THEECONOMICANDSOCIALCOMMISSIONFORTHEASIAANDPACIFIC

TheEconomicandsocialcommissionfortheAsiaandpacific(ESCAP)isoneofthefiveregionalbodiesoftheUnitedNaGonsEconomicandSocialCouncil(ECOSOC).Itbeingthelargestofthefivebodies,itworkstoprovideresultsorientedprojects,technicalassistanceandcapacitybuildingtomemberStatesinthefollowingareas:

• MacroeconomicPolicy,PovertyReducGonandFinancingforDevelopment

• Trade,InvestmentandInnovaGon

• Transport

• EnvironmentandDevelopment

• InformaGonandCommunicaGonsTechnologyandDisasterRiskReducGon

• SocialDevelopment

• StaGsGcs

• SubregionalacGviGesfordevelopment

• Energy

Indoingso,ESCAPalsoworkstogatherdataandthentranslatessuchdataintopolicydialogues.Thisissignificantintheregionasitisbyfarthemosteconomically,sociallyandculturallydiverseregion.Therefore,itplaysalargeroletoassistmanyofthedevelopingnaGonsintheregiontofinditsuniquepathtobeingadevelopedregion,whilemaintainingitsnaGonalidenGty.

DelegatesmustunderstandthattheirtaskincommiQeeisthereforetopromotepoliciesthattheybelievewillbethebestchoiceforaprogressiveagendaleadingtotherespecGvegoals.ThisinternoutlinesthemandateofthecommiQee,anditisneedlesstosaythatthefinalresoluGonsmustbeaninnovaGvecompilaGonofsuchpolicysuggesGons.

THEAGENDA

Conferencetopic:FosteringsustainableeconomictransformaGoninAsiaandthePacific.

Prac/ceDebatetopic:AddressingthedigitaldivideintheAsiaandthePacific.

CONFERENCETOPIC:FOSTERINGSUSTAINABLEECONOMICTRANFORMATIONINASIAANDTHEPACIFIC

BACKGROUND

AsmenGonedearlier,theregionbeingthemosteconomically,sociallyandculturallydiverseregionofthefiveregions,ishometosomeoftheleasteconomicallydevelopedregionsintheworld,henceitisvitalthatwecauGouslyproceedwithanydevelopmentstrategyinthisdayandage.

Firstofall,itisimportanttonotethatthisregionthatisthecenteroftradeworthmorethanatrilliondollarsofglobaltradeisalsohometothelargestconcentraGonofpeopleunderpoverty,asitesGmatesthatnolessthan309millionpeopleinSouthAsialivewithlessthantwodollarsperday.SeveralstudieslinkthiswiththelackofaccesstomarketsformostofthepopulaGonintheregion.Hence,tacklingtheregion’seconomicinequalityisavitalgoaltobeaddressed.

However,thisissueismademuchmorecomplexasanydevelopmentintheregionmustbesustainable.Giventhediversityoftheregion,itissignificantthatstepstakenarewellplannedandcontextual,meanwhilebeingcoordinaGvetomutuallybenefitallparGesandstakeholdersintheregion.

Itisalsoneedlesstoremindanyonethatthisdiscussioncomesinthemiddleofaglobaldiscourseonclimatechangeanditssignificantandcatastrophiceffectontheplanet,thereforeanyplanneddevelopmentonsuchalargeregionwouldwithoutquesGonmustbeinconsideraGonoftheissue.

ThenarrowerconsideraGonsinthisquesGonarenumerous,butthemoresignificantoneshavetodowiththeuniquenessoftheregion.

CASESTUDIES

BANGLADESH–DOESFREETRADEINTHEREGIONWORK?

ThesouthAsiannaGonofBangladeshhasovertheyearsfacedmanydifficulGesinbuildingitseconomy,whilestrugglingfromnaturaldisasters,lackofeducaGonandmanyotherissues.Withhopeofjoiningtheregionalmarketandrecoveringitstradedeficit,BangladeshhadjoinedmanyifthereginaltradeagreementssuchasAPTA,BIMSTECFTA,andSAFTA.Despitealltheseefforts,reportsinearly2018cameoutsayingthatthetradedeficitofBangladeshhadroseto$7.6injust5months,whichisanincreaseof96.1%increasewithinayear!

