Revamping Old Asia A look at countries’ efforts to preserve historic districts 22 A Publication of the Asian Development Bank Year III, Number V1 January–March 2010

Urban Planning Laboratory Asia’s cities will house an estimated 2.2 billion by 2020. Can the region’s economic growth continue without a sustainable plan for its megacities?

The Upside of Slums in “Tweeting” for a Good Cause, Thailand’s Mr. Condom Development Social Media and Development Works Between the 16 Organizations 36 4 4 Navel and the Knees CONTENTS

SPECIAL REPORT Urban Development in Asia Year III, Number VI January–March 2010

26 SIDEBAR 38 BLUFFING AID DUTCH JAKARTA LEFT BEHIND Internet scammers use the name of Efforts to revitalize the old town of development organizations to take money Imaginechina Batavia have yet to move beyond the from their socially conscious victims. drawing board. By James Hutchison By Joe Cochrane

28 SIDEBAR A PEARL IN NEED OF POLISH After barely surviving World War II, the city of Manila went through several renovations but has yet to recover its 8 URBAN PLANNING LABORATORY former glory as the “Pearl of the Orient.”

The future productive capacity of many Asian By Karl Wilson Jupiterimages countries depends on making their cities more sustainable. 41 SIDEBAR By Joe Cochrane FIGHTING BACK AFP Knowing the difference between a genuine 16 THE CRUEL UTILITY OF SLUMS and a hoax email is the best way to defeat Rather than being a burden to the economy, cyber crooks. slums serve a purpose by providing cheap housing for low-cost labor. 42 OPINION By Bronwyn Curran THE DARK SIDE OF REMITTANCES Across the globe, stories of exploitation 20 VIET NAM TRIES TO BREAK THE MOLD and abuse have cast a hard shadow on the Viet Nam has had the foresight to prepare economic gains of labor-exporting countries. plans to upgrade its cities at the onset of By Wendy Doromal urbanization. FEATURES By Floyd Whaley DEPARTMENTS 32 TERRIFYING INSURANCE Political risk policies have been broadened 6 ROUNDUP cover acts of terrorism. 14 ASIA BY NUMBERS By Keith Rosenblum 44 FROM THE FIELD Illustration by: Gerry Castro Illustration by: 35 SIDEBAR Working Between the Navel and the Knees ANSWERING THE PLEA Thailand’s Mr. Condom, Mechai Viravaidya, An emigrant returns home to help rebuild uses unconventional but effective methods Afghanistan, one brick at a time. to promote safe sex and population control. By Floyd Whaley 36 THE ART OF THE “TWEET” The world’s established development 48 MUST-READ BOOKS 22 REVAMPING OLD ASIA organizations struggle to reach a larger Reviews of the titles that the world’s Governments in the region attempt to audience through popular social media development professionals would have given preserve historic districts as well as equip networks in the internet. each other as holiday gifts, if they did that them for the challenges of globalization and By Jenny Forster sort of thing for environmental sustainability. By Karl Wilson and Joe Cochrane 50 ON THE RECORD

JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 3 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS Richie Abrina Political Will Needed Mark Blackwell has more than 20 years of experience covering he articles on the MDGs [Millennium Development topics ranging from science and economics to politics and cross- The Future of Goals] are very informative, helpful, and thought- border issues in Latin America for news organizations, including provoking. It is good to know that there has been success T the Hearst Corporation and Capital Cities/ABC. He specializes in Cities in Asia… in some targets, but it wasn’t surprising that many have not been informational graphics. www.development.asia achieved, given what has been happening to our world in the last © 2010 Asian Development Bank several years. There’s a good question in the article, A Skewed Joe Cochrane is deputy editorial adviser at the Jakarta Globe news- ISSN 1998-7528 and the World Picture, on whether the MDGs present an accurate picture of paper. He is a former Southeast Asia correspondent for Newsweek ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK progress, and different opinions about this are to be expected. magazine and bureau chief for Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Cambo- But I agree with the statement given by a policy director that, dia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. PUBLISHER Ann Quon “the question shouldn’t be about whether MDG indicators are EDITORIAL AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR perfect” (they should be accurate though), “…but whether the Bronwyn Curran is an Islamabad-based journalist who worked as a Carolyn Dedolph Cabrera he rise of Asia’s megacities is the upshot of robust economic growth world is prepared to put in the political will needed to achieve correspondent in Pakistan and Afghanistan for Agence France-Presse. MANAGING EDITOR Eric Healy in the region. In turn, the expansion of these centers of industry and the goals…” And sadly, it seems that the “world” isn’t prepared. She is also the author of Into the Mirror, a biography of Mukhtar Mai, a Pakistani woman who became an international symbol of female SENIOR EDITOR Floyd Whaley commerce is fueling further growth, opening more opportunities for Marion Mortel oppression after suviving a gang-rape in 2002, then bringing her case EDITORIAL ADVISOR Florian Steinberg business and employment. Capacity Building Coordinator to court successfully in Pakistan. ASSOCIATE EDITOR Maria Liza Solano TWith six out of 10 of the world’s largest cities in Asia—and eight out of Quezon City, Philippines COPY EDITOR Ma. Priscila del Rosario 10 of the most densely populated—the continent will be the world’s de facto Wendy L. Doromal exposed the labor and hu- ART DIRECTOR Anthony Victoria laboratory for urban planning. man rights abuses in 1991 in the United States Comments are encouraged. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, DESIGN & GRAPHICS Yet urbanization does not mean prosperity for all. A great disparity Please write: [email protected] where she lived and worked as an educator Ronnie R. Elefaño between the rich and the poor—not just in terms of income but also in living Gerry Castro and human rights advocate. She has been Smruthi Gargi Eswar conditions—persists. Asia accounts for some 60% of the world’s urban slum working for immigration and labor reform for residents. CLARIFICATION the past 20 years and has testified before the Development Asia features development issues Rapid development puts pressure on infrastructure and the delivery of basic In the October-December 2009 edition of Development Asia, the second US Congress on the issue. She is the author of important to the Asia and Pacific region. It is published to last paragraph of Corruption Challenges Infrastructure Growth by William the blog, Unheard No More, which addresses four times a year by the Asian Development Bank. services, such as health care, water and sanitation, and energy, particularly for Branigin attributed a progress report to Transparency International. The human rights and guest worker issues. The views expressed in this magazine are those progress report on a pilot program of the Construction Sector Transparency of the authors and do not reflect the views and cities with poor urban planning. Investments in public utilities must keep pace policies of the Asian Development Bank. Use of the Initiative (CoST) was actually issued by CoST itself. term “country” does not imply any judgment by the with business and population expansion. Otherwise, economic growth cannot Jenny Forster is a Bangkok-based journalist authors or the Asian Development Bank as to the be sustained. who specializes in social and environmental legal or other status of any territorial entity. This edition of Development Asia examines the opportunities and challenges issues. Despite her many years in the region, COMMENTS she retains a newcomer’s curiosity. that urbanization presents: how it can drive or disrupt economic growth in Send your feedback to the editor at [email protected] Asia. It looks into the case of Viet Nam, one of Asia’s economic stars, which is Bruce Heilbuth has worked as a journalist and ADVERTISING grappling with problems arising from massive urban migration. In The Cruel foreign correspondent on four continents. He To advertise in Development Asia, inquire at [email protected] Utility of Slums, we weigh the economic value of informal settlements against the spent nearly a decade as the editor-in-chief of human toll. To round out coverage, we report on the progress of urban renewal Reader’s Digest magazine’s Australasian and SUBSCRIPTIONS Asian-English editions. Contact [email protected]. programs that seek to revitalize old cities while preserving their cultural heritage. REPRINTS In other stories, we explain the rollout of a form of political risk insurance James Hutchison has worked as a writer and photographer in Asia Material published in Development Asia and on www. development.asia, including articles, photos, graphics, that covers acts of terrorism. We look at how development organizations are for more than 25 years. His work has appeared in more than 30 and other content, is copyrighted. Material may not international publications. be reproduced, republished or redistributed without adapting in a networked world. How well are these organizations using social written permission of Development Asia. For reprint media? And how are internet scammers posing as development organizations? permission, please contact [email protected]. Keith Rosenblum (left) worked as a journalist Photographs not owned by ADB require permission Finally, we put the spotlight on Thailand’s Mr. Condom, Mechai Viravaidya, in our from the copyright holder for reprinting. for newspapers in Arizona, covering the US- From the Field story. Mexican border and Mexico for more than 10 Development Asia As we begin a new year, we renew our commitment to illuminate the latest years. He now handles consulting and media Department of External Relations Asian Development Bank and most innovative ideas from the frontlines of development, every quarter, projects in Latin America for a variety of inter- 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City national groups. He is based in Arizona. 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines in Development Asia. [email protected] www.adb.org Floyd Whaley, senior editor of Development Asia, operates Asia Editorial Services. His work Cover: Gerry Castro has appeared in USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, Discovery Chan- nel Magazine, and many other media outlets. Note: In this publication, “$” refers to US dollars. Karl Wilson has worked in Asia for more than 25 years. He was Ma- AnnAnn QuonQuon nila bureau chief for Agence France-Presse for 5 years and chief editor Publisher of The Hongkong Standard. He is now the Manila correspondent for The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi.

4 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 5 ROUNDUP AFP Rebuilding Nepal through Governments Falling Short of Commitments Diaspora Bonds illions of dollars pledged by governments to help eradicate poverty and other social ills in the developing world have not been received, according to a United Nations epal is banking on its migrant workers to support efforts to B(UN) report launched on 16 September. rebuild the national economy. The country is still recover- The report, Strengthening the Global Partnership for Development in a Time of Crisis, by the UN Ning from the decade-long civil war that ended in 2006. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Gap Task Force, highlighted an annual gap of $35 bil- In July, Finance Minister Surendra Pandey announced a plan to of- lion in the 2005 pledge made by the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries at a summit fer an Infrastructure Development Bond to Nepalese working abroad in Gleneagles, United Kingdom. during a speech presenting the new $3.7 billion budget in Parliament. This amount includes a $20 billion annual shortfall in its commitments to Africa, even The Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of Nepal, will issue though 2008 saw the highest levels of development assistance to the continent. bonds worth 7 billion rupees (close to $90 million) at fixed exchange In a preface to the report, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon recognized that since the

rates, as part of domestic borrowing for fiscal year (FY) 2009, says adoption of the MDGs in 2000 there has been “great progress” in reducing poverty and hunger, AFP Mr. Pandey. The bonds will be offered only to those employed over- and promoting access to education and health services. AID NEEDED A young scavenger pushes a seas through embassies of Nepal in the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, “But the economic crisis threatens to reverse these hard-won gains, and time is running heavy cart full of reusable items. Government Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. short,” he said. “Without strong and concerted international responses, the crisis could become needs to follow through on their commitments Workers’ remittances amounted to 17.4% of the gross domestic a development emergency.”—IRIN News Service  to reduce poverty. product in FY2008. BUILDERS OF THE ECONOMY Workers queue to pay fees for foreign A Reuters report says the government plans to spend $30 mil- lion on infrastructure development over the next 2 years.  !"#$S())*

Migration Myths Dispelled in UNDP Report

AFP Philippine Boxer Making an Impact on the Economy ost migrants do not move from developing to developed countries, and when they do, rather than hurting host economies, they benefit them, according to amous Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao not only puts opponents on the ropes but Ma new report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP). also knocks out productivity in some parts of the Philippine economy, according to UNDP’s Human Development Report 2009, launched globally on 5 October in Bangkok, a recent report. A Pacquiao fight clears the streets, empties malls, and even brings dispels several myths about migration, instead underlining the economic and social ben-

F David Swanson/IRIN down the crime rate, says the website FinanceManila.net. efits for countries. “It’s very peaceful, the crime rate is almost zero,” says Manila police chief Roberto “Mobility can bring large gains in development,” Jeni Klugman, director of the report, Rosales. “There should be a Pacquiao fight every day.” told IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the United Nations Office for The increasingly common bouts—Pacquiao has been at it now for 14 years and the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “It’s presently very much constrained by a crossed through 7 weight classifications—are a boon for the entertainment industry, whole range of barriers, and reform [of] these barriers could allow much greater potential too, reports the website in its 4 May 2009 report, Pacquiao Fight Day Effect on Economy. to be released.” YEARLY EXODUS A scene at the Sukarno-Hatta Restaurants offering pay-per-view fill their establishments and hold on to excited International Airport in Jakarta. Thousands of women The annual report calls for several migration reforms, including for states to ensure patrons for hours—even if the bout ends early—and theaters cast aside Hollywood leave their homes in Indonesia to work as domestic basic rights for migrants, and the mainstreaming of migration into national development in favor of lucrative closed-circuit transmissions. McDonald’s restaurants in the workers each year. plans.—IRIN News Service  BOXING DAY Televised matches of boxing champion Philippines lose dine-in customers but pick up on the delivery end, says Kenneth Manny Pacquiao freeze his nation’s productivity for the Yang, president and CEO of Golden Arches Inc., the Philippine franchise holder of day, analysts say. McDonald’s.—Keith Rosenblum.  Photononstop Water Works to Improve Food Security nless Asia improves its use of water for agriculture, a new study says, by 2050 AFP Close to a Billion Asians Online many developing countries will have to import more than a quarter of the rice, Uwheat, and maize they need. he number of Asians going online will grow to nearly a billion by 2013, “Asia’s food and feed demand is expected to double by 2050. Relying on trade to meet says a report by Forrester Research, Inc. The continent will account for a large part of this demand will impose a huge and politically untenable burden on the T43% of the world’s online population. With 17% of the world total, the economies of many developing countries. The best bet for Asia lies in revitalizing its vast People’s Republic of China (PRC) is expected to surpass the United States. irrigation systems, which account for 70% of the world’s total irrigated land,” says Colin “The internet’s power is as strong in the political and cultural arenas as it Chartres, director general of the International Water Management Institute. is in the economic one,” says the US-based research company. “Multinational The institute presented the report Revitalizing Asia’s Irrigation: To Sustainably Meet Tomor- organizations of all kinds must understand the dynamics of the shifting global row’s Food Needs at the 2009 World Water Week in Stockholm in August. online population to ensure that they are positioned to take advantage of emerg- The study was carried out by the institute, the Food and Agriculture Organization ing international opportunities.” (FAO) of the United Nations, and researchers from partner organizations with funding By 2013, the global online population will grow by more than 45% to 2.2 from the Asian Development Bank. They used a computer model called WATERSIM, billion users. The internet user base is increasing in every area of the world, which helps examine difficult tradeoffs between food security and the environment, spe- but Asia will remain the biggest global growth engine, says Forrester Research. cifically in relation to water supplies. The report says the PRC’s online population will rise by nearly 11% each Asia’s population is expected to expand by one-and-a-half billion people over the next year over the next half decade. Other Asian countries with substantial online 40 years. To meet their food needs by 2050, the International Water Management Institute growth rates include India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines. By con- AN INTERNET BAR IN BEIJING The online population estimates that the amount of irrigated farmland in South Asia must be increased by 30%, GREEN THUMBS The best bet for Asia lies trast, growth rates in some of the more mature markets, such as Japan and the of the People’s Republic of China will rise by nearly 11% each and in East Asia by 47%. Without water productivity gains, South Asia would need 57% in revitalizing its vast irrigation systems, says the Republic of Korea, will rise by less than 2% each year.  year over the next half decade. more water for irrigated agriculture, and East Asia 70% more.  International Water Management Institute.

