Adequate preparation
for climatic change, fulfilling Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and
pro-poor governance is the only way forward to provide comfortable livelihood
along with food security to 600 million poor in South Asia.
This was the gist of presentations at the second day of 14th Sustainable
Development Conference (SDC) 'Re-defining Paradigms of Sustainable Development
in South Asia' organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
Participating in the discussion on 'climate change concerns and their possible
impacts on South Asian countries,' Bipul Chatterjee of Consumer Unity &
Trust Society (CUTS) International, India was of the view that food insecurity
and livelihood threats are mainly due to the impacts of climate change in South
Asia.
He called for adopting climate resilient measures including low carbon economy
to minimise the impacts of climate change that causes large scale devastation
in the shape of floods due to rising sea level as was seen in Pakistan in the
recent past.
Naseer Memon of Strengthening Participatory Organisations said 70 percent of
South Asian population directly or indirectly depends on agriculture, for which
for regional co-operation and information sharing is vital to avert such
natural disasters.
In the session on 'factors affecting the food security situation in resource
constrained Pakistan,' the speakers said that availability of food in markets
does not mean that poor people could afford to buy.
Umer Malik of Mehboob-ul-haq Human Development Centre said that low purchasing
power and insufficient storage capacity in Pakistan along with less expenditure
were the major roadblocks impeding access to food, not the agricultural
production.
In the panel on 'Development Beyond MDGs,' Dr Saba Gul Khattak of SDPI flayed
lack of focus on women empowerment.
A participant from Germany, Afshan Ahmad, stressed the need for ownership of
MDGs to provide better health, education and other social services to poor
segment of the society.
Terrorism is one of major causes in off tracking MDGs in Pakistan, she added.
Dr Peter Taylor from Canada highlighted room for improvement in quality of
policy-making processes in South Asia, saying that research and development are
interlinked as without reliable basic data, no policy could bear the desired
fruit.
Dr Sagar Sharma of Khatmandu University, Nepal said that role of non-state
actors was much vital from achieving MDGs in an effective manner.
Dr Bishnu Raj Upreti, Nepal said that every country needs to redefine MDGs
according to its felt needs as conflict in some parts of the globe has changed
the socio-economic paradigm altogether.
In the session on 'governance challenge: It there a way out?' the speakers said
the governance constraints have to be seen in political and military
institutions perspectives.
Dr Ishrat Hussain, former central bank governor, said that only those
institutions should be focused upon for governance reforms, which have high pay
off, spillovers and linkages to other services that could benefit the country
as a whole.
Syed Akbar Zaidi said the foreign aid should be stopped as both military and
political elites have mismanaged it.
It has been observed that about 42 percent of foreign aid was spent on military
purposes.
Foqia Sadiq Khan of SDPI, said laws violation is noticed only when it is done
by the weak and less resourceful sections of society while violation by elites
remains unnoticed.
In the session on revisiting poverty debate: alternative ways for
conceptualisation, measurement and targeting', Arif Naveed of SDPI, sharing
district level poverty analysis, said 18 out of 20 poorest districts in
Pakistan are in Balochistan and 20 least poor districts are in Southern Punjab.
Dr Vaqar Ahmed of SDPI and economist Dr Sajjad Akhter were of the view that the
issue of poverty should not be politicised and institutions such as Federal
Bureau of Statistics and Planning Commission should work as autonomous bodies.
Dr Sabina Alkair of University Oxford said there is a need of diversified and
quality data collection for rigorous analysis of poverty.
During the session on 'security and development: the geo-politics of
China-Pakistan-India relationship" the speakers said bilateral
relationships among the three countries primarily revolve around their national
security interests, ignoring human development.
Senator Hasil Bizenjo lamented the persistence of conflicts and their negative
implications on the population as whole which distort the economic indicators
of a country undergoing development process.
Speakers at a Policy forum on 'Education Financing in Pakistan: Challenges and
way forward' demanded substantial increase in budget allocation for education
from current meagre figure of 2% to 6% of the fiscal budget.
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