Atroublingfactorsseemstobethateventhoughthewillingnesstocooperateinregionaltradehasbeenprevalentsincethe1098s,lesssignificantimprovementshavehappenedtointra-regionaltrade.WhathashappenedovertheyearsisthatBangladeshhasfailedtouGlizethegoodwillpresentintheregiontopenetrateintomarketsinneighboringnaGonssuchasIndiaandChina.Instead,theIndianandChinesemarketshavesuccessfullymadetheirwayintoBangladesh,thuscontribuGngtotheincreasingtradedeficitoftheNaGon.

Overtheyears,importsfromthesetwoneighborshaveonlygrowninBangladesh,meanwhileexportshavegrownliQleorhaveremainedrelaGvelystagnant.ThisshowsthatthepreferenGaltariffmarginsgiventoBangladeshhaveliQletonoeffect.ThismaysomewhatbeaQributedtootherfactorssuchasadministraGvedelays,largequalitycontrolandregulaGons,andevenbansonseveralimportsbasedonfalseallegaGons.

WhileaconsideraGonofregionaltradeisimportant,wemustnotstrayfromtheoriginalgoalofsustainability.SeveralaQemptsaroundtheglobehavebeenmadetoimproveprovisionsoffreetradesothatitispushedinasustainabledirecGon.ThesemeasurescanbeaimedatmaximizingtheleverageoftradeandinvestmentinonissuessuchasenvironmentalprotecGon,miGgaGngclimatechangeandaQainingglobalsustainabledevelopmentgoalssoastoachievesignificantprogressinsustainablepolicy.

TheseissuesaremucheasilyimplementedinwealthiernaGonssuchasJapanandelsewhere,howeverabiggerquesGonhangsovernaGonssuchasBangladeshwhoareinamoredesperatetoachieveanysortofdevelopment,muchlessasustainableone.

BHUTAN–BALANCINGDEVELOPMENTANDIDENTITY

BhutanissignificantinthatthissmalllandlockednaGonistheonlyoneintheworldthatisknowntobecarbonnegaGve.Itisalsouniqueinthesensethatitskeydevelopmentgoalisbasedon“GrossNaGonalHappiness(GNH)”ratherthanthemoreusualGrossNaGonalProduct(GDP).Firstintroducedinearly1970s,thesystemformsthecoreofthenaGon’sgoverningandpolicymaking.ItalsorequiresthegovernmenttoregularlymonitorthemulGtudeoffactorsthatinencompassedintheGNHprinciple.Asaresults,BhutanhasbeenabletoshowoutstandingstaGsGcalachievementsintherecentyears.Itisthe9thintheworldintermsofannualGDPgrowthrateat8%anditspovertyratesseemstodropannually.

In2014,theprimeministerdescribedtheGNHprincipleas“developmentwithvalues”,andthisincludesregularprogresschecksandamid-termstrategyfordevelopment.ThedemocraGcconsGtuGonalmonarchyisalsoverytransparentandlessriddledwithcorrupGonbeing26thintheworldindexandhasstronggovernance.

Whileallthesehavebeenachieved,thecountryhasconsGtuGonallyensuredthatatleast60%ofthenaGonremainscoveredinforests,althoughthatfigureishighas70%atthemoment.TourisminthenaGonhasbeengrowingbutishighlyregulatedtopreventthenaGon’sculturefrombeingspoiledandallconstrucGoninthenaGonhasalsobeenregulatedbyroyalcommandtoensureitstradiGonalarchitecturalvalueandstyleispreserved.

However,thisisnottosaythatthenaGonhasnothasitsfairshareofdifficulGesandobstacles.Forexample,indevelopingthenaGon’skeyexport,hydropower,thenaGonhasincreasedcurrentaccountdeficitsequaltoabout25%oftheGDP,andthesectorhasalsoyettogeneratesignificantemploymentandintegrateintotherestoftheeconomy.

Inmovingforward,thenaGonhastoaddressseveralfactorssuchasmaintainingmacroeconomicstabilityandimprovingitscurrentlysmallfinancialsectorandaQractFDIsandotherformsoffinancingtoenableitsagenda.Thatbeingsaid,itisimportantthattherestoftheregionlearnfromthissmallnaGonsachievementsanduseitswisdomtotacklethemuchlargerissueathandindevelopingasustainabledevelopmentstrategyforAsiaandthePacific.

