The NCSA project was devised to assess the national institutional capacity available to implement the three conventions signed by the Government of Pakistan (GoP) at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. AiD was responsible for conducting a national level capacity assessment to identify the institutional gaps pertaining to the thematic areas under the Rio Conventions and develop actionable recommendations. The outcome of this study was the NCSA action plan for Pakistan.