Regional integration and environmental sustainability during the Covid-19 pandemic

Evidence from South Asia

Bibliographic Data

ID4388835
AuthorsPanika Jain (0000-0002-2566-4562, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Ropar India), Bijoy Rakshit (0000-0001-6867-6267, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Ropar India, corresponding author), Badri Raina (0000-0002-9647-2760, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Ropar India), Soumia Bardhan (0000-0003-2423-7857, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Ropar India)
Year2023
Volume73
Issue250
Pages907-925
Publication date2023-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Social Science Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-8701 • E-ISSN: 1468-2451
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/issj.12291
PMID34898716
OpenAlexW3193709975
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited49

South Asia, a sub-region with nearly a third of the world's population living in extreme poverty and hunger, has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in an unprecedented way. The pandemic has undermined the progress achieved by the subregion towards attaining sustainable development goals. This study argues that fostering environmental sustainability in the South Asian region is crucial to "Building Back Better" while taking cognisance of future climate-related risks. With the low level of preparedness, the collapse of global supply chains, and restrictive regional integration, the individual country in the region lacks the fiscal and technical capacity to implement sustainable development goals effectively. Therefore, based on the analytical approach to regional integration, this paper explores the potential role of regional integration in ensuring environmental sustainability in South Asia. Additionally, this study illustrates how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected several environmental aspects at the regional level, such as clean energy, disaster risk reduction, and waste management, and shows how regional cooperation can address these challenges post pandemic. While previous studies mainly focus on regional integration in the European Union, this study targets the crucial importance of regional cooperation in South Asia in achieving environmental sustainability

Business · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental planning · Fiscal sustainability · Geography · International trade · Pandemic · Political science · Population · Poverty · Preparedness · Regional Integration · Sociology · Sustainability · Sustainable development · COVID-19 impact on air quality · Healthcare and Environmental Waste Management · Municipal Solid Waste Management

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