8. Positioning the policy framework
The current study has brought out the existing status
of the policy scenario in general and the need to have a
closer look at various policies as a result of space technology
convergence on the information superhighway.
The globalization of the world economy was stimulated by
the rapid development and broad applications of ICT in recent
decades, especially the penetration of the Internet in the
last 10 years. The modern economy is also recognized as
a knowledge-based economy, or network economy. Information
is becoming the most important commodity in today’s
economy. It is the most valuable resource for human and
social development, changing the world into an information
society. Ensuring that present and future generations benefit
equitably from advances in information and communication
technology has been a major concern of the international
community.
The Millennium Summit of the United Nations held in September
2000 set the goal of halving the proportion of people living
in poverty by 2015. It is clear that if the digital divide
between the information-rich and information poor cannot
be adequately addressed and resolved, the target of the
poverty alleviation can hardly be achieved. As action towards
achieving the target, the United Nations has created an
ICT Task Force so that the process of collective thinking
can evolve and bring all the stakeholders, including the
private sector, together to formulate a strategic partnership
based on a genuine commonality of interests and shared goals,
focusing essentially on synergies rather than mere coordination.
It is recognized that the aim is to harness ICT to bridge
the social and economic gaps that divide the world, not
as a substitute for broad development efforts but to complement
them as a leveraging factor. The task is urgent because
no business models or regulatory environment exist, and
that fact in itself provides a unique opportunity to lay
the groundwork for the development of models that are inclusive
and encompass the needs of the poor.
To further stimulate worldwide concern about the digital
divide, the United Nations made the decision that a World
Summit on the Information Society would be held in two phases:
in 2003 in Geneva and in 2005 in Tunisia. In close cooperation
with relevant international organizations, ESCAP has initiated
the preparatory process in the Asian and Pacific region,
including the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Network
of the United Nations-ICT Task Force, and the Regional Interagency
Working Group on Information and Communication Technology.
There is no doubt that the process will synergize all ongoing
regional initiatives to contribute to the regional objective
of bridging the digital divide. ESCAP is setting its objectives
in fields such as an enabling policy environment for competitive
ICT infrastructure and services, technical assistance for
improved accessibility to ICT, and promoting capacity-building
in operational applications of ICT for sustainable economic
and social development.
One of the major contributions that ESCAP has made to the
regional campaign on ICT is the well-established regional
cooperation network on space technology applications. Initiated
by the Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for
Development in Asia and the Pacific in 1994, and extended
into its second phase by the second Ministerial Conference
on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia
and the Pacific in 1999, the Regional Space Applications
Programme for Sustainable Development has the objective
of promoting operational applications of satellite-based
information and communication technology for sustainable
development and improved quality of life in the region.
In particular, its tasks include (a) enhancing the momentum
of the regional cooperation network and endowing it with
the mandates to promote the establishment of enabling policies
and the institutional and technical environment for broader
satellite-based ICT infrastructure and services, (b) disseminating
success stories and promoting operational applications that
combine space advantages with the information superhighway,
(c) promoting equal and easier access to space information
products and services for developing countries, particularly
the least developed countries, and (d) promoting regional
cooperative mechanisms in space technology applications,
such as those for natural disaster management and for communication
satellite accessing facilities and services. The work in
these fields will certainly contribute to the achievements
of ESCAP in the field of ICT, as well as in other priority
areas, such as poverty alleviation, managing globalization
and addressing emerging social issues.
There is increasing appreciation that access is the first
consideration in promoting ICT applications, especially
for the benefit of rural and disadvantaged communities.
At the same time, it is also recognized that access is not
an end in itself. Access simply enables further activities
that can only be partially specified in advance. An access
model for ICT services to bridge the digital divide would
do the following (Gurstein, 2000):
- Provide support for a multiplicity of usage roles involving
the creation, dissemination and retrieval of information
- Address the full range of possible users and the diversity
of their life situations\
- Recognize the interplay of social and technical dimensions
in infrastructure development
- Encompass both conventional and new media
- Highlight “access gaps” and social forces
likely to be left out by market forces
- Help to identify essential services
While the above model was drawn for an ICT environment
for rural development, it is also applicable in a broader
context, even in defining the policy framework for the development
of least developed countries. Here is where the emerging
convergent environment, facilitated by terrestrial and space-based
systems, reveals both opportunities and pitfalls for the
countries in Asia and the Pacific. There is thus an urgent
need to understand the impact of the evolving technological
convergence taking into consideration the specific conditions
prevailing in the countries concerned. The Asian and Pacific
region has, in general, many problems related to affordable
connectivity and accessibility, with the possible exceptions
of Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Republic
of Korea and Singapore. Even with meagre connectivity, China
and India have made vast progress in ICT-related applications
of direct economic and social relevance. While it is true
that many ICT applications on the information superhighway
(i.e. those using the Internet Protocol) are platform-independent,
much of the technology is fast changing, so that the success
of these policies depends on the “change management”
strategy that the concerned national Governments will adopt.
