tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/industralisation-37306/articlesIndustralisation – The Conversation2020-04-16T14:20:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1362972020-04-16T14:20:23Z2020-04-16T14:20:23ZHow to ensure poor people in Africa’s cities can still get food during lockdowns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327693/original/file-20200414-117583-2r1aew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The poorest urban dwellers can spend up to 60% of their income on food</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than half of all African countries have now imposed <a href="https://www.voanews.com/africa/complete-collapse-economies-ahead-africa-faces-virus">lockdown measures</a> aimed at flattening the curve of new COVID-19 infections. The reason for taking such drastic measures while infection rates are still relatively low, compared to the rest of the world, is that they could help Africa prevent the pandemic from making an even <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyFT8qXcOrM&t=6s">greater impact</a>. </p>
<p>Some of the lockdown measures are even more stringent than those in many <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/04/03/emerging-market-lockdowns-match-rich-world-ones-the-handouts-do-not">developed countries</a>. These measures are already having a <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/blog/covid-19-lockdowns-threaten-africas-vital-informal-urban-food-trade">negative economic impact</a>, particularly on urban populations. </p>
<p>People operating in the informal economy, who make a living based on daily transactions, are the hardest hit. Unlike many developed countries, Africa is largely urbanising without commensurate industrialisation. Formal job growth lags far behind. The urban informal economy is the main generator of income. It accounts for almost <a href="http://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/131091/filename/131302.pdf">72% of non-agricultural employment</a> across the continent.</p>
<p>Urban dwellers use a major portion of their daily income on food. This is because they are less likely than rural people to be able to grow their own food. The poorest urban dwellers can spend up to <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/854221490781543956/pdf/113851-PUB-PUBLIC-PUBDATE-2-9-2017.pdf">60% of their income on food</a>. </p>
<p>The Nobel prize winning economist Amartya Sen <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/178014/icode/">famously observed</a> that hunger is usually not a result of an insufficient supply of food, but rather a result of political constructs that result in those most vulnerable not being able to access the right foods. For the poorest urban dwellers this vulnerability is aggravated when their incomes fall at the same time as food prices rise – a situation already happening in <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/1d77d839-5dab-408f-b2e4-3506d257771b">developing country cities facing lockdowns</a>.</p>
<p>Governments must therefore focus on keeping food supply chains working. This will require a combination of interventions. The first is to ensure that sufficient food reaches urban markets and that it remains affordable. They will also need to ensure that food can be accessed by those who need it most and in such a way that continues to ensure the health and safety of everyone.</p>
<h2>Keeping food supply chains going</h2>
<p>Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, food in African cities was already expensive. Urban populations pay about <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/854221490781543956/pdf/113851-PUB-PUBLIC-PUBDATE-2-9-2017.pdf">35% more</a> for food than people pay elsewhere. One of the drivers is the sprawling and fragmented form of many African cities, due to poor planning. This <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/854221490781543956/pdf/113851-PUB-PUBLIC-PUBDATE-2-9-2017.pdf">increases the costs of land, rent and transport</a>. It translates into higher costs throughout supply chains, including those for food.</p>
<p>During the COVID-19 crisis, food supply chains were initially disrupted by the closure of borders. This is a worry for low-income countries, which are much more <a href="https://unctad.org/en/pages/newsdetails.aspx?OriginalVersionID=2331">dependent on food imports</a>. </p>
<p>Next came bans on public and private transportation inside countries, threatening the supply of food to cities. The bans also threaten supply chains of imported food via cities to rural areas.</p>
<p>Many countries, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/04/06/world/africa/ap-af-virus-outbreak-africa.html">like Kenya</a>, are exempting official food supply shipments from these bans. But food that supplies markets in African cities is often transported informally and in small quantities. More importantly, it is <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/blog/covid-19-lockdowns-threaten-africas-vital-informal-urban-food-trade">transported through the same public system</a> that has now been temporarily shut down in many places. </p>
<p>In some countries, prices for some food products rose by <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/price-hikes-in-africa-aggravate-the-coronavirus-crisis/a-52820553">more than 100%</a> at the start of national lockdowns, driven by panic and uncertainty. <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/1d77d839-5dab-408f-b2e4-3506d257771b">India’s case</a> shows that disruptions in the food supply chain will result in higher food prices, hitting the urban poor the hardest.</p>
