fisherfolk

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman

Standing Committee on Environment

National Assembly

Islamabad

 

 

Subject: Urgent meeting of Sub-committee of Environment

 

 

October 1 2009

 

 

Dear

 

Since 4 months I have been trying to call a meeting of the Environment Sub-committee on various critical aspects related to fishermen welfare including dredging by PQA but these meetings have been blocked by the bureaucracy.

 

I appreciate your help to resolve this issue but todate we have not succeeded in upholding supremacy of parliament and committee system.

 

I have another urgent issue which relates to delta and fisherfolk welfare regarding their illegal detention by India. As fisher folk welfare is part of my sub-committees Terms of Reference I would like to call a meeting regarding this issue of 180 Pakistani fisherfolk detained illegally by India.

 

To resolve this issue I would like to invite Foreign office senior relevant bureaucrats to brief us on the matter, fisherfolk forum officials, fisherwomen affected, maritime security agency, coastal guards, and any other relevant officials of Sindh government and federal government.

 

Kindly instruct the secretariat to arrange this meeting at the earliest. I remain grateful for your support.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

MNA Marvi Memon

Convener

 

Cc:      Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nawabzada Amad

Chief Secretary Sindh

 

delays sub cttee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman

National Assembly Standing Committee Environment

National Assembly Secretariat

Islamabad

 

 

August 12, 2009

 

 

Sub: Sub-committee Environment coastal areas

 

 

Dear

 

 

I attach herewith mid term recommendations of the Sub-committee on Environment coastal areas. (Annex 1)

 

I am pleased to welcome the new members to the sub-committee as indicated in the notification attached with the revised Terms of References. (Annex 2)

 

I hope that the delays caused to our meetings by those government elements not wanting us to resolve the issues of the coast will be handled so that our work can proceed and that you will assist us in this regards.

 

Our next meeting regarding waste on coast of Balochistan and Sindh has been unduly delayed since June 2009 and we consider this as a breach of our privilege. Agenda attached. (Annex 3)

 

We have always had your support and expect that the work of the people of the coast will not suffer once you fix these delaying elements.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Marvi Memon

Convener Sub-Committee Environment

 

 

 

Cc: Federal Minister for Environment

Members of Sub-committee

Chief Secretary Sindh

Chief Secretary Balochistan

 

july 10

 

July 10, 2009

 

 

Attn Mr Ashiq Nawaz

 

 

 

Please send the fresh TORs to all sub-committee members and arrange for meeting on same Agenda items requested earlier on Balochistan and Sindh coast on July 30 and 31.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

sub cttee work

 

 

 

Chairman

Standing Committee on Environment

National Assembly

Islamabad

 

Subject: Meeting of Sub-committee on Environment reference delta

 

July 4, 2009

 

Dear

 

 

 

I attach herewith the Terms of Reference (Annex 1A) as discussed by the Environment Committee on December 29 2009. The files of the Ministry/ Assembly need to be fixed since they need to follow audio recordings of decisions taken by the Standing Committee. I attach the TORs sent by your office (Annex1B)

 

I also attach the agenda that I need to tackle in the next two meetings (Annex 2). It is important that the National Assembly and Ministry Staff ensure these meetings are held at our convenience. It is also clear that the Agenda falls under the purview of the discussion held on Dec 29 as reflected in both the TORs.

 

I also am re-sending the excellent mid term recommendations (Annex 3) made by the sub-committee in 2 historic meetings (average of 6 hour per committee meeting). These need to be implemented by government.

 

A chronology of the committee’s work is also attached for all to understand how deliberately it has worked. (Annex 4)

 

The Ministry needs to facilitate our meetings rather than not as is clear from Annex 5.

