South Asia’s handling of Covid-19 crisis portends a dire situation for the region’s response to climate change crisis

 South Asia’s handling of Covid-19 crisis reveals a dysfunctional regional cooperation mechanism to deal with the trans-boundary crisis implying a need for a revitalized regional cooperation to deal with the climate crisis, according to the experts in a virtual meeting organised by South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) in association with Biruni Institute, Afghanistan; Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh; Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India; Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan; and Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS).

They also emphasised that Covid-19 has diverted efforts away from climate action, which, if not corrected, will have devastating consequences for the region that remains highly vulnerable to the detrimental impacts of climate change.

On the occasion, former member of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr Prabhu Budhathoki highlighted that the current pandemic has made it crystal clear that the regional cooperation mechanism in South Asia does not function well at the time of crisis and hence our governance mechanism has to change, if we are to wage an effective fight against the climate change.

Likewise, deputy director general at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu Dr Eklabya Sharma, delivering the keynote speech, emphasised that South Asia, primarily given the significant presence of mountain regions, is one of the most vulnerable regions when it comes to climate change. “Higher population density and the presence of large number of impoverished populations exacerbate the vulnerabilities in the region,” Dr Sharma said, adding that the dire effects of climate change are already visible in the region in the forms of increased occurrence of floods, glacial lake outbursts, landslides, heat waves, and a general degradation of the ecosystem. He also warned that a sole focus on Covid-19 at the expense of climate issues is the biggest challenge confronting the region.

Citing Pakistan’s experience in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis and lessons learnt through it, chair of SDPI in Islamabad and former deputy executive director at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Dr Shafqat Kakakhel highlighted four key elements – resilience to deal with disasters; institutional arrangement for domestic, regional, and international coordination; identification of the most vulnerable communities and rapid dispatch of support to them; and effective use of information technology and social media to inform people – that South Asia has to strengthen to deal with climate change. Referring to the past regional mechanisms like South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP), Delhi Statement on Cooperation in Environment 2009, and Thimphu Statement on Climate Change, Dr Kakakhel mentioned that SAARC has had many initiatives to foster regional cooperation on climate change issues but poor implementation has rendered them inefficacious.

Research Fellow and head of Environment Economic Policy Research, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka Dr Athula Senaratne warned that Covid-19 impacts could crowd out the climate finance for several years and hence slow the developments that had gradually been building up in South Asia. He also pointed out that climate action is currently a peripheral issue in the region and until it becomes a mainstream issue we will not see effective collective responses to deal with the climate crisis.

“The current pandemic has highlighted the interconnected nature of global systemic risk and it has exposed significant vulnerabilities, including in food systems,” mentioned research fellow at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience of Coventry University in UK Dr Lopa Saxena. “To deal with the global crisis engendered by climate change, equitable, sustainable, healthy, and resilient food systems have to be developed, he said, adding that regional cooperation in local food production systems is vital for bringing about that change.

Discussing Bhutan’s successful response in containing the Covid-19 infections and managing socio-economic repercussions, dean of Academic Affairs, College of Natural Resource, Royal University of Bhutan Dr Tulsi Gurung emphasised the importance of leadership and governance in dealing with the crisis. “Addressing climate change would also require leadership that can unite citizens within the country and wage effective collaboration at the regional and global level,” he added.

SAWTEE – in association with other prominent think-tanks in the region – has been hosting a series of webinars from September 22 to October 16 to deliberate on various socio-economic aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic, how they relate to South Asia and what should be the future course of action for South Asian countries.

Post-2015 development agenda should focus on agriculture

Post-2015 development agenda has to focus on agriculture development, including increasing investment in agriculture, since it is the sector in which most of the poor people in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Nepal depend on, according to under secretary general and high representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, United Nations, Gyan Chandra Acharya.

"There is a need to mobilise national resources effectively, while emphasising that the developed countries have a greater responsibility in providing the much needed resources in the context that MDG 8 — global partnership for development — has remained one of the weakest areas," he said, addressing the 'High-level dialogue on Linking Istanbul Plan of Action with Post-2015 Development Framework,' organised by South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) here today.

Economic growth did not get enough attention while formulating the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as it had focused on human development more, he said, adding that MDGs that are due to expire in 2015 have been partly successful as some of the goals and targets have been met by many countries, including LDCs like Nepal. "The partial success of the MDGs needs to be appreciated."

The Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA), which takes a holistic view of LDC development, including building their productive capacity, needs to be taken into account while formulating the post-2015 development agenda, he said. "Post-2015 development agenda has to be more ambitious than the MDGs, and the issues set forth in the IPoA need to be integrated in them."

As the 2015 deadline for the MDGs is fast approaching, with the possibility of many of the MDGs being unmet by the deadline, progress should be accelerated and challenges should be prioritised, according to Acharya.

There are several initiatives going on at the national, regional and international levels to devise a development agenda for the post-2015 landscape.

With the core focus on poverty reduction, MDGs have been partly successful in that they have played an important role in getting countries focus on national development efforts and making development strategies more result oriented.

"However, the post-2015 agendas should address the MDGs weaknesses like flawed design and concept," said executive chair of SAWTEE Dr Posh Raj Pandey.

"The 'one size fits all' approach, ignorance of interdependency among the various goals, silence on distribution aspect, assumption of linear progress and outcome, and not fully reflecting national priorities are some of the lessons to learn despite, its simple framework with limited goals and targets that are measurable in many instances," he said, adding that the new development agenda should also address the emergence of new actors like assertive private sector, vocal civil society, and fast changing technology.

Devising the post-2015 development agenda offers an opportunity to contemplate on the strengths of MDGs to devise more inclusive development approaches for addressing the pressing development challenges, said executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dhaka Professor Mustafizur Rahman.

It is undoubtedly important for any such development agenda to further the progress made on the three pillars of sustainable development — economic development, social development and environmental sustainability — while keeping poverty eradication at its core.

Likewise, the issues pertaining to 'human capital formation' — like health and education — should be continued, while it is high time new issues, like 'technology' and 'migration' be given rightful space. "At the same time, it is important to cater to the special needs of the developing world, especially the rising South," he said, adding that when the MDGs were put in place, the voice of the South was very limited.

"But now that the world has undergone major shifts and that the global South has emerged as a strong power, learning from what did not work in the MDGs, the South needs to have a strong voice in the post-2015 development agenda formulation process," Rahman added.

He categorically argued that ending poverty rather than reducing poverty should be the goal of the post-2015 development agenda, and for that to materialise, apart from building on the MDGs, new and important issues such as the rights of migrant workers should also be included in the post-2015 development framework.

Chief guest of the programme, minister for home and foreign affairs Madhav Prasad Ghimire, said that the post-2015 development agenda should be open, transparent and measurable. "LDCs should be kept at the centre of the agenda and adequate resources to help them meet their development needs should be provided," he said, adding that LDCs should also be provided with additional and predictable resources to address the emerging challenges facing them like climate change.

The Istanbul Programme of Action for the LDCs was drawn up for the decade 2011-2020 during the fourth UN Conference on LDCs, held in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 9-13, 2011, and lists out the strategies for the sustainable development of LDCs.

The goals and objectives set-out by the IPoA focus on reducing vulnerabilities of LDCs by tackling the problems that include food security, energy, economic crises and climate change, with a strong focus on structural transformation through increasing productive capacity. It also aims at generating full and productive employment and decent work for all, particularly for the youth.