Energy Interdependency in South Asia

s PLoS Medicine, Daniel Reidpath and Kit Yee Chan challenge the widely cited link between HIV-related stigma and the spread of the epidemic [1].This is an important question, given the heavy emphasis on stigma in policies of the World Health Organization, the Joint United Programme on HIV/AIDS, and other public health institutions, but in making their argument Reidpath and Chan misrepresent the connections that other authors have made between stigma and viral transmission, ignore evidence that does suggest an association, and propose a model of their own for which they offer no evidence.HIV infection establishes itself fi rst in certain high-risk groups-men who have sex with men, intravenous drug users, sex workers, mobile populations-and only later moves into the general population.In the early stages of the epidemic, stigma facilitates transmission within high-risk groups, because these already marginalized groups receive little attention from policy makers and the health-care community and are further discriminated against when they are identifi ed with HIV and AIDS [2].Stigma also prevents or makes it more diffi cult for members of high-risk groups to access preventive services, including HIV antibody testing [3].Reidpath and Chan distort this dynamic by describing a model in which stigma leads to fear which leads to unsafe behavior.We know of no one who suggests that stigma causes sex between men or intravenous drug use.Instead, there is evidence that HIV-related stigma makes it diffi cult for people to take actions to reduce their risks; for example, by accessing HIV education [4], exchanging needles [5], and negotiating condom use [6].Stigma may even lead women who know they are HIV positive to breast-feed their infants rather than arouse suspicion of their serostatus through formula feeding [7].This undoubtedly increases the risk of vertical viral transmission.Reidpath and Chan go on to propose that stigma may actually "slow the spread of infection from those [highrisk] groups to the general population."Although there is a plausible logic to this suggestion, there is no evidence for it.Even if stigma does reduce the opportunities that marginalized groups have to transmit HIV to the broader population, this would have little effect on the dynamics of a generalized epidemic.While they recognize that stigma presents a barrier to the treatment and care of people living with HIV, Reidpath and Chan fail to recognize the association this may have with increased transmission.HIV-related stigma discourages people from disclosing their status, entering care, and adhering to antiretroviral regimens, all of which represent missed opportunities for prevention.Around the world HIV capitalizes on and reinforces social stigma and discrimination, especially the low status of women.Defeating the epidemic requires an honest examination of all these phenomena and interventions that target both the virus itself and its widespread social impacts.

This study aims to estimate the effects of economic growth, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and natural resources on carbon emissions for the period of 1990-2014, in 11 countries, using 3 panels: (i) full countries panel, (ii) South Asian countries and (iii) Southeast Asian countries. For all panels, the long-run elasticities were estimated. The results suggest that non-renewable and renewable energy consumption increase economic development in the three panels. Besides, natural resources impede the economic growth in South Asian and full countries panels while natural resources increase the economic activities in Southeast Asian countries. Non-renewable and economic growth increase CO2 emissions, whereas, renewable energy consumption lessens the carbon emissions. Natural resources also contributed to CO2 emissions in the case of South Asian and full countries panels while improved the environmental quality in the Southeast Asian region. It was also observed that there is cointegration among the variables in all three panels. Policy recommendations can be made, in the sense that renewable energy sources should be preferred to decrease CO2 emissions, and education and corruption should be improved to estimulate the economic growth in the studied areas.Keywords: Renewable Energy, Non-renewable Energy, CO2 Emissions, Natural resources, CS-ARDLJEL Classifications: Q43, Q44, Q56DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.9956

South Asia is at a crossroads with growing population, rising per capita income, expanding economies, and increasing energy demand. With growing industrial, commercial, and transport sectors along with rising urban and middle-income consumers, the energy use is increasing at unprecedented rates to meet the ambitious poverty-reduction targets. All countries of the region are facing critical scenarios ranging from depleting indigenous energy resources for developing long-term energy cooperation plans to ensuring energy security. South Asian countries are highly dependent on imported fuels, especially liquid hydrocarbon, for transport. For instance, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh meet less of their energy demand with indigenous sources and thus face mounting energy import bills. Maldives depends on oil products to meet its energy needs. Nepal and Bhutan have huge hydroelectric potential. At the same time, there is a very wide variation in the energy consumption levels in South Asian countries. The high potential of hydropower in South Asia can reduce the reliance of the region on importing fossil fuel, increase the demand from indigenous resources, raise the energy security level, and reduce the emission levels. Therefore, energy security is vital for improved economic growth and to attain poverty reduction in the region, and thus calling for development and utilization of locally available renewable energy along with intraregional energy cooperation to help mitigate individual country energy security risks in the context of climate change is required.

