1.5 ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL
ORGANISATIONS & AGREEMENTS

Besides National Development,
how else can LDCs develop?
Through the help of International
Organisations and Agreements
What is the difference between an
International Organisations and
Agreements?

Match the term with its correct
definition.
International
• Different countries come
Agreements
together to work towards
alleviating uneven
development.
International
Organisation • Countries in international
organisation meet
regularly to discuss and
agree on some strategies.

Can you recognise any of these logos?

World Bank. Asian Development Bank.
United Nations
1. INTERNATIONAL
ORGANISATIONS

Asian Development Bank
(ADB)
• Established in 1966
• 67 members (48 within Asia, 19 outside)
– Regional: Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, New
Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, China, Cambodia,
Afghanistan, etc
– Non-regional: Austria, Italy, Germany, France,
Canada
• Main goal:
– Poverty reduction in Asia & Pacific (has two-
third of the world’s poor)

Its five strategic priorities are:
1.Catalyzing investment from the private sector
2.Strengthening inclusiveness
3.Promoting regional cooperation & integration
4.Encouraging effective environmental
management
5.Improving governance & preventing corruption

• Supports activities ranging from agriculture and
natural resources to energy, finance, social
infrastructure, and transport and
communications
• Assist in building infrastructure – roads, airports,
power plants, and water and sanitation facilities
• Build the foundation for commerce and
economic growth
• Making essential services accessible to the
poor.

ADB Policies
• Provides aid to its 67 member countries
through:
– monetary loans
– technical assistance
• Good governance needed in recipient
country to make good use of loans and
assistance provided by ADB.
– Accountability, participation, predictability, &
transparency

• Millions of dollars were lent to LDCs such as
Bangladesh to support economic growth.
• Examples:
– In 1994, ADB provided financial & technical help
to Bangladesh in the Jamuna Multipurpose
Bridge Project, aimed at improving the transport
infrastructure
– US$71.8m loan package to Cambodia helps
improve secondary education.

Success
Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge Project
• Connect less developed northwestern region to more
developed eastern region – more trade
• Remove existing traffic congestion due to heavy
reliance on water transport. – better SOL
• Allow farmers in northwest to transport and sell their
produce to commercial centre of Dhaka & port of
Chittagong. – more income

World Bank
• 185 member countries
• Mission:
1. Alleviate poverty in LDCs.
2. Build climate for investment, jobs and
sustainable economic growth
3. Invest and empower poor people to
participate in development.

WB Policies
• Provides financial and technical aid to help
LDCs develop economically & socially
• Provide loans to LDCs at low or no
interests
• Improver sanitation & water supply
• Finance immunisation & vaccination
programmes

Success
Kecamantan Development Programme (KDP) started
in 1998
• Between 1998-2006, > US$890 million (credits & loans)
were supplied to KDP
• Benefited over 34 000 villages across Indonesia
• Money grants are given directly to villagers to pay for their
own development
• E.g. Construction of underground wells with high-capacity
pumps & a network of pipes
– Access to clean & reliable water supply – better health
– Water for irrigation – better economic means

Limitations
1. LDCs usually spend most of their earnings repaying the
interest of their loans.
2. Aid end up in the hands of corrupted government officials
or invested in military equipment to fund civil war.
3. Rich gets richer, poor remain poor.
• E.g. Many African nations are still poor/ even poorer (per
capita incomes of <US$500) after receiving many years
of international aid.
• E.g. In 2003, Ethiopia’s per capita income was US$94
despite having received US$1 billion in aid between 1982
and 1985. 90% spent on military development

United Nations
• 192 member countries
• Established since 24 October 1945
• Some areas of focus:
1. Social development
2. Sustainable development
3. International trade
4. Advancement of women
5. Governance

UN Policies
• World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's
largest international food aid organization for
both emergency relief and development.
• UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is the lead UN
organization working for the long-term survival,
protection and development of children.
• UN provided more than $38.2 billion in
development loans in year 2008 to nearly 100
developing countries.

Limitations
• Overall progress has been too slow for
most of the UN Millenium targets to be met
by 2015.
• Many arguments over who should
finance the UN efforts.
• E.g. Between 1960s to 1980s, UN ran up
debts nearly totaling $1 billion.

2. INTERNATIONAL
AGREEMENTS
- UN MILLENNIUM PROJECT
- UN CONVENTION ON LAW OF THE SEA

United Nations Millennium
Development Project (UNMDG)
GOALS
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for
development

Success
• Reduced no. of people living on <US$1 a day by
25 million.
• Reduced hunger in more than 30 countries by at
least 25%.
• All LDCs has improved in provision of primary
education. E.g. >90% child enrollment in primary
school achieved in countries in Latin America &
Caribbean, Southeast Asia, East Asia &
Northern Africa.
• Proportion of population with access to safe
drinking water increased from 71% in 1999 to
79% in 2002.

Limitations
1. Slow progress in improving sanitation
in LDCs
– At the current rate of progress, 2.4 billion
people worldwide will still not get proper
sanitation facilities by 2015.
2. Little progress in promoting gender
equality and empowering women. E.g.
diseases such as AIDS & malaria are still
on the rise.

3. Development is still unequal in
different developing regions
• Uneven development between countries:
– LDCS with fast rate of development: Latin America &
Caribbean, East Asia, SEA, Northern Africa
– LDCS with little development, increase poverty: Sub-
Saharan
• Uneven development within the country: China
– High GDP per capita (US$608-US$781) in urban
cities along coastal region (i.e. Shanghai, Beijing)
– Low GDP per capita (<US$300) in central & interior
China

UN Convention on Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS)
Previous Situation
• DCs: Large fishing boats have expensive & advanced
equipment spot fish underwater easily
• LDCs: Poor fishermen in small boats with low technology
are at a disadvantage
• Depletion of fish stocks in popular fishing grounds
• Pollution from waste released from ships & oil tankers
• threatened coastal resorts & ocean resources

UNCLOS Policy
• Est. 1982 by > 160 countries
• Coastal states have the exclusive rights to use
resources (like fish & oil) in the waters within
321.86 km (200 nautical miles) from their
shore.
• Area termed as Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ) prevents fishermen from other
countries from fishing in the waters of other
countries prevent overfishing.

Success
• Beneficial for coastal LDCs
• E.g. EEZ protected poor fishermen from
large fishing boats in DCs as they could no
longer fish in Peru’s seas without
permission.

Limitations
• ___________ countries (no access to
any water body) such as ___________ in
South America do not benefit from it.
• As the ocean resources are ___________
for all no ___________ to maintain the
sea for future use overfishing
= Tragedy of the Commons