Javaid Afzal

This book aims to share information on the environmental harms in Sindh, Pakistan, which in 2009 resulted in more than 40,000 premature deaths and costs equivalent to 15% of the province's GDP, and to provide an interdisciplinary framework for bringing about improved environmental conditions in Sindh.

The harm to Pakistanis health, economy, and environment from urban air pollution is among the highest in South Asia, exceeding several high-profile causes of mortality and morbidity in Pakistan. This report details a broad spectrum of research on Pakistan's air quality management challenges and presents concrete steps to achieve improvements.

This book identifies reforms that can help manage environmental priority problems associated with transport's impacts on air quality, noise pollution, road safety, hazardous-materials transport, climate change, and urban sprawl. The policy options are contextualised in light of the Government of Pakistan's 2011 Framework for Economic Growth and its strategic objectives. Appendixes A-D present additional background information, describe the economic and institutional analyses undergirding this report, and detail the report's methodology. This analytical work by a team of World Bank specialists focuses on: analysing the policy and institutional adjustments required to address environmental, social, and poverty aspects of increased transportation efficiency in Pakistan;identifying policy options for the Government of Pakistan to better serve the population, to enhance social cohesion, and to foster equitable benefit sharing with low-income or other vulnerable groups; developing a broad participatory process to give a voice to stakeholders who could be affected by enhancements of freight transport productivity;making robust recommendations to strengthen governance and the institutional capacity of agencies to manage the environmental, social, and poverty consequences of freight transportation infrastructure.