Jihad Revised "Point being, we need the state to take responsibility and religious lobby to be subservient to the state" you wrote.

The article points to one practical way of getting to this.

Fatima Jinnah Park – Metaphor for Pakistan\'s Problems and their Solution Re: # 10 You can check my previous article on Chowk to find out when I first started contributing to this magazine.

One shouldn't need 'prizes' to provide relevant comments.

Often there is way too much noise generated when discussions go off at a tangent. This is unfortunate for those who contribute to Chowk, as we should all aim for a level of seriousness and focus that will encourage more visitors and that a Chowk visit leads to some enlightenment.

My best regards to you.

Fatima Jinnah Park – Metaphor for Pakistan\'s Problems and their Solution Re: # 11 You have a good memory. The article that proposed the history project is available on Chowk. Please do re-read it. It was a proposal for historian on both sides with support from a body such as UNESCO to work on a history textbook on the net. I am not a historian and was not to be involved in the project implementation. There was a lot of interest from Indian historians but little from the Pakistani side. The couple of good historians we have are not computer savvy unfortunately.

My collaborator, Foqia Sadiq Khan, had contacted Prof Ayesha Jalal, a well-known South Asian Historian at Tufts University, and AJ had shown an interest in doing something like this through her history department. I am not aware of what progress she has made.

Fatima Jinnah Park – Metaphor for Pakistan\'s Problems and their Solution I am afraid comments 1-8 are largely irrelevant to the issues discussed in the article.

Why Doxiadis Cries for Islamabad #1 I was at a public hearing related to Centaurus. Almost everyone there, other than the builders supported my ideas. The problem is that the decision-makers are the biggest law breakers, in this case the Environment Protection Act of 1997. Please read it at www.environment.gov.pk. With 60 years of disappointments behind them the majority are unwilling to expend the effort needed to change things. That's why we need small successes that will help build the morale of the citizens.

Why Doxiadis Cries for Islamabad #3 It might help if you read some literature about sustainable cities. There is plenty on the net.

Why Doxiadis Cries for Islamabad Re: # 2 A comparison of the styles is not relevant to the discussion here. It is how you maintain a town that is what you and others may wish to reflect on and maybe write an article about it.

Chief Justice’s Chess Re: # 12

``But, then, I am sure all this has nothing to do with the main thrust of your article.
My apolgies (in advance) for the clumsy attempt at side-tracking,`` you wrote...

All healthy people in this country live in hope, for without it, people die. Yes, we moan too much and do little, but deep down we retain some optimism. The challenge is to harness that flickering optimism into a coherent movement for change. The current judicial crisis could mark a turning point.

No one has guaranteed that our boundaries will not change or that we will not have greater upheavals. What one can say for sure is that the people who currently live here - around 160 billion - aren`t going anywhere else. There just aren`t that many green cards, and that`s all for the good. It is for these people, guided by a judicious leadership (and we have a few good leaders), to make this piece of land worth living in.

It is still doable given the will and some good luck.

BTW Q is not for Qazi - it stands for Qurious!

Chief Justice’s Chess Re: # 10

I am afraid the question is not relevant to the main thrust of the article. Blindness to exponential growth is what the article points to.

Chief Justice’s Chess Re: # 7

Very interesting and timely that you should mention Centaurus! Tomorrow an environmentalist Helga Ahmed and I will send a letter to the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the illegal construction of this large building complex without an environmental impact assessment and a public hearing.

Here are relevant portions of our letter:


``We have watched with grave concern the construction of this huge complex of multi-purpose building at an extremely busy road junction in Islamabad.

This area is already a bottleneck and while a huge traffic interchange is planned it will further add to the environmental pollution. Not only will the new complex change the small town character of the city it will necessitate large road construction, which will be detrimental to the environment and public health.

The high demand of Centuarus for sewerage disposal, water supply and power will overburden of the city’s current capacity and PEPA ought to ensure that increasing the capacity will not adversely affect the environment. Further, the increased traffic and noise due to the building’s construction and operation could adversely affect the health of patients in PIMS, Islamabad’s biggest hospital, just opposite the project. As the building lies in Earthquake Zone IV it is essential also to make sure that the design conforms to the exacting requirements of this earthquake-prone area.

To our knowledge an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report involving such factors and others has not been submitted to the EPA.

What is of equal concern is that construction work has started without an EIA and public hearing. The PEPA must therefore take note of this infringement of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act’s Section 12 (see http://www.environment.gov.pk/info.htm ) and act speedily to investigate fully the lack of compliance by PGTL of the building and environmental laws.