 

Members of the sub-committee have traveled on their own expense many a times to accomplish the tasks of this sub-committee and have been most productive. As such I would urge you to ask the Assembly Staff to ensure a meeting is held at the earliest in this regard so that we can do our jobs failing which we will raise privilege issues of hindrance to our legislative work.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Marvi Memon

 

Cc:       Members of Sub-committee

 

envt cttee chronology

 

Chronology of Sub-committee on Environment (delta)

  

• Meeting of Standing Committee on Environment to form sub-committee: December 29, 2008

 

• Sub-committee notification: Jan 23, 2009

 

• First field Trip of sub-committee: 19-23, Feb 2009- Sukkur, Shadatkot Kamber, Dadu, Kotri, Thatta, (undertaken on Assembly funds)

 

• First Meeting of sub-committee: March 27, 2009

 

• Second Meeting of sub-committee: April 7, 2009

 

• Second field trip of sub-committee: June 9-11, 2009- Gawadar, Pasni (undertaken privately by convener only). Assembly sponsored trip pending as per TORs.

• Two visits to Rehri – and subsequent PC 1 for protective walls

• A meeting with Environment Minister for Sindh and his secretary MNA Tayyab and IUCN on wind and renewable of energy on May 11, 2009.

 

• Letter to Chairman Wapda on “Investigation required on saline water entering Sindh” on April 20, 2009.

 

• Sent summary of recommendations of environment sub-committee on first couple of TORs to relevant officials for action, letter was sent on 20^th April 2009.

 

• Letter sent to Chairman Wapda on “Investigation required on saline water entering Sindh” on 20^th April 2009.

 

• Environment issue of toxic mangrove plantation discussed between convener and Nazim Karachi Environment standing cttee meeting on Feb 23^rd, 2009.

  

• Letter to Chief Secretary Sindh Government of Sindh on “Sufferings of villagers living around Manchar lake”. As notice of the deaths of pregnant women in Manchar lake area due to lack of health facilities and the pollution related diseases. on January 28^th, 2009.

 

• Raised dolphin issue and wrote for report to sub-committee on Jan 13^th, 2009.

 

july 4

 

Honorable Mr Prime Minister

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

PM Secretariat

Islamabad

 

 

July 4, 2009

 

Sub: 10 MAF Downstream Kotri commitment

 

 

 

Dear

 

 

I attach at Annex 1 Terms of Reference of Sub-committee on Environment (Delta) formed Dec 29 2008 and notified Jan 23 2009.

 

At Annex 2 I attach the Recommendations on some of the issues of the TORs discussed so far.

 

These recommendations of the Sub-committee which deal with water issues have been sent to the relevant offices of federal and provincial government. It is to be noted that both the meetings of the sub-committee lasted 6 hours each and exhaustive work was done in both of them with relevant experts invited (Annex 3).

 

Based on the above, I would recommend that these recommendations are implemented at the earliest by your government.

 

Reference my withdrawal of privilege motion against the Minister Water & Power and IRSA Chairman and your commitment to chair a high level meeting to resolve Kotri downstream issues, I hope that the above recommendations would be useful for you.

 

I look forward to Kotri downstream just resolution under your chairmanship of the said meeting as per 1991 Accord.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Marvi Memon

 

Cc:       Chairman Environment committee

 

July 4

 

 

Chairman

Standing Committee on Environment

National Assembly

Islamabad

 

 

 

Subject: Pakistan’s participation in Asian Parliamentary Assembly conference on climate change in Seoul July 2009

 

 

Dear

 

 

I enclose herewith a copy of the resolution on Climate Change based on my participation in the Seoul conference of Asian Parliamentary Assembly (July 1-2 2009).

 

My speech made at the opening ceremony is also attached. As you can evaluate all my recommendations made in the speech are reflected in the resolution adopted in the conference which is a success for Pakistan.

 

I recommend that we set up a sub-committee on climate change immediately so as to spearhead the APA initiative within our Standing Committee on Environment.  

 

I also recommend that we get an approval for hosting the next APA climate change meeting in Pakistan next year. The expenses can be worked out by the Ministry of Environment and presented to the Prime Minister. This will position Pakistan very well in the region in future climate change negotiations internationally.

