Punjab Green Development Program

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The objective of the Punjab Green Development Program Project for Pakistan is to strengthen environmental governance and promote green investments in Punjab. Pakistan, with a population of over 207 million people, is the world’s sixth most populous country. In recent years, it has achieved continued economic growth and substantially reduced poverty. Provisional official estimates suggest that the gross domestic product grew by 5.8 percent for FY17-18, up from 5.4 percent in FY16-17, and the government growth target for FY19 is 6.2 percent. Fiscal and external imbalances may, however, erode these gains in future if not addressed. The national poverty headcount declined from 64.3 percent in FY02 to 29.5 percent in FY14, however, inequality persists and the country continues to rank low on the human development index, at 147th out of 188 countries. Several factors, including rapid population growth, industrialization, urbanization, and motorization, have resulted in growing environmental degradation and pollution. On Yale’s 2018 Environmental Performance Index, Pakistan ranked 169 out of 180 countries. It ranked 177 on the environmental health sub-index (air quality, water and sanitation, and exposure to heavy metals), ahead of only India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Pollution is estimated to cause around 340,000 deaths per year in Pakistan, over 70 percent of which are due to air pollution. This represents a quarter of total annual deaths in the country, making Pakistan one of the world’s most affected countries. A recent World Bank study estimated that in 2013 air pollution alone caused welfare losses and foregone labor output equivalent to 5.9 percent and 0.8 percent of gross domestic product, respectively. Furthermore, energy consumption in Pakistan has grown rapidly, contributing to increased emissions of both greenhouse gases (GHGs) and associated air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM). In addition to air pollution, the quality of Pakistan’s water resources has deteriorated due to water pollution, which has become a major public health threat and has further exacerbated water scarcity in the country. Improving Pakistan’s air and water quality will have positive impacts on public health and contribute to both climate mitigation and adaptation.