| Seventh
Sustainable Development Conference
8-10 December, 2004, Holiday Inn, Islamabad
Troubled Times: Sustainable Development and Governance
in the Age of Extremes
Media Coverage December 9, 2004
December
6-7, 2004
December 9,
2004
December 10,
2004
December 11,
2004
‘South Asia Fragile Region with Environmental
Consequences’ Tahir inaugurates 7th Sustainable Development
Conference
The News, Rawalpindi/Islamabad
December 09, 2004,
South Asia is a fragile land where poor past practices
and policies have had environmental consequences. As we plan for
the future, we must all consider the impact of our environmental
activities on our continent. Federal Minister for Environment Major
(r) Tahir Iqbal stated this at the opening ceremony of the three-day
7th Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) organised by the Sustainable
Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Wednesday. Some 150
delegates from 18 countries are participating in this conference
that has brought together theorists, researchers, creative thinkers,
writers, activists, policymakers, academicians from across the region
and world to debate the second phase of globalisation - a world
that is ever more interdependent. Questions of governance and sustainable
development are being tackled at several inter-related levels: in
the contexts of purely third world; in terms of the relationship
with first world institutions; and, within and between third world.
The minister launched the book titled ‘Sustainable
Development: Bridging the Research/Policy Gaps in Southern Contexts’
at the plenary of SDC, and acknowledged SDPI’s outstanding
record of academic and scientific leadership in the area of sustainable
development. The book, he said, was proof of SDPI’s concern
for translating specialised multi- and trans-disciplinary research
into effective policy measures in the global South. The SDPI and
the Oxford University Press have jointly published the book.
Majar (r) Tahir assured that sustainable development
was at the heart of the government’s approach, with systems
and processes being put in at the highest level to enable us to
apply an integrated, whole-of-government approach to environmental
problems. "The ministry fully realises that the environment
is an equal partner to the triple bottom line, and so is doing everything
it can to ensure that it has a key place at the table in our government’s
decision-making," he said.
Dr Ashis Nandy from the Centre of Developing Societies
(CSDS), India, in a thought-provoking keynote address shared that
"South Asia is the only region in the world where most states
define themselves not by what they are but by what they are not
... the region can be called a collective of very reluctant states,
which are afraid to say that positive self-definition will take
them far." Dr Ashis discussed how the usage had frozen a cultural
region geographically and allowed the Indian state to hijack the
right over Indian civilisation, forcing other states in the region,
be they Pakistan, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, to seek new bases for
their political cultures and disown crucial aspects of their cultural
repertoire. Giving the example of Saarc, he said that when political
leaders talk of Saarc they have in mind a compact within the format
of the global nation-state, and not within the format of the cultural
system within which they have survived for centuries. This, he felt,
is the reason that leads to fear and paranoia of anything that might
push South Asia towards a people’s Saarc-free exchange of
news, books, information, ideas, literature, art, films and above
all free circulation of free thinking human beings.
Dr Saba Khattak, executive director of SDPI, welcomed
the community of likeminded thinkers, activists, intellectuals,
policymakers from all across the world, bonded not only by friendships,
humour, hope, shared experiences in different professional contexts,
but also by ideas and visions for a future. She shared how choosing
the conference theme had been both easy and difficult owing to the
frustration that despite complex debates about the situation on
the ground regarding sustainable development and governance nexus,
little had actually changed at the macro level, be it Vision 20/20
or the Millennium Development Goals.
"Given the neo-liberal economic policies
and political formations that have characterised the world recently,
where is the politics of the possible ... is it possible to solve
the issues that we face either in a segmented manner? Must we look
at everything sectorally? Or, is it possible to comprehend and resolve
issues in all their complexity? In deed, is it possible for us to
even lend some sense or logic to our dirty and sordid realities,
that have politics and contested histories, with no linear logic
running through them?" were few of the questions she posed.
The chair of SDPI’s Board of Governors and
former Wapda chairman, Shams-ul-Mulk gave an overview of SDPI’s
past, highlighted some of its current work and activities, and took
a brief look at the Sustainable Development Conference series and
its significance. He informed the audience about the Institute’s
strong research programme and its involvement in over 50 research
assignments in collaboration with regional and international partners.
He also highlighted SDPI’s raising awareness efforts on globalisation
and WTO agreements; farmers rights, discriminatory laws against
women, cement plants licenses, change of master plan of Islamabad,
Freedom of Information Act, Save Murree Hills initiative and curriculum
revision during the year.