<h2>Food aid is only a temporary stop gap</h2>
<p>Some African countries are distributing food aid as a stopgap. <a href="https://www.pmldaily.com/news/2020/03/covid19-crisis-rwanda-begins-distribution-of-essential-goods-to-citizens-affected-by-coronavirus-lockdown.html">Rwanda</a> was one of the first. <a href="https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Kampala-food-Bwaise-Museveni-Covid19-UPDF/688334-5515074-boaf0d/index.html">Uganda</a> has followed, undertaking food distributions for 1.5 million vulnerable residents of Greater Kampala.</p>
<p>Distributing food aid may be complicated by the fact that it is not always clear who should be targeted. In many developing countries, vulnerability, poverty and hunger exist across the entire population. But during a crisis like COVID-19, people who rely on the market rather than growing their own food will be the most heavily affected. This is why both <a href="https://africanbusinessmagazine.com/region/east-africa/rwanda-unveils-social-protection-for-the-vulnerable-during-covid-19/">Rwanda</a> and Uganda decided initially to target urban populations. </p>
<p>Even within cities, understanding who to target is difficult. </p>
<p>In more developed countries, comprehensive tax and employment registers make it easier to identify vulnerable populations. Without comprehensive registers, it may be logistically easier to get people to come to a central area to receive food if they need it. But not only does this undermine social distancing, having large numbers of desperate people in one place can <a href="https://apnews.com/49ddf9d37f7238730c16e7b61bfe3de9">bring about chaos</a>.</p>
<p>Food aid may prove unsustainable. It’s not yet clear how long lockdowns will need to last to flatten the curve sufficiently. And an effective vaccine is at least <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/06/when-will-coronavirus-vaccine-be-ready">18 months away</a>. Yet the longer the lockdowns last, the more people may be <a href="https://www.voanews.com/africa/complete-collapse-economies-ahead-africa-faces-virus">pushed into poverty</a>. More people will need food aid and for longer. Many African governments are already cash strapped and so <a href="https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/05/uganda-donates-food-to-vulnerable-people-during-lockdown/">free food distribution cannot be a long term strategy</a>.</p>
<p>That’s why ensuring stable access to affordable food is key.</p>
<h2>Managing informal markets</h2>
<p>Many African cities are sprawling due to their largely unplanned growth. As people flock to cities, they tend to live first on the outskirts where it is more affordable. Markets and individual vendors set up there to serve the informal settlements. These are important sources of food security for <a href="http://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/131091/filename/131302.pdf">urban households</a>. Because they are close to where people live, they enable daily purchases, particularly of fresh produce. Informal sector operators survive from income earned daily.</p>
<p>This decentralised food vending is often <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cuny/cp/2019/00000052/00000001/art00003">less tolerated by governments</a>. But it may actually prove to be an advantage. It means people don’t need to go far from home for food. It also may be easier to prevent crowds of people forming and more feasible than enforcing strict distancing measures in market spaces. What’s more, these <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/860311505816462189/pdf/119806-REVISED-PUBLIC-The-wb-Book-2017-Report-web-Individual-Page-Layout.pdf">informal vendors, many of whom are women, are often the most economically vulnerable</a>, so they need to be able to continue to sell. </p>
<p>Where there are larger markets, measures that allow them to operate safely will be key. This is for non-food items too, to allow people to generate income to purchase food. Measures will need to include effective sanitation and hand-washing stations. Targeting individual behaviour may also be highly effective. </p>
<p>Many of these markets already tend to be <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/politics-of-order-in-informal-markets-evidence-from-lagos/B3234307F029AFE5A4FAA2CD0F615FD2">more organised</a>, so it may be easier to work with them to implement measures. For example, vendors could work in rotation to decongest markets on any one day. This has already been <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/blog/covid-19-lockdowns-threaten-africas-vital-informal-urban-food-trade">done with some success</a> in some places in India. </p>