 

I would like to thank the National Assembly Speaker for giving me this opportunity to represent Pakistan on this delegation. I would like to thank the Ministry for its input. And I would also like to thank you for your confidence in our environmental endeavours.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Marvi Memon

 

 

Cc:       Prime Minister of Pakistan

            Speaker National Assembly

            Federal Minister of Environment

 

July 2

Report of the Meeting

 

 

Sub-Committee on Environmental Issues, Global Warming, and Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia

 

 

1-2 July 2009

Seoul, Korea 

 

 

1. The Sub-Committee on Environmental Issues, Global Warming, and Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia held its meeting on 1-2 July 2009 in Seoul, the Republic of Korea. APA Delegations from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Korea, Maldives, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palau, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, and Kazakhstan participated in this meeting. The list of participants is attached as Annex 1.

 

2.  Honorable Kim Hyong – O, Speaker of the Korean National Assembly, delivered his opening statement at the beginning of the meeting. Mr. Lee Byung-Wook, Vice        Minister of Environment of Korea delivered congratulatory remarks. Honorable Lee In Ki, Chairperson of the Special Committee on Climate Change in the Korean National Assembly was elected as the Chairperson; Honorable Salah Abdulrahman, Second Vice Chairman of the Bahrain Council of Representatives was elected as the Vice-Chairperson and Honorable Moosa Zameer, Member of the People’s Majlis of Maldives was elected as the Rapporteur of the Sub-Committee.

 

3.  The list of documents before the Sub-Committee included:

 

• APA/Res/2008/03 of 29 November 2008, the Third APA Plenary Session Resolution on Environmental Issues, Global Warming, Climate Change and Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia;

 

• SG/Rep/2009/07, dated 3 June 2009, the Report of the Secretary-General on Environmental Issues, Global Warming, and Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia.

 

4. The Preliminary Report of the Secretary-General to the Sub-Committee on Environmental Issues, Global Warming, and Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia contained in document SG/Rep/2009/07 had been forwarded to all APA Member Parliaments on 3 June 2009 and has been available on the website of the APA Secretariat ever since.

 

5.   The Sub-Committee welcomed the Report of the Secretary-General, SG/Rep/2009/07, and expressed appreciation for the manner in which it was submitted to the Sub-Committee for its consideration.

 

6. The Sub-Committee exchanged views on different elements and ideas in the Report of the Secretary-General with a view to pursuing its objectives. The Sub-Committee took note of the suggestions for further steps to be taken as mentioned in the Report of the Secretary-General.

 

7. Participating delegates further made the following points:

 

a)  The negative impacts of wars on the environment should also be addressed. Some delegations referred to the US policies in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon as having led to environmental degradation in the region.              

 

b) A number of delegates referred to the challenges of extremism and terrorism in our societies and the way they have affected the degradation of the environment.

 

c)  The environmental challenges facing small islands and the need to address them were touched upon by a number of delegates.   

 

1. The Sub-Committee expressed appreciation to the Korean Assembly, particularly Honorable Kim Hyong – O, Speaker of the Korean National Assembly for his excellent leadership and organization of the meeting and the hospitality offered to all participants.

 

1. The Sub-Committee recommended the following draft resolution to the first APA Executive Council meeting of 2009, to be forwarded to the APA Plenary for its consideration:

 

Sub-Committee on

Environmental Issues, Global Warming, Climate Change and

Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia

Seoul, Republic of Korea

1-2 July 2009

 

 

 

Resolution

 

 

 

We, the Members of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly,

 

Recalling the Resolution on Environmental Issues, Global Warming, Climate Change and Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia, APA/Res/2008/03, dated 29 November 2008;

 

Welcoming the Report of the Secretary-General on Environmental Issues, Global Warming, and Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia, contained in document SG/Rep/2009/07, dated 3 June 2009, to the Sub-Committee meeting on Environmental Issues, Global Warming, and Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea on 1-2 July 2009;

