SAARC and regional security

By MOHAN LOHANI

The eleventh SAARC summit that was successfully hosted by Nepal has not only brought this country a sense of relief but has also boosted its international image. Needless to point out, the gap between the Kathmandu summit and the tenth summit that was held in Colombo in July 1998 was disappointingly long, despite the Charter provision that the summit should be annually hosted by a member state on a rotation basis. There were misgivings after the December 13 terrorist attack on the Indian parliament that the eleventh summit might be further delayed once again. This was not the case to the satisfaction of all concerned, and host country Nepal received Kudos for its home
work and preparations in terms of logistics, security, substantive agenda and, above all, traditional hospitality for which this country is noted.

It is too early to assess that the Kathmandu summit has achieved and what it has failed to achieve. The summit’s 54-point declaration is a consensus document that reflects views and measures of common concern to the region. A few hours after the summit closed by adopting and issuing a declaration, this writer was asked by Andrew Whitehead of BBC World Service to evaluate the outcome of the summit. I described the summit as a success, despite growing tensions between the Association’s two major member states, India and Pakistan. Whiterhead wondered whether South Asia could transform itself into a free trade area, given the degree of continued hostility that characterised the Indo-Pak relations. I drew Whitehead’s attention to paragraph seven of the declaration in which the South Asian leaders, who have recognised the importance of achieving a free trade area and reaffirmed that the treaty regime for creating a free trade area must incorporate binding timeframes, have directed the Council of Ministers to finalize the text of the Draft Treaty framework by the end of this year. I reminded the BBC correspondent that the summit declaration is an expression of political commitment and cannot be brushed aside as a scrap of paper. There is no reason to doubt that the SAFTA treaty will not be finalized by the end of this year.

Having said this, it must be admitted that the effective implementation of the declaration depends on the willingness of all member states to work together and cooperate meaningfully in the true SAARC spirit of partnership, for the realization of goals and objectives that gave birth to the regional organisation sixteen years ago. SAARC, since its inception, has sought to exclude bilateral disputes and contentious issues from its formal deliberations. There is ongoing debate over whether regional cooperation can move forward at an accelerated pace on a sustained and predictable basis by shutting our eyes for long to political conflict, differences and bilateral disputes. While President Musharraf of Pakistan in his address to the eleventh summit called for discussion on bilateral issues at SAARC’s formal meetings, PM Vajpayee of India spoke against this position as it would violate the SAARC Charter and go against its spirit. The Indian Prime Minister, however, emphasized the need for further expanding the areas of economic cooperation and their effective implementation. Since poverty is a common formidable foe of the region, India has offered to host the first meeting of the reconstituted South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation. Poverty alleviation is, thus, in the forefront at the national and regional level as well.

Because of divergent security perceptions of member states in the region, regional security has never dominated the SAARC agenda as a subject of common concern. As expected, there is a passing reference to regional security in the Kathmandu declaration. Paragraph 31 under the sub-heading "International Political and Economic Environment" reiterates the view of the Heads of State or Government in a single sentence, "stability, peace and security in South Asia should be promoted together with efforts to improve the global security environment." One can understand the sensitive dimension of the regional security environment, but that the security environment in South Asia remains volatile and precarious is an accepted reality. While the scene of PM Vajpayee and President Musharraf shaking hands a couple of times during summit deliberations in Kathmandu pleased many including some world leaders, even the common people in South Asia and elsewhere were painfully aware, and remain so, of the massive military buildup on the Indo-Pak border. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, it many be recalled, was already in Bangladesh before the summit opened in Kathmandu on the first leg of his South Asian visit, particularly to India and Pakistan, with a view to urging the leaders of these countries to avoid war and defuse tensions through political dialogue. President Bush was equally concerned and remained almost in constant touch on hot line with the Indian and Pakistani leaders in his efforts to de-escalate the conflict between the two South Asian adversaries which have joined the global coalition against terrorism after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

The US needs both India and Pakistan to successfully accomplish its operation against the prime terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden and his dreadful Al Qaida network. In pursuit of the American initiative to defuse tensions in South Asia, including the withdrawal of the troops from both sides of the Indo-Pak border, US Secretary of State Colin Powell is scheduled to visit both India and Pakistan this week. Powell’s two-day visit to Nepal is now officially confirmed, and a great deal of significance is being attached to this high-level visit which is taking place in Nepal after 30 years. Nepal, apart from the fact that it has successfully hosted the 11th SAARC Summit, and is currently chairperson of the regional organisation, has strongly condemned the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the US. During Powell’s visit, the Bush administration is expected to sympathetically consider Nepalese concerns with respect to trade, particularly quota free access for our products to the American market, foreign private investment in employment generating industries, including power generation and development aid. The US knows that Nepal has had to divert a big chunk of its development budget for security purpose.

