Politics Of Dialogue
Key To Solution

By Mukti Rijal

DURING the last fortnight some events of political significance have taken place in the country. They may not have , barring one or two, core significance in politics but they signifiy to the growing rapport and interaction among poltical parties and leaders in the country. The CPN(UML) organized what is called as the tea reception during the concluding days of Dashain festival in which leaders representing the broader spectrum of political parties participated. Prime minister Sher bahadur Deuba and ML boss Bamdev Gautam and RPP leaders attended the reception. Similarly, Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala also held a reception which was well attended- a mark of an increased convergence of politics in Nepal. Successively, CPN(ML) organized a function in the Royal Nepal Academy in which national political leaders attended as a mark of camaraderie. CPN(UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal did well by reciprocating the ML invitation. It also keeps some meaning in the context of the UML-ML recon-ciliation. Though it is a Nepali tradition not to reject the invitation extended even by an adversary, attendance of leaders in such receptions and functions in an openhearted manner augurs well in politics. Sometimes, informal occasions and settings provide stage or background for major political breakthroughs. And the traditions of reciprocity and mutual dialogue no matter the differences and conflicts at various levels contribute towards ending confrontation.

The dialogue between the government and the Maoists provides an important benchmark of the growing and expanding process of resorting to dialogue to bring an end to conflicts and confrontation. Though both parties have their own axes to grind and scores to settle, the on going dialogue signals that many irreconciliable elements can be evened out for convergence and reconciliation through dialogue and open talks. We have seen that peace dialogue between the adversaries contraposed to each other seldom take place or takes several years of fighting before they recognise the need for dialogue. But in our context, it has become possible.The overtures of the parties involved in the peace dialogue are effectively positive though it may take time before things are properly sorted out.

There are countries in our region that are afflicted and torn due to conflicts and civil strifes. Sri Lanka is a chronic case where for almost three decades conflicts and strifes has continued unabated. Peace dialogue has not been materialised even by the good offices provided by Norway. Bangladesh has also suffered due to stand off between two political parties- the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP) and the Awami League(AL). The two lady leaders are said to be not in speaking terms. The BNP boycotted the Parliament throughout the term of the House and did never sit together with the ruling party during the last term of the Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament). The elections held during the last month gave the BNP mandate to rule and the Awami League is in the opposition. The latter has decided to boycott the Parliament in the form of tit for tat game. Bangladesh has become a land of strikes and Bandhas as a consequence of which the national economy has taken severe battering and political violence has become a normal way of life. Not very long back, this writer met with a Bangladeshi parliamentarian belonging to the incumbent ruling party who seemed very tired of boycott politics entrenched in the parties in his country. He was appreciative of the culture of dialogue among the political parties in Nepal and wished the same in Bangladesh. As he saw the ruling and the opposition party leaders sharing the same platform, he showered praise on the Nepalese leaders.

In Nepal, the strength of the multiparty democracy lies in the fact that the political parties always maintain working relationship and come to an agreement should the situation call for it. Even the political party like CPN (Maoist) not agreeing with the current constitutional and political framework has come to dialogue in deference to popular calls and wishes. It has been a healthy merit of the Nepalese democracy. The spirit of dialogue and reconciliation is inherent in Nepalese democracy. It should be maintained and furthered in the larger interest of democracy and people’s welfare. Nothing can remain unsolved if there is resolute will to cooperate and work in honest spirit for democracy and development.

IT & Sustainable Development

By Dr. Subarna Shakya & Deepak Rauniar

SUSTAINABLE development means development in the present which does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, whether by exhausting resources, destroying the environment or creating untenable social and economic conditions. Seeking to link and prioritise among aspirations pertaining to human welfare, the perspectives of sustainable development necessitates the institutional and technical capacities to assess the economic, environmental, and social implications of development strategies and to formulate and implement appropriate policy responses.

Driven by technological advances and global integration, the strong economic growth experienced over the last century has been accompanied by gains in material welfare throughout the world. Unfortunately these developments have come at a great cost. The growth in world economies have also increased pressures on environmental and social resources and caused escalated resource depletion and environmental degradation throughout the world. The equilibrium that existed between human activities and nature was broken by the technology-driven fast-track development. Today, we stand at a point where sustainability of our economic development and earth’s ecosystems can no longer be taken for granted. Considering this rather very delicate situation, governments throughout the world pursuing sustainable development are confronted with the basic question of how to best balance the challenges and opportunities of growth while decoupling economic growth from environmental pressures.

Looking back at history, the 1970s saw the beginning of a growing public awareness on environmental issues and doubts began to emerge whether the earth’s resources would be sufficient to meet the growing needs of an ever-increasing population forever. Additional global problems were identified in the 1980s, including environmental impacts such as depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, climatic changes, limits to nature’s ability to absorb toxic wastes, and more issues related to population growth. Gradually, the above factors forced a more informed debate on the issues of sustainable development and resulted in a wider acceptability of the need for governments and businesses to adopt innovative public policies and corporate initiatives to diffuse cleaner technologies and enhance environmental performance.

