Environment & Social Safeguard

The Climate Action Plan of Karachi City (K-CAP) is a strategic document that demonstrates how a city will deliver on its commitment to address climate change, considering wider social, environmental, and economic benefits associated with climate action in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and C40 Framework. Monitoring & Evaluation, Governance and Capacity Assessment Plan were made to identify and address institutional gaps for better implementation of the KCAP.

The Urban Unit is managing CM Punjab Free Solar Panel Scheme project as Project Management Consultant executed by Energy Department, Govt. of the Punjab. This project aims to address the rising cost of electricity for low-income households in Punjab, targeting those with monthly electricity consumption of up to 200 units. This initiative, with a budget of approximately PKR 9.5 billion, seeks to provide 100,000 households with standalone solar systems, offering an alternative energy source that is both sustainable and cost-effective.
Project Objectives:
1. Energy Access: Enable reliable electricity access to low-income families, particularly beneficial during power shortages
2. Poverty Alleviation: Reduce household energy costs, allowing funds to be reallocated to essentials like food, health, and education
3. Environmental Sustainability: Contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean energy
4. Social Equity: Bridge the energy access gap and provide equal development opportunities for marginalized groups

The L-CAP is strategically aligned with the Climate Resilient Punjab Vision and Action Plan 2024, which sets an ambitious target of 2027 to develop comprehensive climate action plans for Punjab’s major cities. Climate Resilient Punjab Vision emphasizes the importance of detailed GHG inventories, pathway projections, risk assessments, and tailored action plans for large cities like Lahore. By aligning with this vision, the LCAP will serve as a foundational model to guide other cities across Punjab in tackling their specific climate vulnerabilities. Monitoring & Evaluation, Governance and Capacity Assessment Plan were made to identify and address institutional gaps for better implementation of the L-CAP.

Climatology and air quality data begin to play a role in identifying the root cause of the deterioration of the environment in Pakistan. Main objective of this project is to prepare action plans for selected cities that will be scientific and evidence-based and developed through robust baseline related to analysis of air quality, climatology and smog in 06 urban areas/cities and industrial zones, in order to assess the existing record of air pollutant concentration and to develop a reliable air quality monitoring system.
The key objectives are:
1. Establishing a baseline of key environment and climate parameters of cities using ground based and satellite monitoring to develop city profiles and action plans
2. Developing Pollution Inventory of major Cities of Punjab (Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Sialkot)
3. Monitoring of Heatwave in 06 major cities (Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Sialkot and Bahawalpur) cities and developing management plans for effective adaptation and mitigation of these exacerbating issues
4. Climate change modelling of Major Cities
5. Development of Air Quality Action Plans of cities (Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan and Bahawalpur)
6. Development of City specific Biodiversity Plan of major cities (Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur)
7. To develop pathway to deliver an emissions neutral city by 2050 at the latest and set an ambitious interim target and/or carbon budget
8. To demonstrate how the city will adapt and improve its resilience to climate hazards that may impact it now as well as in future climate change scenarios
9. To outline social, environmental and economic benefits expected from implementing the plan, and improve the equitable distribution of these benefits across the city’s population
10. To provide detail about Lahore city’s governance, powers and the partners who need to be engaged to accelerate delivery of the city’s mitigation targets and resilience goals.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of organisms within living communities across various ecological habitats, including aquatic, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. These habitats support a wide range of plant and animal species, some of which are crucial for maintaining ecological balance and supporting the livelihoods of local communities. However, unsustainable development, rapid urbanization, agricultural expansion, and industrialization impose significant pressures on urban biodiversity, leading to habitat destruction, species migration, and population declines. In Punjab’s large and intermediate cities - particularly Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Multan, and Bahawalpur - rapid urban growth is directly and indirectly affecting natural habitats through the conversion of green spaces into residential, commercial, and industrial zones. The loss of biodiversity not only diminishes the ecological health of these cities but also reduces the availability of essential ecosystem services and recreational opportunities for residents. To address these challenges, strategies and actions are being implemented to promote the conservation, protection, restoration, and management of urban biodiversity. These efforts focus on integrating research and scientific knowledge into development planning for climate-resilient cities. A key component of this initiative is the establishment of biodiversity baselines for cities and the development of tailored action plans, as part of the “R&D and Action Plans for Climate-Resilient Cities and Lahore Climate Action Plan.” The City Biodiversity Index is an innovative tool used in Biodiversity Action Plans of cities to assess and monitor progress in biodiversity conservation, allowing cities to track their efforts based on their unique baselines.

The Urban Unit has undertaken a project of EPA Punjab to improve environmental governance in Punjab through organizational restructuring, revamp of the operating model, strengthening the regulatory framework, building capacities for present and future needs, improving environmental monitoring & assessment and providing technology enabled solutions where practical and efficient.

