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BEYOND THE PANDEMIC:  LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND

For every think tank, providing quality policy inputs through informed research, objective analyses and dialogue is raison d’etre. The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) is no different and its annual Sustainable Development anthology encapsulates all the areas on which SDPI has worked during the year and the key policy directions needed on national, regional, and global issues affecting Sustainable Development. Policy imperatives that have been the main impetus of all the chapters in this volume include (but are not limited to) the need to:

Develop a digital economy and a Digital Silk Road in Pakistan under a whole-of-government framework.

Adopt a robust public-oriented green policy to enhance adaptation capacity of vulnerable communities to prepare them for climate-induced risks.

Commit public sector financing to green infrastructure through robust valuation of biodiversity and climate risks.

Create a national ‘Social Protection Council’ & initiate social protections schemes around the inclusion and participation of local communities.

Improve food system resilience in South Asian countries through the digitalisation of food supply chains, social safety nets for farmers and better access to farm credit and storage facilities.

Add a chapter in the Constitution of Pakistan that provides a detailed explanation of devolving powers to the lowest tier of local government & reform the Local Government System so that voices of the marginalised are heard.

Re-envision nano and micro finance structures in urban and rural areas.

Focus on financial inclusion of youth for economic empowerment through skills development, vocational training, entrepreneurship support & political participation.

Invest in strengthening labour emigration and migrant protection policies to be able to respond more effectively to major external shocks.

Adopt a multistakeholder approach to make the public policymaking process gender inclusive.

Execute existing laws to tackle Gender-Based Violence rather than designing new ones.

Address policy gaps around issues such as violence & extremism through a multistakeholder engagement approach.

Implement the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).

Integrate intersectionality approaches in humanitarian response programmes to identify and support the most marginalised sections of society.

Have a broader focus on Research and Development (R&D) and joint learning through inter-country coordination to achieve the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT in the TIMES OF COVID-19

Jointly published by SDPI and Sang-e-Meel
To purchase a copy, please contact Ahmed Salim Resource Center at (051)2278134. 

Blurb : The COVID-19 pandemic took the world unawares with the developed, emerging and least developed countries equally prone to its contagion. But has it really been the ‘Great Economic Equalizer’ many have claimed? How has it impacted the last decade of action with regard to the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in South Asia? How has it affected different vulnerable groups such as students, small businesses, daily wagers, and sectors such as health, education, Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) in countries like Pakistan and India?

How did day-to-day social relationships change and what effects has that had on mental health and well-being? Most importantly, has the way nation-states govern changed from being economic-centric to becoming more human security-centric?

Vibrant nations turn challenges into opportunities. Have governments and businesses across the world, particularly in South Asia found new ways of working? What are the areas where Pakistan’s policymakers need to invest more to recover and improve? What are some of the best practices thought leaders need to focus on from the public and private sector to keep the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda on track, while ensuring economic, food, water, health, education, and human security for citizens?

The authors in this volume try to answer the above questions by specifically focusing on issues related to green policymaking; regional connectivity and collaboration; economic growth, social protection, healthcare; ICTs; education; water governance; and community resilience.

 

- Sarah Siddiq Aneel 

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Sustainable Development in a Digital Society

  

Published jointly by SDPI and Sang-e-Meel

To purchase a copy, please contact Ahmed Salim Resource Center at (051)2278134.

 

Book Blurb: The letter ‘e’ has become a significant addition to how we do business today: whether it is transferring money through e-cash or doing business through e-commerce; paying bills via e-banking; taking online classes sitting at home during COVID-19; accessing services and products through applications (apps) on the smart screens of our digital gadgets; or e-governance, the technological opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are endless, but so are, the perils. This anthology highlights that South Asia, in general and Pakistan, in particular needs to bridge the digital divide by bringing in communities at the peripheries of development into the cyber sphere. Advances in ICT, machine learning, biotechnology, AI, IoT and their convergence require well-thought, evidence-based hard regulation and soft policy initiatives. This also means a paradigm shift in public policy from a focus on efficiency-based skills to a knowledge-based skills model.