Background Menopausal symptoms can have a significant impact on a woman's quality of life. Information on availability of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) in National Essential Medicines Lists (NEMLs) of South Asian (SA) countries has not been widely studied. Objective To review the availability of non-injectable MHT included in NEMLs of SA countries and to assess differences in availability compared to the recommended MHT preparations in the World Health Organization (WHO) model essential medicines list and the list of MHT available to women of a developed country in the Asia Pacific Region, while comparing with the healthcare expenditure and country's economic status. Methods Most recent NEMLs were obtained from all eight SA counties by visiting the Ministry of health/regulatory website of the respective country. Latest WHO model essential medicines list and Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme (PBS) schedule from Australia were obtained from the WHO and PBS websites respectively. Per capita health expenditure was obtained from The WHO Global Health Expenditure Database. Two investigators extracted the non-injectable MHT preparations independently from NEMLs and conducted the comparison. Results Except in two countries, in all other SA coun­tries NEMLs were updated within the preceding five years. According to available data, seven SA countries had at least one separate preparation of oestrogen suitable for MHT while all countries had a separate progesterone preparation suitable for MHT. The oestrogen preparations available in the SA NEMLs were limited to either ethinyl estradiol or conjugated oestrogen tablets whilst in the WHO model, oestrogen preparations were not specified. In Australia, estradiol tablets were the only available oral oestrogen while there were four more different dosage forms of oestrogens available through the PBS Scheme. Progesterone preparations found in SA countries, WHO list and PBS schedule were similar, but oestrogen progesterone combination MHT preparations were only available in the PBS schedule. Per capita health expenditure was much higher in Australia compared to SA countries where a wide variation was observed. Conclusions The available evidence suggests that a larger population of SA women have access only to a very limited number of options if in need of MHT. In contrast, importance of MHT is highlighted in PBS Schedule. Although per capita health expenditure was low in SA countries, given that MHT products are relatively low cost and that there is a large proportion of women in menopausal age in this region, it would be imperative to update the WHO model list and NEMLs of SA countries to address the growing need of safe MHT and to improve the quality of life of postlnenopausal women in our region.

South Asian countries continue to face challenges such as poor access to energy, energy shortages, and concerns for energy security. The availability of primary sources for generating electricity vary across the region, and the potential for operational synergy provide room for cross-border electricity trade cooperation in the region. The economic and environmental benefits of such cooperation can be harnessed to its full potential if the existing barriers to enhance power marketing and barriers to cross- border trade of electricity can be reduced. For trade of electricity to be smooth across the region, policy and regulatory environments governing the power sector need to be harmonized. The adoption of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation (Electricity) during the 5th SAARC Energy Ministers’ Meeting and the 18th SAARC declaration in Kathmandu in November 2014 is a step toward achieving this harmonization. This paper examines the power sector regulatory and policy environment in the South Asian countries in the context of cross-border power trade. It identifies key issues influencing rapid development of cross-border power trade and provides specific recommendations to address these. Among others, some of the key areas that need attention are providing trading licenses, allowing open access transmission and distribution networks, coordinating transmission planning and power system operation, forming a nodal agency for cross-border power trading, and resolving disputes. The paper provides recommendations to improve policy and regulatory environment in the short, medium, and long term. These include, among others, identifying a nodal agency for cross-border trade until it is opened for wider participation; harmonizing key rules governing access to transmission, including cross-border interconnections and pricing; reducing commercial barriers for electricity trade; developing a framework to address system imbalances related to cross-border trade; establishing bilateral mechanisms and a regional framework to resolve disputes; allowing open access initially for transmission network and later for distribution network; and developing a regional transmission plan and a harmonized grid code in the medium to long term. The paper also suggests possible changes required to the existing electricity legislations in individual countries to accommodate and enhance regional electricity trade. The paper concludes that economic power exchange would not happen without the appropriate policies and without harmonizing legal and regulatory frameworks in all the necessary systems. If left to bilateral trading, the status quo of a limited trading regime will leave the vast economic, reliability, and environmental benefits unrealized. Experience across the world shows that such legal and regulatory changes can be accomplished successfully.

