IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i11p5114-d1670566.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Geographical Indications and Sustainable Development: Bridging Policy Gaps in Pakistan’s GI Framework for Socio-Economic Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Salman Shahzad

    (School of Law, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Baomin Wang

    (School of Law, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

Abstract

Pakistan, a country with a rich cultural heritage and diverse products, enacted the Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection) Act 2020 to comply with the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, which defines GIs as signs linking products to their geographic origin based on unique qualities or reputation. This legal framework aims to protect local products, promote exports, and drive economic growth. To date, Pakistan has 10 registered and 65 notified GIs. This study critically examines Pakistan’s GI framework, highlighting gaps in legislation, enforcement, institutional capacity, and stakeholder awareness. It assesses Pakistan’s alignment with international standards (e.g., the EU model) and explores how GIs can foster sustainable rural development, cultural preservation, and economic growth. As a governance tool, GIs ensure equitable benefit-sharing, enhance market competitiveness, and promote eco-friendly traditional practices. The findings reveal that addressing policy weaknesses and strengthening institutional mechanisms could unlock the full socio-economic potential of GIs, contributing to sustainable industrialization and rural uplift. Aligning Pakistan’s GI framework with global best practices would not only protect indigenous products but also boost their international recognition, reduce poverty, and advance sustainable development goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Salman Shahzad & Baomin Wang, 2025. "Geographical Indications and Sustainable Development: Bridging Policy Gaps in Pakistan’s GI Framework for Socio-Economic Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-20, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:11:p:5114-:d:1670566
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/5114/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/5114/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:11:p:5114-:d:1670566. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.