Policy Recommendations

Key Policy Recommendations
KEY POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
SDPI’s Twenty-fifth Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) &
Sixth South and South-West Asia (SSWA) Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals “Sustainable Development in Unusual Times: Building Forward Better”
5 – 8 December 2022

 
Geopolitical Conflicts: Implications for Pakistan’s Geoeconomics
  • It is important for the Government of Pakistan to reposition its stance on geoeconomics and geopolitics and put greater emphasis on regional connectivity through planned development partnerships.
  • The country needs to move towards clean energy transition and work towards exploiting its blue economy potential in order to access unexplored markets as well as promoting exports, specifically in Information Technology, agriculture, and biotechnology.

 
6th SSWA SDGs: Way Forward
  • South-West and South Asia must join hands for regional cooperation and development to combat the challenges they are facing in achieving the SDGs, including inclusivity of marginalised and vulnerable communities, tackling poverty, climate change, hunger, and disease.
  • Regional cooperation and collective decision-making in terms of climate action, cross- border connectivity, trade cost reduction, and bridging the financing gap, is a cornerstone for South & South-West Asian Countries to help mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.
  • Furthermore, there is a need to build technical capacities in the areas of crop management, water conservation, infrastructure building, and energy transitions for sustainable development in the SSWA region in the future.
  • Collective decision-making regarding regional cooperation at local, provincial, and federal levels in the implementation of SDGs would promote policies and dialogue at the national and sub-regional level.

 
Can National Trade Policies Help Mitigate the Climate Challenge?
  • Pakistan is one of the most energy-dependent economies in the world. To reduce dependence on energy, technological interventions need to be made to move towards renewable energies instead of using conventional energy methods in production processes which improve cost-efficiency whilst focusing on gender-based equity in policymaking and implementation.
  • There is a need to improve coordination between the federal ministries, provincial and local governments to plan and implement policies effectively to mitigate climate challenges through an integrated approach.

 
Central Banking for Inclusive Development
  • Monetary policy has heterogeneous effects on different segments of society, therefore, central banks need to move away from their conventional role towards inclusive central banking and promoting inclusive development.
  • To expand research and discussion on interactions between monetary policy and issues of public policy, such as poverty and inequality, the State Bank of Pakistan must set up SBP Chairs in policy think tanks of the country. This will help bridge monetary policy communication and literacy gaps in country.
 
The Political Perspective in Urdu AapBeiti (Autobiographies)
  • Freedom of expression must be given to writers to talk about any social issue and to do so through their work.
  • Literature should not be bound by political interference nor gender discrimination.

 
Strengthening Climate Diplomacy in South Asia: Together for Implementation
  • All South Asian countries are equally vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Therefore, there is need for cooperation between governments of the region, multilateral parties, and civil society, as regional cooperation plays a pivotal role in improving climate diplomacy.
  • Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) can play a significant role in the implementation of climate change policies and negotiation. Therefore, the private sector should be engaged in regional and international dialogue forums (such as the Conference of Parties- COP).
  • To ensure sustainable water and ecological security, ecosystem- based adaptation must be encouraged by policymakers.

 
6SDGF Session1: Sub-regional Overview of Progress on SDGs: Challenges and Prospects
      Partnerships and collaborations for technological, financial, and knowledge-based transfers are essential for the achievement of SDGs and for fostering efficiency in policy implementation in the health, education, social, and energy sectors.

 
6SDGF Session 2: National SDGs Progress and Challenges in the Context of COVID-19: Reflections on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) in South and South-West Asia (SSWA)
       Real dialogue occurs in classrooms and communities. Hence, SDGs ought to be made part of national curriculum.

 
Sub-regional Perspectives & Review of Cluster of SDG Goals (6, 7, 9 and 11)
  • South and South-West Asian countries have similar vulnerabilities. Therefore, regional cooperation is key to finding solutions to the socioeconomic challenges of the region, particularly climate change, hunger, malnutrition, promoting quality education, decent work for youth, and ensuring equitable access to health.
  • Urban environmental degradation has become a major problem for all small and major cities of South and South-West Asia. There is a need for horizontal and vertical collaboration for increasing access to clean water, improving sanitary systems, developing efficient data collection mechanisms at the local level tiers, greater public and private financing, technological innovation, and implementation of efficient Energy Management Systems for the vital transition towards cleaner, greener, and more sustainable cities and communities.
6SDGF Session 7: South and South-West Asia Perspectives and Partnerships on Delivering the SDGs through the Food, Energy and Finance Nexus (SDG 17)
      Countries in South and South-West Asia need to think of adopting innovative solutions and practices, cross-border cooperation and move towards adopting renewable energy resources, utilisation of smart technologies, collaborative trade partnerships, reducing trade barriers, and integrated agriculture with renewed focus on sustainable practices for climate-smart agriculture, resource conservation to boost the economic potential for delivering on SDGs as well as improving energy and food security.
 
Building Resilience through Community Engagement
  • Lack of communities’ knowledge, awareness of participatory decision-making and formal development processes, as well as confusing engagement processes are the key barriers to citizen engagement. Therefore, communities need to be capacitated in these areas.
  • Pakistan’s early warning system is linear and this needs to be amended so that communities and the authorities can communicate and share data with each other.
Adaptive Social Protection
  • BISP, as an overarching, social protection umbrella, must lead the transition towards adaptive social protection system in Pakistan.
  • Lack of precise risk assessments is one of the key challenges posited by preparedness towards Adaptive Social Protection. Proactive capacity building in this area needs to be undertaken.
  • Pakistan’s social protection projects are largely dependent on funding which makes them unsustainable. Therefore, the government needs to explore financing avenues to make the programme sustainable and not funding-oriented.
  • The current situation demands moving from an individual-level approach to a community-level approach and increased focus on intended results rather than devising tools for policy implementation for strengthening social protection mechanisms.
  • Safety nets are necessary, and a holistic Social Protection System is a need of the hour. Furthermore, work-based social protection programmes should be promoted by the government.
  • NSER data should be made mandatory for selecting beneficiaries for NGOs to improve the impact of Social Protection Programmes.

