Knowledge, Ethics and Responsibility: Perspectives from Developing Countries SS and SN Collaboration

1
Knowledge, Ethics and Responsibility
Perspectives from Developing Countries - S-S and
S-N Collaboration in a Regional Perspective

• Anupam Varma
• Chair, ICSU Regional Committee for Asia and the
  Pacific

2
Asia and the Pacific

• The seat of unprecedented gains in agricultural
  production Green Revolution
• Constantly growing population 50 of the worlds
  population resides in the region
• Hunger and poverty rampant
• 540 million people go to bed hungry
• 200 million children malnourished
• The knowledge divide most prominent

3
Trained human resource and Institutional
Infrastructure

• Some countries in the region have an edge over
  others in having scientists practicing hard core
  science
• The region is rich in traditional knowledge
• In most of the countries of the region
  infrastructure is not adequate to harness benefit
  from the fast advancing frontiers of science.

4
(No Transcript)
5
ICSU Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific

• Chair Anupam Varma (India)
• Members M. Shamsher Ali (Bangladesh)
• Muhamad Awang (Malaysia)
• Mustafa Baghirov (Azerbaijan)
• Jennifer Graves (Australia)
• Motonori Hoshi (Japan)
• Mingsarn Kaosa-Ard (Thailand)
• Ali Moosavi Movahedi (Iran)
• Kan Zhang (China CAST)
• Ex Officio Thomas Rosswall (Executive Director,
  ICSU)
• N.N., Director ICSU Regional Office

6
Some of the challenges

• Environmental degradation
• Sustainable development
• Water a major issue
• Science education
• Human, animal and plant health
• Natural and man-made hazards
• Lack of resources
• Brain drain
• Knowledge divide increasing gap between S and N

7
The approach for meeting the challenges

• Strengthen science education to be competitive
• Capacity building in ST essential for economic
  growth
• Empowering women scientists
• Planning and co-ordination of research in modern
  science and traditional knowledge

8
The approach for meeting the challenges

• Encourage Academies/National Level Scientific
  Society to be member of ICSU
• Coordination of ST Development with Asian
  Scientific Societies and Network of the Academies
  
• Strategic partnership and networking
• Develop intra- and inter-regional S-S and S-N
  collaboration for RD
• Information dissemination

9
The approach for meeting the challenges

• Bridging the science-policy interface
• Advocate the importance of ST to policy and
  decision makers
• Provide input to important policies
• Outreach
• Creating public awareness on the importance of S
  T

10
The approach for meeting the challenges

• Establish partnership with the network of
  academies and regional scientific societies,
  UNESCO Regional Office, TWAS Regional Office and
  other international agencies operating in the
  region.

11
To achieve

• Sharing the information
• Better understanding of science, taking science
  to society
• Developing science-policy interface for wider use
  of scientific knowledge in framing national
  policies
• Sustainable development
• Integration of scientific and traditional
  knowledge

12
To achieve

• Active S-S and S-N collaboration for RD in
  cutting edge and emerging areas
• Improved science education
• Attract young people for a career in science
• Transform information into knowledge
• Focus on basic sciences
• Capacity for science and technology development
• Build scientific temper
• Check brain drain
• Encourage participation of diaspora

13
To achieve

• Ensure involvement in international research
  efforts
• Bridging the North-South knowledge divide
• Sustainable development of knowledge based
  societies in a competitive globalized world

14
Ethics in science

• Science has a great ethical responsibility to
  provide knowledge. Ethics without knowledge is as
  effective as a geographical exploration without a
  compass. In simple words, the role of ethics
  begins where science and technology have opened
  possibilities.
• Dr. Edward Teller
• (SourceHargittai, I. 2005 The Tragedy of Edward
  Teller. Hungarian Academy of Sciences)