Some significant steps have been taken to ease rising Indo-Pak tensions as evidenced by President Musharraf’s address to the nation last Saturday. The Pakistani President has categorically stated his resolve to ban five Islamic militant organisations including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad and other extremists engaged in fomenting religious and communal terror and violence. India has cautiously welcomed the announcement as an important step and urged Pakistan to follow its statement with concrete action. According to media reports, Pakistan has already arrested hundreds of militants and raided their homes and offices. While cross-border terrorism is India’s overriding concern, Pakistan is anxious to assure the Kashmiri militants that the right of the people of Kashmir to self-determination has not been compromised or shelved on the back-burner. The lingering dispute over Kashmir certainly needs to be resolved through peaceful negotiations. Since both India and Pakistan are countries with nuclear capabilities, it is all the more necessary for bilateral disputes to be thrashed out peacefully so that SAARC becomes a vibrant, dynamic and effective organization capable of realizing its common objectives, fulfilling its agreed commitments and guiding South Asia towards transforming itself as a region of peace, progress, prosperity and stability.

A page from another age

By CHAMAN RANJIT

I was sitting at a corner coffee shop waiting for my friend. I had just finished a coke and put the bottle aside.

Out of the blue a little ragged boy, about 10 yea-old started ransacking the coffee shop dustbin. Behind him were 3 or 4 other ragged little kids smaller than he was. There was also a little girl who was about 5 year-old. She just stood on the pavement waiting innocently. The bigger of the boys found some coke left over in a bottle and rushed over to the little girl and gave it all to her. Then he went back to his search for something else for his sister who too was patiently waiting.

While all this was happening I just sat and stared at what was going on. The oldest of the lot saw that I was paying attention so he jumped at the opportunity of getting something. He asked me to buy him a coke. Of all the things in the world, he chose a coke for him and his left-over family. I asked him about his parents which he knew nothing of. He was living with an aunt who was currently begging at Pashupati Nath. The children were left to her care. Just then one of the little boys took my coke bottle and drained off whatever was stuck to the sides. The older boy spotted a tattoo of a watch that came from a packet of chicken crackers. He asked for it. I obliged because I didn’t have much more to give. He instantly turned over to his sister and tattooed the wristwatch on her tiny arm.

I cannot believe the depth of tenderness and affection that this little boy had for his little sister. It is amazing that a bond can last like that when you have to struggle to keep yourself alive. I could see that his younger brothers meant nothing to him compared to his sister. Again he asked for a coke. I sat and thought for a while. I could buy him a coke; actually I could buy all of them a coke. You don’t see affection like that everyday. But, it wouldn’t be nice to have a bunch of street kids drinking coke in front of a coffee shop.

And I couldn’t take these kids back home with me afterwards and give them a warm meal, like in a storybook. The only thing that I could do was to give them any change that I had and tell them to stay out of trouble.

Just then the oldest kid asked me for five rupees to go and drink some tea. I gave him ten and told him to take care of his sister and brothers. He went off around the corner, moderately pleased.

Now I am sitting at home in the warmth of my room while those kids are probably huddled up together in some street corner. I could’ve lit up their spirits for a while if I had given them what they asked for. If I ever meet them again, that is exactly what I will do. Life is too short to wait.

Prospects for eco-tourism

By DEEPAK R JOSHI

The dictionary defines "Tourism" as ‘business of providing accommodation and service for tourists’ and "Tourist" as ‘a person who is travelling or visiting a place for pleasure’. So it makes clear that tourism is absolutely a human activity. As with Lincoln’s definition of Democracy, we can say tourism is an activity, which generates the benefit of the people, by the people, for the people.

