Sindh SoED.pdf - IUCN - Pakistan

The Government of Sindh is aware of theimportance of environmental conservation andacknowledges the fact that for sustainabledevelopment of the Province it is necessary totake immediate action to ensure optimal use ofavailable resources. Many issues such as thesea intrusion into the Indus Delta, air and waterpollution degrade natural resources, ultimatelyaffecting livelihoods. For the prosperity of theprovince of Sindh, equitable and effectivemanagement of our natural environment isrequired.In this context the Provincial Government hasinitiated and implemented many projectsrelated to sustainable development, with aspecial emphasis on poverty reduction andsustainable livelihoods. As part of the Vision2015, the necessity to formulate a strategy forthe conservation of natural resources has alsobeen realised. There is a dire need for greaterpublic participation in development andenvironmental management.The first step to achieve these goals was tocollect and collate information on variousenvironment and development issues of theProvince. Therefore, the Planning andDevelopment Department, (P&DD)Government of Sindh is very proud that theState of Environment and Development ofSindh (SoED) has been developed. Thisdocument provides succinct, up to dateinformation about trends, issues and status ofvarious sectors in the Province. In light of theVision 2015, we hope that this document wouldprove to be a good source of information andserve as a reference guide for all developmentinitiatives. The SoED can also be used as ayardstick to measure future changes in theprovince. We see this document as a first stepto the development of the Sindh Strategy forSustainable Development, which is also beingdeveloped in collaboration with IUCNP SindhProgramme.It was developed with wide stakeholderparticipation of both government and civilsociety and the P&DD together with IUCN waspart of the whole process of consultativeworkshops and development of sector papers.We would like to acknowledge the technicalassistance of IUCN Pakistan Sindh Programmein developing this document. We alsoappreciate the work it has undertaken for thesustainable development of Sindh. The P&DDlooks forward to supporting all sustainabledevelopment initiatives in the Province andfurther collaboration with IUCN for a moresustainable Sindh.Ghulam Sarwar KheroAdditional Chief Secretary (Dev)Government of SindhKarachiSindh State ofEnvironment &Developmentxiii