Shams-ul-Mulk discussed SDPI’s involvement
in South-South as well as North-South partnerships and collaborations
with likeminded research institutions and academia, expressing how
such an approach was likely to have more credibility with the policy
community, especially where regional and global issues were concerned.
"North-South and South-South associations can help dispel misperceptions
and identify converging interests that lead to win-win situations."
Conference’s session on violence, displacement
and the issue of identity — 1947 was that ‘identities
change’ and to move forward as a democratic nation that prospers
through its relations with its neighbours, one needs to re-identify
ourselves. Both Ian Talbot and Pippa Virdee of Coventry University,
UK, signified the importance of commonality of the experiences on
both sides of the border and emphasised the need to focus on revealing,
class and gender as significant dimensions of the partition as opposed
to just religion. Ishtiaq Ahmed of the Stockholm University, Sweden,
pointed out that it was religion that continues to dominate the
political scene in both countries. "Maybe if we analysed our
histories in the context of communities as opposed to religious
groups, we would be able to work through our differences and abandon
the feelings of ill will that we have been harbouring towards each
other for so long," the panelists felt.
In the panel on ''Trade and Sustainable Development:
A Southern Agenda,' Dawood Mamoon from the Institute of Social Studies,
Netherlands, pointed out through his study that the processes of
international trade were negatively biased towards the wages of
unskilled labour as opposed to the wages of skilled labour. He warned
that this meant that human capital accrued through trade contributes
to exacerbate inequality, thus leading to welfare distorting outcomes.
Yousaf Haroon of PTCL Academy said that Pakistan
had liberalised its telecom sector but the issue of the digital
divide remained a bottleneck for access to necessary means of governance.
He blamed reduction in tariffs for putting more burdens on the domestic
industry and users. Shaheen Rafi Khan from SDPI argued that there
was a need for the South to develop an agenda for multilateral trade
negotiations such that a convergence between Northern and Southern
positions could be found. Dr. Khan analysed various agreements under
WTO and identified two principal negotiating premises for the South:
persisting with sustainable development and injecting realism in
their approach knowing that Northern MNCs were driven by profit
motives. The conference will conclude tomorrow (Friday).
Religion Continues to Dominate Indo-Pak Political Scene
The Nation, Islamabad
December 09, 2004
The three-day “7th Sustainable Development
Conference” commenced here Wednesday under, the aegis of SDPI
to discuss various aspects of sustainable development and governance
with leading international experts and share their views with the
policy makers. The Conference has brought together theorists, researchers,
thinkers, writers, activists, policy makers, academicians from across
the region and world to debate the second phase of globalization;
a world that is ever more interdependent. Questions of governance
and sustainable development are being tackled at several inter-related
levels in the contexts of third world; in terms of the relationship
with first world institutions; and within and between third "'World,
the conference was told.
Federal Minister for Environment Major (Retd)
Tahir Iqbal launched the book titled "Sustainable Development:
Bridging the research/policy gaps in Southern Contexts," at
the plenary session of conference. The book, he said, was proof
of Concern for translating specialised multi and trans-disciplinary
research into effective policy measures in the global South. In
his address, the minister for environment said South Asia is a fragile
land where poor past practices and policies have had environmental
consequences. As we plan for the future, we must consider the impact
of our environmental activities on our continent. He assured that
sustainable development was at the heart of the Government's approach,
with systems and processes being put in at the highest level to
enable us to apply an integrated, whole-of government approach to
environmental problems.
Dr. Ashis Nandy from the Centre of Developing
Societies (CSDS), India, in keynote address said that South Asia
is the only region in the world where most states define themselves
not by what they are but by what they are not. He said the region
could be called a collective of very reluctant states, which are
afraid to say that positive self-definition will take them far.
He discussed how the usage had frozen a cultural region geographically
and allowed the Indian state to hijack the right over Indian civilisation,
forcing other states in the region, be they Pakistan, Sri Lanka
or Bangladesh, to seek new bases for their political cultures and
disown crucial aspects of their cultural repertoire.
He said that when our political leaders talk of
SAARC, they have in mind a compact within the format of the global
nation-state, and not within the format of the cultural system within
which they have survived for centuries. This, he felt, is the reason
that leads to fear and paranoia of anything that might push South
Asia towards a people SAARC free exchange of news, books, information,
ideas, literature, art, films and above all free circulation of
free thinking human beings.