 

Recognizing the need to create a balance between the prerogatives for development of the Asian countries and protection of their environment; 

 

Being concerned that people from the Asian developing countries, especially women and children living in poverty, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change because of their limited capacity and resources to respond, and that this gives them a particular claim on the solidarity and support of the Asian developed countries;

 

Noting that the development and deployment of renewable energies hold great promise in reconciling the increasing needs for energy, particularly in the developing world, and the ability of the environment to meet present and future needs; 

 

Being aware that good governance is an indispensable tool for combining economic development and environmental protection;

 

Taking note of the deliberations of the Sub-Committee on Environmental Issues, Global Warming, and Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia;

 

Expressing concern about the negative impacts of climate change in Asia;

 

Being aware of resource and infrastructure constraints of Asian developing countries in the fight against global warming;

 

Recognizing the difficulties of wars and terrorism being waged in Asia due to which climate change impact is worsened and livelihoods are further impacted negatively;

 

Understanding the need for avoiding future water wars due to member country water distribution issues;

 

Recognizing the responsibility of developed countries and international institutions to special needs of Asian countries, particularly Asian developing countries, in their strive to deal with negative consequences of climate change effectively and reiterating the importance of devising a proper mechanism for technology transfer and financing clean technology from developed to developing countries to combat global warming;

 

Acknowledging the importance of cooperation among Asian countries to share data, experiences and best practices in dealing with the impacts of global warming and climate change in Asia through institutional partnerships, centers of excellence and academic institutions;

 

 Encouraging the private sector most specifically multinationals (business community) to come forward and play its part in the fight against global warming;

 

Recognizing the disruption of maritime eco-system in coast areas and the danger of sea-level rise caused by climate change;

  

Emphasizing the importance of environmental education and public awareness in APA countries;

 

Recognizing the need to adopt a strategy on climate change in Asia: 

 

Realizing the significance of achieving the targets defined by the Kyoto Protocol;

 

Encouraging the use of Compact Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles and alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind, biogas, etc;

 

Stressing the importance of coordination among Asian countries during the climate change negotiations on the post-Kyoto regime;

 

Encouraging participation of Asian parliamentarians in the national delegations participating in the climate change negotiations;

 

1. 1.      Urge APA Member Parliaments to take climate change as an important factor in all policy areas for Asian countries; and to call upon their respective governments as appropriate to adopt, in line with their national conditions as well as UNFCCC and UNEP recommendations, a strategy on climate change at the national level with the ultimate goal of achieving an Asian Strategy for Climate Change and its implementation;

 

1. 2.      Decide to promote environmental education and public awareness in countries of APA Member Parliaments;

 

1. 3.      Recommend APA Member Parliaments to exchange information and technological development for climate change and Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia;

 

1. Welcome the results of the World Ocean Conference and Coral Triangle Initiative in Manado, Indonesia and encourage the parliaments and governments of the Asian countries to develop environmentally sound strategy for long-term conservation, management and sustainable use of marine living resources and coastal habitats based on reliable scientific assessments and internationally agreed goals, particularly for the most vulnerable communities that fully depend on marine resources for their livelihood;

 

1. Urge Member Parliaments to design a specific mechanism to oversee the implementation of the strategy on climate change including holding hearings and inviting specialists to review the implementation of the strategy and to devote adequate resources in the budget to combat global warming;

 

1. Emphasize the need for the unimpeded access of all Asian countries to advanced technologies to deal with negative consequences of climate change effectively,  reaffirm the principles of “common but differentiated responsibilities” contained in  UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol, recognize the responsibility of developed countries and international institutions in this regard and encourage them to provide financial and technical assistance to less-developed countries in their efforts for an environmentally sustainable development;

 

1. Invite Member Parliaments to adopt binding emission reduction targets which do not negatively impact industrialization process;

 