6 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 7 SPECIAL REPORT Imaginechina

Asia’s cities will house about 2.2 billion by 2020. Can the region’s economic growth continue without a sustainable plan for its megacities?

hese are heady days for Asia’s emerging economies. KISS THE SKY While the United States, Europe, and, closer to Computer rendering home, Japan, wobble from the global economic of Shanghai shows the crisis, Asian tigers led by the People’s Republic planned Shanghai Tower Tof China (PRC), India, and Indonesia hum along, post- along with the Shanghai World Financial Center ing impressive growth figures. It is no wonder that the and the Jinmao Tower, world has turned to Asia to lead the turnaround from the currently two of the global recession. world’s 10 tallest While economic growth continues for now, serious skyscrapers. questions about whether this prosperity can last in the long term are emerging. In particular, there is mount- ing concern over whether Asia can sustain economic development given its myriad of challenges, chief among them the growing trend of urbanization. By 2020, more than 2.2 billion Asians will live in urban areas. Already, 6 of the world’s 10 largest “megaci- ties”—defined as having a population of more than 10 million—and 8 out of 10 of the world’s most densely populated cities are in Asia. These sobering statistics are a wake-up call for the

Cochrane region: without sustainable urbanization, economic growth could be in jeopardy. As urban population growth continues, housing, power and water supply, public transportation, jobs, and numerous other demands will not somehow magically expand at the same pace. Na- tional and city governments should already be thinking

By Joe ahead—10, 20, even 30 years, according to urban plan- ning experts. planning urban llaboratory

8 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 9 SPECIAL REPORT RIA Novosti AFP

RAPID GROWTH Megacities are expanding across the region, from Karachi to Bangkok (in photo), Greater Jakarta to Metro Manila, and the Pearl River Delta in MASSIVE TASK High-rise residential buildings stand behind an expanse of slums in Mumbai, India. As the population of Asia’s cities surge, countries in the region are the People’s Republic of China. struggling to build the infrastructure needed to support them.

“The sheer numbers in Asia are over- Megacities are expanding across has nearly 45% of its population living from agricultural and rural pursuits to in- or through public–private partnership ar- and provide quality work. In Indonesia, whelming,” says Florian Steinberg, senior the region, from Karachi to Bangkok, in urban areas. dustrial production and services industry. rangements.” the central government is embracing urban development specialist with the Greater Jakarta to Metro Manila, and “Urbanization is an effect of economic It explains migration. Cities are a more Governments in Asia are coming public–private partnerships to build in- Southeast Asia Department of the Asian the PRC’s Pearl River Delta. More than growth, not a cause of it,” Mr. Mehta says. attractive place to find employment, re- around to the notion of urbanization as in- frastructure, such as roads, reservoirs, and Development Bank (ADB) in Manila. 53% of Chinese, 63% of Indonesians, and “Lagging urbanization in some sense is a gardless of all the problems.” evitable; nonetheless, fears persist about power plants, as well as to operate them Even so, he says Asia’s urbanization 72% of Filipinos will be living in urban reflection of the poor capacity of cities to whether local administrations have the and to deliver electricity to cities. Some growth rate still lags behind other regions, areas by 2020, says the United Nations absorb economic growth. Hundreds of Billions of Dollars Needed capacity to deal with increasing demands local governments in Indonesia, enjoying such as Latin America. In 1990, the per- Human Settlements Programme (UN- “That is true of Indian cities. Infra- for services, land, and infrastructure. the benefits of regional autonomy, are centage of Asians and Africans living in structure services are much lower than And those problems read like a laundry “The structures in place aren’t de- signing their own deals with companies in urban areas was less than 35%, while today the level of economic activities would list. Annual infrastructure investment signed to deal with these issues at all,” the private sector. in Asia, it is still only 42%, according to “The sheer numbers in demand,” he says. “It [economic growth] needs have been estimated in the Mr. Wegelin says. “Take an extreme case “For sure, governments are having a some estimates. will take place in cities that have infra- hundreds of billions of dollars. Industry like Metro Manila. We have 17 city gov- harder time trying to meet their infrastruc- “It’s a concern,” Mr. Steinberg says. Asia are overwhelming.” structure. That is why there is massive leaders in Asian cities complain that they ernments and 16 municipalities. Local ture deficits and put their infrastructure “There’s a view that urbanization is nega- growth in the PRC, because of the infra- need more roads, ports, container facili- governments either don’t talk to each needs in order,” Mr. Westfall says. “When tive, but others feel there is a need for —Florian Steinberg structure.” ties, and power to increase production other or fight with one another.” you have… just a government agency more urbanization. Sustainable urbaniza- Senior Urban Development Specialist Cities in the PRC, however, are prov- and help drive growth. Large Asian cities Notes Matthew Westfall, director of building infrastructure, and not managing tion will be essential for growth and to ad- Asian Development Bank ing to be the exception in the region. are trying to cope with this demand, as urban services of ADB’s Central and West it and guaranteeing it’s working down the vance the economies. India, for example, While population growth rates are slowing well as find solutions to increased water Asia Department, “Because urban centers road, you find you have a problem.” needs much more urbanization to perform globally, urban population growth rates use and traffic jams due to inadequate play such a major role in the economy, you He says the massive floods in Metro economically at the rate that it wants to HABITAT). While Kuala Lumpur is not a are higher than those in rural areas. As a public transportation systems. In Ja- have to get them right first.” Manila in late September that forced the perform.” megacity, 72% of Malaysians will be living result, Emiel Wegelin, program coordina- karta, the state-run electricity provider evacuation of hundreds of thousands of in urban areas by 2010 and nearly 80% by tor of the Cities Development Initiative was forced to ration power throughout Making Deals people were the result of “many decades Urbanization as a Driver of Development 2020. for Asia (CDIA), says urban governments November 2009 because mechanical of neglect coming to the fore.” Dinesh Mehta, professor emeritus at have been unable to keep pace with the problems with some power generators In Pakistan’s main urban centers, Karachi Torsten Kleiss, an urban development the Centre for Environmental Planning growing demand for services. The CDIA reduced supply. and Lahore, local governments are looking Growing Asian Slums expert and senior consultant for Holcim, and Technology University (CEPT) in is a multi-donor project to help cities “Infrastructure investment needs for at mass rapid transit systems to deal with the international cement supplier, says, Ahmedabad, India, says overall Asia’s prepare infrastructure projects to attract urban areas have been estimated in the growing traffic problems. The proposed Analysts also warn that megacities can no “Urbanization is something good. It’s a “tipping point”—50% urbanization, private investment. hundreds of billions of dollars per year,” system in Lahore will be a multibillion longer afford to ignore their urban popula- driver and result of economic and social de- collectively—will occur in 2023. He “This thing is not coincidental,” Mr. Mr. Steinberg says. “There are no govern- dollar large-scale mass transit system with tions, in particular, the reality of prevail- velopment. Look at America and Europe. says the region’s urbanization rate is Wegelin explains. “This happens because ments in Asia that can actually cope with as many as five separate lines. ing urban poverty. While the levels and Development took place with urbanization higher today because it is being driven it is a special articulation of an economic those needs. The majority of investments Lahore, like other Asian cities, is invit- conditions of urban poor vary from place that started around 100 years ago.” by massive growth in the PRC, which transformation that is going on—a shift will have to come from the private sector ing private investors to help foot the bill to place, confidence is low that Asian cities

10 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 11 SPECIAL REPORT

will meet all or, in some cases, most of their Going Green by Necessity Millennium Development Goals by 2015. “You can say that while many of the Looking ahead, Asian cities face some Asian countries are good performers in the tough important decisions. Expanding overall economy, the prevalence of poverty populations will require greater services, With is a big, big concern,” Mr. Steinberg says. but limited land, natural disasters, envi- “We are still seeing the struggle of the ronmental issues, and climate change will labor force to position itself in the labor call for more creative solutions, according markets and [get] benefits for itself. As to analysts. some long as governments don’t recognize the “In Ho Chi Minh City, half the city is less instability that is associated with the than 1 meter above sea level, which means prevalence of poverty, development is at that in the next 100 years from now it will be risk.” flooded,” says Kosta Mathey, a professor at solutions Mr. Mehta from CEPT says, “Cities the Vietnamese–German University there. are attracting people, but not everybody “Technical and preventive measures, like is able to move out of poverty. So we see emergency plans, will have to be there.” more slums in cities of Asia than before.” Planning cannot be just about prepar- for According to UN-HABITAT, 47% of ing for doomsday, however. Mr. Mathey Pakistanis, 41% of Vietnamese, and 32.8% says cities have more opportunities, thanks of Chinese lived in urban slums in 2005. to technological advances, to design more And it’s not just affecting urban dwellers energy-efficient buildings and housing, climate that are officially classified as poor. In grow food in urban areas, and deploy more India, the average annual growth rate in fuel-efficient and environment-friendly urban areas between 1981 and 2001 was public transportation.

2.9%; but between 1983 and 2004, the AFP “‘Energy-efficient’ means to both pro- change urban poor population grew by only 0.6% BUILDING BOOM Motorists ride past residential duce more energy and use less energy,” he a year, says Banashree Banerjee, a private buildings under construction in Ho Chi Minh City, explains. “You can shade the façade, have urban development consultant in New Viet Nam. more ventilation. You can also reduce energy Delhi. consumption by either reducing transporta- “But these statistics hide a lot,” she of the decision-making process. He also tion to work or in transporting [goods].” says. “Sixty percent of the population of says community-based or even individual In Indonesia, PT Perusahaan Listrik Mumbai is living in slums. Officially, only participation in planning initiatives by Negara, the state-run electricity provider, 15% are the really poor. You can imagine Asian governments is lacking, in contrast says with electricity demand growing by how difficult it is. The land prices are very to Latin America, where the practice is 9.2% per year, Indonesia will need to add high. Even for the middle class, it’s difficult common. 16,183 megawatts by 2010 to curb power to find anything that’s not in the slums.” shortages and meet increased demand. As a result, the company says it may have to ...you simply add water Going Beyond Government “Cities are a more increase rates by up to 30% to finance the planned expansion. Still, grim realities on the ground have “This means that energy efficiency is failed to demoralize urban communities employment, regardless an absolute no-brainer,” says Alex Buechi, and the activists who try to represent manager of sustainable construction for them. Civil society is increasingly express- of all the problems.” Holcim’s operations in Jakarta. “Buildings Climate change endangers us all. A great way ing its views, and the interests of urban are the biggest contributor to CO2 emis- to fight it is harnessing renewable energy. ADB provides dwellers, on how development should pro- —Emiel Wegelin sions globally, bigger than traffic.” funding and assistance for clean-energy run-of-river ceed. In particular, local nongovernment Program Coordinator In Jakarta, Holcim is promoting a Euro- hydropower plants across Asia. They range in size organizations (NGOs) have taken up Cities Development Initiative for Asia pean-derived radiation-cooling technology from 5 to 100 megawatts. causes ranging from protecting the rights that can keep concrete in warm climates of pedicab drivers in Jakarta to demanding radiating at 23 degrees Celsius. Mr. Buechi Eco-friendly, these plants keep rivers flowing. access to clean drinking water for Bangkok says the technology can reduce the energy “In Brazil, there are different cities Electrify urban and rural areas. Supply power slums. practicing different modalities [of partici- required to cool buildings and homes by for people and industry. And switch Asia on “What you see very much in many patory budgeting]. But in more and more 75%, and is currently being used worldwide, countries, like Thailand, India, and the cities, residents get together and have a including in the PRC, Egypt, and India. to a low-carbon path. Philippines, for example, is the recogni- say in how budgets are spent,” Mr. Acioly According to urban planning experts, tion of the role of organizations,” says says. “We don’t see this model working the path emerging Asian nations take in ADB. Investing in climate change solutions for Asia and the Pacific. Claudio Acioly, Jr. of UN-HABITAT. much in Asian cities, mainly because of urban development will need to use all “Because of the size and urgency and the different political processes going on.” these factors: private sector financing, com- ability of governments to really have the ca- He says urban communities in Asia munity support, technological advances, pacity to respond, there has been a recogni- would do well to organize themselves and political will, and more if Asia is to leverage tion that NGOs come on board as a partner,” directly approach governments with their its booming urban populations into prosper- he says, “or even replace the state.” views on urban planning, given that NGOs ous participants in the global economy. However, Mr. Acioly says NGOs in may not always share the same agenda. And as the last year has shown, the Asia play more of an operational role in “The true representatives are the world economy needs a prosperous, www.adb.org urban development rather than being part community-based groups,” he says. healthy Asia. 

