Environmental Protection Society (EPS) takes all those initiatives which contribute directly or indirectly to its mission, objectives and program area. Following are some of the thematic areas where EPS intervenes either in collaboration with donor organization or with its own resources.
1. Social and physical development
2. Awareness and Advocacy
3. Water and Sanitation
4. Eco-Tourism
5. Health and Hygiene
6. Education
7. Agriculture and livestock
8. Disaster Management
9. Urban and Rural Management
10. Capacity Building
11. Poverty Reduction
12. Gender and Development
13. Research
1. Social and physical Development
EPS is well aware that social and physical developments are complementary to each other. The Society tries to avail every opportunity necessary for the social and physical uplift of the country. EPS organizes Annual CBOs (Community Board Organizations) Conference on regular basis for the last fourteen years. Moreover, social organization is always the important component of each project executed by EPS. The Society carries out the social mobilization in lines that it provides a platform to the communities at grass root level to contribute to the welfare of human being and sustainability of the projects.
Physical development is important to make it environment friendly and chanalize the spatial growth. EPS introduced the idea of energy efficient physical structure and the Technical unit provides engineering services to private sector on nominal charges to introduce the concept of perfect planning and zoning. Moreover, EPS under different projects, especially Malakand Rural Development Project successfully implemented more than 500 physical schemes comprising of water supply, sanitation, street pavement, jeep-able tracks, irrigation channels and micro-hydel power stations.
2. Awareness and Advocacy
Since its inception in 1991, EPS has always given great importance to awareness raising and advocacy. EPS organizes different events such as workshops, seminars, walks, knowledge forum etc., to raise awareness and sensitize the concerned stakeholders including the line departments. The Society organizes the important international days such as World Environment Day, Earth Day, Women Day etc., by conducting different activities such Clean Up activity, Painting Competition, Theater Shows, Cycle Race, Debates Competition etc to raise awareness regarding the wise use of natural resources and keeping the surrounding clean. EPS has kept good working relation with the elected members and line agencies through organizing joint meetings and sharing of basic information to have joint endeavors for the uplift of the people and the area. Moreover, the Society develop different type of promotion materials such as pamphlets, brochures, calendars, booklets etc. to disseminate messages both in the textual as well as visual form at grass root level. Awareness raising and advocacy has always been an important component of almost all the projects executed by EPS.
3. Water and Sanitation
Using the local technology and engineering standards, provision of potable water and sanitation facility to the vulnerable population is the specialized area of the Society. On one hand EPS through its Technical Unit provides engineering support to the community based organization and on the other implemented more than 236schemes of water supply and sanitation on participatory basis under different projects. Moreover, Environmental Protection Society has introduced the concept of communal septic tank on component share basis. Such practice has successfully been carried out in three different localities of Mingora i.e, Shagai, Amankot and Bunr. To protect and restore the health of highly contaminated stream, conserve River Swat and make the city environment clean and safe for health, EPS designed a comprehensive sanitation scheme for the whole city of Mingawara and Saidu Sharif.
Domestic waste especially toilet waste is the main pollutant of water bodies in the city. A separate sewer system for toilet waste, using local standards and technology is proposed to be carried out in the city. Storm water will be disposed off through open surface drains.
The sanitation scheme so designed for the city has three main components and its design period is 25 years.
- Sewer Line to be laid in the city
- Trunk Sewer along both sides of the stream
- Treatment Plant at disposal point.
4. Eco-Tourism
Pakistan, comprising of many scenic areas and valleys especially in the north has high potential of eco-tourism but so far no comprehensive work has been done on this sector by any government or non-government or private sector. Although this sector can earn great revenue for the country in an environment friendly way is being ignored. Environmental Protection Society was well aware of this fact since the beginning and highlighted it in different forums. In 2005 the Society took practical steps when it found the opportunity of partnership with UNDP PTF Program. Under this project the Society established an eco-camp in one of the beautiful valley of Swat/Buner name Elum Valley. The Society then organized a national workshop titling “Promotion of Eco-Tourism” in 2007 and in the light of the recommendations so received from the participants a five year plan for tourism promotion was developed. The Society also constituted an “Eco-Tourism Promotion Committee” with Ex. Minister to GoNWFP Mr. Mian Gul Asfandyar Amir Zeb as the Chairman, EPS the Secretariat and representative from Hotel Association, Tourist Guide, Transport Association, Generalists, Air Port Security Force, Deawoo Services as its members. Meeting of the committee were conducted on monthly basis to work for materializing the plan but after the third meeting the security situation in Swat became worst and it was decided to stop the activities till the restoration of peace in the area.
