Introduction
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) is holding its Eleventh Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) from 1-3 December 2008 in Islamabad, Pakistan. Each SDC is designed to be a forum for sharing and exchanging dialogues on sustainable development with practitioners, civil society and policy-makers. The SDC series has been established as a prime Conference in South Asia on development issues attracting leading intellectuals and policy-makers to come together. Some 65 panelists from 10 countries participated in the Tenth SDC held in December 2007. An anthology based on peer reviewed SDC papers is published and launched at the succeeding Conference. The published books form part of curricula on development of some of the educational institutions within Pakistan and are also quoted in research publications.
The overarching theme of the SDPI’s Eleventh SDC is Peace and Sustainable Development in South Asia: Issues and Challenges of Globalization.
The Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) has charted discourses, discussions and paradigm shifts that have driven sustainable development policies in South Asia, including Pakistan. For the past several years, the Conference has been showcasing the voices of concerned women and men in the global South and North struggling towards sustainable development in all its facets.
With the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) almost reaching the half way mark for their target of halving poverty by 2015, it is important to look at where we stand in solving the dilemmas of inequality, poverty, climate change and energy scarcity, natural resources degradation, trade liberalization policies, food insecurity, violence and conflict, and poor governance. In this Conference, we will explore how the neo-liberal globalization agenda is intertwined with the peace and security agenda; and, how peace and sustainable development is being threatened by the above stated global challenges. The Conference would also aim to explore how resolving some of these non-conventional security threats may turn into an added dividend for peace.
It is hoped that taken as whole the Conference will reveal how different players (ranging from the ordinary citizens trying to survive in a vastly and rapidly changing world; to the rich and powerful political groups seeking to retain their strongholds; to the civil society and academia trying to make sense of it all) have different notions of sustainable development; what does sustainable development mean to them; how can it be achieved; and, who may achieve it?
This Conference would try to understand the (often) competing and contesting claims of the above mentioned players on “would be” benefits of sustainable development. A deeper understanding of these claims would help one to work on reducing conflicts that arise due to lack of a shared vision of sustainable development.
While encouraging greater dialogue on understanding the nexus between peace, sustainable development and globalization, from a South-South and North-South perspective, the Conference will include the following panels:
- Sustainable Forest Management: Exploring Public-Private Partnerships in South Asia
- Microcredit and Gender
- Managing Conflict through Trade: The Case of Pakistan and India
- Environmental Degradation, Social Marginalization and the Institutional Dynamics of Vulnerability in the Case of Natural Disasters
- Mitigation Options for Unsustainable Development: Pathways to Environmental Sustainability
- Civil Society’s Role in Sustainable Development and Peace
- Climate Change and Food Security
- Costs of Conflict in South Asia
- Energy Sharing across Borders
- Rewriting History I-The Two Partitions (1947 & 1971)
- Rewriting History II-The Religious Minorities
- Imagine A New South Asia
- Pro-Poor Environmental Fiscal Reforms
Conference Format
There will be one main plenary each day in which prominent keynote speakers will be invited to address significant areas of sustainable development such as peace and sustainable development, globalization and poverty; gender; and environment. The plenary each day will be followed by two to three concurrent sessions/panels on sub-themes covered under the overarching theme. The plenary will last for one hour and 30 minutes while the duration of each panel will be two hours and 30 minutes with three to five presentations.
Call for Abstracts
Abstracts followed by papers are invited for the panels under the overarching theme. Details are explained in this concept note. Contact information of the panel organizers is provided to facilitate communication between a potential speaker and the respective panel organizer. A screening committee will review the abstracts. Speakers whose abstracts get approved will be required to submit their papers by 1 October 2008. More details and deadlines are given in the last section on Authors’ Guidelines.