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Pathways to Sustainable Development

Jointly published by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Sang-e-Meel, it was launched at SDPI’s Eighteenth Sustainable Development Conference in December 2015. 

There is no shortage of publications and anthologies on sustainable development where academics share their research and policy proposals. So what could possibly make this compilation of essays, speeches and scholarly papers unique?

For the first time, in the history of our 68-year old country, this book has brought together the views, policies and ideas about sustainable development of the crème de la crème of Pakistan’s leadership – from the country’s sitting President and Federal Minister, former Ministers and a former State Bank Governor – with discourse of the country’s activists, economists, philosophers, journalists, and student researchers. It is this convergence, and sometimes clash of interesting, unusual and potentially transformative ideas between leaders in the echelons of power with practitioners and scholars that offer valuable insights into charting new pathways for bringing about positive shifts in South Asia that makes up the mix of this book’s chapters.

This volume is not constrained by national boundaries either. Climate change, development, ecological, education, energy, food, gender, health, planning, trade and water challenges from neighbouring Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal are juxtaposed with those in Pakistan, sub-Saharan Africa, European Union and Central Asia.   

It is here that we travel from regional to  local stories  – from the great Himalayan mountainous region to the Indus-Brahmaputra-Ganges Delta; from arid nomadic deserts to the Rhine River; from education challenges in a small district in Nepal to the struggles of the landless in  a village in East Bengal; from the efforts of women entrepreneurs in India to the barriers faced by women in Muslim societies due to gender inequality sanctified in religious tradition; from the economic impacts of post-2014 Afghanistan on bordering regions in Pakistan to the health threats to dental professionals. Each one singular and yet with a commonality of perspective: to make the world a fairer, better and more just place for the ‘enhancement of peace, social justice and well-being, within and across generations.’

 

Sarah Siddiq Aneel

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Jointly published by SDPI and Sang-e-Meel

This evidence-based anthology comprising of 16 thematic chapters is unique because it has something to offer people from all walks of life. South Asian Policy Makers, especially those within Ministries of Trade and Commerce, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Water, Power and IT, will find the book useful as it addresses the interface between economic and political agendas in building peace through regional cooperation on water and energy problems of South Asia and bilaterally as a whole. It also extends the discussion to include challenges and instruments that other dyads and regions have experienced and are employing to build peace. Local Government Officials can look at the more meso and micro realities that impact their economies, especially in terms of basic services delivery to citizens from Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh.  For Policy Practitioners in Pakistan, this book seeks to break from the common rhetoric and focuses the debate on what is possible economically and what is necessary politically to move discussions forward about education and languages.  For University Researchers, this book provides a tool box of examples that university lecturers on literature, gender studies, religion and climate change can incorporate into curriculum to broaden the scope of studies for students to more than just what is covered by Euro and Amero centric studies. Last but not least, South-based Students will gain a sense of what realities exist across the South and what has/has not worked for various regions - again, building capacity and directing a sense of vision as to what models are working and which ones need refinement.

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Jointly published by SDPI and Sang-e-Meel

Despite the intrinsically political nature of most sustainable development challenges facing the world today, most theories, deliberations, research and even implementation linking sustainability to development primarily follow apolitical and linear policy processes. Bringing together a range of subjects - from civil military relations, role of public and private sector in development, food and climate security, religious freedoms, and feminism after 9/11- this book ?Sustainable Development in South Asia: Shaping the Future? uniquely examines the reasons why national governments, together with international aid agencies, have been unable to provide real and binding solutions to the myriad of problems standing in the way of emerging South Asia economies.

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Jointly published by SDPI and Sang-e-Meel

Book Blurb

Over the past five to six years, there has been much debate, discussion and argumentation about the multiple crises the world has been grappling with, forcing governments and other institutions alike to critically evaluate systemic concerns linked to local, national and global institutions and structures. This book showcases research conducted by academics from the North and South that tries to provide unique and fresh perspective about how some of the challenges South Asia faces can be tackled using innovative, local and ‘redefined’ initiatives and ideas. The purpose of this book is to share the lessons learned, advice and recommendations from advocates in the field of economics, environment, public policy, social sciences and beyond.

