Environmental Governance: An Overview on Governing Environment in Pakistan

Abstract

A qualitative study that focuses on exploring the reign of environmental governance in Pakistan in relation to global environmental governance. It also explores the barriers involved in successful formulation, execution and implementation of environmental policy instruments in Pakistan. A plethora of wicked environmental challenges exist many of which pose serious threat to our economy. Even though a multitude of federal and provincial environmental departments, regulations and policies exist yet there is a setback in controlling disasters and/or alleviating situations. Why is it so? To explore data was collected through structured interviews. A pilot interview was conducted to ascertain the validity. Small sample size is a limitation of this study. Interviews analysis revealed weak political commitment, resource deficiencies, dearth of research-based policy making and response centric approaches as prime reasons for poor environmental governance. The study suggests need for strict regulatory and collaborative governance, communities’ involvement, vulnerability assessments and proactive approaches.