ABSTRACT Considering the ineffective environmental impact assessment (EIA) process and limited public participation, it is important to evaluate the role played by informal regulators like Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in EIA in raising the voice of communities and promoting sustainable development. This study aims to identify the NGOs that are involved in the EIA process in Punjab. It also aims to evaluate how effectively the NGOs play their roles as watchdog, information provider and pressure group as well as discuss the challenges they face in EIA. Semi-structured interviews are used as a data collection method. Results of the study revealed that very few NGOs are involved in the EIA process. The role of NGOs as watchdog is not prominent because they are rarely involved in public participation and scoping. Only one international NGO has played a key role as an information provider. Some local NGOs functioned as pressure groups against environmentally damaging development projects. The key challenges faced by NGOs include lack of financial and technical resources and support from the state and society.

中文翻译：

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非政府组织在巴基斯坦旁遮普邦的环境影响评估过程中的作用和面临的挑战

摘要考虑到无效的环境影响评估（EIA）流程和公众参与有限，重要的是评估非政府组织（如非政府组织）在EIA中发挥的作用，以提高社区的声音并促进可持续发展。本研究旨在确定参与旁遮普邦环境影响评估过程的非政府组织。它还旨在评估非政府组织作为监督机构，信息提供者和压力小组的作用如何，并讨论他们在环境影响评估中面临的挑战。半结构化访谈被用作数据收集方法。研究结果表明，很少有非政府组织参与环境影响评估过程。非政府组织作为监督者的作用并不突出，因为它们很少参与公众参与和范围界定。只有一个国际非政府组织作为信息提供者发挥了关键作用。一些当地的非政府组织作为压力团体，反对破坏环境的发展项目。非政府组织面临的主要挑战包括缺乏资金和技术资源以及国家和社会的支持。