Section 1 on New Directions in Energy Sustainability and Climate Change explores transformative advances in energy sciences given the complex challenges posed by climate change to modern technology requiring researchers to delve into unfamiliar territory such as hydrogen energy especially in a country like Pakistan. While fuel cells and a hydrogen infrastructure can together pave a sustainable energy future for the country, the state has to play a critical role in encouraging and funding R and D in alternative energy. The feasibility of bringing state forests under a community based, participatory institutional framework for effective management of forest resources for Uttarkhand State in Himalaya, India, is discussed at length in chapter two. The third chapter draws linkages between climate change and food security from the perspective of farmers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, and recommends establishment of food bank, knowledge sharing and investing in climate resilient agriculture.

Section 2 on Sustainable Livelihood Options and Local Communities first discusses the case of Sri Lankan fisher community and provides indicative insights into the tensions between local and migratory fishermen based on perceptions of inequality and identity, manifesting themselves in competition for a rapidly declining resource. The case identifies several creative and alternative practices for peaceful co-existence. The next two chapters on Nepal look at the political economy of existing land distribution in the country that has caused social exclusion, injustice, inequity and disparity leading to skewed power relations; and the inspiring story of remote Nangi village where installation of a wireless fiber (wi-fi) project has left remarkable impacts on lives of the local populace from online selling and buying portals; virtual educational classes to an operational tele-medicine clinic supplementing the lack of medical facilities in the village.

Section 3 on Readapting Forest Management deals with the historical and legal nuances of forest ownership in Swat district of Pakistan contested by both the state and the people. Based on archival record, statutory and oral sources, the paper calls for immediate and urgent action to resolve the crisis of ownership before it escalates into potential conflict. Highlighting Nepal’s community forestry model, the second paper in this section discusses five innovative interventions for implementing REDD+ including community based monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV); creating forest carbon additionality and permanence; establishment of a Forest Carbon Trust Fund; formalised distribution of REDD+ payment to local communities; and initiation of institutional and biophysical bundling.

Section 4 on Interrogating Religious and Gender Identities first traces the historical trajectory of a religiously and legally defined citizenry in Pakistan. It argues that Pakistan’s political elite instrumentalised Islam as a means of forging an all-inclusive national identity in a state marked with religious plurality and ethnic diversity, by creating distinctions between Muslim and non-Muslim citizens of the country. The chapter on Palestinian women’s movement recommends that the movement needs to find strategies that maintain the connection between achieving Palestinian national rights and women’s rights, which has the potential to create conditions conducive to reaching women in all sectors of Palestinian society, not just the elite and educated. For women to benefit from both collective and individual rights, stable democracy and economy as well as a robust civil society is crucial.

Section 5 on Integrating Policy Processes with Trade and Development first explores an empirical study of consumer welfare impact of SAFTA on Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It highlights the need of trade policy reforms at the regional level in South Asia in order to fuel growth of trade relationship, resulting in better trade facilitation measures, procedural ease and economies of scale in the transport sector, better returns and rents from investments in trade infrastructure and additional incentives for private enterprises to explore regional markets. The next chapter in this section shares finding of a Policy Community Survey that points out that while policy makers in South Asia have a positive view of the quality of policy making processes, research-based evidence is often hard to get, and its usefulness and quality questioned. The study suggests that think tanks should work to build more trust with policy actors in government, and ensure that their findings are easily accessible, relevant and hi-quality over time, in a region where post MDG development agendas continue to unfold in highly dynamic political, economic and social contexts. Through the lens of reflexive governance, the final chapter of this book focuses on the emergence of new kinds of institutions, strategies, processes and interactions in the local governance system in post conflict rural Nepal. It shows how differently positioned people enact, subvert, and resist local governance and development projects; and, how local governance transpires through ordinary people’s participation, networked arrangements and articulation of local state authority and civil-society.