Panels
The panels listed in the concept note are subject to change and modification depending on the response from potential speakers and their abstracts. Details will be regularly updated on SDPI’s website: www.sdpi.org
PANEL 1: Sustainable Forest Management: Exploring Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in South Asia
Colonial forest institutions are the primary factor responsible for deforestation and the resulting loss of community livelihoods. They persist to this day despite all attempts to reform them. Forest management, is more prone to collude with commercial loggers, private developers, government and military agencies and hunters. Consequently, poor communities -- small forest owners, rights holders, non-owners, women and grazers -- who depend traditionally on forests for their livelihoods are being steadily marginalized. Further, imploding forest governance is spurred by rising timber, fuel wood and forest product prices, an erosion in the standard of living of the forest custodians, fines and penalties that are selectively applied and fail to match the nature of the transgressions, and royalties that are appropriated by the rich and powerful. All these elements have combined to create a complex of perverse incentives inimical to both conservation and livelihoods.
The Pakistan Development Forum (2006) concluded with appeals to the private sector to engage with the government in partnerships for development. This dovetails with the global surge in corporate social responsibility (CSR), where consumer pressure has forced corporations to remold themselves along socially responsible lines. The overarching framework for PPPs in Pakistan is the UN Global Compact, launched in 2000. The central idea is for private sector organizations to improve their corporate social and environmental behavior in line with nine principles, articulated in the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These principles address three themes -- human rights, labor standards, and the environment. The central notion is that modern private organizations no longer have a choice – they must be seen to be socially and environmentally responsible, both from a human and business perspective. The concept is a win-win in that private organizations benefit from improved reputations in the eyes of consumers, better relations with stakeholders, an improved market position and motivated employees.
We invite you to share your research results for alternative and collaborative approaches to forest management.
Contact:
Shaheen Rafi Khan, Visiting Research Fellow, SDPI
Email:shaheen@sdpi.org
PANEL 2: Microcredit and Gender
Previously, the poor and marginalized communities, especially women in the rural sector, were considered high-risk borrowers, with a high likelihood of default. “Conventional banks avoided loans to the rural poor because of the lack of collateral, high transaction costs resulting from limited infrastructure, the lack of information, small size of loans (leading to high administrative costs), and contract enforcement problems. The Grameen Bank model overcame these obstacles via peer-group lending. The social relations and networks in poor rural communities form the social collateral that substitutes for conventional collateral.” (Khan, 2006) This microfinance model was revolutionary in the sense that it successfully challenged conventional perceptions, and proved that non-collateral based loans to the poor can be a profitable endeavor. Microfinance is now an increasingly important tool for poverty alleviation in the world. The global outreach of microfinance schemes has increased significantly in the recent past. “The World Bank estimated that the total number of microfinance institutions worldwide approximated 7000, with a total outreach of about 16 million borrowers, and lending of about $2.5 billion.” (GDRC, n.d) Since it has been well documented that women, particularly women headed households are the poorest, this panel will investigate how microcredit is addressing the needs of this marginalized section of the population.
While programs tend to be self-laudatory about their achievements, scholarly research assessing success has more nuances and examines microcredit with a critical eye. We welcome papers from the South which assess the different impacts of microcredit on women, such as institutional delivery, income and social benefits and empowerment, especially given the fact that this is rapidly becoming a central feature of governments’ anti-poverty programs.
References:
Contact:
Shaheen Rafi Khan, Visiting Research Fellow, SDPI
Email: shaheen@sdpi.org
PANEL 3: Managing Conflict through Trade: The Case of Pakistan and India
Considerable potential exists for trade between Pakistan and India. Similarly, the scope for cross-border investment in manufacturing, energy, information technology, and other ventures is considerable. Further, infrastructure links (transport and communication) have increased over time to catalyze economic and trade activities. There is also potentially a vast market for each other’s products; one tangible manifestation being a large and growing middle class in both the growing countries. Finally, the enabling institutional frameworks, in the shape of regional trade (RTAs) and economic agreements are in place, and both countries have entered into bilateral trade agreements with other countries in the region.
