Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997

The Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997 is the country's main environmental law, establishing the institutional framework for protecting, conserving, and improving the environment and controlling pollution across Pakistan. Section 3 creates the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council, and Section 4 gives it high-level functions: coordinating enforcement of the Act, approving national environmental policies and National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS), and directing agencies to prepare or implement environmental protection projects.

Sections 5-7 establish the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (the federal EPA), headed by a Director-General, with broad functions under Section 6 including implementing the Act, preparing and enforcing the National Environmental Quality Standards, publishing an annual State of the Environment report, certifying approved laboratories, and promoting public awareness of environmental issues. Section 7 gives the federal Agency investigative powers - summoning witnesses, entering and searching premises under a search warrant, taking samples, and confiscating items used in an offence - generally exercised in line with the Code of Criminal Procedure. Section 8 requires each province to establish its own Provincial Environmental Protection Agency, and Sections 9-10 create Provincial Sustainable Development Funds.

The Act's substantive obligations include Section 11 (prohibition of discharges or emissions above NEQS limits), Section 12 (requiring an Initial Environmental Examination or full Environmental Impact Assessment for certain projects before they proceed), Section 13 (prohibiting import of hazardous waste), Section 14 (regulating handling of hazardous substances), and Section 15 (regulating motor vehicle emissions). Section 16 lets the Federal Agency issue an "environmental protection order" directing a person or entity to stop or remedy a violation.

Sections 17-19 create offences and penalties for violations - though the extract does not show the specific penalty amounts - including separate liability provisions for offences committed by companies (Section 18) and by government agencies or local authorities (Section 19). Sections 20-25 establish specialised Environmental Tribunals and Environmental Magistrates (First Class) to hear these cases, with appeal routes set out in Sections 22-25.

Section 34 repealed the earlier Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance, 1983, carrying forward its rules, appointments, and pending matters into the new Act. The Act's Schedule (referenced in Section 31) lists major international environmental treaties Pakistan is party to, including CITES, the Montreal Protocol, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.