Climate change and women in South Asia: a review and future policy implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-166
Author(s):  
Sangram Kishor Patel ◽  
Gopal Agrawal ◽  
Bincy Mathew ◽  
Sunita Patel ◽  
Biswajit Mohanty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Policy

Purpose South Asian region is a focal point owing to its vulnerabilities to climate-sensitive diseases, dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods, projected levels of crop decline in the region, and high rates of poverty and malnutrition. Women are particularly vulnerable to climate change and this affects women disproportionately during different extreme events. The purpose of this paper is to understand the issue of climate change and its impact, and climate resilience among women in South Asia. Further, it also identifies the gaps and suggests future policy implications. Design/methodology/approach Climate change is increasingly being recognised as an alarming issue and the present review is important when South Asian countries are facing the brunt of climate change impacts. This paper tries to understand the issue by review of the literature and conceptual framework methodology. To understand women’s vulnerability due to climate change and its aftermath, the authors conducted both offline and online desk reviews for this study. Findings The findings of this study show a clear linkage between climate change and women’s vulnerabilities in South Asia. Climate change has significant socio-economic impacts on women, and it affects them disproportionately in various domains of agriculture, livelihood, food security, both physical and mental health, water and sanitation in the South Asia region. Practical implications The paper also highlights that the programmes that aim at combating the effects of climate change require a gender-sensitive approach so that climate change does not obstruct the development and reduction of poverty in the region. Social implications The findings of this paper will add value in helping families to come out of poverty by undertaking adaptive measures with proactive assistance from the government and grassroots level organisations. Originality/value The present study also advocates for more gender- and climate-sensitive measures from governments, and implementation of intervention- and evidence-based research in the South Asian countries.

scholarly journals Climate change, regulatory policies and regional cooperation in South Asia

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habib Zafarullah ◽  
Ahmed Shafiqul Huque
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
Asian Region ◽  
South Asian Region

Purpose With climate change and environmental degradation being major issues in the world today, it is imperative for governments within a regional setting to collaborate on initiatives, harmonize their policies and develop strategies to counter threats. In South Asia, several attempts have been made to create a common framework for action in implementing synchronized policies. However, both political and technical deterrents have thwarted moves to accommodate priorities and interests of collaborating states. The purpose of this paper is to assess these issues and existing policies/strategies in selected South Asian countries and evaluate integrated plans of action based on collaborative partnerships. Design/methodology/approach Using a broad exploratory and interpretive approach, this paper evaluates how harmonization of environmental principles and synergies among countries can help reduce the effect of climate change and environmental hazards. Based on a review of ideas and concepts as well as both primary and secondary sources, including official records, legislation, inter-state and regional agreements, evaluation reports, impact studies (social, economic and ecological), and commentaries, it highlights several initiatives and processes geared to creating environmental protection standards and practices for the South Asian region. Findings Climate change has resulted in devastating impacts on people. It contributed to the proliferation of climate refugees and high incidence of poverty in South Asia. The region faces both political and technical obstacles in developing a sustainable approach to combat climate change. This is exacerbated by non-availability of information as well as reluctance to acknowledge the problem by key actors. The best strategy will be to integrate policies and regulations in the various countries of the region to develop strategic plans. The approach of prevention and protection should replace the existing emphasis on relief and rehabilitation. Originality/value The paper provides a critical overview of the climatic and environmental problems encountered in the South Asian region and provides pointers to resolving shared problems through the use of policy instruments for regulating the problems within the gamut of regional environmental governance. It attempts to identify solutions to offset regulatory and institutional barriers in achieving preferred results by emphasizing the need for redesigning regulatory structures and policy approaches for ecological well-being.

South Asia will focus on easing impact of large floods

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Risk Maps ◽  
Large Floods

Significance India and Pakistan face a higher risk of heatwaves. Rising average temperatures may be linked to increased monsoon-related emergencies in South Asia. Impacts India will likely exceed its intended nationally determined contribution targets arising from the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference. Declining living standards due to climate change could raise migratory pressures across South Asia. South Asian countries will increasingly use drone technology to create risk maps charting climate change.

Climate change will prompt major reform in South Asia

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Major Reform ◽  
Flood Defence

Subject Responses to climate change in South Asia. Significance The Maldives last week hosted the fourth Indian Ocean Conference, at which representatives from South Asia and beyond discussed challenges to the region such as climate change. South Asian countries are experiencing increasingly frequent extreme weather events such as flooding and drought. Impacts The Maldives and Sri Lanka, the region’s island nations, will invest heavily in flood-defence systems. South Asian authorities will be under pressure to improve medical services to help cut deaths from flood-related diseases. Climate change will be an increasingly prominent feature of political debate in many of the region’s countries.