12 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 ASIA BY NUMBERS

About 40% of Asia's population now lives in cities, compared with 70% in Europe, Intellectual Capital on the Rise North America, and Latin America, but the coming decades are expected to bring rapid increases in urbanization. By 2050, with the urbanization of more than Urban two-thirds of the People’s Republic of China’s population and more than half of India's, Growing Research Asia's cities are predicted to be home to more than 60% of the world's urban dwellers. Asia’s contribution to research is rising. SHARE OF WORLD R&D SPENDING Asia’s research and development expenditures, Asia as a percentage of research In 2002 27.1% Kazakhstan 59% In 2007 32.7% SHARE OF WORLD’S RESEARCHERS Number of researchers in Asia, as percentage of researchers in Uzbekistan Mongolia the world Georgia 37% Kyrgyz Republic 57% In 2002 53% 37% 35.7% In 2007 41.4% Armenia Turkmenistan 50% 64% Azerbaijan Tajikistan 52% 27% Afghanistan Advanced Education 25% People’s Republic Republic of Korea Asia is home to nearly half of the world’s tertiary education of China students, up from about a third in 1970. Pakistan Nepal 63% Japan 45% 67% Urbanization 37% 18% Bhutan SHARE OF WORLD’S Percentage of population 37% TERTIARY ENROLLMENT living in cities in 2010 Percentage of the world’s total tertiary education enrollment that is in Asia Hong Kong, China 47% Bangladesh 45% KEY 100% 38% 37% 39% 39% Yellow circle: 35% 36% 28% 32% Total population India 30% Lao PDR Orange circle: Viet Nam 33% Urban population 29% Philippines Myanmar 66% XX%: Urban 34% population 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2007 Thailand Cambodia 34% 23% Brunei Darussalam TOTAL POPULATION, BY COUNTRY Sri Lanka 76% Higher Enrollment In millions, 2010 15% Malaysia Total To t a l 72% Post-secondary education rates are rising worldwide. Asia’s population population participation rate has climbed dramatically. PRC 1,351.5 Sri Lanka 19.6 Singapore India 1,220.2 Kazakhstan 15.8 TERTIARY ENROLLMENT Indonesia 239.6 Cambodia 15.2 100% Papua New Guinea 13% Percentage in tertiary education, among those not more than Pakistan 173.4 Azerbaijan 8.7 Urbanization in Asia, by ecosystem 5 years beyond the customary age for secondary education. Bangladesh 166.6 Hong Kong, China 7.4 100% Japan 127.8 Tajikistan 7.1 80 1970 3% Philippines 93.0 Papua New Guinea 6.7 East Asia and 1990 7% Viet Nam 90.8 Lao PDR 6.2 60 Continent the Pacific 2007 Thailand 65.1 Kyrgyz Republic 5.5 40 average: Indonesia 26% 41% 54% Myanmar 50.1 Turkmenistan 5.2 20 Afghanistan 30.4 Singapore 4.6 1970 4% 0 South Asia and Nepal 29.9 Georgia 4.3 West Asia 1990 6% Uzbekistan 28.6 Armenia 3.0 2007 11% Malaysia 27.9 Mongolia 2.7 Coastal Dryland Australia Forested Mountain Republic of Korea 24.0 Bhutan 0.7 Cultivated Inland water 89% Photos: AFP Australia 21.4 Brunei Darussalam 0.4 Low elevation Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Sources: United Nations Human Settlements Programme (www.unhabitat.org/stats); “State of the World’s Cities 2008/2009” by UN-HABITAT Research and design by Mark Blackwell

14 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 15 AFP SPECIAL REPORT

Slum areas are often not prioritized for poverty reduction because they serve an economic purpose

ames Masi moved his family from to projections by the UN agency. While the Upwardly Mobile Slum Dwellers Pakistan’s southern Punjab province proportion of urban residents in slums is Jto the federal capital, Islamabad, 20 highest in African cities, in numbers alone, Slums serve as holding stations for rural years ago in search of domestic work. Asia accounts for some 60% of the world’s migrants to cities as in the case of Mr. Masi— They are one of 1,500 families living in the urban slum dwellers. As of 2001, South- filling a desperately needed role as urbaniza- city’s so-called Christian Colony, a slum central Asia had the largest slum population tion skyrockets. area in the heart of Islamabad’s affluent in the world, with 262 million slum dwellers Since 1950, the proportion of people sectors. The colony is overcrowded, fetid, or 58% of the region’s total urban population. working in agriculture in developing coun- without proper sanitation, and ripe for a As large concentrations of poor liv- tries has declined by 20% to 30%, according mass blaze, but Mr. Masi moved his fam- ing together, slums would seem a natural to The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on ily there after they ran out of live-in job priority for poverty reduction efforts. Yet Human Settlements 2003 by UN-HABITAT. arrangements; it only costs the equivalent often they are not, experts say, because “The immigrant urban poor have largely of $50 a month. slums serve a purpose. moved from the countryside to the cities No one has title to the land in the Chris- “Slums are the best way found by many voluntarily, in order to exploit actual or per- tian Colony. Even the owners of the airless countries to provide cheap housing to the ur- ceived economic opportunities. Opportuni- one-room shelters rented out to families like ban poor. And cheap housing means a cheap ties manifest in part due to the growing urban Mr. Masi’s are technically squatters, illegally labor force, low-income workers. Slums are informal sector, which is most spectacularly occupying public land. This slum is home to the physical expression and condition of visible in the many growing and large-scale a vast number of Christian domestic work- urban poverty. In many countries, they are informal and squatter settlements in urban ers who cook or sweep Islamabad’s wide vil- necessary to ensure profitable economic centers.” las for less than $300 a month, keeping the growth,” says Daniel Biau, who directs UN- “In many cities,” the report continues, lounge rooms and kitchens of the capital’s HABITAT’s Regional and Technical Coop- “the informal sector accounts for as much as civil servants and diplomats operating. eration Division. 60% of employment of the urban population “Before being a problem, slums are there- and may well serve the needs of an equally A Third of the World fore a solution at a particular stage of economic high proportion of citizens through the pro- development. They were a solution in Victo- vision of goods and services.” Mr. Masi is not alone. Slums currently house rian London as they are a solution in Mumbai “Asia, which is home to 80% of human- one-third of the world’s population, reports today. Slums are not a market failure, they are a ity, is also urbanizing, and currently 36% URBAN POOR The Dharavi slum in the United Nations Human Settlements market success. This is the first thing we should of Asians live in cities. Asia’s megacities— Mumbai, made famous by the movie Slumdog Programme (UN-HABITAT). By 2030, 2 know about slums: they are economically use- Mumbai, Calcutta, and Bangkok—have Millionaire, is home to 57,000 families. billion people will be living in slums unless ful, sometimes extremely useful, because they over 10 million people, and between one- substantial policy changes occur, according offer low-cost housing options to the poor.” third and one-half of them live in slums.

16 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 17 SPECIAL REPORT

The rapidity and enormous volume of this and education facilities. But thanks to rural-to-urban migration intensifies slum foresight by development organizations formation. City planning and management such as Ms. Rahman’s—and perhaps the systems are unable to adequately cope with lack of money and human resources of the the massive population influx.” Karachi government—the huts and tiny The Challenge of Slums report decon- plots in the 50-year-old Orangi township structs the myth that slum dwellers are a are not up for grabs by developers. burden on the economy. A process called “notification”—by “While many developing countries which Orangi residents receive title to have regarded the informal sector as their homes—has been under way since something illegal to be eliminated be- 1986. So far, 40% of residents has received cause it ‘undercuts’ the formal sector, titles to homes; those remaining are in the which is required to comply with labor and process of being “notified.” safety laws and pay taxes, another school Getting property deeds for Orangi of thought is that reducing onerous regu- residents is an offshoot of a broader and lations and dissolving large, underproduc- highly successful effort by NGOs to up- tive enterprises can unlock the creative grade the 1960s-era slum and make them power of microentrepreneurs and provide self-sufficient communities. goods and services at lower costs.” The Orangi township was established Studies in both developed and devel- by the local government in the 1960s as oping countries have documented the po- a cheap residential colony with subsidized tential significance of slums as incubators land and low rents for factory workers in for upward social and economic mobility. the industrial sites next door, a captive “Upward mobility does not necessarily pool of cheap labor. mean that people will move out of slums. Orangi is now home to 700 private On-site physical transformations in slum schools, 600 health clinics, 90,000 latrines, communities are in many cases evidence and 40,000 microenterprise units, accord- of socioeconomic upgrading,” the UN- ing to the Orangi Pilot Project Research HABITAT report states. and Training Institute, an NGO operating since 1988 to help Orangi’s people help A Model That Works themselves. The massive sanitation upgrade was Given the usefulness of slums, some carried out by Orangi’s own residents for governments are making progress in a fraction of the cost of similar projects improving the lives of those who live in financed by international development these areas. lenders, says Ms. Rahman, who directs the The Orangi township, on the edge of Orangi Pilot Project. Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, recently Local government stayed clear of earned the honor of outdoing Mumbai’s renewal projects in the early years because Oscar-famous Dharavi shantytown, star of a lack of money and manpower. of the celluloid hit Slumdog Millionaire, as “It was difficult for government to Asia’s biggest slum. come in and do the work in supporting the A report by Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai upgrading of Orangi. They always said: ‘We Municipal Corporation, cited in London’s have no money,’” Ms. Rahman says. “But Daily Telegraph, trumpeted that while Dhara- since 1990 the government started taking vi has 57,000 families living in overcrowded interest and giving support. The people huts with poor sanitation, Orangi is home to laid sewer lines themselves, but the gov- 1.5 million people living in poverty. ernment provided the trunk sewers.” “Dharavi is not Asia’s largest slum; The government, she says, is begin- Karachi’s Orangi township has surpassed ning to recognize that “lifting the self-suf- Dharavi,” the report claimed. ficiency and livelihood of slum-dwellers Like the malodorous streets of its will be good for the economy.” Indian sister, Karachi real estate is gold. In contrast, the case of Dharavi in Land is the hottest commodity in these Mumbai points at attempts to cash in twin subcontinental commercial hives sur- on high land values and use that money rounded by shantytowns. Property specu- to benefit slum residents. The proposal lators in Mumbai are in a lather, snapping calls for land to be sold to the highest up plots in the Dharavi slum under a private bidders for upscale development. 7-year redevelopment plan. An important component of the deal, Karachi authorities, for their part, are however, will be the guarantee that the on a mission to turn the teeming Arabian 57,000 slum-dwelling families are housed Sea port of 14 million people into South on-site in high-rise apartments at no cost Asia’s Dubai. “Karachi is up for grabs,” to them or the government. If successful, says Perveen Rahman, head of a nongov- the experiment will likely set a precedent AFP Florian Steinberg ernment organization (NGO) that works for cities dealing with urban renewal and LOOKING AHEAD A mother tends to her child outside their dwelling in Mumbai’s Dharavi. Residents hope for SHANTY TOWN Informal settlements like this thrive astride Manila’s business districts. to upgrade Orangi’s sanitation, health, informal settlements.  decent housing under an urban development plan.

18 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 19 SPECIAL REPORT

Viet Nam Tries to Break the Mold By Floyd Whaley Urban planners aggressively strive to keep the country off the path of mismanaged urbanization

outh of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Viet Nam’s three largest urban areas—Ha Southeast Asia. At that time, the government This foresight and aggressive plea for 100% of its people living in urban areas to Nam used to be a vast expanse of Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hai Phong— began planning for the massive upgrading assistance have paid off. In June 2009, have access to clean water by 2020, and rice fields and marginally produc- is expected to triple by 2020. More than a of its cities. Government planners put out Viet Nam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan for 100% of solid waste and sewage to be tive agricultural land. Today, the quarter of Viet Nam’s population already a call for overseas development assistance, Dung announced about $9.84 billion for collected and treated in the same time Sarea is the most modern in the metropolis, urban development programs from 2009 frame. lives in cities, according to United Na- specifically targeting water supply and with high-end residential zones, interna- tions data. That is expected to increase to drainage, transport, environment, and to 2020. With Viet Nam’s track record of carefully tional schools, and chic shopping centers about 35% by 2020. housing for low-income laborers who would The money will be used to provide identifying its urban development needs employing thousands. As in countries across the region, the be needed to build the country’s new urban housing for low-income residents in urban and aggressively courting the external assis- The Saigon South area is one of the divide between the poor in the city and areas. areas, as well as to improve urban plan- tance needed to carry out the programs that most dramatic urban development projects those in the countryside is expected to Viet Nam had about 500 urban areas ning by local governments, according address those needs, many experts predict in the country, but it is by no means an iso- continue to drive migrants toward cities. calling for investment in 2004, with to a statement from the prime that those ambitious goals will be met, once lated case. In urban areas throughout Viet One in five people in the Viet Nam urban infrastructure projects under minister’s office. again.  Nam, less glamorous development projects countryside are considered poor, way in 45 cities and towns, ac- Viet Nam’s goal is for are under way to address the country’s while cities enjoy less than half cording to a statement from burgeoning transportation, housing, sanita- that rate of poverty. Viet Nam’s Ministry of tion, and myriad other needs. As recently as 2005, Viet Construction. BIG PROJECT Residents look at the Viet Nam has been one of Asia’s stars Nam was considered one of map of a multibillion in terms of economic expansion. Even the least urbanized areas in dollar urban develop- during the global economic crisis, the ment project in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) city of Ha Noi. grew by 3.9% in the first half of 2009, ac- cording to the Asian Development Bank’s Asian Development Outlook (ADO) report. In 2010, Viet Nam’s GDP growth is expected to increase to 6.5%. This rapid economic expansion has put Viet Nam on a similar path as other Asian tiger economies with large, rural populations pouring into the cities seek- ing work and straining infrastructure. “The demand for municipal infra- structure in Viet Nam has increased rapidly as the country copes with rapid urbanization, decentralization, and high rates of economic growth,” notes Dang Duc Cuong, a senior operations officer with the World Bank, who AFP focuses on urban development in Viet Nam. According to the World Bank, the population of AFP