An Environmental Tribunal may be constituted as stipulated by the Act to investigate this matter and to ensure that the environmental laws are fully complied with. Until a decision by the Tribunal is made, all work be ordered stopped by PEPA.``

Those who wish to register their concern can write to PEPA and its Director General at: pakepa@isb.compol.com .

Chief Justice’s Chess #2 & 3

Let`s not get sidetracked by the theory and origin of the game. I merely meant to suggest the lack of knowledge about exponential growth in many areas of concern in South Asia and elsewhere. You cannot trump exponentially growing problems with `arithmetic` (polynomial) solutions! For example human population growth cannot be countered by increasing food production using conventional agriculture with its linear growth pattern.

Here is what I gleaned about the history of the game from the web:

Chess is a recreational and competitive game for two players. Sometimes called Western Chess or International Chess to distinguish it from its predecessors and other chess variants, the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe in the second half of the 15th century after evolving from similar, much older games of Indian origin.

I am familiar with the Persian variant of the the tale. Briefly the difference in the international version and the Indian version has to do with the pawns not being able to move two squares and a longish way to castle in the Indian version. There are a few other differences related to queening pawns. This is what I learnt in the early 60s when a cousin bought me my first chess set and I started reading about the game.

The Height of Higher Education Re: # 1 The reason you write suggests that you have not lost all hope. There is much wrong with our country but we are far from hopeless. If sufficient number of people can be galvanized into action, things would change, and quite fast! Money is important but there are more important things that can make a big difference and not cost anything. You never know what positive surprises await us. You can be one of them ;-)

Dam Mismanagement Re: # 4 You rightly noted the pun! It was suggested by a neighbor, a retired Inspector General of Police! Some folks become bold in their retirement ;-)

Dam Mismanagement No: 1 behram1 sorry about the acronyms. Here are their full names and URLs if you wish to look in deeper. Got them using Google.

ECNEC
The ECNEC, Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, is the highest
government ... The ECNEC takes all policy decisions for the country on the ...
www.erd.gov.bd/knowledgesharing/ecnec.jsp - 9k - Cached - Similar pages

Japan International Cooperation Agency
Founded in 1974, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is an aid
implementing agency that provides technical cooperation and other forms of ...
www.jica.go.jp/english/ - 24k - 6 Feb 2006 - Cached - Similar pages

CDA Islamabad
Islamabad Residential Sectors Zoning Regulations - 2005 ... Islamabad is the
capital city of Pakistan, located in the north-east of the country. ...
www.cda.gov.pk/ - 14k - 6 Feb 2006 - Cached - Similar pages

Wapda - Water and Power Dev Authority
Latest:. KALABAGH DAM PROJECT.
202.38.51.251/ - 9k - Cached - Similar pages

New Murree - New Ways to Ruin Water Supplies


The Human Right to Water: Necessity for Action and Discourse

Posted on December 12 2003
Dr. D Roy Laifungbam

“If the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.”
Charles Darwin


The 21st century debuted with one of the most fundamental conditions of human development unmet: universal access to vital water services. Water is perhaps the most basic resource: “It is essential for life, crucial for relieving poverty, hunger and disease and critical for economic development” (UN Department of Technical Cooperation for Development). There is no life on Earth without water. It is one of the most vital issues facing future human use of the environment. Climate change, deforestation, protection of biodiversity and desertification, are all connected to water resource management. Unless used equitably and efficiently, water could become the most serious limiting factor to socioeconomic development within states and a potent source of conflict among them (CD 1997). Already today, the Commission on Sustainable Development (CDC 1997) estimates that as many as one third of the world’s population live in countries suffering moderate to severe water stress.

By the year 2025 two thirds of the world could find themselves in similar circumstances. Given its centrality to life, what legal frameworks exist for treating the right to water as a human right?

Access to a basic water requirement is a fundamental human right implicitly supported by international law, declarations, and State practice. Arguably, this right to water is even more basic and vital than some of the more explicit human rights already acknowledged by the international community, as can be seen by its recognition in many local customary laws, traditions or religious canon.

Rights to Water in Basic Human Rights Accords

The only universal human rights document which explicitly discusses a right to water is the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) where provision of adequate nutritious food and clean drinking water are specifically identified as responsibilities of State parties. Water is not directly mentioned in the 1966 UN covenants on human rights or in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and thus, if there is a right to water under international human rights law, it must be inferred. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, for example, has no reference to water in its website.