For a developing country, it is not a question of making
a technology choice first and then asking “What we
can do with the available technology?”, but first
addressing societal requirements and looking for appropriate
technology with an adequate technical/economic lifetime.
With these concerns in the background, it is clear that
space technology’s role in fortifying the region’s
information superhighway needs to be orchestrated in an
unobtrusive manner, either in a stand-alone mode or in a
hybrid mode along with the terrestrial systems.
The unique advantages that contemporary communication satellites
present when it comes to broadband Internet access for individuals,
as well as other application fields, have not been adequately
recognized by relevant authorities or by user groups. Other
than those policies applicable to terrestrial systems, policies
concerning its broad coverage on the ground have not been
adequately addressed. National preparation at the policy,
institutional or technical levels has not been initiated
in most countries in the region. Some policy makers still
consider satellite communication to be an expensive complement
and backup to terrestrial infrastructures; some regard broadband
as a long-term objective to be addressed today; some think
accessing the information superhighway is a luxury for less
developed areas when even major cities cannot access it
easily. Most potential user groups with urgent need to access
massive information sources, including sources of spatial
information, have limited knowledge about the significant
“leapfrog” opportunity that will be available
in the forthcoming years. It is particularly important that
planners and decision makers of government departments understand
both the advantages and the constraints of satellite information
services when they make decisions on ICT applications, especially
those for public benefit, such as development planning,
education, health care, and community development and rural
development. ESCAP, building on its established regional
cooperation network on major space technology application
fields, particularly on its Regional Working Group on Satellite
Communication Applications, could play a proactive role
in consolidating the related technical and policy issues
and disseminate information to the countries in the region.
It could be a useful starting point to help the region to
have a full understanding of all the underlying issues.
The information superhighway provides an efficient, cost-effective
means of providing satellite-based remote sensing data,
products and services to diverse user communities worldwide,
from national centres with well-equipped facilities and
skilled professionals to small rural development projects
without any facilities or technical persons. In Asia and
the Pacific, more than 10 countries have their own remote
sensing satellite data reception facilities, and more than
30 countries have direct access to data from meteorological
satellites, such as NOAA, GMS, Feng Yung and INSAT. While
these figures are impressive, most less developed countries
in the region have only a limited capability to access space
information, products and services directly. Even for those
countries with satellite accessing facilitates, cost-efficient
operation and effective delivery of services to less developed
areas and small user communities remain difficult. By the
year 1994, there were more than 10,000 GIS experts in the
region engaged in value-added services (ESCAP, 1994), most
of them using space information as one of the major information
sources. Today, the figure should be double that; the demand
for equal, timely and cost-effective access to satellite-based
information in operational, real-life situations, such as
disaster management, has reason significantly. There are
a great number of potential users who need the products
and services but do not have the need, interest or capability
to establish their own facilities to find and process the
raw data. Along with the accessibility to the information
superhighway, value-added space information service providers
will flourish, and some aspects of the information service
industry could be developed in those less developed countries,
and could be made one of the most energetic components of
ICT applications, supporting sustainable development and
improved quality of life. Some of these industries could
be developed locally, if the space information could be
acquired through the information superhighway, without huge
investment.