LAOS–PRESERVINGBIO-DIVERSITYVS.HUNGERFORENERGY

Astheregionsurgentneedforrapiddevelopmentincreasesbytheday,manytendtoforgetthehighstakesatwhichthesedevelopmentcomesin.theregionshungerforenergyisoneparGcularcase.InLaos,aneasycleaneralternaGvetofossilfuelintheregion,withitsabundantrivers,ishydropower.However,obtaininghydropowerrequiresdamconstrucGonfloodingmassiveregion.ThisnotonlyrequiredlargescaleevacuaGonbutwillalsoeffectthelocalbiodiversityinratherdetrimentalways.

Recently,planshavebeenunveiledtoconstructseverallargereservoirsacrossthestretchoftheMekongRiver,whichraisedalarmovertheregionthatsharestheMekong’swater.TheissueisthattheconstrucGonofonesingledamacrosstheriverwouldmeanthataquaGclifeintheriverwouldnotbeabletomigratethroughtheriver.TheIrrawaddydolphin,analreadyendangeredspecies,wouldbeexGnctwithintheriver,ifsuchadamisconstructedasithaltsitsmigraGonrequiredforitsmaGngandreproducGvecycle.

Therefore,thequesGonremainsisthatissuchrecklessformsofdevelopmentworthsuchalossorwhatotherviableopGonsareavailable?

PHILIPPINES–GROWINGCITY,INFRASTRUCTUREANDSUSTAINABILITY

ThecapitalofPhilippineswasrankedbyaDutchresearchgrouptobeonetheworld’sleastsustainableciGes.TrafficcongesGon,flooding,sewagemiss-management,airandnoisepolluGonarefewofthecity’sproblems.Totacklestheseissues,thegovernmenthasincreaseditsinfrastructurespendingoverthelastfewyearsandconGnuetodoso.

ButwhatmustbenotedhereisthatjustsolvingseveraloftheseissueslikefloodingandtrafficcongesGonwon’tbeenoughtoGtlethedevelopmentassustainable.YesitwillreducecaremissionsiftheplanissuccessfulandtrafficcongesGonreduces.Sustainabledevelopmentofinfrastructureisamoreconsideratedevelopmentaimedatreducingasmuchcarbonemissionsaspossible.Everybuilding,everyroadandeveryconstrucGonleadstosomeformofcarbonemission.ThequesGonishowwereduceit.

Ofcourse,thequesGonofscienGficinnovaGonandengineeringisbestleqtotheexpertsofthefieldstohandle,butwhereinternaGonalbodiesliketheUNcandoistopromoteandmakethesetechnologiesavailabletowhereitcanbeimplemented.ThereforeatESCAPwhatwewilllookforwardtoishowthesetechnologiescanbebroughtouttocaseslikethePhilippinesandthenbeimplemented.

POINTSTOCONSIDER

Whenresearching,delegatesareexpectedtounderstandtheworkingsoftheissuesdiscussedatminimumtoamedianlevel.Forexample,whenresearchingaboutregionaleconomiccooperaGon,theyareexpectedtolookintothefuncGoning,consequences,andalternaGvemethods;relevanttreaGesandexisGnglegalagreementsareavitalpart.CriGcism,contextandachievementsarealsoimportantindebate.

Delegatesareexpectedtocoverthefollowingareas(butisnotlimitedtothem)intheirresearch,discussionanddraqresoluGons:

1. Economicinequality

2. Infrastructure

3. Tradepolicyandregionaleconomic/financialcooperaGon

4. PromoGngandthegrowthofrenewableenergydependency

5. OverdepleGonofnaturalresources

6. RegionaltransportaGon

7. Improvementofthequalityoflife

Whendelegatesresearchon,formulateandcompileasetofpolicies,theyareadvisedtoenshrinethefollowingcauses,aswellanyothertheydeemnecessaryinit.