Sarah S. Aneel

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Publishers: SDPI and Sang-e-Meel
Pages: 306
Price: PKR 1200

Peace and Sustainable Development in South Asia: The Way Forward, jointly published by SDPI and Sang-e-Meel, was launched at the inaugural of the Fourteenth Sustainable Development Conference in December 2011. The anthology consists of 12 peer-reviewed and edited papers that were presented at SDPI’s Thirteenth Sustainable Development Conference in December 2010.

The world has seen deep-rooted and relentless socio-economic or ecological changes over the last five decades. However, the global North and South are still a long way from achieving the objectives of just and equitable sustainable development. This anthology presents thematic research cases from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan which propose that since local communities often bear the greatest brunt of adverse financial and environmental changes, it is through them and their local institutions that mechanisms to deal with and integrate their concerns into policy making should come about.

Human beings have fundamentally altered the world’s ecosystems and the continuous escalation of greenhouse gas emissions is ever more likely to cause irrevocable and cataclysmic effects. Shafqat Kakakhel reviews the financing of climate change-related actions at COP16 and points out that developing countries acquiesced in the flawed framework contained in the Cancun Agreements, while Javeriya Hasan explores energy conservation by encouraging energy efficient ‘green’ buildings in Pakistan’s domestic sector.

Aneel Salman advocates for a shift in state-centric approaches towards mainstreaming, strengthening and empowering local institutions and communities to build resilience in combating Pakistan’s environmental and climate change challenges, while Prakash Tiwari proposes that in order to help backward communities in attaining economic growth and food security in the Himalayas, critical natural resources should be institutionalised at the grass-root level. Looking at agricultural land acquisition by foreign investors in Pakistan, Antonia Settle concludes that in order for meaningful development to be achieved, significant political participation must be fostered, which can only arise through substantial equality between citizens (to which land reform is mandatory) and access for all to quality education.

Faisal H. Shaheen suggests that more resources should be allocated in urban Pakistan to mobilising individuals and communities for initiatives such as rain water harvesting and storm water management. Badiul Alam Majumdar and John Coonrod share details of a unique social mobilisation programme about hygiene, sanitation and water supply in Bangladesh when traditional top-down, service delivery approaches fail.

The state of the environment and markets also depends on the peace and security situation within (and outside) a country’s borders. Bishnu Raj Upreti concludes that ethnic federalism is not suitable for Nepal’s multiethnic society where none of the groups are in majority, while Anita Ghimre believes that it is important to acknowledge the agency, heterogeneity and orientation of IDPs in South Asia so that they can be used as agents of sustainable development in the rural villages. Ayesha Salman shares the story of a Pakistani woman to highlight the devastation that can be caused by religious discrimination and emphasises that religious moderation can only come through early childhood education and awareness.

To obtain a copy of the book, please contact Ali Amer at aliaamer@sdpi.org

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Fostering Sustainable Development in South Asia: Responding To Challenges was launched on 21 December, 2010 at the occasion of Thirteenth Sustainable Development Conference . It is jointly published by the Sustainable Development Institute and Sang-e-Meel Publishers and has been edited by Ayesha Salman, Sarah Siddique and Uzma T. Haroon. The anthology has eleven chapters on a diverse range of topics authored by some of the most renowned names in their field such as Saba Gul Khattak, Lubna Chaudhry, Karin Astrid Siegmann and Bishnu Upreti. This anthology reflects a plethora of views and research findings expressed by scholars and researchers on the most pressing concerns faced by South Asia today. The dilemmas and difficulties faced by internal and external actors in ensuring pro-poor governance are pervasive and complex and require in-depth knowledge of issues that have been highlighted and discussed in great detail in this anthology.

The various layers that exist in the quest to unravel the multi-faceted nature of these issues is contextualised by the 6-F crisis that faces this region, that of food; fiscal; fuel; frontiers; functional democracy; and fragility of climate. This anthology captures the diverse opinions of the speakers and focuses on key issues, which are the foundation for positive change with regard to pro-poor governance and human security. The range of topics covered include the energy crisis, the financial crisis, food security, the problems and biases faced by researchers, climate change and women empowerment. The papers encourage and provoke thought and debate on questions such as how can the environment be made more sustainable when it comes to climate change and pollution? How can we make the best use of natural resources? What are the root causes of conflict and how can we alleviate this growing problem? How can food security be ensured? How can democracy be strengthened in order to face the challenges by South Asia? What role can education play towards sustainable development? How can education be improved in the country? Can women be empowered through the use of information technology? These and many other questions will be asked and solutions suggested in SDPI’s anthology in the hope that it will engender further discussion and spark positive change in ensuring sustainable development.

