Ecological Security-Rise from the Ashes
Being a woman in Pakistan where while the society is not very supportive of working women, there is a clear set of ‘’safe’’ occupations that a woman must choose to be respected and accepted within the cultural norms. Through the support of my family I ventured into studying International Law from University of London External Programme and later specialised in Heritage Conservation Law from Brunei Darussalam. I began working with UNESCO on conservation of a local heritage site, Kampong Ayer, the research of which has been published as a book in Germany, titled, ‘’Conservation of Kampong Ayer as a Living Heritage under Brunei Law’’. Throughout the project as lead, I mobilised communities and conducted series of workshops in liaison with the Attorney General and the Antiquities Department to allow the community to identify the values that they felt would be important to them for conservation of a living heritage. This field research highlighted the importance of an approach that promulgates inclusive rural participation. I was able to apply this approach to various Public interest litigation cases in Pakistan, on issues revolving from domestic water pricing, sewage disposal, development of bio-remediation plants, to gender inclusive development, where under each intervention the communities were mobilised and asked to discuss the impact a particular intervention will have on them. During the course of my practice, I engaged onto the journey for self-discovery and finding God within the universe, which brought me into practice of Spiritual yoga, Reiki healing and later included transformative modalities including Access bars, crystal and aroma therapy, telepathy and neuro linguistic programming which while allowed me to expand my own consciousness it allowed me to understand other people’s perceptions. I applied my new found mindfulness practices to our community outreach programs where we conducted field visits to understand the problems of the marginalised communities so I could relate to them on a humane level and understand how they wanted to improve their surroundings and quality. This further allowed implementing interventions that were specific to the community rather than tailored to donor requirements.
Being an environmental lawyer, I am actively involved in public interest litigation on issues that are of importance to the community. My work involves conducting voluntary on field analysis with surveys from the communities before implementation of a particular initiative. I have realized through my practice of mindfulness that in order to achieve the desired and sustainable impact, it is mandatory to understand the perception of the community to inculcate ownership amongst the marginalized communities. A tangible impact that has transpired from my practice is demonstrated in the petition titled, Imrana Tiwana etc versus Government of Punjab where insistent widening of the canal road, transcribed as a heritage site, was not just environmentally detrimental but further was a source of discomfort to the residents and natives of Lahore, Pakistan. Through intense sessions with the government, accession of cycle lanes upholding the right of pedestrians to be able to walk on the roads safely was achieved. Various other tangible results were also implemented through public interest litigation in issues pertaining to sewage disposal on roads, water pricing, development of bio-remediation plants on River sites, equal opportunities to marginalised communities through market linkages and capacity building. This has a constant struggle in aiming to strike a balance between the policy makers desire to develop infrastructure and sustainability of these developments. One such example was the construction of the multi million metro train project that was due for inauguration in Islamabad, before which one of the pillars collapsed and killed three people in the incident. We rushed to the Islamabad High court to file a petition on behalf of the victims and linked it to our petition in another case in Lahore High Court with regard to not conducting an environmental impact assessment for the metro train operations in Lahore.
Water scarcity is a global threat, and is more prominent within Pakistan and nearby countries because of lack of mitigation towards the impacts of climate change, focus on which requires a holistic approach in analysing all the collaborating factors which include food and energy while looking at both natural calamities through climate change and human induced interventions. My insight into resolving the global threat and mitigating its negative impacts its three fold: the first proposed step includes an in-depth comprehensive analysis of the food-energy-water nexus and allow for other collaborating factors to come into play. This is followed by strong and rural participatory inclusive approach to governance which may involve capacity building and awareness on the use of water, understanding the natural resource dependence of the local communities keeping in mind the regional and national topography.
While various awareness and capacity building campaigns have been conducted globally, they focus on curtailing the domestic use of water especially within the South Asian region without any reference to human induced and nature calamities that have worsened the water crisis. Moreover, the need to recognize that climate change is impacting the already depleting natural resources has to be exemplified through practical interventions that water scarcity has on the food availability, the energy usage and subsequently consumption by the individual households. When we focus on water as an independent resource we are not taking into consideration the various other factors stated above that have dire impacts on the consumption and subsequent shortage of water. A further insight that requires mention is governance of all the policy initiatives.
At this stage, most countries around the globe have become signatories to various International Conventions and Policies, some have been ratified them within local legislation, but what lacks is a practical implementation of these initiatives which are either a result of lack of national capacity, promulgating economic development by pushing aside environment hazards and most importantly, a lack of inclusive rural participation to allow for communities to take part in these conservation schemes. There is a need for a regional and national plan which understands the resource dependence to allow for communities to be able to enhance their livelihood options while conserving water and other natural resources. A regional regulatory mechanism for allowing commitments by national member states to be authenticated must be put into place so that rather then just drawing up commitments on paper there is a willful commitment by the state parties to provide incentives to all stakeholders for conservation mechanisms. A rural participatory approach is mandatory for circumventing any threat at national, regional and global level.
Therefore, through regional collaboration or through large platforms like UNLEASH, leading experts can come together and share their best practices for them to be applicable globally, obviously keeping in mind the regional and national relativism. Leading good examples include technological innovations for water conservation from Singapore, India, Brazil, Germany and various other countries who have inculcated through participation with the local communities, a sense of ownership which allows the individuals to take responsibility of their actions and thereby induce sustainable consumption by a focus on moral and individual benefit rather then a state obligation.
My compassion, and my passion for social and inclusive development is demonstrated in my work through public interest litigation and proposal development for social development, and my personal actions whereby I am actively involved in improving livelihoods of marginalised communities within Pakistan on personal expenses and observations. UNLEASH has provided a platform that brings forth extremely talented individuals in their field to interact and innovate solutions to global crises identified through the SDGs. Through the practice of public interest litigation and programme development, and through participation in UNLEASH I wish to network and explore varying technological solutions or participatory techniques that can be replicated to a localised context within Pakistan for enhanced contribution towards SDGs.
