INTRODUCTION
Environmental Law: Environmental law is a vast field that encompasses regulations, directives, policies, principles, and laws that are specifically designed and implemented by international, national, and local authoritative entities.
The term is defined as laws that are formulated by humans in order to protect and regulate the environment from environmental degradation caused by human activities.
Environmental laws include regulations and policies concerning the conservation and management of natural reserves, natural resources, etc.
Also read: Current Environmental Issues In Pakistan – List With Detail
ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS/LEGISLATION/REGULATIONS/POLICIES OF PAKISTAN
Pakistan is not far beyond in playing its role to provide protection for the environment. The Government of Pakistan has initiated clean green projects that include protective areas initiatives, billion tree tsunami project, miyawaki urban forest, etc.
The environmental laws of Pakistan are listed below with a brief description.
- Pakistan Penal Code (1860)
This code calls for sanctions on the contractor of any project who fails to comply with the ratified environmental approaches.
- The Wild Birds and Animals Protection Act (1912)
This wildlife protection act supports the act of conservation and preservation of particular wild animals and birds.
- Forest Act (1927)
This act highlights the urge for consolidating the laws related to forest preservation, transportation of forest products, and the imposition of duty on timber, etc.
- Factories Act Rules (1934)
This act deals with consolidation and amendments of the laws related to the labors employed in the factories within Pakistan. The key terms are labor inspection, working hours, penalties, child labor, pension, etc.
- West Pakistan Fisheries Ordinance (1961)
This ordinance includes West Pakistan and excludes special areas. It regulates fishing methods, rules related to private water bodies, rights of fishing, etc.
- The Cutting of Trees (Prohibition) Act (1992)
This act supports the prohibition of cutting trees or any damage that is being caused to growing tees nearby external areas of Pakistan.
You might also like to check out: International and National Environmental Organizations in Pakistan
- Pakistan National Conservation Strategy (1992)
This conservation strategy encompasses sustainable development, improvement in utilization and management, and resource, and national resource conservation.
- Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA) (1997)
PEPA Act supports the conservation, and preservation of the environment, by preventing and controlling pollution and achieving sustainable development.
- Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (review of IEE and EIA) Regulations (2000)
This regulation deals with the preparation, review process, and submission of the environmental assessment report of a proposed project that will likely have negative environmental impacts. For more detailed info, read: Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (review of IEE and EIA) Regulations (2000).
- National Environmental Policy (2005)
This policy addresses issues related to the environment. The key objective of National environmental policy is to achieve sustainable development.
- Hospital Waste Management Rules (2005)
These rules intend to achieve sustainable improvements regarding the effective implementation of waste management plans.
- National Sanitation Policy (2006)
This Policy intends to provide sufficient sanitation facilities to the population of Pakistan in order to improve quality of life.
- National Drinking Water Policy (2009)
This policy intends to provide safe drinking water to the entire population before 2025 at an economical cost.
- National Climate Change Policy (2012)
This Policy supports the provision of a framework that addresses the problems being faced by Pakistan currently and in the future due to climate change.
Also check out: International Environmental Agreements Signed by Pakistan
NEED FOR NEW ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS/LEGISLATION IN PAKISTAN
As you can see from the list above there is a dire need for Environmental laws dealing with the latest issues posed by environmental degradation and climate change. We at envpk.com request the government to formulate new environmental laws, reforms old ones, and strictly implement newly formulated environmental laws. The fact is forming new environmental laws is not the only solution but the implementation of laws is what really matters.
Also check out: Environmental Management Systems (EMS) in Pakistan
I hope you all liked this post! Please comment below if you have any suggestions, comments, or feedback! We at #envpk love hearing from our readers! Thanks!
