Environmental Governance Innovation and Community Climate Resilience: The Mediating Role of Institutional Trust
Contributors
- Muhammad Arshad Lecturer, Department of Commerce, Thal University Bhakkar, Punjab, Pakistan.
- Abdul Rehman Khan Additional Deputy Commissioner, Govt. of the Punjab, Pakistan.
- Rabia Chaudhary Secretariat Service, Federal Government of Pakistan, University of Reading, UK.
- Dr. Nijah Akram HoD, Department of Architectural Engineering Technology, Punjab Tianjin University of Technology, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Abstract
Environmental challenges around the world have been exacerbated by climate change, highlighting the importance of innovative form of governance that builds up the resilience of communities in their ability to survive and react to climate risks. This study explores the linkage between environmental governance innovation and community climate resilience and explores institutional trust as a possible mediator. The approach used was quantitative and data was gathered from 350 respondents in climate vulnerable communities of Pakistan using a structured questionnaire. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS software through reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis and mediation analysis. The results show that innovation in environmental governance has important effects on driving community climate resilience via mechanisms of participation, transparency, collaboration and adaptive capacities. The findings also show that environmental governance innovation can have a positive impact on institutional trust, and that institutional trust could have a significant effect on improving community resilience. The findings of the mediation analysis support an understanding that trust in institutions is one important pathway for how governance innovation leads to better climate resilience outcomes. This study integrates the theories of trust-based institutional relationships into the field of environmental governance to shed light on the importance of trust-based institutional relationships to effective climate adaptation. The results indicate that participatory, transparent and inclusive governance systems are needed to boost the credibility of governance institutions and resilience of the communities to climate-related challenges.
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Corresponding Author
Dr. Nijah Akram
HoD, Department of Architectural Engineering Technology, Punjab Tianjin University of Technology, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Corresponding Author: [email protected]
