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In
this issue :
We are pleased to share with all of you that LEAD Pakistan has won the UNEP accreditation to its Governing Council. LEAD Pakistan submitted its case for the accreditation under Rule 69 of the ‘Rules of Procedure’ of the Governing Council, which provides that international non-governmental organizations with an interest in the field of environment may designate representatives to sit as observers at the public meetings of the Governing Council and its subsidiary organs.
The Secretary of the Governing Council, Beverly A Miller, has confirmed the accreditation. Our name has now been included in UNEP's list of non-governmental organizations that receive invitations to public meetings of the Governing Council as observers, at its sessions to be held in 2006 and onwards.
We proudly welcome Dr Suleiman Shaikh and Dr Tauqir Shah to the LEAD Pakistan Board of Governors. Dr Shaikh and Dr Shah are both widely respected in the development community and beyond for their dedication and clarity of vision. Both have a long history of association with LEAD Pakistan.
Dr Suleiman Shaikh has served as our faculty and has been involved for more than two decades with the Sindh Graduate Association, one of the largest social welfare organizations operating in Sindh. He is widely respected in rural and urban Sindh for his work with communities, particularly in the areas of health and education. He was the Head of Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO), before joining Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) as its Board Secretary some years ago. He is serving on the Board of the Pakistan Center for Philanthropy (PCP), Thardeep, Sindh Rural Support (SRSO) and several other well-recognized not-for-profit organizations.
Dr Tauqir Shah is a LEAD Fellow of Cohort 8. Dr Shah has received his MBBS from Khyber Medical College, Peshawar and his M.Sc. in Human Resource Management from the University of Manchester. He is currently on an assignment with International Labor Organization (ILO) and has previously served in the Ministry of Women Development, as Deputy Secretary to the Chief Minister of Punjab, and as the Assistant Commissioner of Bahawalpur, Wazirabad and Tandlianwala (Faislabad). He was also the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Chakwal. As well as he coordinated the launching of the Punjab Rural Support Program. Dr. Shah has held other posts in government that have required him to work closely with NGOs such as the National Rural Support Program (NRSP) and Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO).
We welcome their leadership and look forward to their support and guidance. More...
LEAD Club Meetings
' Environmental Laws and Rules’ in the eyes of Islamabad LEAD Club members
LEAD Pakistan, in collaboration with PELA and City District Government, published the first of its new series of Policy Dialogues on ‘The Proposed Federal Courts Act 2004: Defying Constitutionality’, written by Dr Parvez Hassan, President, Pakistan Environmental Lawyers Association (PELA). The paper highlights the proposed Federal Court Act and gives a background of special courts in the country. It discusses their constitutional validity and gives recommendation to amend the Bill. The Islamabad LEAD Club (ILC) members met on May 27, 2005 at LEAD House, Islamabad to discuss the various aspects of the paper and to share their views and thoughts. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, Aftab-ur- Rahman Rana, Azhar Qureshi, Imran Ahsan, Javaid Afzal, Qasim Mehmood Ahmed, Iftikhar Malik, Saleem Ullah, Raza Ahmed, Nadeem Bukhari, Sheraz Manzoor Haider, Abdul Qadir Rafiq, Munir Ahmed and LEAD staff attended the meeting.
Raza Ahmed from ADB commented that the Bill had flaws but from the investment point of view, establishment of such courts seems necessary. As commercial disputes take much time to be called in for hearings in high courts, foreign investors prefer to invest in countries other than Pakistan. Mr Ahmed showed his concern on the establishment of Federal Courts and emphasized the effective operation of the judicial system, as this does not seem to have a code of ethics or conduct. Sheraz Manzoor Haider commented from the point of view of a concerned citizen. He said that the paper was very well written and easy for a layman who doesn’t know much about the legal framework in Pakistan to understand. He suggested that the paper should be translated in Urdu and Sindhi and circulated as widely as possible. Iftikhar Malik of LEAD Pakistan added that Federal Court judges should have a technical background of environmental issues and laws to better adjudicate the issues and cases related to environment.
The other members were of the view that there should be a system for accountability of current judges of the High and Supreme Courts and the current judicial system should be improved first rather than establishing parallel systems. It was thought that the state and citizen relationship was weak and the state needed to improve it by giving proper services to its citizens.
The ILC members also discussed the local and environmental governance prevailing in Islamabad, the gaps that exist between the citizens and the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the potential of finances for CDA and the prevailing public safety and security. It was decided that the members should formulate a taskforce to identify and analyze these issues and come up with specific policy recommendations and best practices to be adopted by all.
