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Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives
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Regional FTAs urged for socio-economic uplift Speakers at a brainstorming conference have urged regional free trade agreements (FTAs) for rapid socio-economic development and prosperity in South Asian region. They also agreed to cascade heavy military expenditures and nuclear capabilities, which as they considered were the main hindrances in the way of the economic progress and sustainable peace in the area. A two-day conference titled "Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives" was organised by Sustainable Development and Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Wednesday. The speakers hailing from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and other countries discussed regional economic issues at length and advocated the promotion of mutual trade and investment. In the session on Regional Trade Agreements and Conflict Mitigation, they stressed the need for strengthening regional trade at the multilateral level. Mark Halle from Canada observed that current trends of trade and aid were powerful conduits of finance and influence and rich countries had a profound impact on the society, economy and stability of developing countries. Rajesh Kumar from Kanpur, India debated whether or not the popular "China Model" could be applied to Indo-Pak relations and argued that in the existing deep-rooted political Indo-Pak conflict this model would not be applicable. Promotion of Indo-Pak trade had remained hostage to military janta of both countries, said Murshed from the University of Birmingham. Renowned economist Akbar Zaidi said that although boundaries drawn by blood could not be ignored, economic co-operation should be encouraged to move towards sustainable trade development and peace. Shamsul Mulk, Chairman of SDPI's Board of Governors highlighted some of the key milestones achieved during the year in the areas of sustainable industrial development and others. Renowned Indian publisher Urvashi Battalia stressed the need for a more inclusive process of peace negotiations and conflict resolution that bring men, women and minorities to the table. Dr Urs Geiser from the University of Zurich, Switzerland said that there was a need to address the issue of forest degradation at local level. Niraj Shrestha from Nepal stressed those stakeholders and local communities must be given their due share by their respective governments in genetic resource sharing. Later, Dr Attaur Reham, Chairman Higher Education Commission, who was the chief guest on the first day of the conference, said that research knows no ethnic or geographic boundaries. All must join in the common pursuit of truth, he said and added that it not only offers space for intellectual debate and discussion across continents, but also leads to greater progress and sustainable development. He elaborated that the Chancellors' Committee headed by the President of Pakistan had opened its doors for funding private sector universities, which would also enable research organisations to submit projects to HEC for financial support. He said that Pakistan was fortunate to have 85 million youth below the age of 19, which represented a huge pool of creativity to be tapped and discovered.Go to Top
Free trade can reduce conflicts: experts Dawn Islamabad December 14, 2006 By Mubarak Zeb Khan Free and fair trade practices can scale down the risk of conflicts between Pakistan and India, but political issues need to be resolved simultaneously for durable peace to break out in the region. This was the majority view at a session on regional trade agreements and conflict mitigation at the ninth sustainable development conference called “Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives”, which was organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Leading Indian researcher Dr Rajesh Kumar said it would be better for India and Pakistan to adopt the ‘China Model’ and move ahead on the economic front without letting the disputes getting in the way, just like India and China had done. He said economic cooperation would lead to the traditional rivals developing a stake in each other’s security, which would ultimately culminate in political cooperation. However, he conceded, adopting the China Model would be difficult in case of India and Pakistan given the nature of their political conflict. Chairing the session, Talat Masood said trade helped in mitigating the incidence of conflicts. However, he said Pakistan and India should resolve trade and other disputes sides by side. He said there was a need for a balanced approach. SDPI’s Shaheen Rafi Khan said if leaders reverted to the Saarc mandate and developed shared commitments it would result in interdependence that would spill over to sustainable peace between neighbours. However, he said, current regional trade agreements had failed to promote peace in the region and enhance the volume of intra-region trade. S. Mansoob Murshed of the Institute of Social Sciences, The Netherlands, said more trade between Pakistan and India would result in reducing the conflict. He said greater market access for products of each other would also reduce the hostility element. He said countries cooperated with each other not because of democracy but because of their economic interests, for example in the cases of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Member states of these organisations cooperate because of their economic interests. Mark Halle of Canada highlighted that current trends of trade and aid were powerful conduits of finance and influence, and that trade and aid priorities of rich countries had a profound impact on the society, economy and stability of developing countries. He was of the opinion that 80 per cent conflicts could be resolved if the political will was there, particularly in trade negotiations. He highlighted a range of measures for framing country trade policy, which reflected the true potential for promotion.Go to Top
