1. Introduction
1.1 Towards equitable economic growth
The past century has seen more advances in global prosperity
than in all of human history. Technological innovations
and the dismantling of trade barriers have contributed to
the achievement of better quality of life on the planet
Earth and to a more integrated global economy. While the
developed countries became richer, quite a few developing
countries also gained from the new paradigms of development.
A recent World Bank study shows that for a group of 24 developing
countries, mostly from Asia, which are home to around 3
billion people (i.e. almost 50 per cent of the global population),
their annual growth rates have increased from 1 per cent
in the 1960s to around 5 per cent in the 1990s, with a substantial
reduction in the incidence of poverty <www.worldbank.org/prr/html>.
In contrast, the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle
East and the former Soviet Union – home to some 2
billion people – could not grow at a similar pace
and unfortunately were left behind. The recent trend of
economic growth, especially in the developing countries,
indicates that among the performance indicators by sector,
the annual growth rate is touching double digits mainly
in the service sector, while the agricultural and manufacturing
sectors are unable to register such growth.
Affecting the entire pace of growth across the world, even
more so in the service sector, globalization has emerged
as the inescapable reality of the time. Yet, paradoxically,
there is still a widespread perception that globalization
is having a detrimental impact on the poor.
In spite of its wide usage and the intensive debate that
is now under way, there is no precise or widely accepted
definition of globalization. It can be summarized as the
global circulation of goods, services and capital, as well
as information, ideas and people. It has shaped all of the
twentieth century, albeit with large cyclical variations,
and has become an increasingly noticeable force in recent
decades. Although there are many factors that have spurred
and have in turn been reinforced by globalization, two have
played a particularly important role in contributing to
its accelerating pace in the 1980s and 1990s. The first
is technical progress, especially in information technology,
international communication and global transportation. Not
only goods but also services and knowledge can flow much
more easily because of innovations such as the Internet
and the convergence of technologies. The second major development
is the shift in policy orientation, as more and more Governments
have reduced barriers that had earlier curbed the development
of domestic markets and their links to the international
economy.
Globalization is here to stay. How we leverage the numerous
opportunities it presents and manage the many risks it entails
is the real challenge, particularly for the developing countries.
Effective delivery of education and health care, knowledge
and technology in the developing countries would give support
to a society’s “pillars” and thus make
the process of globalization equitable. Recasting globalization
in the framework of equity and social justice calls for
more efficient and transparent governance that empowers
the people with every opportunity available, along with
the freedom to perform and excel. Here is where the emergence
of an information-based knowledge society assumes importance.
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1.2 The information society: opportunities
and challenges for policy formulation
The new economy, a product of globalization, is a term
we hear repeatedly as we move into the twenty-first century,
with web-enabled technologies providing the knowledge base
for doing global business. Knowledge is rightly recognized
as the key to development and information as the lifeblood
of every economy. Knowledge is emerging as a new source
of wealth generation and the most important factor of production.
It all started in the 1990s with the explosion of demand
for global Internet services, enterprise-wide intranets
and virtual private networks that deliver voice, data, fax
and video to customers around the world. The information
and communication technology (ICT) convergence on the information
superhighway has greatly influenced the economy, culture
and politics of countries all around the world, virtually
transforming the countries into a “global village”.
Today, sharing vast amounts of information on a global scale
instantaneously is no more an issue. The Internet, the World
Wide Web, personal computers (PCs) and wireline and wireless
technologies have turned the world into an increasingly
interconnected network of individuals, firm and Governments.
While such benefits accruing to urban society, particularly
in developed countries, have been widely acknowledged, the
perceivable advantages it brings to rural society in developing
countries facing wide-ranging issues related to rural poverty,
coupled with inequalities and environmental degradation,
are slowly being appreciated. The great divide between the
“haves” and “have-nots” with regard
to economic wealth and social and economic conditions has
been highlighted often, and these concerns are equally prevalent
and worrisome in the realm of ICT as well. The resultant
“digital divide” has received global attention
in the last decade. At the same time, there is no denying
the fact that the rapid advances in ICT applications delivered
on the information superhighway, together with low-cost
access to the associated services, provide an opportunity
for the remote rural population in developing countries
not only to improve communication but also to promote small
business development, create jobs, generate income, improve
agricultural production and marketing, and contribute to
better health, education and social welfare.