The ILC members decided that to play an effective role for the coordination of these issues, the task force and the core groups should seriously take these issues in consideration to take a step ahead.
Lahore LEAD Club initiative on the development of Murree Hills
This month’s Lahore LEAD Club’s (LLC) meeting was in part a continuation of last month’s, in which the issue of development in Murree Hills and the New Murree Project were discussed. The LLC is monitoring what the Punjab Government is doing about the New Murree Project and in its meeting, held on May 9 at the WWF Lahore office, it started to express it’s views on the damaging effects of the project on the environment and its surroundings.
Ms Mehjabeen Abidi-Habib (LEAD Fellow, Cohort 6) suggested that the public should be enlightened of the fact that this project, which is to be located in a fragile ecosystem, is setting a dangerous precedent. It was decided that a letter would be written to selected newspapers on behalf of LLC members to warn the public of the reality. The letter will be circulated amongst LEAD fellows shortly before being sent to English and Urdu newspapers.
After the discussion on the Murree project, Tariq Zaman Khan and Mukesh Kumar, LEAD Associates, Cohort 11, shared their experience of the Orientation Training Session. Rina Saeed Khan, LEAD Fellow, Cohort 10, shared the experience of her recent trip to Japan where she attended Expo 2005, the theme of which was ’Nature’s Wisdom’.
The next meeting of the LLC was planned for June 6, 2005 at the WWF office, Lahore.
Ecotourism has attracted increasing attention in recent years, not only as an alternative to mass tourism but as a means of economic development and environmental conservation. The rapid growth of ecotourism has attracted the attention of many people and communities in the developing countries as it affects the livelihood of many of the world’s poor people living in the places where ecotourism is practiced However, to date, its potential for poverty reduction and community development has not been fully recognized in Pakistan.
Keeping in view the important role of ecotourism to promote conservation for community development, Aftab-ur-Rehman Rana, LEAD Fellow, Cohort 8 and Director General of the Adventure Foundation Pakistan (AFP), initiated a community-based ecotourism project with the financial support of GEF/Small Grants Programme of UNDP-Pakistan in 2001. The project has involved the poverty stricken fishing communities along the Indus River to run boat safari trips using their traditional fishing boats. These communities were previously unable to earn a living by fishing alone: now they have become the ‘guardians’ of the Indus dolphin, and tourism, by way of the boat safari, helps in income generation.
AFP is providing technical guidance to the boat people, helping to upgrade their boats, improving safety for tourists and providing training facilities to individuals to become certified Indus guides at Taunsa Barrage, where the boat safari starts. Boat safaris operate in cooler months from November to March. During the last four tourist seasons, the boat people have earned more than Rs.600, 000/- from this program which has raised the income level of more than 20 poor families. Now there is a demand by the boat people to establish another branch of this project near Sukkur Barrage.
‘Tourism can go a long way to improve employment possibilities for local communities, through the creation of new jobs, businesses and opportunities for marketing traditional crafts, indigenous culture and natural resources. However, for tourism to promote conservation, communities must both benefit and understand the ways in which this is linked to resource protection,’ says, Aftab Rana. To promote the concept of sustainable tourism for poverty alleviation in Pakistan, Mr Rana has given some suggestions:
The Pakistani government should prepare a comprehensive action plan to promote small-scale community based ecotourism projects;
The World Tourism Organization should play a leading role in providing technical assistance to develop a strategy for community based ecotourism projects;
Development and donor agencies should also include ecotourism-oriented projects while considering options for poverty reduction and community development;
The private sector should support community-based initiatives by establishing marketing channels and product development;
The NGOs should play pro-active role in capacity building of poor people and helping them to understand the value of sustainable use of their natural resources.
A
LEAD Fellows-Lifetime Sustainable Development Ambassadors
The Young Leadership Development Project, initiated by Quaid College, Lahore in 2002 is providing high quality training to a selected group of young people on different subjects including the five major themes: water, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity (WEHAB) and three crosscutting themes (media, gender and education) of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg in 2002. There is an internal selection criterion to select youth from the age of 18-25 years studying and working in different disciplines. A brief written test and an interview is conducted to evaluate the students interpersonal, communication and organizational skills. The training is then imparted to them, which comprises of in house sessions, field visits, research projects and practical work. The LEAD Fellows Mr. Javed Cheema, Dr. Muhammad Pervaz, Mr. Hammad Naqi Khan, Dr. Fauzia Khan and Ms. Memoona Wali are also assisting this project by voluntarily conducting and supporting the trainings.
