For Green Urban Development, Environmental Laws Need Revision, says Altaf Shah

News Desk

Islamabad: In order to modify the law in relation to green building for environmentally friendly urban growth, significant effort is required. A green or sustainable structure is one that could maintain or improve the quality of life in the neighbourhood where it is located.

The creation of structures and infrastructure using environmentally friendly materials and methods is the foundation of green buildings or eco-friendliness, said Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) Director General Farzana Altaf Shah at a webinar hosted by the Institute of Urbanism (IoU) to augment the awareness of the significance of green buildings in sustainable urban development.

Farzana Altaf stated that understanding the idea of green buildings is difficult given Islamabad’s building regulations and its green infrastructure components. “Before addressing construction standards, we must decide whether structures should be developed in a certain location. Due to the fact that a sizable portion of productive land has been converted into housing societies, we also need to decide whether a horizontal or vertical growth should be pursued,” she added.

According to the EPADG, present environmental rules include project-level developments like roads, high rises, and plazas. Moreover, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are being conducted by the Pak-EPA to address this issue.

She suggested the creation of an urban planning unit and stated that “housing development is not particularly covered by our environmental legislation. Our building regulations do not adequately describe the materials and wiring of homes, which ultimately results in enormous losses. There should be an expert panel for consultation.”

According to DG Shah, the environmental legislation needs to be amended to reflect standards for green construction. She stated that although the document was still being created, the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) has taken on the duty of developing green construction guidelines and broadening the list of concerns that needed to be solved.

Environmental Journalist Zofeen Ebrahim said an environmentally friendly development should boost resource efficiency while reducing waste. “However, there is no good news for Karachi’s megalopolis. Although there are many examples of random planning, none of it is accurate or coordinated.”

While discussing the need of green infrastructure for economic performance, she stated that we are disregarding the green spaces and not even thinking about building new public meeting places for people in our rush to optimise the economic production of land.

“According to World Bank satellite imagery from 2001, Karachi had 4.6 per cent of green space, which fell to 3.7 per cent in 2013,”Zofeen informed.

She added that the government has to prioritise social capital rather than just economic benefits. Mass transit is a crucial element in green urban development. Five BRT projects have been announced since 2008, but just one has been finished in Karachi.

“One of the biggest obstacles to a greener future is our general indifference. Although we have numerous experts in a variety of sectors, they are not utilised,” Ebrahim said.