The New Nation - Internet Edition

Inflation challenge persists

The Asian Development Bank has singled out high inflation as a challenge for Bangladesh’s economy as it reiterates that gross domestic product growth might be below 6 per cent in the current 2007-2008 fiscal year. 'Containing high inflation is a major macroeconomic challenge’, ADB said in its latest quarterly report released recently adding the country’s fixed income earners and the poor are vulnerable to high and rising food prices. It projected an economic turnaround in the second half of the fiscal year that ends June next.

Floods and cyclone put pressures on the economy by 'aggravating’ high inflation and slowing growth prospects. Global price volatility and domestic factors like business confidence also took their tolls on the economy. Food, which accounts for 59 per cent weight in consumer price index, became costlier by 14.5 per cent in December 2007 compared to 11.4 per cent in July the same year, propelling the general inflation to record high of 11.59 per cent. ADB’s country director here, however, forecast that the rate could come down to 8.9 per cent in the second half of the fiscal year on the back of 'better economic performance’ and her hope also rested on a 'bumper Boro crop’.

The finance adviser the other day said that the government’s borrowings from the banking system in the first half exceeded the whole year target already by Tk 2,000 crore. The central bank governor claimed that there had been certain improvement in business confidence. 'We have to increase public expenditure to create employment. So, borrowing from banks to finance projects under the annual development programme will give more dividends than creating any inflationary pressure,’ he was quoted to have said. The ADB in its quarterly report said under-pricing of energy products posed a major fiscal risk. It also pointed out that the rise in subsidies to offset impacts of global oil and fertiliser prices amplified pressures on the fiscal balance.

Threats to manpower export

THERE can be no denying that the current macro economic stability stems mainly from remittances sent by Bangladeshis doing overseas jobs. The country’s forex reserve surpassed the highest ever level of well over six billion US Dollars recently, thanks to the record number of people going out on employment abroad. Thus, the remittances sent home by the increasing number of expatriate workers is helping to underwrite the economic security of the country.

But sustaining this remittance flow depends vitally on retaining and expanding market shares in manpower export. Therefore, it is extremely important that the government should be aware of the growing threats. In recent months, workers have been expelled from Saudi Arabia, the biggest employer of Bangladeshi workers. Similar expulsion has been noted from Malaysia and some Gulf countries. Four thousand migrant Bangladeshi workers were arrested in Qatar the other day and deported on allegations of working there illegally. If this trend continues, then the goodwill among importers of Bangladeshi manpower will be shattered affecting manpower export.

It appears that Bangladeshis go to work places abroad in many cases dutifully but are cheated on arrival by their employers who do not honour their contracts with the workers. The workers do not receive their contracted salaries and are forced to live from hand to mouth. Under such circumstances, they drift away from their contracted employers and take up jobs elsewhere in the host countries for which they are charged with illegal work. But this cannot happen if the manpower export is better supervised to secure only proper contracts for the workers. The Bangladesh missions abroad need to be proactive for the enforcement of the contracts. It is imperative to consolidate manpower export so that neither the workers suffer nor manpower export earnings.

Is eco-tourism a green-wash?

Mohammad Shahidul Islam

The travel industry, though travel journalists have no recognised union to publicise their interests and fight on their behalf, is defended and supported by a variety of organisations, including ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents), WTO (World Tourism Organisation) and WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council). Noticeably, the travel industry intends to protect the world's natural and cultural resources, which are at the heart of its business activities. But it has other concerns as well, some of which run counter to the tenets of sound ecotourism. These travel associations sponsor, for instance, self regulation, expanded tourism markets and a lowering of trade barriers. Almost for two decades, industry associations responded to the development of environmental concerns and the rise of ecotourism by instituting certain transformations that, when inspected directly, often amount to promoting minor, cost saving environmental reforms -- ecotourism rather than critically fighting the codes and practices of ecotourism.

ASTA's commandments:

* Respect the frailty of the earth. Realise that unless all are willing to help in its preservation, unique and beautiful destinations may not be here for future generations to enjoy.

* Leave only footprints. Take only photographs. No graffiti! No litter! Do not take away souvenirs from historical sites and natural areas.

* To make your travels more meaningful, educate yourself about the geography, customs, manners and cultures of the region you visit. Take time to listen to the people. Encourage local conservation efforts.

* Respect the privacy and dignity of others. Inquire before photographing people.

* Do not buy products made from endangered plants or animals, such as ivory, tortoise shell, animal skins, and feathers. Read Know Before You Go, the U. S. Customs list of products which cannot be imported.

* Always follow designated trails. Do not disturb animals, plants or their natural habitats.

* Learn about and support conservation-oriented programmes and organisations working to preserve the environment.

* Whenever possible, walk or use environmentally-sound methods of transportation. Encourage drivers of public vehicles to stop engines when parked.