Remittances-inflation nexus in South Asia: an empirical examination

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hem C. Basnet ◽  
Ficawoyi Donou-Adonsou ◽  
Kamal Upadhyaya
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Panel Cointegration ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether remittances induce inflation in South Asian countries, namely, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach This study uses panel cointegration and Pooled Mean Group techniques covering from 1975 to 2017 to estimate the long-run and the short-run effect of remittances on inflation. Findings The estimated results suggest that the inflationary impact of remittances in South Asia depends on the time length. The inflow tends to lower inflation in the short run, whereas it increases in the long run. The findings highlight the regional peculiarity in the impact of remittances on the price level. The results are statistically significant and are confirmed by the Mean Group estimation as well. Originality/value Most past studies investigating the nexus between remittances and inflation in the South Asian context examine either these countries individually or include them all in a pool of big cross-sections. This study contributes to the literature by addressing this void. The South Asian countries should not generalize the earlier findings on the link between remittance inflows and inflation, as the short-run effect is different from the long run. Thus, these countries would be better off designing long-run policies that are different from the short run.

COVID-19 vaccination in South Asia: a call for responsible leadership among SAARC countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amlan Haque ◽  
Md Shamirul Islam
Keyword(s):  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Responsible Leadership ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Regional Leadership ◽  
Future Challenges

Purpose Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has presented an opportunity to set aside traditional regional collaborations and take responsible leadership to overcome difficult times. This paper aims to explore the current COVID-19 vaccination progress and pandemic status for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries and suggests responsible leadership to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and to think beyond. Design/methodology/approach This paper offers a viewpoint of the current COVID-19 vaccination among eight SAARC nations. It scrutinises the recent COVID-19 vaccination statistics for the eight South Asian countries based on Web-based analytics and comparative analysis until 28 August 2021. Findings This paper calls for collaborative decisions and responsible actions for policymakers in the SAARC countries to deal with the COVID-19 vaccination crisis. When South Asian countries are fraught with the increasing number of populations with COVID-19 cases, deaths and acute shortage of life-saving vaccines, it is time for their national and SAARC leaders to strengthen regional cooperations and initiate collaborative actions. The paper demonstrates that implementing responsible leadership can result in favourable outcomes for individuals, organisations, regions and the world. Moreover, this paper suggests SAARC, through responsible actions, has the potentiality to overcome the current crisis of COVID-19 vaccination and enhance the regional sustainability of the South Asian nations. Originality/value This paper delivers information about the present developing situation of COVID-19 vaccination in SAARC countries, how the governments and regional leadership are handling and future challenges that have been raised and can be overcome effectively. This paper can be helpful for the policymakers and SAARC leaders for effective public health interventions in the region and to develop a recovery roadmap for the sustainable economic zone.

Investigating the Role of Regional Economic Integration on Growth: Fresh Insights from South Asia

2020 ◽  
pp. 097491012097480
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ibrahim Shah
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Regional Economic Integration ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Regional Economic

Regional economic integration is the key to achieving prosperity and stability. However, intra-regional trade in South Asia accounts for not more than 5%–6% of their total trade. This study aims to examine the role played by regional economic integration in determining the economic growth of South Asian countries over the period 1980–2015. Since shocks in one country may affect another country in the region, this is taken into account in the article by employing methodologies that are robust to cross sectional dependence. Specifically, continuously-updated and bias-corrected (CupBC) of Bai et al. (2009) and Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality test (2012) have been employed to estimate long-run coefficients and determine the direction of relationship among the variables, respectively. The findings suggest that economic integration increases economic growth significantly in this region. However, contrary to popular belief, both democracy and human capital are negatively related to economic growth. Bidirectional causality is found between economic integration and democracy, regional integration and human capital, democracy and human capital and, democracy and labor. This study also presents several policy implications for South Asian countries.

China's foray into South Asia is risky for both sides

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Regional Development ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Regional Economic ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Security Interest ◽  
Mixed Responses ◽  
Competitive Rivalry

Subject China's ties with smaller South Asian countries. Significance Beijing is being drawn by its strategic aspirations westwards by land and sea corridors that lead to Africa and Europe. Pakistan and Myanmar are obvious outlets to the sea. Others along the maritime route fall squarely within India's sphere of geopolitical and security interest, on which Beijing is encroaching. Impacts China's regional economic interests and ability to bankroll projects are positive for regional development. Politically, China's growing presence is unsettling and arouses mixed responses in target countries. A growing competitive rivalry with India has global security implications as the two powers jostle for influence.