Nonetheless a strong case can be made for such an argument. In particular, Article 6 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “Every human being has the inherent right to life.” This provision has recently been interpreted as obliging states not only to protect its citizens from arbitrary deprivation of life but also to adopt positive measures by pursuing policies that guarantee access to the means of survival, an interpretation which would include rights to water:

Thus, this modern view would interpret the right to life broadly, so that it ‘comprises the right of every human being not to be deprived of his life (right to life) and the right of every human being to have the appropriate means of subsistence and a decent standard of life (preservation of life, right of living)’” (McCaffrey 1999:0).

Articles 11 and 12 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also provides a basis for recognizing rights to water as basic human rights. It provides that parties “recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.” There is a strong argument for using the concept of “due diligence” as a means of assuring the governments attach a high priority to meeting basic human needs.

While the International Bill of Human Rights does not specifically spell out a direct right to water, it can be argued that the right to life (Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) entails access to water and bestows it with a human rights quality: Meeting a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of individuals requires the availability of a minimum amount of clean water.

Clearly, sufficient food and health require that an individual has affordable access to drinkable water. In a General Comment on November 2002, the UN Committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights recognized that Articles 11 and 12 can be seen as a legal basis for the right to water.

More recent international human rights treaties include explicit references to the right to water. For instance, Article 14(2) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) stipulates that States parties shall ensure women the right to “enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to … water supply”.

What now is the content of the human right to water? It seems appropriate to define the obligations of states according to the right to water similar to their obligations according to other social and economic rights. The ICESCR calls for a progressive realization of these rights and acknowledges that – due to limits of available resources – immediate realization of this human right to water may be constraint. As a social and economic right, the right to water does not encompass a right to access to water, directly enforceable by each person against the state.

However, the right to water requires government activities to progressively increase the number of people with safe, affordable and convenient access to drinkable water. This includes government policies and strategies that create economic, social and political conditions for such access. The right to water also includes the obligation to ensure non-discriminatory access to water, especially of the marginalized and vulnerable sections of society. Depending on the particular circumstances, strategies to ensure non-discriminatory and affordable access to water can employ private companies operating in a liberalized, but regulated market, rely on public provision of water or utilize any other regulatory regime which adequately achieves universal and non-discriminatory access to water.
Water and Sustainable Development: Standards and Debate

Water is key to sustainable development. Growing populations, increased water degradation and other environmental problems create enormous difficulties to ensure equal and affordable access to drinkable water and to manage exhaustible water resources in a sustainable manner.

Perhaps more than other states, African nations have used the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development as a basis for thinking about human rights. It is conceptually linked to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights adopted in 1981 and it fits with the need for poverty alleviation recognized by most African government and peoples. In the document, development is conceptualized as a process of constant “improvement” incorporating economic, social, and cultural dimensions within a human rights framework.

Thus, satisfaction of basic human needs for water and food are regarded as rights in this document. Within this broad context, the right to development is accorded the stature of an alienable human right, without which other rights cannot be realized. This perspective is reflected in The Rights Way to Development published by the Human Rights Council of Australia:

… development and human rights are not two separate spheres that human rights are not simply one program component alongside others in the development process, but rather that development is a subset of human rights. Moreover, the right to development [underlining in original] and the economic, social and cultural rights have universal legitimacy and this has very practical implications for action by both donor and recipient governments. (1999: 22).

This framework is noteworthy because it does not radically separate the rights of the individual from broader social, economic and cultural rights, nor does it place all burdens of commitment on the state to meet these rights.

Increasingly, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the OECD and governments are integrating rights discourses into their development agendas. One of the more challenging arenas of research and action concerns the means by which development institutions themselves may be held accountable to human rights accords. For example, should (or how could) the IMF and the World Bank be held accountable for the drastic declines in standards of living and health which have taken place in countries undergoing strict structural adjustment programs? How will these large-scale institutions come to terms with alternative development paths in an era of market hegemony promoted by their policies?

While the Declaration on the Right to Development was a product of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the right to development took on a new shape in the late 1980s and 1990s. This reflected a global effort to relate development, human rights and the environment. Integrating Human Rights with Sustainable Human Development published in 1998 by the UNDP exemplifies this orientation. Like The Right to Development, this text is convincing in demonstrating that human rights are multidimensional (social, economic, cultural and political), interrelated and interdependent (UNDP 1998:7). Further, the environment appears as a full and equal concern to be interrelated with human rights and development discourses and integrated into all UNDP programs.
Rights to Water in Environmental Declarations and Covenants

Environmental declarations are another source of recognition of the right to water a s a human right, as well as of the obligations of states to manage this resource so that their citizens’ right to water is insured. Statements to this effect are found in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment (Principal 2), and in the 1992 UNCED Agenda 21, both of which reflect a focus on sustainable development. For example, Provision 18.2 of Agenda 21 states:

