A comprehensive evaluation of sustainable mineral resources governance in Pakistan: An analysis of challenges and reforms

Researchers and institutions continue to formulate governance mechanisms and guidelines for using mineral resources for socio-economic purposes. The movement of sustainable mineral resource development has received high attention recently. This research planned to conduct a systematic review of the existing literature and institutional guidelines to explore and create a code of international best mining guidelines (IBMC) focusing on sustainable mineral resources growth. The study also planned to explore and compare the mining and minerals governance mechanisms of Pakistan against IBMC. Moreover, this research also explores how the mineral resources governance mechanisms and best mining guidelines actually reflect at the local operational level in Pakistan. The research methods include conducting a systematic literature review of the existing literature and institutional guidelines to create IBMC exploring the mining and mineral sector governance mechanisms of Pakistan, including institutional, legal, policy, regulatory, and fiscal frameworks for comparing against IBMC; conducting interviews with key informants to explore how the current local mining practices reflect against the best mining guidelines. This research found that a stable political and economic environment and sound infrastructure facilities are the basic conditions for attracting investment in the mining and mineral industry. Using a systematic review, this research has created IBMC, which can be used as a standard for improving governance mechanisms, including the institutional, legal, policy, and fiscal frameworks focusing on sustainable mineral resource growth by developed nations. The findings explored various challenges as well that hinder sustainable mineral resource growth in Pakistan. Some of the challenges include lack of unilateral institutional and legal controls, technocratic policy formulation, dissuasive fiscal system, and taxations, lack of proper cadaster system, poor accountability and transparency, corruption and rent-seeking, illegal mining, environmental issues, health and safety issues of mine workers, inadequate training and development of mining workers, exclusion of local communities from decision-making processes. To address these challenges, this research advocates for reforming mineral governance mechanisms according to IBMC. The findings of the study may steer the mining industry toward responsible and sustainable growth in Pakistan and other mineral-rich developing nations.