* Patronise those (hotels, airlines, resorts, cruise lines, tour operators and suppliers) who advance energy and environmental conservation; water and air quality; recycling; safe management of waste and toxic materials; noise abatement, community involvement; and which provide experienced, well-trained staff dedicated to strong principles of conservation.

* Encourage organisations to subscribe to environmental guidelines. ASTA urges organisations to adopt their own environmental codes to cover special sties and ecosystems.

Tourism is a passport of peace. This is an innate right of people. Tourism matters the peace and brotherhood round the globe. It draws many responsibilities in the performances of travelers. ASTA has declared crusade for peaceful tourism and environmentally responsible travel.

ASTA vs WTTC : These commandments are among a growing number of voluntary codes of conduct written by various organisations. Widely distributed to travel agents and the travelling public, the "Commandments" are printed on green paper and designed to slip into an airline ticket folder. Directed at sensitising travelers, not the travel agents who belong to ASTA they include such platitudes as stated above. Although they urge travelers to "Patronize thosetdedicated to strong principals of conservation," they do not specifically encourage travelers to patronise locally owned or community-based ecotourism ventures. Without further education of both travel agents and the public, ASTA's "Commandments" are not good ecotourism.

Codes such as this have no teeth but allow an organisation to claim great sensitivity and responsibility. Few industry efforts demonstrate this more clearly than the WTTC's Green Globe logo programme, endorsed by the Earth Council, which was set up to oversee implementation of the 1992 Earth Summit's Agenda 21:

* Planning and management of land resources

* Combating deforestation

* Combating desertification and drought

* Sustainable mountain development

* Sustainable agriculture and rural development

* Conservation of biological diversity

The WTTC's president, Geoffrey Lipman, unveiled the Green Globe programme at a 1994 Montreal conference titled "Building a Sustainable World through Tourism". Lipman told the delegates, "The Green Globe symbol means that a company is committed to environmental improvement. It does not mean that a company has achieved it.

It can be described as a diagnostic and self fitness programme, not an accreditation programme. It offers business benefits; it offers cost saving and commercial positioning. This seems as if it were putting a green glove on Adam Smith's hidden hand of the market place". Under this scheme, for as little as $200, travel and tourism companies can purchase the right to use the Green Globe logo in all their publicity and thereby give the impression that they are "going green".

In return, the company pledges to work toward more environmentally sound corporate practices as outlined in the United Nation's Agenda 21. To test Litman's description, Worldwide Television News (WTN) in London set up a phony business called "Greenman Travel" and sent an application and $200 to Green Globe. In return, Greenman Travel received a certificate stating, "In recognition of commitment to environmental improvement". The WTTC did not verify Greenman Travel's authenticity or ask why it wanted to join Green Globe. Thus, Green Globe is, in essence, little more than a marketing ploy.

Much of what is marketed as ecotourism is simply conventional mass tourism wrapped in a thin veneer of green. Ecotourism is propelled by travel agents, tour operators, airlines and cruise lines, large hotels and resort chains, and international tourism organisations, which promote quick, superficially "green" visits within conventional packages. A lot of travel companies used it to call attention to anything they were selling.

Perchance more than any other big player in the tourism industry, the Walt Disney Company has tried to cash in on the travelling public's desire to "go green" with an ecotourism theme park, Animal Kingdom. Disney spent $800 million dollars to transform 500 acres of central Florida cow pasture into an African savanna, with fake wide-trunk Baobab Trees, a Zulu village and some one thousand real imported animals. This largest of Disney's theme parks is designed to let the American public "go on safari" without leaving the shores of the United States. Although it has won praise from zoo-industry officials, Animal Kingdom was opened in mid 1988 amidst protests from animal rights groups and an investigation by the US Department of Agriculture into the deaths of some dozen animals, including representatives of endangered species. Two West African Crowned Cranes were run over by tour vehicles.

A substantial segment of the traveling public wants this type of tourism. In recent years, there has been a gradual trend for many eco-tourists to be less intellectually curious, socially responsible, environmentally concerned and politically aware than in the past. Increasing numbers of older, wealthier and "softer" travellers have begun opting for comfort over conservation. Ecotourism travelers are, as David Western puts it "entertained by nature, but not unduly concerned with its preservation". Biologist guides on the Galapagos Islands say that tourists these days, though far greater in number, are overall less interested in the details of the islands' unique ecosystem than they were in the past and want simply a quick historical and ecological overview of the islands. Several naturalist guides are contemplating quitting because they no longer get much professional satisfaction.

These trends reflect the watering down of the true meaning of ecotourism -- a movement from real ecotourism toward ecotourism awareness. The ultimate goal of ecotourism should be to infuse the entire travel industry with the principals and practices of ecotourism and thereby transform tourism into an environmentally and culturally sensitive activity that contributes to sustainable growth in developing countries. Clearly there is some movement in that direction on the part of many travelers and the mass market. But the movement towards ecotourism, towards industry "green hoaxing" through advertising images and cosmetic changes is stronger.

