Sarhad Provincial Conservation Strategy - IUCN

clean and its industry competitive so that it is ready to
face the challenges of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade with monitoring by the World Trade
Organization. In particular, the forthcoming ISO
14000 standards could dramatically affect the competitiveness
of ‘dirty’ industries.
The NWFP has an abundance of natural
resources that need to be explored. This is very necessary
for the growth of its economy and progress
towards a developed industrial base. The natural
resources can, however, be destroyed if they are not
properly maintained. While the sustainable use of
these resources can ensure long-lasting development,
a balance must be found between growth and the
environmental decline that can follow economic
exploitation without checks and balances.
As Pakistan moves from a state-run economy
towards a market-oriented economy, it needs to explore
ways to encourage Government and private-sector partnerships.
It needs to find ways to develop natural
resources in a manner that does not create a threat to
natural habitats. The balance between the ecosystem
and economic growth needs to be maintained. The privatization
process and trade liberalization are giving
rise to a new breed of entrepreneurs rushing into business,
sometimes using out-of-date or dirty technology.
There is the potential for more environmental abuse.
The privatization of Government-owned industries
can provide new life to badly run and poorly maintained
state industries with a more efficient management
and fresh start. This in turn can allow them to
invest in making their factories more environmentfriendly
without losing a competitive edge.
Government can be very instrumental in this regard.
Incentives can be provided to industrialists to help
cover the costs of better technology from industrial
countries. Industries with non-toxic and biodegradable
waste can be encouraged. Steps also need to
be taken to reduce toxicity from the waste before it is
discharged into streams.
Similarly, deregulation is occurring to improve
competitiveness, but care needs to be taken so that
the environment is maintained. Trade liberalization
is needed for the over-regulated economy, but complete
deregulation can be very dangerous.
Regulatory bodies, such as the EPA, need to be
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 6
empowered to keep a vigilant eye on industries and
to help entrepreneurs develop environment-friendly
businesses. They need to have supporting legislation
to enforce the guidelines laid out by the
Environment and Urban Affairs Division and slowly
move towards adopting the more stringent best
practicable technology.
In addition to a regulatory role, however, there
are a series of positive steps that Government can
take to encourage good behaviour:
■ provide economic instruments such as tax incentives;
■ ensure a level playing field for ‘green’ technologies;
■ review economic policies;
■ remove disincentives to sustainable development;
and
■ ‘green’ the Government budget.
These are some of the structural instruments that can
be used. Although the Government has not yet begun
to work in this area, it will begin to do so during the
‘transition to implementation’ phase over the next three
years. To ensure that an examination of economic
instruments and economic policies is properly focused,
each proposal must be measured against specific criteria:
environmental significance, socio-economic
impact, fiscal impact, stakeholder support, data availability,
administrative manageability, cost of administration
and compliances, employment implications,
and ability to demonstrate leadership.
The case of black polythene bags provides a
recent example of Government action with respect
to an industry that might have been handled differently.
While the first instinct of Government was simply
to order a shutdown of the entire industry, this
would have been disastrous for its employees. A
better approach, in addition to asking for voluntary
compliance with environmental regulations, would
have been to help the industry find alternative uses
for the technology and to provide fiscal incentives
for conversion to other products. In the end, the
industry was not shut down, but a duty was placed
on the black bags in an effort to make them as
expensive as white polythene bags. This form of disincentive,
while it may work, increases consumer
costs across the board, which is not good public
policy in a poor country. An additional positive step
would be to educate consumers to switch away
SARHAD PROVINCIAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY 57