ICT helps to empower the poor and the marginalized rural
population in the developing countries to gain insights
into the issues facing them, and helps them to build their
ability and skills, understand their rights in order to
overcome social and institutional barriers, voice their
concerns, and make informed decisions through participation
in the economic and political processes. The Internet provides
a unique opportunity to tap the vast resources of global
information networks to propel them to development, without
having to “reinvent the wheel” or rediscover
existing knowledge. However, there are many challenges if
the ICT revolution is going to penetrate deeply into the
countries in the region, where sizeable populations continue
to live in areas devoid of communication infrastructure,
electricity or telephone connectivity. Even as the ICT revolution
has provided much-needed benefits for some people, there
are issues such as the non-availability of content in local
language and the high price of PCs that inhibit wider dissemination
of services. Added to this, the fact that most of the rural
poor are illiterate makes the task more difficult. These
very challenges themselves offer opportunities for innovation,
as has been proved by many success stories wherein ICT has
been effectively applied for rural poverty alleviation (Srivastava,
2001). Internet kiosks, connectivity through wireless networks,
and local-language software are some of the means adopted
to reach the hitherto unreached, disadvantaged rural poor
with the information that can enable them to reap many benefits.
The underlying inference in these success stories is that
the working strategies adopted are driven by several contextual
factors, and they need to be understood in a proper perspective
as people try to replicate them elsewhere. How well people,
organizations and perhaps the entire society learn from
the use of and gain from the access to ICT is a function
of many variables, including opportunities to profit from
greater knowledge, technological choices, change management
strategies, and the priorities at national and local levels.
The greater the penetration of ICT skill development, the
more sophisticated a community’s use of ICT will become,
provided an appropriate enabling environment is made available.
Essentially, it means that although ICT advancement is potentially
a valuable tool in addressing the digital divide issues,
ultimately all will depend on how well these technological
advances are matched with the policies and priorities of
the countries, such as an open and transparent government,
market-oriented reforms that promote competition, and entrepreneurial
freedom. In addition, a high priority on education is necessary,
as it takes an educated workforce to create opportunities
for more equitable development (World Bank, 2001).
The convergent environment with both wired and wireless
delivery channels, facilitated by terrestrial and space-based
systems brings both opportunities and pitfalls to countries,
more so in Asia and the Pacific, even as they scramble to
reap the full benefits of the new economy by planning appropriate
information infrastructure. For some, the growing range
of technological options presents an opportunity to become
more globally competitive, and for others, it provides a
means for accelerating the provision of basic services at
a lower cost using appropriate technologies. However, the
technological alternatives themselves pose challenges to
the countries, as any wrong selection may result in long-term
investment commitment that they cannot afford, and thus
lock out other viable options, or they may champion systems
and standards that rapidly become obsolete. Technologies
themselves are not available “off the shelf”,
and even when some are chosen, the associated capacity to
understand, absorb and master them is not easily available.
This inadequate technology transfer has always been a point
of contention between developing and developed countries,
and more so in a dynamic technology such as computers and
information technology, where the life cycle is as short
as 18 months or even less. Yet another risk posed by the
new technology environment, even as it helps to reduce the
imbalances between the rural and urban areas, is the possible
creation of disparities between those who know how to use
the technology and those who do not. This digital divide
within the country itself is one more dimension and is likely
to be more accentuated as more and more job opportunities
will be knowledge-based in the coming years. Developing
countries, even as they try to bridge the digital divide
separating them from the developed ones through the ICT
route, should be beware of this and prepare adequately to
brace themselves to face this difficult situation, because
a knowledge society needs to arm itself with good, continuous
life-long education for the deprived population, in both
the urban and remote rural areas.
Even as the Asian and Pacific region struggles to provide
the needed “last mile” connectivity to the remote
rural villages and island nations, space technology offers
necessary technology options for providing the broadband
backbone for the information superhighway. Space technology
applications in remote sensing, communications, navigation
and space sciences have touched every facet of human life,
and there is no denying that it has helped modern society
to cope with its problems of sustainable development by
providing valuable inputs into natural resources management,
preservation of the environment, global connectivity, entertainment,
education, telehealth services, disaster management and
information management. Satellite-based services score over
others wherever rapid and easy installation is called for,
because they can bypass network congestion and provide high-quality,
large bandwidth connectivity. The use of hybrid broadband
techniques consisting of copper wire, optical fibre and
satellites provides many a solution in bridging the digital
divide. With a proven record around the world, today space
technology and application activities have also become a
multi-billion dollar business with enormous investments
made in space systems, ground infrastructure and downstream
applications markets. The fast commercialization process
has also brought in large-scale private investment in space
technology, not only in the application market but also
in the manufacturing of satellites and launch vehicles,
introducing a paradigm shift in the traditional roles of
government and industry, and calling for a new look into
the regulatory framework, which had largely been set up
with governmental players in mind. This approach becomes
more relevant in developing countries than in developed
countries, because the Governments of developing countries
often exert more influence over industries and organizations,
controlling access to key resources and even setting costs
and prices.
