Opportunities and constraints for cleaner production policy in the developing world: a case study of Sindh Region, Pakistan

Love Kumar; Sohail Ali Naqvi; Matthew J Deitch; Muhammad Jibran Khalid; Komal Naeem; Arjmand Qayyum Amjad; Avinash Kumar; Tesfay Gebretsadkan Gebremicael; Masood Arshad

doi:10.1007/s10668-022-02889-0

Opportunities and constraints for cleaner production policy in the developing world: a case study of Sindh Region, Pakistan

Environ Dev Sustain. 2023 Jan 9:1-44. doi: 10.1007/s10668-022-02889-0. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Love Kumar¹, Sohail Ali Naqvi², Matthew J Deitch¹, Muhammad Jibran Khalid³, Komal Naeem⁴, Arjmand Qayyum Amjad², Avinash Kumar⁵, Tesfay Gebretsadkan Gebremicael¹, Masood Arshad²

Affiliations

¹ Soil, Water and Ecosystem Sciences Department, IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Florida, USA.
² World Wide Fund for Nature Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan), Lahore, Pakistan.
³ Management Environmental and Social Solutions Company Pvt Ltd, Karachi, Pakistan.
⁴ Environment Protection Authority Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
⁵ Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, USA.

Abstract

The current industrial and economic activities in Sindh Province, Pakistan, polluted the region's water, air, soil, and marine resources. However, there is a rising demand for eco-friendly production, and it is important to develop new policies and tools to combat environmental degradation and enhance economic development. Cleaner Production (CP) provides opportunities to address many of these issues. Employed method for this study was based on three approaches: a literature review and stakeholder mapping; a collection of data and information from key stakeholders through focal group discussions, consultative workshops, and one-on-one meetings; and analysis and synthesis of data that were gathered from different sources. The analysis of collected information provides an overview of CP strategies moving forward. Participant workshops gave in-depth information on policy implementation, technological impediments to methods that have been employed elsewhere, and needed capacity building as well as financial consequences of policy implementation. Through increasing financial resources and institutional resources, the expansion of CP will help to replace the conventional methods of waste treatment with an eco-efficiency approach to preventing pollution at the source, thus reducing the need for expensive pollution control and management costs for environmental compliance. Experiences, achievements, and implementation pitfalls from this study can provide a lesson to other developing countries to improve their economic and environmental sustainability.

Keywords: Cleaner Production; Environmental protection; Policy; Regional initiative; Sustainability.

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