Lalitpur, Jan. 30: Planners and development workers today stressed on the region-specific strategies for the sustainable development of the country. They also said that a national level consolidated thinking was essential to harmonise the region-specific strategies.
“Local and regional specificity has been a matter of great concern for the sustainable development of the nation,” National Planning Commission member Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel told a workshop on Principles of Sustainable Development here this afternoon. “The development strategies should address people’s needs at the local level.”
Pokharel stressed on understanding and partnership between the government and private sector to push ahead development activities effectively. He said that the issue of open border had to be addressed for sustainable trade.
Assistant Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme Dr. Bhesh Dhamala stressed on the need to unify poverty reduction policy and sustainable development policy.
“The challenge with us is to reorient our thinking process towards the domestic governance system to accommodate current development paradigm,” said Dhamala. He said transparent governance, a reliable banking system, social stability, acceptable labour standards and acceptable environmental standards were essential to attract foreign investment and capitalise the existing opportunities.
The Country Representative of The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Dr. Mahseh Banskota said that Nepal held good development potential as she was extraordinarily rich in natural resources. “The only challenge facing us is to develop strategies that help us exploit these resources.”
He said that dialogue was necessary at all times and at all levels to harmonise the region-specific strategies.
During the technical session, Krishna Prasad Oli and Dr. Badri D. Pande briefed on highlights of sectoral review and highlights of regional dialogue respectively.
Organised jointly by the NPC and IUCN, today’s workshop aimed at disseminating and discussing the findings from the regional reviews.
The highlights said that there was an improvement in infrastructure and local level governance, increased involvement in non-governmental organisations and the private sector and a better access to education and health facilities.
On the other hand, the highlights identified misuse of natural resources, lack of financial resources, failure to implement the pieces and lack of monitering and evaluation as the constraints to sustainable development.
It called for a comprehensive revision of policies and practices plus an increase in efficiency in using energy and other materials. The highlights said there should be a limit on the on extraction and use of the non-renewable energy and a sustained increase in agriculture productivity,
This is possible only if the present growth trends in population, industrialisation, pollution, food production and resource depletion pattern is changed, said the highlights of the findings.