Out on the Island

P akistan occupies the western edge of The Third Pole — a region in the Himalayas with more glaciers than anywhere else in the world except the North and South Poles. These glaciers provide water to millions of people throughout South Asia, but experts predict that by 2100, their volume will shrink by 49 percent if the temperature increases by 2 degrees Celsius. For the people of Pakistan, this can spell disaster.

Pakistan-born ESF graduate Imran Khalid returned to his home country to help guide policymakers, parliamentarians and civil society toward best practices in environmental policy and governance. He received an M.P.S. in environmental science-environmental policy and democratic process from ESF in May 2007 and a Ph.D. in environmental and natural resources policy in December 2014, along with a Certificate of Advanced Study in Conflict Resolution from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Immediately following Hurricane Sandy, he spent some time working with the ESF-based Great Lakes Research Consortium to address climate change-related issues.

Writer Judy Gelman Myers recently spoke with Khalid about his environmental concerns for Pakistan and how his education at ESF trained him for his prominent role among Pakistan’s environmental leaders.

Imran S. Khalid ’07 posed for a photo in front of the famed Faisal Mosque in Islamabad. Faisal Mosque is shaped like a desert Bedouins’ tent and functions as the national mosque of Pakistan. It is situated against the majestic Margalla Hills, dominating the landscape of Pakistan’s capital.

ESF: To set the context, what environmental challenges does Pakistan face today?

IK: Pakistan faces varied environmental challenges, from massive deforestation to lack of proper waste management to air and water pollution. However, Pakistan’s foremost concern is lack of clean drinking water, which impacts tens of millions in the country. The vast majority of people drink water that may not be safe. While the well-to-do have the resources to acquire clean drinking water, it is the poor and the vulnerable who suffer the most. Hence, not only is this an environmental challenge but also an equity, justice and, frankly speaking, a human rights challenge.  We know for a fact that waterborne diseases result in illnesses and deaths of thousands of people in the country. Moreover, this causes stunted growth in children. We have no filtration plants for water coming to the cities, and there are no quality checks to ensure the water is up to standard. The situation in rural areas may be more dire, due to contamination of groundwater pollution from pesticides and naturally occurring arsenic.

We are also feeling the impacts of climate change in the country. In fact, Pakistan is regularly ranked as one of the countries most affected by climate change. Climate change is called a threat multiplier and as such will exacerbate environmental and social problems being faced by Pakistanis. In particular, climate change will have a major impact on this area as the glaciers start to melt. Many communities in South Asia depend on these glaciers to meet their water needs, but when they melt, we’ll have more and more floods. Similarly, we are already seeing droughts in other parts of the country that have the hallmarks of a changing climate. In addition, climate change will bring uncertainty and unpredictability when it comes to our monsoon season, for example, which can then have an impact on our food security.

Can we adapt to these changes in time? That is the key question, and the jury is still out on whether we can do it. On paper at least, we have a number of environmental-, water- and climate-related laws that address these concerns. But implementing them in a country of over 200 million people with a diverse set of stakeholders with linguistic, geographical and political differences is not an easy proposition.

The debate in Pakistan is about development vs. environment. People in power think that if you want to succeed like the West, you need to forget about environmental concerns. That means relaxing environmental laws when you build industrial estates or manage wastewater or air emissions—but that’s considered OK, because, to them, you’re contributing to the national economy.  What that means for our collective environment, health and climate is a different story.

ESF: How does your work change the situation?

IK: I joined Pakistan’s Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in 2015 as a Research Fellow. The SDPI is perhaps Pakistan’s oldest think tank working to bridge the development and environment gap. It was formed in 1992 and works on various issues including environmental governance, social development, economic growth and education. Soon after joining SDPI, I became involved with a project called Pathways to Resilience in Semi-Arid Econo-
mies, or PRISE. It was a multifaceted project that was responsible for monitoring three different areas in Pakistan: how climate change impacts migration; how it impacts agricultural value chain [the cotton value chain is Pakistan’s largest source of export earnings, employing 42 percent of the labor force]; and the impact of climate change on the flood governance system. My research focused on analyzing our response to flood events, particularly as it pertains to small businesses and rural livelihoods. It also highlighted the institutional- and governance-related deficiencies that are exacerbating our situation.

I also do advocacy work, representing SDPI at conferences, talking with university students, elected officials and civil society organizations about Pakistan’s environmental challenges. However, the advocacy work is informed by our on-ground research. What this means is that first we do climate change-related research
for example, then we highlight the findings of that research to key decision-makers and the public at large. We hope this helps the government make headway on these issues.

ESF: What drew you to ESF, and how did your studies there prepare you for the work you’re doing in Pakistan?

IK: I came to ESF as a Fulbright student. ESF is one of very few schools totally focused on environmental matters. I was able to take courses related to environmental governance, capacity building and climate change, which prepared me for the latest research happening around the world.

I did my Ph.D. dissertation on wastewater-management decision making in New York state. I looked at communities along environmentally sensitive water bodies, such as in the Catskills and the Finger Lakes. These communities rely on septic tanks, many of which pollute the reservoirs supplying water to New York, for example. My research looked at how these communities address the problems of procuring the necessary cleanup funds, as well as what difficulties and governance issues they encounter. This experience prepared me well in terms of understanding the various dimensions of environmental governance and decision making. Many of them are just as applicable to Pakistan as they are to the United States.

ESF: How did your work at the Great Lakes Research Consortium and the Maxwell School relate to your activity in Pakistan?

IK: At the GLRC we addressed issues related to climate change, some of which apply directly to Pakistan — flooding and responses to deep catastrophes, as well as bringing communities together, regularly engaging with scientists, developing databases and ensuring that we get the research into the right hands.

I got a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Conflict Resolution at the Maxwell School. Conflict resolution is very important to managing environmental problems, especially in places like Pakistan, where our natural resources are mostly shared. We share our rivers, our forests, even our deserts. The political boundaries do not respect the natural boundaries, and vice versa, so conflict arises regularly. My coursework and education at ESF and Maxwell gave me interesting perspectives on some of those conflicts.

ESF: How do you view Pakistan’s future?

IK: A new government took over in August 2018. One of their main agendas is improving environmental conditions. They’ve launched a project called the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami, with the aim of planting trees across Pakistan. Terrible deforestation occurred in Pakistan because of the timber mafia [which decimated 33.2 percent of Pakistan’s forests between 1990 and 2010], but I want them to also talk about other aspects of our environment — clean drinking water, air pollution, better waste and industrial environmental management. Climate change adaptation remains key as well. Whether the government can address all of these issues is a question mark. I’ve worked in this arena  for the past 20 years  and find the situation to be quite depressing. However, I am hopeful that we can come together to address these concerns because the alternative of doing nothing will only result in more chaos.

Judy Gelman Myers is a freelance science writer based in New York City.