Sixth Sustainable Development Conference
11-13 December, Holiday Inn, Islamabad
Sustainable Livelihoods,
Environmental Security and Conflict Mitigation: A Case Study of
Pakistan's Dir-Kohistan Forests
Shaheen Rafi Khan and Shahbaz Bokhari (Pakistan)
Dir-Kohistan
is one of the most conflict prone areas in the NWFP. There are no
formal land settlements/titles. Competing rights to natural (forest,
land, water) resources are represented by and those asserted by
the provincial government. The Colonial Forest Act of 1927, with
some variations is the overriding legislation that controls the
use of forest resources. Enforcement oriented, its primary purpose
is to keep the communities out of the forests rather than including
them in its management. Essentially, forest classifications under
the act's mandate (reserve, protected, guzara) arrogate community
rights and access to their resources to the forest department. Subsequently,
such rights have been delegated to contractors under open or covertly
collusive arrangements. The ensuing conflict over forest resources
manifests itself in the guise of conflicts between local communities
and the provincial government, between contractors and communities,
between villages, ethnic groups and conflicts between communities
and nawabs (local rulers).
The
underlying problem is that communities have not only been denied
their resource and access rights, but are also deprived of the benefits
that accrue from exploiting these resources. The manner of exploitation
also has long-term implications for sustainable livelihoods. While
various donor interventions in Dir valley have mitigated the stress
on local communities, the core problem continues to be rights and
access to their natural resources and this is where remediation
is key.
Two
primary sources of conflict can be noted. First the lack of formal
land titling gives rise to conflicts over arable land, pastures
and forests. These conflicts occur between individuals, ethnic groups
and villages. Second, and more endemic in nature, forest revenues
pitch communities against the provincial government, contractors
and local nawabs (rulers).
This study demonstrates the links between resource rights, livelihood
security and environmental security with regard to forest resources.
It assesses the dynamics of customary and statutory law within a
wider institutional context, evaluates their impact on community
livelihoods and analyzes the human-environmental security and conflict
potential. Policy recommendations aimed at remediation and conflict
mitigation are presented.
The
Potential Impact of TBT and SPS Measures on Pakistan's Fisheries
Fahd
Ali and Dr.Shaheen Rafi Khan (Pakistan)
Pakistan's
1,050 km long coastline supports a total fishing area of approximately
300,270 sq. km. The fishing area's rich marine life is a source
of biodiversity and commercial value for Pakistan's coastal economy
and ecosystem. Unfortunately, the richness and diversity of this
resource is not reflected in Pakistan's fish exports, which have
hovered around the US $150 million mark for the better part of the
last decade. As a means of livelihood, the fishing sector supports
(both directly and indirectly) over one million people. Over 15,000
crafts of various sizes ranging from small to medium-sized boats
and large launches engage in fishing related activities. In addition
to being a largely indigenous sector, the GoP has allowed large
trawlers, mostly joint ventures between a local business group and
a multinational company, to operate openly in buffer zones with
the intention to increase the country's exports. However, the GoP's
'liberalized' approach, towards the previously rejuvenation intended
buffer zone, has raised sustainability and livelihoods issues. Overfishing
by trawlers sets into motion a negative dynamic where fishing communities
further deplete stocks, at the risk of the long-term health of the
sector as a whole, in order to sustain themselves. Similarly, current
practices in the processing of fish products are not encouraging
either.
The
world is increasingly moving towards a regime of uniformly regulated
international trade under the auspices of the WTO. The WTO in turn,
aspires to achieve this through harmonized standards. This study
aspires to study the fishery sector of Pakistan in the context of
various international trade standards. Of particular importance
in this case are the agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures
under WTO, HACCP by US FDA and Marine Stewardship Council's standards.
This study analyses the possible effects of these standards on Pakistan's
fishery sector and seeks to identify the areas where there exists
a gap between current practices and international expectations.
It suggests sector guidelines for adhering to those standards along
with policy measures that should be taken up by the GoP to improve
the overall health of the fishery sector.
Plantation induced Agrarian
Transition in North East India: Towards a Sustainable
Policy Perspective
Dr.
PK Viswanathan (India)
Building
on the economic viability and sustainability of rubber cultivation
in the North-Eastern states of India, the paper will focus on the
need for a proper integration of research with policy framework
towards effective rehabilitation of the tribal communities, who
are otherwise engaged in the allegedly destructive shifting cultivation
(jhuming) practices through resource degradation on a massive scale.
Though there have been earnest efforts by the Government of India
towards rehabilitating the shifting cultivators through various
programs, most of these programs are found to be ineffective. However,
of late, the
introduction of rubber cultivation in some of the North-Eastern
states has been found to be highly encouraging with significant
impact on the economy, society and environment with implications
on agrarian transformation in these states.
With
this in perspective, the paper tries to examine the specific aspect
of rubber based plantation agriculture and its impact on agrarian
transition in the NE states of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. The
paper also addresses the need for integrating the state policies
supported by activism towards affecting economic surveillance of
the tribal communities,
sustainable development and management of the resources.
The
Role of the NGO as a Research Producer in Bridging the Gap between
Researchers and Policy Makers: Thoughts on IIED-AL´s recent
Experiences in Local Urban Upgrading Research Processes
Kimberly Vilar (Argentina)
In a context of decentralization within governments,
privatization of public services and more participatory approaches
towards local urban governance, recently development professionals
have been focusing more attention on the challenge of making research
gap between research and decision-making, and as to the need of
narrowing or at least bridging that gap. The shifting roles and
appearance of new roles within the arena of actors concerned with
addressing the challenges people face in achieving safe, healthy
urban habitats to call home.
IIED-AL is a Southern action-oriented NGO
practicing interactive research in local urban human settlements.
In our experience interactive research has had significant benefits
in creating a more sustainable, governance dynamic between stakeholders
who share an interest in improving their habitat, within an environment
that will continue to challenge them well beyond specific short-lived
projects. We aim towards encouraging and helping to generate an
interactive research with a partnership approach. The present commentary
addresses the shifting in roles amongst Producers, Users and Funders
of policy-oriented research. Two of our recent experiences in municipal
water/sanitation projects and housing/habitat improvement policy
are illustrated in order to provide practical examples of the dynamics
involved in interactive research processes in a local urban governance
context. These examples convey the benefits as well as the difficulties
of interactive research, and therefore help to explore the possible
factors that inhibit its proliferation in research practice.
Mitigating Insecurity: The
Experience of ERNP-Dir Kohistan Sub-Project
Mahmood
Akhtar Cheema (Pakistan)
The
European Union funded the Environmental Rehabilitation in NWFP and
Punjab (ERNP) program launched in January 1997, aims at halting
and reversing the process of environmental degradation through integrated
measures of rehabilitation / conservation of natural resources,
sustainable socio-economic development with the active involvement
of local communities. Besides the EU, the Government of Pakistan
and IUCN-The World Conservation, Pakistan have been playing a central
role in the design and implementation of the project, along with
Agriconsulting providing technical assistance.
The
Dir-Kohistan Project is one the three sub-projects being implemented
under ERNP. Dir-Kohistan lies in the North of Dir District of the
North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan.
The project area covers 412570 acres, out of which 33915 acres are
cultivated land, while forests cover 149317 acres. The remaining
229338 acres are classified as pasture land. The climate is temperate,
with mild summers and severe winters. The average annual precipitation
is 1075 mm, the major portion of which is received as winter snow.
The
valley is a deep gorge on the rising heights of the Hindu Kush mountain
system. Land from three sides, only home district of Upper Dir provides
small corridor to enter, where around 112,000 people, comprised
of Kohistanis, Pathans along with an interspersed Gujar population
lives a rather secluded life. The population of the sub-project
is dependent on natural resources. Unremitting population growth
of human being and livestock in a fragile environment is increasing
the burden on the limited natural resources. Basic health, education,
extension and communication services are lacking. Evidence of forest
degradation, soil erosion, land fragmentation, poor water management,
uncontrolled grazing and poverty is visible. Literacy rate is below
that of the other parts of the country, and among females it is
less than one percent and they are seldom involved in decision-making.