Once some of the world's oldest and most prized nature destinations, including the Galapagos Islands, Nepal and even Monteverde were visited by only the most physically rugged and intellectually curious. Now, however, with improved air and ground transportation, better accommodations and extensive publicity, these destinations are being marketed to a mass audience. When poorly planned, unregulated and over hyped, ecotourism, like mass tourism or even traditional nature tourism, can bring only marginal financial benefits but serious environmental and social consequences. Nowadays, some visitors reach mountain summits via what is marketed as "ecotourism of the future" -- and their only step upward is into a helicopter. "Helicopter treks" fly visitors to high mountain peaks, where they get out, stretch their legs, take photographs and then fly back. Such tours clearly do little to educate the traveler and do nothing for conservation or local economic development.

The travel industry's efforts to water down ecotourism, to sell ecotourism in exchange for short-term profits, have led some travel experts to drop the word ecotourism and dismiss the concept as simply a fad. As world famous Eco Photographer and expert Bob Harvey puts it, "the word ecotourism became a buzz-word in the early 1990's, but so many people used it in so many different ways that it has become virtually meaningless". This is, however, a classic case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

As a concept, as a set of principles and practices, ecotourism is still in its infancy. In identifying what is ecotourism enlightenment and determining where genuine ecotourism is being practiced today, we need also to discover ways in which authentic ecotourism can move from being simply a niche market in the category of nature tourism to becoming a broad set of principles and practices that transform the way we travel and the way the tourism industry functions.

What can we do?

Chandra Muzaffar

While it does not seem likely that the Japanese government will in the immediate future abrogate or even modify Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, largely because of recent domestic political developments, peace activists cannot afford to be complacent about the danger of the emergence of a militarized Japan pursuing the militarized agenda of a militarized world.

This concern about a militarized Japan will be analyzed by first examining those forces that are determined to persuade Japan to assume an overt military role in future conflicts in the region and the world. It will be followed by reflections on some of the countervailing forces in the region and the world that may help to check this militaristic push. We shall then propose concrete measures that various civil society actors can adopt in order to strengthen peace. An attempt will be made to highlight the special role that religion - in our case Islam - can play in this endeavor. In our conclusion we shall give some attention to moves to prohibit war and how such moves can bring the different religious communities together.

Within Japanese society there has always been a nationalistic, militaristic tendency associated with the political right. Groups that reflect this tendency are of the view that only a militarily strong Japan will be able to protect the nation's economic assets and defend a somewhat vulnerable insular society. Besides, military muscle will also ensure that Japan has the capacity to secure oil and other much needed natural resources for a natural resource deficient nation.

Many of those who think along these lines are also critical of Japan's military dependence upon the United States and would like Japan to be a military power in its own right. But there are also those who see a militarily strong Japan as enhancing the US's military hegemony. Indeed, the US's own desire to strengthen Japan's military hand is yet another factor driving Japan in the direction of militarism. Why would the US that had insisted upon disarming Japan in the wake of the latter's defeat in the second world war now want to rearm Japan? There is no need to emphasize that it is because of the US's current policy of seeking to contain China. For some Washington elites, a militarily powerful Japan would not only serve as a counterweight to China but may even be able to thwart its ascendancy. This is why the US is so keen on the abrogation of Article.

Both militarism within Japanese society and the push from the US should be viewed in the context of some larger regional and global developments. A number of countries in the region such as China, North and South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan have all in the last decade or so increased their military expenditure for a variety of reasons. The growing economic prosperity of some of these countries may witness an escalation in such expenditure.

This is also happening at the global level with the US leading the world in military spending. It is estimated that annual global military expenditure now stands at 1.2 trillion US dollars. The arms trade continues to flourish with a number of new actors joining the game. Newer and deadlier weapons are being manufactured. Research in weapons technology has reached new heights.

Global militarization has become an even more serious threat to humankind since it has now found a new raison d'etre. This is the US led global war on terror. Though sophisticated weaponry is of little help in the fight against terrorism, militaristic elites and arms merchants are using the war on terror as an excuse to expand military budgets. At the same time, they refuse to address the root causes of global terrorism which are related directly to US occupation of foreign lands, its establishment of foreign bases, its usurpation of oil, and its endorsement of Israeli subjugation of the Palestinian people. As a close ally of the US, Japan is also not willing to come to grips with the underlying causes of global terrorism. In fact, Japanese leaders have often alluded to the threat of global terrorism as one of the principal justifications for rescinding Article.

