The Economic Consequences of

Environmental Degradation
Economy
The state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and
services and the supply of money.

Statistics
 GDP : 31862.2 Billion Rupees (2017)
 GDP growth : 5.28%
 GDP Agriculture 19.53%
 Industry 20.88%
 Service 59.59% (2017est.)
 Overall ranking of GDP is 25th in 2017

Pakistan’s environmental problems are a concern, not just because of the intrinsic virtues of
promoting responsible environmental stewardship, but also because of the economic
consequences of environmental degradation.

The mean annual cost of environmental degradation is approximately 6 percent of GDP or

365 billion Rs. per year.

The cost is from

 inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene (Rs. 112 billion)
 agricultural soil degradation (Rs. 70 billion)
 Indoor air pollution (Rs. 67 billion).
 Urban air pollution (particulate matter) adds another Rs. 65 billion.
 The estimated cost of lead exposure is about Rs. 45 billion.
 Rangeland degradation and deforestation cost are the lowest at about 7 billion Rs. in total.
The Health Effects of Water Quality, Sanitation and Hygiene

Pakistan is an arid country with low, unreliable rainfall averaging 250 mm a year. Quantity and
quality of potable water and poor sanitation facilities and practices are associated with a host of
illnesses such as diarrhea, typhoid, intestinal worms and hepatitis. The two most common water
related illnesses, diarrhea and typhoid, and estimates that more than 1.6 million DALYs are lost
annually as a result of death and disease due to diarrhea, and almost 900,000 as a result of
typhoid.

The total health costs are estimated at Rs 1 14 billion, or approximately 1.8 1 percent of
GDP.

Urban Air Pollution

Urban air particulate pollution is estimated to cause around 22,000 premature deaths among
adults and 700 deaths among young children.

The total health costs are between Rs 62-65 billion, or approximately 1 percent of GDP.

The Costs of Natural Resource Degradation

Salinity Impacts

Pakistan has naturally saline soils, but the problem has been compounded by consistent
mismanagement of irrigation and human induced soil erosion. Official statistics indicate that over
25 percent of irrigated land suffers from various levels of salinity, with over 1.4 million hectares
being rendered uncultivable due to excessive salinity levels. Salinity imposes direct economic
losses, through reduced yields and less visible indirect losses through changes in farming
practices or the cropping mix. These impacts are approximated by the value of “lost” output
related to salinity. Two sets of estimates are presented to account for plausible (though not
optimal) adjustments to cropping patterns in response to salinity

The total annual cost of yield reductions from salinity is estimated at Rs 15-55 billion.

Including lost opportunities from cropping on the 1.4 million hectares ofl and with high salinity
level adds further Rs 10-18 thousand per hectare. Mean cost of Rs 55 billion, or 0.9 percent of GDP
in 2004. Salinity is one of Pakistan’s most serious problems

Rangeland Degradation
Losses of rangeland are valued in terms of reduction of fodder yield and approximate Rs 3.6 to
5.4 billion per year. This amount may seem modest when compared to other environmental
damages, but there are three important issues which suggest that this estimate grossly
understates the development and strategic significance of the rangelands. First the rangelands are
home to among the poorest of the country’s population, so that the impact of pasture loss is highly
regressive, falling disproportionately upon the rural poor. The rangeland population is also highly
exposed to natural disasters such as droughts and floods that can lead to absolute destitution. As a
corollary, policy interventions that improve rangeland productivity, and so provide a buffer
against natural disasters, yield a high poverty dividend. Second, much of the degradation of the
rangeland is irreversible.

Projects and budget:

 Establishing National Multilateral Environmental (MEAS) Secretariat (Islamabad)
 Establishment of Clean Development Mechanism Cell (Islamabad)
 Establishment of National Bio-safety Centre (NBC) Project (Islamabad)
 Sustainable Land Management Project, Phase-1 (Islamabad)
 Development and Implementation of Water and Sanitation Management Information
System in Pakistan (Islamabad)
 Establishment of Centre for Sustainable Organization (Islamabad)
 Establishment of Geometric Centre for Climate change and Sustainable Development 2012-
2015 (Islamabad)
 Indoor Air Quality in Buildings (Islamabad).
 The Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Climate Change has unanimously
approved recommendations for allocating Rs16.613 billion for seven ongoing and new
projects, including Prime Minister Imran Khan’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami, in the budget
for the fiscal year 2019-20.
 As part of its budgetary proposals, the ministry of climate change had proposed to
allocate Rs14 billion for forestry under the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Project while Rs.1.6
billion had been allocated for the protection of wildlife under the programme.
 A further Rs280.6 million had been allocated for the conservation and promotion of
forests under the Green Pakistan Programme, while Rs120.7 million had been set aside
for wildlife protection under the programme.
 Some Rs20.4 million had been allocated for a survey by the Geological Survey of Pakistan
for the protection and preservation of endangered wildlife,
 Moreover, Rs10.6 million had been allocated for the establishment of the climate
resilient urban human settlement unit.
References:
 https://tribune.com.pk/story/1924547/1-na-panel-clears-rs16-6b-budget-climate-ministry/
 http://mocc.gov.pk/moclc/userfiles1/file/ECCO/exectiv-sumery.pdf

Lahore College for Women University

Department of environmental science

Bs-2 semester-4

Subject: Environmental Profile of Pakistan

Topic: The Economic Consequences of Environmental Degradation

Submitted to: Mrs. Amina Abrar

Submitted by: Mehreen Ali
Roll#1725117036