Pakistan
has responded to its environmental problems by passing laws, establishing
environmental protection institutions and by developing human resources and
technical capacities through local resources and foreign assistance. The
constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan confers concurrent legislative
on the Federation and the Provinces to legislate in respect of environmental
pollution and ecology. Pakistan has had laws that contain provisions for
environmental protection. These laws which were partly inherited from British
India dealt with air & water quality, canal irrigation, land tenure and
use, forest conservation, wildlife protection, energy development, pesticides
use, noise, public health etc1. Not only these laws were ineffective,
punishment for violation was mild and easy to circumvent but these laws also
did not adequately cover the subject areas and several were outdated. Many
aspects of the environmental degradation remained uncontrolled and
under-regulated.
Regulating Industrial Pollution: Pakistan