While all the indicators underscore the scope for meaningful economic and trade integration, the reality is very different. Trade between the two countries is infinitesimal, thanks to tariff and non-tariff barriers. Unlike other bilateral economic initiatives within the region, cross-border investment ventures between the two countries virtually do not exist. Similarly, while transport and communication links have improved, they suffer frequent disruption. This brings us to our central thesis, that conflict deters trade specifically, and economic integration in a broader sense. Presently, trade between the two countries is held hostage to progress on Kashmir – in other words, to the composite dialogue process. History has also demonstrated a clear and direct correlation between trade and conflict.
The inversion of the normal trade-conflict relationship is an unusual one and we invite you to share your research on bilateral trade relations and conflict mitigation in general and in South Asia in particular.
Contact:
Shaheen Rafi Khan, Visiting Research Fellow, SDPI
Email: shaheen@sdpi.org
Panel 4: Environmental Degradation, Social Marginalization and the Institutional Dynamics of Vulnerability in the Case of Natural Disasters
On October 8, 2005 an earthquake registering 7.6 on the Richter scale struck a small area of northeast Pakistan. Despite the concentration of impact, the damage was intense killing at least 73,000 people, injuring another 70,000 and leaving 2.8 million without shelter and, thus susceptible to further injury. Preliminary estimates put the dollar equivalent of damage at US$5.2 billion.
Understandably much initial attention to this earthquake has centered on relief and rehabilitation. Within this focus scant attention has been paid to the institutional conditions that made people vulnerable to such extreme damage. Vulnerability, in turn, is a variable condition structured by a number of factors (including reciprocal qualities such as gender, age, social status, physical location, health, race, etc.) but always produced within the context of social institutions that can either magnify or reduce the potential for damage produced in the event of a physical event occurrence (Chambers 1989, Cannon 1994). Disasters, such as the 8 October 2005 earthquake, take place at the interface of a physical event and a set of conditions that make particular people vulnerable to the damaging effects of that physical event. Whatever the basis of vulnerability, it is always produced within an institutional context. Situations of ecological, economic and social vulnerability (all inter-related) are a function of institutional conditions. Yet, this is rarely considered in damage and needs assessment.
We invite your research contributions in this holistic approach to disaster assessment.
Chambers, R. (1989). Vulnerability, coping and policy. IDS Bulletin 20(2):1-7.
Cannon, T. 1994. Vulnerability Analysis and the Explanation of ‘Natural’ Disasters. In Varley, A. (Ed) Disasters, Development and the Environment. London: Belhaven Press
Contact:
Shaheen Rafi Khan, Visiting Research Fellow, SDPI
Email: shaheen@sdpi.org
PANEL 5: Mitigation Options for Unsustainable Development: Pathways to Environmental Sustainability
In South Asia, the patterns of unsustainable development (particularly environmental degradation) are quite visible. Some of the factors that impede environmental sustainability are, for example, the persistent degradation of forests, soil, biodiversity, water resources and other natural habitats, worsening pollution, syndromes of globalization and climate change. This disappointing state of affairs exists in spite of intensive support from the international community, as well as national and local level initiatives (provincial and district wide conservation strategies). In view of identifying pathways to environmental sustainability, it is not enough to statically understand local conditions; rather, we have to gain a dynamic understanding of the patterns of unsustainable development at different levels.
This panel seeks in-depth, action research oriented case studies from South Asia that provide knowledge and ideas about mitigation options related to unsustainable development. Papers highlighting innovative pathways towards environmental sustainability in the South Asian region are encouraged.
Contact:
Babar Shahbaz, Visiting Fellow, SDPI
Email: babar@sdpi.org
Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI
Email: suleri@sdpi.org
PANEL 6: Civil Society’s Role in Sustainable Development and Peace
Civil society does not mean NGOs or CBOs only. Agenda 21 includes the following nine major groups in civil society: women, children and youth, indigenous people, NGOs, local authorities, farmers, workers and trade unions, business and industry, scientific and technological communities (UN DESA, n.d). The importance of engaging major groups and stakeholders as partners has been gradually recognized by national governments of developing countries, specially South Asia, as major groups help implement national programs beyond governments’ capacities. Major groups provide advocacy to foster accountability, provide expertise, base line data, raise public awareness, conduct effective information dissemination and give formal & informal education at all levels of society. “A broad public participation through major groups of civil society, in decision-making is one of the fundamental prerequisites for sustainable development.” (UNEP, n.d) Peace and conflict resolution, without their participation, if not impossible, is most difficult.
