Mutual
co-operation among South Asian countries is essential to address issues such as
climate change, poverty elimination, gender inequality and other related
problems, the author of ‘Redefining Sustainable Paradigms of Development in
South Asia’ maintained.

He
asserted that greater co-operation at state level was also crucial for quick
economic development and removal of intra-regional trade barriers. The book was
jointly published by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and
Sang-e-Meel. The book consist of peer reviewed papers presented at the SDPI’s
Fourteenth Sustainable Development Conference.

The
book maintained that over the recent decades, the region had become a food
surplus zone, but still majority of children and women in the region were
suffering from malnutrition. The quantum of trade among regional countries was
too low because of different trade barriers, protectionism and distrust, it
said. It also maintained that a boost in intra-regional trade could address the
issue of food insecurity to a great extent, if governments of regional
countries allowed a more liberal trade regime.

Discussing
the economic cost of non-co-operation in the region, the book said that results
showed an aggregate minimum consumer welfare gain of more than $1.9 billion per
annum in the region by way of savings on aggregate consumer expenditure.
Besides, deepening poverty and negative effects of climate change further
destabilised the regional economies, plunging them into a food security crisis.

With a rise in global temperature, natural calamities such as recurring
droughts and floods had become routine. South Asian countries, it said, were
still far behind in hunger reduction than other developing countries. Bilateral
initiatives were necessary to tackle issues such as climate change and
intellectual property rights. Highlighting the need for shifting towards the
use of renewable energy, the book said that many developed nations and
developing countries such as China and India were already effectively using
renewable energy resources.

Pakistan,
the book said, had no other option but to invest heavily in the renewable
energy sector, adding that it was also vital for overcoming the current energy
crisis. The book showcases research conducted by academicians from the North
and South, besides presenting a unique and fresh perspective on lessons
learned, advice and recommendations from advocates in the field of economics,
environment, public policy, and social sciences.

On
Readapting Forest Management, the book deals with historical and legal nuances
of forest ownership in Swat district of Pakistan contested by both the state
and the people. On Interrogating Religious and Gender Identities it first
traces how political elite instrumentalised Islam as a means of forging an
all-inclusive national identity in a state marked with religious plurality and
ethnic diversity and the historical trajectory of a religiously and legally
defined citizenry in Pakistan.

The chapter on Palestinian women’s movement deals with maintaining the
connection between achieving Palestinian national rights and women’s rights to
create conditions conducive to reaching women in all sectors of Palestinian
society. On Integrating Policy Processes with Trade and Development, the book
first explores an empirical study of consumer welfare impact of Safta on
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The next chapter shares
findings of a Policy Community Survey and the role of policy makers and
think-tanks in research-based evidence, usefulness and quality of policy making
processes. The final chapter of the book focuses on the emergence of new kinds
of institutions, strategies, processes and interactions in the local governance
system in post conflict rural Nepal.