20 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 21 SPECIAL REPORT

he past 50 years have seen Asia urban planning and disaster risk reduction were awarded World Heritage Site status by emerge from the ashes of war consultant. “What are people coming to the United Nations Education, Scientific and colonialism to become one look at? They’re coming to look at the old and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). of the most dynamic regions in traditional areas.” “Since Georgetown was listed as a Tthe world. Asia’s emergence has meant World Heritage Site, many more people Revamping not only a dramatic transformation of the Losing the Charm are now aware of the old city,” says Khoo world economy, but also a massive boom Salma Nasution, a Malaysian historian. in urban development as more and more Progress in restoring historic areas has been “There are certainly more foreign tourists people leave the rural areas for the hope of piecemeal. Take Ha Noi, for example, says than before, but even Malaysians, who a better life in big cities. Paul Schuttenbelt, director of the Ha Noi used to take this heritage for granted, are Today, as glass and steel skyscrapers office of Urban Solutions, a Netherlands- getting down from their cars to wander reign over Asian skylines from Mumbai to based company that advises the urban around the city on foot.” Old Asia Shanghai, many older neighborhoods and sector. “It’s very much a matter of preserving In some other parts of Asia, historic historic districts that connected people individual buildings and monuments rather urban centers are being declared heritage Many Asian nations are discovering that reviving historic areas in their cities not only preserves their cultural heritage but also boosts their economy Text by Karl Wilson and Joe Cochrane Illustration by Gerry Castro

to their past are either gone or fading into than a townscape,” he says. “You can preserve a sites as well and protected from develo- the urban landscape. building or temple, but if you build skyscrapers pers. Financial support is given to rebuild Across the region, officials are attempt- around it, you lose a lot of the charm.” historic, dilapidated buildings, as aware- ing to reverse this trend, recognizing “They’re destroying it at a very rapid ness campaigns make people understand historic city centers as vital cultural assets pace,” he continues. “If you destroy a two- the value in preserving historic areas. and potential catalysts for economic growth story building and build a 20-story build- Singapore tore down much of its colo- through tourism and related services. ing, you make a lot more money. And I nial past as the island state transformed What’s more, many Asian governments think you and I would do the same thing.” itself from a poor backwater in Southeast are attempting to revitalize historic areas and Mr. Kessler is more optimistic about Asia into one of the region’s economic equip them for the challenges of globalization the patchwork of modernity and restora- success stories. Despite the island’s and long-term environmental sustainability, tion in Ha Noi. “If you start to look at the rapid expansion, the city has made a according to a recent study by the Asian De- revitalization in Ha Noi, it’s absolutely serious attempt to save what remains of velopment Bank (ADB). These areas are seen phenomenal. If you really walk around and its historic past. The city is preserving as presenting important opportunities for the look at what’s been done, it’s been done its historic neighborhoods while adapt- financial power of private sector operators to tastefully. You enjoy the city for its new- ing older buildings for commercial uses, influence the cultural preservation of cities. ness, not just its oldness.” especially tourism. “While cities in Asia and the Pacific Countering the power of moneyed Singapore has a colorful, multicul- have been concentrating on their conven- property developers remains a fairly new tural past that is still evident in scattered tional infrastructure requirements, many concept in much of Asia. Historic quarters pockets of older districts that escaped cities are still discovering how to deal with of Asian cities have been in the rifle sights redevelopment. The government is the challenge of urban renewal in a broad- of development and real estate speculators working to ensure that history does not er sense,” says Florian Steinberg, senior for decades. But while historic landmarks disappear altogether. Across the island, urban development specialist of ADB’s and entire neighborhoods have been bull- dilapidated shops and houses have been Southeast Asia Department. “Many cities dozed, there has been and continues to be shored up, window frames repainted in in the region have historic inner city areas recognition from Beijing to Ahmedabad, bright yellows, reds, blues, and greens, of considerable historic and cultural value. India, that there are cultural and economic and the interiors renovated for commer- These city centers are opportunities for reasons to preserve a city’s past. cial use. revitalization of local economic develop- Older areas that have been spared the In Beijing, much of the old city has ment and national cultural identity.” wrecking ball and preserved are popular disappeared but the destruction of old Tragically, many colonial buildings in tourist spots. Sadly, however, many his- Beijing started well before the People’s places such as Singapore, Ha Noi, and toric areas have already been lost as most Republic of China’s (PRC) economic Hong Kong, China, have been leveled major cities in the region spent their boom miracle began three decades ago. There to make room for skyscrapers and other years tearing down historic buildings in are now efforts to preserve what is left, modern structures. Yet the connection be- favor of skyscrapers and shopping malls. especially the hutong, the traditional court- tween historic restoration and economic yard residence. Since the mid-20th cen- revitalization is increasingly being made. The Power of World Heritage tury, the number of hutong residences in “This whole quest for modernization Beijing has dropped dramatically as these has been mitigated a bit by tourism,” In 2008, Georgetown, the historic capital are demolished to make way for roads and says Earl Kessler, a United States–based of Penang, Malaysia, and the city of Melaka buildings. Recently, the government des-

22 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 23 SPECIAL REPORT RESTORED Diners gather at the De Yuan roast duck restaurant on the Dazhalan Xijie, known as the West Dashilan Street, in Bei- ignated a number of hutongs as protected jing, in the PRC. The 500-year-old Dashilan areas in an attempt to preserve this aspect Xijie commercial street in the city center of PRC’s cultural history. reopened after a massive renovation. In Hong Kong, China, very little remains of its historic commercial past. If you walk through Stanley Market on a Saturday morning and flick through the old black-and-white photographs, you will see just how much of the place has disap- peared. Some buildings have been preserved. One of the more recent was the former Hong Kong Marine Police Headquarters on the Kowloon side built in 1884. Stand- ing on a small hill, it once commanded sweeping views of the harbor. Today, however, the views are obscured by build- ings. Wander around Hong Kong, China, and you will find that some links to the Historic city centers are being recognized as not only vital cultural assets but also potential engines of economic growth through tourism and related services.

past remain, such as St. John’s Cathedral, which was built in 1849, and the nearby Government House, which had been home to a succession of British governors from 1855 until 1997 when the region was returned to the PRC. The French Mission building still stands as does the old court building that now houses the government of the Special Administrative Region until its new, ultra- modern offices are built on the waterfront overlooking the ever-shrinking harbor. All that remains of the Kowloon–Can- ton railway station that once ran along the harbor, where Tsim Sha Tsui is today, is the clock tower next to the Star Ferry. Even the Star Ferry’s terminal on the Hong Kong Island side has been relocated to make way for even more harbor reclamation. Only recently has the move to preserve the past taken on a sense of urgency in Asia. Many countries today see the need to preserve what is left as a window to the past that will help future generations understand and appreciate their origins. Apart from that, historic buildings help define the history of a people; they reflect the values and a way of life that helped Florian Steinberg shape nations, whether they are Singa- OLD VERSUS NEW Singapore has been a leader in Asia in revitalizing older districts, blending historic pore-like city states or major economic areas with modern commercial centers. powers such as the PRC. 

24 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 25 Imaginechina SPECIAL REPORT Dutch Jakarta Left Behind Despite 16 master plans since 1990, little has been done to revitalize the historic area By Joe Cochrane

he famous Old Batavia area of Apart from the 1993 opening of the Cafe intact, albeit in various stages of decay, North Jakarta, which dates back Batavia inside a 19th century building on unlike many old historic quarters in Asia. to the 17th century, is a grimy, the square, not much else has happened, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo says run-down neighborhood whose save a few small museums. renovating Old Batavia into a historic, Tbreathtaking colonial buildings are set “In 1970, we were the pioneers— cultural, and tourism scene will not only next to seedy nighttime karaoke bars and Singapore hadn’t done it and Bangkok be a money-spinner but also create an spooky, dark alleys. had nothing,” Soedarmadji “Aji” Damais, economic renaissance in North Jakarta, In the early 1970s, the then-Governor an Indonesian cultural expert, told the now a shadow of its old glory. Ali Sadikin put cultural preservation high Jakarta Globe in an interview earlier this Last month, the Jakarta city admin- on his agenda, starting with the renova- year for a special report on saving Jakarta’s istration signed an agreement with the tion of Batavia’s Taman Fatahillah Square. Old Batavia. Ministry for State-Owned Enterprises The reason was simple: to motivate tour- “Ten years later, we were left behind,” so that more than 20 government-owned ists to spend an extra day in Jakarta before he said. “What we had in mind was like buildings around Taman Fatahillah Square continuing on to the resort island of Bali. Boat Quay [in Singapore]. It never hap- may be leased for commercial use as part Unfortunately, the governor’s broader pened, and [Batavia] is so much nicer than of a revitalization master plan—the 16th vision of conserving and promoting Ja- Boat Quay.” such plan since 1990. karta’s cultural heritage did not rub off on North Jakarta is far from a lost cause, A group of building owners has been his successors; they had other priorities. however. Property developers never working with city officials for months to needed to target Old Town, or kota tua as it find a way to save Old Batavia’s buildings is known to Indonesians, because the city before they, like the city’s Dutch colonial continued to grow southward. Block after administration, are consigned to history.  block of historic buildings remain largely

AFP

ASIA PACIFIC ZONE

26 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 SPECIAL REPORT MANILA’S PAST RECAST Within Manila’s historic walled city of Intramuros, A Pearl in Need of Polish tourism thrives. Schools, museums, Manila’s historic buildings still suffer from wounds and churches abound, but much of the area University of Texas Libraries www.lib.utexas.edu/maps ]>>@@ awaits revival. Detail, 1898 map of Manila Inside By Karl Wilson Marcos when the cathedral, Fort Santiago, ing the end of the American–Spanish and the city’s walls were rebuilt and fortified, War. The terms of capitulation of Manila the walls but the enthusiasm has waned since then. was signed here by American officers led Established in the 16th century, anila, Philippines, often described The 18th century Plaza Mayor de by General Wesley Merritt and Governor- Intramuros—literally meaning “within the in the early 20th century as Manila no longer exists, but wandering General Fermín de Jaudenes. walls”—was the heart of the powerful the “Pearl of the Orient” or around the city, you can still get a feel of During the early American period, the center in East–West trade until its near-total destruction in World War II. “Paris of Asia,” never recovered what it must have been like. As with so building was used as the offices of the Although institutions such as schools afterM the heavy fighting toward the close many things in Manila, poor urban plan- American military governor until the change returned after the war, the government did of World War II. Almost 90% of the city ning, lack of funds, and the absence of a to a civil government in 1903. The session H was destroyed, including the historic 16th determined commitment to restoration room was used by the First Philippine As- displaced found Intramuros a prime spot century walled city of Intramuros along have meant that any work is undertaken sembly in 1907 and was a meeting place of for make-do housing. Despite several government relocation efforts, most with its magnificent Manila Cathedral at a snail’s pace. the Philippine Legislature. The Bureau of residents continue to be illegal and Fort Santiago. The only building that The empty shell of San Ignacio church Justice and the Philippine Supreme Court settlers—some 16,000 at the most recent survived was the Church of San Agustin. today stands derelict along Arzobispado also held office here. Destroyed during the official count, compared to about 3,000 Strategically located on Manila Bay at Street, stripped of its marble and brick. Battle for Manila in 1945, all that remains legal residents. the mouth of the Pasig River, Intramuros Inaugurated in 1889, the neo-Gothic are the building’s four walls. Government agencies began restoring was the heart of the Spanish Empire’s church was one of the finest in its day. Although Intramuros is a popular tourist the ancient fortifications in the 1960s. Now Above: Manila Cathedral is one of the architectural anchors of historic Intramuros. AFP the walls are almost complete, and the east–west trade with Mexico. But the The Aduana or customs house built attraction, the revenue it generates is not fortifications are popular tourist draws. site itself pre-dates the Spanish in 1832 stands abandoned with trees enough to continue restoration, and private colonial period and goes back to growing from its walls. Renovated investors are loath to invest in an area where the 13th century when it was after the war, it was abandoned in many illegal settlers occupy prime real Land use in a Muslim trading post. 1979 and left derelict. estate within the city’s walls. According to Work on rebuilding the At the corner of Aduana and the Asian Development Bank, between Intramuros Fort Santiago city started in 1966 but Cabildo Streets is the Ayunta- 1990 and 2005, the Parks, walls, a golf course, and institutions Muralla Old city was slow and lacked miento or Casas Consistoria- number of illegal set- occupy about 70% walls San Juan de Letran funds. Restoration les, which was once the seat tlers in Intramuros more of the land. Of the 30% remaining College accelerated during of the Manila City Council than doubled from 7,512 for businesses and homes, nearly half eo r S is vacant or underutilized. a t o e la the period of late during Spanish rule. The to 16,116. B n a President Ferdinand Ayuntamiento witnessed the Manila a s Cathedral m o Old city change of colonial power at Institutional 21% Andres Soriano Jr. h US National Archives T Mapua walls t. S a M Institute of the end of the 19th Churches, government buildings, schools, d a n g A a Technology l and other institutions occupy most of the la century, follow- n e A s World War II left Intramuros blocks near the walls. rz o b i i s a l a or mostly ruins and rubble. p e ci ct o R n Vai Commercial, mixed-use 15% te Po a Manila t C Other large-scale restoration has focused on Businesses dominate central lots; some n a High Sa b San i ld School H serve as residences as well. Augustine o ri General Luna to Church ic s offices, and churches. Va to le S o Still, experts say the large population of Residential only 1% a ec n R ta illegal settlers continues to be the most About 1%of land is used solely L u Seamen’s Hospital c for housing. ia formidable obstacle to attracting high-value Univ. of the investment. City of Manila Unused, underused 13% (PLM) Parking or vacant 4.1% Quezon City Abandoned structures 7.2% Intramuros Illegal settlers 1.7%

Parks, walls, golf course 50% MANM NILAN LAA The grounds of Fort Santiago and Source: OutputRight: of Athe street Land Use Survey Workshop conducted by the MANILA Makati consultant for a golf course along the outer walls make BAY near Seamen’s up most of the park area in Intramuros. the students of the College of Architecture, Mapúa Institute of Technology who Hospital AFP assisted in the preparation of the land use survey map.