1. Encourage Member Parliaments to adopt an energy policy including sustainable use of biofuels, determining yearly energy savings, promoting energy from renewable sources, implementing model low carbon consumption villages, encouraging alternative renewable fuels for the poor, recharging existing natural resources and improving energy efficiency;

 

1. Decide to establish an open-ended advisory group composed of 7 Member Parliaments, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iran, and Pakistan within the Sub-Committee on Environment, to work on a common legislation on an Asian Strategy for Climate Change;

 

10.  Encourage APA Member Parliaments to establish a sub-committee specifically on climate change in each Member Parliament;

 

11.  Decide to promote the role of NGOs and civil society in any strategy to combat global warming including holding hearings with the participation of NGOs and civil society on issues related to climate change and sharing their best practices in the region;

 

12.  Encourage the participation of Asian parliamentarians in the national delegations participating in the climate change negotiations to replace the Kyoto Protocol in 2009;

 

13.  Call upon Member Parliaments to provide, on a voluntary periodical and consistent basis, the data concerning issues related to climate change and global warming to APA Secretariat to be compiled in a database for the reference and use by all Member Parliaments;

 

14.  Invite Member Parliaments, in a position to do so, to provide assistance, technical and vocational training, upon request, to other APA members for the implementation of the goals and policies recommended in this resolution especially related to disaster management resulting from global warning environmental calamities;

 

15.  Invite further Member Parliaments to present a report on a voluntary basis on their activities regarding ‘Planting Billions of Trees throughout Asia’ and the survival rates of the planted trees in the next session of the Sub-Committee;

 

16.  Encourage the participation of Asian countries into Expo 2012 Yeosu, Korea to improve the oceanic environment;

 

17.  Request the Secretary General to seek the views of Member Parliaments on the implementation of the present resolution and report thereon to the next session of the Sub-Committee in 2010 which will be held in …

 

July 1

 

MNA Marvi Memon- Member of Parliament from Pakistan

 

Opening Speech on behalf of Pakistan to the Asian Parliamentary Assembly Sub–committee on Environment Conference in Seoul (July1-2, 2009)

 

It’s a pleasure and an honour to be amongst such distinguished company. We are grateful to the National Assembly of South Korea to host this important event. Climate change is a subject which is critical for all Asian countries, and it’s important to develop national and regional strategies to combat it at the earliest. Such forums provide a chance to success share as well as to discuss Asian priorities.

 

The top challenges facing Pakistan today are extremism and poverty. Climate change is a subject which is central to our survival and thus it is an equally big challenge. Whilst Pakistan is committed to fighting the war against extremism, it is equally committed to facing the menace of global warming. Pakistan’s successive governments have always considered climate change to be an important priority and in fact the Climate Change Institute which was formed in 2002 is chaired by the Prime Minister thus denoting its importance.

 

We agree with the APA Secretary General’s report that there is a need for common Asian climate change legislation and we welcome this from Pakistan’s perspective. As law makers legislation is our top priority and to have a joint Asian legislation on the subject of climate change will help us deliver on joint goals set in such meetings. It will help impress upon our electorate that environmental issues have no borders. I would like to recommend that since every country represented here (19 countries) have standing committees on environment there should be sub-committees formed in each country (if they don’t exist already) on climate change. This will help implement all the decisions taken in the meetings at the Asian parliament level. Implementation in our countries will determine the real success of any such meetings.

 

Moreover, there are probably climate change institutes in each country. A closer coordination between all member country climate change institutes will be an important step towards government level coordinations. Each Institute needs to be made responsible for data sharing on climate change indicators. An indicator list and grid should also be developed so that there are common goals set in each country. Ofcourse each country will be at different levels of environmental degradation but a common indicator approach will be useful for forward movement. Monthly data sharing reports can then be forwarded to the sub-committees on climate change.

 

The business community is a key stakeholder and as identified in the report of the Secretary General their participation is critical. I recommend that since multinational organizations are financially more capable of handling Corporate Social Responsibility programs they be made focal point for executing awareness campaigns in each of our countries. Across Asia multinationals could develop a powerful advertising message for raising common man’s awareness on such issues.