Executive Director of SDPI, Dr Saba Khattak, welcomed
the community of likeminded thinkers, activists, intellectuals,
policy makers from all across the world, bonded not only by friendships,
humor, hope, shared experiences in different professional contexts,
but also by ideas and visions for a future. She said choosing the
conference theme had been both easy and difficult owing to the frustration
that despite complex debates about the situation on the ground regarding
sustainable development and governance nexus, little had actually
changed at the macro level, be it Vision 20/20 or the Millennium
Development Goals.
The Chair of SDPI's Board of Governors and Ex-WAPDA
chairman, Shamsul Mulk gave an overview of SDPI's past performance
and highlighted some of its current work and activities. He also
highlighted the significance of Sustainable Development Conferences.
He also highlighted SDPI's awareness efforts on globalisation and
WTO Agreements, farmer's rights, discriminatory laws against women,
cement plant licenses, change of Master Plan of Islamabad, Freedom
of information Act, Save Murree Hills initiative and curriculum
revision during the year. He discussed SDPI's involvement in South-South
as well as North-South partnerships and collaborations with like-minded
research institutions and academia. North-South and South-South
associations can help dispel misperceptions and identify converging
interests that lead to win-win situations.
Conference's session on Violence, Displacement
and the Issue of Identity 1947 discussed that identities change;
and we should move forward as a democratic nation that prospers
through its relations with its neighbors, and we need to reidentify
ourselves. Both Ian Talbot and Pippa Virdee of Coventry University,
UK, signified the importance of commonality of the experiences on
both sides of the border and emphasised the need to focus on revealing,
class and gender as significant dimensions of the Partition as opposed
to just religion. Ishtiaq Ahmed of Stockholm University, Sweden,
pointed out that it was religion that continues to dominate the
political scene in both countries. If we analyse our histories in
the context of communities as opposed to religious groups, we would
be able to work through our differences and abandon the feelings
of ill-will that we have been harboring towards each other for so
long, the panelists felt.
In the panel on 'Trade and Sustainable Development:
A Southern Agenda,' Dawood Mamoon from the Institute of Social Studies,
Netherlands, pointed that the processes of international trade were
negatively biased towards the wages of unskilled labour as opposed
to the wages of skilled labour. Yousaf Haroon of PTCL academy said
that Pakistan had liberalized its telecom sector but the issue of
the digital divide remained a bottleneck for access to necessary
means of governance. He blamed reduction in tariffs for putting
more burdens on the domestic industry and users. Shaheen Rafi Khan
from SDPI argued that there was a need for the South to develop
an agenda for multilateral trade negotiations such that a convergence
between Northern and Southern positions could be found. Dr Khan
analysed various agreements under WTO and identified two principal
negotiating premises for the South: persisting with sustainable
development and injecting realism in their approach knowing that
Northern MNCs were driven by profit motives.
Collective Approach to meet Environmental Challenges
Needed
Dawn, Islamabad
December 09, 2004
In our mad lust for accumulating power and wealth,
we are killing each other both at individual and national level
without any regard for our future generations, Federal Minister
for Environment Tahir Iqbal said here on Wednesday. He was speaking
as chief guest at the inaugural session of a three-day 7th Sustainable
Development Conference organized by the Sustainable Development
Policy Institute (SDPI). "Troubled Times: Sustainable Development
and Governance in the Age of Extremes" was theme of the conference.
The conference has brought together theorists,
researchers, thinkers, writers, activists, policy-makers and academicians
from across the region and the world to debate the second phase
of globalization. "We have reached a critical stage where we
(countries) have to think collectively for sustainable development
of the world instead of following individual agenda to put breaks
to the relentless use of natural sources.
"Air and water pollution is a phenomenon
that does not know geographical boundaries between the countries,
and pollutants produced by one country may affect her neighbour,"
the minister said. The prediction by a number of environmentalists
that future wars between countries would be fought on water resources
should be a matter of concern for everyone present here that how
such probabilities could be stopped before happening, the minister
said.
"South Asia is a fragile piece of land where
poor practices and policies have had environmental consequences.
As we plan for the future, we must all consider the impact of our
environmental activities on this continent," Mr Iqbal said.