Free trade can reduce conflicts: experts Dawn Karachi December 14, 2006 By Mubarak Zeb Khan Free and fair trade practices can scale down the risk of conflicts between Pakistan and India, but political issues need to be resolved simultaneously for durable peace to break out in the region. This was the majority view at a session on regional trade agreements and conflict mitigation at the ninth sustainable development conference called “Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives”, which was organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Leading Indian researcher Dr Rajesh Kumar said it would be better for India and Pakistan to adopt the ‘China Model’ and move ahead on the economic front without letting the disputes getting in the way, just like India and China had done. He said economic cooperation would lead to the traditional rivals developing a stake in each other’s security, which would ultimately culminate in political cooperation. However, he conceded, adopting the China Model would be difficult in case of India and Pakistan given the nature of their political conflict. Chairing the session, Talat Masood said trade helped in mitigating the incidence of conflicts. However, he said Pakistan and India should resolve trade and other disputes sides by side. He said there was a need for a balanced approach. SDPI’s Shaheen Rafi Khan said if leaders reverted to the Saarc mandate and developed shared commitments it would result in interdependence that would spill over to sustainable peace between neighbours. However, he said, current regional trade agreements had failed to promote peace in the region and enhance the volume of intra-region trade. S. Mansoob Murshed of the Institute of Social Sciences, The Netherlands, said more trade between Pakistan and India would result in reducing the conflict. He said greater market access for products of each other would also reduce the hostility element. He said countries cooperated with each other not because of democracy but because of their economic interests, for example in the cases of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Member states of these organisations cooperate because of their economic interests. Mark Halle of Canada highlighted that current trends of trade and aid were powerful conduits of finance and influence, and that trade and aid priorities of rich countries had a profound impact on the society, economy and stability of developing countries. He was of the opinion that 80 per cent conflicts could be resolved if the political will was there, particularly in trade negotiations. He highlighted a range of measures for framing country trade policy, which reflected the true potential for promotion. Go to Top
Research knows no ethnic or geographic boundaries Pakistan Observer Islamabad December 14, 2006 Staff Reporter Research knows no ethnic or geographic boundaries. Pursuit of truth cannot be monopoly of any one or any group. The whole humanity is obligated to trend this path. Dr. Atta- ur-Rahman, Chairman Higher Education Commission said this while in-augurating Sustainable Development Conference on ‘Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives’, here Wednesday. He said, Pakistan is fortunate to have 85 million youth, which represented a huge pool of creativity to be tapped and discovered. ‘Our country’s real wealth lies in our educated youth,’ he said. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman also launched SDPI’s anthology ‘At the Crossroads: South Asian Research, Policy and Development in a Globalized World’. Mr. Shams ul Mulk, Chairman of SDPI’s Board of Governors highlighted some of the key milestones achieved during the year in the areas of sustainable industrial development, WTO negotiations and information and technology by SDPI. Quoting from Allama Iqbal, Mr. Mulk said that for South Asia, the agenda of sustainable Development was long, and by no means easy. Dr. Saba Gul Khattak Executive Director of SDPI in her opening remarks ac-knowledged the Support of CIDA, the Royal Norwegian Embassy and SDC for spon-soring the 3-Day conference. Renowned Indian publisher Urvashi Battalia stressed the need for a more inclusive process of peace negotiations and conflict resolution that bring men, women and mi-norities to the table. Dr. Urs Geiser from the University of Zurich, Switzerland said that there was a need to address the issue of forest degradation at local level. Mark Halle from Canada highlighted that current trends of trade. Mr. Hettiarachchi from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka proposed that his country could promote South Asian regional integration given the strengths of Sri Lanka’s economy and its friendly relations with neighbors. Rajesh Kumar from Kanpur, India rejected China model in the context of Indo-Pakistan relations. Go to Top Research knows no boundaries Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, Chairman Higher Education Commission has said that research knows no ethnic or geographic boundaries and joins all in the common pursuit of truth. He was speaking as the Chief Guest at the Ninth Sustainable Development Conference ‘Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives’ here on Wednesday that was organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute. He said research not only offers spaces for intellectual debate and discussion across continents, but also leads to greater progress and sustainable development. The Chairman elaborated that the Chancellors' Committee headed by the President had opened its doors to funding to private sector universities, which would also enable research organizations to submit projects to HEC for financial support. He hoped that research collaboration and linkages would bridge the policy gaps and the dearth of academic information. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman also launched SDPI's anthology ‘At the Crossroads: South Asian Research, Policy and Development in a Globalized World’ on he occasion. Go to Top Research collaboration to help bridge policy gaps The Nation Islamabad December 14, 2006 By Asma Bashir Kundi Research knows no ethnic or geographic boundaries and joins all in the common pursuit of truth and not only offers spaces for intellectual debate and discussion across continents but also leads to greater progress and sustainable development. This was stated by Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, Chairman Higher Education Commission. He was speaking as the chief guest at the Ninth Sustainable Development Conference ‘Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives,’ organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute. The chairman elaborated that the Chancellors’ Committee headed by the President of Pakistan had opened its doors to funding to private sector universities, which would also enable research organisations to submit projects to HEC for financial support. He hoped that research collaboration and linkages would bridge the policy gaps and the dearth of academic information. He said that Pakistan was fortunate to have 85 million youth below the age of 19, which represented a huge pool of creativity to be tapped and discovered. ‘Our country’s real wealth lies in our educated youth,’ he said while elaborating HEC’s extensive projects for the higher education sector. South Asian countries need to build bridges that would lead to solutions as they shared a host of common problems such as poverty and illiteracy, he said. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman also launched SDPI’s anthology ‘At the Crossroads: South Asian Research, Policy and Development in a Globalised World’ on the occasion. Giving an overview of the Institute, Shamsul Mulk, Chairman of SDPI’s Board of Governors highlighted some of the key milestones achieved during the year in the areas of sustainable industrial development, WTO negotiations and information and technology by SDPI. Quoting from Allama Iqbal, Mulk said that for South Asia, the agenda of sustainable development was long, and by no means easy. ‘But it is only arduous tasks and challenges that will lead to worthy destinations,’ he said. Urvashi Battalia spoke on ‘Interrogating Peace: Perspectives from the Margins,’ and stressed the need for a more inclusive process of peace negotiations and conflict resolution that bring both men, women and minorities to the table. Citing the case of the peace process in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan she said that in order to have a meaningful peace, the pain and suffering faced by people as a consequence of war - the loss, absence, injustice and arbitrariness which lie within the twin realms of the material and the emotional need to be addressed. Otherwise peace cannot be built or sustained, she stressed. The Executive Director of SDPI, Dr. Saba Gul Khattak said, ‘If Pakistan wishes to be proud of its contribution and if South Asia has to have a collective sense of identity and solidarity, then it is important for research institutions to work together and to achieve in the realm of ideas and imagination a future that would foster peace and pride in the region. Research leads to sustainable uplift: Dr Atta Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Attaur-Rehman has said that research knows no ethnic or geographic frontiers and its objective is to explore the truth. Prof Atta was inaugurating the three-day Ninth Sustainable Development Conference titled ‘Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives’ organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute here Wednesday. The HEC chief said research offers space for intellectual debate and discussion across continents and leads to greater progress and sustainable development. He said the chancellors’ committee opened its doors to fund private sector universities for which they can submit projects to HEC for financial support. He hoped that research collaboration and linkages would bridge the policy gaps and the dearth of academic information. He said Pakistan was fortunate to have 85 million youth below the age of 19, which represented a huge pool of creativity to be tapped and discovered. He said South Asian countries should build bridges leading to solutions as they shared a host of common problems such as poverty and illiteracy. Indian publisher Urvashi Battalia stressed the need for a more inclusive process of peace negotiations and conflict resolution bringing men, women and minorities to the table. She said in order to have meaningful peace, pain and suffering the people face as a consequence of war has to be highlighted. Dr Urs Geiser from Switzerland said there was a need to address the issue of forest degradation at local level. He said forest policies were idealistic and largely donor-driven, so fail in implementation. Dr Abid Suleri from SDPI said local people are perceived as enemies of the forests by the authorities and stressed the need of bridging the gap between the forest department and local communities. Babar Shahbaz from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, said the local people did not cut trees for economic purposes because their main livelihoods are met from the national and foreign remittances. He observed that the communities mostly use the forest resources for fuel wood, timber, fodder and medicinal purposes. He said there is a need to streamline forestry extension services in the area by involving NGOs. Mark Halle from Canada said current trends of trade and aid were powerful conduits of finance and influence, and that trade and aid priorities of rich countries had a profound impact on the society, economy and stability of developing countries. Calling Dr Atta to support independent not-for-profit research institutions, SDPI Executive Director Dr Saba Gul asked research institutions to work together in the realm of ideas and imagination for a better peaceful future. Shams ul Mulk, General (r) Talat Masood, Bashir Wani, Shaheen Rafi Khan, Hettiarachchi from Sri Lank, Murshed from UK, Akbar Zaidi, Syed Mahmood Nasir from Sri Lanka and Niraj Shrestha from Nepal also spoke on the occasion.Go to Top Research knows no boundaries: Atta The Post Islamabad December 14, 2006 By Sajjad Malik Lauding the services of researchers, Higher Education Commission (HEC, Chairman has said that research knows no ethnic or geographic boundaries and joins all in the common pursuit of truth. Addressing as the chief guest at the three-day Ninth Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) “Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives” organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Wednesday, said that research only offered spaces for intellectual debate and discussion across continents, but also leads to greater