For the first time, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), to minimise the environmental degradation, caused by toxic chemical releases from industries.
The memorandum, signed by the two parties, during a MoU signing ceremony, held at the Federation House here on Wednesday, was aimed at to educate and inform the industrialist and business communities about how to protect the environment through conserving the integrity and diversity of nature.
"Every industry should follow the environmental guidelines and discourages those which create environmental hazards," Sultan Ahmed Chawla, president FPCCI, while addressing the ceremony said, adding that the move, like in other parts of the world, was to educate and create awareness among the industrialist about the environmental issues in Pakistan. "It should be proved through deeds that we love the nature," he added.
He said the realisation of protecting environment should be rooted at the school levels as children, well-equipped with the ecological guidelines, could only save their own future. In reply to a query Chawla said that FPCCI has voluntarily signed the MoU with the global environmental institution with mutual understanding based on co-operation and assistance, and it has no binding force.
However, Javed Jabbar- Global Vice President IUCN, said after signing the memorandum, the industries in Pakistan, which rarely care about the ecological impacts of the their chemical effluents, would only have the moral bindings to follow the environmental guidelines.
He said for the first time in the last 62 years, the industries in the country have felt the need of environment friendly policies and its implementation to save not only the society and country but also the whole world from any environmental disasters. He said the "Climate Change" was not a problem of the rich countries, as it was the problem of poor and underdeveloped countries, those were at the greatest risk from its impacts.
He further said IUCN, which works closely with the government at the national and provincial levels as well as with civil society at large, aimed at to advocate and technically assist the development of the conservation strategies; and, support strategy implementation by providing assistance in policy and legislative reforms, capacity development, environmental assessment, awareness and education and selected field projects. Gulzar Feroz, Chairman FPCCI Standing Committee on Environment, Shah Murad, Country Manager of ICUN, and Afia Salam, Co-ordinator Communication and Outreach of the Union spoke on the occasion.