A Comparative Study Of Environmental Laws In China And Pakistan

This study presents a synopsis of the implications of domestic and international environmental laws with a particular focus on the comparative developments,environmental conditions,legislation,policy implication or enforcement mechanisms in China and Pakistan.The study comprises discussions concerning international or regional legal instruments and environmental issues predominantly in this region and the whole world at large.The research methodology adopts a qualitative approach to compare environmental laws and key elements,ensuring its enforcement to achieve a sustainable environment for the present and future generations.This research shows that the development and implementation of international,transboundary and regional environmental law(s)in this region varies considerably from one State or subregion to another.These variations are due to the differing economic circumstances,political histories,cultural attitudes and colonial influences within each regional grouping.It reflects the fragmentation of legal and policy approaches,with the result that environmental law and policy regimes across the region remain largely incomplete,and requires to be affirmed to achieve the common ecological goals since environment shares no boundary and is a common and shared responsibility.In contrast,the other regions of the world such as United States-Canada-Mexico,Norway and Belgium,demonstrate to have affirmed legal cooperation in environmental matters with each other,i.e.,through including environmental concerns as an integral part of their trade agreements in order to keep the regional environment clean and sustainable.The mega infrastructural and industrial development under China Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC)will likely have environmental impacts over the surrounding environment within and of the four sides of Pakistan,which may also affect China in the same way as the region has faced smog issue in the previous years;it merits abrupt legal cooperation by both States to cope these environmental challenges jointly.In this context,China and Pakistan,being the neighbouring countries,and having large-scale joint development projects such as CPEC,merit to take the environment as a shared responsivity to achieve the common ecological goals.The study aims to figure out the comparative advantages of environmental laws and policies in both countries.The methodology also considered lessons learnt from the previous practices by understanding the environmental policy formation or implications.The analysis or discussion includes the environmental problems,contributing factors leading to environmental management issues,and understanding the obstacles to exercising better solutions.The research findings may help to understand the political or legal structure for the implementation of environmental legislation in both countries.The study outcomes will be used to address the issues related to the enforcement and execution of environmental laws,e.g.poor enforcement.The research concludes with the judicial,social,legislative,administrative,and educational measures concerning the environment followed by the appropriate recommendations for successful implementation of the environmental laws and policies in both the countries.The study also concludes that an efficiency gap between the enforcement agencies of both the States is not ignorable,even though government departments have been given more discretion to take legal actions against environmental rules violators.It is suggested that the environmental tax net should be strengthened and should include CO2 emissions in the tax net.This study also recommends that the establishment of environmental non-governmental organisations,creation of specialised environmental ministries,Courts and tribunals,exchanges programmes in the universities of both countries,transfer of technology,i.e.,for producing renewable and clean energy,learning lessons from the successful legal implications and legal transplantation,bilateral exchange of environmental lawyer's,improving the environmental intelligence for pollution acknowledgement,enhancing public participation as well as public interest litigations in environmental matters,developing a uniform commercial code and include environmental aspects as fundamental apprehension in each of the trade agreements and converting the same to‘preferential'trade agreements,developing climate-resilient infrastructure for the joint mega-projects like CPEC,increasing consistency between domestic,regional,and international environmental laws,agreements,and treaties,devising joint environmental or climate change policies for monitoring,planning or managing,and impact assessment activities could be beneficial to combat the shared environmental(domestic as well transboundary)challenges.