 
Emerging Challenges in Health Policy: Multifaceted Case of Rare and Neurological Disorders in Pakistan
  • To ensure financial stability in the health sector, the government should encourage Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to attract investment opportunities from national and international donors, especially in the field of rare and neurological diseases.
  • There is a need to develop designated research facilities in medical universities for extensive research on neurological and rare diseases. That will help in diagnosis, treatment, and creating awareness about rare diseases.
Transforming Food Systems to Meet the Emerging Challenges to Food Security
      There is need for cooperation between academia, civil society, government institutes, and research organisations for efficient food management throughout the value chain. Capacity building is needed for the farmers to understand the consumption preferences of their target consumers and diversify their production accordingly to reduce biodiversity loss in the food and agriculture.
 
 
Perspectives on Community Resilience to Counter Violent Extremism
  • With no proper framework for a counter-terrorism policy, it appears that Pakistan’s success against terrorist groups will remain limited. The need is to formulate a concrete counter-terrorism policy encompassing all the essential tools, a roadmap, and an implementation mechanism.
  • A people-centric approach is essential for countering violent extremism in a society, the top-down approach to CVE remains invalid until the community is involved in the process. Therefore, it is necessary to engage communities in formulating CVE-related policies and decision-making.
 
Closing the Loop - Policy Solutions for Achieving SDG 12: Ensuring Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns
  • Pakistan needs to conserve its water and energy resources because their availability will become a serious issue in the future. The government should incentivise companies that are efficiently using these resources and adapting to global environmental standards. This will help encourage other companies to adopt such measures.
  • To adopt a circular economy that brings waste back into use, role of the private sector is very crucial as it has the potential, tools, and imagination in this regard. Therefore, the private sector should prioritise relevant sectors and devise short-, medium-, and long- term plans to adopt a circular economy approach.
Agenda Setting for Social Dialogue on Decent Work in Pakistan
      The absence of labor conventions and data availability are key issues due to which the informal sector remains largely unexplored in Pakistan. Therefore, evidence-based labour policies within an enabling governance structure need to be designed. More awareness and dialogue is required when it comes to the role and rights of women in the workplace as well since this remains an ignored subject.

Strengthening Means of Implementation to Advance Progress on the SDGs: Financing for Development
      Financial markets tend to thrive in stable macroeconomic environments. Greater public spending, savings, and provisions to reduce debt pressure can improve financial market outcomes. Revenue mobilisation by leveraging technology, targeted fiscal transfers, and subsidy schemes can provide opportunities for improvement in financing for development.

Making Local Governments In- charge of Social Services Delivery
      Removing barriers to the political representation of women, merit-based hiring, and ensuring accountability will improve the efficiency of local governance.
 
Floods in Pakistan - Bringing Local Perspective through International Humanitarian Organisations
      Local CSOs and NGOs played a major role in helping the government deal with the fallout of Pakistan’s super floods. However, contingency planning to foster national/local support needs to be focused on. If we want international NGOs to remain active in the country, transparent mechanisms for their smooth operation need to be developed along with improving the security situation. It is high time that we made disaster management an integral part of urban planning to rehabilitate those affected during times of crisis and disasters.

 
Green Financing for Clean Energy Transition in Pakistan
      Given the exponentially increasing cost of climate change, Pakistan should establish a green financing system, define green taxonomy and invest in mitigation and adaptation infrastructure, particularly for low- income and vulnerable communities. In this regard, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Climate Change must also synergize their efforts to adopt green financing as a tool to ensure the sustainability of the banking sector and enable de-risking mechanisms to protect associated green assets.

Gender-specific Barriers to Trade: Leveraging Market Access for Women-in-Trade
      The government should work with women’s chambers, trade associations, and corporate offices to formulate gender-inclusive policies and provide a conducive environment to female entrepreneurs to expand their businesses and access finance and help them connect with emerging economic opportunities and potential buyers.

Afghan Refugees and Migrants: Humanitarian Response in Pakistan
  • Pakistan has hosted one of the world’s largest refugee populations for a quarter century but there remains a huge void regarding the legal status of refugees in the country. In this regard, the government should sign the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the subsequent 1967 Protocol; and reform national legislation to eradicate the legal vacuum to protect the basic rights of all refugees, especially the Afghan population.
  • Academia and policymakers should collectively build a narrative to see refugees as a non-security challenge.
Have GSP+ and FTAs improved Pakistan’s Trade Competitiveness?
      Pakistan needs a paradigm shift in the textile sector by advancing the production of synthetic garments to increase its market share in EU Markets, which requires significant investment in both finance and technology as well as reduction in import duties on raw materials.

Impact of Tobacco on Environmental, Climatic, and Ecological Degradation: Challenges for SDGs in LMICs
  • The enforcement of tobacco laws is only possible if they are coupled with awareness campaigns to change mindsets by highlighting its harmful impacts. Engaging youth in relevant policy frameworks may help in reducing the catastrophic impacts of tobacco on health, lifestyle, and behaviour.
  • Creation of viable economic alternatives for farmers is essential to discourage them from tobacco production.
Migration in Post-COVID South Asia
      To promote decent work in Pakistan, the government should ensure the implementation of the minimum wage limit on priority basis.