According to PEPA act 1997, it is the impairment of or damage to the environment and includes:

• Impairment of, or damage to, human health and safety or to biodiversity or property
• Pollution
• Any adverse environmental effect as may be specified in the regulations

Environment means

• Air, water and land
• All layers of the atmosphere
• All organic and inorganic matter and living organisms
• The ecosystems and ecological relationships
• Buildings, structures, roads, facilities and works
• All social and economic condition affecting community life
• The inter-relationship of any of the above mentioned factors

Pollution means the contamination of air, land or water by the discharge or emission of effluent or wastes or air pollutants or noise or other matter which either directly or indirectly or in combination with other discharges or substances alters unfavorably the chemical, physical, biological, radiation, thermal or radiological or aesthetic properties of the air, land or water or which may, or is likely to make the air, land or water unclean, noxious or impure or injurious, disagreeable or detrimental to the health, safety, welfare or property of persons or harmful to biodiversity.

Sustainable development means development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Environmental Protection Order is where the federal agency or a provincial agency is satisfied that the discharge or emission of any effluent, waste, air pollutant or noise, or the disposal of waste, or the handling of hazardous substances, or any other act or omission is likely to occur, or is occurring, or has occurred, in violation of the provisions of this Act, rules or regulations or of the conditions of  a license, and is likely to cause, or is causing or has caused an adverse environmental effect, the federal agency or, as the case may be, the provincial agency may, after giving the person responsible for such discharge, emission, disposal, handling, act or omission an opportunity of being heard, by order direct such person to take such measures that the federal agency or provincial agency may consider necessary within such period as may be specified in the order.

The projects requiring IEE according to their sections are under:

• Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
  • Poultry, livestock, stud and fish farms with total cost more than Rs. 10 million
  • Projects involving repacking, formulation or warehousing of agricultural products
• Energy
  • Hydroelectric power generation less than 50 MW
  • Thermal power generation less than 200 KW
  • Transmission lines less than 11 KV, and large distribution projects
  • Oil and gas transmission system
  • Oil and gas extraction projects including exploration production gathering systems separation and storage.
  • Waste-to-energy generation project
• Manufacturing and Processing
  • Ceramics and glass units with total cost more than Rs. 50 million
  • Food processing industries including sugar mills, beverages, milk, and dairy products, with total cost less than Rs. 100 million
  • Man-made fibers and resin projects with total cost less than Rs. 100 million
  • Manufacturing of apparel, including dyeing and printing, with total cost more than Rs. 25 million
  • Wood products with total cost more than Rs. 25 million
• Mining and Mineral Processing
  • Commercial extraction of sand, gravel, limestone, clay, sulphur, and other minerals not included in Schedule II with total cost less than Rs. 100 million
  • Crushing, grinding and separation processes
  • Smelting plants with total cost less than Rs. 50 million
• Transport
  • Federal or Provincial highways (expect maintenance, rebuilding or reconstruction of existing metaled roads) with total cost less than Rs. 50 million
  • Ports and harbor development for ships less than 500 gross ton
• Water Management, Dams, Irrigation and Flood Protection
  • Dams and reservoirs with storage volume less than 50 million cubic meters of surface area less than 8 square kilometers
  • Irrigation and drainage projects serving less than 15,000 hectares
  • Small-scale irrigation systems with total cost less than Rs. 50 million
• Water Supply and Treatment
  • Water supply schemes and treatment plants with total cost less than Rs. 25 million
• Waste Disposal
  • Waste disposal facility for domestic or industrial wastes, with annual capacity less than 10,000 cubic meters
• Urban Development and Tourism
  • Housing Schemes
  • Public facilities with significant off-site impacts (e.g hospital wastes)
  • Urban Development Projects
• Other Projects
  • Any other project for which filling of IEE is required by the Federal Agency under sub-regulation (2) of Regulation (5)

The projects requiring EIA according to their sections are under:

• Energy
  • Hydroelectric power generation over 50 MW
  • Thermal power generation over 200 KW
  • Transmission lines (11 KV and above) and grid stations
  • Nuclear power plants
  • Petroleum refiners
• Manufacturing and Processing
  • Cement plants
  • Chemicals projects
  • Fertilizer plants
  • Food processing industries including sugar mills, beverages, milk, and dairy products, with total cost of Rs. 100 million and above
  • Industrial estates (including export processing zones)
  • Man-made fibers and resin projects with total cost of Rs. 100 million and above
  • Pesticides (manufacturing or formulation)
  • Petrochemicals complex
  • Synthetic resins, plastics and man-made paper fibers, paper and paper board, paper pulping, plastic products, textiles (except apparel ), printing and publishing, paints and dyes, oils and fats and vegetable ghee projects, with total cost more than Rs. 10 million
  • Tanning and leather finishing projects
• Mining and mineral processing
  • Mining and processing of coal, gold, copper, sulphur and precious stones
  • Mining and processing of major non-ferrous metals, iron and steel rolling
  • Smelting plants with total cost of Rs. 50 million and above
• Transport
  • Airports
  • Federal or Provincial highways or major roads (except maintenance, rebuilding or reconstruction of existing roads) with total cost of Rs. 50 million and above
  • Ports and harbor development for ships of 500 gross tons and above
  • Railway works
• Water management, dams, irrigation and flood protection
  • Dams and reservoirs with storage volume of 50 million cubic meter and above or surface area of 8 square kilometers and above
  • Irrigation and drainage projects serving 15,000 hectares and above
• Water supply and treatment
  • Water supply schemes and treatment plants with total cost of Rs. 2.5 million and above
  • Waste disposal
  • Waste disposal and/or storage of hazardous or toxics wastes (including landfill sites, incineration of hospital toxic waste)
  • Waste disposal facilities for domestic or industrial wastes, with annual capacity more than 10,000 cubic meters
• Urban Development and Tourism
  • Land use studies and urban plans (large cities)
  • Large-scale tourism development projects with total cost more than Rs. 50 million
• Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  • All projects situated in environmentally sensitive areas
• Other Projects
  • Any other project for which filling of an EIA is required by the Federal Agency under sub-regulation (2) of Regulation 5.
  • Any other project likely to cause an adverse environmental effect

The International agreements are:

• International Plant Protection Convention, Rome, 1951
• Plant Protection Agreement for the South-East Asia and pacific region (as amended,) Rome, 1956
• Agreement for the establishment of a commission for controlling the Desert locust in the Eastern Region of its distribution area in south west Asia (as amended), Rome, 1963
• Convention on wetland of international importance especially as waterfowl habitat, Ramsar, 1971 and its amending protocol, Paris, 1982
• Convention concerning the protection of world cultural and natural heritage (world heritage convention), 1972
• Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild Funa and Flora (CITES), Washington, 1973
• Convention on the conservation of Migratory species of Wild Animals , Bonn, 1979.
• Convention on the law of the sea, Montego Bay, 1982
• Vienna convention for the protection of the ozone layer, Vienna, 1985
• Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone Layer, Montreal, 1987 and amendments
• Agreement on the network of agriculture centres in Asia and the pacific, Bangkok, 1988
• Convention on the control of trans-boundary movements of Hazardous Waste and their disposal, Basel, 1989
• Convention of biological diversity, Rio De janeiro, 1992
• United nations frame work convention on climate change, Rio De janeiro, 1992