Source: Revitalization of Historic Inner-City Areas in Asia, by Florian Steinberg Design: Mark Blackwell

28 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 29 SPECIAL REPORT Some solutions for Just a short walk from Intramuros, a few buildings from Manila’s past, such as the National Museum, Post Office Build- ing, and Manila Metropolitan Theatre climate change which is now abandoned, still stand. A short taxi ride away is Escolta, once an exclusive shopping district in Southeast Asia. During the final years of the Span- stare you right in the face ish era, Escolta Street had the reputation for being the best of the trade centers in Binondo, the Chinese merchant district in the capital. No attempt has been made to try to restore this corner of the city. In the years

following World War II, Manila grew at AFP breakneck speed but paid scant attention to urban planning. Gated communities WHEN THE DUST SETTLES Volunteers clean up Manila’s historic walled city of Intramuros in the were established around the former Philippines. Although Intramuros is a popular tourist attraction, the revenue it generates is not enough to continue airfield that is now Makati City, leaving restoration, and private investors are loath to invest in an area where many illegal settlers occupy prime real estate places like Escolta to slowly die.  within the city’s walls.

As a climate-changing greenhouse gas, methane is more than 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, methane emissions from livestock waste are growing, and increasing fastest in developing countries. ADB offers funding for biogas technology that uses animal waste for generating clean energy for cooking and electricity. Providing renewable energy for thousands of poor households. And switching Asia on to a low carbon growth path.

ADB. Investing in climate change solutions for Asia and the Pacific. hemis.fr

16TH CENTURY CHURCH Binondo Church in Manila is one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. It was founded by the Dominicans in 1596 to serve converts from the Chinese community to Christianity. Binondo is the Chinese merchant district in the capital. www.adb.org

30 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 FEATURE Terrifying Insurance AFP When bridges, hotels, and other structures are hit by bomb blasts, not only do media show up but also insurance adjusters as more and more political risk policies now cover terrorism

By Keith Rosenblum

n conflict zones, few investors are eager to back the building of roads, bridges, and other vital infrastructure needed to bring peace and stabil- ity.I Not only are such harsh investment climates unpredictable, but they are also literally deadly. Political risk insurance, an increasingly important part of the portfolio of major international financing organizations worldwide, was designed to address these problems by protecting investors against every kind of ominous scenario that might plague an unstable host country, except TERRORISM RISK PROTECTION Pakistani bystanders and rescue workers are seen beside a huge crater outside the burning facade of The Marriott Hotel in Islamabad the vagaries of the market. on September 20, 2008, following a powerful bomb blast. The blast triggered a variety of claims associated with political risk insurance that covers acts of terrorism. After the terrorist attacks of Septem- ber 2001 in the United States, political risk insurance was expanded. Today, when Political Violence $5 million “soft loan”; and MIGA, which Afghanis have logged record advances bridges, hotels, and other structures are contributed $10 million. With additional in living standards since 2001, largely hit by bomb blasts, not only do media MIGA and its US counterpart, Overseas support from private insurers, coverage due to the fact that conditions bottomed show up, but also insurance adjusters are Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), tripled to $60 million. out for most people. Afghans dispersed increasingly likely to be on the scene as as well as some private insurers, have In addition to the International throughout the West have led the charge more and more political risk policies now settled numerous claims for terrorist acts; Home Finance & Development, LLC both in numbers and dollars to help re- cover acts of terrorism. the types and amounts of settlements are (see sidebar), beneficiaries of the plan to build what the World Bank labels a “post- One example is the 5-year-old Af- rarely disclosed. date include MTN Group Limited, a cell conflict” nation. ghanistan Investment Guarantee Facility Some confusion persists regarding the phone enterprise based in South Africa; The business climate, for most, hardly (AIGF). The $60 million fund, offered classifications of settlements. OPIC, for the Afghanistan Project for Cotton and suggests a “post-conflict” society. Even through the Multilateral Investment example, pays its political risk insurance Oil Development, a French cotton gin MIGA will not back loans in many of Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which is part under the following categories: inconvert- project; and ShoreCap International Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. Officials from of the World Bank Group, is one of a few ibility (of currency), expropriation, war Ltd., a banking venture based in the the World Bank and international orga- of its type. Covered under the plan are damage, and political violence. Cayman Islands. nizations, including the US Department expropriation, sabotage, terrorism, civil In the broad “political violence” Investments under AIGF may originate of State, depict a dangerous atmosphere disturbances, war, inability to convert lo- category, OPIC has paid out about two in any of MIGA’s 168 member countries with a tenuous investment climate, where cal currency, and, in some cases, breach of claims a year over the past decade or so. and may extend to additions to ventures investors are subject to physical danger, contract. Included are those specifically classified and acquisitions of state industry. Cover- corruption, excessive bureaucracy, and few “We are saying to investors, ‘Don’t as “terrorism”—sabotage of a gold mine age is available for 7 years, though longer legal guarantees. Some official briefs even worry about the political situation or any by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Co- terms may be obtained through MIGA warn investors against flying into Kabul, events that may lead to a loss—just come lombia, or FARC, and a rash of vehicles coinsurance. MIGA insures up to 90% of let alone investing. and concentrate on your merchant abili- destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan. equity investments and 450% of an initial ties,’” says Nabil Fawaz, MIGA’s sector Political risk insurance was first of- investment to cover earnings directly at- Drinking a Lot of Tea leader for agribusiness, manufacturing, fered in Afghanistan in July 2004, a year tributable to it. and services. “Our job is to create the after the country joined MIGA. Its initial Coverage has made a difference in A key to bringing foreign investment to same comfort level the entrepreneur sponsors included the International De- investment possibilities in Afghanistan, as Afghanistan is making the right pitch

Illustration by GerryIllustration by Castro feels elsewhere. People swoop in and sell velopment Association, a World Bank en- signs of expatriate and newcomer invest- to the public ideologically and business- 10,000 air-conditioning units, but what we tity that contributed $5 million; the Asian ment alike have appeared throughout the wise—emphasizing that investments want is the assembly plant.” Development Bank, which contributed a country of 30 million people. will be protected, says Jeff Raleigh, who

32 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 33 SPECIAL REPORT

OPIC Political Risk Insurance Payments (FY2000–FY2009) Types of Claims: - Inconvertibility - Expropriation - War Damage - Political Violence recently returned to the US after 4 years guarding against contract violations by in Afghanistan, first as a foreign service foreign governments, including “creeping AFP Type of Settlement officer then as a private communications expropriations.” Investor Country Claim Industry Amount FY2000 worker. “There are lots of ways to deprive MidAmerican Energy Holdings Indonesia Power $217,500,000 “We have done a terrible job in ex- you of your investment rights,” he says. F.C. Schaffer& Associates Ethiopia Manufacturing $9,563 plaining the invasion and liberation. We “Breaches don’t always [occur] suddenly Citibank. N.A. Sudan Banking $I,055,607 need to learn from that and do a better with a gunboat.” TOTAL $218,565,170 job explaining why the country now needs For development prospects in Af- FY2001 foreign investment,” he says. Mr. Raleigh ghanistan and other fledgling free-market Citibank, N. A. Sudan Banking $3,750,000 has developed a fondness for the country’s economies, however, the public versus TOTAL $3,750,000 highly personal business networking. “I private insurers debate is a moot point. FY2002 drank a lot of tea and made new friends These countries offer “bonanzas” Sector Resources/Sector Capital Colombia Mining $2,369,736 while I was waiting and waiting and wait- and “heartbreak,” says Emily L. Walker, ing.” a London-based consultant who has held TOTAL $2,369,736 One area not ripe for new investment positions in financial services, govern- FY2003 Sector Capital Corp. Colombia Mining $514,410 is online commerce, he cautions. “Once ment, and humanitarian agencies. Bank of America India Banking $28,139,505 people online see an internet protocol “One of the best ways to combat address from Afghanistan, you’re basically terrorism is job creation—even if it’s in TOTAL $28,653,915 blocked out: no one will ship to you.” a dangerous area,” says Ms. Walker, who FY2004 Ben Dabhol Holdings Ltd. India Power $31,744,922 Regardless of incentives, there are has served on a Department of Homeland GE Capital Project Finance India Power $31,803,775 limits to what political risk insurance Security (DHS) advisory council. “Jobs Sector Capital Corp. Colombia Mining $265,757 alone can accomplish in a nation’s devel- give kids something to do other than plan Shelter for Life International Afghanistan Services $29,857 Bank of America, NA a/b/ Colombia Power $7,600,000 opment. killing kids on the other side of a border.” Bechtel India Power Investment a/c/ India Power $9,995,000 Louis T. Wells, a Harvard Business If a problem arises with a MIGA- GE EFS India Holdings a/c/ India Power $9,995,000 School professor and coauthor of Making backed project, she says, “They pick up Offshore Power Production CV a/c/ India Power $400,000 Foreign Investment Safe: Property Rights and the phone and have a direct line with a ]^@_ Venezuela Services $5,875,000 AES Corporation a/ Colombia Power $3,200,000 National Sovereignty, notes that MIGA and secretary of finance. That’s an excellent OPIC help create initial investment and mechanism.” TOTAL S100,909,311 pave the way for private risk providers. Businesspeople are in deals to make FY2005 Ponderosa Assets LP Argentina Oil and Gas $50,000,000 “There are two simple questions: money—not to collect on insurance, Ms. ‘Will it work and at what cost?’ There are Walker explains. “Afghanistan is a long TOTAL $50,000,000 potential moral hazards here. An investor way to Tipperary. No one is there to make RECOUPING LOSSES A massive bomb ripped through the downtown area of the troubled Afghan city of FY2006 Western Wireless International Corp. Haiti Telecom $54,209 can find himself in trouble for whatever what they can make at home; they want to Kandahar in August 2009. Some bombings in Afghanistan are being covered by an innovative form of political risk Team Technology Inc. Eritrea Manufacturing $91,875 reason, political or otherwise, and then be rewarded.”  insurance that covers acts of terrorism. ABI Group, Ltd. Afghanistan Manufacturing $19,970 move in and collect,” he explains. Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. Venezuela Transportation $2,644,989 Since public risk insurance providers TOTAL $2,811,043 have the backing of government, they can FY2007 instruct the host government to reimburse Answering the Plea Sector Resources, Ltd. Colombia Mining $75,548 claims paid out, which can create the TOTAL $75,548 potential for fraud, he explains. “It’s the Political risk insurance helps bring Afghans home to invest FY2008 commercial equivalent of burning down Uniworld Holdings, Ltd. Serbia Services $1,980,000 your own house.” afaat Ludin has answered the plea that stan from the US, has been so enthusiastic that Yet, for as smoothly as this venture has TOTAL $1,980,000 Robert E. Svensk is a political risk invariably finds its way across continents Mr. Ludin plans to manufacture another 10 in gone, the remarkable truth is just how close FY2009 insurance veteran who started his career R to the ears of every member of the Kabul, he says. “With a trained workforce, there a logical, commercially viable project came to International Rescue Committee Democratic Services $36,232 at OPIC, then built AIG Political Risk Inc. Afghan diaspora. should be no difference whatsoever in quality.” never existing at all. Republic of Congo The messengers are as varied as diplomats The challenges of doing business in a country Were it not for political risk insurance— International Rescue Committee Afghanistan Services $38,257 from a $500,000 annual business at incep- International Rescue Committee Chad Services $130,680 tion to a $55 million business in 7 years. and nongovernment organizations, chambers devoid of services, lacking in training programs, which adds from 1.75% to 3.5% to the cost International Rescue Committee Afghanistan Services $1,000 He sees the current public risk insurance of commerce and religious organizations. But and scarce of infrastructure, is nothing new for of doing business—there would be nothing the plea is always the same: come back and Mr. Ludin. In fact, the German-educated business- today. “I might have looked at doing this TOTAL $206,169 entities as good pilot projects. Source: Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), www.opic.gov give the homeland a boost. man, whose family left Afghanistan when he was myself, but it was going to take the insurance a/ Without determining that expropriatory action had occured, OPIC and the investor agreed on a negotiated sum in settlement of the Adjusting for inflation, the amounts guaranteed by MIGA or OPIC are actually In Mr. Ludin’s case, answering the plea 12, has embarked on his own Afghan reconstruc- to convince investors,” he explains. claim, avoiding a contest over complex, ambiguous legal and factual issues. means a trek every other month that begins tion mission as a less stressful alternative to his for- Mr. Ludin says the machines in Kabul `{|"}!("~((!$())( less than decades ago, he says, pointing to with Los Angeles traffic and, 48 to 60 hours mer career in German industry, which he blames and at a US military base could be targeted by the terms of the settlement. the inevitability of business going to the `{€€_‚_ later, ends in Kabul—home to “The Green- for a mid-life stroke. by militants at any time. Knowing they are dozens of political risk insurers that have Machine” and the 45-year-old entrepreneur’s Today, Mr. Ludin and partners hold interests financially protected is “a relief,” he says, that MIGA War and Civil Disturbance Payments sprung up in the past 20 years. Nothing dreams of lifting beleaguered-but-eager com- in an array of Afghan renewable energy projects, allows him to concentrate on the tasks of run- will ever replace the “nimbleness” of the patriots up another notch. and he moves, always with his Blackberry, from ning the business. Settlement private sector, he says, because private The odyssey has paid dividends: business the West to Afghanistan and back like a migra- He rattles off a list of daily concerns: low Guarantee Holder Country Industry Amount companies “don’t have to prepare 800 FY2005 is good. The GreenMachine, a patented, 1-ton, tory bird. temperatures freeze The GreenMachine’s oil Undisclosed Nepal Power $144,600 politically mandated labor, environmental, diesel-powered brick-making device, is a hit In many ways, The GreenMachine venture is the in the winter; software issues have repeatedly FY2009 and workplace studies before taking ac- with Kabul home-builders and United States embodiment of the project so desperately sought crippled one of the machines; silt, clay, and ce- Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries Ltd. Kenya Manufacturing $491,100 tion.” military personnel alike. The GreenMachine by architects of Afghanistan’s reconstruction. In ment supply issues always crop up in Kabul…. Louvre International Ltd. Madagascar Tourism 9,273 euros ($12,824) In the public sector, Rod Morris, has built a small mosque at the Ministry of a single package, the machine weds a wanting These problems—and not potential loss TOTAL $648,524 OPIC’s current vice-president of insur- Education. Response to production from the population to affordable housing, manufacturing of patrimony—are the issues that happily  $ƒ†@‡^~~* ance, says a government-backed insur- three existing machines, airlifted to Afghani- jobs, and ecologically sensitive technology. concern Mr. Ludin. Source: Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), www.miga.org ance entity can be especially vigilant at