To enhance civil society’s role for peace and sustainable development, especially in South Asia and to address the issues and meet the challenges of globalization, the Eleventh SDC 2008 would look at ways and means for:
- civil society and major groups mobilization as human resource,
- peace and sustainable development as their collective responsibility,
- motivation of major groups for an effective support towards sustainable development and peace, effecting lasting change in social attitudes towards sustainable development
- optimal and effective representation of major groups, both for national and regional sustainable development and;
- empowerment of major groups for their due role in sustainable development.
References:
- UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Division for Sustainable Development, “About Major Groups”:
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/mgroups/about_mgroups.htm
- United Nations Environment Program n.d (UNEP), Environment for Development, “Major Groups and Stakeholders”:
http://www.unep.org/civil_society/major_groups/index.asp
Contact:
Mahmood A. Khwaja, Research Fellow, SDPI
Email: khwaja@sdpi.org
PANEL 7: Climate Change and Food Security
The non-rival, non-excludable nature of privately-produced public goods, such as the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, means that while industrialized nations, OECD countries, and more recently industrializing nations China during the past three decades and India during the last decade, have produced the majority of pollutant emissions in human history, the health and sustainability of the entire global atmospheric emissions sink and global commons are compromised for all nations, perpetrators and bystanders alike. As the fourth assessment report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has established, the global climate is undergoing change due to human activity. The impact of elevated levels of greenhouse gases and climate on crop productivity and food systems is effected through variability in temperature, solar radiation, hydrological regimes- such as increased frequency of flood, droughts, sea temperature rise and coral bleaching resulting in adverse regional changes in distribution and production of various food crops, livestock and fisheries. In addition to climate change, the impacts of geopolitics, fuel prices and availability, and biofuel production, all exacerbated via the global economy’s amplifying scale effects, are found to be significant factors in the decline in production and incline in prices of food commodities. As crop-switching, motivated by the production incentives on biofuels, draws agricultural production at the expense of food crops, researchers argue that the biofuels revolution will threaten the food security of the poor (Msangi, 2007).
In recent years, the world has witnessed an unprecedented surge in food prices, which is further expected to deepen as the twentieth century progresses (Kakakhel, 2008). In the period since 2000, wheat prices have escalated by 200 percent, while the price of food on average has risen 75 percent. Research, such as that undertaken by Maros Ivanic and Will Martin in April of 2008, shows that the trend in prices of food items exhibit an even sharper incline from the year 2005 to the present. Maize, for example, has seen an 80 percent increase in price, due mainly to increased consumption of maize products in the U.S. Many other food crop prices have also exhibited the hike trend: milk powder by 90 percent, wheat by 70 percent, and rice by about 25 percent.
These trends pose grave implications for the state of poverty and food security. In the streets of Pakistan, long queues of people in desperate search of wheat flour have become a common scene. The escalation of food prices is even endangering the sovereignty of many developing and least developed countries, with a rash of riots breaking out in many countries including the Philippines, Egypt, and Haiti, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, and China, where citizens are demanding restrictions on export on staple food commodities. But such restrictions would further deteriorate the food security situation in other net food-importing low-income food deficient countries (LIFDCs).
Submissions for the panel are invited on the following:
1. State of Climate Change
2. Impact of Climate Change on Production and Productivity of Food Crops
3. Impact of Climate Change on Food Security
4. Relation of Climate Change and Food Security with Sovereignty and Peace
5. Energy alternatives to reduce Climate Change
References:
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007), Synthesis Report.