The Urban Unit will specifically provide technical assistance and ICT based solutions to EPD and it will be overall responsible to deliver all institutional, financial/economic, legal and technical deliverables.

The project scope of work covers;

The expected project outcomes will be;

Transparent and efficient environmental Policy, Governance & Regulation for sustainable development

Enhanced institutional capacity and decreased processing times for environmental approval and management decisions

Effective environmental assessments, management and monitoring to reduce environmental externalities

Increased sensitivity to business and stakeholder needs and environmental reporting

Fit for purpose organization with timely, intelligent and technology assisted decision making capability at policy levelp

Establishing vertical and horizontal linkages to achieve economy of effort and synergies & engagement of community and civil society

The Urban Unit provided technical support to the World Bank for creation of the sampling framework for urban WASH survey in Punjab. This survey aimed to collect detailed information on water access & quality, sanitation & health behaviors and practices among urban households differentiated by neighborhood and locality characteristics (size & type) of urban area.

To sample urban households, a detailed classification of urban areas by size and economic characters was undertaken. In addition, small towns in peri urban areas, not formally designated as urban, were also identified by multi-criteria mapping.

Scope of Work & Deliverables

1. Urban Boundary

Urban boundaries were demarcated by applying an algorithm of 1km buffer (for Municipal Corporations) & 200m Buffer (for Municipal Committees) that covered more than 50% of built-up area.

2. Excise & Taxation Boundaries

·         Demarcation of Excise & Taxation boundaries (Circles/Localities/Blocks)

·         Assignment of Grades to the Localities

·         Divisions of Blocks with maximum 650 Parcels Max (Municipal Corporations) & maximum 350 Parcels Max (Municipal Committees)

·         Divisions of Blocks with maximum 350 Parcels Max

·         Assignment of unique ID number to each locality/block/ segment

·         Mapping of low, middle & high income neighborhood in all Property Tax circles

3. Non-Tax Areas Boundary

·         Demarcation of area where Excise & Taxation structures do not exist

·         Blocks were selected which covered area more than 50,000 sq. m.

·         Divisions of selected blocks with maximum 350 parcel count max.

4. Rural Union Council with Urban Characteristics

·         Identification of settlements that have been notified as Rural UCs having urban characteristics and mapped their natural boundaries using satellite imagery

·         Identification of Non-Notified Settlements in Punjab having same urban characteristics by applying an algorithm that uses Built-up Coverage & Nightlight Data.

Pursuant to directions of the Honourable Lahore High Court (Court Order – Writ Petition No. 192069 of 2018 Sheikh Asim Farooq v/s Federation of Pakistan), Urban Unit prepared the Punjab Urban & Peri-Urban forest policy, 2019 (Draft). Two stakeholder consultation sessions were arranged by Urban Unit in collaboration with Forest, Wildlife & Fisheries (FW&F) Department to introduce the subject policy, seek feedback of various stakeholders and gather comments for its finalization. Stakeholders from public sector, private sector, civil societies, academia, NGOs etc., applauded the efforts of Urban Unit and FW&F Department contributed with full enthusiasm in the stakeholder sessions. Moreover, Urban Unit presented the Punjab Urban & Peri-Urban Forest Policy (Draft), 2019 to senior representatives from federal & provincial Government at "Plant for Punjab" campaign being organized in line with the national billion tree Tsunami campaign at Safari Park, Lahore by FW&F department. The subject policy was presented to Mr. Malik Amin Aslam - Advisor to PM for Climate Change, Mohammed Sibtain Khan - Punjab Minister for Forests, Wildlife & Fisheries, Mr. Jehangir Tareen, Mr. Syed Sumsam Ali Shah Bukhari - Minister Information, Mr. Aon Chowdhry - Advisor to CM Punjab & Capt (R) M. Asif - Secretary Forests, Wildlife & Fisheries Department.

The Urban Unit has undertaken a project of EPA Punjab to improve environmental governance in Punjab. The project involves organizational restructuring, revamp of the operating mode and business processes, strengthening the regulatory framework, building capacities for present and future needs, improving environmental monitoring & assessment and providing technology enabled solutions where practical and efficient. As part of the engagement, the Urban Unit and its partners conducted a detailed gap analysis of EPD and its related agencies to identify all the deficiencies present within the current environmental regime. Taking into account training needs assessment and the gaps which were identified along with a benchmark analysis with best and comparable economies around the world, future objectives of environmental governance in Punjab were designed. Each technical process was reviewed. Improved business processes for environmental monitoring and laboratories, assessments, approvals, prosecution of polluters and use of market based instruments were designed. Information and Communication Technology solutions were also provided for efficient and informed decision making.

