Factories are throwing toxic waste in the open rivers and the surface water has become extremely polluted. Consequently, 85% of the water demand in the capital city is met through extracting water from the underground water table and the underground water level is depleting at a rapid rate of 3 to 4 meters every year. Brick kilns, mostly coal fired, around the urban areas are also major causes of air pollution. There are only around 4,000 registered architects in the country for a population of about 165 million. But there are more than 800 local government bodies in the country and only a handful of them have urban planners and few have architects for development controls and enforcement of building regulations. The negative impact of this absence of built environment professionals in the local government and planning authorities are visible in the unplanned development of most to the cities and towns. Currently, around 30 universities in the country are producing architects, of which only 11 are accredited by the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB). Most of the non-accredited academic programs lack adequate number of qualified teaching professionals.
2.5.3 BOTSWANA
Ms Sithabile Mathe, Chairperson, Architects Registration Council of Botswana The Architectural Association of Botswana participated in the first survey of the architectural profession undertaken by the CAA in 2017 and was shocked to discover the issues that were revealed. While the lack of capacity and policy weakness exposed by the survey was deeply concerning, having access to real data has enabled us to establish a more meaningful dialogue with policy makers and was empowering. At the time of writing, a new government has just been elected in Botswana and policy makers have started talking about ‘Eco and Smart Cities’ but there is little evidence to demonstrate any real understanding of sustainable urbanisation or the multi-disciplinary, multi-sector approach required to achieve this and tackle the challenges we face. While our government believes its policies reflect a vision underpinned by sustainability, the findings of the survey have highlighted that our progress towards the achievement of SDG 11 is slipping. As built environment professionals, it is important for us to work together with policymakers to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In and amongst the talk about ‘Eco and Smart Cities’, we need to develop meaningful targets that are relevant for us here in Botswana and use these to help inform everything we do. While technology is no substitute for good urban planning and design, we also need to consider the use of technology and the way in which it can help deliver innovative solutions which deliver real value for our communities. The results of the current survey will help us in our work with policymakers, to focus on the areas where we need to strengthen and build capacity.
2.5.4 PAKISTAN
Mr Kalim Siddiqui, Chairman, Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners Pakistan has seen an increase in the number of Architectural schools (from 10 to 35) during the last 10 years both in public as well as private sector. This growth of Architectural programs in the country has caused a serious dearth of quality teachers. To fulfil the accreditation criteria fresh architectural graduates or architects with few years professional experience are being hired by the universities on low salaries and contract terms without any benefits. Most of the Architectural schools lack qualified teaching professionals.
Survey of the Built Environment Professions in the Commonwealth
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