Asia and the Pacific is the fastest growing region in the
world in terms of space technology applications, with access
to more than 2,100 satellite communication transponders,
more than 100,000 very small aperture terminals (VSATs),
more than 10 remote sensing satellite ground stations, around
30 environmental satellite data reception stations, and
with more than 10,000 geographic information systems (GIS)
serving the region. It cannot be denied that there is an
urgent need to understand the impact of the evolving space
technology convergence on the information superhighway in
the region, as some of the countries are still in the process
of recovery after the destabilizing financial crisis and
economic meltdown of the late 1990s. Despite this setback,
the investment in the new economy in the region has continued,
and in fact, it has proved to be a barometer for measuring
the recovery itself. However, because the technologies are
changing quickly and only now starting to converge along
the information superhighway, understanding the nuances
of the technological advances and positioning an appropriate,
sustainable policy framework is not an easy task for the
countries in the region, owing to the diversity of cultures
and various levels of development found among them. The
globalization of space activities and the emerging convergence
environment provide opportunities for the developing countries
to have access to adequate and necessary information so
that they may benefit in their struggle to narrow the digital
divide. The very same globalization process could also distance
them from the available opportunities, if they do not prepare
themselves with an appropriate policy framework to tackle
these emerging challenges. A major pitfall could occur from
the inability of the policy makers and the regulators to
plan for and adapt to uncertain environments in a convergent
situation, in which the distinction between previously differentiated
segments has vanished, making most of the existing regulations
and policies redundant. Therefore, the technology convergence
on the information superhighway poses perhaps the most important
dimension and challenge to the policy makers in the region.
It has spawned new issues related to the “technology
life cycle”, as well as costs, standards, modularity
and interconnectivity, interoperability, technology transfer
and human resources development. Drawing regulatory boundaries
to deal with the rapid expansion of non-traditional players,
who could be from across the world, is yet another dimension
that must be noted.
Obviously, with the integration of space applications on
the information superhighway, international cooperation
and regulation are essential elements for the dissemination
of space applications and for defining a cross-sector policy
framework, and for an orderly and mutually beneficial execution.
Globally, many international agencies and organizations
deal with space activities, promote their use and regulate
them. There are many coordination groups and forums around
the world to harmonize the planning and execution of space
activities, with the United Nations playing a crucial role
in ensuring equitable access to space benefits across the
world, particularly in the developing countries. The Third
United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful
Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III), held at Vienna in July
1999, and the Second Ministerial Conference on Space Applications
for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific, organized
by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific and held at New Delhi in November 1999,
gave a blueprint for effective utilization of space applications
for sustainable development. Even as ESCAP prepares to implement
the common denominator projects identified under the Regional
Space Applications Programme for Sustainable Development
(RESAP II) launched by the Delhi Declaration, it becomes
essential to take stock of emerging policy and regulatory
scenarios in the region, resulting from the efforts to seamlessly
integrate space technology applications on the information
superhighway in both the “conduit or carriage”
and the “contents” segments.
The present study aims at consolidating such ongoing policy
formulation efforts around the world, and particularly in
the Asian and Pacific region and while doing so, it will
touch on some of the essential technological nuances involved,
the understanding of which should enable the countries in
the region to formulate appropriate policies to suit their
national settings and priorities. Taking into consideration
some of the success stories – cases where space applications
integrated on the information superhighway have been able
to reach out to the poor and marginalized and make a visible
impact on their livelihoods – the study examines the
lessons learned and identifies the role of ESCAP within
the framework of regional/subregional cooperation. It has
also been noted that, despite formidable institutional and
operational constraints in some of the developing countries,
the integration of space applications on the information
superhighway has helped to improve the speed and transparency
of decision-making, thus helping e-governance to address
the issues related to poverty alleviation and sustainable
development efficiently at the grass-roots level. As mentioned
earlier, behind the success stories there are several factors,
but it is primarily the management of change, and enabling
administrative reforms, rather than technology per se, that
hold the key. Access to timely, transparent and accurate
information and appropriate enabling policies for access
can have a multiplier effect in a stagnant society, bringing
opportunities hitherto unavailable for the deprived rural
community, as well as benefiting the private and non-governmental
organizations that become part of such accelerated developments,
since lengthy governmental processes would no longer exert
a drag effect on the momentum of their progress. Competition,
competence-building and local participation are the resultant
invigorating factors in such a refreshing situation. Taken
together, for optimum exploitation, the technological advances
in ICT seek corresponding responses from the society and
the Governments to formulate fundamental change in their
approach to systems and processes, policies and regulations
in order to provide basic services to a larger segment of
the society with optimal quality, and at the desired time,
place and cost, whether in communications, in broadcasting,
in entertainment, in basic services such as education and
heath, in natural resources and environment management,
in disaster management, or, for that matter, in any segment
of development. Space technology, with its vast reach in
every sphere of human endeavour, has a major role in making
change possible.
Against this backdrop of possibilities and imperatives,
this study identifies a set of possible strategies and actions
that could be initiated within the ESCAP framework for regional
and subregional cooperation.
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