The genesis of Dir-Kohistan sub-project is found in these stark
realities. Means of livelihood are forest royalty, agriculture,
livestock, sale of non-timber forest products and manual labor in
down districts and abroad.
In
order to achieve the project objectives, the major focus has been
on forming equitable and accountable community organizations at
the local level, natural resource management, development of human
resources and physical infrastructure. Detailed strategies were
developed in the above-mentioned components to provide overall guidelines
for implementation. Over 80 local male village organizations have
been formed since the inception of the project to set a platform
for participatory management of natural resources. Women involvement
in project activities is a recent phenomenon. The communities have
been strengthened by enhancing their capabilities in identifying
the natural resource related problems, finding appropriate solutions
and developing suitable implementation mechanisms to address the
problems at local level.
The
major emphasis remained on assisting communities to develop village
development plans (VDPs) and implement them in order of priority
to address the local needs. Several environmental friendly technological
packages have been developed and implemented for sustainable natural
resource management.
Building
the capacity of the staff and communities has been the most vital
activity of the project with the objective of bringing a change
in the attitude and role of the staff from authoritarian to facilitator.
The managerial and technical capacity of the community is being
enhanced to enable them to manage their own organizations, as well
as implement environmental friendly interventions. The project has
been successful in building a cadre of village extension workers
(VEWs) in the fields of agriculture and livestock, who are providing
services to the local communities in addressing natural resource
management issues.
This
paper presents the experience of the Dir-Kohistan project, which
demonstrates that local communities mobilized around natural resource
management, involved in planning and implementation, contribute
immensely towards mitigating insecurity at the local level.
Alternative Realities: The
Voice and Role of Fiction Writers
Literature and Development
Arshed H. Bhatti (Pakistan)
This
presentation seeks to explore conceptual, virtual and actual locations
and avenues where literary products interact, encounter, interplay,
affect and influence development processes.
One
has tracked key stages, and counted core actors who play certain
role in the development processes – ranging from theorization
of development dreams to delivering and implementation of promises.
A list of literary products – as well as pre-products, by-products
and proxy-products - has been juxtaposed against the former to identify
potential interplay of literature and development.
This
mapping has offered premises for conceptualization of areas where
the supposed interplay between literature and development has worked/
could work; and more importantly, identification of gaps where,
despite favourable assumption and popular biases of the intelligentsia,
this desired interaction/ interface is absent.
The
presentation also attempts to examine the notion of “economy
of knowledge” and brings into perspective an alternative concept
of sociology of knowledge in order to highlight the hazardous trends
of the former notion where mainstream knowledge producers blatantly
perpetuate ignorance. This happens when various strands of local
knowledge are denied a space and medium to interact with the so-called
mainstream knowledge production.
By
way of prescription, the presentation will investigate potential
relationship between E2 poverty and I2 richness to state how we
can have more effective, realistic and humane interaction and interplay
between literature and development for the benefit of ‘imagined’
communities. E2 poverty refers to non-access to resources of knowledge
and information in English and on E-space, and I2 richness alludes
to Indigenous (body and articulation of) knowledge and Informal
ways to share that.
The
presentation will also cite several examples to substantiate the
presence and absence of the interplay between literature and development.
Owning
our Stories
Maniza Naqvi (USA)
This
paper locates our stories and imagines future story telling in the
context of boundaries, poverty, democracy, justice, peace, war,
occupation, trade, corporations, development assistance and the
international court of justice. Imagine narratives that neither
define nor glorify the powerful as those who can do harm. The paper
discusses the possibility of a world that would have a different
context than the one we are living in today. A place where the rights
of defining the past, present and future would belong to all of
us and not just to a handful of the privileged. A different world-
where the terms of engagement, that affect all our lives, would
be in a framework of cooperation, not conflict. A world- where the
discussion on issues that affect us all, would not be embedded in
bombastic nationalism or hopeless religiosity, nor dismissive, disingenuous,
reductionist, self-serving and bullying statements backed by military
might for the sole purpose of profiteering, extraction of minerals,
oil, arms sales, nor occupation and invasion, nor the destruction
of the environment, and threats of endless war. A world- where the
discourse would be centered on a viewpoint of earth instead of real
estate, cooperation instead of coercion, and cooperatives instead
of corporations.
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Panel:
Population, Health and Poverty
From "Thinking too much" to "Extinguishing of the
heart" _ the case for Qualitative research in Social and Health
Policy Planning
Dr.
Eaisha Tareen (England)
In
this paper the need for more qualitative research in all areas of
human endeavour is highlighted. Whether the issue under consideration
is poverty or family planning, education or health, each can benefit
from greater qualitative input, particularly in terms of bridging
the research/policy gaps. For sustainable development, it is necessary
to listen and understand the narratives of the 'recipients' of the
developmental policy.
Firstly, the qualitative approach will be defined and conceptually
differentiated from the quantitative approach, with a brief consideration
of the philosophic underpinnings. The methodological and analytical
differences of the approaches will also be outlined.
As a framework, the area of mental health will be used to illustrate
the different approaches. Most research in this area, being based
on the biomedical paradigm, has focused on and aimed for objectivity
and reliability. Individuals' personal accounts have generally been
devalued as 'subjective'. This devaluation tends to be greater if
the individuals are women, and even greater if they are considered
to be mentally ill.
Some recent quantitative studies on depression in women in Pakistan,
particularly with regard to their conclusions and policy implications
will also be examined, including personal research conducted on
women in Lahore, which was a qualitative study of women's perception
of social support and their experience of depression. This involved
in-depth interviewing of women from different socio-economic backgrounds,
who had been clinically diagnosed as depressed.
Analysis of women's narratives reveals the importance of social
and economic factors, as well as cultural norms and expectations
in shaping the meaning, nature and experience of support in the
context of specific relationships. It also reveals the women's complex
and pluralistic conceptualisations of their experience of depression.
Women's
personal accounts of their condition, primarily located in their
interpersonal relationships and in familial concerns, linked by
extension to the wider social structures and institutions will also
be explored. This study raises the issue of the cross-cultural validity
of the diagnostic category of depression.
The paper will briefly outline some of the relevant methodological
issues and ethical dilemmas experienced before considering the conclusions.
Lastly, the comparison of the policy implications of this study
with the previous ones will be done to show how different research
approaches to the same issue can have radically different practical
implications.
The Globalization of Reproductive Rights: A Derivative Discourse?
Mohan
Rao (India)
The
last two decades of the twentieth century reverberated with debates
about reproductive rights, and indeed wrongs. These debates embraced
women’s rights activists, public health workers, policy makers,
donors and academics. One stream of argument sees all reference
to reproductive rights – which it resolutely fights –
as undermining the family and the community and is associated with
the position of the Vatican, some Islamic countries and, more importantly,
the Protestant fundamentalists increasingly setting the agenda in
the USA. Another stream, at the opposite end of the ideological
spectrum, argues that reproductive rights may perhaps represent
population control by other means. Between the two are a range of
institutions at the international level that have brought the agenda
of reproductive rights center stage, not least among them the World
Bank and the Population Council. Placing reproductive rights squarely
on the world agenda was the International Conference on Population
and Development (ICPD) held at Cairo in 1994. This article briefly
surveys the factors that shaped the emerging discourse of reproductive
rights, tracing the contradictions and ambiguities that surround
this discourse and finally questions the epidemiological logic of
the approach in countries like India where public health priorities
continue to be the quintessential diseases of poverty and hunger.
