Geographical Indications and Sustainable Development: Bridging Policy Gaps in Pakistan’s GI Framework for Socio-Economic Growth
Salman Shahzad and
Baomin Wang ()
Additional contact information
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
Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-20
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.
Keywords: intellectual property rights; geographical indications; Pakistan; economic growth; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:
Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/5114/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/5114/ (text/html)
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:11:p:5114-:d:1670566
Access Statistics for this article
Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu
More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().