Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy - IUCN

6
G O V E R N A N C E & C A P A C I T Y D E V E L O P M E N T
The coordination of technical land use planning
functions will be part of the new mandate of the
PP&H Department and the Department of
Environmental Planning and Management at
Peshawar University, with inputs from others as needed.
This is presently undergoing an institutionstrengthening
programme. This is a positive initiative,
but it faces the inevitable problem of institutional
rivalries with other institutions, plus difficulties in
assigning priorities to the areas to be treated and in
the sustainability of the technology (Geographic
Information Systems) being used. Some degree of
coordination, priority setting, and monitoring of land
use planning programmes should be included in the
ES and, once again, the processes need a legal mandate.
Better coordination was a constant theme in the
public consultation process both at district and village
level, so much of the planning work should be done
at the local level.
Decentralization of planning was an important
theme that emerged from the public consultation
process. In most district-level meetings, even with high
participation by public servants, there was little reticence
among the organized village welfare organizations
to speak clearly. They felt local priorities were not
being listened to by planners. This concern varied from
district to district, but in general the farther the district
was from Peshawar, the greater the sense of alienation.
For this reason, there were several spontaneous
suggestions for district-level planning teams that would
decide on the next generation of development activities
for the district. This was especially prominent in
Timergara, Chitral, Batagram, Karak, and D.I. Khan.
There was a related theme calling for the ‘privatization’
of certain Government functions, to help communities
break out of the cycle of dependency on
Government planning, resources, and welfare. This
was accompanied by often spontaneous statements
of a need for more direct democracy at the district
level. There is also an apparently remarkable growth
in the number of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), little known by the Government, often with
all or at least a portion of their mandates focused on
environmental rehabilitation.
Finally there have been a number of institutionstrengthening
projects proposed, in addition to
52 SARHAD PROVINCIAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY
those already under way. These are essential, albeit
long-term initiatives that will, in the same manner as
the proposed environmental education programme,
show benefits for the environment years later rather
than in the short-term.
6 . 2
POTENTIAL REORGANIZATION OF
GOVERNMENT’S ENVIRONMENTA L
R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
Although it is one of the most difficult subjects to tackle
in any programme of sustainable development, a
close look must be taken at the very structure of
Government, not just the environmental management
processes that may or may not be in place. Structural
reform is difficult to achieve, and is often resisted by
entrenched interests with fixed, rigid, or merely welldefined
ways of achieving their ends. Yet a preliminary
analysis shows—and the public consultations
emphasized—that there is a serious lack of coordination
among agencies with ‘environmental management’
mandates.
The NWFP has shown progressive leadership in
establishing the ES of the PE&D Department and the
EPA, and in creating a department of Wildlife separate
from the Forest Department. But the environmental
management responsibilities of Government are
scattered among several departments, and some
renewable resources are not managed at all, or only
indirectly. Thus there is merit in considering a reorganization
of Government to ensure better integration of
functions and to reduce duplication in some areas.
Indeed, consolidation of some functions may result in
cost savings.
Although the idea of creating a single department
of environment and renewable resources was considered
premature several years ago, largely for reasons
of a lack of capacity, it may be appropriate to
reconsider this now, in the SPCS ‘transition to implementation’
phase. It is an inherently good idea, once
there are enough trained and experienced staff. At
the same time, however, it would result in the consolidation
of number of senior management positions
and will likely be resisted on that basis. Nevertheless,
a task force should be established to examine consol-