1. CulturalsensiGvityandprotecGon

2. Preservingbiodiversity,andwildlifeprotecGon

3. ClimatesensiGvity

4. EconomicsustainabilityandpracGcality

AtSLMUN2018,welookforwardforaresoluGonfromESCAPthatformulatesacomprehensivesetofmacroeconomicpoliciesthatrespectstheregionsdiversityandcreatesadialogueforcoordinaGonfordevelopmentintheregionandaswellasanyrelevantsubregions(ex:SAARC,ASEAN).Allproposedpolicesareexpectedtobewellformulated,detailed,contextualandpracGcal.Necessaryfundingmechanismsandlegalconsequencesaresomeofthefactorsthatareexpectedtobecovered.

FURTHERRESEARCH

1. hQp://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Asia-Pacific%20RECI%20Report.pdf

2. hQps://www.researchgate.net/publicaGon/257579996_Impact_of_RTA_and_PTA_on_Bangladesh's_Export_ApplicaGon_of_a_Gravity_Model

3. InvesGnginSustainableInfrastructure,ImprovinglivesinAsiaandthePacificbyAsianDevelopmentBank(2009)

4. hQps://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Ness3/publicaGon/266203850_Sustainable_infrastructure_-_doing_more_with_less_by_applying_eco-efficiency_principles/links/542a3ab20cf277d58e871035/Sustainable-infrastructure-doing-more-with-less-by-applying-eco-efficiency-principles.pdf

5. hQps://www.sustainablegoals.org.uk/sustainable-infrastructure-asia-pacific-new-normal/

PRACTICEDEBATETOPIC:ADDRESSINGTHEDIGITALDIVIDEINASIAANDTHEPACIFIC

BACKGROUND

TheAsia-Pacificregionneedlesstobesaidhaslargeeconomicdivide.Forthisreasonandmanymore,theregionishometothelargesttechnicalanddigitaldivide,wherecountrieslikeChinaandJapanleadtheworldinthetechnicalspherewhilenaGonslikePapuaNewGuineawherelessthan10%ofthepopulaGonhasaccesstotheinternet.

Thatbeingsaid,InformaGonandCommunicaGonTechnology(ICT)hasthepowertoactasatoolfordevelopmentintheregion,andnurturingequalityandinclusivity,henceithasbeenrecognizedbysustainabledevelopmentgoals(SGDs)asatoolthatenablesdevelopmentintheregionandasthebasicinfrastructureforachievingtheSGDs.ItmustbenotedthattheprevalenceofinternetconnecGvityintheregionisaboostforsmallerbusinesses

Soastoachievesuchandsuchgoals,oneprojectESCAPsupportstheAsia-PacificInformaGonSuperhighway(AP-IS),itsregionaliniGaGvetoenhanceconnecGvitymandatedbythememberstates.Itworksbasedonfourpillars:enhancingphysicalconnecGvity,effecGveinternettrafficmanagement,e-resilienceandinclusivebroadbandaccess.

Whenthedigitalsphereexpands,itbringsaboutmanyapplicaGonsthatcanbeusedaboutindailylivesoflocalciGzensinmanyaspects.SuccessstoriesinnaGonslikePakistanandBangladesh,eventhoughtheyaresGlllimitedtomajorciGeshavereachedalmostalllevelsofsociety.

AtechnicalpaperbyESCAPsInformaGonandcommunicaGonstechnologyanddisasterriskreducGondivisionoutlinesthateventhoughmobilebroadbandcoveragehasexpandedinmanydevelopingnaGonsintheregion,mostofthebenefitspossiblefromtheavailabletechnologyisfarfrombeingharvestedasusagesGllremainswithintheconfinesofcommunicaGonandentertainment.Ifso,thismayoutlineseveralpossibiliGes.One,theusersareyettobecomeawareoftheapplicaGonsofthetechnologyortheyareignorantofthecapabiliGesthyhaveandpreferoldmethodstheyhaveknownforgeneraGons.

Eventhoughthebenefitsareimmense,theeffectsofthespreadoftechnologicaladvancesarenotallposiGve.ItmustbenotedwithcauGon.Thedigitalspherebyitsnatureisneverfullysafe.Asseeninmanyscenariosbefore,smalldevelopingnaGonsaresomeofthemostvulnerabletoaQacks.ThereforeanydevelopmentproposedisbesttakenwithprecauGonandnecessaryabiliGestoprotectagainstharmfulintent.

