Director NSTP says “sustainable renewable energy and effective solid waste management plays a pivotal role in the economic growth”.

Director of National Science and Technology Park (NSTP), Dr. Salman Raza Naqvi was invited as a panelist at the National Conference on #WorldEnvironmentDay where he spoke about renewable energy.

While speaking to the audience, Dr Salman Raza Naqvi said that sustainable renewable energy and effective solid waste management plays a pivotal role in the economic growth of any society. Considering this view, developing countries like Pakistan, are facing serious challenges in implementing renewable energy at the present time.

Speaking about the policies pertaining to the subject matter, he highlighted that the Government of Pakistan should take actions in favor of renewable energy and technological innovation that necessitates biomass resources to be tied to non-sustainable prolonged investments.

He added that for long-term economical and efficient planning for solid waste management, a detailed municipal solid waste framework is vital.

Highlighting the problems related to the disposal of municipal solid waste, he said, “In Pakistan, open dumping and burning are the most prevalent practice to dispose of municipal solid waste which causes several environmental issues like deterioration of water quality due to leaching from open dumping of municipal solid waste, air pollution due to open burning of municipal solid waste, and so many other social as well as environmental issues.”

He further said that a considerable portion of the total budget issued to the waste management entities is reported to be spent on solid waste management with no significant output. Another barrier among waste management services in Pakistan is a marked inequity in the allocation of budget for municipal services.

The conference was arranged by the Pakistan Mission Society to celebrate World Environment Day 2022 and spread awareness about environmental protection. The conference was attended by national ministerial leadership, delegates from United Nations, leading fraternity from the civil society, corporate and business community, journalists, media groups, academia, and climate activists.