<p>To avoid a hunger crisis, governments must think of sustainable solutions to keep food supply chains working. The COVID-19 crisis may last for many more months.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136297/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Astrid R.N. Haas is affiliated with the International Growth Centre. The views represented here are her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IGC.</span></em></p>Africa’s industries are not growing at the same pace as its cities, leaving the informal economy as the main source of income for many. COVID-19 lockdowns have cut this umbilical cord.Astrid R.N. Haas, Policy Director, International Growth CentreLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1255162019-11-04T14:34:15Z2019-11-04T14:34:15ZAfrican countries can’t industrialise? Yes, they can<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299204/original/file-20191029-183120-bv0oqz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Workers pack coffee sachets at the Dormans coffee factory in Nairobi, Kenya.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Daniel Irungu</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Narratives are essential. Humans are, after all, “helpless story <a href="https://psmag.com/social-justice/pulitzer-prizes-journalism-reporting-your-brain-on-story-why-narratives-win-our-hearts-and-minds-79824">junkies</a>”. Business and economic success depend much more than is commonly acknowledged on getting the narrative right. And if there is a narrative where getting it right or wrong matters hugely, it is the narrative about Africa’s industrial development. </p>
<p>Africa is the <a href="https://worldpoverty.io/">poorest</a> continent. It is likely to be the most affected by <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ar4-wg2-chapter9-1.pdf">climate </a>change. It is the continent where <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2018/07/14/the-fight-against-islamic-state-is-moving-to-africa">terrorist</a> groups are spreading fast. </p>
<p>Therefore, African industrialisation is essential. Unfortunately, the dominant narrative is that Africa has been <a href="https://www.odi.org/events/4319-africas-industrialisation-reversing-decline">de-industrialising</a>, even <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w20935">prematurely</a>. In this narrative, it is also questioned whether Africa can ever industrialise. African countries have even been advised not to <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2018/03/20/world-economic-outlook-april-2018#Chapter%203">try</a>. The World Bank’s <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/27946">“Trouble in the Making”</a> report concludes that manufacturing is becoming less relevant for low-income countries.</p>
<p>Fortunately, a very different narrative is possible. In a <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp12678.pdf">recent paper</a>, I argue that Africa can industrialise because of three factors. These are “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Second-Machine-Age-Prosperity-Technologies/dp/0393350649">brilliant</a>” new technologies enabling digitisation, smart materials and 3D-printing; a more <a href="https://guardian.ng/business-services/africas-booming-start-up-scene/">vibrant</a> entrepreneurship scene; and Africa’s growing <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/africas-expanding-middle-class/">middle class</a> (as <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/is-a-growing-middle-class-good-for-the-poor-social-policy-in-a-time-of-globalization/">measured</a> by the share of households that earn between $11 and $110 per person per day), which supports the continent’s first generation of indigenous tech-entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>Consider therefore the following <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp12678.html">narrative</a>: More than <a href="https://i2ifacility.org/insights/blog/the-rise-of-african-digital-platforms?entity=blog">300</a> digital platforms, mostly indigenous, are operating across the continent. There are also more than <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tobyshapshak/2019/07/11/africas-booming-tech-hubs-are-backbone-of-tech-ecosystem-having-grown-40-this-year/#10aa3ae524c2">400</a> high-tech hubs, and more are being added. In addition, venture capital funding into African tech start-ups increased <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/a-brief-history-of-africa-s-tech-industry-and-7-predictions-for-its-future/">ten-fold </a>between 2012 and 2018. </p>
<p>Moreover, manufacturing has more than doubled in size in real terms since 1980. And since 2000, manufacturing value added has grown at more than 4% a year. That is double the average between 1980 and 2000 (numbers from the <a href="https://www.merit.unu.edu/themes/3-economic-development-innovation-governance-and-institutions/expanded-africa-sector-database-easd-1960-2015/">Expanded</a> African Sector Database). </p>
<p>As a result, total employment in manufacturing in 18 of the largest African economies (for which there is data) grew from roughly 9 million in 2004 to more than 17 million by 2014. That is an 83% increase in ten years. The proportion of labour in manufacturing for Africa as a region grew from roughly 5% in the 1970s to almost 10% by 2008.</p>
<p>So, how will these trends shape the future? I argue that they will result in three varieties of industrialisation. </p>
<h2>Three varieties</h2>
<p>The first variety can be labelled “<em>acquiring traditional manufacturing capabilities</em>”. This variety is <a href="https://www.odi.org/publications/11073-digitalisation-and-future-manufacturing-africa">implied</a> by Overseas Development Institute researchers Karishma Banga and Dirk Willem te Velde. It will be experienced by countries and sectors where technological change is too fast and complex to benefit immediately. These countries and sectors will need time to first put complementary investments in place, while at the same time continuing to promote traditional labour-intensive manufacturing. </p>
