Environmental Law in Pakistan - IUCN

hunters to obtain a license (Section 3(c)). Killing, injuring,capturing, or attempting to kill, injure or capture a wild elephant ispermitted without a license, as long as it is done in defence ofhuman life, or to protect homes, farms, public roads, railways orcanals (Sections 3(a) and 3(b)).Powers under the act are delegated to provincial governments,which may extend the application of this law to any area within theirjurisdiction (Section 1). This statute remains in force despite thefact that in Pakistan elephants are no longer found in the wild.5.1.5 Protected AreasProtected areas are not specifically mentioned in either of the legislative lists. Although it could beargued that “ecology”, which is on the Concurrent List, includes protected areas, the subject iscurrently treated as a provincial matter under the residuary rule.There is no federal legislation to establish a national system of protected areas, or to set out basicprinciples for all provinces to follow in designating and managing protected areas, includingreserved and protected forests. Currently, “national” parks and other types of protected areas maybe established under provincial wildlife laws, but no provincial law provides for inter-provincialcoordination in designating and managing a national protected areas system.5.1.5.1 PakistanEnvironmental ProtectionAgency Review of InitialEnvironmentalExamination andEnvironmental ImpactAssessment Regulations2000 (SRO 339(I)/2000dated 13 June 2000)These regulations, issued under Section 33 of PEPA 1997,empower the “Federal Agency” to designate “environmentallysensitive areas” (Section 21 and Schedule II, item I). Under PEPA1997, Section 2(xvi), the term Federal Agency is defined as “thePakistan Environmental Protection Agency [. . .] or any otherGovernment Agency, local council or local authority exercising thepowers and functions of the Federal Agency.” The relationshipbetween “environmentally sensitive areas” that may be establishedby the federal government and protected areas established underprovincial laws is not specified.5.1.5.2 Islamabad Wildlife(Protection, Preservation,Conservation andManagement)Ordinance 1979The only federal legislation dealing with protected areas appliessolely to the Islamabad Capital Territory. This law empowers thefederal government to establish wildlife sanctuaries, national parksand game reserves in the Islamabad Capital Territory. The purposeof declaring a wildlife sanctuary is to ensure the “undisturbedbreeding” of wildlife (Section 20), while national parks are to bedesignated for the purpose of “preserving scenery, flora and fauna”in their natural state (Section 21). Game reserves may bedesignated with a view to “providing facilities for hunting” (Section22). The law also allows for the creation of private game reserves(Section 23).05NaturalResources38EnvironmentalLaw in PakistanFederalThe federal government has the power to make rules and delegateits powers. Authorised officers may arrest and prosecutesuspected offenders, and are empowered to “take all lawfulmeans” in order to prevent the commission of an offence under thisordinance (Section 31). Violations of the provisions of this