Role of Information Technology and Biotechnology for sustainable development, these twin wonders have raised the hopes of leaders and planners alike and these will give us "healthier lives, increase access to knowledge and bring about greater social freedoms."
Technology brings about rapid changes that most citizens often fail to comprehend and adjust to. Then there are its resulting products and processes that have caused much harm - starting with the atomic bomb to less dramatic ones, such as the industrial disaster in Bhopal; the nuclear accidents at Three-Mile Island in the US; and Chernobyl in Ukraine; the warming of the atmosphere due to carbon dioxide and other emissions from industrial plants; and the depletion of ozone caused by CFC, the coolant in refrigerators and cooling plants. Or the mixed results of the green revolution that - while raising grain production to meet the demands of the relentless population growth - has left soils and farmers less better off.
From all this arises a general mistrust of scientists, technologists, private corporations and governments. No such worries exist for the technicians with their heads under the car bonnet. It doesn't bother them what the diesel and petrol fumes from cars around them do, nor the effect of leakage from the coolant used in car air-conditioners on the ozone layer above. The HDR intones enthusiastically about the positive effect of info- and bio-technologies on developing countries and poor people. In contrast, many fear that these technologies may exacerbate division between the countries of the North and the South, and between the rich and the poor, or all countries. The report in turn contends that without an enlightened leadership and a socially responsive public policy, these technologies could indeed become exclusionary and a hindrance to progress. Managed with wisdom and humility, they can become powerful tools capable of freeing people around the globe to achieve their potential - out of the rut they presently find themselves to more productive livelihoods. The technicians would agree.
The last century's amazing gains in advancing development came on the wings of technological breakthroughs. Vaccines and antibiotics introduced in the South in the 1930s had, by the 1970s, increased life expectancy at birth to more than 60 years. In Europe, the same gain took over a century. In this part of the world, under-nutrition has been halved in less than 30 years. World cereal yield has doubled in the last 40 years due to successful plant-breeding, fertilizers and pesticides - even though their use and misuse have generated other problems. With the introduction of any new technology, particularly one that has far-reaching consequences, countries must have the know-how and the resources to tackle any unforeseen adverse consequences.
Technology-related problems can often result from poor policies, inadequate regulation and lack of transparency. In the US for example, three major agencies are involved in regulating genetically modified organism with a high degree of funding. This cannot be matched in the developing countries, and hence greater need for caution is warranted. Lack of proper technology planning can have other serious problem such as that faced by India with its massive brain drain. The opening of visas for the US will lead to 100,000 technologists from India leaving annually at an estimated loss of $2 billion to India.
The grim realities of the Southern countries, "Of the 4.6 billion who live there, more than 850 are illiterate, nearly a billion lack access to improved water sources, and 2.4 billion lack access to basic sanitation. Nearly 325 million boys and girls are out of school. And 11 million children under five die each year from preventable causes - equivalent to more than 30,000 a day. Around1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day, and 2.8 billion on less than $2 a day."
Internet by itself won't. For a farmer short of water and inputs, what is more important is the recognition of efficient farming practices that are cheap and based on traditional farming that can easily provide food for him and his family and enough surplus for sale in the market place. He will need to use water efficiently and to rediscover the judicious use of manure and care for the soil. Merely using fertilizers, or growing cash crops with excessive water will only lead to water-logging and salinity. Appropriate education and appropriate technology is the key to progress.
There are no silver bullets. Instead the age-old fundamentals of development of the masses are a prerequisite for the successful introduction of new technologies. But planners and development workers should keep in mind that these two technologies, Information Technology and Biotechnology, can only become the dynamos for change when supported by a reformed educational system developed through a public-private partnership in a society that is based on justice and equity. The technicians will then have something to smile about.