<p>The second variety, “<em>fostering sectors with the characteristics of manufacturing</em>”, is elaborated in a recent <a href="https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/industries-without-smokestacks-2">UNU-WIDER</a> book. Here it is argued that service sectors can take up “the role held by manufacturing in the past”. In many countries, services such as ICT and telecoms, tourism and transport, financial and farming services can lead to productive development. </p>
<p>The third variety, “<em>resurgent entrepreneurship-led industrialisation</em>” is based on my <a href="https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/11941/brilliant-technologies-and-brave-entrepreneurs-a-new-narrative-for-african-manufacturing">earlier</a> work. I point to the growing list of achievements of African countries in terms of high-tech manufacturing. For example South Africa leads in advanced manufacturing in having one of the world’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.co.za/south-africas-largest-3d-printer-is-so-big-that-it-takes-up-to-r75-million-in-titanium-powder-to-fill-it-2018-7">largest</a> 3D-printers, used to manufacture parts for the aviation industry. </p>
<p>Different combinations of these varieties will dominate in different countries. For example, Kenya is already experiencing the simultaneous development of high-tech financial services alongside growth in traditional manufacturing, such as food processing and textiles, as well as clusters of advanced manufacturing. While every country’s pathway will be a unique combination of these varieties, what they will have in common is that progress will require that they deal with the impact of new technology, especially digitisation, on manufacturing. </p>
<p>To ensure momentum is maintained, the narrative about industrialisation has to change. As Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/books/review/21-lessons-for-the-21st-century-yuval-noah-harari.html">pointed</a> out, neither land – the core resource of feudalism – nor physical capital – the core resource of 20th-century capitalism – will be decisive for competitiveness in the future. Instead, data and data science, free information flows, ICT (data) skills, and decentralisation of decision-making will be the decisive factors. </p>
<h2>What needs to be done</h2>
<p>With an outdated story that gives up on manufacturing, Africa will fail to close the huge digital gap it still faces. The gap is reflected in the fact the continent contributes <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-questions-de-communication-2017-2-page-345.htm">less</a> than 1% of world’s digital knowledge production. To reduce this gap, African countries will have to start by expanding internet access and use. If internet use across the continent can be expanded to the same rate as in high-income countries, 140 million new jobs and US$2,2 trillion could be <a href="https://oecd-development-matters.org/2018/03/01/how-to-build-inclusive-digital-economies/">added</a> to GDP. </p>
<p>What must be done to change the narrative? What do African governments need to do? The first is that its leaders need to start telling more stories about the future than about the past. Perhaps, like China’s leaders, they can even be inspired by science fiction. British best-selling author <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/24/neil-gaiman-face-facts-need-fiction">Neil Gaiman</a> relates how China started to embrace science fiction after sending a delegation to </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“the US, to Apple, to Microsoft, to Google, and they asked the people there who were inventing the future about themselves. And they found that all of them had read science fiction when they were boys or girls.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Helping to imagine the future of African industrialisation, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently <a href="https://www.itweb.co.za/content/4r1ly7RoGOVMpmda">stressed</a> that fact that Africa is one of the early adopters of mobile telephony and moreover that the continent needs to aspire to more:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We need to focus on the new technologies that are going to revolutionise the world, and we need to be ahead of the curve.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is the right narrative. It is necessary, although not sufficient for African industrialisation. For this, words need to lead to actions. And some consistent actions, at least for a start, would be for African governments to refrain from creating stumbling blocks for their brave new tech-entrepreneurs, such as curbing access to the internet, restricting digital information flows, under-investing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, neglecting data-privacy legislation, and restricting the rights of women to work in manufacturing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wim Naudé does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With an outdated story that gives up on manufacturing, Africa will fail to close the huge digital gap it still faces.Wim Naudé, Professorial Fellow, Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT), United Nations UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/873912017-12-05T12:05:58Z2017-12-05T12:05:58ZDeveloping countries could get sick before they get rich. Policy can help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195823/original/file-20171122-6039-1wlbzi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As cities in developing countries - like Lagos in Nigeria, pictured here - grow, so do obesity risks.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Improved <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6024a4.htm">human well-being</a> is one of the modern era’s greatest triumphs. The age of plenty has also led to an unexpected global health crisis: <a href="https://www.globalnutritionreport.org/files/2017/11/Report_Summary_2017.pdf">two billion people</a> are either overweight or obese. Developed countries have been especially susceptible to unhealthy weight gain, a trend that could be considered the price of abundance. However, developing countries are now facing a similar crisis.</p>
<p>Obesity rates have <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1832542">plateaued</a> in high income countries but are <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2016/03/confronting-obesity-in-asias-cities/">accelerating</a> elsewhere. The <a href="https://data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/JME-2017_brochure_June-25.pdf">combined findings</a> of UNICEF, the World Health Organisation and the World Bank showed that in 2016 Asia was home to half the world’s overweight children. One quarter were in Africa. </p>
<p>Residents of developing nation cities are increasingly susceptible to obesity, particularly amid the megatrends of urbanisation, globalisation, and industrialisation of food supply. According to India’s National Institute of Nutrition, over a quarter of urban-dwelling men and nearly half of women <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/health/india-s-cities-fighting-twin-issues-malnourished-children-obese-adults/story-4AP2yafjrewYx4qqKccBNJ.html">are overweight</a>.</p>
<p>The majority of the world’s future urbanisation is projected to occur in developing countries, particularly in <a href="http://wcr.unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2016/05/WCR-%20Full-Report-2016.pdf">Asia and Africa</a>. As rural dwellers move to urban areas, easy access to cheap and convenient processed foods lures them into unhealthy diets.</p>
<p>This crisis will test the political resolve of governments that have historically focused on ending hunger. These governments must understand that the factors making cities convenient and productive also make their residents prone to obesity. Intelligent, focused policies are needed to effectively manage this emerging crisis.</p>
<h2>Urban lifestyles</h2>
<p>Urbanites enjoy a variety of culinary options, ranging from aisles of processed goods in supermarkets to scores of short-order street vendors. Additionally, international fast food chains are flourishing in developing countries. This is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/health/ghana-kfc-obesity.html">shifting dietary habits</a> away from healthier traditional fare and towards fried foods and sugary drinks.</p>
<p>The health risks of such diets are compounded by the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4188656/">sedentary lifestyles</a> of urban dwellers. The most recent Indian nutrition survey <a href="http://www.ninindia.org/NNMB%20Urban%20Nutrition%20Report%20-Brief%20report.pdf">found</a> that city-dwelling men and women work an average of roughly eight hours a day. Most are engaged in sedentary office jobs. Only about one quarter exercise.</p>
<p>People’s leisure time is also being monopolised by passive diversions like television, movies, and video games in the growing number of households <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2016/02/22/smartphone-ownership-and-internet-usage-continues-to-climb-in-emerging-economies/">able to afford</a> such technologies.</p>
<p>The alarming implication of these trends is that developing countries may become sick before they get rich. That sickness may, in turn, cripple health systems.</p>
<p>The yearly health care costs in Southeast Asia of obesity-related complications like diabetes and cardiovascular disease are already as high as <a href="https://foodindustry.asia/obesity-costs-southeast-asia-up-to-us10billion-annually">US $10 billion</a>. Obesity among China’s younger generation could cost <a href="https://news.cgtn.com/news/7763544e7a597a6333566d54/share__p.html">US $724 billion</a> in medical treatment by 2030. Such diseases are an added burden on countries already struggling to manage primary health care needs.</p>
<p>Policies related to taxation, urban design, education and awareness and the promotion of localised food systems may help control obesity at a lower cost than eventual medical treatment for an ageing and increasingly overweight population.</p>
<h2>Direct interventions</h2>
<p>Some governments have already experimented with direct interventions to control obesity, such as taxation on unhealthy foods and drinks. The US pioneered the <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/commentary-a-tax-on-sugary-drinks-not-enough-on-their-own-to-9258284">soda tax movement</a>. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-tax-sugar-usa/thailand-enters-war-on-sugar-with-tax-on-sweetened-beverages-idUSKBN1CP2OC">Thailand</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/2AIwLMK">Brunei</a>, and <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/7-major-soft-drinks-manufacturers-in-singapore-to-reduce-sugar-9146552">Singapore</a> have adopted similar measures. <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/02/health/south-africa-sugar-tax/index.html">South Africa</a> is likely to introduce a sugar tax beginning in April 2018. </p>
