earthPoems
Environment, British Columbia and the PunjabArchive for September 17, 2008
Plan being made to convert buses to CNG
Thursday, September 18, 2008
By Atif Nadeem
LAHORE
There is a dire need of plying at least 1,500 CNG buses on the city routes to make the environment pollution free as diesel-fuelled buses have been creating serious environment concerns for a long time in the provincial metropolis.
While talking to The News, official sources in the Transport department said that the government was devising a strategy to convert all the diesel-run buses to CNG-run ones, and for that purpose the government had already opened bid and called the transport owners to participate in the project as they would be given 25 per cent subsidy on the purchase of the CNG buses.
The sources said that the provincial government would carry out the project in the whole of Punjab and almost 3,000 CNG buses would be brought on the major city routes in this regard.
They said that the government would not succumb to the pressure of the transport owners for any further increase in the fares of the public transport vehicles. They said that the government had already increased fares twice in the same year and by increasing the fares again, the government would not add to the troubles of the people.
Over the issue of the purchase of the CNG buses by the transport owners, he said that the provincial government would give 25 per cent subsidy to the transport owners and the rest of the amount would be paid by them and the provincial government would not make any other financial arrangements for the transport owners.
Punjab sets up cell to monitor Ozone depletion
LAHORE: Punjab Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has set up an ‘Ozone Gas and Global Warming Cell’ at the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to help save the ozone layer.
EPD Secretary Zafar Iqbal told APP on Wednesday that the cell would consist of three members; a deputy director and two chemical engineers as research officers.
He said that the cell would function under the supervision of the director general of the department and the EPA would play its role in maintaining liaisons with the Environment Protection Ministry (EPM).
He added that they would also create awareness among the people about the impact of using ozone-depleting substances (ODS). He also said that the cell would evaluate and review reports prior to giving recommendations to the EPA for issuing no-objection certificates (NOC) to stakeholders for setting up industries so that there is minimum emission of ODS. He also disclosed that a cell had already been set up at the EPM, under the sponsorship of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Regarding World Ozone Day (WOD), he said that the Montreal Protocol signed by 193 countries was aimed at eliminating the use of ODS by 2010. He claimed that 95 percent use of ODS had already been controlled, while 5 percent use still remains.
He said that the use of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) has depleted the ozone layer over Antarctica and the diameter of the hole was 25 million square kilometres, which is twice as large as the continent of Europe. In an attempt to create awareness among the masses, he urged the people to use gases that were environmentally friendly so that the ozone layer might be protected, which in turn protects mankind from harmful ultraviolent rays.
APP
Zoo chimp dies
Lahore: After entertaining many tourists and children throughout the years with his unique antics, the Lahore Zoo’s 21-year-old chimpanzee Romeo died after a prolonged illness, leaving his wife, Julie, and children Pinky and Honey, behind.
After learning of his death, the zoo administration moved the chimpanzee’s body to the Veterinary Institute Research Laboratory for an autopsy.
Lahore Zoo Director Muhammad Yousuf Paul said that the chimpanzee had been sick for the past two months, and was being treated by the best veterinarians before he expired.
Aaj kal report
Wildlife officials silent over hunting with army helicopters
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Army helicopters are being used to hunt endangered wildlife and officials are doing nothing to prevent it, a Senate body was told on Wednesday.
A sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Environment, presided over by Senator Yasmeen Shah, directed the Environment Ministry secretary to discuss the issue with Defence Ministry secretary.
Committee members said the army should concentrate on defending the country’s borders.
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Senator Jamal Khan Leghari raised the issue that army helicopters were being used to hunt endangered animals.
Recommendations: The sub-committee expressed its surprise that no wildlife department existed in Balochistan, suggesting the government establish one for the conservation of wildlife in the province. It also recommended a special allocation be made in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to establish a wildlife fund for Balochistan, and a ban on the hunting of endangered species.
The meeting was informed that the Forest and Wildlife departments were simultaneously monitoring forests, multiplying the problems of wildlife preservation as the two departments’ jurisdiction overlap. The sub-committee has invited the Law Ministry and the Forest Department to its next meeting to resolve the issue.
The committee said there was a need to reform the National Council for Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW) because of its “ineffective role”, and suggested that the NCCW be placed under the control of the Environment Ministry instead of the Forest Department.
The sub-committee was briefed about the endangered wildlife species in Pakistan. The committee said it would help the Wildlife Department in removing procedural delays for the quick implementation of policies aimed at protecting wildlife.