Spatial information is crucial for appropriate decision-making
at various levels, and for all industries related to spatial
information. There is a concern that although the countries
in which these services are not yet available may be aware
of the huge potential that the ICT revolution and the space
technology applications provide, their interest is not reflected
adequately in the development projects and programmes. There
are many diverse initiatives and activities around the world
to meet this challenge. There is no question about the necessity
of launching diverse efforts, as there are no universal
solutions to different regional, national and local conditions
and needs. However, the development impact of these initiatives
and projects could be significantly enhanced through strengthening
synergies, ensuring complementarities, promoting awareness
and replicating success stories. Though there are several
examples in the region in which operational delivery of
satellite data and value-added services through the information
superhighway has been demonstrated in real-life situations,
there seems to an imbalance, with most of these success
stories concentrated among a few countries lucky enough
to be blessed with the appropriate infrastructure and wherewithal.
The penetration of network-based information into almost
all aspects of the people’s economic and social lives
has accelerated the course of globalization in recent years.
In the knowledge-based economy, information is becoming
one of the most important commodities. While these advanced
technologies definitely have the ability to solve the “last
mile” problems, the question of affordability by the
rural poor is always an issue. Added to that issue, low
levels of literacy and unfamiliarity with the use of ICTs
also make these technologies virtually inaccessible to the
majority of the rural and disadvantaged poor. Considering
these imponderables, the recent emphasis globally has been
to focus on access to these technologies at the community
level rather than at the individual rural home level. Donor
funding is an essential component as the developing countries
in the region, particularly the least developed countries
and the small island countries (where the “last mile”
problem is most acute), try to emulate the success stories
of their distant neighbours.
The issues of poverty alleviation, overcoming the negatives
of globalization and bridging the digital divide are directly
relevant to the economic and social well-being of the countries
in the region, even as they brace themselves to face the
regimen set by WTO. ICT applications based on space technology
inputs provide a positive means to address these burning
issues. The Second Ministerial Conference on Space Applications
for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific held
at New Delhi in November 1999 identified a set of common
themes under the Regional Space Applications Programme for
Sustainable Development. These themes, such as poverty alleviation,
food security, disaster management, telehealth and distance
education, are directly linked to the ICT applications,
and the forthcoming information superhighway will provide
an enabling platform to help countries to raise these applications
to the operational phase. Such initiatives could be taken
up on a priority basis as possible pilot projects with appropriate
space technology inputs, and a network of interested countries
could be encouraged to work out the detailed framework for
cooperation.
ESCAP could play a meaningful role here by helping developing
countries in the region with the appropriate capacity-building
exercises, through institutional partnerships and regional/subregional
cooperation, (a) by grouping the countries and facilitating
the replication of successful ICT cases in which integration
of space technology applications on the information superhighway
has been the hallmark, (b) by promoting regional arrangements
for the sharing of facilities, and (c) by formulating and
implementing specific, relevant pilot projects in a subregional
cooperation mode in these priority areas.
It is recognized that, where ICT is concerned, the aim
of the United Nations is to harness ICT to bridge the social
and economic gaps that divide the world, not to substitute
ICT for broad development efforts, but to complement it
as a leveraging factor. The task is made more urgent by
the fact that no business models or regulatory environments
exist, such a situation, however, provides the region with
a unique opportunity to lay the groundwork for the development
of models that are inclusive and encompass the needs of
the poor. There are also initiatives on similar lines at
the global, regional, subregional and national levels. ESCAP,
with its unique position and its vast experience in carrying
out many cooperative projects under RESAP, should take note
of such ongoing global initiatives with similar objectives
and work synergistically in carrying out time-bound projects
and programmes by appropriately integrating the space technology
applications into cooperative development policies and practices,
so that the official development assistance from donor countries
and financial support from international funding agencies
can be gainfully leveraged in new and innovative ways. To
orchestrate these efforts for the region, ESCAP could also
play a catalytic role in harmonizing related regional/subregional
initiatives to produce the synergy.
“Regional cooperation” is the watchword even
as the countries in the region work out regulatory mechanisms
for integrating space applications into the information
superhighway. The Asian and Pacific region, with its vast
cultural, ecological and political variety, can benefit
from a comprehensive approach to regional cooperation. Building
a responsible and equitable form of participation and creating
indigenous capabilities is the basis of appropriately absorbing
the high-technology space inputs for national development.
It is particularly vital for the least developed countries
and the small island countries, which are looking for viable
means of building their capacity and developing their human
resources, to integrate space applications successfully
into their national developmental plans. There are many
initiatives in the region, such as the Centre for Space
Science and Technology Education, affiliated with the United
Nations, and other training activities offered by its members
under the training and education network of RESAP. These
initiatives could become nuclei for more comprehensive cooperation
in the coming years. ESCAP should associate actively with
such regional initiatives to help ensure the success of
capacity-building efforts in the region.