South Asia makes up nearly one quarter of the world’s population. Yet its per capita yearly electric power consumption is the 2nd lowest (just above the Sub Saharan Africa) compared to any regions and sub regions in the world. Access to power and meagre per capita consumption make South Asia one of the poorest regions in the world based on economic and human development indices. Limited indigenous energy resources of individual nations in South Asia are not enough to generate adequate power for rapid industrialization, economic and social development. Moreover, the availability of limited indigenous energy resources varies among South Asian nations. The power demand and supply also differ due to seasonal variability. With rapidly rising power demand in all South Asian countries, there are opportunities for cooperation and optimization of available generated power through cross-border power trade. This paper reviews power present generation in South Asia and highlights the potential for cross border power trade to boast regional economic development and prosperity.South Asia makes up nearly one quarter of the world’s population. Yet its per capita yearly electric power consumption is the 2nd lowest (just above the Sub Saharan Africa) compared to any regions and sub regions in the world. Access to power and meagre per capita consumption make South Asia one of the poorest regions in the world based on economic and human development indices. Limited indigenous energy resources of individual nations in South Asia are not enough to generate adequate power for rapid industrialization, economic and social development. Moreover, the availability of limited indigenous energy resources varies among South Asian nations. The power demand and supply also differ due to seasonal variability. With rapidly rising power demand in all South Asian countries, there are opportunities for cooperation and optimization of available generated power through cross-border power trade. This paper reviews power present generation in South Asia and highlights the potential for cross border power ...

As is well-known, the seminal work of the late Angus Maddison has established that 2,000 years ago the Indian subcontinent (modern day, South Asia) and China were by far the richest regions of the world. Since the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, the share of world GDP of the Indian subcontinent had started to decline. This trend reversed somewhat after the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s. More recently, however, economic growth in South Asia has softened yet once again for several reasons. This book focuses on the slowing pace of economic reforms and outlines a two-pronged strategy to jumpstart South Asian economies. First, South Asian countries should complete the economic reform process that they had begun in the 1980s and 1990s and implement the more microeconomic reforms, namely, the sectoral, and governance and institutional reforms to enhance competition and improve the operation of markets. Second, they should implement the second round of ‘Look East’ policies or LEP2 to (i) link themselves to production networks in East Asia, their fastest-growing markets, and (ii) develop production networks in manufacturing and services within their region. The book argues that the proposed strategy will lead to a win-win situation for all countries in South Asia and East Asia and reinvigorate economic integration within South Asia, one of the least integrated regions of the world. The book also identifies the unfinished policy reform agenda for each South Asian country and the components of the LEP2 that they should implement.

The energy demand in South Asia is increasing at a rapid rate and it is becoming harder to meet the demand due to the high cost of conventional energy sources, the unsustainability of energy use, and the high emissions caused by the energies. South Asia is blessed with a high potential for renewable energy, especially hydropower, but that has not been adequately tapped. This has highly compromised the food, water, and energy security of the people in South Asian countries. This article identifies the roles of renewable energy sources in achieving energy, water, and food security for South Asian nations and provides suggestions for enhancing the utilization of renewable resources. The article identifies the potential for the promotion of hydropower and other renewable energy sources as well as opportunities and potential challenges for multilateral energy trade for increasing the availability of energy. It also recommends possible solutions and approaches for the promotion of hydropower and other renewables in South Asia. The article infers that a nexus approach for integrated planning, policy coherence, and institutional harmonization increases the benefit by reducing transaction costs, generating additional synergies, and reducing the trade-off at different scales. These approaches enhance energy, food, and water security, and eventually improve the quality of life in the region. Improved access to renewable energy can contribute directly and indirectly to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in this region.