If this is how Japanese elites and elites in the US and other parts of the world feel about militarization, what hope is there for the preservation of Article 9 and the maintenance of peace? Within Japanese society itself there is - in spite of everything - considerable support for Article 9 and the Peace Constitution. This support comes from people in all walks of life. Because of the terrible catastrophe of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a significant segment of the Japanese national community is averse to war and remains deeply attached to the ideal of peace.

Outside Japan, in the rest of Asia, especially in Northeast and Southeast Asia, both governments and peoples are inclined towards political stability and economic prosperity which they know are only possible if there is no war or armed conflict. Indeed, for more than two decades now the whole of the East Asian region stretching from China and Japan to Indonesia and the Philippines has experienced relative peace and tranquility. Steady economic development achieved within an environment of stability and security has become the dominant ethos of the region, It explains to some extent at least why the rest of East Asia rejects almost instinctively the thought of a militarily resurgent Japan. Besides, it brings back bitter memories of a tragic past.

East Asian states are also acutely aware of the mortal danger posed by a militarily resurgent Japan forging an even stronger security alliance with the US. They have no doubt that it will trigger a response from China. It could lead to tensions in the region which would surely impede East Asian economic advancement. In other words, East Asia has a direct stake in the perpetuation of Article 9.

It is not just East Asia which fears war. The world as a whole is weary of war as demonstrated so vividly in the massive global opposition to the US led invasion and occupation of Iraq in March 2003. It was arguably the biggest - and the most extensive - anti-war, pro-peace movement in human history. The protests revealed a profound yearning for peace which has expressed itself on other occasions in the last four years.

It is this yearning for peace that civil society should harness in the struggle against war, violence and militarization. Article 9 could serve as the rallying point for it embodies an unambiguous renunciation of war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling disputes. Parliaments of the world should be persuaded to adopt resolutions which renounce war and the use of force as envisaged by Article 9. Political parties should also be encouraged to adopt a similar stand. Trade unions and business organizations should also join the effort. All sectors of society should be mobilized to the hilt to oppose war and militarization.

It is in this regard that we visualize a special role for religion. Islam, like other religions, is orientated towards peace and justice. There is no need to emphasize that the term 'Islam' itself implies peace through submission to God. The Qur'an eulogizes peace as a noble goal and implores humankind to strive to create harmony and understanding among nations and peoples. It is because peace is only attainable if there is justice that the Qur'an pleads for justice. This is also why it deplores aggression and oppression since aggression jeopardizes peace and oppression repudiates justice.

Because aggression and oppression are anathema to the religion, Islam expects its followers to resist aggression and oppression. Resistance is vital for the protection of one's honor and dignity. These principles were embodied in the life and mission of the Prophet Muhammad. He defended his nascent Muslim community against aggression and oppression but at the same time did his utmost to avoid violence and bloodshed. Peace through justice was his cherished objective.

It is because peace is such an exalted ideal that Muslims have from time to time sought to translate this ideal into concrete reality. One such attempt was a proposal to repudiate war as a means of resolving inter-state disputes which I had put forward on the eve of the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Kuala Lumpur in February 2003. In a letter to the media dated 2 February 2003, I suggested that "to be non-aligned today is not to be aligned to war. There are two advantages in defining non-alignment in this manner. It distinguishes - and distances - NAM as a collectivity from Washington's formidable war machine while eschewing war as a tool of foreign policy. It also serves to remind NAM members themselves that they should not resort to war and violence as a means of settling conflicts.

I went on to argue that to be non-aligned is not only to repudiate war but also to affirm faith in peace. After all peace was one of the most powerful motivations for the establishment of NAM. In both the 1947 Asian Relations Conference in Delhi and in the 1955 Bandung Conference - widely recognized as precursors of the 1961 Belgrade meeting at which NAM was officially launched - peace was proclaimed as one of the cardinal goals on non-alignment.

By a happy coincidence the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who presided at the NAM Summit used the occasion to also urge the world to prohibit war as a means of settling conflicts. Since retirement, Mahathir has launched a movement to criminalize war. It has not gained much momentum partly because the mainstream global media has chosen to ignore the movement.

One is not surprised by the media's attitude. The mainstream media is after all integral to the US helmed global power structure which seeks to perpetuate its hegemony through war and violence. It is simply not in the media's interest to criminalize war.

This is why we have no choice but to turn to the new media. Through the new information and communication channels available to us -such as the internet and the DVD - we should raise public awareness of the importance of combating war.

Indeed, criminalizing war should emerge as that fundamental mission that unites people of different faiths in a common struggle. No religion regards war as a virtue. The death and destruction that accompanies war is a denial of life and the sanctity of life that all religions cherish in different ways.

In the ultimate analysis it is because life is sacred in the eyes of each and every religion that the preservation and perpetuation of Article 9 has become such a blessed endeavor.

The above paper was presented at the Article 9 Conference referred to in the preceding Statement

(Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST))