ACCOUNTABILITY LAB PAKISTAN

Our latest policy brief explores how digital transformation is reshaping the operating environment for civil society organizations (CSOs), as they navigate shrinking civic space, expanding digital regulation, and declining funding for governance and rights-based work. While digital engagement is ...becoming unavoidable for advocacy and organizational sustainability, many CSOs continue to face institutional constraints and capacity gaps in adapting to rapidly evolving digital environments.

The brief examines how emerging digital governance frameworks and restrictions on civic space are increasing legal uncertainty and operational risks for organizations engaged in advocacy and accountability. It also highlights persistent gaps in digital skills, cybersecurity awareness, monitoring systems, and institutional capacity that limit the effective use of digital tools. At the same time, the analysis underscores the strategic potential of digital platforms and low-cost systems to strengthen advocacy, coordination, public participation, and internal organizational functions.

By examining both the opportunities and limitations of digital transformation, the policy brief contributes to a more realistic and strategic conversation on how civil society can move from fragmented digital adoption to a more sustainable integration of digital tools that strengthen advocacy, accountability, and institutional resilience.

Read the full policy brief now.

Link: https://pakistan.accountabilitylab.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Civil-society-policy-brief.pdf

At the World Wetlands Day seminar hosted by Accountability Lab Pakistan in collaboration with the Green Media Initiatives at Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Karachi, students, environmental experts and stakeholders gathered to unpack the ecological and economic significance... of wetlands, connecting global commitments under the Ramsar Convention with Pakistan’s growing need for a dedicated National Wetland Policy.

Discussion between the experts and students ranged from shrinking water bodies and disrupted river flows to biodiversity, community livelihoods, and policy fragmentation, a reminder that safeguarding wetlands is not just an environmental issue, but a governance priority that demands urgent, coordinated action.

Haleji Lake, one of Sindh’s most important wetlands and a key sanctuary for migratory birds along international flyways, reflects the delicate balance between water governance, biodiversity, and community livelihoods. Seasonal bird movements are closely tied to freshwater inflows and ecological ...health, yet pollution, mobile towers, and other human pressures are increasingly disturbing this critical habitat.

To assess these realities, Accountability Lab Pakistan, in collaboration with the Green Media Initiative, organized an in-depth field engagement for journalists to strengthen climate journalism. Through technical briefings, hands-on observations, and interactions with local communities and site management, participants explored how institutional decisions, ecological stressors, and environmental mismanagement affect both migratory birds and the livelihoods dependent on the lake.