Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability Options’ Integration into the Pakistan’s Merchant Marine Policy 2001 (Revised 2019)

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a valuable tool to formulate, coordinate, and deliver a broad vision and policies in a country and meet at least sustainable development objectives more quickly. However, some policies do not consider SEA in their formulation and continue to update with new policies without regard to the current environmental and social problems concerning the development and the measures that a nation's government can embrace. The objective of this study was to incorporate the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) into the Pakistan Merchant Marine Policy, which was revised in 2019. The method used in the study was an analysis of existing maritime policy and international conventions. The baseline environmental data was obtained through focus discussions with stakeholders' consultation and field assessment. Impacts were assessed, and potential ecological issues were examined using the SEA framework. Stakeholder involvement was paramount in admitting all the acceptable solutions in the objectives' revision of the Pakistan Maritime Policy. The study highlighted the environmental impacts of the shipping industry, including invasive species, air pollution, water pollution, and noise pollution. It evaluated sustainable alternatives for mitigating these impacts, focusing on realistic, viable, and implementable solutions. Recommendations include marine conservation strategies, low-carbon vessel designs, and ballast water regulation, addressing policy gaps in sustainability for Pakistan's Merchant Marine Policy (revised, 2019). The study devised specific alternatives to the policy when revised next time.