- Kakakhel, Ijaz (2008), ‘International Biofuel Production increases Wheat Prices,’ Daily Times Newspaper, 12 March 2008.
- Ivanic, Maros and Martin, Will (April 2008), Implications of Higher Global Food Prices for Poverty in Low-Income Countries, WPS4594, Washington DC: World Bank.
- Msangi, Siwa (2007), ‘Biofuel Revolution threatens Food Security for the Poor,’ SciDev.Net, 6 December 2007.
Contact:
Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI
Email: suleri@sdpi.org
Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, Research Assistant, SDPI
Email: shakeel@sdpi.org
PANEL 8: Costs of Conflicts in South Asia
The panel will look at the following key issues:
- Economic Costs: Military spending and its impact on budgets, debt, debt repayments, budget deficits, and development; the consequent bloated role of the military in society and building up of the military-industrial complex in South Asia.
- Institutional/Political Costs: What happens to the state and the government when it is in a perpetual state of war: the rise of patriotism and nationalism; the enhanced role of intelligence agencies and the erosion of fundamental rights of citizens.
- Development Costs: Theoretical perspectives on how development creates social conflicts; mega development projects versus people; local resources versus national development; and inter-state conflicts originating from resources (such as water) and resource management.
· What Sustains Armed Conflicts? The panel will look into economic, political and ideological dimensions of conflicts, and paths to resolution by examining case studies.
Contact:
A. H. Nayyar, Research Fellow, SDPI
Email: nayyar@sdpi.org
Panel 9: Energy Sharing across Borders
This panel will focus on looking at the possibility and role of energy sharing across borders as a means of generating peace and sustainable development in the region. Papers are invited on the following core issues:
- Internationalizing energy supply.
- Exploring the possibility of energy sharing as a first step to South Asian Union.
- Developing common strategies to meet rising energy demands vis a vis preservation of the environment for future generations
Contact:
A. H. Nayyar, Research Fellow, SDPI
Email: nayyar@sdpi.org
Panel 10: Rewriting History I—The Two Partitions (1947 & 1971)
The proposed panel will reflect personal memories of a generation that concurrently witnessed Indo-Pak Partition of 1947, the separation of East Pakistan in 1971, and the trauma of the violence associated with these events. The following questions will be taken up at the panel: How did the people of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh endure the massacre and migration during and after the Partition of 1947? In 1971, what was the role of the political and external agents in the establishment, nature and stability of Bangladesh? How did Bengalis face the massacre and displacement? What forced the immigrants of 1947, for instance, Behari community, to migrate again? What was the role played by religious minorities in saving lives and promoting interfaith harmony?
The aim of the panel is to highlight the above questions and to gain understanding of the circumstances. The emphasis of the papers will be on the Mohajir community in Sindh and Punjabi refugees in Punjab; refugees from both West Bengal and Bihar who migrated from India to East Bengal in 1947, and then from Bangladesh to Pakistan after 1971.
Contact:
Ahmad Salim, Project Consultant, SDPI
Email: salim@sdpi.org
Panel 11: Rewriting History II – The Religious Minorities
SDPI has been working in the area of rewriting history pertaining to religious minorities since 2006. Now that the project is coming to a conclusion, SDPI would like to share its findings. In addition, we invite speakers to submit contributions highlighting the struggle of and contributions by minorities in this region. The key objectives of the panel are to provide an insight into the spirit of humanity above the boundaries of religion, sect and language; and, acknowledge the positive role played by minorities during various phases of history in the fields of education, medicine, social welfare, etc. The papers of the panel will throw light on these aspects from a South Asian perspective.