 

Deforestation and desertification are important challenges for Pakistan and my government has declared 2009 as the Environment Year. We in the National Assembly’s Environment committee monitor the executive’s efforts in this direction. Other than the many forestation projects being conducted by the government an interesting one I would like to share with you is the one for mangrove plantation in July this year where Pakistan will be aiming at achieving a Guinness Book of World Record by planting 400,000 mangroves in one day. Mangroves serve as the main defense for our coastline and are the lungs for our coastal people. As such this initiative will go a long way in helping Pakistan as well as contributing to the APA goal of planting billions of trees.

 

As Pakistan is blessed with many natural resources amongst which is the glaciers of the Northern Areas, we in Pakistan are most concerned about the phenomena of GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Floods) which occur as a result of global warming. In this regards whilst my government is making progress on preventive and post event handling, it is important that the region shares data on glacier melt. It is equally important that early warning systems are upgraded. Pakistan requires regional assistance on this front. Moreover disaster management fund needs to be built at a regional level so that we can better deal with the negative effects of global warming. The GLOFs directly impact livelihoods of our people. As such the fund in this regard is urgently required.

 

Agriculture cropping pattern research also is a priority for my country. Whilst our institutes are working diligently in this direction, we need to have better coordination with other centers of excellence and universities in Asia. Food insecurity is a concern we all share and like most countries around this table, water shortage is a huge issue for Pakistan. Whilst our government’s strategy is towards small dams, it would be useful to share experiences on irrigation techniques which don’t empty aquifers and which rejuvenate them. NGO participation as requested by the APA Secretary General will be useful in this field. IUCN which is a known NGO is working on sustainable development models and most specifically in this area as well. With regional joint approach in this subject, clean drinking water for all rather than few would be an achievable dream.

 

Health impact of climate change cannot be ignored. Pakistan like most developing countries does not have huge budgets for health and education. It is important that there is research on climate change related diseases which is shared across the region but more specifically a fund in this regard as well at the Asian level so as to ensure research for imminent diseases and disease protection.

 

Energy and alternative Renewable energies is an important initiative for my country and government. Over the past years a separate department has been made. Perhaps at an Asian level an initiation of a separate ministry is required in each country so that the energy mix is better distributed towards renewable in the coming years. Fossil fuels need to be substituted, but this cannot happen without technology transfer. Amongst our midst today we have a few countries who have taken a lead in this direction. Success Transfer to the rest of us is critical. Pakistan has a tremendous potential in solar and wind energy. It’s all a question of foreign direct investment. I invite all countries to invest in Pakistan in this area. The returns will be great and the success at the APA level would be tremendous. Let us try and give priority to each other for investment opportunities. We Asians must go beyond talk at conference tables. We must invest in each other’s economies to make Asian integration at climate change level possible. An area where I invite specific investment is mass transit through renewable energy. This will benefit our economy tremendously.

 

Your idea of a low carbon city is tremendous. In Korea whilst you take such initiatives, I suggest we at the APA level have a model of a village which is run entirely by Renewable Energy. Such models will then spread. And this will be a direct result of our joint collaboration. Along with this a program for vocational training is necessary to spread the skills required to building such environmentally friendly villages

 

Population growth is an equally important challenge whilst discussing climate change. Whislt some countries have handled this through legislation, population tax is an initiative we can perhaps consider at the APA level.

 We must ensure that developed countries like USA ratify Kyoto. The ending of the first Kyoto commitment period by 2012 is causing undertainty to all especially the developing countries. It is hoped that APA would play its role in this process.
 
Also the issue of water scaricty, the rights of lower riparian need to be discussed amongst member Asian countries so that the chances for water related wars which are imminent in the future due to member countries not abiding by water commitments are minimized.

