow up and review – extensive systems for M&E and results based management systems

• Projects that were considered small were handed over to MoE e.g. fuel efficiency and cooking stoves

• Capacity building for developing and managing environmental projects – organisations like IUCN can help build capacities of government institutions in developing such projects

• Efficient governance structures and financial management mechanisms

• Over and/or heavy staffing has been a menace

• Political and personal vested interests have been hindering the progress leading to continuos regression

• Quick transfers and relocation of staff within and among Ministries – at least 5 years tenure an ensure building of a trust required for officers to become effective leaders

He nevertheless, voiced some useful suggestions that could be considered as way forward:

• Effective legal systems and legalising the environmental act into a full fledge legislation can build pressure for implementation

• Investments in capacity building of implementers for managing environmental initiatives in the spirit of sustainable development

• Effective monitoring systems that are not imposed but built-in the project designs – particular mention was made of the results based monitoring systems

• Enhancing government and private sector collaborations to discourage the prevailing mistrust between the two

Northern Areas

Balochistan

• For Sustainable DevBalochistanelopment (SD) and successful implementation of conservation strategies the basic area to focus on is the Capacity Building of staff on merit basis.

• The BCS is a good reference document, but to implement the strategy Government must establish self-supporting cells and sections in Govt. departments with skilled personnel having professional capacity, knowledge, aptitude and talent.

• For SD and change the Govt. has to take a calculated risk and do something different from regular course of action.

• It is unfortunate that mostly the Govt. Dept lacks merit. Right person should selected/placed for the right job.

• There has been some development since 1992 in terms of SD. The awareness and realization of general masses has increased at a good rate, keeping in view the literacy ratio. Due to awareness the attitude of the people toward natural conservation has changed.

• The Secretary nominated Mr. Arif Ansari, DG as focal point for future correspondence

• The expected development in the area of Fisheries could not be achieved. International standards have gone high, and we are lacking in achieving those hygiene standards. The reason being lack of infrastructure, processing plants and skilled and technical staff. Many European courtiers has stopped the import of fish, due to the unhygienic handling and storing the fish at our harbors and boats.

• The basic need is provision of infrastructure, personnel with technical knowledge and marketing of the product.

• Similarly in Agriculture sector, due to lack of farm to market roads and food processing plants the farmer and economy both are suffering. Balochistan produces a variety of fruits but due to lack of infrastructure and processing plants and above all lack of autonomy the direct export is not possible. The high transportation charges results in the low prices at farms and high prices in the market.

• Agriculture department has introducing new varieties of Apple, Dates etc. with quality control and techniques.

• The major problem in Balochistan is the scarcity of water. The water table of ground water is receding fast, large quantity of rainwater go waste. We need to conserve our water resources.

The key points of discussion held with Mr. Ghulam Rasool Husni is as follows:

• Top priority should be conservation of Bio-Diversity and Range Land Management. In the province where water is scarce due importance should be given to biodiversity. A large number of households depend upon the income generated through cattle, wool, leather etc.

• The awareness level of the masses has risen, but no concrete development has taken place so far. There is some development in private sector, but in public sector output is far less than the input.

• Main reasons for lack of development is corruption, lack of political will and most important personal liking is given priority over national interest.

• In the province development should be according to the topography, weather and availability of water.

The key points came under discussion in the meeting with Mr. Mohammad Amin are listed as below:

• The most important issue of the province is availability of water. The ground water mining is being over exploited and natural recharge is less; as a result the water table has gone low. Due to less rainfall and failure in conserving the water the fruit orchids are diminishing at a rapid rate.

• To conserve and artificially recharging the water-table several small check dams has been built in the southern part of province, but many more need to be built. But, check dams recharge only fraction of the water table, to control the level of water table, withdrawal needs to be controlled. There should be some control on digging new tube wells.

• The flat rate of electricity has given rise to undue extraction of water.

• Further, because of the lack of scientific knowledge farmers uses water on all types of crops. In some cases the return from crops is less than the value of water. Farmers need to be educated through community mobilisation. The NGOs, CBOs and VOs should be involved in the National Drainage Programme (NDP).

• Community participation is the most important step, Govt. has to act bi-directionally to work closely with the community.

The key points of the meeting with Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Mengal were:

• The Secretary nominated Mr. Naseer Baloch as a focal point for future coordination and communication.

• The general awareness level of the people has risen but no concrete development has taken place.

• There are no follow-up initiatives on projects from Federal level.

• The policies of the Government are not consistent, with the change of Govt. the policies and priorities are changed and on going projects are put in a cold corner.

• The five-year plans have no link with the PSDP, and majority of projects is not completed because of lack of financial resources.

• The donor funds are not always required, many programmes can be undertaken with local resources.

• There is an utter need of coordination between Federal and Provincial departments, line departments, agencies and NGOs. The P&D department must take lead in developing this coordination.

NWFP

2.4.1 Mr. Ishtiaq – Focal Point Industries, SPCS

The NCS–MTR team met with Mr. Ishtiaq to discuss progress made towards environment and sustainable development agenda of NWFP as recommended in the provincial conservation strategy SPCS.

Some interesting points were brought to light by Mr. Ishtiaq. Key discussion is presented below:

• While taking forward the recommendations of SPCS, the NCS does not have direct links with the kind work being done. A follow up process on strengthening the relation between provincial conservation strategy such as the SPCS and the original national strategy has been lost some where.

• Although no roles are identified for the NCS Unit in implementing the SPCS, there seems to enough evidence present in linking the achievements made under SPCS to the original broad objectives of the NCS itself. For example, the pollution abatement projects are directly built upon the core area of NCS. Other examples are the SIDBP, SDA, UNIDO’s initiatives and initiatives undertaken by the Directorate of Industries projects.

• Similarly, the Sarhad Chambers of Commerce established the 1^st environmental protection Cell – a major outcome from SPCS, one that is aspired by the NCS itself.

While mentioning the gaps and constraints, Mr. Ishtiaq highlight following points:

• Communication strategy of the NCS, although know to have been made, but never been implemented.

• Dissemination of information on NCS and then building wider linkages inter- and intra-provinces for sharing is also missing.

• Federal government is part of the round tables at provincial level but not enough participation is present as they are many a times absent during discussions and meetings. For example, we never saw NCS Unit as a participant to any of these round tables.

• Not enough attention is being given to capacity building needs of the institutions at provincial level that are primarily responsible for implementation.

• Inter-sectoral linkages – e.g. with NGOs such as SDPI or with institutions such as FPCCI

While suggesting a future course of action for NCS implementation/reprioritisation, Mr. Ishtiaq stressed that the federal government should come forward in directing the provincial government to link implementation on NCS. In his view, a strong link between the provincial conservation strategies and the NCS is a prerequisite for fruitful implementation on the country’s environmental and sustainable development plan.

1. A number of projects and programmes can be ascribed to the NCS recommendations. Important steps such as the Environmental Act and emissions control project are worth special mention.

2. However, very little confidenc