Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy - IUCN

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3 . 1
R E S P O N D I N G T O T H E I S S U E S
PAST TRENDS
& INSTITUTIONAL DETERIORAT I O N
Public-sector investment has dominated the economic
development scene in Pakistan. This is reflected in the
distribution of responsibilities in the Five-Year Plans
that are the main instruments of development planning.
For example, in the First and Second Five-Year
Plans, public-sector investments were 69% and 54%
of the total financial outlays respectively. This trend
has continued until recently. The state was in control,
as both the Government and the people thought
development to be the state's responsibility.
This has resulted in the alienation of people and a
decline in the tradition of self-help that was characteristic
of the region for centuries. Greater state control
steadily resulted in corruption, and development
schemes would be increasingly traded as favours.
Development did occur, but it was expensive,
inequitable, and unsustainable. Moreover, the statesponsored
development schemes often resulted more
in conflict than in cohesion in the communities.
Examples can be found of people demolishing public
water supply schemes and distributing the pipes
among themselves. This indicates the schemes were
not based on need, and people felt a lack of ownership
of them. The fragmented and inconsistent policies
resulting from political instability aggravated the
problem and led to an erosion of public faith in state
mechanisms.
In this process, public goods such as forests, air,
and water have suffered the most. Due to their ‘common
property’ nature, people sought to salvage
forests, believing either that they would be lost anyway
or that they were an endless, God-given
resource. In cities, state properties have been lost to
encroachments. Some people have put buildings in
the middle of waterways. The Government institutions
responsible for these resources closed their
eyes and, at times, even supported the abuse.
This pattern of development followed the ‘big
push’ approach. It was thought that large public
investments would raise per capita income, and the
benefits would eventually reach the poor even if they
were not specifically targeted. In 1960s, Pakistan
18 SARHAD PROVINCIAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY
did achieve respectable economic growth, but the
gap between rich and poor further widened. The
nationalization policy of the early 1970s discouraged
private investment and paved the way for an
exodus of financial resources overseas. The political
and bureaucratic elite siphoned off substantial funds,
and what remained was not sufficient to meet the
basic needs of a swelling population. The
Government started to borrow heavily. The result
was rising debt and the initiation of projects of questionable
value. Environmental improvement was
never an issue.
Environmental problems are many and complex
but are often institutional. The public service has
steadily degenerated, and fewer public servants are
motivated to work. The service is highly politicized
and compartmentalized. Corruption has increased
over the years which manifests itself in the lack of
transparency in decisions and unwillingness to coordinate
with others. There is also a lack of capacity
with respect to environmental planning and management.
While the capacity building may not be a
major problem, getting the institutions to work in a
coordinated manner and to share information is
exceedingly difficult.
The problem is more pronounced in urban areas
due to the multiplicity of mandates for urban management
shared by dozens of agencies. Related to this is
the loss of responsibility of municipal councils, which
have existed only intermittently and which have
become dependent on Government grants. There is
little motivation for them to raise their own funds.
Moreover, the legislative framework for sustainable
development is weak and fragmented. The
existing laws do provide for some aspects of environment
such as forest conservation, but these provisions
are incidental. Still, it would be useful if these
were implemented. Unfortunately, the enforcement
mechanisms are flawed, and the system of incentives
and disincentives does not encourage conformity to
these laws. The Environmental Protection Ordinance
promulgated by the Federal Government is not comprehensive
and has still not been fully effectuated.
Therefore, a provincial environmental legislation is
under consideration with the Government of North
West Frontier Province.