Sustainable Development Strategy
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
THE formulation of the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) paper is now facing hazards for a number of reasons. First of all, it was made the exclusive preserve of a department under the Ministry of the Environment. Thus, it is inviting charges as one that has been framed not with a border approach. This approach is important in order to ensure that real environmental considerations are not sidelined. There are also views that the strategy paper has bypassed very important issues such as the fast growth of the country's population that threatens its security in all respects. It is generally perceived as having avoided the traditional planning ministry that is better able under the given circumstances to make out a comprehensive plan with linkages between different sectors. Without such linkages, integrated efforts to serve the needs of sustainable development in diverse areas, are well-nigh impossible. For this purpose, Ministry of Planning has reportedly sent back the NSDS paper, with suggestions for its redrafting with additions and alterations under an appropriate agency of the ministry. The same appears to have the consent of the Cabinet as well.
The integration of the planning exercise is otherwise important in the context of Bangladesh because there are many conflicting sides to be considered and addressed simultaneously in planning for the longer term. One can cite here the case with poverty alleviation which is a common aspiration. But this goal has to be approached with a multi-sectoral approach. It does no good to lift people up from poverty to only let them slide down back again into poverty. This can happen for a number of reasons such as loss of purchasing power which again can be linked to inflation and unemployment, lack of governmental policies specially on the monetary and supply sides, insufficient social safety nets such as non-availability of different types of insurance to hedge people at the grass roots specially during natural disasters or man-made ones, etc. The planning process ought to incorporate all of these factors and much more, sector by sector, to facilitate the cumulative contribution towards poverty alleviation. Only from working and achieving targets in different areas, it should become possible to contribute to the main objective of poverty alleviation on a 'sustainable' basis without a reversal.
The Bangladesh economy has been growing at a pace of at least 5.0 per cent on average during the present decade. But this growth has not been an unmixed blessing. The relatively better economic growth in this decade has been also considerably at the cost of the environment. Sources of water, agricultural lands and natural habitats of different species of wildlife, have been contaminated and threatened respectively by a haphazard approach to industrialisation. So, this is creating the seeds of great problems for the future. But some of these problems of a formidable nature are already taking a heavy toll on people's health, life and living.
In this backdrop, the planning process needs to consider what strategies must be followed to keep on promoting high economic growth while maintaining liveable conditions for people and sparing them from spending on medical care and other needs resulting from a declining environment. This is no small a challenge for the planners as cheaply available production technologies are cost-efficient for producers and it becomes difficult for them to acquire much costlier environment-friendly technologies or processes and still retain their competitiveness. A solution to this dilemma must be found out so that it could lead to the best possible combination and adjustments of the interests of all sides catering to the requirements of the sustainable development objectives.
The integration of the planning exercise is otherwise important in the context of Bangladesh because there are many conflicting sides to be considered and addressed simultaneously in planning for the longer term. One can cite here the case with poverty alleviation which is a common aspiration. But this goal has to be approached with a multi-sectoral approach. It does no good to lift people up from poverty to only let them slide down back again into poverty. This can happen for a number of reasons such as loss of purchasing power which again can be linked to inflation and unemployment, lack of governmental policies specially on the monetary and supply sides, insufficient social safety nets such as non-availability of different types of insurance to hedge people at the grass roots specially during natural disasters or man-made ones, etc. The planning process ought to incorporate all of these factors and much more, sector by sector, to facilitate the cumulative contribution towards poverty alleviation. Only from working and achieving targets in different areas, it should become possible to contribute to the main objective of poverty alleviation on a 'sustainable' basis without a reversal.
The Bangladesh economy has been growing at a pace of at least 5.0 per cent on average during the present decade. But this growth has not been an unmixed blessing. The relatively better economic growth in this decade has been also considerably at the cost of the environment. Sources of water, agricultural lands and natural habitats of different species of wildlife, have been contaminated and threatened respectively by a haphazard approach to industrialisation. So, this is creating the seeds of great problems for the future. But some of these problems of a formidable nature are already taking a heavy toll on people's health, life and living.
In this backdrop, the planning process needs to consider what strategies must be followed to keep on promoting high economic growth while maintaining liveable conditions for people and sparing them from spending on medical care and other needs resulting from a declining environment. This is no small a challenge for the planners as cheaply available production technologies are cost-efficient for producers and it becomes difficult for them to acquire much costlier environment-friendly technologies or processes and still retain their competitiveness. A solution to this dilemma must be found out so that it could lead to the best possible combination and adjustments of the interests of all sides catering to the requirements of the sustainable development objectives.