Environmental Compliance and the Textile Industry in South Asia - A regional discussion at the Sustainable Development Conference, December 9, Islamabad, Pakistan

Click here to watch a short video on the panel

At the Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) in Islamabad, SANDEE and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) organized a panel on environmental compliance, policies and regulations associated with the textile industry. Dr. Safdar Sohail Economic Minister, Pakistan's Mission to the EU, chaired the panel and highlighted the importance of the textile industry in the context of Pakistan's new GSP Plus status. SANDEE Fellow, Dr. Rehana Siddiqui of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics discussed and identified challenges to doing research on industrial environmental compliance.

Speakers hailed from across South Asia. Mr. Gulam Moazzam (Center for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, Bangladesh) discussed the relationship between environmental compliance and the continuing environmental pollution in Bangladesh's textile industry. Ms. Kinkini Hemachandra (University of Jayawardenapura in Sri Lanka) spoke about the pressures the international market brings to bear on the industry and Mr. K. H. Muthukuda Arachchi (Central Environmental Authority, Sri Lanka) presented the policy and implementation framework under which Sri Lankan firms operate. From Pakistan, Dr. Muhammad Khan (COMSATS Institute of Information technology, Lahore) discussed estimations of the cost of illness from non-compliance in Pakistan's textile sector, while Mr. Waseem Gulzar (SDPI) explained how Pakistani environmental regulations are enacted, but are difficult to enforce.

Drs. Sohail and Siddiqui lauded the relative success in the Sri Lankan textile sector, as compared to similar sectors in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and proposed other South Asian countries encourage research ventures to support environmental protection. Regional studies organized by SANDEE offer the opportunity to discuss countries specific solutions in a way that provides focus and clarity to all stake holders. Mr. Zia Ul Islam, Pak-EPA-Federal Director-Monitoring and Enforcement and Mr Zia Khattak, Pak-EPA Director - Laboratories and NEQS identified policy possibilities on behalf of Ministry of Climate Change, Islamabad.