Legal Status of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Practice of Application and Challenges in Pakistan

Abstract

This study addresses legal status of strategic environmental assessment (SEA), practice of application and challenges in Pakistan. The source of data was based upon a review of the literature, as well as structured and semi structured interviews with selected experts and consultants of the various backgrounds of Pakistan. This study shows that Pakistan transposed SEA in their national and provincial Environmental Protection Acts except for Punjab province. However Pakistan conducted a few SEA studies including SEA studies of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Hydropower Plans, Gilgit city master plan, Poverty and Social Assessment of Trade and Transport Sector Reforms in Pakistan and the Cumulative and Induced Impact Assessment study of the Upper Indus River Basin (UIRB) of Pakistan. The main challenges for SEA in Pakistan include: devolution environment from federal to provinces, less technical staff for SEA studies, weak knowledge, and training about SEA in the Environmental Protection Agencies, weak political priority for environmental, weak environmental screening and scoping process, lack of financial resources for primary data collection and SEA studies. Despite the fact that the SEA is implemented in rudimentary stages in Pakistan, few SEA studies conducted in Pakistan only for donor-funded policies, plans, and programmes.