He also suggested the participants of the conference that instead
of mere discussing issues, they came out with certain practicalities
to be implemented by the governments. The minister also launched
a book titled "Sustainable Development: Bridging the Research/Policy
Gaps in Southern Contexts" on the occasion and acknowledged
the SDPI's outstanding record of academic and scientific leadership
in the area of sustainable development. The book, he said, was proof
of SDPI's concern for translating the specialized multi and trans-disciplinary
research into effective policy measures in the global south. He
assured that sustainable development was at the heart of Dr Ashis
Nandy from the Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS),
India, in his keynote address questioned the prevailing nation state
system in South Asia.
"South Asia is the only region in the world
where most states define themselves not by what they are but by
what they are not. The region can be called a collection of very
reluctant states," Dr Nandy said. Giving the example of Saarc,
he said, when political leaders talked of Saarc, they had in mind
the format of a global nation state system, and not the format of
the cultural system within which they had survived for centuries.
"They (leaders) fear that in a people's Saarc, South Asia may
be moving towards where people would be having free exchange of
news, books, information, ideas, literature, art, films and, above
all, movement at will of free thinking human beings."
Dr Saba Gul Khattak, Executive Director, SDPI,
welcomed the community of like-minded thinkers, activists, intellectuals
and policy-makers from across the world. The chair of SDPI board
of governors and ex-WAPDA chairman, Shamsul Mulk gave an overview
of SDPI's past and highlighted some of its current works and activities.
Tahir Urges Developed nations to Assist in Sustainable
Development
Daily Mail, Islamabad
December 09, 2004
By Adnan Rafique Minister for Environment,
Maj (retd) Tahir Iqbal Wednesday urged the developed nations to
help out the developing nations for putting in place a workable
sustainable development mechanism. “Developed nations must
express some practicality instead of just making promises as the
developing world is passing through a challenging era,” he
said, addressing the 7th Sustainable Development Conference. The
three-day conference on “Troubled Times; Sustainable Development
and Governance in the Age of Extremes” was organized by Sustainable
Development Policy Institute (SDPI) The minister said mankind was
passing through troubled times where human beings were killing each
others and were destroying the eco-system as well.
He called for preserving the existing resources
like water and other inevitables for the human beings and quoted
the example of water availability that had fast declined during
last few decades. Tahir Iqbal urged a cohesive plan spreading across
the globe to reach the destination of sustainability. He said, sustainable
development is at the heart of the government approach, with system
and processes now being put in at the highest level to apply an
integrated, whole-of-government approach to environmental problems.
“The Ministry fully realizes, the environment is an equal
partner to triple bottom line, and so is doing everything it can
while occupying a key place at the table in our Government’s
decision-making,” he added.
He said the government put sustainable development
principles into action, providing a solid foundation for sustainability
through our input into the country’s next Five Year Plan.
“This government has invested more resources than ever before
into environmental programmes and in next fiscal total spending
by the government on environment, will reach a record,” Tahir
said.
He said on its part the government has also decided
that no future project in the country will be launched without Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA). He observed, debates like this conference
and in- depth studies are essential for ensuring effectiveness of
current and future strategies to manage environmental governance.
In his opening address, Chairman Board of Governors SDPI, Shamsul
Mulk said, established in 1992 to implement the National Conservation
Strategy of Pakistan, SDPI is committed to the promotion of peaceful
and just development, within and across generations.
As the premier think-tank in the country, he said,
the SDPI’s raison d’etre is to provide advice to the
government and civil society on sustainable development issues.
He said the 7th Sustainable Development Conference will examine
the interface and relations between various dimensions of sustainable
development and governance.
Environmental impact of projects
must be considered: minister
Daily
Times Islamabad
December 09, 2004 Poor past practices
have taken their toll on the environment in South Asia, so consideration
should be given to environment concerns in all development projects,
Environment Minister Major (r) Tahir Iqbal said on Wednesday. Mr
Iqbal said this at the opening of the three-day 7th Sustainable
Development Conference (SDC) organized by the "Sustainable
Development Policy Institute (SDPI), here on Wednesday:
The conference has brought together theorists,
researchers, creative thinkers, writers, activists, policy makers
and academics to debate 'The second phase of globalisation - a world
that is ever more interdependent'. Questions of governance and sustainable
development are being tackled at several related levels, in the
context of the Third World and its relationship with First World
institutions.