Tourism has been identified as one of the fastest growing industries in the world and has evolved from the pursuit of a privileged few to a mass movement of people. According to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) it generated US$ 372.6 billion in 1995 with some 567 million tourists worldwide and provided direct and indirect employment for 212 million people or 10.7 percent of the global workforce. In the history of Nepalese tourism, while talking about numbers, we received 6,000 tourists in 1962, 150,000 thousand by 1978, and 491,504 by air in 1999.

Tourism is a service-oriented industry and it has been partly responsible for this service sector growth. Tourism as a source of employment is particularly important for areas with limited alternative sources of employment i.e non-industrial areas deficient in natural resources.

In developing countries, the service sector is responsible for 40 percent of GDP while in developed economies, it is responsible for more than 65 percent. It is everywhere felt in our country that tourism is not only one of the components to help our national economy grow but it is the only sector that can uplift the national economy and the citizen’s status.

Tourism has a major role in the national economy. The tourism industry earns foreign currency as well as employs the rural poor. Its significance, therefore, may be measured in terms of its ability to assist diversification and combat regional imbalances.

There are some negative impacts from tourism. It breeds pollution, crime, cultural degradation, prostitution, etc. It is true that in some countries, people resent tourists but in the Nepalese perspective, Nepalese people are hospitable and tourism-friendly by nature. It has been gaining recognition that those who profit from tourism are not always and everywhere bearing the cost. Tourism has become a major industry in our country. To increase the number of tourists, policies should be formulated and stakeholders should be encouraged accordingly. In the name of increasing the number of tourists, we should be careful to avert the damaging effects of careless tourism, because tourist mass influx may be disastrous. This phenomenon has also given rise to conflict in the areas of ecology and economy that needs to be addressed and resolved immediately.

At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in June 1992, ‘The Earth Summit’ a comprehensive programme of action for sustainable development known as Agenda 21 was adopted by 182 governments. It identifies the environment and development issues that threaten our ecological, social, cultural and economic future and presents a strategy for the transition to more sustainable practices.

So, keeping in mind the various negative impacts, people should be mobilized for sustainable tourism. It is high-time we developed tourism in harmony with natural resources i e green tourism, eco-tourism, environment tourism, etc with sustainable development as the bottom line. Such tourism should be managed to minimize adverse impact.

Sustainable tourism is regarded as a form of tourism (development) that balances the economic, ecological and socio-cultural needs of people in destination countries without jeopardizing the requirements of future generations. It is therefore not associated with a particular form of tourism such as eco-tourism, environment tourism, community-based tourism or cultural tourism. Today, eco-tourism has become a well-known term around the world with its objective of striking a balance between nature and human beings and ensuring the co-existence of both.

Eco-tourism is largely a participatory process and it refers to tourism development which aims to capture a portion of the tourism market that is attracted to areas of natural beauty by providing low impact tourism products and visitor education and contributing funds to local conservation and development efforts. Eco-tourism and sustainable tourism are closely related and eco-tourism depends on sustainable tourism which in turn refers to a more broad range of tourism ventures than takes into account ideas of sustainable development. And if it is managed effectively and efficiently, tourism can be used as a vehicle to deliver socio-economic benefits directly to rural/remote areas and to underprivileged groups.

The worldwide Fund for Nature, India says, eco-tourism is an alternative tourism and it respects social and cultural traditions. It seeks to integrate rural development with decentralization of nature. It is also believed that eco-tourism would ideally generate revenue for conservation of natural and cultural wealth and afford cultural exchange among rural and urban populations.

Tourism is an activity rather than merely an industry, so it is a difficult task for the state itself to intervene to regulate the production and delivery of tourism services. Eco-tourism is difficult to regulate through state intervention. So one needs to focus on the spirit of the laws/regulations rather than on the words.

Due to the social value of eco-tourism and the unremitting attraction on mountain tourism, the United Nations has designated the year 2002 as the International Year of Eco-tourism and the International Year of Mountains. Under the umbrella of WTO and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), various NTO’s (National Tourism Organisations) are taking steps to carry out various programmes during the International Year of Eco-tourism. Let us pray that it may be a milestone in tourism development (sustainable) through eco-tourism.