CASESTUDY

CAMBODIA

CambodiaisaSouthEastAsiannaGonthatisjuststarGngitsjourneyinthedigitalsphere.TheatrociGesofitspastsGllbearmarksonthenaGon’sidenGtyandeconomy.SGll,lessthanathirdofthenaGonhasaccesstotheinternet,butthenaGonismakingprogress.ThedigitalsphereisnowcreaGngemploymentintheciGescapitalsandisalsoapartinmakingprogressinthenaGonsstriveforworkplaceequalityforwomen.

SeveralNGOsareassisGngthegovernmenttoreformitseducaGonalsystemtomeetmodernneeds.TheDAI’sDevelopmentInnovaGons,fundedbytheU.S.AgencyforInternaGonalDevelopment(USAID),isonesuchbodyandassiststhegovernmentbyprovidingmaterialforhigherprimaryeducaGon.TheNGOalso

worksonaprogramcalled“TechnovaGonGlobalChallenge”thatfocusesonyounggirls(age10-18)toboosttheirinnovaGveskillsandbringthemupasfutureentrepreneursinthedigitalfield.

SeveralotherNGOShavefocusestheiraQenGoninthemoreruralareastopayaQenGontofarmers.Theyhopethatintroducingtechnologyintheseremoteandruralareaswillenhancethefarmer’sabilitytoconnectwiththerestoftheworldandimprovetheirlivesandwork.TheyusekhmerlanguageclassestopromotetechnologyandtoshowhowitcanbeusedtobenefittheiroccupaGonbycontactandgatheringinformaGononmarketsandtolearnaboutneweragriculturaltechniquesandpracGces.Theyalsohopethatthetechnologywillhelpthelocals,especiallywomen,toconnectwiththeworldandsharetheirstoriesintheheartofruralCambodia.

Althoughalotremainstobedone,Cambodiaseemstobemakingprogressinitschasetocatchupowiththerestoftheworld.WhatthesestoriestellisthatsuchagoalisnotpossibletobeachievedbyasinglenaGonanditsgovernment.It’sacommunaleffortandregionalcooperaGonisamust.ThequesGonremains,howisthatmadepossible?

POINTSTOCONSIDER

1. WhataretheunderlyingproblemseffecGngthelackofinternetconnecGvityatadomesGclevel?

2. WhatcantheinternaGonalcommunitydotoassistnaGonsatthelowerendofthescaletoimproveinternetconnecGvityandimprovedigitalliteracy?

3. Whatdrawbacksarepresentintheexpansionofthedigitalsphere?Delegatesshouldtakeintoaccountthecontextoftheissue.

4. Whatmeasurescanassistinensuringthatbenefitsarereapedbyall?

5. Whatgeo-poliGcalissueseffectprogramssuchastheAP-IS?

6. Howcanthepublicandprivatesectorcollaboratetomaximizeefficiencyandspreadbenefitsoftechnologicaladvancement?

7. HowcanESCAPassistdevelopingnaGonsincreaseinternetavailability?

8. Howcanregionaldigitalliteracybeimproved?

9. Howcannewandsmallbusinessesassistdevelopthelocalinternetuseandspreadthebenefitsofthetechnologicaladvances?

10. WhatpointsshouldbeaddedtotheAP-ISmasterplantoenhanceitssocio-economicbenefits?

11. HowcantheabiliGesoftheavailabletechnologybemadeawareindevelopingnaGonssothatlocalsareenabledtoreapthebenefitsandthusarebroughtclosertoachievingtheSGDs.

12. WhatprecauGonsmustbetakeninnaGonsthataresGllemergingintothedigitalsphereinordertoensurethattheyhavethenecessaryabiliGestoensuretheirvulnerabiliGesarereducedasmuchaspossible?

FURTHERREADING

1. BridgetheDigitalDivideThroughAsia-PacificPartnership,ChineseTaipeiADOCSecretariat(2014)

2. hQps://thediplomat.com/2016/09/closing-asias-digital-divide/

3. hQps://thediplomat.com/2016/06/can-tpp-help-bridge-asias-digital-divide/

4. hQp://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/State%20of%20ICT%20in%20Asia%20and%20the%20Pacific%202016.pdf

5. hQp://ias.ubd.edu.bn/assets/Files/WORKING.PAPER.SERIES.2.pdf