WHILE Pakistan witnesses the catastrophic effects of climate change in the form of extreme heat, severe droughts and furious storms, the authorities at the helm appear divided on how to tackle the issue. Climate change can be mitigated through ecological management which shouldbe anintegralpartofthe Pakistan Environmental Protection Act and all its policy implementation programmes. Every project, both at federal and provincial levels, must incorporate its direct, indirect and cumulative impacts on climate change and vice versa.

Although various ministries and their respective departments are working for environment protection, confusion arises when it comes to treating environmental management and climate change separately.

Unfortunately, we lack sound policies and ef fective laws on environmental management and supporting regulations for climate change in the planning, management and execution stages of agricultural and development projects.

Essentially the land, including the water bodies, provides the basis for human livelihoods, but its management is never included as a separate entity in any policy.

There are no zoning laws or planning for land use. Moreover, no performance anddesign standards are made for existing guidelines on air and water pollution control and environmental impact statement (EIS).

The EIS and environmental assessment (EA), which should be the basis for every project, are never regulated in terms of uniform procedural implementation.

Rather, the EIS and EA requirements are often ignored by the government in major projects.

The government should review the current policies related to ecological management, protection and climate change, and must take a prompt action to tackle the issue through sustainable environmental management and supportive laws and policies.

Nusrat Bibi Mardan