Space activities are inherently international in scope
and their full potential does not materialize in purely
national applications, but only in taking advantage of the
regional and global perspective that the synoptic view and
operation from space provides. It is even more true since
no single country can afford to have all types of satellites
and provide assured continuity of services to the users,
particularly for Earth observation satellites, since only
a few of them are operating on a commercial basis. Even
as countries try to develop endogenous capabilities in space
technology and its applications, complementary and supplementary
use of satellite systems and services from other national
and international resources has been the most viable model.
Many countries opt for providing quality services to these
non-commercial users. Over the years there have been many
international and regional initiatives, the listing of which
in itself would be a major effort, considering the scope
and extent of such initiatives. More and more United Nations
agencies and specialized organizations, such as the United
Nations International Drug Control Programme, the United
Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Meteorological
Organization have started using space applications to achieve
their respective mandates. There are also many international
technical organizations, such as CEOS, that provide scientific
and technical advice. While framing and refining the policy
framework, it is imperative that a harmonized approach be
adopted among these agencies to ensure coherence and to
avoid the inconsistencies and contradictions that would
occur from an uncoordinated approach. With its strong Intergovernmental
Consultative Committee (ICC) and regional working groups
network in space technology applications, ESCAP has the
instruments needed to keep the regional threads together
and ensure harmonization. Providing the needed interface
between the countries in the region through these long-tested
networks and linking to the specialized agencies (with appropriate
structural changes) is one approach on which ESCAP could
rely while working out joint projects and programmes.
However, there are a few models that are worth considering
even as ESCAP tries to bring the countries in the region
together:
(a) The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites is one
such model. CEOS, though not an international organization
in the strict sense, has developed into a central global
platform for coordination in remote-sensing-related activities.
By associating all the space agencies, international organizations
and other global players (except industry, where efforts
are still crystallizing), and based on their purely voluntary
contributions, CEOS has helped in effectively harmonizing
the respective programmes. Additionally, it has helped the
evolution of international standards in remote sensing,
joining its the regulatory activities with those of the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), WMO
and others. Essentially, CEOS has served as a role model
linking scientific excellence and technological soundness
of the organizations and agencies that are directly affected
and closely interacting with the global organizations, while
leaving it to the global forums to negotiate binding regulations
(Liebig and Schrogl, 2000). CEOS could serve as a model
for how an informal gathering of professionals could carry
out so much in a focused and coordinated fashion on a purely
voluntary basis;
(b) Similarly, the experience of the Charter on Cooperation
to Achieve the Coordinated Use of Space Facilities in the
Event of Natural or Technological Disaster (i.e. the International
Charter on Space and Major Disaster) should also provide
necessary insights as how to bring together a group of interested
agencies with common global concerns on the same platform
and carry out tasks with maximum ultimate impact.
While bringing the space technology benefits to the region,
even as the convergence technology enables integration of
space applications into the information superhighway, CEOS
and the Charter could serve as role models for ESCAP to
bring together the countries in the region and work out
programmes of mutual concern:
(a) On one plane, United Nations agencies such as ESCAP
could effectively interact closely with such expert organizations
and agencies and optimally make use of their expertise and
good will and reach to help the region to address contentious
issues such as interoperability and standards and all the
associated technical tasks. ESCAP should, however, have
appropriate in-house expertise to keep track of the ongoing
developments in space technologies and associated application
services in order to provide high-quality coordination in
these advanced areas;
(b) The second and more important possibility is to emulate
the CEOS type of cooperation among various developing countries
and organize the various regional initiatives through appropriate
restructuring of the extensive network established under
ICC. It is well understood that action has to be at the
local levels, addressing specific development needs, while
cooperation could be at the subregional and regional levels.
It is here that ESCAP has a major role to play, not as an
operational or executing agency but as a catalyst to promote,
support and identify appropriate entities and facilitate
connections between the interested parties, at both the
governmental and non-governmental levels. One of the distinct
possibilities for such a catalytic role is to bring together
some least developed countries and interested banking sectors
that are concerned with societal development, such as the
Asian Development Bank, and help them to organize their
infrastructure to cope with the challenges posed by the
convergence scenario.
