Big Oil smells gas in Pakistan wildlife park
Copyright 2000, Environmental News Network
November 5, 2000
By Muddassir Rizvi
Green groups are weighing legal action against transnational oil companies that enjoy full support of the Pakistani government in their efforts to plumb the country's largest wildlife national park for gas.
"We are considering moving the supreme court against the planned exploration in the park by the joint venture of Premier and Shell oil companies," said Farhan Anwar, leader of a coalition of green groups that are trying to save the country's first national park from commercial exploitation.
The alliance also includes the World Conservation Union (IUCN-Pakistan, World Wide Fund for Nature, Sungi Development Foundation, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, CREED Alliance, Shehri, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute and others.
Located 150 kilometers north of the port city of Karachi in the southern Sindh province, the ecologically sensitive Kirthar National Park is home to several rare or threatened animal species, including the Sindh Ibex, Urial sheep and chinkara gazelle, in addition to 27 other species of mammals, various families of reptiles and at least 58 species of birds.
Historically, Kirthar is of prime importance, boasting some of the world's largest forts as well as archaeological sites dating back to 3500 B.C. An area of breathtaking beauty, it is populated by local tribal communities numbering at least 20,000 people.
Kirthar is the country's first environmentally protected area and has been listed with the United Nations since 1974. But neither fact has weighed heavily with government planners.
In July 1997 the Nawaz Sharif government opened the 25-year-old park to prospectors and invited Britain's Premier Oil to search for an estimated 3 trillion cubic feet of gas believed to be trapped in the porous rock of the area. Premier received a green light to look for gas in almost 90 percent of the park, which spreads over an area of 308,733 hectares.
In 1998, Premier and Shell formed a joint-venture company registered in the Netherlands as Kirthar Development. The company is in charge of natural gas exploration in the park, and the Pakistani government retains a 20 percent share in the project.
Green groups have opposed the plan, saying that exploration in the park area is illegal under the Sindh Wildlife Ordinance of 1972, which prohibits "clearing or breaking up of any land for cultivation, mining or any other purpose."
"In addition to the 1972 law, the Sindh Wildlife Amendment Act of 1993 and a notification by the Sindh government provide an iron-clad constitutional safeguard to protected areas," said one environmentalist based in Islamabad.
Though government officials dimiss the greens as anti-development, the groups maintain that exploration in the park can only be initiated after a detailed ecological study is conducted. "There is inadequate scientific information about the park, as the last full survey of the park was conducted in 1974 when it was designated as a protected area," said Nargis Alvi, who works with the IUCN-Pakistan.
Alvi said that detailed information is needed for all park management decisions. "This should emanate from an in-depth study of the park, after which a management plan should be formulated. The nature of an in-depth study should be different from the environmental impact assessment originally suggested by the Ministry of Petroleum and the joint venture," she said.
Stiff resistance from the green groups forced the government and Premier-Shell to agree in May 1999 to conduct a baseline study of the park before carrying out an environmental impact assessment. The companies agreed to fund the baseline study , now in progress. The Hawthorn Consulting Group of the University of Melbourne in Australia is conducting the study.
"Based on the findings of this study, a decision was supposed to have been made on whether or not to proceed with the EIA in specific zones that do not compromise the integrity and status of ecologically sensitive spots of the park. This activity had to be complemented by the formulation and implementation of a park management plan, regardless of any future development activity or otherwise," said Anwar.
While the findings of the study aren't due until February 2001, the government, apparently under pressure from the oil companies, has made a U-turn and allowed a Canadian consulting firm, Agra Earth Environmental, to conduct an EIA of the park. The company started its work in September.
The action further provoked the green groups, whose representatives feel betrayed by the action. "An EIA is not a neutral study but is subjective and relates to the project in question. Any activity that may legitimize something illegal is also not permissible by the law. Legal opinion substantiates our claim," said Foqia Sadiq Khan of the Islamabad-based SDPI.
Government officials maintain that none of their actions are illegal. "Our foremost priority is preserving the environment and at the same time make use of the natural resource that the country needs in view of the rising energy consumption," said Ziaul Islam, director of Pakistan's Environment Protection Agency. "An EIA is perfectly legitimate activity under the country's 1997 environmental act," he said.
The government has promoted natural gas for use in vehicles and for electricity generation primarily to cut import costs of oil. Of 41.2 million barrels of oil consumed in Pakistan in 1998-99, 25.9 million barrels were imported.
This level of consumption is a major drain on foreign exchange reserves in a country that is heavily indebted (more than US$32 billion) and faces a US$2 billion trade deficit. "Under these circumstances, we have to explore local sources of energy. Kirthar is one of the potential sources," said an official of the government's petroleum and natural resources ministry.
The government has assured green groups that the oil companies will take all necessary measures to protect the park environment. However, it has banned oil company representatives from talking to the press about the project.
"We can't talk to the press without prior approval of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources," said a Premier Oil official on the condition that his name would not be used.
Green groups put little stock in these guarantees, saying that Kirthar is a typical example of an unholy public-private partnership that works against the people and the environment.
"If they can explore in Kirthar today against the country's laws, all protected areas (15) will be an open field for them," said Farhan.