34 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 35 FEATURE

The Art of the “Tweet” By Jenny Forster

hings are pretty quiet over at the way in mastering social media and the web. of External Relations: “Like other young American, Scott Harrison, who a more savvy PR approach to this task, like a International Monetary Fund’s Visitors to the World Bank website can international organizations, we recognize had worked as a nightclub promoter, the link to Twitter, where the organization is in (IMF) Facebook page. On the link to countless video clips on YouTube— the value of social networking sites and charity’s media campaign started with fact featured and has 4,494 followers. world’s largest social media web- covering wide-ranging development-related are exploring them as another avenue a high-profile media blitz in the US and Some UN agencies of the United Na- site—whereT 300 million people worldwide to enhance people’s understanding of tions have discovered the world of social subjects, view its picture galleries on Flickr, the United Kingdom (UK), showing New can be found communicating, debating, listen to its podcasts, and read surprisingly development issues. At this time, however, Yorkers traipsing through the streets with media. The United Nations Children’s and donating—the global monetary author- frank staff-written blogs on a wide range we are focusing our efforts and resources yellow plastic fuel containers and queuing Fund (UNICEF) uses Facebook, MySpace, ity has less than 150 followers. of issues, including one on the role of on more targeted options for dissemination to fill them with murky water from a dirty YouTube, and Flickr to expedite and com- IMF “fans,” as they are called on Face- information technology development in of our knowledge products.” lake in Central Park. The actress Jennifer municate about its work within and outside book, include people represented by photos the delivery of development aid, with Connolly is filmed nonchalantly pouring its network. The UNICEF office in the UK of a cigar-smoking monkey, a dog, a fairy, two contributions from some of the world’s Leveraging the Web the dirty water for her children. tweets to 3,822 followers about programs tattoos, three barrels of oil, and Clarke Gable. foremost experts. As the organization has demonstrated, and issues. UNICEF is also listed as a Face- Facebook pages for the Asian Development There are only 206 “fans” of the official The power of social media does not need building up a substantial following on Face- book “Cause,” where it has the Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank Facebook site, but hard-core follow- to be explained to the small nonprofit book or Twitter—where it has more than impressive number of 1.94 and African Development Bank are all simi- ers can join the “World Bank Publications” Face- development organization called “charity: 760,000 followers—is not enough. “Social million members. It has larly sleepy, or nonexistent. book site, where 3,593 members get together water.” It has 58,053 members on its media is a great tool, but it’s merely that— raised $76,954 on one Hundreds of millions to participate in “Speak Outs”—online confer- Facebook Causes page. It has raised a tool. It’s one way to reach the people who site alone—and a total of people world- ences in which they exchange in Facebook texts $80,114 there alone—and another $10 want to help,” Ms. Yates says. of 131 sites set up by wide—in their reaction to recently released official reports million in funds in the past 3 years toward other parties dedi- and publications, or link to YouTube clips. 1,300 development projects in 14 countries The United Nations of Beer cated to raising funds One corner of the vast social by leveraging new technology—a complex in UNICEF’s name.  media universe that lends network of services known as Web 2.0, The United Nations (UN)—which would developing itself to com- beefed up with slick marketing, public appear by its global nature and budgetary countries and wealthy relations savvy, and a youthful outlook and constraints to be a perfect candidate nations alike—use social media approach. for embracing social media—seems as websites, such as Facebook, MySpace, The organization is not just into flummoxed by the fast-moving medium as and Twitter, to form opinions and get fund-raising. It proclaims that it is other international organizations. The UN’s news. Facebook alone is available in 70 munications by using “new technology and official Facebook site came up on page five languages and boasts that 7 out of 10 of its development organiza- the internet to of 500 pages of listings for “United Nations” users live outside the United States. tions is Facebook’s Causes. It was prove the during a recent search. It sat alongside “the Despite this global explosion of launched in May 2007 by a group of young United Nations of Beer” and “the United social media, the world’s established grassroots political activists, computer en- Nations of Ninjas.” The official UN development organizations are strug- gineers, and entrepreneurs. Over 240,000 page does not have a lot gling with the new medium. Monolithic causes have since been created on the site work they of fans—a mere institutions have used social networking by users on every topic from breast cancer do, connecting donors for narrow tasks such as internal collabo- research to stopping genocide to support- to projects.” The organization ration, but truly dynamic and creative ing local parks. Of these, almost 3,600 are uses Google Earth to track the water use of the new media lags far behind dedicated to international development wells they build. They are taking trans- that of smaller organizations that have and relief. parency to the extreme, using something 7,500 or so— fewer bureaucratic constraints, differ- Facebook Causes has raised almost along the lines of nearly real-time updates but that’s pretty good ent organizational cultures, and more $11 million to date and half this amount to show donors that their money is being since it is simply a home for the outspoken management. had been raised in the past 6 months. spent effectively. organization’s mission statement and links to Clay Shirky, internet guru and author Considering that the number of people “There appeared to be a growing its home page. of Here Comes Everybody, describes the who support these causes is registered at movement of people disenchanted with What neither the UN website nor advent of social media as “the largest 70 million, this is not such a staggering charity and had lost faith in it,” says its Facebook page is good at is linking to increase in expressive capability in human amount. As Facebook Causes notes in its spokesperson Nicky Yates. “We wanted other sites, including other social media, history.” During a speech to the World blog, “Causes rise and fall according to to show them that charities do good work, that highlight aspects of the organization’s Bank in 2008, he challenged large develop- how well leaders keep their communities and you can see that. So, charity: water is multifaceted roles and involvement. One ment institutions to change the way they engaged and mobilized.” centered on transparency. We post GPS answer could be to tap the 63-office UN think and embrace existing social media How the world’s large development [global positioning system] coordinates, Information Centre (UNIC), which fulfill platforms, which are largely “transaction organizations would compete in this kind photos, and community information on its media and communications role, and costs-lowering machines.” of marketplace of ideas is an open ques- every completed project to show our which is described as “key to the Orga- tion. For various reasons, few have risen to donors exactly where their donations go.” nization’s ability to reach the peoples Speak Outs the challenge. This approach sounds expensive, yet char- of the world and the ability to share the In some cases, it is a question of ity: water says that 100% of donations go United Nations story with them in their Among the international financingresources and timing. Explains Ann Quon, to support its projects. own languages.” If communication were PhotoAlto institutions, the World Bank is leading the principal director of ADB’s Department Founded in New York 2006 by a their business, however, one would expect

36 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 37 FEATURE

By James Hutchison Development organizations are battling scammers on the internet who usurp their organizations’ names and programs to offer bogus jobs and grants… for a price

lobal Builder Sandra J. has an If that sounds illegal, you might want to a website supported by the US Federal interesting offer for you. Not take advantage of another amazing e-mail Bureau of Investigation or FBI (www. only does she promise work with deal from the UN and the World Bank. At lookstoogoodtobetrue.com) are sad stories of the Asian Development Bank’s a closed meeting, these two development people like Jackie. Contacted by someone in (ADB)G Water for All program West Africa regarding a bank in her e-mail message, but draft for $400,000, she sent she also says you can do it the required $200 service fee from home. The best part is plus insurance for the draft of that you will get paid every 2 $1,000 only to be told the draft weeks! You have to agree with had been seized by a money- Sandra: opportunities like this laundering squad. She sent don’t come by every day. This another $4,000 to get it back. is no get-rich-quick scheme, to the bank, these crimes impact our Then the crooks strung her she assures, and it must be reputation and image.” along for more fees, document genuine, because her e-mail stamps, and taxes totaling includes a link to ADB’s web- —William Godbout over $11,000. When a further site. _] $11,000 was requested, she As generous as Sandra’s African Development Bank and her friends investigated. offer is, you might want She was devastated to realize to consider an even better she had lost over $16,000 to e-mail offer of a six-figure a classic internet advance fee salary as an environmental fraud, one of the most lucrative, officer with the World Health cruel, and least prosecuted of Organization. cybercrimes. But does a job like that Just like a bad part of town make sense when you can where you keep your hand have your very own develop- on your wallet or clutch your ment grant, supported by the handbag, internet users need African Development Bank, Jupiterimages to beware of cyber criminals the United Nations (UN), lurking on dark side roads of the World Bank, and even the European organizations have approved a contract pay- the information highway who troll via un- Commission? ment in your name for $8.3 million. Who solicited e-mails for unsuspecting victims. Keep all this mum as the West African knew the World Bank and the UN gave Advance fee scams that trick internet users gentleman involved insists the matter away that kind of money? And all they need into sending money for promises of cash, remain strictly confidential. But really, why is your banking information! jobs, free trips, and lottery winnings are al- BEWARE OF CYBER CRIMINALS bother with grants and jobs when he is most as old as the internet and, before that, Just like a bad part of town where you keep willing to pay a couple of million dollars for Money for Nothing were perpetrated by letter, phone, and fax. your hand on your wallet or clutch your your help? It seems he is having a terrible One version known as “The Spanish Pris- handbag, internet users need to beware time trying to move a few million out of an Every year, thousands of internet users oner” is thought to date from as far back of cyber criminals who lurk on dark side African Development Bank account and just hit “reply” instead of “delete” or follow as the 16th century and bares a remarkable roads of the information highway trolling via needs your bank account details and some links in such unsolicited e-mails and wind similarity to scams reinvented in digital unsolicited e-mails for unsuspecting victims. paltry processing fees to get the job done. up scammed out of millions. Posted on form that caught Jackie.