Peace and Sustainable Development in South Asia: Issues and Challenges of GlobalizationPeace and Sustainable Development in South AsiaJointly published by the SDPI and Sang-e-Meel, the latest SDC anthology was launched at the Twelfth Sustainable Development Conference on 21 December 2009. This anthology aims to familiarize the reader with various dimensions of sustainable development in the context of “peace and globalization”. The volume contains selected papers (after a thorough peer review and editing process), presented during the Eleventh Sustainable Development Conference (2008) of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). It addresses a diverse range of issues such as food security, climate change, natural resources management, cost of conflicts in South Asia, conflict resolution through trade, rewriting history, energy sharing, etc.

These papers are not just the reflection of the authors’ perspective but also carry in them the opinions of fellow panelists and conference delegates. The anthology reflects the mission of the SDPI, as a project of this organization; this is our attempt to bring together students and researchers, policy makers and donors, participants local and foreign, on one platform, to strive hard for strengthening and disseminating the independent research and voices of wisdom for sustained peace and development.


Publishers: SDPI and Sang-e-Meel
Price: PKR 1,200 — Pages: 399


 

Sustainable Solutions: A Spotlight on South Asian Research was launched on 1 December 2008 at the occasion of the Eleventh Sustainable Development Conference. The anthology comprises eleven chapters based on peer-reviewed papers presented at the Tenth SDC in December 2007. Publishing the anthology is a year-long process in which the papers go through a systematic review process and the ones that get approved are edited and published in the anthology.

The anthology deals with research on real life problems ranging from misconceived historical perspectives in South Asia, threatened livelihoods, policy-led disaster management, challenges and opportunities offered by trade liberalization and globalization, and the neglected role of women in coping with the challenges of non-sustainable development is presented to give the reader an idea of the complexity and interdependency of these issues.

Whether research can play a role in offering solutions to the challenges faced by sustainable development is a much-debated question. While some argue that the research-policy disconnect renders most research findings useless, others contend that the theory-practice disconnect is the reason for policy failure. Yet another school of thought believes that unless means of implementation are not clearly defined at the research level the policy is bound to meet failure. They feel that ensuring implementation is a policy formulator’s task, and s/he should identify the means to turn theory into practice.

It is in this context that policy researchers at the Tenth Sustainable Development Conference, ‘Sustainable Solutions: A Spotlight on South Asian Research’, deliberated not only the predicament of formulating the right research questions, but also took the opportunity to discuss the political economy of research itself, i.e., is it supply or demand driven? What is meant by sustainable development and who are its stakeholders? Why researchers are not able to diagnose the problems correctly or why after having diagnosed the problem cannot suggest the right solution owing to various socio-political and/or economic constraints.

This anthology aims at identifying the missing links in Sustainable Development for South Asia and proposes fillers for these. Questions addressed in this anthology include why benefits of globalization have failed to trickle down to the region\\\'s vast population and calls for a process of global economic integration that benefits the marginalized.

Based on seventeen chapters and three sub-themes: Gender and Human Security, the Economics of Globalization, and People\\\'s Rights and Livelihoods, the research papers look at channels that exclude women from access to resources, such as land, decent work, and human security, and suggest how these structures can be changed. Many sound ideas about tackling deforestation, compliance, sustainability and livelihoods problems in the fisheries sector have been proposed. This anthology digs below the surface of issues such as the connections between conflict in the public sphere and its intensification in the private sphere, of how globalization can benefit gender equality and women\\\'s empowerment in South Asia, and the role of trade and aid in peace and progress, and suggests steps towards change.