Gender
and Development in South Asia: A Comparative Analysis
Dr
W.G. Somaratne (Pakistan)
In
most South Asian countries, the gender-based division of labor and
gender inequalities have reduced economic growth and development
and increased the level of poverty. The low investment in education
and health sectors with heavy population pressure have further strengthened
the gender inequality, while reducing the Human Development Index
(HDI) in most nations of the region. Though, most countries have
developed their economic strategies considering the new dynamism
in world development including the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs),
South Asian countries are facing the problems of extreme poverty
alleviation and reducing the gender inequality. This paper analyzes
the issues in mainstreaming gender and development in South Asia.
The
comparative analysis of gender and development issues in South Asia
shows that gender inequality retards economic growth and poverty
reduction. The disparities between males and females in sharing
power and resources; gender biases in rights and entitlements; and
conventional and religious taboos and myths about gender hinder
true economic growth and reduce the well-being of men, women and
children in the region. Multi-dimensional and complementary economic
and other policies, operational options and programs are suggested
to reduce gender inequality and improve the economic development
in South Asia as a paradigm shift in the right direction to achieve
the South Asian regional MDGs.
Women, Security and Peace
Deconstructing
the Human Rights Discourse: Relevance for Afghan Women
Huma
Ghosh (USA)
A dialogue
on human rights has become integral to the discourse on development.
In recent years, particularly for Muslim societies, women's empowerment
has been discussed within the framework of human rights under the
assumption that Islam does not grant equal rights to women. This
discussion on human rights has not come without a deconstruction
of the concept and its relevance to women in different cultural
contexts. The paper will discuss the varying historical and political
interpretations of human rights and their location in the debate
on development for women in Afghanistan. The question raised here
is whether the discourse on human rights as women's rights is a
western and urban elite discourse, or is it an essential concern
for women in Afghanistan today?
Women,
Security and South Asia
Swarna
Rajagopalan (India)
In
the summer of 1993, a group of young Pakistani and Indian women
sat around in a posh Pakistani hotel discussing their participation
in a workshop on security, arms control and technology. The women
had different occupations, areas of specialisation, backgrounds
and interests. But all of them were at the workshop primarily because
of their professional and political interest in the sub-continental
peace process. They were trying to put their finger on what was
discomforting about the workshop sessions. Was it individuals, styles
of engagement, topics or reading materials? Or were they simply
interested in different issues? The informal conversations of that
week did not really yield specific conclusions. Is the fact that
the field of international relations so male-dominated the cause?
Assuming for the sake of exploration that it is, then would more
women in the field alter both its agenda and the interactive styles
of its practitioners? This counter-factual speculation (not assertion)
is the point of departure of this paper.
This
speculation has two dimensions. First, it posits that the very presence
of more women in security studies (and policy areas) would alter
the style and substance of the field. Second, this statement is
underpinned by an assumption that men and women think differently
about these matters. There is, it implies, a 'women's way' of thinking
about security and conflict. In so speculating, this paper thus
echoes and at the same time, questions basic liberal and essentialist
feminist ideas. The sub-continent provides the context for discussion
of these questions, with the hope of generating research and policy
ideas.
Do
women understand and define security differently from men? Are they
animated by the same concerns about state and national security?
Are there other issues that concern them? Would a feminist agenda
for security policy and for research in security issues be substantially
and substantively different from the present agenda? What would
such a policy and research agenda include? In other words, what
is the relationship between the three nouns listed in the title
of the paper: 'women,' 'security,' 'South Asia'?
If
the women of South Asia are not a monolith or a unitary actor, can
this paper serve any constructive purpose? It does. Three questions
that would relate 'women,' 'security' and 'South Asia' in a manner
that facilitate this exercise have been asked. First, what are the
sources of South Asian women's security and insecurity? Second,
what, if any, is the agency of South Asian women in creating, inflicting,
perpetrating and perpetuating insecurity on the one hand, and in
creating, sustaining and extending a sense of security on the other?
Lastly, what is the impact of South Asian women on the making of
security doctrine and policy?
Women
are victims and agents, as well as narrators and interpreters of
(in)security-related experiences. All these roles must be considered
in our response to these questions. As an organisational device,
this section will identify several key locations or arenas in which
women's lives unfold and come to pass. These are the home, shared
public space, the workplace, the social group and the state. The
regional and global contexts will also be considered.
National
Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) Implementation in Developing
Countries for Industrial Pollution Control
Environmental
Quality Standards and its
Application in Developing Countries
Irfan
S. Alrai, Pakistan
The
Pakistan Environmental Protection Act of 1997 had resulted in the
creation of Environmental Protection Agencies in Pakistan with the
aim of enforcing the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS),
in addition to other pollution control provisions. Ten years have
passed since the NEQS were notified in Pakistan, but we are still
living in circumstances where these standards are not complied with
and this non-compliance appears very likely to continue in the future.
Regardless
of the fact that developing countries have established environmental
laws, environmental quality standards and formal governmental structures
to address serious environmental problems, the hard realities of
environmental compliance is still unknown and these countries are
still marked by polluted air and water, open waste disposal systems,
non-existent effluent treatment plants and polluting technology.
It
is an established fact that developing countries have remained far
from successful in alleviating environmental problems. This paper
recognizes conditions, limits and the main factors affecting the
enforcement of environmental quality standards and outlines various
problems that may require special attention in the enforcement of
these environmental quality standards. Some of these problems, which
the paper outlines, include lack of technical knowledge, interest
in the recognition of market-based strategies, environmental awareness,
motivation to internalize pollution abatement cost, informative
tools, strong political will, environmental legislation, economic
incentives, monitoring and research. The fragile technology base,
non-existence of continuous monitoring networks, meager and inadequate
economic and human resources, centralization of powers, limited
principles for setting standards and normative overlapping etc.
further compound the situation.
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Environmental
Protection and Pollution Control in Industrial Development as a
Requirement for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries:
Evidence from Bangladesh
Dr.
Saiful Islam, Bangladesh
This
paper focuses on environmental protection and pollution control
necessary to counter unwanted and unforeseen consequences of industrial
development and the demand of increasing population in Bangladesh.
For this purpose, some glimpses of pollution, particularly water
pollution from industrial activities, are presented. It also looks
into the implementation of pollution-control standards in Bangladesh.
Secondary data on Bangladesh and Pakistan presented in this paper
show that measured levels of effluents from textile and leather
production far exceeded the recommended standards. The review of
existing environmental laws and regulations in Bangladesh shows
that there has been a lack of effective implementation of legislative
control. The present paper tries to make the point that the ultimate
solution of industrial pollution problems lies in the transformation
of a materialistic human society into a humanistic society.
Compliance Monitoring of Industrial
Effluent Standards in Nepal
Ram
Charitra Sah (Nepal)
Many
industries in Nepal discharge their effluents strength enough than
the Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE) industrial effluent
standards directly and/or indirectly into land or small channel
leading to the nearby rivers. In a nationwide study of 22 different
industries whose standards have been set up, it has been found that
almost all the industries are violating the effluent standards and
polluting nearby rivers, agricultural lands and soil.
Due
to lack of proper human resources and commitment of the government,
the implementation of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) 1996,
Environment Protection Regulation (EPR) 1997, and Standards are
not likely to comply anywhere. Instead of executing themselves,
MOPE had handed over its responsibilities of implementation and
monitoring of industrial effluent standards to the Ministry of Industry
(MOI) whose prime aim is to promote the industries, not to penalize
them for causing environmental pollution. In this context, the role
of civil society organizations like Pro Public, a national level
NGO become very crucial towards initiating the compliance-monitoring
program in Nepal.
Despite
the violence of first generation industrial effluent standards,
the industries are being given temporary pollution control certificates
against EPA provision, soft loans and grants for the treatment plants
under ESPS/DANIDA Cleaner Production program which is against the
motto of ‘polluters pays principles’ equired for the
sustainable development. Therefore, adequate steps have to be taken
towards compliance of all environmental quality standards for betterment
of the environment and reducing health impacts.
Estimating
Sectoral and Geographical Industrial Pollution Inventories in India:
Implications for using Effluent Charge Versus Regulations
Rita
Pandey (India)
Pollution
from industries constitutes a considerable part of total pollution
in India. However, in India, reliable information on the nature
and level of emissions/discharges by plants/factories is not available.
