Climate Change and the Politics of Environmental Vulnerability in the Global South: Evidence from Pakistan

Climate change is an inevitable issue in South Asia, shaped by environmental and developmental governance. Pakistan has suffered frequent climate disasters due to rising temperatures and heavy monsoon rainfall, glacier melt, floods and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). These are not just disasters but indicate state capacity for sustainable governance. Environmental threats and vulnerabilities are not just climate impacts; they arise from political decisions on infrastructure development, resource management, tourism, and disaster preparedness. Indigenous and vulnerable communities of Pakistan are the major ones paying the costs of these decisions. The study argues that environmental politics should examine how governance initiates, reinforce, and legitimises environmental vulnerability. The study is about “a) How does developmental governance shape climate vulnerability among Indigenous and vulnerable communities in northern Pakistan, b) how can government initiatives help overcome vulnerabilities of these communities while integrating climate policies into a sustainable socio-economic framework?” Drawing on the literature on environmental politics, developmental and climate governance, and climate justice, the study conceptualises climate vulnerability as the result of interactions among state institutions, political representations, society and development priorities. The study employs a qualitative case study research design to examine climate adaptation and governance in northern areas of Pakistan. These regions of Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province and Gilgit-Baltistan have experienced frequent Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), glacier melt and floods. Primary data have been collected through semi-structured interviews with 25 participants and 5 focus group discussions, including government representatives, local leaders, community members, and environmental experts. The documentary analysis was conducted using secondary data sources, including government policies, journal articles, World Bank reports, and disaster management reports. This combination of empirical and documentary evidence allows an analysis of both formal governance policies and lived experiences of communities facing climate-induced disasters. The analysis focuses on the relationship between state development projects, environmental governance, and community resilience in the context of climate-induced disasters. The findings reveal that the floods and GLOFS are climate impacts indicating governance failures and intensified environmental insecurity and vulnerability of indigenous communities. Infrastructure development, road construction and unregulated tourism in ecologically fragile mountains have intensified exposure to the climate crisis. The disaster preparedness and adaptation policies are unevenly implemented. Indigenous and vulnerable communities of Swat and Gilgit-Baltistan have experienced these disasters as their homes, livestock, agriculture, and transport networks were destroyed during these events. As frontline communities possessing extensive Indigenous knowledge, they have been marginalised in the decision-making process, planning and implementation. The research contributes to political science by revealing that environmental governance is not merely environmental management but fundamentally related to political authority, representation, justice, sustainability and the due share of each community. It argues that developmental governance intensifies climate vulnerability when economic growth is prioritised over sustainability, resilience and community participation. By focusing on indigenous and vulnerable communities as the centre of analysis, the research proposes a human-centric approach to environmental politics and recommends an inclusive and locally informed approach to climate governance.