<p>Regulatory approaches have not stopped at taxation – or at sugar. In the United Kingdom, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/dfd3bb80-bc84-11e6-8b45-b8b81dd5d080">advertising rules</a> prohibit the marketing of foods high in fat, salt and sugar to children younger than 16.</p>
<p>The city of Berkeley in California recognises that taxes alone are not enough to address obesity. Proceeds from the city’s sugar tax <a href="http://www.berkeleyvsbigsoda.com/faq">are used</a> to support child nutrition and community health programmes. This underscores the importance of education and awareness.</p>
<p>There is also promise in broader-reaching initiatives. Urban design holds significant power to reshape lifestyle patterns and public health. Improving the attractiveness of public space, the “walkability” of neighbourhoods and the quality of cycling infrastructure can draw residents out of their cars and living rooms. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743514003661">A recent study</a> of urban neighbourhoods in Shanghai and Hangzhou found that middle-income residents living in less walkable neighbourhoods had significantly higher Body Mass Indices than both richer and poorer residents who lived in walkable neighbourhoods in urban China.</p>
<p>Finally, healthier lifestyles begin in grocery store aisles. Governments should encourage tighter connections between agricultural production systems, urban grocers and food vendors. Relationships with farmers in areas immediately adjacent to cities, in addition to the promotion of urban gardens, have been <a href="http://seedstock.com/2014/05/27/10-american-cities-lead-the-way-with-urban-agriculture-ordinances/">popular approaches</a> in the US. </p>
<p>Such initiatives can also help urban residents better understand the mechanics of food sourcing. This raises awareness about the relationship between natural foods and healthy lifestyles. Even the preservation of culture around traditional foods can promote healthy alternatives.</p>
<p>Combining controls on unhealthy foods with policies that incentivise healthy eating and active lifestyles constitute a promising response to rising obesity rates. Addressing public health is a policy mandate for developing countries from both an economic and social point of view. To paraphrase the recent <a href="http://www.globalnutritionreport.org/">Global Nutrition Report</a>, addressing obesity is a global imperative for releasing the brakes on development.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87391/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Governments must understand that the factors making cities convenient and productive also make their residents prone to obesity. They must confront this challenge with intelligent, focused policies.Asit K. Biswas, Distinguished visiting professor, University of GlasgowKris Hartley, Assistant professor, The Education University of Hong KongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/741272017-04-05T06:08:44Z2017-04-05T06:08:44ZDespite efforts, clean water is scarce in India’s industrial Gujarat state<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163119/original/image-20170329-1652-ngpiv0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Kutch, a dry region within Gujarat, fresh water is scarce and endangered by industrial pollution.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nevilzaveri/32778899015/in/photolist-RWyqFi-7F5GcK-4DrBNo-hzqPiD-9w2RPX-nZXdw6-gMDxrX-pKWY9r-ohYkK-8ntABt-bDn71D-dbfD9i-9p1Zqb-pCqovE-qpjcM-phnHe2-7Dwg2Q-e1Ev9e-gM79GU-gRcjBN-7DsskX-qbMYeT-prhDj6-oBgamo-gNHAYx-Nkvp8-64D4Yu-e96NFG-8j4yGT-e1V9YB-ftWzfM-Ne8wo-7Dwg91-65ddi9-Mfb9Yc-Cq4cjv-nigszh-p7c1Yd-r6UmXe-68tGr6-d19dK1-pkkMNS-a7pXM4-8iXpRi-8cEUdf-qRrXnJ-v5eMB-py5fsg-gKCDbj-t1MrP">Nevil Zaveri/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>April is gearing up be an historic month for India’s contaminated waterways. In late February, <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/effluent-treatment-plants-must-meet-water-quality-norms-by-march-31-sc-57187">the country’s Supreme Court</a> mandated that all polluting industries must ensure that waste water discharges meet quality standards by installing effective primary effluent treatment facilities by March 31 2017. </p>
<p>River and lake pollution is a major problem across much of India, and regulatory inertia toward industrial waste water has exacerbated the situation. The court’s decision represents a watershed moment in the governance of natural resources. </p>
<h2>Gujarat’s challenge</h2>
<p>The issue is <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/industry-at-any-cost-17954">particularly salient</a> in the drought-prone <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Drought-hits-Gujarat-every-3-years-Report/articleshow/49264062.cms">industrial state of Gujarat</a>. Numerous efforts over the years have not stemmed widespread discharge of untreated effluents, <a href="http://sandrp.in/rivers/Rivers_of_Gujarat_March_2012.pdf">which has reduced the biodiversity</a> and regenerative capacity of its water bodies. </p>