A collection of twenty-three research papers read at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute’s Eighth Sustainable Development Conference held in Islamabad, this anthology examines the multiple facets of sustainable development in the context of South Asia. Following five major themes-gender issues, livelihoods, WTO and governance, health and environment, and peace and human rights-academicians, activists and policy-makers from South Asia and other parts of the world, discuss issues of sustainable development in an era of globalization, and debate how these problems and issues can be dealt with effectively at various levels based on prior experience of successful policy intervention elsewhere.

The anthology is a joint publication of the SDPI and Sama Editorial and Publishing Services, Karachi. This is the seventh anthology being published in the series of Sustainable Development Conference anthologies.

This anthology results not simply from a selected set of SDPI conference papers but from a commitment to honor our friend and colleague, the late Omar Asghar Khan. Omar’s outstanding contributions to sustainable development and civil society in Pakistan are well known. We are all familiar with his courageous, principled stands on social and environmental issues, especially his support for the dispossessed, including the causes of labor, shelter, women, deforestation, large dams, and education. In his own words, “…the end for me is to see that our socio-political structures are made more workable, made more just economically and socially.” (personal interview, 2000).

The idea of putting together an anthology in honor of Omar Asghar Khan came soon after his untimely demise. Our challenge was to put together a regional conference to debate many of the issues for which Omar had created the space for debate and reflection through practical work at the grassroots level and policy work at the government level. Omar continues to live with us and through us because we share many of his ideals. While we continue to feel the void of his presence in our everyday lives as well as at critical junctures, Omar has not really died because his ways will continue to provide inspiration to many who are concerned with economic and social justice.

In this regard, the SDPI Conference was a befitting tribute and acknowledgement of Omar’s work as it explored the key questions: Does sustainable development open up possibilities of meaningful change in existing South Asian economic, political, and social structures? Many of the papers assert that these realities do not always compete with each other, nor are they contradictory. They demonstrate that despite its criticism, sustainable development agendas have engaged everyone—policy-makers and theorists—in all fields. This has led to the emergence of multidisciplinary approaches in researching SD and the pursuit of multi-pronged strategies for actualizing sustainable development. Such attempts have succeeded in some areas and failed in others. Given this picture, can civil society in the South negotiate the sustainable development paradigm to address the intersections of structural violence and conflict-generated violence, even as we seek effective initiatives to counter and survive this violence? How do we visualize sustainable democracy in the light of our lived realities, even as we rethink the linkages between development and trade?

This collection of essays, ranging from serious academic writings to think pieces and transcribed presentations is not a standard practice. However, we felt it was important to include voices even if they did not strictly adhere to a predetermined cod for such work. Thus the book has two major sections that address development issues from a Southern perspective. Indeed, this is a common thread running through them.

The essays are divided into two broad themes. The first concerns the environment sector specifically while the second focuses on broad social policy issues emanating from within and outside the region. Environmental issues are integral to the sustainable development agenda; as such they cannot possibly be divorced from economics and politics. The different subsections within this broad theme examine the environment poverty nexus, and issues ranging from forest policy, water management to sustainable industrial development and trade as well as the Southern concerns about international environmental negotiations.

The second theme, captured in the second section of this book, relates to broad social policy issues that impact the lives of people in South Asia. This section examines the dynamics of globalization, poverty, and their impacts on livelihoods, women, changing labor markets as well as the need for conditions of peace and a change in the mindsets of people. Such a change becomes critical if the violence that is part of South Asia’s everyday life and that also has complementarities in the processes of globalization has to be instituted. Without such changes and their complex interconnections, sustainable development would remain a dream.

The two-volume book results from the SDPI’s concern for translating specialized multi and transdisciplinary research into effective policy measures in the global South. For this purpose, SDPI organized its 6th Sustainable Development Conference titled, “Sustainable Development: Bridging the research/policy gaps in Southern Contexts,” in December 2003 where researchers, academicians, creative writers, theorists, activists and policy-makers from different regions of the world met in Islamabad to debate and discuss issues such as translating research produced in the third world contexts into effective policy for sustainable development, sustainable development as a question of reorienting research/policy connection, and claiming and putting value into the fragmented and disparate work that speaks to and about the third world.

