Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy - IUCN

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I S S U E S & T R E N D S I N S U S T A I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T
increased vehicular pollution, degeneration of road
infrastructure, increased deforestation, greater pressures
on sewage and solid waste systems, and more
demand for energy and food.
The NWFP population is expected to rise to 19
million by 2000 and to 25 million by 2010. There
are obvious limits to intensive agriculture, and even
under the most optimistic scenario of doubling the
benchmark yields and complete colonization of the
canal command area, a deficit of 39% in staple food
stuffs is projected by 2000. By 2010, it would reach
47%. This is indeed an alarming situation.
2.2.3
Poverty & Migration
In 1981, some 15% of the people lived in urban
areas of the NWFP; the current estimate is now over
16%. But this phenomenon does not truly reflect the
rural out-migration, which is significant. For example,
during the 1970s, approximately 678,000 people
migrated from villages. Of these, 614,000 were estimated
to have moved to cities in other provinces.
The large-scale exodus of people outside the
province indicates the narrow economic base in rural
areas and the few employment opportunities in the
urban centres of the province. The last two decades
have seen a mass exodus of people leaving Pakistan
for employment elsewhere. A disproportionately
large number (27%) of them have come from the
NWFP. The financial remittances from the emigrants
have helped the economy considerably. But most of
those who went abroad were young and energetic
people with initiative and resources. The drain of
human resources has been reflected in irrigated lands
reverting to rain-fed agriculture, and in the abandonment
of farming on many rain-fed lands. This negative
impact on agricultural productivity and economy
has been little recognized and rarely accounted for.
No reliable estimate of the province's economic
development is available. The per capita income is
believed to be less than US$200, which is far less
than the national average of US$350. The NWFP
contributes 8.4% of national GDP, its industrial production
accounts for 9% of the national total, it has
only 7% of the large-scale manufacturing industry,
14 SARHAD PROVINCIAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY
and its industry employs 8.2% of the national labour
force. This compares unfavourably with its population
size, which is 14% of the nation.
The migration of the rural poor to urban areas
does not necessarily result in a better standard of living
for the migrants. Rather, the reverse often occurs,
with an increase in urban slums and service-deficient
areas accompanied with further pressure on already
scarce resources and services such as water supply,
sanitation, education, health, and recreation. This
can be tied to a general lack of industrial, commercial,
and business activities in the cities of the NWFP.
Thus rural poverty causes migration to, among other
places, the urban areas. But it results in further decay
of the urban areas, with a corresponding increase in
drug abuse, crimes, and social unrest.
With the present policy of privatization and
deregulation, and due to the province's distance from
the sea, the prospect of industrial development in the
NWFP is not high. Its greatest hope is to benefit from
its very unique and rich natural, cultural, and ecological
resources. The opening of trade routes with
Central Asia will also help, but these prospects are
plagued by the continuing war in Afghanistan.
2.2.4
Women & Development
Fundamental reform is needed in the treatment of
women and their involvement in the development of
the NWFP. They perform a variety of functions as
farm labourers, fuelwood collectors, and livestock
managers, yet they are the greatest sufferers of environmental
neglect and abuse. These are in addition
to the chores of daily life in the household. Female
labour varies with economic status, but generally the
work-load is greatest for the women in the lowerincome
groups. Though the official estimate for the
female labour rate in the NWFP is only 1.81% of the
total female population, they represent 6% of the
labour force in agriculture, forestry, livestock, and
fisheries. Women must be specifically targeted in
development efforts not only because they are a
socially disadvantaged group but also because many
of the initiatives such as the SAP will only succeed
with their meaningful involvement.