<p>Coastal areas in this western state have seen a 15% decline <a href="http://gujenvis.nic.in/PDF/soe-coastal.pdf">in high-value fish stocks</a>, and many rivers are facing extinction <a href="http://api.ning.com/files/OtuhpUuDhkImpdv9kNmWgmW5kyV1KFQxvRDwDD0lsOEgnE7cKeAgXK7FAUflng20Mho-fiQ-tExBQK4ssp1drdm4JUuTpgN/14.STUDYOFAQUATICBIODIVERSITYANDWATERRESOURCESOFRIVERSFROMGUJARATANDMADHYAPRADESHSTATESINDIABySHAILENDRAKUMARSHARMAANDTUSHARKUMARGANDHI.pdf">of fish communities</a>. In 2011, Down to Earth magazine <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/gentle-on-critical-pollution-33660">reported an almost 50% decline in fish catch from the Damanganga river</a> in the Daman district, situated near the Vapi industrial cluster in south Gujarat.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162063/original/image-20170322-31176-kcfj15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162063/original/image-20170322-31176-kcfj15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162063/original/image-20170322-31176-kcfj15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162063/original/image-20170322-31176-kcfj15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162063/original/image-20170322-31176-kcfj15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162063/original/image-20170322-31176-kcfj15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162063/original/image-20170322-31176-kcfj15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thol Lake in Gujarat, today a biodiverse wildlife hub, could be affected by pollutants in the long run.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/emmanueldyan/5746214219/">Emmanuel Dyan/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Where industrial waste water is being <a>used for irrigation, for example on farms located near industrial clusters</a>, there is increasing evidence of crop <a href="http://oaji.net/articles/2015/491-1428569913.pdf">contamination with heavy metals</a>. <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/what-goes-down-must-come-up-20299">Groundwater</a> is also polluted as a result of <a href="http://gujenvis.nic.in/PDF/soe-water.pdf">indiscriminate industrial dumping</a>, causing <a href="http://www.indiawaterportal.org/sites/indiawaterportal.org/files/Groundwater%20Quality_Alluvial%20Aquifer_Central%20Gujarat_CAREWATER_2007.pdf">freshwater scarcity</a>
in the region.</p>
<p>In Gujarat, even regions with otherwise plentiful surface water sources are affected as creeks and rivers turn into black cesspools thanks to increasing municipal waste and insufficient sewage treatment plants. In 2015, the Central Pollution Control Board of India <a href="http://cpcb.nic.in/RESTORATION-OF-POLLUTED-RIVER-STRETCHES.pdf">reported</a> that 74% of the state’s 27 monitored rivers, whose tributaries flow along 38 prominent industrial townships and urban centres, including the cities of Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara, are <a href="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/World%20Water%20Development%20Report%202017.pdf">severely polluted</a>. </p>
<h2>More water does not mean clean water</h2>
<p>In the past decade, India has made progress in ensuring its citizens have access to water by investing in comprehensive water augmentation measures. This has <a href="http://www.sardarsarovardam.org/current-status.aspx%5D">included building, in 2002, the Narmada canal network</a>, constructing check dams and harvesting rainwater, among other schemes.</p>
<p>In Gujarat, a 2010 Ministry of Environment and Forests <a href="http://envfor.nic.in/sites/default/files/press-releases/om-12162016030654(1)_2.pdf">moratorium</a> on new building in eight of the state’s most polluted industrial clusters, curbed the expansion of existing industrial clusters and demanded “immediate” closure of non-compliant factories within these areas. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162495/original/image-20170326-12157-1xa47tl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162495/original/image-20170326-12157-1xa47tl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162495/original/image-20170326-12157-1xa47tl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162495/original/image-20170326-12157-1xa47tl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162495/original/image-20170326-12157-1xa47tl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162495/original/image-20170326-12157-1xa47tl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162495/original/image-20170326-12157-1xa47tl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vishwamitri river, near Vadodara in Gujarat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bhupesh Niranjan Pathak/The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Though the ban <a href="http://www.business-standard.com/author/search/keyword/rutam-vora">was criticised</a> for negatively affecting employment and output, it had regulatory results. The Gujarat Pollution Control Board forced non-compliant industrial units to implement a time-bound action plan, including a series of strategies to mitigate water and air pollution within the industrial clusters. There were no fines, but the industries may face closure or restrictions on expanding operations if they do not fulfil their environmental obligations. </p>
