LAHORE – Speakers at a WWF session have urged the need to promote water efficiency in Pakistan, one of the world’s most water stressed countries.
The project aims to implement international labour and environmental standards in Pakistan in order to improve the capacity of the public sector to implement Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and national environmental laws and standards in Pakistan.
The project involves building capacity of the textile and leather sector to adopt Smart Environmental Management Practices (SEMPs) in order to efficiently use water and energy resources and reduce the use of hazardous chemicals by 15 to 20 per cent.
Further the project aims to contribute to improvement in industry based laws so that Pakistan’s export market can compete with international labour and environmental standards.
He also said that the implementation of laws pertaining to industrial effluents generated from the textile and leather industries are very weak.
He also said that a large population of major cities in Pakistan does not have access to safe drinking water as freshwater resources are being contaminated due to multiple reasons.
He was of the view that safe drinking water should be made available to the population and industries need to ensure proper disposal of solid and liquid waste.
Arjmand informed that WWF-Pakistan will initiate a study on the situation analysis of water resources in Karachi and will establish a case for a citywide partnership for responsible use of the resource.