5. Health and Hygiene
Environmental health along with personal and communal hygiene was one of the top priorities of EPS since the beginning but after the earthquake of October 8, 2005, EPS took the initiatives of providing primary health cover to the affecties of District Shangla in collaboration with CARE International in Pakistan. Besides medical camps, EPS organize health and hygiene sessions and impart training to medical personnel, especially Mid wives and traditional birth attendants. EPS has signed memorandum of understanding with health department Swat, Shangla and Batagram districts and strengthened Bisham Civil Hospital by providing medical equipments and furniture to the hospital. EPS in collaboration with JSI-USAID has also established a Birthing Center in an underserved area of Swat to provide health services to mothers and newborns.
6. Education
Education, both the formal as well as informal, is another important thematic area of EPS. The Society established Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs) in both the boys and girls government primary schools of Swat. It proved very effective as the teachers began to teach the students in a refined manner and students enrolment in the schools enhanced. The Society also established informal schools in the remote areas of the district on self sustainable basis and provide opportunity to the deprived children. Moreover, under different projects EPS provided opportunities of short and medium duration training for teachers and students. Besides the formal education EPS has also expertise in Environmental Education which has mostly an important component of the NRM related projects executed by EPS.
7. Agriculture and livestock
Agriculture and livestock is an important component of natural resources being the program area of Environmental Protection Society (EPS). In all the livelihood related and multi-sectoral projects executed by EPS agriculture and livestock management has been taken as one of the important component. EPS through its projects taught the farmers and peasants the refined pattern of cropping and introduced high quality of breeds and certified seeds. EPS also tries to minimize the gap between the beneficiaries and the line departments.
8. Disaster Management
After the devastating earthquake of October 8, 2005 in NWFP and Azad Jammu Kashmir, EPS entered into relief activities for the first time. The Society established relief camp in Swat and provided relief goods to the earthquake affected people in NWFP. Besides establishing relief camp, EPS through the financial support of a community from Netherlands distributed both the food and non-food items among the displaced population.
9. Urban and Rural areas Management
Since its existence, Environmental Protection Society gives equal importance to the resources management of both the rural and urban areas. It is clearly evident that the rural and urban areas of a region are interdependent and any degradation in any one of them directly affects the environment of the other. Besides the projects, for the development of urban and rural areas of Malakand Division EPS prepared a modal sketch for a 200 kanals sites on the principals of planning and zoning guidelines in the tourist area of Kalam Swat and submitted to the concerned quarters for implementation. Similarly, the Society conceived a conceptual Master Plan and Traffic Management plan for the urban areas of Malakand Division. These studies proved very fruitful for the concerned line agencies, especially the TMA and District Government Swat to carry out the planned developmental initiatives in line with these plans.
10. Capacity Building
Capacity building is an important area and distinction of the Society. Since 1998 EPS formally established a well equipped HRD Unit and since then impart training to the Community Based Organizations/Village Organizations/Citizen Community Boards through out the region free of charge. This initiative not only helped EPS to establish a net work of the CBOs in Malakand Division but also produced a social capital in the region to work for the uplift of the area. EPS follow two prong strategy to enhance capacity of the stakeholders and the community. On one hand specialized formal trainings are organized and the other on the other they are capacitated through on job learning. Different training manuals and trainers’ pool with EPS are given in the end of the document.
Besides the free of charge trainings, EPS also impart on job charge training to the organizations formed by other projects or institutions and contribute to the resource mobilization strategy of the Society in an effective way. In addition to organizational development training EPS imparts marketable vocational training to individuals.
11. Poverty Reduction
EPS has also its concern about the poor economic conditions of the people of the area and it has always been cross cutting theme of every activity and project of the Society. To contribute directly to poverty reduction in the region EPS with financial support of NOVB provided small loans to male as well as female to enhance their earning capacity. At the conclusion of the collaboration with NOVIB, EPS retained the program and decided to focus mainly on female strata. EPS provides small loan of amounting PKR. 5,000/= to 10,000/= following both the fixed interest rate as well as Islamic mode of financing. The loan is provided for one year duration and is returned in 12 monthly installments to keep the fund rotational.
12. Gender and Development (GAD)
Environmental Protection Society (EPS) has a well narrated Gender and Development Strategy with the focus to bring the female strata to the main streaming within the cultural and religious boundaries. Besides executing GAD specific projects, it is the cross cutting theme of EPS projects and its other events.
13. Research
Research is an important component of EPS Program. The Society not only executed a good number of indigenous based action research project but also support university students both financially as well as technically in their academic researches. The Society has also established an Area Resource Center and organized events of Knowledge Forum where researches present their researches to the concerned people.
Area Resource Centre is established by EPS in December 1998 to document researches and information about the places and people of the former Malakand Division. Research papers and other publications by local researchers on any topic and researchers from other areas who have published works on this area are being collected. CHIP has provided financial support for improving the ARC. In future the Centre will serve as a resource base on the former Malakand Division for researchers, Projects, Government departments like forest, wildlife, health, education, agriculture, NGOs and CBOs. At present the Centre has books, papers, dissertation, theses and reports.