<p>Following <a href="https://guj-nwrws.gujarat.gov.in/downloads/draft_state_water_policy_eng_2015.pdf">recommendations</a> made by the Gujarat government’s Water Resource Department in 2015, the state’s five-year industrial policy has now introduced various financial incentives to help facilities improve waste water quality and curb usage. It <a href="http://ic.gujarat.gov.in/pdf/102014-922945-G.pdf">allows investments of up to 500 million rupees (US$7.5 million)</a> in pollution-abatement infrastructure, including common effluent treatment plants and recycling of treated waste water. It also provides targeted financial assistance for adopting cleaner, more energy-efficient and less water-intensive <a href="http://ic.gujarat.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/102014-922884-G.pdf">production technologies</a>“.</p>
<p>Finally, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board made good use of its e-governance platform to connect with industries, leveraging the <a href="http://gpcb.gov.in/XGN.htm">Xtended Green Node software</a> to <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/gujarat-pollution-board-gets-a-makeover-in-efficiency-39237">increase inspections</a> (without any having to spend scarce funds on hiring additional staff).</p>
<p>These steps are beginning to show some results. According to <a href="http://gpcb.gov.in/pdf/AR_2014_15_ENG.PDF">the agency’s 2014-15 annual report</a>, industrial use of pollution-abatement technologies and upgrades in common effluent treatment plants have mitigated <a href="http://science.jrank.org/pages/1388/Chemical-Oxygen-Demand.html">chemical oxygen demand</a> and ammoniac nitrogen in water sources, both measures of industrial pollution.</p>
<p>Industrial discharges into rivers, lakes and creeks translate into a larger need for oxygen to maintain aquatic life. When pollution levels get too high, biodiversity will be compromised, rendering the water body unfit for any human use.</p>
<p>The annual average for chemical oxygen demand in the river Amlakhadi, which runs through the Ankleshwar industrial area, <a href="http://cpcb.nic.in/divisionsofheadoffice/ess/GujratMay2013.PDF">declined drastically</a> each year from 2008 to 2014, based on the board’s monthly monitoring results. </p>
<p>Still, pollution levels were more than four times higher than national standards for the domestic usage of rivers. And neither state nor national environmental controls have improved the quality of water in Gujarat’s rivers, lakes, creeks and coastal areas outside the specified industrial clusters.</p>
<p>Today, access to reliably clean water is still an ongoing challenge for Gujarat. Preserving the quality of all water bodies – both surface and groundwater sources – will be critical to ensuring safe drinking water for domestic uses and maintaining sufficiency for economic and agricultural uses in the long run. </p>
<h2>Clean water remains scarce</h2>
<p>The moratorium on Ankleshwar and three other industrial clusters <a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gujarat-moratorium-imposed-by-upa-govt-on-three-gidcs-lifted/1/820423.html">were lifted in late 2016</a>. Industries faced a critical decision: return to the old way of doing things (potentially facing a similar shut-down in the future) or move forward proactively, building water efficiency and waste water treatment into their production processes.</p>
<p>The recent Supreme Court case, with its March 31 deadline for installing effective waste water treatment facilities, has made business as usual seem considerably more risky. And given <a href="http://ic.gujarat.gov.in/?page_id=147">the many new Gujarat government incentives</a> aimed at improving industrial environmental governance, the investment required to upgrade environmental protections no longer looks quite so unprofitable. Such innovation is not only now financially feasible, it could also help industries to insulate themselves against future water scarcity in the state. </p>
<p>Sustainable industrialisation has a critical role to play in water governance. The 2014 <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg3/ipcc_wg3_ar5_chapter10.pdf">Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change</a> highlighted how industrial symbiosis within special economic zones and industrial clusters could be an effective laboratory for innovative in pollution-mitigation strategies.</p>
<p>As the recent <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/vibrant-gujarat-2017-mous-touch-rs-20-lakh-crore/articleshow/56489776.cms">Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2017</a> showed, industrial Gujarat is still attracting significant national and international investment for brownfields, mining, petrochemicals and other projects. </p>
<p>Continued sustainable development in the resource-constrained state will require a comprehensive water-conservation blueprint that integrates environmental protections into industrial activities. If Gujarat succeeds, it could set a precedent for the rest of the country.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74127/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>India is trying to clean up its water. But in arid, industrial Gujarat state, it will take a long time – and many more protections – for rivers and lakes to recover from decades of heavy pollution.Cecilia Tortajada, Senior Researcher, National University of SingaporeSanchita Talukdar, Research Associate, National University of SingaporeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.