Institutional fragmentation and legal frameworks of marine plastic governance in China and Pakistan: a CPEC bilateral cooperation proposal

Marine plastic pollution is a cross-border challenge that requires robust regulation and sustained international cooperation. This paper compares the legal frameworks governing marine plastic pollution in China and Pakistan and examines how the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) could facilitate cooperation between Pakistan’s provincially devolved governance structure and China’s more centralized and integrated regulatory system. The analysis adopts the Comprehensive Review of International Law and Relevant Literature (CRILL) method, drawing on binding legislation, implementing regulations, official policy documents, and peer-reviewed studies published since 2021. It evaluates each legal system against six criteria: legal scope and coherence, institutional coordination, enforcement capacity, plastic life cycle coverage, implementation evidence, and legal feasibility for cooperation within the CPEC framework. China’s revised Marine Environmental Protection Law, which entered into force in January 2024, together with the newly established Ecological and Environmental Code, has created an integrated regulatory framework characterized by strengthened land–sea coordination, detailed institutional arrangements, and enhanced enforcement mechanisms, including procuratorial public interest litigation. Pakistan’s legal framework, centered on the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act of 1997 and subsequent provincial legislation, provides an essential foundation but remains fragmented due to devolved governance structures, uneven enforcement capacity, and the absence of a dedicated national marine plastic pollution statute. Pakistan’s 2023 Single-Use Plastics Regulations are viewed in this paper as a meaningful, although geographically limited and unevenly implemented, advancement rather than as a policy failure. The paper concludes by proposing a CPEC Marine Plastic Pollution Cooperation Mechanism based on a bilateral memorandum or protocol, a joint monitoring program, common minimum standards, technology transfer, capacity building, and multi-stakeholder participation.