RIVER  RAVI  JUDICIAL  OVERSIGHT  &    POLLUTION  CLEAN  UP  

Jus$ce  Syed  Mansoor  Ali  Shah  Lahore  High  Court  

Pakistan  

Fourth  ASEAN  Chief  Jus>ces’  Roundtable  on  Environmental  Jus>ce,    12-­‐14  December  2014,    

Hanoi,  Vletnam  

River  Ravi  an  ecosystem  –  that  is  a  

historical  and  a  cultural  icon  

•  The   Ravi   River,   a   trans-­‐boundary  river   of   India   and   Pakistan,   is   an  integral  part  of  the  Indus  River  Basin.  

 •  The   River   Ravi   is   a   perennial   river  

and   is   the   smallest   of   the   five  main  Eastern   tributaries   of   the   River  Indus.  

 •  It   reflects   the   high   point   of   our  

material   development,   the   Harappa  Civiliza$on.    

   

 

•  Originates  in  Chamba  District  of  Himachal  Pradesh,  India.    

 •  Ravi  flows  past  Lahore  in  Pakistan,  hence  called  “the  river  of  Lahore”.    720  km  long.  

 •  The  en$re  city  of  Lahore,  with  its  popula$on  exceeding  10  million  uses  this  River  (as  a  freshwater  reservoir?).  

Pollu>on  in  River  Ravi  •  The  pollu$on  levels  in  the  River  discharge   are   reportedly   very  high.    

 •  Mainly   aXributed   to   careless  disposal   of   large   amounts   of  i n d u s t r i a l   e ffl u e n t s ,    agricultural   and   municipal  wastewater.  

•  42  species  of  fish  lost,  unfit  for  recrea$on  -­‐  a  “sludge  carrier”  

Public  Interest  Li>ga>on  •  A   w r i t   p e $ $ o n   w a s  submiXed   in   the   Green  Bench  of  Lahore  High  Court  by,   inter   alia,     Public  I n t e r e s t   L i $ g a $ o n  Associa$on   of   Pakistan  (PILAP).  

•  Based   on   right   to   life  praying   for   access   to   clean  drinking   water   and   an  healthy  environment    

Process  Adopted        

1.  Appointment  of  Amicus  Curiae    -­‐  WWF,                        IUCN,  local  NGOs,  Universi$es,  env  experts.    2.  Commission  of  experts  cons$tuted    3.   Comprising:   Scien&st,   government,   lawyers,  member   of   civil   society,   economist,   chamber   of  commerce,  Interna&onal  NGOs.        4.  Rolling  Review  or  Con$nuing  Mandamus    

Posi>on  of  the  Government      •  Holding  talks  with  foreign  consultants  

since   1995   but   no   progress   due   to  paucity  of  funds        

 

•  Making   effort   to   install   expensive  Wastewater   Treatment   Plants   but   no  concrete  plans  

Recommenda>ons  of    Foreign  Consultants  Regarding  Treatment  Technology  

Year  of  Study  

 Study  Title   Consul$ng  Firm/Agency  

Recommended  Treatment  Tech.  

Proposed  Cost  

1995   Lahore  south-­‐west  wastewater  treatment  plant,  report  on  parameter  review  

Balfour  Maunsell    UK  

Waste  Stabiliza$on  Ponds  

 -­‐-­‐-­‐  

2009   The  preparatory  study  on  Lahore  water  supply,  sewerage  and  drainage  improvement  project  

Japan  Interna$onal  Coopera$on  Agency  (JICA)  

Combina$on  of  Stabiliza$on  Ponds  and    Trickling  Filters  

Rs:42  Billion  

2011   Lahore  North  Wastewater  Treatment  Plant,  Feasibility  Study  

Egis  Bceom,  Interna$onal  

France  

Ac$vated  Sludge  Process  (ASP)  

Rs:12  Billion  

Efforts  by  the  Government  

River  Ravi  Commission  (RRC)  

•  Commission       to   propose   a   sustainable  road  map  to  restore  the  natural  ecology  of  the  River  Ravi.  