PhotoAlto 38 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 39 FEATURE

The best known internet scam is the nings, he says: “Lottery scammers prey are informed their travel will be paid for Nigerian Letter or 419 scam, the number not on software but on the hope of their but that they must pay additional costs relating to the Nigerian criminal code that victims.” Although some of the scam and expenses up front. After payment, the the fraud violates. This type of fraud is e-mails are crude, littered with spelling money and the conference vanish. famously perpetrated by Nigerian scam and grammatical errors, and are from free Especially vulnerable to e-mail scam- artists on a near industrial scale. But like e-mail accounts such as Yahoo! instead mers are those facing a tough financial situ- Fighting Back all internet crimes, it transcends borders of a domain and website that match the ation. With the global recession putting mil- and can originate in newly evolved forms organization’s name, others are so clever lions out of work, there has been a surge in from the Russian Federation to the Philip- and slickly produced that it is hard to tell scammers setting their sights on exploiting pines. Scammers are innovative and con- that they are not genuine. job seekers, a trend showing up in fraudulent The key to defeating cyber criminals stantly changing. They use schemes promising jobs at convincing pitches featur- Image Source development organizations is educating internet users ing official-looking e-mails for an advance fee. purportedly representing Also thought to be a foreign government or increasing because of the agency to con victims. Once economic downturn is a hooked, they are so desper- spike in “phishing” at- ate to recoup their losses, tempts, whereby internet they keep sending money users are unwittingly in the hope that the false directed via spam e-mail to promises will turn out to be malicious websites posing real. as legitimate organizations A recent twist is the or companies where they fraudulent use of develop- provide sensitive bank and ment organizations to add personal information. Such authenticity to hoaxes, sites can also install malware some featuring cloned on their computers. Another websites, stolen official let- common way to steal infor- terheads, and logos as well mation such as passwords as the names of real senior and account details on officials. The World Bank, phoney websites is through International Monetary requests to update billing Fund, UN, and ADB are or membership information. Jupiterimages just a few targeted by online Criminals then empty vic- scammers. All post alerts on tim’s accounts or purchase ith varying national as 419 Eater (www.419eater.com) invite crimes. Microsoft advises users to update their websites with links for goods on stolen credit card jurisdictions, law enforce- internet users to the cybersport of scam bait- and install the latest security updates and reporting scams. numbers. ment, and resources ing—fighting back and having fun turning turn on the automatic update feature. William Godbout, chief Canadian cyber cops between countries, it is dif- the tables on internet criminals. The goal On the information highway, skepti- security officer at the Af- who specialize in fighting ficultW to create a single global organization of scam baiting is not only to string scam- cism is your best friend: if it sounds too rican Development Bank, internet crime estimate dedicated to cybercrime. The Council mers along and waste their time and money good to be true, it probably is. Should you reported an exponential that less than 10% of of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime, but to get them to stand in front of a web not be suspicious of a request for up-front increase in the volume of internet users who are which came into effect on 1 July 2004, was camera holding ridiculous signs or appearing money or that the United Nations or the online criminal activity us- scammed report such the first international treaty to attempt to in outrageous poses. In these counter-scam World Bank is so delighted to be offering ing the bank’s trademark at crimes because of embar- harmonize national laws, improve investi- operations, the often-humiliating and hilari- you great jobs or invitations to meetings? the 6th German Anti Spam rassment. Crime does pay gative techniques, and increase coopera- ous pictures and videos of online crooks are Real organizations give their employees Summit in October 2008. on the internet, and it is tion among the 28 nations that signed the posted on the site’s Trophy Room. internal e-mail addresses. They do not use “Although there is no finan- cheap: all criminals need treaty. Experts agree that cyber fraud is not free ones such as Yahoo, MSN, or even cial loss to the bank, these is an online connection, A growing number of government going away anytime soon, and the best Google. Be suspicious of e-mails asking for crimes impact our reputa- AS UNLKELY AS A DOWNPOUR OF MONEY Scam artists weave elaborate a computer, and lists of organizations, affected industries, and law way to defend against it is awareness. personal information, particularly bank or tion and image,” he says. get-rich-quick schemes, promising their victims easy money in exchange for their banking e-mail addresses to spam enforcement agencies are forming alli- The best tool against online criminals is credit card account numbers, passwords, or Cheeky scam artists are information. hundreds of thousands ances to shut down online criminals. to use the delete button when you receive personal identification numbers, or e-mails even using the names of In- of accounts. If they snare In an effort to combat fraudsters who unsolicited e-mail “offers.” If you do not requesting you to update billing or member- terpol and the FBI to snare victims. Internet An independent survey of European in- just one in a thousand, they reap huge counterfeit trusted brands, the African communicate with crooks, they cannot ship information. When in doubt, contact experts at Microsoft say the growing prob- ternet users, commissioned by Microsoft in profits. It is no mystery why cyber fraud Development Bank announced in October scam you. Spam and junk mail filters help the company directly by phone to confirm lem of internet scams not only undermines 2008, showed that 1 in 44 had lost money to is booming with billions of dollars being 2008 the formation of the Advance Fee reduce the number of unsolicited emails. the correspondence. Do not fall for e-mail the image of legitimate organizations but internet fraud in the last 12 months. Over stolen from internet users and near-zero Fraud Coalition with Microsoft, Yahoo! Inc, Ensure you are using a secure website scammers who use your real family name to also damages the credibility of the internet half of the 4,930 people interviewed said chance of thieves being caught due to and Western Union Company with the goal when submitting personal or financial inform you of an “inheritance” or the like itself as a trustworthy source of information internet scams made them more reluctant the anonymous and borderless nature of raising global awareness among internet details. Check to make sure the lock icon from a long lost relative. It is surprisingly and commerce. to purchase goods online, with 36% more of the internet. The amount of fraud users of the threat posed by hoax e-mails. is showing on your browser that indicates easy to find surnames on the internet. At the same summit, Tim Cranton of reluctant to use the internet. in each case is too small to trigger an Since development organizations are your information is secure during trans- Almost all development organizations Microsoft’s Worldwide Internet Safety international investigation so criminals not directly involved in the fraud—they mission. Do not click on links on an e-mail have a contact on their websites where Programs noted that scams can be so A Dubious Invitation have little to fear. are simply having their names hijacked— message, text, pop-up, or instant message, you can report e-mails misusing their do- creative and plausible that internet users And for development organizations the key to defeating the cyber crooks is and never open unexpected attachments main names. Reporting e-mail scammers simply do not know who they can believe. One development e-mail scam in that have their name used in such scams, educating internet users to better protect that may contain viruses, malware, and helps stop fraud by alerting others and Commenting on a recent rise in advance circulation mas¬querades as an invitation the e-mails that go out are thousands of themselves against fraudulent activity. other executable programs designed to allowing organizations to pass details onto fee fraud scams promising lottery win- to a confer¬ence. Successful applicants tiny cuts in their reputations.  Organized online vigilantes sites such steal information or perpetrate other authorities. 

40 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 41 OPINION

have found themselves jobless once they reached their destination. Such was the case of an estimated 1,000 workers from Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka who paid recruitment fees of $2,000 for a chance to The Dark Side of earn between $600 and $800 a month in Iraq. Their passports were withheld and they received no pay. In December 2008, the men protested in an abandoned Iraqi airport where they were housed in tents. 1 billion people potentially affected by climate change Each year, tens of thousands of expa- triates across the globe find themselves Remittances victims of labor abuse, unpaid wages, and other contract violations. Living as a dis- enfranchised underclass, they endure the By Wendy Doromal most stoic of living conditions, sacrificing to fulfill their moral obligation to send money home to their families.

Development organizations that support the use of remittances Giving Workers a Voice

for poverty reduction have a responsibility to workers sent One such worker, Buddhi Lal Dhimal, a Nepalese foreign worker in the US 75 percent of the world’s illiterates any in the international Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana development community Islands, went to the Department of Labor have come to see remittanc- repeatedly to request help in getting the Mes—the money sent home $2,400 owed to him by an unscrupulous to their families by overseas workers—as employer. He needed to send the money to something of a panacea for reducing his family, according to his daughter Pabitra poverty. Loving family members working Dhimal. Finally, after he was told that he in wealthy nations send money directly Smruthi Gargi Eswar Illustration by would be deported without the money, he to those who need it most in the world’s doused himself with gasoline outside the poorest countries. labor office and set himself on fire. He died 620 million people living on less than $1 a day But the relationship is not that simple. a month later. Asian countries have become dependent In some extreme cases, in which work- on human exports to sustain their econo- ers have been hanged, beheaded, tortured, mies through remittances. The World or wrongfully imprisoned, governments Bank estimates that 190 million migrants have spoken out and attempted to inter- remitted $397 billion in 2008. Remit- vene. However, for the tens of thousands tances to India were $52 billion that year; of workers who suffer daily, instead of out- the People’s Republic of China, $40.6 rage, the labor-exporting nations that sent billion; and the Philippines, $18 billion. them overseas turn a blind eye to abuses or Even Viet Nam, which is relatively new remain silently complacent. Abused work- to the labor-exporting game, received $7.2 ers have fled to their foreign embassies billion. or consulates only to be returned to their “Workers flow out, money flows in” has rights of their citizens who work overseas freedom by confining them to their living employers. Maintaining diplomatic rela- become a mantra for Asian nations. The and for maintaining the social fabric of their quarters. Many work for free in the first tions while nationals suffer rather than risk by reducing these numbers money sent to countries through banks society. These workers are often regarded year because they need to pay back fees losing remittance funds is not acceptable. is counted as part of the home country’s more as commodities rather than as valued for recruitment, passports, and other Development organizations, which dollar reserves and helps strengthen the citizens. required paperwork. promote labor exportation as a measure to bid for loans. Remittances have also been Family relationships are severed as a The first place to stop abuses is in the reduce poverty, share in the responsibility credited with lowering poverty levels in parent or parents work overseas. Ironically, country of origin. Sending laborers abroad of protecting workers. They should use labor-exporting countries. Foreign work- many female overseas workers serve as do- is a highly profitable business for recruit- their influence with the labor-exporting ers not only serve their employers but also mestic helpers who raise other families’ chil- ers, and manpower agencies. Government countries to enact and enforce stronger their home countries. dren while relatives raise their own children. employees have been accused of helping regulations to protect these workers, or re- Years of separation also weaken marriages minors and others sneak past immigration strict or stop the flow of workers overseas Commodifying People and relationships with the children. officials with fake documents resulting entirely when abuses occur. The majority of the workers who go in dire consequences. Minors who were Many of the workers come from the The exportation of labor has a social abroad expect to experience some cultural promised jobs as waitresses have found lowest stratum of society and possess and human cost that is often ignored or and language difficulties. Unfortunately, themselves trafficked into the sex trade. little political power or influence. It is minimized. Across the globe, stories of that may be the least of their worries. Vul- Kickbacks and commissions have therefore up to all of us to give voice to exploitation and abuse have cast a dark nerable workers, who are often little more resulted in an oversupply of workers this situation to ensure that laws and shadow on the economic gains of labor- than indentured servants, find themselves as companies enlist more people than public policy protect citizens whose rights exporting countries. These countries are systematically dehumanized. Employers they can employ. Scammed workers who must not be secondary to their economic FIGHTING POVERTY IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC responsible for protecting the dignity and hold their passports and restrict their paid thousands of dollars to work abroad contributions.  www.adb.org/poverty

42 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 43 FROM THE FIELD Working Between the Navel and the Knees By Floyd Whaley Mechai Viravaidya—popularly known as Thailand’s “Mr. Condom”—is on a quest to change the way people think about poverty and development

hen the HIV/AIDS epidemic people. With PDA’s support, nurses and swept through Thailand in midwives were trained to prescribe “the the early 1990s, the govern- pill”—a move that expanded coverage to ment took a risk. 20% of the nation’s villages. And that was WThey looked to an unusual group—the only the beginning. Population and Community Develop- Mr. Viravaidya’s group worked with the ment Association (PDA) and its founder, government to allow village shopkeepers Mechai Viravaidya—for help in solving the to sell birth control pills. Even hairdress- daunting and complex dilemma of how to ers were later allowed to distribute the stop the spread of the deadly new virus. medicine. This provided access to birth AFP “We were already working in the control for 100% of Thailand’s women ROLE MODEL These mannequins were decorated with condoms for an anti-AIDS campaign at Mechai Viravaidya’s area between the knees and the navel” and, more importantly perhaps, put the Cabbages & Condoms restaurant in Bangkok. The founder of the Population and Community Development when the AIDS crisis hit Thailand, says birth control decision in women’s hands. Association is known for using creative ways in addressing reproductive health and population control issues. Mr. Viravaidya. After some prodding, the To further support Thai women’s government recognized PDA’s expertise control of their future, PDA offered mi- were vasectomized. PDA also organized a many children,” says Mr. Viravaidya. “They in addressing issues of reproductive health crocredit programs for women who were mobile vasectomy bus that would roll into are educated. They understand the implica- and population control. Health officials not pregnant. This innovative program in villages around Thailand to provide the tions of family planning. Now, all we have to also took a chance on Mr. Viravaidya, 1975 was a forerunner to the now-popular free service. do is maintain the services to support them.” whose methods were controversial and conditional cash transfer programs, a form At the Father’s Day Vasectomy Festival, unconventional, but effective. of development assistance that makes PDA enlisted wives and children to encour- Captain Condom Born in Australia to a Scottish mother payments subject to social conditions, age men to have the procedure done. A va- and a Thai father, Mr. Viravaidya obtained such as immunizations or family planning. sectomy offered the family a better life and In the late 1980s, HIV/AIDS slammed a degree in commerce from Melbourne a bigger inheritance. PDA even included Thailand, and the government appeared ill- University before moving to Thailand in Vasectomy Festivals foreign men in this effort, with a vasectomy prepared to deal with the looming crisis. the mid-1960s to work as a government party on the United States Independence “Denial was the order of the day while economist. He quickly recognized that Mr. Viravaidya and his group did not Day and a Kangaroo Vasectomy Festival on thousands of Thais were being infected,” says Thailand’s rapid population growth was focus only on the pill. They simultaneously Australia’s National Day. Mr. Viravaidya. “No AIDS-related news was stymieing the country’s economic devel- attacked the stigma of condom use by To address religious concerns about permitted on radio or TV.” opment and increasing poverty. training 320,000 teachers in 5 years on the population control and family planning, Mr. Mr. Viravaidya circumvented this govern- In 1974, the average Thai family had benefits of condom use for family planning. Viravaidya enlisted the support of Buddhist ment policy by going straight to the coun- seven children, and the country main- PDA even organized competitions in which monks, who publicly blessed contraceptives try’s powerful military, which controlled 300 tained a 3.3% population growth rate. school children blew up condoms into with holy water before they were distributed radio stations and two television stations. By “There was no future in this,” he said. balloons and received a Snakes & Ladders to the public. 1990, Mr. Viravaidya had convinced the head “It needed to change.” In response, he family planning game. The fruits of these labors were dramatic. of Thailand’s military to air AIDS education founded the PDA and redefined the con- On the male side of the equation, PDA The average number of children per fam- commercials on the military stations. The cept of family planning with a model that innovatively addressed the fear of men to ily fell from 7 in 1974 to 1.2 in 2005. The rest of the government fell in line a year is now replicated around the world. undergo a vasectomy. The nongovernment population growth rate during that same later. A doctor’s prescription was required organization (NGO) organized a Million- period fell from 3.3% to 0.5%. The rate has In 1991, Thailand’s Prime Minister to obtain birth control pills. In Thailand aire Vasectomy Festival in coordination remained stable and low ever since. was named chairman of the country’s at the time, that was no easy task in a with the national lottery bureau, which “We’ve reached the point in Thailand National AIDS Endeavor, which elevated country with nine doctors per 1 million gave a free lottery ticket to all men who where most families don’t want to have too the problem above the limited role and AFP

44 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 45 FROM THE FIELD Some solutions for climate

“We’ve reached the point in Thailand change where most families don’t want to have too many children. They are educated. They understand the implications of family planning. Now, all we have to do is maintain the services to support them.”