The two-volume book is an end product of the above mentioned conference papers that were reviewed and approved for publication. The book was launched at the occasion of the SDPI’s Seventh Sustainable Development Conference on December 8th 2004 by Maj.(retd) Tahir Iqbal, Minister for Environment at the Holiday Inn.

This anthology results not simply from a selected set of SDPI conference papers but from a commitment to honor our friend and colleague, the late Omar Asghar Khan. Omar’s outstanding contributions to sustainable development and civil society in Pakistan are well known. We are all familiar with his courageous, principled stands on social and environmental issues, especially his support for the dispossessed, including the causes of labor, shelter, women, deforestation, large dams, and education. In his own words, “…the end for me is to see that our socio-political structures are made more workable, made more just economically and socially.” (personal interview, 2000).

The idea of putting together an anthology in honor of Omar Asghar Khan came soon after his untimely demise. Our challenge was to put together a regional conference to debate many of the issues for which Omar had created the space for debate and reflection through practical work at the grassroots level and policy work at the government level. Omar continues to live with us and through us because we share many of his ideals. While we continue to feel the void of his presence in our everyday lives as well as at critical junctures, Omar has not really died because his ways will continue to provide inspiration to many who are concerned with economic and social justice.

In this regard, the SDPI Conference was a befitting tribute and acknowledgement of Omar’s work as it explored the key questions: Does sustainable development open up possibilities of meaningful change in existing South Asian economic, political, and social structures? Many of the papers assert that these realities do not always compete with each other, nor are they contradictory. They demonstrate that despite its criticism, sustainable development agendas have engaged everyone—policy-makers and theorists—in all fields. This has led to the emergence of multidisciplinary approaches in researching SD and the pursuit of multi-pronged strategies for actualizing sustainable development. Such attempts have succeeded in some areas and failed in others. Given this picture, can civil society in the South negotiate the sustainable development paradigm to address the intersections of structural violence and conflict-generated violence, even as we seek effective initiatives to counter and survive this violence? How do we visualize sustainable democracy in the light of our lived realities, even as we rethink the linkages between development and trade?

This collection of essays, ranging from serious academic writings to think pieces and transcribed presentations is not a standard practice. However, we felt it was important to include voices even if they did not strictly adhere to a predetermined cod for such work. Thus the book has two major sections that address development issues from a Southern perspective. Indeed, this is a common thread running through them.

The essays are divided into two broad themes. The first concerns the environment sector specifically while the second focuses on broad social policy issues emanating from within and outside the region. Environmental issues are integral to the sustainable development agenda; as such they cannot possibly be divorced from economics and politics. The different subsections within this broad theme examine the environment poverty nexus, and issues ranging from forest policy, water management to sustainable industrial development and trade as well as the Southern concerns about international environmental negotiations.

The second theme, captured in the second section of this book, relates to broad social policy issues that impact the lives of people in South Asia. This section examines the dynamics of globalization, poverty, and their impacts on livelihoods, women, changing labor markets as well as the need for conditions of peace and a change in the mindsets of people. Such a change becomes critical if the violence that is part of South Asia’s everyday life and that also has complementarities in the processes of globalization has to be instituted. Without such changes and their complex interconnections, sustainable development would remain a dream.

The options for developing states appear to be dwindling as they try to find a way out of the maze of poverty, social insecurity, depleting resources, intense economic competition and tough global laws to protect the environment. Such a situation limits the possibilities for a very large segment of the world’s population from entering the next millennium with great expectations.

It is quite likely that endemic famine and misery which have targeted large areas on the globe during the present century, will also creep into the nest, and be probably much more widespread.

But this does not necessarily mean that the third world is doomed, in spite of the bleak scenario social scientists, agricultural experts, and planners have been painting. There are other prescriptions too, like biodiversity and population control.

To the Future with Hope, a collection of seminar papers that deal with answers to the challenges of tomorrow, opens a window on the world of possibilities for developing states to prosper without paying too heavy a price for it.

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