Punjab spatial strategy is the integrated part of the Punjab Government “Jobs and Competitive program”, developed with the assistance of World Bank. Successful implementation of PSS requires that all development schemes must be aligned with the spatial strategy. In this regard, the E&SS sector prepares Alignment Reports of the development initiatives / CFY ADPs / projects (PC-Is) related to Environment as well as Irrigation, Forestry and Wildlife, Irrigation sector on regular basis. The basic objective of preparing Alignment Reports is to make sure that all projects forming part of the ADP and the Medium-Term Development Framework (MTDF) need to be closely aligned with the strategic objectives and policy statements of PSS as well as in accordance with the relevant national and provincial policy frameworks.

Another important task of E&SS is conducting Environmental Screening of all these development schemes as per Punjab Environmental Protection Act 1997 (amended 2012) and Review of IEE/EIA Regulations 2000 to meet the other provincial legal requirements. In addition to that, GIS/Spatial tools and Decision Support System (DSS) tool are also applied in these reports to evaluate proposed projects spatially feasible and have regional linkages.

In accordance with the national environmental legislation and regulation as well as the World Bank safeguards policies, the Urban Unit developed Environmental & Social Management Framework (ESMF). The ESMF broadly identifies the typical environmental and social issues associated with various types of schemes implemented by the Municipal/Metropolitan Corporations and Water and Sanitation Agency and propose generic mitigation measures to address these impacts. It also defines environmental & social procedures to be followed by the MCs/WASAs while preparing, appraising, and implementing schemes. During implementation of ESMF, total 323 Environmental & Social Management Plans (244 MC and 79 WASA) were developed. For Government financed schemes (ADP) the total 26 EIA/IEE were prepared. Environmental and social issues that arose during scheme implementation were successfully mitigated with effective measures and strict monitoring plan by E&SSS and ESMF Committees. All schemes were completely passed through a comprehensive environmental and social screening process, careful monitoring, strong implementation of ESMPs and capacity building of contractors/labors/CDG and WASA staff.

Gilgit Development Authority (GDA), Government of the Gilgit Baltistan engaged Urban Unit’s expertise for the environmental monitoring of Gilgit Wastewater treatment plant. The project under the Gilgit Environmental Improvement Project aimed at provision of physical infrastructure for sewerage, storm water drainage and wastewater treatment for the Gilgit City to meet the present & future requirements for efficient and effective service delivery. The City previously lacked in sewerage system except for a few drains in the main town. The Gilgit-Baltistan Public Works Department constructed a network of roadside sanitary drains for Gilgit. The Frontier works Organization has also constructed similar drains along the Karakoram Highway. However, these drains are constructed for the collection of storm water and are not meant for municipal grey water.

Cities are where development challenges and solutions meet. Regional plan plays an integral role when cities development activities influences at a regional scale which might end up in under-utilization and wastage of resources. Gujranwala Region stand out as center of development, with a support from cluster of intermediate and small cities which do not follow arbitrary boundaries and has a unique role in economic growth of the region. Escalated Population growth in the mega cities of Punjab (Including Gujranwala city) has created a lot of pressure on these cities’ capacity to maintain the pace of sustainable development. Thus, demanding a regional level development plan where development efforts are focused on the creation of system of cities which environmentally sustainable development in the region.

The regional plan of Environment sector was developed using participatory approach combined with the field visits of all 6 districts of Gujranwala region and primary & secondary data analysis at local, regional and national level. The planning exercise involved all relevant key stakeholders (including local community) in identification of key projects, their timelines - short-medium-long term investment plan at district and regional level.

The Urban Unit in collaboration with Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Lead Pakistan and ESSA technologies Ltd., has developed a socially-inclusive heatwave management plan for Karachi with participatory approach for informed decision making. This is in the context of year 2015 when Karachi experienced local impact of Global Climate Change and a severe heatwave struck the city in June. This heatwave killed more than thousand people. These high numbers called for immediate steps by the administration, stakeholders and community in order to streamline the system and respond effectively in case of any such event in future. The primary institutional counterpart for this technical assistance was the Commissioner Office. This project was formally launched in Nov, 2016 by Commissioner Karachi.

Under the Punjab Cities Governance Improvement Program, the Urban Unit was not only supporting the WASAs and municipal corporations in compliance of World Bank safeguard operational policies and monitoring of sub projects, but also facilitating them in improving their capacities related to Health Safety and Environment. One of the policy work that Urban Unit did during this period is to prepare Health Safety and Environment Policy for WASAs and Municipal Corporations of five large cities which is foundation pillar for setting targets, developing SOPs, compliance of laws related to Health, safety and environmental protection and conservation.