AFP ...really do power of the country’s Ministry of Health. In a landmark program that has been operates 18 private companies—including the A 50-fold increase in the government replicated around the world, Mr. Viravaid- popular Cabbages & Condoms restaurants grow on trees budget for HIV and AIDS followed. Once ya’s group offered small business loans to and resorts—to support its development work. unleashed, Mr. Viravaidya and his group people with HIV/AIDS on the condition Mr. Viravaidya sees this blending of used the same aggressive, controversial, that they partner with someone who does private sector ownership and not-for- yet effective tactics they had sharpened not have the disease. This highly suc- profit development work as the model for Climate change endangers all living things. The loss of forestland in the battle to bring down Thailand’s cessful program—91% of loans were paid the future, adding that he has no fear of contributes greatly to the problem. Plants breathe carbon dioxide, population growth rate. back on time—discouraged stigmatizing development organizations losing focus making forests natural carbon storehouses. Unfortunately, cutting While the government mandated that people with the ailment. Mr. Viravaidya’s and turning into profit-driven enterprises. trees causes as much as 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions. a 30-second HIV/AIDS educational an- group also encouraged companies to offer “The Catholic Church owns a lot of Forest degradation contributes emissions as well. nouncement be made during every hour workplace education on HIV/AIDS with land but that doesn’t make it a property of broadcast on 488 radio stations and six the slogan: “Sick staff can’t work. Dead developer,” says Mr. Viravaidya. “Our com- A global forest carbon market is proposed to arrest deforestation by television stations, the nation—with Mr. customers don’t buy.” panies don’t define our work. They support compensating developing countries for conserving their forests. Viravaidya’s group taking a leadership role— Thailand’s anti-HIV/AIDS program it. Most NGOs are beggars, and that is not This would generate billions of dollars in new funding for rural was mobilized to address the issue through has been a globally recognized success. By sustainable. You can’t expect to survive on development and environmental management under the scheme of the use of condoms. 2004, the country experienced a 90% re- begging alone.” Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). Condoms were distributed at bus duction in new HIV infections. The World Mr. Viravaidya was appointed am- stops, toll booths, banks, shopping centers, Bank estimated in 2005 that the country’s bassador to The Joint United Nations ADB supports pilot activities developing this approach in the nightclubs, and even in hotel mini-bars. Gas efforts had saved 7.7 million lives and Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, stations offered a free box of condoms with a $18 billion in treatment costs. Though a 1999. He has also received the Ramon the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Trees are our friends. full tank of gas, and one of the world’s largest catastrophe was averted, Thailand today is Magsaysay Award for Public Service and Helping save them is one of the many strategic actions ADB is taking in fast-food chains offered condoms with their dealing with some of the same problems the United Nations Population Award. the fight against climate change. hamburgers. Even Thailand’s police were of complacency that many countries are Most recently, he won the Bill and Me- drafted into service. Under the “Cops and struggling to address regarding HIV/AIDS, linda Gates Award for Global Health and Rubbers” program, traffic violators received says Mr. Viravaidya. the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneur- a condom with their citation or warning. ship, each of which included a cash prize As always with PDA, there was no short- Surviving on Begging of $1 million. age of fun added to the process. A Captain Despite the global acclaim, the Condom and Miss Condom beauty pageant PDA has grown into a diverse development greatest recognition of his work is likely was held, as were condom-inspired fashion organization with more than 800 staff and something heard every day in taxicabs, www.adb.org shows. The group promoted condom coin 12,000 volunteers working in 18 regional hotels, stores, and bedrooms throughout purses and the use of condoms to keep development centers in 15 provinces Thailand: “Mechai” has become the Thai mobile phones dry in the rain. throughout Thailand. Most notably, PDA nickname for condom. 

46 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 MUST-READ BOOKS

little assistance changed their lives. HALF THE SKY The authors argue that the best strategy for The book highlights two facets of Ms. fighting poverty is to recognize women’s rights GODDESS OF THE Rand’s work: her promotion of capitalism and Turning Oppression Into and their potential to contribute to the economy. the freedom of the individual, and her defense Mr. Kristof and Ms. WuDunn are the MARKET of limited government. Among the references Opportunity for Women first married couple to win a Pulitzer Prize in that author Jennifer Burns used were Ms. journalism. They won for their coverage of the Ayn Rand and the Rand’s private papers and the original, uned- Worldwide People’s Republic China as New York Times cor- ited versions of her journals. By Nicholas D. Kristof and respondents. Mr. Kristof won a second Pulitzer American Right An assistant professor of history at the for his op-ed columns in the Times. University of Virginia, Ms. Burns has pub- Sheryl WuDunn “These Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Knopf lished extensively on the history of conserva- see the treatment of women in developing By Jennifer Burns tive thought. countries as the great story of this century, a Oxford University Press “As Ms. Burns successfully demonstrates, authors argue that the struggle for gender $27.95 moral issue, sure, but also as an economic one. Ms. Rand’s ideas have remained an important equality is ‘the paramount moral challenge’ What if, by oppressing half their population, $27.95 part of the American ideological mix, especial- of our era. It is also a development challenge: n Half The Sky, Pulitzer Prize winners countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East ly in how she honored the creative powers of unleashing women’s energy, they argue, is a key Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have been shooting themselves in their collec- oddess of the Market chronicles the life American business in a free market to improve tell the stories of women in Africa and Asia tive foot?”—Carolyn See, The Washington Post to economic success.”—Martha Nussbaum, The I  of the late novelist and philosopher human lives. Ms. Burns’ readers will see Rand “Goddess of the Market…examines Rand’s who struggled against oppression and how a “In this passionate yet practical book, the New York Times. GAyn Rand, and her impact on political still has the power to instruct on the meaning natural attraction for conservatives—Alan thought. The book’s release is quite timely and scary implications of government growth Greenspan was a member of the Saturday- since Ms. Rand’s The Fountainhead and Atlas in the age of Barack Obama.”—Brian Doherty, night salon she held in her New York apart- poverty and development. He is good at Shrugged enjoyed a surge in sales during 2009. The Washington Times ment.”—Mark Sanford, Newsweek.  MISADVENTURES fleshing out the lives and concerns of the OF THE MOST (often impoverished) people who stand to gain from reducing particular trade barriers, The book was edited by Viral Acharya and FAVORED NATIONS as well as the worries of those who oppose RESTORING Matthew Richardson. Mr. Acharya is professor of change.”—The Economist finance at NYU Stern. He is academic advisor _‚@] “His conclusions are sensible without FINANCIAL to the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and being startling: pass a stripped-down ver- Philadelphia and academic director of the Coller Ambitions, and the sion of Doha and declare a moratorium on STABILITY Institute of Private Equity at London Business the bilateral and regional trade deals that School. Mr. Richardson is the Charles E. Simon Great Shambles of the complicate the world trading system. The How to Repair a Failed Professor of Financial Economics and the Sidney future could consist of ‘coalitions of the Homer Director of the Salomon Center for the World Trade System willing,’ making smaller deals rather than System Study of Financial Institutions at NYU Stern. requiring every country to sign up to ev- “…the book that best combines history, Mr. Blustein is journalist in residence at the ery agreement.”—Alan Beattie, Financial analysis and prescription is Restoring Financial By Paul Blustein Times Edited by Viral V. Acharya and Global Economy and Development Program at Matthew Richardson Stability, a series of essays by academics at New Public Affairs the Brookings Institution. He wrote for The “Blustein has thoroughly mastered the York University’s Stern School of Business. The Washington Post for 20 years, covering business craft of breathing life into intrinsically dull John Wiley 60-page prologue is packed with telling facts and $27.95 and economic issues. His work has won several material with compelling thematic narra- sophisticated analysis, and alone is worth the prizes, including the Gerald Loeb Award. tive and delicious character studies. And it $49.95 steep cover price. The individual chapters deal inancial journalist Paul Blustein takes on “Mr. Blustein uses his account of the doesn’t get much duller than meetings of the offer financial policy alternatives and courses methodically with the myriad issues raised by the task of recounting the high-stakes tribulations of the Doha Round to argue that WTO and the General Agreement on Tariffs estoring Financial Stability presents an of action to repair and reform the global finan- the crunch, and the policy changes that will be negotiations at the World Trade Organi- the prospect of a retreat from multilateralism and Trade (GATT), which can include hours independent view of the financial cial system. needed, covering everything from the American F of dickering over the difference between zation (WTO) and their impact on the global in trade in favor of protectionism (or even crisis, drawing on the expertise of 33 Representing fields of finance, economics, mortgage market to the need for international ‘must’ and ‘can.’”—William Bernstein, The R economy and the common man in a style and haphazard bilateral deal making) is something academics from New York University’s Leon- and accounting, these 33 professors, led by Dean cooperation in regulating finance. The Stern language accessible to a wide range of readers. that should bother people who care about Washington Post.  ard N. Stern School of Business (NYU Stern). Thomas Cooley and Vice Dean Ingo Walter, sent book may be careful to avoid academic gobble- It features executive summaries of 18 policy copies of the policy papers to Washington in dygook and complex equations, but it cannot be papers that look at the causes of the crisis and December 2008. described as a light read.”—The Economist.  including the Lionel Gelber Prize for Interna- KEYNES tional Relations and the Council on Foreign Relations Prize for International Relations. of the Liberal Democrats in March 2006 and has Return of the Master He also wrote The World After Communism in THE STORM been the party’s chief economic spokesperson 1995. He was made a life peer in 1991, and since 2003. He served as chief economist for was elected Fellow of the British Academy in The World Economic Shell from 1995 to 1997. By Robert Skidelsky 1994. “As an account of what happened and why, Public Affairs “This book is provocative in its discus- Crisis & What It Means it is both admirably clear of befuddling jargon sion of the moral aspect of Keynes’s thinking. and authoritative in its range and detail.”—The $24.95 He had the curious and refreshing idea that Economist financial institutions have a duty to the public By Vincent Cable “This 181-page book will not disappoint obert Skidelsky’s latest book on John interest as well as to shareholders. He worried Atlantic Books his fans. It is a lucid guide to the present mess, Maynard Keynes celebrates the return about the pursuit of money at the expense of faltering only at the final turn. Cable is treasury Rof Keynesian economics. It discusses all else. What ethical value, he asked, attends $24.65 spokesman for the Liberal Democrats and when the enduring relevance of ideas put forward by a life of ‘moneymaking and bridge’?”—Dwight analysis turns to prescription, he is afflicted by the great British economist during the Great Garner, The New York Times ritish politician and economist Vincent the same confusion and indecision as everyone Depression in the 1930s. The current global “An important contribution at a time of and winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics in Cable explains how and why the global else. This perhaps makes his book an even more financial crisis only proves Mr. Keynes right: soul-searching…. You don’t have to agree 2008, Observer (UK) Bfinancial crisis developed in The Storm. authentic record of these wretched times.”—Si- reached this ‘Alice in Wonderland world,’ where markets are not self-correcting, and government with everything Skidelsky says to find this a “Explaining the present-day relevance He discusses how the West should respond mon Jenkins, The Sunday Times governments reward reckless and greedy bor- intervention is needed. wonderfully stimulating book, one that reflects of [Keynes’] theories is executed superbly by to the crisis and warns against resorting to “When a catastrophe like this happens, it is rowers while penalizing thrifty depositors. He Mr. Skidelsky is emeritus professor of po- the author’s unparalleled erudition. We’re liv- Skidelsky…. Skidelsky’s book excels. It’s a isolationist and protectionist policies. tempting to hunt for villains. In his sensible over- shows it was a systemic failure in which everyone litical economy at the University of Warwick. ing in the second Age of Keynes—and Robert passionate polemic that makes a strong case for Mr. Cable is Member of Parliament for view, Vince Cable, a trained economist although played their role, not least ordinary investors.” His three-volume biography of Mr. Keynes Skidelsky is still the guide of choice.”—Paul economists and policy makers to reread their Twickenham. He was elected Deputy Leader slightly doddery prose stylist, tracks how we —Nicholas Shakespeare, Telegraph.  (1983, 1992, and 2000) received recognition, Krugman, New York Times columnist, economist Keynes.”—BusinessWeek. 

48 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010 JANUARY–MARCH 2010 Development Asia 49 ON THE RECORD

“The millennium goals, for those of you who don’t know, are a persistent nag of a noble, global compact.” Bono in an opinion column AFP

published by The New York Times in October AFP

“Girls get to eat last. Pregnant women already have weakened immune systems, so their babies suffer and die. This is a human crisis, ‰Q

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director at the World Bank and a former finance minister of Nigeria, on the impact of the global economic crisis on women AFP

“A Congolese woman told me: ‘For you in the West, ‹SQ

Iraqi-born Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International, speaking at the fifth Women’s Forum in France in October. The Washington-based group helps survivors of war, civil strife, and other conflicts AFP

“What you do from this day forward will write, or rewrite, the story of AIDS across Africa.” IBC

Michel Sidibé, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) executive director, to South African President Jacob Zuma, just before Mr. Zuma announced that the country would treat all HIV-positive babies and expand testing. South Africa has the most HIV-infected people ADVERTISEMENT in the world

‘’Never again should we face the deadlock that threatened to pull down those talks; never again should we let a global deal to move towards a greener future be held to ransom by only a handful of countries.”

Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister, after four days of negotiations

at the climate change summit in Copenhagen in December 2009 AFP

“I have the feeling of dread we are on the Titanic and sinking fast. It’s time to launch the lifeboats.”

Ian Fry, a delegate from Tuvalu at the Copenhagen summit in December. Tuvalu, an archipelago of tiny islands in the South Pacific, is threatened by rising sea levels caused by global warming Leila Mead/IISD

P^ carbon-neutral growth at the global level, and we have done it with an aggressive timeline of 2020.”

Giovanni Bisignani, International Air Transport Association

director general and CEO, on efforts to cut CO2 emissions AFP

50 Development Asia JANUARY–MARCH 2010