Cancun agreements, if they really are taken as one, have finally laid a footprint for future environmental strategies. The outcome was positive given the mayhem ensued during the Copenhagen Summit last year. An understanding to reduce greenhouse emissions is a step in the right direction and promises of helping poor countries is admirable.
Amid this feel-good outcome and an air of positivity, Pakistan has not gained much. Its name was mentioned viz a viz the increase in persistent organic pollutants, or POPs. These pollutants were released after the devastating summer floods that inundated one-fourth of Pakistan and killed hundreds of people.
While the flood waters have receded, the environment disaster remains. A visit to the flooded regions brings the environmental mayhem to the fore and the realization that it would remain there for years, if not for decades. Apart from the assaulted water table, there is permanent damage to soil structure, irrigation channels, and sewage systems. Industrial runoffs were already a major problem but now it has been compounded with fertilizer contamination and other pollutants. There are already some reports of the spread of diseases due to tainted water supplies.
This is where the promises of the developed countries can come to fruition. Pakistan presents an ideal case where environmental scientists can sit with the local planners -- and leaders -- to find solutions of what would otherwise become a perennial scourge. All they need is a cooperation from the local leadership, which, one must accept, is hard to get.
Pakistan had a skeleton representation at the summit and environment is of least concern to those in power. They can ignore deforestation and industrial pollution for a while, especially since the recent decision to cut gas supply to industries due to shortages. They cannot, however, ignore the plight of those living in the flood ravaged areas. This is an issue serious enough that it demands immediate attention.
Here's hoping that better sense prevails in Pakistan and they forge alliances with global environmental experts to sort this mess out. Otherwise, we have another disaster in the making.