September 4, 2002	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Saani25,1423

ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: The World Bank has urged more balanced global approach to development in South Asia.

“The World Development Report (WDR) 2003” of the World Bank released here on Monday also called upon heads of state, ministers, private sector leaders and civil society representatives at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg to reach an agreement on steps that can be taken to ensure that poverty-reducing growth does not come at great cost to future generations.

The next 50 years, the report said, could see a fourfold increase in the size of the global economy and significant reduction in poverty, provided that governments act now to avert a growing risk of severe damage to the environmental and profound social unrest.

“In nearly 50 years, the world could have a GDP of $140 trillion and a total population of nine billion up, from six billion today. Without better policies and institutions, social and environmental strains may derail development progress, leading to higher poverty levels and a decline in the quality of life for everybody”, the report said.

Talking about Pakistan, the report pointed out, that resource degradation has reduced overall productivity growth from technical change, education, and infrastructure investment by one third.

It said that intensification of land and water use in Pakistan and India have resulted in resource degradation that is lowering overall productivity growth.

The WB report also said that today more poor people depend on fragile natural resources to survive. Similarly, trust between individuals, which can be eroded or destroyed by civil unrest, is a social asset with important economic benefits, since it enables people to make agreements and undertake transactions that would otherwise not be possible.

It suggests that new alliances are needed at the local, national, and global levels to better address these problems. The burden for development must be shared more widely. Rich countries must further open their markets and cut agricultural subsidies that depress incomes of third world farmers, and they must increase the flow of aid, medicines, and new technologies to development countries. “Governments in development world, in turn must become accountable and transparent and ensure that poor people are able to obtain secure land tenure, as well as access to education, health and other basic services”, the report added.