From South Asia to the world: embracing the challenge of global sustainable nitrogen management

Energy management in South Asia

The geopolitical location of Afghanistan is crucial for Central Asian and South Asian countries, as it provides opportunities and challenges for connectivity. Afghanistan's geopolitical location is significant in the Central Asian Era, as bordering countries exploit its natural resources, rivers, and possibilities. Afghanistan was the only mandatory corridor for empires like Genghis Khan, the Safavids, the Alexandrians, the British, the Russians, and the USA. The geopolitical location of Afghanistan has been a significant factor in regional cooperation organizations, reducing turbulences in the region. The study explores the opportunities and challenges in the area, identifying the challenges among these countries to prevent regional connectivity. The country's geographical location has been a significant factor in the development of technologies and weapons, making it a vital region for regional and international actors. The study highlights the importance of Afghanistan's geopolitical location in the connectivity of Central Asia, South Asia, and Middle Eastern countries. The study aims to identify the opportunities and challenges for Afghanistan in regional connectivity, identifying regional challenges, and identifying solutions for enhancing connectivity in relations with these countries. The study is important for political scholars, researchers, politicians, and policymakers. Afghanistan's geopolitical location in Asia is vital for Central Asian and South Asian countries. The results show that Afghanistan has an important impact on the Central Asian Era regarding geopolitics; all these countries, especially the bordering countries, are taking advantage of the natural resources, rivers, and possibilities of the North-Northeast and western parts of Afghanistan. Keywords: Geopolitical Location,Afghanistan,South Asia,Central Asia,Connectivity,Opportunities,Challenges

Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XL, No.3, Spring 2017 Locating the Loopholes of South–South Cooperation in South Asia: Can SAARC Deter Hostilities and Promote Cooperation? Zaglul Haider* Introduction Against the backdrop of growing inequality between the North and the South, and increasing infectivity of cooperation between the two, the importance of cooperation among the Southern developing countries of the world has increased to a significant extent. The strategy of South-South cooperation (SSC) is clearly endorsed by the principles of the United Nations. In the aftermath of increasing poverty, inequality and under development in South Asia, it is an imperative to expand SSC in order to change the condition of more than 1 billion underprivileged people in the region. The Global South in general and the countries of South Asia in particular, lack the managerial capacity to combat the major threats of internal security emanating from within the societies unlike the Western developed societies.1 The limited abilities of these countries to manage the emerging crises independently increase the necessity for SSC. The World Bank report shows that by 2008, South Asia experienced 36% extreme poverty 35 *Zaglul Haider is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Rajshahi. He earned PhD degree in Political Science from Clark Atlanta University, U.S.A. He obtained an L.L.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School. Currently, he is a PhD candidate in law at Osgoode Hall Law School. His book The Changing pattern of Bangladesh Foreign Policy was published by the University Press Limited, Dhaka, in 2006. His articles are published in The Security Dialogue, Asian Survey, The Round Table, Asian and African Studies, African and Asian studies, South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Regional Studies, Asian Profile, the Asiatic Society Journal, Journal of International Relations and in many South Asian academic Journals. 1 Mohammed Ayoob, "Security in the Third World: The Worm about to Turn?" International Affairs 60 (1983-84): 46. 36 where a person is living on $ 1.25.2 Given this scenario, SSC is an imperative for South Asian countries. Meaningful SSC is also important in order to preserve and protect their minimum core values i.e. political independence, territorial integrity, or the security.3 This paper argues that bilateral hostilities between India and most of the South Asian countries and Indian domineering role in South Asia created mistrust and misunderstanding between India and other South Asian countries. The South Asian neighbors consider India as a dominating state, given her political, economic and military power as well as hostile attitude toward them. This power politics of India is primarily responsible for the slow economic cooperation in South Asia. This paper further argues that within the existing Charter of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), where bilateral, political and contentious issues are deliberately denied formal discussion, SSC or regional integration in its fullest capacity is not feasible. Although SAARC emerged as an economic forum, economic cooperation does not work effectively, if deeply rooted political hostilities or rivalries among the partners do exist. Therefore, to promote SSC within the regional framework of SAARC, my approach is to incorporate all bilateral issues under the purview of SAARC. To this end, SAARC Charter needs to be amended. This will not only settle the existing political disputes but also accelerate SSC within the SAARC region. This paper is organized into five sections. Section1 introduces the paper, formulates the arguments, and shapes the structure of the chapter. Section 2 defines SSC, explains the evolution of SSC, rationale for SSC and the justifications for SSC in South Asia. Section 3 focuses on the loopholes of SSC in South Asia which includes political, economic and security challenges that limit the scope of SSC. Section 4 explores if SAARC at all is capable to promote regional economic cooperation and defuse tensions under its present charter. If not, why and how to make SAARC an effective regional instrument. In conclusion I summarize the main findings and recommend some policies for the promotion SSC in the region. 2 World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on $1.25 per day. The World Bank report is cited in Nikhilla Gill, "Extreme...