The minister launched a book titled Sustainable
development: "Bridging the research policy gaps in southern
contexts', at the plenary session of the conference. He acknowledged
the SDPI's outstanding record of academic and scientific leadership
in sustainable development. The book, he said, was proof of the
SDPI's concern for translating specialised trans-disciplinary research
into effective policy measures. He said that sustainable development
was at the heart of the government's approach, with systems and
processes being put in at the highest level to enable the application
of an integrated approach to environmental problems. "The ministry
realises that the environment is an equal partner to the triple
bottom line and is doing everything it can to ensure that it has
a key place at the table in our government's decision-making,"
he said.
Dr Ashis Nandy from the Centre of Developing Societies
(CSDS), India, in a thought-provoking keynote address said South
Asia was the only region in the world where "most states define
themselves not by what they are, but by what they are not the region
can be called a collective of very reluctant states, which are afraid
to say that positive self-definition will take them far". He
said the Indian state had been allowed to hijack the right over
Indian civilisation, forcing other states in the region to seek
new bases for their political cultures and disown crucial aspects
of their cultural repertoire. "When our political leaders talk
of SAARC, they have in mind a compact within the format of the global
nation-state, and not within the format of the cultural system within
which they have survived for centuries, "Dr Nandy said, adding
that this was what had led to fear and paranoia of anything that
might push South Asia towards a "people's SAARC” which
had a free exchange of news, books, information ideas, literature,
art, films and above, all free-thinking human beings.
SDPI Executive Director Dr Saba Khattak
said choosing the conference theme had been "both easy and
difficult” owing to the frustration that, despite complex
debates about the situation on the ground regarding sustainable
development and governance, little had actually changed at the macro
level, be it Vision 2020 or he Millennium Development Goals.
Eco-system Being Destroyed, says
Tahir
Pakistan Observer, Islamabad
December 09, 2004
Minister for Environment, Maj (retd) Tahir Iqbal
Wednesday urged the developed nations to help out the developing
nations for putting in place a workable sustainable development
mechanism. "Developed nations must express some practicality
instead of just making promises as the developing word is passing
through a challenging era, " he said, addressing the 7th Sustainable
Development Conference.
Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
organized the three-day conference on “Troubled Times; Sustainable
Development and Governance in the Age of Extremes”. The minister
said mankind was passing through trouble times where human beings
were killing each other and were destroying the eco-system as well.
He called for preserving the existing resources like water and other
inevitables for the human beings and quoted the example of water
availability that had fast declined during last few decades. Tahir
Iqbal urged a cohesive plan spreading across the globe to reach
the destination of sustainability. He said sustainable development
is at the heart of the government approach, with system and processes
now being put in at the highest level. To apply an integrated, whole
of government approach to environmental problems.
“The Ministry fully realizes, the environment
is an equal partner to triple bottom line, and so is doing everything
it can while occupying a key place at the table in our Government's
decision-making," he added. He said the government put sustainable
development principles into action, providing a solid foundation
for sustainability through our input into the country's next Five
Year Plan. "This government has invested more resources than
ever before into environmental programmes and in next fiscal total
spending by the government on environment, will reach a record,"
Tahir said. He said on, its part the government has also decided
that no future project in the country will be launched without Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA).
Sustainable Development at the Heart of the Government
The Statesman, Peshawar
December 09, 2004
The Federal Minister for Environment Major (Retd)
Tahir Iqbal has said, sustainable development is at the heart of
the government approach, with system and processes now being put
in at the highest level to apply an integrated, whole-of-government
approach to environmental problems. He was addressing the 7th Sustainable
Development Conference on. "Troubled Times; Sustainable Development
and Governance in the Age of Extremes" organized by Sustainable
Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Wednesday. He said the
ministry fully realizes, the environment is an equal partner to
triple bottom line, and so is doing everything it can while occupying
a key place at the table in our Government's decision-making.
He said the government put sustainable development principles into
action, providing a solid foundation for sustainability through
our input into the country's next Five Year Plan.
The minister said the government has invested
more resources than ever before into environmental programmes and
in next fiscal total spending by the government on environment,
will reach a record. He said on its part the government has also
decided that no future project in the country will be launched without
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). He said the Conference has
brought together theorists, researchers, creative thinkers, writers,
activists, policy makers, academicians to debate the second phase
of globalization - a world that is ever, more interdependent.
The Chair of SDPI's Board of Governors and Ex-WAPDA
chairman, Shams ul Mulk gave an overview of SDPI's past, highlighted
some of its current work and activities, and took a brief look at
the Sustainable Development Conference series and its significance.
He informed the audience about the Institute's strong research program
and its involvement in over fifty research assignments, in collaboration
with regional and international partners.
|
December 09, 2004