Mainstreaming Climate Change into Development Planning in Pakistan: Key Barriers and Way Forward
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/qjss.vi-i.25337Keywords:
Climate-Resilient Development Planning, Policy Integration, Sustainable Development, Climate Adaptation, PakistanAbstract
Pakistan, highly vulnerable to escalating climate impacts, faces devastating floods and economic losses that actively reverse development gains and threaten lives and livelihoods. This paper addresses the critical need to integrate climate change into Pakistan's national development planning and budgeting. It investigates why this is vital, how it can be achieved, and the associated challenges and opportunities, employing a qualitative approach with policy and document analysis. Key findings highlight significant barriers to effective mainstreaming, including fragmented institutional coordination across federal and provincial levels, limited financial and technical capacities within government entities, weak enforcement mechanisms, and insufficient political prioritisation alongside challenges in mobilising adequate climate finance. The paper argues that a sustainable future for Pakistan hinges on embedding climate risk assessments and adaptation goals across all stages of development projects and within public financial management systems. The paper argues that effective mainstreaming requires embedding climate risk screening into planning and financial management, fostering robust inter-institutional collaboration, revising sectoral policies, enhancing climate education, and strategically mobilising both domestic and international climate finance, including leveraging public-private partnerships.
References
Aleem, M., Khan, S. N., Akbar, M. U., Arshad, A., Alsubhi, Y., Pandey, M., Javaid, A., Aleem, M., Ali, M. H., & Mansaray, A. (2024). Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Project Reveals Climate Change Mitigation and Precipitation Increase in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Earth Systems and Environment, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-024-00533-7
Ali, S., Khan, F., & Ahmed, R. (2023). Climate change vulnerability and adaptation strategies in marginalized communities of Pakistan. Journal of Environmental Management, 330, 117145.
Ayers, J., & Dodman, D. (2010). Climate change adaptation and development I: the state of the debate. Progress in Development studies, 10(2), 161-168. https://doi.org/10.1177/146499340901000205
Bakhsh, K., Latif, A., Ali, R., & Yasin, M. A. (2021). Relationship between adaptation to climate change and provincial government expenditure in Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 28(7), 8384–8391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11182-4
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/qrj0902027
Development, M. o. P., Development, & Initiatives, S. (2022). PAKISTAN FLOODS 2022: post-disaster needs assessment. In: Government of Pakistan, Asian Development Bank, European Union, United ….
Devi, S. H., & Salam, J. (2025). Resilience, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies to Combat Climate Change for a Sustainable Future. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 15(4), 423-438. https://journalijecc.com/index.php/IJECC/article/view/4822
Feruglio, N., Saxena, S., & von Thadden-Kostopoulos, S. (2023). Climate Public Investment Management Assessment (C-PIMA). Assessment (C-PIMA).
Feulner, G. (2015). Global challenges: Climate change. Global Challenges, 1(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1002/gch2.1003
Gasper, D., Portocarrero, A. V., & St.Clair, A. L. (2013). The framing of climate change and development: A comparative analysis of the Human Development Report 2007/8 and the World Development Report 2010. Global Environmental Change: Human and Policy Dimensions, 23(1), 28–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.10.014
Guest, G., MacQueen, K. M., & Namey, E. E. (2011). Applied thematic analysis. SAGE Publications.
Hallegatte, S., Maruyama Rentschler, J. E., & Rozenberg, J. (2019). Lifelines: The Resilient Infrastructure Opportunity (Vol. 2).
Hussain, A., & Khan, M. A. (2021). Institutional barriers to climate change adaptation in developing countries: A case study of Pakistan. Climate Policy, 21(4), 534-548.
Hussain, M. A., Shuai, Z., Moawwez, M. A., Umar, T., Iqbal, M. R., Kamran, M., & Muneer, M. (2023). A review of spatial variations of multiple natural hazards and risk management strategies in Pakistan. Water, 15(3), 407. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15030407
Jamali, H. (2015). Framing climate change adaptation: from international discourse to local realities: a case study from Pakistan. PhD Thesis. Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Geneva, Switzerland
Jamali, H., Jamali, M., Hayat, S., & Iqbal, J. (2023). Indus river delta: Contested narratives in the climate of change. Asian Journal of Social Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajss.2023.06.001
Kalinowski, T. (2023). The Green Climate Fund and private sector climate finance in the Global South. Climate Policy, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2023.2276857
Khalid, I. (2017). The current state of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in Pakistan and the way forward. Islamabad: Heinrich Böll Foundation. Accessed February 12, 2019.