Water is needed in all aspects of life. The general objective is to make certain that adequate supplies of water of good quality are maintained for the entire population of this planet, while preserving the hydrological, biological and chemical functions of ecosystems, adapting human activities within the capacity limits of nature and combating vectors of water-related discases…

A number of water-specific declarations linking human rights discourses with developmental and environmental ones also exist. For example, the International Conference on Water and the Environment, held in Dublin, Ireland in January
1992 issued the Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development. This document laid the groundwork for, and reflects the thinking on, freshwater resources found in Chapter 18 in Agenda 21. The Dublin conference identified four guiding principles for action at the local, national and international levels: 1) Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment; 2) Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policymakers at all levels; 3) Women play a central role in the provision, management and safeguarding of water; and 4) Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as an economic good.

While decidedly anthropocentric, environmental declarations like the Dublin Principals and Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 also recognize that the environment itself has basic needs which must be respected if human life and well-being are to be sustained. This is reflected in the above quote from Provision 18.2 of Agenda 21.

This brief review of international human rights covenants and environmental proclamations suggests that there is a strong case to be made for the right to water as a basic human right. The overview also indicates that considerable latitude exists for interpreting and applying this right depending on the source document. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (and to a lesser extent the Right to Development), emphasize states; obligations to protect basic human rights and, in a derived way to meet basic human needs.


The Challenges: Neo-liberalism conflicts with the Human Right to Water

Sustainable development and environment proclamations often situate human rights to water in a development/economic growth context and emphasize reconciling human needs with long-term ecological sustainability. The Dublin Principals and Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 call for governments and other organizations to adopt specific policies.

Although presented as globally applicable, these reflect current neoliberal political and economic agendas rather than universal principals. They involve removal of subsidies, privatization, commodification of resources, and decentralization of management structures. Thus, tensions exist between different rights-based discourses concerning water – particularly those resting on basic human rights orientations and those informed by sustainable development and economic growth agendas.

In most countries, the supply and management of water has traditionally been a domain of public entities at the national, regional or local level. Yet, countries have employed different regulatory models at different points in history and governments have often played multiple roles in the water sector. These include the roles as natural resource manager, service provider and regulator.

This traditional “public domain” of the water sector has been challenged on the basis of a resurgence of neo-liberal market ideologies. Today, many politicians and commentators are convinced that the supply of water through private companies can bring about much needed solutions for the pressing needs in the water sector. During recent years, policies encouraging private (often foreign) investment in water services and privatization (including outsourcing and public-private partnerships) became the means of choice in many parts of the world.

Public or communal schemes of water supply came under pressure in favour of supply schemes requiring competitive water markets. The emergence of multinational companies specializing in water supply and privatization and commercialization policies reinforced this development and created a veritable international market for water services.

While many of these policy shifts were based on autonomous national decisions, international economic and financial institutions such as the World Bank also advocated a greater involvement of the private sector. Arguably, the re-definition of the role of public and private entities in the water sector is also reinforced through developments in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). As part of the overall Doha Agenda, WTO members are currently engaged in negotiations to further liberalize trade in services (GATS 2000 negotiations). After the initial request and initial offer phases in June 2002 and March 2003 respectively, the day-to-day negotiations now take place in bilateral settings and the outcome will probably only become public at the end of the Doha Round scheduled for 2005. Based on a general negotiating proposal and country-specific requests by the European Community (EC), these negotiations now also cover water services.

These developments, together with some high-profile examples of failures of private water management and supply, led to concerns about the future of water regulation. Critics point to the impact of GATS and the GATS 2000 negotiations, which are said to have major implications on water management and the ability of governments to regulate water services.

The critics’ voices came together in a statement of civil society groups issued at the WTO’s Cancun Ministerial Conference calling upon WTO Members to clearly exclude basic services such as water from the scope of GATS. Clearly the battle is on for the contest between “investor rights” and “human rights”.