One such technology that truly stands out in the above background is Information Technology (IT). The IT revolution is going on and has been making significant influences in our daily lives. Nobody has been spared the impacts of this revolution. As the technology is advancing, which at the moment is at a phenomenal pace, so has been the associated benefits to the mankind. One of the main reasons that IT has been so successful and widely adopted globally has been due to its vast power to affect change. IT can substantially enhance an entities ability to obtain, share and structure information, thereby enabling it to widen continually its knowledge base, improve its efficiency and competitiveness. Today, IT stands as the central force in shaping organizations, societies and nations and governments throughout the world have started to look at IT as not only a tool for improving governance and creating more jobs, but more significantly, as a means to greatly enhance the standard of living of its people.

It is interesting to note that as compared to the other contemporary and competing technologies, IT is rather unique not limited as a mere representation of a technology. But in the broader perspective IT also represents a part of the fundamental wave of change that has been sweeping through our societies. With the wider acceptance and adoption of IT in our daily lives, our societies and undoubtedly moving down a road of important changes in the way our society functions and organizes itself.

As IT has evolved, it has been transforming resource-based economies to information-based economies. The above evolution has been making significant impacts in our societies as well and they have been rapidly moving towards becoming information-based societies. The information society of this new era is being built on technology, knowledge and intelligence. And IT has been playing a pivotal role in this. IT is facilitating fast, cheap, equitable, and resource-efficient access to information, accumulated knowledge, learning opportunities, and cooperation support tools for the citizens. On the other hand the Internet or the cyberspace is facilitating people from across the globe to co-operate and perform various activities of human life and endeavor. Speaking in specific terms it is helping in processing, storage, transmission, and sharing of information in electronic form, without any spatial or temporal constraints, empowering people with instant information along desired lines. Similarly, Information analysis is contributing to knowledge and intelligence, which have increasingly become important commodities in the information age. As information becomes accessible to anyone, and anywhere, it is increasingly becoming a basic economic resource and a structuring factor in today’s societies.

The development of novel and affordable information and communication technologies, and the emergence of information societies with new economic models, have the potential for making major contributions towards the sustainability of the earth’s ecosystems. Innovative use of IT can offer substitutes for travel and for the transportation of goods, and a major shift towards less resource-intensive production, consumption, trade, and services. Such changes can significantly reduce the environmental impacts of industrial and commercial activities and thus contribute significantly to the noble cause of sustainable development.

With the incredible advancements taking in technology, IT can empower both humans and machines with information, which can ultimately be transformed into knowledge and intelligence. Appropriate use of knowledge by both humans and machines can contribute significantly towards sustainable development. While informed and empowered humans know their roles as citizens in an environmentally sustainable society, empowered machines can use the knowledge to minimize energy and material use, wastes, and pollutants.

As already mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, by empowering machines with knowledge, IT offers a high potential for making positive contributions towards sustainability of the economy and environment, particularly by reducing the impacts arising from manufacturing and transportation activities. However, similar opportunities of sustainable development also exist in various other sectors too. In the following paragraphs, we briefly discuss some of the sectors where IT can significantly help to promote the cause of sustainable development.

Manufacturing: Using computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), all encompassing approaches to managerial and work-based organisational integration in manufacturing can be made. The system can supply important input to general business management and identify opportunities for reduction in use of energy, material, and wastes. Computer-aided designing (CAD) can help in reducing product development cycle. Virtual reality simulation can be used to speed up test methods.

Transport: Teleworking and telecommunicating can be acceptable substitutes for local and long distance travel. Microprocessor engine control systems can save fossil fuel and reduce pollution. Advanced transport telematics (ATT) can improve transport efficiency and road safety. Intelligent transport system can reduce travel time, improve traffic flow and help to make the roads safer.

Agriculture: Sustainable food system benefits from the responsible use of resources by farmers who perform a wide variety of tasks as part of crop management. These tasks can be facilitated by expert systems with the knowledge, designed and built with the help of local expertise. Land information systems prepared using geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing can help farmers plan their activity and facilitate decision making and planning at the local level.

Environment: IT systems can provide improved access to environmental information to citizens, authorities at every level, NGOs, and businesses for environmental monitoring and management. GIS and remote sensing can be used to map resources, land-use patterns and environmental factors. This can help to bring about more effective planning, management, and decision-making with regards to the environment.

Education: Video conferencing and other collaborative working tools can be used to access teachers and students at distant locations. Education Multimedia teaching packages can be used for formal and informal education. On-line course using Internet can be used with no constraint on distance separating the teacher and the student.

Other Contributions:

Saving paper-Electronic information processing and dissemination can save the forests.

Arresting urbanisation-Ready and adequate access to information, knowledge, and telecommunications in rural areas can discourage urbanisation.

Tele-medicines-Tele-medicines can provide medical care to people in their homes, and to patients in remote areas.

Empowering citizens with information-By creating suitable contents on cyberspace and making it available at information kiosks in their close proximity, preferably in the local language and covering local issues among others, will empower citizens with the knowledge to act to bring about sustainable development.