RESTORE AND REINFORCE TRUST The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with One Single Step At the SKOCH Summit, New Delhi, June, 2012 Pradeep S Mehta Secretary General, CUTS International Jaipur

INTRODUCTION  Serious lack of progress on development issues – both in domestic and international context  An Uphill task

THE PROBLEMATIQUE Major Glocal Problems 1.Terrorism 2.Poverty 3.Governance 4.Economy 5.Climate Change

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

POVERTY  Millennium Development Goals – An elusive agenda  HEADCOUNT OF POVERTY RATIO  Cambodia: 23 pc in 2008  Indonesia: 22.6 pc in 2008  India: 32.7 pc in 2010  Percentage of urban poor: 60 (1970’s) to around 81 in 2005

ECONOMY  Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs: Brundlandt Commission.  Sustainable development is not possible without economic growth.  Western economic issues affecting the whole world today, Lehman Brothers’ triggered a global wave of financial crisis.  Recent FICCI survey (August 2011) on the Economic Scenario in Europe and its Impact on the Indian Economy: 60% respondents in India stated that their business prospects were impacted due to the ongoing slowdown in European markets.  Doha Development Agenda in intensive case.

DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT  All eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives What’s happening:  The anti-corruption movement in India  Arab Spring  Occupy Wall Street  Etcetera

GOVERNANCE  International Institutions: IMF, World Bank, WTO, UN, Security Council etc.  UN Global Compact also turned out to be a failure  Increasing crony capitalism and oligarchy  Declining economic democracy  CSO’s role very prominent here

ACHILLES HEEL  Lack of coherence among actors  Lack of emphasis on growth  Lack of visionary leadership No panacea for all these ills; there is a requirement of a massive involvement, which is not unachievable in a democracies And then the only way out of the storm is through it!

CSOs: THE DEFINITION  World Bank Definition: “ …the wide array of non-governmental and not-for-profit organisations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members or others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations. CSOs therefore refer to a wide array of organisations: community groups, NGOs, labour unions, indigenous groups, charitable organisations, faith-based organisations, professional associations and foundations.”

CSOs ROLE IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT  Edelman’s Trust Barometer – NGO’s are the most trusted institution in comparison with government, business and media (Jan 2012)  CSO’s are participatory and grassroots-oriented and are thus adept at helping and empowering people.  CSO’s influence on shaping global public policy has also emerged

WAY FORWARD  Need for a participatory democracy  Participation of CSO’s in policy making  Need for an increased interaction between the researchers, stakeholders and CSO’s both at national and international level.  Need for enhancement of partnership between CSO’s and government. The partnership is ‘mutually symbiotic’ in nature.

Faith is to believe what you do not see, the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. St. Augustine