This makes it difficult for regulators to come up with cost- effective
strategies-in terms of both designing environmental regulations,
as well as their enforcement- for industrial pollution control.
In
so far as the design of environmental regulations is concerned,
the economists have long argued that economic instruments (such
as effluent/emission charges) are a cheaper way vis-a-vis the traditional
regulatory measures also known as Command and Control (CAC) measures
to achieve the same environmental targets. For implementing MBIs,
information on the amount of pollution generated and the associated
costs of abatement are required. This information does not exist.
Effective
enforcement of regulation requires well-targeted and focused efforts.
Different industries emit different pollutants in varying quantities
with harmful effects on the human health and natural environment.
In the absence of information on the nature and the level of discharges
by firms, it is difficult for the regulators to set priorities for
enforcement of environmental regulations in terms of both the industrial
sector that should be targeted for greater intervention, and the
geographical area where intervention should be focused.
This
lack of information, which severely constrains effective environmental
management, points towards the need to adopt alternative ways for
estimation of environmental parameters that complement direct measures
of environmental parameters at the firm level.
Another
issue in industrial pollution control in India relates to laying
down of the minimal national standards (MINAS), defined as the maximum
concentration of pollutants permissible in a given quantity of water.
There is no regulation on the volume of effluents discharged by
factories. Hence, only the concentration of pollutants in the water
finally disposed from the factories is monitored with no check on
the volume of effluents. That is concentration-based discharge standards
have little control on the total amount of pollutant (concentration
multiplied by volume) disposed into the water bodies. This in many
cases may give rise to perverse incentive to use dilution of effluents
as a substitute for treatment.
The specific objectives of the paper are to estimate industrial
pollution load in India using the World Bank Industrial Pollution
Projection System (IPPS) data base and identify critical industrial
sectors and geographical areas for immediate attention of the regulators,
so that priorities for enforcement of environmental regulations
are set; and to examine with the help of the data whether load based
standards need to be replaced by the present concentration based
standards.
Regulating
Industrial Pollution Control through Effective Collaboration of
Policy makers, Universities, Research and Development Organizations
and Industry
Dr.
Mahmood A. Khwaja (Pakistan)
Environmental
problems in Pakistan are growing fast. Industrial pollution is one
of the major problems in the country, resulting from the ever increasing
use of chemicals and industrial emissions, most of which are uncontrolled
and without any treatment prior to their releases/discharges into
the environment. Many plants in the country are poorly maintained,
resulting in high levels of emissions and effluent discharges, which
degrade the environment and have adverse health impacts especially
on children.
Management
of wastes and preventing/abating pollution are two of the fourteen
core program areas of the National Conservation Strategy (NCS) of
Pakistan, approved in 1992. Pakistan Environmental Protection Act,
enacted in 1997, provides for the protection of environment, control
of pollution and promotion of sustainable development. Section 11
of the Act prohibits any discharge or emission into the environment
with levels above the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS),
which have already been notified.
To
implement NEQS, one of the initiatives taken in the recent past,
is THE self-monitoring and reporting/SMART program for industry
in the country. The self-monitoring and reporting guidelines were
developed through long and exhaustive consultations/roundtable discussions
among all the stakeholders, including representatives from the government,
industry, non- governmental organizations, universities, research
and development organizations. To facilitate the self-monitoring
and reporting program, a Self-Monitoring And Reporting Tool (SMART)
has also been developed by Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency
(Pak-EPA), with technical assistance from Sustainable Development
Policy Institute (SDPI). This program has the support of the government,
as well as the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FPCCI). The NEQS-implementation committee and Pakistan Environmental
Protection Council (PEPC) have already approved the implementation
of self-monitoring and reporting/SMART program for industry in the
country.
However,
provincial Environmental Protection Agencies, the enforcing agencies
and the industry lack monitoring facilities and trained personnel.
Chambers of commerce and industries (CCIs), universities and R &
D organizations (like PCSIR) and NGOs are there all over the country
and have the facilities as well-trained personnel to contribute
towards implementing this program by either providing training/analytical
service or initiating activities towards awareness raising about
the program and its implementation.
An
effective collaboration of policy makers, universities, research
and development organizations and industry would ensure the success
and sustainability of this program as well as its early implementation
for the industry throughout the country.
Past,
Present, and Future of NEQS Implementation in Pakistan
Azher Uddin Khan (Pakistan)
National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS)
were first promulgated under Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance
1983. Stakeholders remained state of slumber on the ordinance for
10 years. Approval of National Conservation Strategy by the cabinet
in the early nineties started the debate and enforcement of NEQS
Pakistan. Period from 1996 to1999 is considered as the best period
of NEQS consultations, development, and enforcement. During this
period forums like Shamslakha Committee successfully facilitated
the process of consultations. Effective cooperation and coordination
among stakeholders was observed during this period. Many environment-industry
projects were also started during the same period. In 1999 government
in Pakistan changed and in year 2000 accident of 9/11 occurred.
These two events derailed the process of NEQS compliance process
in Pakistan. This derailing faded most of the achievements of mid
nineties. This paper review the NEQS formulation process and resulted
achievements. Paper provides analytical review of the derailing
process of NEQS implementation in early 2000. Finally the paper
develops a strategic framework as way out strategies for NEQS implementation
from the present sluggish conditions.
Prospects
and Pitfalls of Liberalizing Environmental Services under WTO/GATS:
A Way Forward for Neqs Implementation in Pakistan?
Syed Ayub Qutub (Pakistan)
The implementation of National Environmental Quality
Standards (NEQS) has stalled in Pakistan. Progressive export industries
are seeking ISO 14000 certification and eco-labels on an individual
basis in order to maintain their market access. While useful, this
approach has inherent limitations for improving water and air quality
downstream of industrial areas.
The opening up of the trade in services could
be the main item in global negotiations after an agreement on agriculture.
GATS watchers are concerned that in conjunction with an IMF/WB dictated
privatisation, such liberalisation could result in rapid transfer
of the provision of crucial environmental services to multinational
ownership, to sharp prices hikes, and to the effective exclusion
of the poor from basic human rights, such as potable water.
On the other hand, liberalization under WTO/GATS
could make it easier to attract FDI, for example, the investment
needed for capital-intensive combined effluent treatment plants
at industrial estates. To avail the opportunity, Pakistan should
have in place an effective system for enforcement of the NEQS at
such critical locations.
There are gaps between trade policy and research
on the social impacts of trade liberalization. Equally, Pakistan’s
environmental policy and priorities are not explicitly derived from
environmental research. There are even larger gaps between policies
and research across the sectors. The paper will explore options
for reducing the gaps during a medium range future to 2010. It will
seek to scope out strategies for action research and policy development.
Peace
and Security in Nuclearized South Asia
From Defense to Development
Dr.
Ayesha Siddiqa (Pakistan)
Shifting
the focus from defense to development in a country like Pakistan
or in a region like South Asia is difficult due to the 'militarization'
of policymaking. However, there is also the issue of minimal resistance
from the civil society to change the existing imbalance between
the two sectors. The lack of opposition to policies that favor military
security over development and socioeconomic growth also relates
to the structural problem: the lack of data, information and a systematic
debate that evaluates the issue of the sectoral imbalance in a structured
manner. Does defense pose a burden on development? Is it an issue
borne out by facts? What are the parameters required to make such
an assessment? These are some of the questions that need to be answered
for one to be certain about the link between defense and development.
Unfortunately, the theoretical work available does not necessarily
establish a direct link between these two. The econometric models
are general and do not necessarily have an inbuilt sensitivity towards
the development needs of the South.
This paper aims at evaluating the existing literature on defense
versus development, analyze the current debate on the subject in
South Asia and consider additional variables or models that must
be used for assessing the net effect of the defense burden on socioeconomic
development.
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Education
and Identity
Between the Sacred and the Secular: History
Teaching and Identity Formation in India and Pakistan
Rubina
Saigol (Pakistan)
One
of the foremost functions demanded of educational systems in post-colonial
states is national identity formation. The process termed 'nation-building'
by educationists has focused on all discursive formations, but the
prime knowledge instruments used for this task are the subjects
of history, geography and civics, together called 'social studies'.
In newly formed states, the process of 'nation-building' takes on
a special urgency as parochial and narrower loyalties and sentiments
have to be weakened in favor of a more centralized 'national' identity.
All kinds of social differences and divisions tend to be impediments
on the road to a homogenized sense of single nationhood. Curtailing
the discursive power and emotional intensity of these other, relatively
more stable and older, identities, which puncture and interrogate
the centralized one, becomes a national imperative. The process
of nation-building thus becomes necessarily one riddled with blood
and violence.
In
the effort towards nation-building, the notion of nationalism is
up for grabs. Who gains power and who loses it, comes to depend
on the basis from which the definition of nationalism is derived.
In Pakistan the process of nation formation was intensified right
after partition and especially during the era of Ayub Khan when
the notion of one unit was launched. The educational discourses
of the era are replete with the need to forget the past and, along
with it, the identities belonging to it in order to create a new
Present and a remodeled future. The second period when the need
for forging a national identity became urgent was after the war
of 1971 when a large part of the state's territory and the majority
of its people broke away in a painful separation. The post 1971
educational policies and curricula reflect the urgency to create
a sense of nationhood and oneness in a polity deeply divided along
religious, sectarian, ethnic, class and gender dimensions. This
process was most vividly apparent in the educational discourses
of the era of General Zia when religious identity was called upon
to define Pakistani identity overriding the many and varied other
sources of the Self. Everything secular was denigrated and degraded
in favor of an overarching identity drawn from a single source -
religion. Having formed Pakistan in a communal break, religion was
chosen by the rulers to discredit other sources of belonging.
In
India, the national was initially not defined in sacred terms. Rather,
the national was declared to be secular and the rulers jealously
guarded this identity, even though there were shades of communalist
stirring among many a secular leader. With the rise of the BJP,
RSS and VHP (the Sangh Parivar as it is called in India), the drive
to redefine India's ideological boundaries in sacred terms was intensified.
This led to a major battle between the staunchly secular and/or
socialist historians of the JNU school of thought, and the textbook
historians of the Saffron brigade. History, as the most crucial
identity- forming subject and carrier of the past (and by extension
of the Present and Future), was seized upon to re-create, re-define
and appropriate India as a Hindu state. The struggles over knowledge
and truth became intensified with the publication of the National
Curriculum Framework and the publication of Hindutva inspired textbooks
by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
The battle was ultimately taken to the Indian Supreme Court, which
in October 2002 allowed communally inspired textbooks to be used
in schools funded by the state. This was a violation of the Indian
secular constitution that prohibits the teaching of religion in
educational institutions funded by the state. The Supreme Court
Judgment was preceded and followed by heated battles over the nature
of state, polity, pluralism, democracy, secularism, the role of
religion and public knowledge systems.
The
proposed paper will examine the educational ideology debates in
India and Pakistan with a view towards understanding the relationship
between power, ideology, knowledge and identity in India and Pakistan
to find similarities, contrasts and points of divergence and confluence.
The effects of control over knowledge and its dissemination will
be explored.
Gender
(In)justice
Honor Killings
Subhashini Ali (India)
Feudal societies with strong patriarchal traditions and structures
which restrict and confine women within traditional roles and boundaries
also, seemingly contradictorily, depict them as repositories of
the 'honor' of the clan, the caste or the religious grouping. A
very important part of the way in which parental and patriarchal
control is exerted in such societies is the institution of 'arranged'
marriages and its natural corollary the complete aversion to the
notion of 'love' or 'self-choice' marriages. In all such societies,
'honor killings' or the killing of young men and women who break
these taboos have been a not uncommon feature through the ages.
Most often, the clan or caste members of the victims including their
relatives and, more often than not, their parents commit these killings.
It had been thought, that modernization, education and development
would lead to such barbaric practices dying a natural death. Certainly,
the proponents of unfettered globalization in developing countries
made every effort to convince people that the economic and political
measures that they were proposing would ensure that this happened.
In fact, the experience in many parts of South Asia like India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh and among migrant communities from these
countries, living in the advanced countries of the West, runs totally
counter to this belief.
While data for these crimes is very limited as far as earlier times
are concerned, it seems very probable that their incidence is actually
increasing. This may appear to be surprising, but if we analyze
what globalization is doing to developing nations we will see that
actually all kinds of obscurantism, fanaticism, exclusivist identities,
anti-women, retrograde social and religious beliefs and practices
are being encouraged, reinforced and reinvented by the globalized
market and the ideology that makes it possible in the first place
and then continues to sustain it.
Studies
on the colonial era like Tanika Sarkar's 'Hindu Wife, Hindu Nation'
and many others have illustrated and emphasized the fact that a
typical male response to imperialism and the consequent loss of
control experienced, has been to reinforce the seclusion and constriction
of women in order to guard their 'purity' both physical and cultural.
Something similar seems to be happening at a time when a new and
perhaps even more enslaving kind of imperialism - globalization
- is taking over minds and markets the world over.
In
India, the spread of the phenomenon of honor killings is actually
being widened by re-inforced caste and communal feelings that are
also very important aspects of present-day political mobilization.
At a time when the State is actually withdrawing from many areas
like health, education, sanitation, providing minimum civic amenities
etc., this sort of mobilization is becoming more and more the mainstay
of mainstream politics and politicians. As a result, political and
electoral conflicts are turning more and more into caste and communal
conflicts. Age-old prejudices, hatreds and tensions are being renewed
and reinforced with each college, university, co-operative, village
panchayat, local body, state and central election. The globalized
market encourages and fuels these conflicts, hatreds, prejudices
and tensions, because not only does a divided society succumb to
its domination, but hierarchies are strengthened allowing exploitation
to become ever more severe. Changing caste equations with more and
more assertion by formerly lower and untouchable castes are exacerbating
the situation, as is increasing communal tensions and suspicions.
The
results are horrifying, but not widely known outside the country.
Honor killings amongst Pakistanis living in Pakistan and in the
West are widely publicized and Muslim countries openly oppose the
attempt to ensure implementation of CEDAW despite religious or traditional
mores at the international fora. Since India is a secular state,
governed by a secular, democratic constitution, and since democracy
in India is very vibrant and visible, the darker sides of Indian
social life are sometimes obscured.
100
young men and women have been murdered by their parents, relatives
or clans in just one month (mid-Sept. to mid-Oct.2003), because
of marriage in just a few districts of Western Uttar Pradesh. In
the last year, the State unit of the All India Democratic Women's
Association has intervened in more than six cases of honor killings
of young people who had dared to have inter-caste marriages, and
also in one case in which a Muslim boy and his Hindu wife were hounded
by her family members for more than three months. At this very moment,
our activists are touring some of the villages of Western Uttar
Pradesh to prepare a report on the recent incidents that have included
inter-caste marriages and own-choice marriages. The most recent
incident that has been reported from this area is one in which a
Muslim girl eloped with a Hindu boy and subsequently his minor sister
was gang-raped by the girl's father and some young men whom he had
brought with him. The only reason that a major communal clash did
not erupt was that many Hindus in the area felt that the rape had
'some' justification.
It
is in the state of Haryana that honor killings are the most numerous.
The State unit of AIDWA has intervened in dozens of cases and has
prepared a detailed report on its work.
It is extremely important to collect as much experience of this
practice from the entire region so that strategies to combat it
can be formulated. It is not enough to simply condemn, the problem
has to be studied, analyzed and effectively opposed. It is also
not enough to intervene after a ghastly crime has been perpetrated.
To effectively challenge, expose and change views adhered to in
the name of tradition and religion is imperative.
Food
and Security
Food
Insecurity and its Consequences: Some Indian Experiences
Ms
Subhashini Ali (India)
It
used to be said in the fairly recent past even by people of the
eminence of Amartya Sen that one of the accomplishments of Indian
democracy was the fact that since independence famines had been
averted. This was because a system of procurement of food grains
at a fixed, viable price by the government combined with a universal
system of public distribution of subsidized food grains, sugar,
kerosene, etc. was evolved that, despite corruption, inefficiency
etc., did succeed in both increasing the production of food grains
and ensuring that widespread starvation was averted. Over the years,
an impressive buffer stock of rice and wheat was built up and stored
in government owned godowns that were used in food-for-work programs
and for famine and flood relief measures. These systems played a
very important role in providing hundreds of thousands of workdays
for poor women and men in the rural areas, and also in ensuring
a very minimum, but still essential level of nutrition for large
masses of the rural and urban poor.
Of
course, the experience all over India was far from uniform. In a
state like Kerala, where due to the significant presence of the
Left in successive governments, more than 80 percent of the population
not only had ration cards, but also used them to buy subsidized
rice, kerosene and sugar along with 16 other items that were sold
through these shops in that state. These included dal, exercise
books, tea leaves, etc. In addition, the state also established
a chain of fair-price shops that sold vegetables and life-saving
drugs at prices significantly lower than the open market. The impact
(in combination with other state policies) this had on the health,
life expectancy, IMR and MMR in the state was impressive. At the
other end of the spectrum was a state like Uttar Pradesh, where
only about 10-25 percent of the population had ration cards restricted
to the urban areas. But even here, the restraining effect of the
PDS on open-market prices was exercised; buffer stocks were used
for rural employment creating some rural infrastructure and, of
course, the procurement policies gave a boost to agricultural production.
The '70s and '80s saw widespread and sustained movements in most
parts of the country for improving and extending the PDS and people
in many states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra
benefited from the gains that these movements could extract from
governments under pressure.
Things
changed drastically after 1991 when full-blown SAPs were adopted
by the then Central Government. Subsidies began to be reduced, state
governments found their financial powers further curtailed and a
system of targeting (in the name of making the PDS more effective,
more friendly to the poor and less wasteful) began to be designed.
In many parts of the country, ration cards were cancelled in the
name of being 'bogus', it became increasingly difficult to get new
cards issued, issue-prices of PDS food grains were drastically increased
at a time when market-prices were low so that many card-holders
stopped availing their quotas and, since the profit margins of the
shop-owners were reduced and fewer items were now part of the PDS,
many of them were just not interested in running the shops, and
simply black-marketed their stocks. Generally, the PDS was considerably
weakened by all these measures and grain off take was considerably
reduced.
After
l996, the new government introduced a system of 'Targeted PDS' under
which income-tax payees were denied subsidized food grains and BPL
and APL (Below the Poverty Line and Above the Poverty Line) cards
were introduced. This actually dealt a body blow to the PDS that
was only partially softened by the fact that issue prices were lowered
considerably. But, the exclusion of some led to the exclusion of
many, most of whom were the poorest of the poor.
The
real effects of growing, government-induced food insecurity have
been felt after l998. The TPDS has been changed once again and,
instead, of two categories there are now four - APL, BPL, Antodyaya
(very poor, destitute) and Annapoorna (destitute old). Each category
is supposed to get grains at different prices and quotas have been
fixed for the number of people in each district who will get which
kind of card. The resultant chaos and injustice has created havoc
in peoples' lives and in the PDS itself. Most of those who should
be beneficiaries have been left out altogether. The lower and lower
rates of government procurement each successive year, and complete
neglect of food-for-work programs turned the acute drought of last
year into famine-like conditions in many parts of the country. Starvation
deaths are now a regular occurrence especially among dalits and
tribals and in the poorest most drought-prone areas. Per capita
calorie consumption has gone down in the last five years. It has
been calculated that the poorest 40 percent of the population eating
10 to 25 percent less now than they did five years ago. This is
a horrifying statistic as it tells a tale of starvation, unemployment,
sickness and destitution.
AIDWA
has had an on-going campaign for affordable food grains and employment
for the last few years and we have had many struggles and movements
for ration cards, for work and a complete overhaul of the PDS. In
April 2003, AIDWA had a huge Protest Sit-in at New Delhi demanding
universalization of the PDS and issue prices of three per kg. and
two per kg. for rice and wheat respectively. In the context of huge
buffer stocks lying idle and rotting in government godowns at an
immense cost to the public exchequer these are very viable demands.
The government response has been inadequate. The Supreme Court is
also intervening in the situation, but its interventions have not
been very effective.
The
effects of growing food insecurity on women and children are disastrous
- apart from the obvious adverse impact on health, the desperate
need to find work of any kind and on any terms has forced agricultural
women workers to work more for lower wages and increased their vulnerability
to physical and sexual assault and exploitation. In drought-prone
areas, prostitution and trafficking have become commonplace. Male-migration
has increased the burden on the women left behind to look after
the elderly and children.
The
demand for an effective, affordable and universal PDS, combined
with the demand for work programs in rural and urban areas have
become absolutely crucial for the development, survival and well-being
of Indian women and children.
Mass
Media and the National Press
Corporate Media and the Ethnic Press: the case of the Urdu press
in New York post 9/11
Rehan
Ansari (U.S.A)
“The
accumulation of… crisis in the first three years of our century,
and their rapid, almost real time dissemination in the media, have
no doubt precipitated new opportunities for communicative action
and global reflection, just as they have signaled an onset of a
severe crisis within the media—a crisis of over-stimulation
and under-statement, of exaggeration and exhaustion, of censorship
and spin-doctoring, of fear and favor. More than at any time before,
the power and reach of the media, the potential of the usage of
technologies of information and communication for control or for
freedom, and the severely intertwined professional, cognitive and
ethical dilemmas that media practitioners face on a daily basis,
all these require us to pause and take stock of the fact that the
crises reported in the media have a bearing on the crisis of reporting
in the media. That the media and the crisis that media require to
be themselves today can no longer be seen as distinct categories,
hence—Crisis/Media.”
This
paper refers to the attacks on the civil liberties of Pakistani
immigrants in New York by the US law enforcement authorities and
the non-reporting of the events by the US corporate media-the television
networks, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, CNN, as well as the print media. The
New York Times did show up but performed like the stereotypical
fireman or the Pakistani tuhlla (police man) who shows up late at
the scene of the crime.
The
crisis of 9/11 did not start on that day. Just as well known are
the series of crisis that are occurring post 9/11 in Afghanistan,
Brooklyn and Queens, Iraq and even Pakistan. There is a crisis in
the media, as well that is covering and not covering these events.
This
paper will focus on the crisis/media with reference to the Urdu
Press coverage the events in New York post 9/11. It is based on
translations, from the seven Urdu weeklies, following stories of
FBI/INS raids on Pakistani immigrants, detentions, deportations,
the effect of the special registration law and the Patriot Act.
Panel:
Governance and Decentralization/Devolution: Democracy in South Asia
A Benchmark Study on Law-and-Order and the Dispensation of Justice
in the Context of Power Devolution
Foqia
S. Khan (Pakistan)
The main objective of this study was to establish
service delivery benchmarks regarding law-and-order and the dispensation
of justice. An additional objective was to review the establishment
of the judicial institutional structure that was being put into
place by the devolution of power plan, 2000. Thus, the overall objective
was to facilitate the assessment of this institutional structure
in the future. We anticipated that the state of service delivery
in this area would depend on the power structure, socio-economic
status, gender and beraderi (caste) or tribe. Using a range of quasi-anthropological
and other research tools that generated five data sets, we discovered
this was indeed the case. For us, the surprising finding was the
extent of regional variation in the nature of crime and the non-formal
methods used for their resolution and the relationship of village
prosperity and household income with dispute resolution preferences.
The poor did not trust the formal system institutions, including
the police and courts, across the board, and they preferred the
informal dispute resolution mechanisms such as the jirga or panchayat.
In some localities, the lack of an alternative allowed feudal structures
to have full play. Thus, the alternative dispute resolution mechanisms
put into place by the devolution of power plan are much needed.
Framework
for Resource Distribution in Provincial and District Governments
Muhammad
Azhar Rauf (Pakistan)
In
the governance framework of Pakistan, districts have been the basic
administrative units. They comprised of the self-contained blocks
of the provincial governments with respect to service delivery establishments,
administrative machinery, and revenue collection authority. In the
pre-Devolution Era (2001) they had district offices of provincial
departments of education, health, labor, social welfare, and irrigation,
to name a few. If resource allocation is taken as one of the most
significant manifestations of policy implementation, then it can
be demonstrated that the expenditure policies of the provincial
governments were neither informed by nor represented any substantial
background research study. More often than not, the decisions about
capital expenditures, which resulted in expanded revenue expenditures
in later years, were more an outcome of political clout, and less
of a well defined policy commitment, based on credible research
data. As a snapshot of the district level expenditures in Punjab
would prove the point.
However,
the Devolution of Power Plan 2001, and the subsequent adoption of
a formula-based fiscal transfer regime represented a major watershed
in this regard. The district governments, unlike their predecessor
district administrations, which were simply offshoots of provincial
machinery, have emerged as political entities, which would compete
amongst each other and the provincial government for a fair share
from the provincial kitty. This has compelled the provincial governments
to adopt an institutional framework for resource distribution that
comprises of an autonomous Provincial Finance Commission- a formula
based fiscal transfer system, and requirement of quantitative indicators
to develop the formula. The development of such indicators and the
monitoring and evaluation of fiscal transfer regime entails extensive
and credible data gathering requirements. This mandatory research
requirement now has the potential to feed the policy formulation
and implementation processes at the provincial and district level.
A process that is informed, goal-oriented and performance-based.
Issues
in Devolution: A Case Study of Sindh
Farrukh Moriani (Pakistan)
Devolution and decentralization form key debates
in the development discourse, as well as in public policy. Particularly
in the last decade, the State has come under fire for what has been
widely perceived—with some justification—as its failure
to deliver public services in an effective and efficient manner.
This backlash against ‘state-centric’ approaches has
led to governments around the world increasingly turning to devolution
as both a key policy instrument and policy objective. In Pakistan
too, we have witnessed a transition to a system where there has
been a shift in the balance of power amongst the tiers of government,
with the empowerment of the local government institutions through
the Devolution Plan 2000. Whether this transition has been managed
well, and whether the devolution process has generated the kind
of results and improvements in governance and social service delivery
that were expected of it remain moot points. While it may be premature
to arrive at any nuanced conclusions on the performance- for the
Devolution agenda is still in its infancy- this paper aims to highlight
and flag some issues that impact the performance of the local government
institutions.
It is easy to be excited by the theoretical
possibilities that the concept of devolution offers: local needs
are best identified at the local level, as are the solutions. Thus,
empowering local governments makes perfect sense from a governance
and political perspective as well as in terms of allocative efficiencies
that may result. However, questions about improving the quality
of government and services go well beyond the realms of academic
modeling and are shaped by competing and often conflicting economic
and political choices. Arguments of the potential benefits that
devolution and decentralization offer are well documented—if
not conclusive - but need to be tempered by the recognition of the
many risks associated with this process and call for an evaluation
that is contextualized in the intricate, often muddled mix of political
and economic realities. Moreover, moving from what has long been
considered a classic example of a ‘developmental authoritarian’
state to one where voices are being built into local communities,
represents a dramatic change in the way the government works, with
new institutional mechanisms being introduced for governance and
social delivery, which may not yet be fully in place to allow for
a fair assessment of the impact of the new local government structures,
as will be evidenced from the discussion of the Sindh province.
Panel:
Natural Resource Management
The
Evolution Of Agriculture From Public Good To Private Asset
Faisal
Shaheen (Pakistan)
The evolution of agriculture
through the Green, Blue and now Gene Revolutions has continued to
affect the state of rural communities throughout the developing
world. Whether the elements were chemical, structural or biological
agents of change or management of the land, a general drift has
influenced the agricultural sectors core attribute of being perceived
a public good. Whether the reliance has been on an increase in chemical
additives to fertilizers and pest control agents, or the introduction
of irrigation systems to divert water across economic line, the
socio political nature of agriculture has seen a shift in ownership.
Failed attempts at land reform and wealth redistribution by governments
has further compounded the situation, resulting in a widening gap
between rich landowners and poor farmers. This paper seeks to discuss
those trends in light of the modern behaviors of the global agriculture
market and examine the direction in which those trends are influencing
the context of agriculture as a ‘public good’. The forces
that will be examined include both farm (internal and external)
as well as methodology based (traditional and non traditional methods)
aspects of farming. The trends of this discussion, illustrated by
government investment patterns, subsidy levels and export behaviors
as well as multi lateral agreements should serve as indicators for
proponents of sustainable agricultural development to gauge the
direction that global agriculture is taking. At the national and
international levels, we will be able to determine where policies
supportive of agriculture as a public good exist and what global
trends are influencing agriculture towards privatization. For South
Asian policy makers, lines of analysis and development will surface,
from a resource management perspective, upon which sustainable farming
techniques may be supported by law makers to keep agriculture as
a renewable resource for generations to come.
Does Decentralisation Induce Sustainable
Natural Resource Management - What Are The Assumptions?
Urs Geiser (Switzerland)
Decentralization has become a core approach within
rural development. Decentralizing state functions and at the same
time improving local peoples' participation in planning and implementation
is expected to deliver better ‘development’ (e.g improve
local peoples' livelihoods; take care of the natural resource base,
etc.). Considerable efforts are therefore made in many places to
implement decentralization, accompanied by a wide range of debates
about whether these efforts result in success, and if not, why.
Discussing ‘success’ calls for a clarification
of the expectations, and the preconditions that need to be met to
make decentralization a ‘success’. The present paper
is an attempt in this direction, and it discusses the issue on three
levels: (i) what are the expectations regarding decentralization;
(ii) what are the preconditions to make decentralization fulfill
the expectations; and (iii) more fundamentally: what are the conceptual
and theoretical underpinnings of the expectations.
Energy
Pricing in Deregulated and Liberalized Environment
Pricing
in the De-regulated Electricity Sector – Envisaged Framework
for Pakistan
Hussain A Babur (Pakistan)
Electricity is a unique commodity since it cannot
be stored. As such a complex system of generation, transmission
and distribution adapting several physical laws of nature delivers
electricity to its consumers. The vertical electric power utilities
have been segregated and de-regulated. The worldwide phenomenon
has witnessed several market trading systems designed to deliver
electricity at its least cost while incorporating highest standards
of safety. Electricity industry as it is de-regulated has been subjected
to re-regulation. Several factors both technical and economic have
lead to creation of regulators and markets for electricity. A brief
description of these economic models ranging from mandatory power
pools to bilateral contracts and ephemeral trading instruments is
presented.
The Pakistan Power Sector (PPS) is also
under transition in accordance with a Strategic Plan developed by
WAPDA for reform and de-regulation in 1992. The policy directions
that have shaped the power sector in Pakistan and the salient features
of these policies are briefly described. The development of power
markets and their expected benefits in attracting investment and
a fair return to capital providers is the corner stone of PPS reform.
The merit of the suggested market-trading model is discussed. The
instruments of regulation issued by NEPRA have sent the ball rolling
in the direction of electricity markets and to eventual competition
at the retail level. The NEPRA Act and Rules drive reform to competition.
Is competition possible in Pakistan in view of the IPP long-term
contracts, and the continuous declining financial health of state
owned electric utilities? At the conclusion an attempt to describe
the two basic systems that is merit order based or bilateral contract
models are discussed with an attempt to describe an energy-trading
framework that could be more suited to Pakistan in view of its unique
power sector characteristics and enabling legislation.
Energy
Pricing of IPPs in Pakistan
Muhammad Shabbir (Pakistan)
1. Introduction
- Formation of WAPDA in 1958, its duties and
functions
- WAPDA’s power Wing (Generations, Transmission,
Distribution)
- WAPDA’s own power projects
- Energy crisis in 1980s
2. Energy Policy 1994
- Energy policies of 1985 and 1989 and HUBCO’s
role
- Salient features of 1994 Policy and incentives
given to facilitate development of Power Projects in the private
sector
- Bulk power tariff
3. Tariff Structures
- Capacity Purchase Price
- Escalable Component (components and indexation
mechanism)
- Non-escalable Component (component and indexation
mechanism)
- Energy Purchase Price
- Fuel cost component (indexation mechanism)
- Variable Operation & Maintenance Cost Component
- Supplemental Charges
- Unit Start up charges
- Pass through items
- Part load adjustment charges
4. Impact of De-Regulation on IPPs
- Predetermined Tariff
- Role of NEPRA in Tariff Determination
- Political Interference
- Restructuring, Corporatization and Privatization
of Thermal Plants and Distribution facilities
- Interface and Deregulation of Transmission
and Distribution companies
5. Conclusion
- Higher tariffs in underdeveloped areas
- Slow extension of Distribution networks in
underdeveloped areas
- Socio Economical problems of consumers
- Economic dispatch
- Sovereign Guarantees
- Undue benefits to Lenders
- Higher Input costs and selection of inappropriate
technologies by the IPPs
- Transfer of price from one entity to another
entity – Inter Disco Tariff
- Fixed return to Sponsors, Monopolistic environment
and lack of competition
- Development of Hydel Projects and WAPDA’s
vision 2025
Note:-
Following Tables be included in the presentation
a) Total Generation Capacity (Thermal, Hydel
and IPPs Capacity) in WAPDA System
b) Original Tariff and Negotiated Tariff of IPPs (Project wise)
c) Year wise detail of Payments of all IPPs and graph
d) Any Gas fired IPP’s detail of payments and graph
e) HUBCO year wise payments and graph
f) AES Lal Pir and Pak Gen year wise payments and graph
g) Impact of inflation, exchange rate and increase in RFO price
on Tariff
Pricing
in the De-regulated Electricity Sector – Envisaged Framework
for Pakistan
Hussain A Babur (Pakistan)
Electricity is a unique commodity since it cannot
be stored. As such a complex system of generation, transmission
and distribution adapting several physical laws of nature delivers
electricity to its consumers. The vertical electric power utilities
have been segregated and de-regulated. The worldwide phenomenon
has witnessed several market trading systems designed to deliver
electricity at its least cost while incorporating highest standards
of safety. Electricity industry as it is de-regulated has been subjected
to re-regulation. Several factors both technical and economic have
lead to the creation of regulators and markets for electricity.
A brief description of these economic models ranging from mandatory
power pools to bilateral contracts and ephemeral trading instruments
is presented.
The Pakistan Power Sector (PPS) is also
under transition in accordance with a Strategic Plan developed by
WAPDA for reform and de-regulation in 1992. The policy directions
that have shaped the power sector in Pakistan and the salient features
of these policies are briefly described. The development of power
markets and their expected benefits in attracting investment and
a fair return to capital providers is the corner stone of PPS reform.
The merit of the suggested market-trading model is discussed. The
instruments of regulation issued by NEPRA have sent the ball rolling
in the direction of electricity markets and to eventual competition
at the retail level. The NEPRA Act and Rules drive reform to competition.
Is competition possible in Pakistan in view of the IPP long-term
contracts, and the continuous declining financial health of state
owned electric utilities? At the conclusion an attempt to describe
the two basic systems that is merit order based or bilateral contract
models are discussed with an attempt to describe an energy-trading
framework that could be more suited to Pakistan in view of its unique
power sector characteristics and enabling legislation.
Electricity
Pricing in India – Past and Present
Girish Sant (India)
Present period is a watershed for the power sector in several Asian
countries. In India for example, for the last five decades electricity
was seen as a tool for development. Growth of the sector was based
on four pillars namely; budgetary support by government, self-reliance
for fuel and technology, centralized supply with grid expansion,
and cross-subsidy to ensure affordability. These policies are now
being replaced by, commercial borrowing and private capital, globalization
and liberalization for fuel and technology, encouraging distributed
generation and stand-alone systems, and shift to cost based pricing.
Electricity is seen as a commodity (a private good) resulting in
radical changes in tariffs for different class of consumers.
The
power sector restructuring, namely competition and open access,
is also resulting in newer form of segmentation of the society.
First, the large industry will gain access to market and the low
cost new generation. Their tariffs will decrease rapidly. Second,
the urban small consumers may not see immediate tariff change, but
may come under private monopoly companies. Their future depends
on how well the society can regulated these companies. The third
segment, the rural consumers, are already seeing rapid increase
in tariff and falling supply quality. The tariff will increase well
beyond the affordable levels and the usage level will depend on
how well government can subsidize these consumers. The forth segment
of rural un-electrified consumers will continue to remain disadvantaged
and ignored.
In final analysis, the large industry is now not willing to share
the high cost of low efficiency and bad contracts, which is resulting
in rapid tariff hike for poor consumers. Substantial increased subsidy
from government and quick increase in operational efficiency can
reduce the social upheavals during this period.
Women
Workers and the Changing Labor Markets
Women
at Work in Bondage Unfree Labour in Pakistan
Eli Ercelawn (Pakistan)
This note draws attention to situations of social
arrangements which compel the supply of labour for none or nominal
compensation or which tie labour to a specific employer. Women are
taken as the focus for obvious reasons. Lip-service aside, they
remain excluded from much advocacy and most policy interventions
even though women are a sizable part of unfree labour, and bear
additional burdens in South Asia. Sharecropping agriculture remains
the major sector for unfree labour. However, recent research shows
an increasing presence of forced labour in industry. An attempt
is made to contrast situations according to the degree of effective
and substantive bondage.
The issue is not market or non-market economy,
but rather a developmental or predatory state, and a humane or oppressive
society. The note illustrates that mitigation and relief from oppressive
working conditions is a feasible objective for both activists and
government, and even more urgent in a society and state that burdens
women as second class citizens. However, eradication depends upon
the broader political struggle for realising all fundamental economic
and social rights for all in a democratic society. The note draws
upon some research at PILER and much research done elsewhere. I
take credit for the presentation but shift blame for misleading
insights upon friends, in particular M Nauman and Karamat Ali.
Overview
of Ethnic, Religious, Political and Social composition and background
regarding the Status of Women in Sri Llankan Society
Gloria de Silva ( Sri Lanka)
This paper attempts to present a broad overview
of Sri Lanka’s ethnic, religious, political, and social composition
and background; the contradictions that exist regarding the status
of women in Sri Lankan society, and the reasons for those contradictions;
the history of violence and conflicts in the last 25 years, and
the mobilization of women around these issues of violence and conflict;
and the needs and gaps that must be addressed in mobilizing women
in building sustainable security and peace at local and national
levels.
I have tried to analyze the current situation
that exists within Sri Lankan society, in an attempt to bring to
the forefront some pressing needs and concerns regarding policy
and program formulation. I have also attempted to highlight some
of the misconceptions prevalent in the region regarding the status
and mind-set of Sri Lankan women, and to present the fact that the
involving of women in security and peace-building is not an activity
that should be confined to post-conflict situations. In the prevailing
climate of social and political violence, both in the private and
pubic sphere, it has become essential that women, who are so often
the victims and survivors of this violence, take a stand on bringing
about a state of non-violence by becoming key players in building
peace and security.
In conclusion, I have made some hopefully objective
recommendations based on my experience and work with women during
the past 10 years, in an attempt to transcend traditional thinking
in defining women’s roles in security and peace building.
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