SDPI's Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) series is another dimension of outreach to the general public as well as policy makers where emphasis is placed on emerging sustainable development issues in Pakistan. It is an important channel of policy advice where each session of the conference is followed by a panel discussion consisting of representatives from the government, community representatives, NGOs, and donor agencies.
First SDC
The first SDC, titled The Green Economics Conference, was organized by SDPI in 1995. This conference focused on the interaction between economics and the environment, and included research papers on trade, fiscal policy, EIAs, green accounting, forestry, energy, industry and the urban environment.
Second SDC
The second SDC, in 1996, addressed the broad theme of sustainable development including pollution abatement, resource management, conservation of biodiversity, the transfer and use of technology, trade and environment, human development and poverty alleviation, and social capital and governance. The conference was successful in highlighting key issues facing the country and bringing out the latest thinking and analysis to identify solutions.
Third SDC
The theme of the third conference was A Dialogue on Environment and Natural Resource Conservation. The conference, held in 1998, focussed on stimulating a dialogue on practical policy options for key environmental challenges facing Pakistan. The two broad thematic areas of Urban Environment and Natural Resources concentrated on urban pollution, water resource management, deforestation and sustainable agriculture with presentations by experts from within Pakistan and the South Asian region.
Fourth SDC
The Fourth Sustainable Development Conference titled Discourse on Human Security was organised in collaboration with RCSS, ActionAid, IPRI and SNPO in 2000. It focused on the changes and improvement in government policies and practice with regard to human security. The conference was designed to raise awareness of senior policy makers, key federal and provincial government officials and civil society groups like the media and NGOs on security issues. The immediate feedback from government, NGOs and media was extremely encouraging.
Fifth SDC
The fifth conference titled Sustainable Development and Southern Realities: Past and Future in South Asia, held in 2002, critically re-examined the conceptualization and implementation of sustainable development in its multiple dimensions: economic, political, social, and moral. The conference scrutinized and consolidated some of the ideas presented at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, and resituated debates in the South Asian context.
Sixth SDC
The overarching theme of the Sixth SDC was “Sustainable Development: Bridging the Research/Policy Gaps in Southern Contexts”. It was in December 2003. The Conference focused on the problematique of knowledge production about southern contexts in the South. It explored policy/research gaps in two directions: in some places policy needs to be fed by better research while in others, policy needs to take better account of existing solid research. It focused on the ways and means for translating this knowledge into effective policy initiatives locally, nationally, regionally and internationally by identifying the multiple gaps between research and policies in different sectors.
The SDPI specifically tries to be gender sensitive while organizing the Conference and invites both women and men as speakers, chairs and discussants. Of the 116 speakers who participated in this SDC, there were 69 male speakers and 47 female and of the 1,340 people who attended the conference, some 818 were male and 522 female.
Seventh SDC
‘Troubled Times: Sustainable Development and Governance in the Age of Extremes' was the overarching theme of the Seventh Sustainable Development Conference held in December 2004. The Conference tackled various questions such as whether there is sound governance around development and whether this is ensuring just development? Whether there is more sharing of resources including natural, and institutional? Is there a strengthening of regional and international institutions? How much progress has been achieved in South Asia vis-à-vis governance? Is government more transparent today than it was a decade ago? Have governments kept their promises to the marginalized, whether the poor, women or minorities? How can we avoid repeating the mistakes of the past? What would be the effective strategies to do so? Or is it a world of extremes—a world that is extremely rich but with unparalleled inequalities of income and access to resources—with the marginalized becoming even more marginalized. It provided an opportunity to discuss the global economy, the new terms of trade, the transfer of resources from the developing world to the first world and whether such moves are benefiting a few only. The Conference brought together some 150 panelists from 18 countries. The gender ratio of the panelists was 64% (male) and 36% (female).
Eighth SDC
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) held its Eighth Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) from 7—9 December 2005 in Islamabad, Pakistan. Some 136 panelists from 11 countries participated in the Eighth SDC. The Conference examined the multiple facets of sustainable development in the contexts of South Asia. The speakers discussed how problems and issues in South Asia can be dealt effectively at various levels based on prior experience of successful policy interventions.
The following six major themes were planned for the SDC held from 7—9 December 2005:
I. Women’s/Gender Issues
II. Livelihoods
III. WTO and Governance
IV. Health
V. Peace and People’s Rights
VI. Child labor
Ninth SDC
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) held its Ninth Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) from 13-15 December 2006 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The overarching theme of the Ninth SDC was "Missing Links in Sustainable Development (SD): South Asian Perspectives". The concept of SD is essentially an interdisciplinary one. Economists, environmentalists, anthropologists, political scientists and others have advanced rigorous theories to explore the various dimensions of sustainable development. Yet, often their findings and suggestions have not been noticed beyond disciplinary boundaries; they have been ignored in the policy arena and thus could not contribute to solving problems at the grassroots level. Narrowing the gaps in sustainability research and bridging the space between the scientific discourse on SD and practical steps towards a sustainable South Asia has been the mission of SDPI's conference series on sustainable development. The Ninth Sustainable Development Conference thus aimed at identifying the missing links in SD for South Asia and proposed fillers for those. The region's pool of cutting-edge academics were tapped and top researchers invited together with policy-makers, activists and other relevant stakeholders for a vibrant three-day debate.
Tenth SDC
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute held its Tenth Sustainable Development Conference from 10-12 December 2007 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The overarching theme of the SDPI’s Tenth SDC was Sustainable Solutions: A Spotlight on South Asian Research. The Tenth SDC discussed sustainable solutions to problems of poverty, illiteracy, mortality and morbidity, environmental degradation and disaster management, gender inequality, insecurity, peace and history. It focused on looking at both innovative solutions, as well as indigenously developed alternatives that have survived generations of development. Some 65 panelists from 10 countries participated in the Tenth SDC while an audience of some 1,000 attended the three-day event. SDC anthology titled “Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian Perspectives” consisting of peer reviewed papers from the previous conference was also launched at the occasion.
For further details, please contact Uzma T. Haroon, SDC Coordinator at:
uzma@sdpi.org
Phone: (92-51) 2278134
Fax: (92-51) 227813
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