Poverty, vulnerability and sustainable development of Himalayan States

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Parvez Babul | Published: December 21, 2013 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

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THE world-acclaimed, anti-apartheid great leader Nelson Mandela, who recently left the world, very rightly said, "Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity; it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom."
Indian spiritual and political leader Mahatma Gandhi said that 'Poverty is the worst form of violence'. So, considering both of the quotes of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, we realise that 'poverty' is an unacceptable, unjustified, unnecessary condition of people, of whom, basic needs for food,  clothing and shelter are not being met in this civilised world.  1) Absolute poverty, and 2) Relative poverty, these two types of poverty occur in people's lives, when they cannot obtain adequate resources, and do not enjoy a certain minimum level of living standards determined by a government. Poverty is multidimensional.
World Health Organisation (WHO) mentioned that poverty is associated with the undermining of a range of key human attributes, including health. The poor, who are exposed to greater personal and environmental health risks, are less well nourished. They have less information and are less able to access health care; they thus have a higher risk of illness and disability. Conversely, illness can reduce household savings, lower learning ability, reduce productivity, and lead to a diminished quality of life, thereby perpetuating or even increasing poverty.
In fact, poverty itself is a fatal disease. Women are more in number who face poverty among the people in the globe due to many reasons that include women still have to fight to get their recognition as same human-beings as men! Women's contribution to all the sectors is intentionally ignored, unrecognised, misevaluated, and they are unheard. Women are excluded from benefiting equally from economic growth. Since the early 1990s, there have been only three women in employment for every five men. And the work women do is still more likely to be in sectors that are poorly paid and less secure.
Poverty and vulnerability, life-long enemy of more than one billion people of the globe including Himalayan regions and they have to fight against those silent killers without any means or tools! In fact, poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition, climate change, and gender inequality are cross-cutting issues and undeniable reality of a vicious cycle in the lives of millions of people of the Himalayan States. Research shows that most of Himalayan inhabitants, more than 210 million, are poor and depend heavily on the land and other natural resources. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan, these eight countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region are low-income, poor countries. So, we must act urgently with a sharpened focus on implementing effective policies in places where poverty remains entrenched, particularly mountainous areas.
Why mountains matter in global sustainable development  
In the Asian context, the mountains of the Hindu Kush Himalayas provide vital ecosystem goods and services to support livelihoods of more than 1.5 billion people in the uplands and downstream lowlands. The poverty rate is on an average 5% higher than the rate for the countries as a whole in the mountainous regions. The mountain environment is highly diverse and fragile. Mountain people are exposed to both environmental and non-environmental shocks, which can have serious implications for their livelihoods. Mountain regions of developing countries often lag far behind the economic developments of the lowlands, foothills and urban areas.
ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) and Government of Nepal organised an International Conference on addressing poverty and vulnerability in the Hindu Kush Himalayas: Forging regional partnerships to enable transformative change, on December 01-04, 2013, held in Kathmandu. This writer had the opportunity to attend the conference. After inaugurating the conference, President of Nepal Dr Ram Baran Yadav said, "Despite being rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge, the Himalayan region is also the place of extreme poverty and deprivation."
Sustainable development in mountain areas has often been a challenge and has not produced desirable outcomes. Document on Sustainable Mountain Development 'RIO (Brazil) 2012 and beyond' reads: Global sustainable development depends on mountain resources. Because mountains provide vital goods and services for the benefit of all humankind, for supporting sustainable development at a global level, and for moving the world towards a greener economy. But provision of these goods and services is at risk. The global community must act - a new agenda for mountain development is urgently required.
We should add here that the hilly areas of Bangladesh, like other countries of mountains, are badly affected by climate change, environmental degradation and also more food insecure. Bangladesh, as the most vulnerable country in the world due to climate change, must seek regional support and cooperation. We also need to work together with the Himalayan States to eradicate poverty and vulnerability, as well as to place our demands to the global body to fulfil.
Recently a meeting of the United Nations on post-2015 development agenda held in Bangkok, Thailand urged that the development community must work together to place statistical capacity building at the centre of the post-2015 development agenda to ensure that high quality data and information are available to people and governments to support more effective decision-making.  
Therefore, the discussants of the ICIMOD conference suggested that to ensure sustainable development of Himalayan States through eradicating poverty and vulnerability, comprehensive sustainable development strategies are the demands of time. That strategies must address environmental sustainability and environment vulnerability assessment; mountain technology development; role of public sector, civil society, and private sector; member states-driven process; forging new global partnership and powerful regional partnership; principles of sustainability as the principles of resilience; initiation of institutions led and governed by the women; planned urbanisation with sanitation facilities; range of intervention exploration; good governance; people's right to lands, and legal right to work; important role of States to play; making markets work for women of the mountains; reach the hard-to-reach including women and indigenous people of the mountains; transforming migration into choice rather than challenge for mountain communities; encourage  more contribution of civil society, development partners and donors to must be a part of the governments to greatly contribute to sustainable development. And leave no one, and never behind; because, sustainable development demands inclusion of all.
The writer is an author and journalist. E-mail: parvezbabul@gmail.com