Bioinformatics education has been a hot topic in South Asia, and the interest in this education peaks with the start of the 21st century. The governments of South Asian countries had a systematic effort for bioinformatics. They developed the infrastructures to provide maximum facility to the scientific community to gain maximum output in this field. This article renders bioinformatics, measures, and its importance of implementation in South Asia with proper ways of improving bioinformatics education flaws. It also addresses the problems faced in South Asia and proposes some recommendations regarding bioinformatics education. The information regarding bioinformatics education and institutes was collected from different existing research papers, databases, and surveys. The information was then confirmed by visiting each institution's website, while problems and solutions displayed in the article are mostly in line with South Asian bioinformatics conferences and institutions' objectives. Among South Asian countries, India and Pakistan have developed infrastructure and education regarding bioinformatics rapidly as compared to other countries, whereas Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal are still in a progressing phase in this field. To advance in a different sector, the bioinformatics industry has to be revolutionized, and it will contribute to strengthening the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and molecular sectors in South Asia. To advance in bioinformatics, universities' infrastructure needs to be on a par with the current international standards, which will produce well-trained professionals with skills in multiple fields like biotechnology, mathematics, statistics, and computer science. The bioinformatics industry has revolutionized and strengthened the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and molecular sectors in South Asia, and it will serve as the standard of education increases in the South Asian countries. A framework for developing a centralized database is suggested after the literature review to collect and store the information on the current status of South Asian bioinformatics education. This will be named as the South Asian Bioinformatics Education Database (SABE). This will provide comprehensive information regarding the bioinformatics in South Asian countries by the country name, the experts of this field, and the university name to explore the top-ranked outputs relevant to queries.

Energy being a vital input for development, energy Integration is imperative for the overall economic development of the South Asian region; more so because demand in individual countries is often difficult to be met from indigenous energy sources alone. The varying resource endowments among the countries of South Asia and the complementarities in demand scenario, makes a case for energy cooperation among the constituent nations. Energy cooperation among the member countries would reduce import dependence, help the region deal with power deficits and make the region self-sufficient in energy. With enhanced access to electricity the region will have higher growth rates and therefore, the topic of energy cooperation among the South Asian countries has been a topic of interest since two decades now. This paper presents the state-of the art of energy integration among the South Asian countries and also highlights the scope for enhanced energy integration.

South Asia, the world’s most populated region, is facing many environmental and healthcare challenges due to poor freshwater management/wastewater treatment. Most South Asian (SA) countries, such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, are suffering from water pollution issues generated due to domestic and industrial effluents containing heavy/toxic ions, textile dyes, pharmaceuticals, bacteria/viruses inorganic/organic pollutants, etc. To overcome these challenges, extensive research is being carried out with an emphasis on technological development to maintain water sustainability. The present review discusses water pollution as well as various challenges in SA countries along with solutions through scientific research carried out by developing nanomaterials and technological wastewater treatment processes, i.e., photocatalytic/adsorptive removal, disinfection, tracing/sensing, etc. Particularly, syntheses of TiO2 nanoparticles and graphene oxide (GO)-based nanomaterials which were found to be most extensively investigated in the SA region have been discussed with emphasis on their multifunctional applications using various water treatment processes, mechanisms, and synergetic effects. Eventually, various challenging issues and solution opportunities are discussed for future development to maintain water sustainability in SA countries.