Abstract
The northern mountainous region of Pakistan is environmentally prone region with respect to natural disasters as well as climate change. The region under study comprises of three districts of Gilgit--Baltistan. Agriculture is the most important occupation of the inhabitants but due to climate change with regard to increasing temperature it is being enormously affected. The survey was designed such that people were asked about their knowledge on existing policies and the implementation status in their locality. Surprisingly, the response of the people was positive and a high majority was well aware about these policies. Highest positive responses pertaining to water storage facilities, law enforcement for water storage in region, integrated water resource management, strengthening of current hydrological systems and promotion of public awareness regarding climate change were obtained from Gilgit and Nagar district i.e. 43% and 40%, respectively. Forestry, ecosystem and biodiversity conservation policies were also investigated. Half of the respondents (50%) of Rondu district witnessed the construction of forest belt and slope stabilization as per policy clauses. Regarding biodiversity policy, the respondents pointed out the lack of professional leadership specifically in district Skardu i.e. only 4% population showed positive responses. A total of 17% (58 out of 341) population has a positive perception for climate policy implementation in Gilgit Baltistan. The residents of Hunza district are much depressed about health policy implementation in their district. There are multiple challenges faced in the execution of policies that include economic, environmental, social, legal, political and technical hindrances in the Gilgit-Baltistan area that comprised of failures of the policy implementation. However, further research is required on each sector to assist policymakers to reformulate these policies in a more effective manner. At sectoral level, more data is needed to work precisely on the communal matters as well as the state of environment
