002-i. Advisory review: EIA for Punjab tanneries effluent treatment - Pakistan

The NCEA issued an advisory review of the EIA for a tanneries effluent treatment plant in Punjab. It concluded that important aspects were missing from the EIA report and recommended supplements to be added. Based on the NCEA's advice, the Dutch government - which funded the project - decided to shift the focus of the activities.

Advisory reports and other documents

Significant details

The government of Pakistan, supported by the Dutch government and other donors, wanted to curb industrial pollution in the district of Kasur, Punjab. The pollution originated from tanneries concentrated in three clusters in Kasur city. The project involved the introduction of less polluting technologies, building sewerage and water treatment facilities, and establishing a system for treatment and removal of solid wastes.

In order to assess environmental hazards and effects of the proposed treatment facilities, an EIA was undertaken. The EIA report formed partly the basis of the project proposal, which was already issued before the EIA report was reviewed. Therefore, when the NCEA was asked to review the EIA report, it decided to also consult the project proposal. In its advisory review, the NCEA concluded that the EIA report contained insufficient information to assess environmental impacts of the project. Some specific points of critique were:

• The project as currently proposed would simply shift existing environmental impacts elsewhere, and probably worsen the situation;
• There are alternative options that could result in sustainable improvements in environmental quality - but these are not mentioned in the EIA report.

For these reasons, the NCEA recommended to prepare a supplement to the EIA report in which alternatives are examined which tackle environmental problems near the source (i.e. the tanneries). Alternatives should also be examined which address management and additional processing of waste flows. Moreover, additional measures should be included to prevent environmental pollution.

The Dutch government adopted the NCEA's advice. It decided to shift its support from tackling environmental impacts of tanneries towards integral measures for the emission sources. A number of studies have subsequently been carried out.

Parties involved

Members of the working group

Chair: Jan-Willem Kroon
Technical secretary: Reinoud Post

Proponent and Component Authority

Further details

Country: Pakistan

Last modified: 10 May 2019