Health Inequalities in South Asia at the Launch of Sustainable Development Goals: Exclusions in Health in Kerala, India Need Political Interventions

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
CU Thresia
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Development Goals

Despite substantial progress in social development during the post-colonial period, health inequalities in the South Asian countries were staggering, with reduced life expectancy, higher maternal and child mortality, and gender discrimination. Notably, even with the rapid economic growth during the neoliberal period, India fares below most of the South Asian countries in several health indicators. The Indian state of Kerala stands out with social sector gains; nevertheless, evidence indicates widening health inequalities, restricted public arenas, and undemocratic practices in health, particularly in the context of increasing market logic in the health and social arenas shaping health. The caste, class, gender, and ethnic ideologies and patriarchal power structure interwoven in the sociopolitical, cultural, moral, and health discourses similar to the South Asian context raise serious inequalities for health. At the launch of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, the populations with lingering privations and forbidden freedoms for gaining better health in Kerala, similar to South Asia, were largely the dalits, ethnic and religious minorities, and women. This necessitates greater political interventions, recognizing the interacting effects of history, culture, social factors, politics, and policies on health. And public health research needs to underscore this approach.

scholarly journals Current context of transport sector in South Asia

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 490-505
Author(s):  
Champika Liyanage ◽  
Nuwan Dias ◽  
Dilanthi Amaratunga ◽  
Richard Haigh
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Transportation System ◽  
Sustainable Transportation ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Sustainable Transport ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Given the current focus on sustainable development, there is a need to identify the current status of the transport sector in developing countries and the obstacles to the development of a sustainable transport system. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide a critical review on what needs to be done in such countries towards a sustainable transportation system. The focus of the paper will be on the South Asian context. In order to achieve the aim, the paper examines the current issues, the policy context and the key actions required in the countries selected in South Asia (i.e. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal). Design/methodology/approach The main method used for the project was a combination of semi-structured interviews and focus groups. In addition, a policy analysis was also carried out with a use of secondary data. Altogether, 348 interviews and 16 focus groups (with 157 participants) were carried out in the selected six countries. Although the purpose of the research methods was to carry out a situational analysis of each country mentioned above on seven societal challenges identified under the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme, this paper only focusses on presenting the findings relating to sustainable transport. Findings Findings reveal that South Asian countries need to improve different aspects of their transportation sector, starting from national-level transportation policies. Sustainable transportation is not merely about mobility but also about creating safer, convenient and environmentally friendly transportation systems. Some key actions needed for these include introducing driver and passenger safety regulations, establishing vehicle emissions test centres to reduce CO2 emissions, and introducing public-private partnerships where useful. Originality/value This study provides a robust policy direction towards the introduction/improvement of a sustainable transportation system in South Asian countries.

What Does Gravity Model Reveal About SAFTA?

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-197
Author(s):  
Renu Verma ◽  
Jaidev Dubey
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Multilateral Trade

During last decade, the stalemate in multilateral trade negotiations under the framework of World Trade Organization (WTO) regime has provided impetus to the signing of regional trade agreements world over .South Asia is not an exception to this trend and has been involved in setting up its own bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). Most commonly cited cooperation agreements are Agreement on Trade and Commerce between India and Bhutan(1972), India-Nepal Bilateral Trade and Transit Treaties(1991), India–Sri Lanka Bilateral Free Trade Area(1998) Bangkok Agreement (1975),  Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIMST-EC-2004) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association of Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC-1997). One of  the most significant steps  towards regional economic cooperation in the history of South Asian countries, was taken with signing of The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) formed in 1985 with the objective of exploiting “accelerated economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region” for the welfare of the peoples of South Asia. And then seven South Asian countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—initiated a framework for region-wide integration under the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) in 1995. In order to further cement the regional economic relations and overcome some impediments of SAPTA, the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) was signed in early 2004, which came into force on 1st July 2006. The SAFTA is a parallel initiative to the multilateral trade liberalization commitments of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries. SAFTA aims to reduce tariffs for intraregional trade among the seven SAARC member countries. It has been agreed that for the South Asian countries, Pakistan and India will eliminate all tariffs by 2012, Sri Lanka by 2013 and Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal by 2015. The current paper is an attempt in assessing the potential trade in the region with latest dataset  with Gravity model approach.

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