Objec>ves  of  the  Commission  

•  To  propose  an  effluent  discharge  reduc$on  plan.  

 •  Bio-­‐engineering   solu$ons   with   respect   to  eco  system  restora$on.  

•  financial  strategy  and  mechanism.  

Home  grown  solu>on  

 bioremedia$on  project  based  on  the  concept  of  Constructed  wetlands      

§  Bio-­‐remedia$on   is   the   use   of  micro-­‐organism  metabolism,  plants  and  enzymes  to  remove  pollutants  from    water.  

§   Idea  from  constructed  wetlands  at  Na$onal  Agricultural  Research  Centre,  Islamabad.    

§ Proposed  pilot  project  over  50  acres  of  land  for  10  cusec  of  waste  water.      

Government   agreed   to   arrange   for   Rs.   50  million  to  pay  for  the  cost  of  the  pilot  project.    WWF-­‐Pakistan   has   offered   to   pay   for  opera$ng  expenses  of  the  Commission.  

Pictures  of  Babu  Sabu    Site  for  Bioremedia>on  Treatment  System  

Environmental  Science:  Mechanism  of  Treatment  Technology  

Constructed  Wetlands  •  Constructed  wetlands  are  man-­‐made  wetlands  

used  to  remove  various  types  of  pollutants  present  in  wastewater  passing  through  this  

system.    

•  They  are  constructed  to  recreate  the  structure  and  func$ons  of  natural  wetlands.        

     

•  They  possess  a  rich  microbial  community  to  effect  the  biochemical  transforma$on  of  

pollutants.    

•  They  are  biologically  produc$ve  and  most  important  they  are  self-­‐sustaining.  

Schema>c  Diagram  of  Experimental  Bioremedia>on  Garden  at  Na>onal  Agricultural  Research  Centre,  

(NARC)  Islamabad  

1.  Inlet  watercourse  for  the  treatment  into  NARC  orchard   2.  Sedimenta>on  tank  at  NARC  Orchard  

3.  Planta>on  area  for  different  species  of  plants  

4.  Constructed  wetlands  (Water  Le_uce)  

5.  Color  of  treated  water  

6.  Treated  water  flowing  (Within  NEQS)  

Technique  of  Environmental  Jus>ce      

§  Inquisitorial    proceedings          §  Par$cipatory   jus$ce.  Effort   to   build   consensus  between   stakeholders   with  the  help  of  experts.  

§  Public   par$cipa$on   –  pukng   general   public   on  no$ce-­‐    

Technique  of  Environmental  Jus>ce      

§  Cost   effec$ve-­‐   home  grown  solu$ons.  

§ Green  Media$on  

§  C o n s $ t u $ o n a l   a n d  fundamental  rights  based  approach.   Protec$ng  nature.      

 

Technique  of  Environmental  Jus>ce      

§ Natural  Capital   argument  can   come   handy   to  nego$ate   funds   for   the  project.  

 

Technique  of  Environmental  Jus>ce      

   

§  Finding   a   sustainable  solu$on   –going   beyond  the   issue   brought   to   the  Court.    

§  Factoring   in   Climate  Change  

§ Pro  adapta$on  solu$ons  

 

Technique  of  Environmental  Jus>ce      

§  Environmental   Rule   of  L aw   –   r e qu i r e s   a n  expedi$ous,   innova$ve,  unconven$onal,   non-­‐adversarial   and   a   pro-­‐adapta$on   approach   to  t h e   e n v i r o nme n t a l  problem.  

 

GREEN  JUDGES  OF  THE  WORLD  UNITE!!!  

Second  Asian  Judges  Symposium  on  Environment  Natural  Capital  and  the  Rule  of  Law  ADB  Headquarters,  Manila,  Philippines  2-­‐5  December  2013