Summer in the city has never been a pleasant experience. Yet, human kind is set on doing absolutely everything it possibly can to ensure that the temperatures rise even higher over the years to come. Take ‘Islamabad the Green’ for example: Long held up as a shining example of how green and cool a city should be, it is, despite the Capital Development Authority’s claims to the contrary, losing its greenery at a tremendous rate, as even anyone wearing blinkers can see.
The Margalla Hills National Park is continually being robbed of its tree cover. And, if the situation is not brought under control on an emergency basis, it will not be long before the tree cover becomes patchy and, unless replanting is also done, eventually disappears altogether. The fact that the CDA has halved the number of forest guards on patrol has left the area at the mercy of the timber mafia, plus, it is reported that low paid CDA staff have themselves joined in the plundering of this natural wealth.
Greenbelts in the city itself are also shrinking due to encroachments or, in some instances, are turning into garbage dumps in which the ubiquitous plastic waste is suffocating and killing off grass, shrubs and even trees themselves. The periodic ‘trimming’ of mature trees - in reality this is outright murder as it is done by apparently untrained staff with their eyes on profit from the sale of the hefty branches so thoughtlessly cut down - to prevent them from interfering with power cables further exacerbates the rapidly deteriorating situation as does the concreting over of what were once grassy areas in an attempt at reducing maintenance requirements.
This un-greening of Islamabad, combined with more and more construction, is leading to a rise in temperature along with increased levels of already dangerously high atmospheric pollution. Buildings, be these individuals homes or the increasingly popular high-rise blocks of offices or apartments, soak up the heat of the sun all day long, more so than ever if there is an absence of greenery in the area where they are located, then radiate this stored heat back out at night. This daytime heat is also stored up in footpaths, concrete road dividers, roads, underpasses and overpasses and everything else constructed from manmade materials and all work towards contributing to creating an unnatural rise in temperature by day and also by night.
Anyone in possession of even a single ounce of common sense knows full well that a grassy area is cooler to walk on than a paved or cemented one, as grass, plants, trees and the earth itself absorb heat, rather than radiating it out and if someone wants to dispute this, then I suggest they try walking on a paved area in their bare feet on a hot day and then compare the burning experience with walking on grass!
It is an easy matter to blame the shortage of irrigation water for the increase in paved areas throughout the city and no one can deny that a serious shortage of potable water does exist. The point is, however, that potable water should not be used to irrigate anything at all as the CDA should, and must, bring in rules and regulations to enforce the collection of rainwater from every single building, no matter how big or how small, under its purview and, this is also of extreme importance, stop dithering and actively pursue the recycling of sewage water for irrigation purposes.
It should also act to educate everyone residing in the area under its ‘control’ about how to safely recycle all household water for at least one more use; indeed, it could be a fairly low cost exercise carried out simply by distributing ‘sensible’ and easy to follow information and instructions, along with warnings about the severity of potable water shortages if people do not begin to do something about it at residence level.
Islamabad - the once green - is still, compared to cities such as Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi, a relative paradise, but it will not remain this way unless action is instigated, monitored and carried through on all levels of society from the very rich to the very poor.
The recent World Water Day was intended to highlight the need for water conservation on an increasingly water hungry planet and, this year, was a double-barrelled affair in that it tried to highlight the connection between water wastage and food production: Without adequate water agriculture, in all its forms, is adversely affected as is the ability of urban dwellers to even attempt to produce at least some fresh fruits and vegetables at home, which is another point the CDA would do well to raise awareness of.
Fruit trees and vegetables can and do, if all is carried out in the correct manner, thrive on recycled household water and it is to be hoped that the CDA in Islamabad, plus the relevant bodies in all other urban centres throughout the country, will undertake educational programmes to explain and promote such practices or, even better still, set up demonstration gardens in which specially trained staff will pass on the necessary knowledge to those willing to learn.
n The writer is author of The Gun Tree: One Woman’s War (Oxford University Press, 2001) and lives in Bhurban.
Email: zahrahnasir@hotmail.com