Summarized below are the key elements that should be built
upon as the part of general strategic framework for ESCAP,
even as it prepares such projects as poverty alleviation,
overcoming the negatives of globalization and bridging the
digital divide through space technology applications:
(a) Raising awareness and understanding among the policy
makers on the potential of the space technology applications
integrated over the information superhighway. They should
see how ICT applications are prerequisites for many societal
and economically relevant applications, such as poverty
alleviation, disaster management, telehealth and distance
education, to name a few, identified under the Minimum Common
Programme of RESAP II;
(b) Assisting countries in making appropriate technology
choices, since an understanding of the nature of the fast-changing
technology developments will help them to appreciate the
underlying issues, whether related to economics or the policy
framework itself. In fact, it would be very prudent for
ESCAP to have panels of experts identified in the hardware,
software and applications areas who could be of help to
the national Governments in harnessing the full benefits
of ICT applications on the information superhighway;
(c) Promoting universal and affordable access to ICT by
encouraging new models and leveraging innovations in the
region, pooling all the resources, including those from
the private sector. This would ultimately create self-employment
opportunities, promote small and medium-sized enterprises,
and generate wealth at the local community level. It can
be accomplished through improved access to the information
superhighway by way of facilities such as:
- A broadband high-speed infrastructure-hybrid system
approach, integrating terrestrial and space systems
- Affordable Internet and intranet connectivity
- Community teleservice centres (CTCs)
- Hardware, software, services and support – local
entrepreneurship
- Online training and education facilities – community
training
- Content creation and packaging – in the local
language
Integrating space-based data and value-added services
with the broadband network in a timely and cost-effective
manner is the key. It is very likely that an information-superhighway-based
virtual private network for space information access and
services at the national and subregional levels can be achieved
in the region. Aside from the tasks identified above, ESCAP
could play a catalytic role in furthering space technology
applications on the information superhighway in the following
manner:
(a) Helping countries to work out national strategies for
integrating services into the information superhighway in
an optimal and affordable manner; topics would include policy
frameworks, the regulatory environment, human resources
development, institutional capacity-building and infrastructure
development;
(b) Promoting coherence and synergy with other initiatives
having similar objectives to leverage their experience and
to promote the replication of successful practices in the
countries, particularly in the least developed countries,
to harness their full potential to meet national development
goals;
(c) Developing a concept on a regional cooperative mechanism
in space applications to support natural disaster management,
and promoting its realization, in close cooperation with
Charter signatories and relevant regional initiatives such
as the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum Asia-Pacific
Multilateral Cooperation on Space Technology and Applications
and the Subcommittee on Space Applications under ASEAN.
Integrated space applications with information superhighway
will be one of the most important technical bases;
(d) Implementing pilot and demonstration projects that
integrate space technology applications addressing priority
areas such as poverty alleviation, overcoming the negatives
of globalization, and bridging the digital divide, at both
the national and the regional levels: these could be network
activities with appropriate donor funding from international
agencies. ESCAP could provide a forum to bring together
concerned experts, academics, decision makers from Governments
and business representatives, so that they could address
and formulate specific projects and programmes in these
priority areas;
(e) Building consortia, networks and partnerships among
the stakeholders and identifying and mobilizing resources,
financial, technical and human, for funding ICT projects
and programmes;
(f) Promoting collaboration with international bodies such
as the International Telecommunication Union and the Asia-Pacific
Telecommunity involved in developing solutions to policy
and regulatory issues and in setting standards, regulatory
frameworks and governance mechanisms for ICT applications;
(g) Facilitating closer cooperation and coordination among
various United Nations bodies, such as the recently proposed
United Nations Information Technology Service building on
their strategies, and stimulating the creation of additional
digital corps the in Asian and Pacific region;
(h) Ensuring closer programmatic links with other United
Nations agencies and forums such as FAO, UNDP and UNEP,
to name only a few, as well as regional and subregional
organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications
Council with the goal of harmonizing their activities and
pooling their expertise and limited resources;
(i) Forging stronger partnerships with the private sector,
NGOs, local authorities, the scientific community and others.
Finally, for all the above to take place in a well-coordinated
manner, there is a need to strengthen the Space Technology
Applications Section in ESCAP with appropriate expertise,
as recommended by the New Delhi Ministerial Conference.
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