Contact:
Ahmad Salim, Project Consultant, SDPI
Email: salim@sdpi.org
Panel 12: Imagine A New South Asia
South Asia is a culturally rich region with diversified social, religious and ethnic manifestations. The region is also typified by large-scale social and political deprivations. South Asia has faced so many transformations of divisions and unification over the years. These social and political deprivations always remain pretentious for common people but beneficial for the powerful. Human beings, whether poor or elite, have differentiated, demarcated and divided the region into various categories. On the other hand human activities are directly responsible for environmental and natural resources degradation. Thus the region has to confront economic imbalance and factors hindering progress and examine the dynamics involved. This would help in coming up with a collective response to the common problems facing South Asia.
It is widely being accepted that one should think of collective strategies to cope with common problems facing South Asia. Problems such as poverty, diseases, hunger, conflicts, negative effects of climate change, energy crisis, governance issues, disasters, and eroding natural resources, violent extremism, terrorism, human and drug trafficking, lack of social protection, etc., are a common stumbling block to sustainable development in the region.
Many steps have been taken by the policy makers, civil society organizations, peace activists, traders, economists and journalists with the view that there should be a collective and positive antidote for the common problems of South Asia, with the fact that region has the potential to serve as a democratic and economically vibrant force, positively influencing the neighboring regions and the world in general (Wilson and Dalton 1984).
This potential can only be achieved when the people raise their voices to enhance their lives and imagine a future of the South Asia where citizens can seek alternative possibilities and opportunities to promote policy convergence, regional cooperation, and joint initiative at all levels.
To get these voices heard, research on how to tackle some of the economic, food security, environmental, and governance challenges facing South Asia will be presented in this panel.
Reference:
Wilson, A. Ieyaratnam and Dalton, Dennis (1984), The States of South Asia: Problems of National Integration, Author(s) of Review: Stephen P. Cohen, Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 99, No. 1 (Spring, 1984), pp. 166-167
Contact:
Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI
Email: suleri@sdpi.org
Mehnaz Ajmal Paracha, Research Associate, SDPI
Email: mehnaz@sdpi.org
Panel 13: Pro-Poor Environmental Fiscal Reforms
Environmental Fiscal Reforms (EFR) refers to a series of fiscal measures and actions, which can contribute to revenue generation, reduction in expenditures, while simultaneously promoting environmental goals and reducing poverty. However, developing strategies about environmental and fiscal benefits in a holistic way during the current financial crisis is a challenging task.
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) pointed out that there is a significant linkage between poverty, environment and sustainable growth. The poor become more vulnerable not only due to reduced access to their already available limited natural resources, but also due to adverse effects of the environment on their health and ineffective services provision. In Pakistan, during the last two decades, poverty has increased mainly due to reduced growth, unequal income distribution and increased unemployment. The existing fiscal and food crisis are further crippling the poor, which can directly and indirectly put additional pressure on the natural resources and environment of the country.
In order to promote pro-poor growth and to meet environmental challenges, there is a need to have balanced reforms in the country. Effective fiscal reforms can only be achieved if the issues related to environment; natural resources; and, poverty at grassroots level are identified and prioritized according to the needs of the people living in the affected areas. Pro-poor environmental fiscal reforms can be guaranteed only if these measures are implemented at the district level with adequate provision of budget to all those involved in the implementation of development programs.
Factors which influence EFRs include the revenue and taxation system, government incentives/subsidies, public expenditures and pricing of the services provided to the people. SDPI and the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Islamabad, under the umbrella of IUCN, are carrying out research studies on four different sectors focusing on pro-poor environmental fiscal reforms in District Abbottabad, in order to build coalitions for change and to explore options that would provide local governments with alternative means of raising revenue to meet poverty reduction and development objectives. These sectors include Safe Drinking Water, Solid Waste Management, Quarrying and Mining and Eco-Tourism. This panel on EFR invites papers by scholars working on similar studies to share their valuable experiences.
Contact:
Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI
Email: suleri@sdpi.org
Mehnaz Ajmal Paracha, Research Associate, SDPI
Email: mehnaz@sdpi.org
Book Launch
SDPI’s Sustainable Solutions: A Spotlight on South Asian Research will be launched on 01 December 2008 at the opening of the Eleventh SDC 2008.
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