THE INTERSECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN: FRAMEWORKS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical-doctrinal synthesis of the environmental jurisprudence and climate change adaptation mechanisms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan with particular focus on the capital, Peshawar. The KP Water Act 2020 and KP Environmental Protection Act 2014 exemplify the statutory inertia in the face of rising UHI effects, acute soil degradation and widespread systemic contamination of soils by water. This study relates legal enforcement variables with quantitative physical data such as a falling Water Quality Index (WQI) of urban drinking water, increasing wastewater violations in the Kabul River Basin, and the rapid unregulated transformation of agricultural land, which reveal the structural incapacities of the provincial environmental governance. The analysis also looks at how climate litigation has increased at an exponential rate as a judicial remedy for executive failures. The results call for a paradigm shift from reactive pollution management towards proactive climate resilience. A key recommendation was the statutory introduction of Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) officers within corporate structures, the formal incorporation of WQI in municipal bylaws and the promotion of intergenerational equity by bringing youth climate advocacy into the legislative process.