itizen participation and engagement in climate action and sustainable development is not a new idea. Under the Rio Declaration developed in 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), states have an obligation to facilitate participatory and environmentally sound development by providing access to information and opportunities to facilitate citizens.

However, some state institutions and development actors do not envisage the citizens worth engaging in re-orienting their ecologically unsound development plans.

The recent announcement by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to “auction 20 plots, 500 square yards each, for restaurants, bistros, cafes and eateries” in Shakarparian, Islamabad, is an example of disregard shown for the socio-ecological repercussions of development and exclusion of citizens from the decision-making process.

The stated purpose of the proposed project is to maintain “heritage and culture as the development theme of the area.“ It is to be modeled after JBR, Dubai/ City Walk, Dubai/ Nizami Street, Baku.

The projected construction and commercial activity will result in more ecological stress on the flora and fauna of the national park. Of the 30 ongoing projects listed on CDA’s website, 21 are for expanding the road network in the capital. These include widening of expressways, building overpasses, underpasses and interchanges.

The development agenda of the Lahore Development Authority is not much different either. It has recently resurrected a project to construct an elevated expressway from Main Boulevard, Gulberg, to M2 motorway.

In its environmental impact assessment, the project sponsors have argued that there will be no “significant, long-term adverse impacts on the social, physical and ecological environment of the area”. It will instead “improve environmental conditions” and reduce “psychological stress”.

Further, the EIA says that the project will have a beneficial impact on air quality, ensuring “better quality of life” in the neighbourhood.

Capacity issues and timidity shown by the environmental protection agencies allows government authorities as well as other development sponsors to use buzzwords like “sustainable development”, “community engagement”, “community-led”, and “inclusive governance” in deceptive ways.

Do communities lack awareness? Or do our policymakers need to re-evaluate their conceptualisations of the communities?

Demolition of katchi abadis in Islamabad and Karachi has been justified in the past in the name of “environmental protection” and for reorienting “unplanned development”.

Some of the policy and strategic documents also blame the populace and their “social and cultural norms” as a source of problems. For example, the National Contingency Plan Winter (2023-2023), and National Monsoon Contingency Plan (2022), while discussing the structural challenges preventing disaster response, note that “people in at-risk communities/ from vulnerable areas generally resist evacuations till the very last moment and demand relief on site instead of at planned relief camps.” Similarly, communities living in the mountainous hinterlands, are viewed as a cause of “environmental degradation” through depletion of natural resources.

It is unfortunate that while powerful industrialists and real estate developers exploiting land and natural resources on a large scale are described as “development partners” of the state and credited with creating “climate resilience,“ local communities get accused of “lacking awareness”.

But do communities lack awareness? Or do our policymakers need to re-evaluate their conceptualisation of the communities? Indigenous communities and activists in Malir, Lyari, Gujjar Nullah, Badin, Gilgit and Gawadar are opposing and contesting the ecologically unsustainable development undertakings. Government leaders and state officials need to hearken and respond to these voices.

Development policies and practices are undergoing a shift throughout the world towards regenerative participatory development to ensure sustainable socio-ecological transformation. The Sixth Assessment Report by The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends devising “clear goals, coordination across multiple policy domains and inclusive governance processes” along with “well-aligned multi-level governance, institutional frameworks, laws, policies and strategies” for effective climate action. It advocates “drawing on diverse knowledge” for climate resilience development.

The way forward for Pakistan is to engage the citizens in the decision-making processes at the grassroots level by establishing effective and empowered elected local governments.

The writer is a teaching fellow at the Department of Governance and Global Studies, ITU, Lahore. She can be reached at @malyhaz