Lebel, L., Li, L., Krittasudthacheewa, C., Juntopas, M., Vijitpan, T., Uchiyama, T., & Krawanchid, D. (2012). Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into development planning. Bangkok: Adaptation Knowledge Platform and Stockholm Environment Institute, 8.
Madekivi, T. (2017). Effectiveness of recycling initiatives in the city of Lusaka, Zambia: case of Ng'ombe compound.
Mall, R. K., Srivastava, R. K., Banerjee, T., Mishra, O. P., Bhatt, D., & Sonkar, G. (2019). Disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation over south Asia: challenges and ways forward. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 10, 14-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-018-0210-9
Mihelcic, J. R., Phillips, L. D., & Watkins, D. W., Jr. (2006). Integrating a global perspective into education and research: Engineering international sustainable development. Environmental Engineering Science, 23(3), 426–438. https://doi.org/10.1089/ees.2006.23.426
Mirza, M. M. Q. (2011). Climate change, flooding in South Asia and implications. Regional Environmental Change, 11(S1), 95–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-010-0184-7
Mugwedi, L. F., Ray-Mukherjee, J., Roy, K. E., Egoh, B. N., Pouzols, F. M., Douwes, E., Boon, R., O’Donoghue, S., Slotow, R., Di Minin, E., Moilanen, A., & Rouget, M. (2018). Restoration planning for climate change mitigation and adaptation in the city of Durban, South Africa. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystems Services & Management, 14(1), 132–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/21513732.2018.1483967
Nam, V. (2023). Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Owen, G. (2020). What makes climate change adaptation effective? A systematic review of the literature. Global Environmental Change, 62, 102071.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (Vol. 3). SAGE.
Rana, A. W., Pakistan Agricultural Capacity Enhancement Program PACE, & International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). (2019). Comprehensive institutional review for climate resilient agriculture. International Food Policy Research Institute. https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133441
Ravindranath, N. H., Sathaye, J. A., Ravindranath, N., & Sathaye, J. A. (2002). Climate change and developing countries. Springer.
Rehmat, A., Ahmad, S. M., Danish, S., Umar, A., Khaver, A., & Khan, R. M. (2023). Claiming reparation for loss and damage due to floods 2022: the case of Pakistan. Sustainable Development Institute. https://sdpi.org/assets/lib/uploads/Claiming%20Reparation%20for%20Loss%20and%20Damage%20Due%20to%20Floods%202022.pdf
Reis, M., & Dutal, H. (2019). Determining the effect of deforestation on sustainable water supply in a semi-arid mountainous watershed by using storm water management model. International Journal of Global Warming, 17(1), 108-126. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGW.2019.096767
Scoville-Simonds, M., Jamali, H., & Hufty, M. (2020). The Hazards of Mainstreaming: Climate change adaptation politics in three dimensions. World Development, 125(104683), 104683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104683
Shafeeque, M., Sarwar, A., Basit, A., Mohamed, A. Z., Rasheed, M. W., Khan, M. U., Buttar, N. A., Saddique, N., Asim, M. I., & Sabir, R. M. (2022). Quantifying the impact of the Billion Tree Afforestation Project (BTAP) on the water yield and sediment load in the Tarbela reservoir of Pakistan using the SWAT model. Land, 11(10), 1650. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101650
Sperling, J. (2003). Eurasian security governance: new threats, institutional adaptations. Limiting institutions, 3-26.
Tanner, T., & Allouche, J. (2011). Towards a new political economy of climate change and development. IDS bulletin, 42(3), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-5436.2011.00217.x
Traverso, A. An Engineering Perspective on Climate Change: Mitigation or Adaptation? Available at SSRN 5224500.
Umar, M. A., Danish, S., Rehmat, A., Khaver, A., Khan, R. M., & Ahmad, S. M. (2023). PAKISTAN’S INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR CLIMATE ACTION: AN ANALYSIS. SDPI. Retrieved Pakistan's Institutional Capacity for Climate Action: An Analysis…-publication details.
