This paper aims to analyze national policies of Pakistan taking into account the complexity of electric power generation, growth, and complying with multilateral agreements. Systems thinking has been applied to understand the complexity of energy scenario of Pakistan by representing it with a causal loop diagram (CLD) which displays the interconnectedness and feedbacks of the system. Analysis is based on systems archetypes to diagnose the system behavior, i.e., falling into the vicious cycle of coal. A stock-and-flow model was employed to capture dynamics of energy generation quantitatively, indicating that a 5% GDP growth rate could be sustained based on current planning to increase electric power generation in Pakistan. Thus, in order to achieve a 7% GDP growth rate, as targeted in Vision 2025 of Pakistan, energy generation targets would need to be revised in the view of the sensitivity of increase in energy demand associated with GDP growth rate, while ensuring compliance with multilateral agreements.

In the current study, waste marble powder was utilized to produce lightweight fired clay bricks and in the treatment of flue gases. Marble waste powder used in clay bricks and flue gas treatment was collected from local marble processing plants, and its chemical composition was analyzed using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and X-ray fluorescence. Clay bricks were produced in local fired clay brick kiln by partial replacement (10–40%) of clay with calcined and uncalcined waste marble powder. The temperature in the firing zone of the kiln was 1000–1100 °C. Clay brick properties such as compressive strength, bulk density, porosity, and water absorption were analyzed. Results show that the porosity of clay bricks increases with an increase in marble waste percentage, and due to an increase in porosity, water absorption of clay bricks also increases, while compressive strength and bulk density decrease. Clay bricks with 10% uncalcined marble waste and 20% calcined marble waste satisfy the required Turkish and European compressive strength standard. Marble waste decreases the concentration of sulfur dioxide and particulate matter in flue gases. There is up to 43 and 65% reduction in the concentration of sulfur dioxide and particulate matters, respectively, in flue gases, after treatment with marble waste. The addition of marble waste to clay bricks is an effective and economical solution for waste marble powder management. Furthermore, it can be used for the treatment of flue gases from brick kilns before its addition to clay bricks.

The revolutionary pace of technological advancements of present day offer a silver lining for bringing about much needed and desired change in education systems in developing countries to bring them at par with the requirements of the 21st century. STEM education promises the necessary impetus to catapult the orthodox education systems to modernity in an accelerated manner. In this chapter, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of STEM integration in the context of resource-constrained environments, offer our insights and present novel approaches developed based on our experiences from STEM implementation in urban and rural areas of Pakistan. From setting up purpose-built STEM labs to conducting STEM sessions in tight spaces or open areas, development of STEM curriculum based on relevance, authenticity and affordability, from robotics to do-it-yourself (DIY) projects with low cost electronics or recyclable and reusable materials, a range of possibilities are extensively covered. Teacher training and program sustainability are also discussed for STEM integration in resource-constrained environments of developing countries.

Incentive Based (IB) and Command and Control (CAC) instruments are identified in various legislative Acts and Policy documents based on the criteria of environmental economics. Despite the advantages of IB strategies the world of policy making is somewhat locked into the path of traditional approaches such as CAC and pose inertia to move forward in environmental policy making. An ethical shift is inevitable anywhere where there is a market failure and increased social costs and inefficiencies in government interventions to regulate the market. Regulations are discrete steps to address feedbacks in a complex system. Policy evaluation and testing criteria is used to evaluate and test the policies regulating marble extraction and processing in Pakistan. A set of policy and regulatory instruments are selected to be critiqued. The coexisting policy approaches found in the study shall be tested on system dynamics model for developing insights and long-term implications.