progress and sustainable development. He elaborated that the Chancellors' Committee headed by the president had opened its doors to funding to private sector universities which would also enable research organisations to submit projects to the HEC for financial support. He hoped that research collaboration and linkages would bridge the policy gaps and the dearth of academic information, adding Pakistan was fortunate to have 85 million youth below the age of 19, which represented a huge pool of creativity to be tapped and discovered. “Our country's real wealth lies in our educated youth,” he said while elaborating the HEC's extensive projects for the higher education sector. South Asian countries need to build bridges that will lead to solutions as they shared a host of common problems, such as poverty and illiteracy,” he said. Atta also launched "SDPI's anthology at the Crossroads: South Asian Research, Policy and development in a Globalised World.” Giving an overview of the institute, Shamsul Mulk, chairman, SDPI's Board of Governors, highlighted some of the key milestones achieved during the year in the areas of sustainable industrial development, WTO negotiations and information and technology by the SDPI. Quoting from Allama Iqbal, Mulk said that for South Asia, the agenda of sustainable development was long, and by no means easy, "But it is only arduous tasks and challenges that will lead to worthy destinations,” he said. During the plenary session, renowned' Indian publisher Urvashi Battalia spoke on “Interrogating Peace: Perspectives from the Margins,” and stressed the need for more inclusive process of peace negotiations and conflict resolution that brought both men, women and minorities to the table. Citing the case of the peace process in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan she said,” In order to have a meaningful peace, the pain and suffering faced by people as a consequence of war, the loss, absence, injustice and arbitrariness, which lie within the twin realms of the material and the emotional need to be addressed. Otherwise peace can not be built or sustained,” she stressed. In. the session on “Myths and realities of deforestation in Northwest Pakistan: implications for sustainable forest implications,” Babar Shahbaz from the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, said the local people did not cut trees for economic purposes because the main livelihood of the people were met through the national and foreign remittances. He said, “Mostly the communities use the forest resources for fuel wood, timber, fodder and medicinal purposes. There is need to streamline forestry extension services in the area by further strengthening the existing community based and non-governmental organisations, so that the local people are involved in the reforestation activities. Ineffective forest management strategies and bad governance are mainly responsible for forest degradation,” he said. Dr Abid SuIeri from SDPI shared that local people were perceived as enemies of the forests by the authorities and called for the need to bridge the gap between the Forest Department and local communities. In the session on Regional Trade Agreements and Conflict Mitigation presenters shared their views on strengthening regional trade in the face of the current impasse of trade negotiations at the multilateral level. Mark Halle from Canada highlighted that current trends of trade and aid were powerful conduits of finance and influence, and that trade and aid priorities of rich countries had a profound impact on the society, economy and stability of developing countries. Hettiarachchi from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka proposed that Sri Lanka could be an enabler of South Asian regional integration given the strengths of Sri Lanka's economy and its friendly relations with neighbours. While Rajesh Kumar from Kanpur, debated whether or not the popular “China Model” could be applied to Indo-Pak relations and argued that given the deep-rooted political Indo-Pak conflict; this model would not be applicable. Developing trade between India and Pakistan remained hostage to India and Pakistan military rivalry, Murshed from the University of Birmingham, said. Akbar Zaidi said that although boundaries drawn by blood could not be ignored, economic cooperation should be encouraged in order to move towards sustainable trade development and peace. Gen Talat Masood chaired the session. Dr Rafi Khan in the session on “Forest Degradation, resource rights and livelihoods: The institutional context” asserted the econometric analysis confirmed that ECO zones, rather than poverty or relative poverty levels was consistently the best estimator of resource dependence. The paper on “Situating Law:" Adivasi Rights and the Political Economy of Environment and Development in India” by Ajit Menon attempted to examine the complex manner in which adivasi (tribal) rights to land were marginalised and diluted. Dr Rucha Ghate's paper “Ensuring Collective Action in Participatory Forest Management” highlighted the need to conceive more complex arrangements in which forest areas were protected under the joint management of multiple institutions, rather than to oscillating between a simplistic model of state or village community. In the session on “Policy Trends and Development on Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing” chaired by Syed Mahmood Nasir, Director of Biodiversity, Ministry of Environment, Thiranthie Udakumbura from Sri Lanka discussed the Sri Lankan perspective on ABS and Prior Informed Consent, their legal status and implementation challenges. Abdul Hafeez from The Network recommended the need to rethink Pakistan's national ABS regime and establishing a broad-participatory process by involving stakeholders in decision-making. Mehnaz Ajmal from SDPI discussed the gender dimensions in the ABS mechanism. Niraj Shrestha from Nepal stressed that stakeholders and local communities must be given their due share by their respective governments in the genetic resource sharing and Rasheed Anwar called for the formation of a database of traditional knowledge on genetic resources. All the sessions were followed by broad question and answer session.
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