Annual Report 2009-10 - Sustainable Development Policy Institute

Annual Report2009 - 2010ganization, Green Cross Switzerland and European Commission. SDPI is the focal point of BSIi n Paki stan.The main aim of the Global Inventory Project (GIP) is to identify and assess the contaminatedsites in over 80 countries throughout the world. Another key objective of the GIP is to providedata to governments and international organizationsthat will enable them to prioritize activitiesand programs that will mitigate risks tothe environment & health and save lives ofmillions of people. One of the main site selectioncriteria is the magnitude of health impactson humans especially on children.The SDPI research team, after receiving siteassessment training organized by BSI, has sofar visited twenty two (22) contaminated sitesin Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (former NWFP), outskirtsof Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Faisalabad,Sialkot and Lahore. The contaminatedsite is identified keeping in view the criterion set by BSI, followed by some on the spot observationsand measurements. Most of the sites are contaminated due to industrial releases andmedical wastes and the fact that the residues are burning openly. Among site assessment activities,the relevant stakeholders, including, medical personnel, industry representatives, officialsof Ministry of Environment (MoE) & Federal and Provincial Environmental Protection Agencies(EPAs) were interviewed, besides the direct victims - the local residents. In order to assessthe gravity of the situation, the sampling of different segments of environment including drinkingwater, wastewater and soil is carried out and an assessment report is prepared in light of interviewswith stakeholders and results of the laboratory reports. The contaminated site assessmentis in progress in Southern Punjab and would be followed in Sindh and Baluchistan provinces.Keeping in view, the scale of the problem assessed so far, government attention is needed forthe remediation of the identified chemically contaminated sites. Furthermore, there is a need tocreate awareness among the relevant stakeholders about the potential risks of the polluted siteson public health and environment.For further details contact Dr. Mahmood Khwaja. khwaja@sdpi.org20S u s t a I n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t P o l I c y I n s t I t u t e