The project is a self-funded initiative of Quaid College and Indus Foundation for Human Development (IFHD), a civil society organization working in different fields of human development. IFHD strives for improving the education, health and cultural status of society in general by empowering them with quality training and research facilities. It also organizes capacity enhancement activities in the fields of teacher education, community development & mobilization, youth development and environmental studies.
Mr. Sajjad Haider, (LEAD Fellow, Cohort 9) and the Director of Quaid College, Lahore says,” I have been conducting training programs for youth and teachers for many years but the training that LEAD has imparted has enriched my capabilities, elevated my confidence, cemented my skills and broadened my vision in the context of environment and development. After the training that LEAD has imparted, I personally feel invigorated and professionally stimulated.”
Since September 2004, LEAD Pakistan has been implementing the Democratized Education Management and Ownership (DEMO) project in Khairpur and Sukkur, Sindh. This project is being executed with the financial and technical support of ESRA/ USAID.
A team of development experts comprising Ghulam Yasin Soomro, Senior Research Demographer, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE); Ahmed Saeed Sheikh, LEAD Fellow, Cohort 4 and Mujtaba Piracha from ESRA Islamabad visited the DEMO Taluka (Tehsil) Office, Sukkur on May 25 - 27, 2005 to evaluate the progress and efforts of the DEMO team operating in the district. The Incharge Taluka Office, Mazharuddin Sheikh, briefed the experts on the trainings of School Improvement Plan (SIP), formation of Citizens’ Community Boards (CCBs) and the objectives being achieved by the team. The experts were told that the DEMO team was working with school management committees, community members, students and other stakeholders in the process. Ahmed Saeed Sheikh told the experts that the DEMO team has made great achievements in the opening of the closed schools of the district and in the mobilization of the community for its participation and contribution in this regard.
The experts met DEMO team members and appreciated their efforts and hard work towards the accomplishment of their goals and objectives. The experts were of the view that the record keeping system was very well organized and the DEMO team was very committed, achieving its targets with clear vision and conviction.
Dr Tariq Hasan gave a keynote address on ‘Corporate Governance and its Interface with Poverty Alleviation & Social Service Delivery’. He distributed certificates among the participants and extended his appreciation to LEAD Pakistan for developing and organizing the Induction Training Program. In his address, Dr Hasan said that ‘Social service delivery, poverty alleviation and socio-economic development of Pakistan are the need and responsibility of us all, so achieving them is only possible through concerted efforts and an alignment of the aims, objectives and interest of the government, regulatory authorities, corporate sector, social development institutions and the public at large”. More...
Update 101
Third Regional Training Session
of Cohort 10
Update 102
Fourth Regional Training Session
of Cohort 10
Update 105
Gender Sensitization for NGOs & CBOs
Update 106
Training of Master Trainers on EIA, PARD
Update 107
Training on Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA)
Update 108
NHA Training on Environmental Aspects
Update 109
NHA Training on Social Aspects
World Environment Day, commemorated each year on June 5, is one of the principal vehicles, stimulating worldwide awareness of the environment by enhancing attention and action. The theme selected for the World Environment Day 2005 is:
Green Cities and the slogan is Plan for the Planet!
The theme selected empowers people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development, promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues and advocate partnerships, which will ensure that people of all nations enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. World Environment Day is a people's event with colorful activities such as street rallies, bicycle parades, green concerts, essays and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, and recycling and clean-up campaigns.
The United Nations Environment Program, or UNEP has given some interesting facts and figures on ‘urbanization’:
In 1800, only 2% of the world’s population was urban
In 1950, only 30% of the world’s population was urban
In 2000, 47% of the world’s population was urban
More than half of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by 2008
By 2030, it is expected that 60% of the world’s population will live in urban areas
Almost 180,000 people are added to the global urban population each day
Almost a billion poor people in the world, of which over 750 million live in urban areas without basic services
Events Dates Venue Lahore LEAD Club Meeting June 6
Lahore PERT: Environmental Management through Local Government and Devolved Structures June 7 Sialkot PERT: Environmental Impact Assessment June 11 Karachi Karachi LEAD Club Meeting
June 21 Karachi
Editor : Nida Khan
Layout By : Imran Butt
Editorial Committee : Zabreen Hasan, Samra Hanif
Fellows and Associates can send us details of their job achievements, job alterations or any other news they wish to share with the LEAD Family. All contributions will be an asset to the bulletin. Write to us at ldp
For up-to-date information on LEAD Pakistan activities and services please visit our website www.lead .org.pk
© LEAD Pakistan 2005