Second Intellectual Dialogue on Building Asia's Tomorrow
Promoting Sustainable Development and Human Security
Singapore
July 12-13, 1999
Overview
The need to define new strategies for sustainable development that attach greater priority to safeguarding human security emerged as one of the principal conclusions of the first Intellectual Dialogue on Building Asia's Tomorrow held in Tokyo on December 2-3, 1998. The purpose of the two-day conference was to stimulate regionwide intellectual exchange on balanced sustainable growth with the ultimate goal of generating practical policy recommendations. The first day assessed key issues in the emerging debate on sustainable development and human security in Asia to identify the relevant needs and potential problems as well as feasible solutions. The second day focused on the role that global and regional institutions as well as civil society in general can play in promoting sustainable development and human security.
Day 1: Key Issues in Sustainable Development and Human Security
Session One: Good Governance—Is There an Asian Model?
With some notable exceptions, the development process in East Asia is generally considered to have been hindered and distorted by poor standards of governance in the public and corporate sectors. How to improve the overall quality of governance has consequently become a central and also highly controversial issue. More specifically, whether Western practices and prescriptions should be adopted or whether a distinctly Asian model of good governance can be defined and practiced remains a contentious question. Session one explored this point in depth.
Session Two: Social Safety Nets—How Desirable, How Feasible?
The human costs incurred by the recent financial crisis have prompted calls for new or improved "social safety nets" or programs designed to ensure access to basic health, education, and unemployment benefits for those most in need. How to fund and implement such programs in East Asia represents an enormous challenge, however. This session examined the desirability and feasibility of social safety nets in detail, drawing on the experience of countries in and outside the region.
Session Three: Human Resource Development—Where to Invest in the Future?
With the next century expected to place an even greater premium on knowledge and technology to compete effectively in the global marketplace, Asian countries must ensure that they invest appropriately in their "social capital" or risk the economic and political consequences. This session assessed the current needs of East Asian countries and the ways in which their educational standards, vocational training, and, more generally, intellectual resources can be expanded and improved.
Session Four: Protecting the Environment—How to Balance Economic Needs?
The rapid economic growth of East Asian countries has exacted an immense toll on the region's environment. Pollution in many cities, rivers, and coastal areas has risen to levels considered dangerous to public health and wildlife. Unplanned or unregulated development has similarly degraded the region's natural resources, putting at risk the economic and social well-being of future generations. This session will assess ways in which the environment can be protected without sacrificing future economic growth.
Day 2: The Role of International Institutions and Civil Society
Session One: The Role of Global Institutions
Because sustainable development in Asia will depend greatly on the evolution of the world's rules and institutions governing financial transactions and free trade, this session was devoted to assessing current arrangements and proposed reforms.
Session Two: The Role of Regional Institutions
As the region's economies grow more interdependent and as each country becomes increasingly exposed to problems that are transnational in character and therefore beyond their individual capacity to control, the benefits of regional cooperation can only grow. Unfortunately, the financial crisis has done much to arrest the pace of regional cooperation and in some cases even brought it into question. This session examined specific ways to reinvigorate such regional institutions as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and more generally promote further regional cooperation to address a host of common problems.
Session Three: The Role of Civil Society
Civil society can play a valuable—even crucial—role in promoting sustainable development and human security in Asia. More specifically, the actions of civil society can complement and even substitute for government-sponsored measures, not least in enhancing various aspects of human security. The key, however, is to encourage what has been termed an "enabling environment" for civil society to flourish in an independent, responsible, and productive fashion. This session focused on how such an environment can be promoted in Asia and how civil society can in turn address a variety of human security concerns.
Session Four: Conclusions—Defining an Intellectual Agenda for the Future
The final session discussed specific ways in which intellectual dialogue and research in Asia can be promoted for the purposes of enhancing sustainable development and human security.