I would like to conclude that we all face similar challenges and that environmental degradation has no state boundaries. Asian legislation on climate change is a critical first step in this direction and I commit implementation on Pakistan’s behalf to such progressive legislation.

 

I thank you for your kind attention and look forward to the joint learnings in this forum.

 

privilege motion on kotri escapage

 To the National Assembly Secretary

 

 

Privilege Motion Under Rules of Business 2007 Rule # 98

 

I beg to move a privilege motion against The Ministry of Water and Power officials due to the statements in the House and its sub- committees during 2009 on escapages downstream Kotri.

 

1. The Minister of Water and Power in his statement to the house on Wednesday June 24 2009 regarding escapages downstream Kotri claimed that the average escapage is 32.70 MAF and that WAPDA, IRSA and all provinces agree to this. Since the period of the average calculation of escapages is not mentioned this figure becomes misleading for policy decisions. As per Kotri barrage data the escapage in 2008-9 was approximately 5.8 MAF and the lowest since 2000 has even been 0.29 MAF.
2. The IRSA Chairman in a meeting with the sub-committee on Environment in March 2009 claimed that the average escapage necessary was 8.6 MAF. Whilst in actual fact from the data given in IRSA’s own report reference the International Panel of Experts the escapage was to be 10.8 MAF in a dry year and 9.86 MAF in an average year. Despite this correction made to IRSA Chairman in the  meeting of sub-committee of environment the same wrong assertions were made in response to a question asked by me in written response given by Assembly/ Ministry on April 24 2009.

 

Coastal delta area requires 10 MAF minimum as per 1991 Accord and Ministry for Water and Power officials have broken privilege of this house by claiming otherwise or by stating an average without giving average period.

 

Releases of minimum 10MAF must be ensured every year and the recommendations of the sub-committee of environment (as attached) on the subject need to be followed in letter and spirit.

 

 ————-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recommendations of Sub-committee on Delta (March 27 2009)

 

10 MAF release downstream Kotri methodology

1. 10 MAF is sacrosanct since its part of 1991 Accord and needs to be implemented as per directives of main standing committee of environment.
2. The destruction of 1.3mm acres and 126 dehs as per Board of Revenue figures needs re-survey and just compensation.
3. There should be no difference between Kotri barrage, WAPDA and IRSA escapage figures and Kotri should be taken as prime source.
4. Telemetry system needs fixing by WAPDA and committee needs to be given plan of how it will be fixed.
5. In the last 9 years 6 years have been below 10MAF. The deficiency needs to be made up for in future years.
6. International Panel of Experts report has not been presented for approval to provincial governments and thus 1991 accord allocation is final.
7. IPOE report in anycase did not suggest 8.6MAF downstream Kotri which is what IRSA and WAPDA had claimed to committee. When report of IPOE is read it amounts to 10.8 and 9.8MAF in dry and average years. IRSA and WAPDA were directed not to misquote numbers as they had done in earlier committee submissions as well as in this – since this reduced trust between provinces on key water issue.
8. 1991 accord to be followed in letter and spirit and as first priority existing canal requirements was to be fulfilled. Next 10MAF requirement and then if there was any balance supplies left allocations could be made for Rainee Katchi GTC and new dams and new projects.
9. When new dams would be built, the first priority would be to supply 10MAF downstream Kotri and to fulfill the same requirement for each year where 10MAF could not be met through dam.
10. A monitoring and benchmarking committee to be formed which would evaluate delta ecology for 1960, 1991 and 2009. Subsequently for every 5 years. IUCN, WWF and Environment dept could initiate this study.
11. holistic approach to water was required and a vision 2050 was required where water conversation and re=usage plan was sought.
12. Concept of restoration of River was to be studied by committee in detail.
13. the Technical committee report and the Parliamentary committee report were to be presented to parliament and their findings made public.
14. Climate change impact on 10MAF was to be evaluated and submitted to committee.
15. UN Convention on non irrigation usage was to be studied.