Contesting Frames: Human Rights and Economic Logic

The internal logic of the capitalist system and its uneven and detrimental effects upon environment and society are well documented by political ecologists and eco-Marxists. Renowned scholars articulated in the early 20th Century that industrial and economic “improvements” often came at the price of social dislocation, and if the needs of the two are unevenly matched then the “community must succumb.” However, society need not be passive in challenging the paradigm, just as it has not been passive in challenging abuse of civil and political rights.
However, to work constructively towards a case that water is a human right one must confront a key fact. First of all, the proposition will almost always have a natural set of opponents prepared to counter it out of vested financial interest. Even Northern countries that claim tremendous democracy, transparency, and equity in water resource management experience times when internal economic logic has overwhelmed ethical behavior. It appears that Northern countries are struggling with their water policy priorities as well. Thus, it is clear that “solving” the problem of equity in safe drinking water distribution is not simply a matter of building a wealthier country and “defeating poverty,” with the assumption being this will ensure full coverage. Rather, it is more about building an ethic and changing frames in a way that respects concepts such as conservation, indigenous rights, and the importance of sustaining and sharing our “common” intergenerational water resources. At the heart of the case for a “human right to water” is the demand for not just action alone, but discourse in which equity is the core value.

Sources:

Türk, Elisabeth & Krajewski, Markus. 2003. The right to water and trade in services: Assessing the impact of GATS negotiations on water regulation; Paper presented at the CAT+E Conference “Moving forward from Cancún”; Berlin, 30-31 October 2003.

McCaffrey, Stephen. 1997. “Water Scarcity: Institutional and Legal Responses” Pp. 43-58 in The Scarcity of Water: Emerging Legal and Policy Responses edited by Edward Brans, Esther de Haan, Andre Nollkaemper, and Jan Rinzema. London and The Hague: Kluwer Law International
Gleick, Peter. 1999. The Human Right to Water. 1(5) Water Policy, 487-503 (1999).

Boyle, A.E. & Anderson, M.R. 1996. Human Rights Approaches to Environmental Protection. Claredon Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.

New Murree - New Ways to Ruin Water Supplies This is an update...

28 Sept 2005

New Murree Project Suo Motoed by Supreme Court



Q. Isa Daudpota



The Supreme Court of Pakistan taking a leaf from its Indian sister institution has taken notice of the fast deteriorating environmental condition in the country. As a first step it has taken note of the very controversial New Murree Project, which is the brainchild of the Government of Punjab, and is being pushed by its Chief Minister. This latest project has been highlighted in the national and international press and was the subject of a 80 minute program on PTV World. This new move by the new Chief Justice has been widely applauded by environmental organizations and concerned citizens.



The project was conceived by Mr Nawaz Sharif and it led to the building of the Murree Dual Carriageway – a road that is regarded as a big environmental disaster even while it is being constructed. The long delayed road project already suffers from serious landslides, which is silting the Simly Dam, which provides water to the capital. The road was started without a proper impartial environmental impact assessment (EIA), which is a mandatory requirement. It current consultant, NESPAK, disregarding a clear conflict of interest carried out a flawed EIA themselves, and then signalled its construction. The silt caused by this project - over 20,000 trees have been cut to clear the way -- is so high that the National Highway Authority has paid Rs 34 million to Islamabad`s Capital Development Authority alone and more to other stakeholder institutions to undertake remedial measures to reduce the silting of Simly and Rawal Lakes.



In a strongly worded letter from Mr Ali Habib head of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to the Chief Minister, Punjab, serious reservations have been expressed against this project. WWF has been informed that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project is in progress and the result of it will be made public. Following this there will be public consultation, if norms are followed. Earlier IUCN, The World Conservation Union, had also expressed serious reservations and asked for an impartial EIA.



The discredited NESPAK, working with Thai consultants, came up with a new modified plan for development in Patriata`s protected forests – the location of the New Murree Project – which it claims will only lead to loss of 1% trees and will cause no or little damage to the environment. On the PTV World program aired in early September, Mr Azmat Ali Ranjha, head of the New Murree Development Authority (NMDA) declared that the current plans would be made available on NMDA`s website within one week of the recording of the program. No such information seems available on the internet. In fact NMDA`s website is non-existent! The project appears hidden under the tourism and resort development department page of the Punjab Government`s website and only warrants 3 short paragraphs. Further, Mr Ranjha revealed that development would not take place on the Patriata ridge, a fact refuted by NMDA`s own presentation made to General Musharraf and now made public by an environmental organization.



The suo moto notice by the Supreme Court has encouraged environmentalists to regain some trust in the Court. They will however need to present a solid case to justify their stand against the powerful builders` lobby, which has much to gain from this project. Even though most environmental facts that have been brought forward by the environmental organizations are convincing, they will need to be backed by experts using plausible documentary proof.



An experienced environmentalist in Islamabad who was contacted said that if requested by the Court, `a proof would be fairly easy, and would present a great opportunity to reveal to the Court how its own ruling on illegal development in Murree has been flouted in the past`.



The big question remains whether the Court will ask that all work of NMDA stop in the field until a decision is reached. This will of course take sometime as the Court listens to arguments from all sides.