South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE)

Bangladesh | India | Nepal | Pakistan | Sri Lanka

BANGLADESH

Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA)

A group of academies, researchers, practicing lawyers and environmental activists established BELA in 1992. It is a non-political and non-profit organisation, which believes that a country's lawyers can contribute significantly in implementing and instituting a sustainable ecological order with equity as the underlying principle. BELA is registered under the Society Registration Act, 1860 on 18 February 1992 and under the Foreign Donation Registration Law on 13 June 1993.

BELA is a society of lawyers active in the field of environment for establishing a sound ecological order using legal mechanism as a tool. It has already created a reputation for obtaining a number of important decisions in cases affecting the interests of the general public. Judicial recognition of the need for a sound environment was first made in the writ petition filed by the organisation.

Contact: Ms Rizwana Hassan
Email: bela@bangla.net
Web: http://www.belabangla.org

Unnayan Shamannaya

Unnayan Shamannay, established in 1994, is a private, non-profit organization engaged in research, advocacy, development and cultural learning. Unnayan Shamannay has conducted many studies and organized various programmes focusing on trade, poverty and other socio-economic issues.

E-mail : shamunnay@sdnbd.org
Web : www.shamunnaybd.org

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INDIA

Citizen Consumer & Civil Action Group (CAG)

CAG is a non-profit, non-political, voluntary and professional citizens group based in Chennai, India whose objectives are to provide a platform for citizens to represent consumer and environmental problems, to monitor the performance of public utilities and to take up issues of public health, development and safety.

CAG has always adopted the larger definition of a consumer - that of the citizen-consumer in all their activities.

CAG's contributions towards consumer protection has been recognised by the Government of India who awarded us the National Award for Consumer Protection in 1989 (Second Prize) and 1991 (First Prize).

Contact: Mr Bharath Jairaj
Email: bharath@cag.org.in
Web: http://www.cag.org.in

Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS)

In 1983, CUTS was a small voluntary group of concerned citizens operating out of a garage on a zero budget. Today, CUTS operates out of four centres in India and one in Africa with a budget which exceeds about US$ four million and a staff strength of over 65 persons. The four centres are located in Jaipur (Head Office), New Delhi, Chitorgarh,and Calcutta in India and one in Lusaka, Zambia.

CUTS is involved in the area of trade and sustainable development in various ways and at various levels: international, sub-continental, national and state. The activities are focused mainly on the WTO and related domestic policies. At the national level, the work mainly involves regular interaction with different ministries such as commerce, industries, textiles, and consumer affairs as well as networking with consumers and other NGOs.

Contact: Mr Pradeep S Mehta
Email: cuts@cuts-international.org
Web: http://www.cuts-international.org

Development Research & Action Group (DRAG)

Contact: Dr Gautam Vohra
Email: priyavari@sify.com

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NEPAL

Society for Legal & Environmental Analysis & Development Research (LEADERS)

Contact: Mr Dhiraj Pokhrel
Email: leaders@wlink.com.np

Forum for Protection of Public Interest (Pro Public)

Pro Public is a non-profit, non-political, non-sectarian and non-governmental organisation dedicated to the cause of public interest. It was founded in 1991 by a group of environmentalists, women's rights activists, consumer activists, lawyers, journalists, engineers and economists. Within a decade, Pro Public has succeeded in winning the trust of people at large by consistently pursuing peoples' rights through research, advocacy, capacity building and litigation.

Pro Public believes that the Nepalese people must be provided social, economic, environmental and political justice. This can be achieved through awareness and empowerment. Pro Public wants to make them aware of their basic rights and empower them through capacity building. Once they become aware of their rights, they will put forward demands for social, economic, environmental and political justice.

The root cause for the deprivation of basic rights is a lack of awareness about their rights as enshrined in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990. Pro Public wishes to play the role of a facilitator in making the Nepalese people aware of their rights. In its efforts to empower the Nepalese people, Pro Public envisages to establish closer links with like-minded organisations through networks and alliances.

Contact: Mr Prakash Mani Sharma
Email: propublic@wlink.com.np
Web: http://www.propublic.org.np

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PAKISTAN

Journalists for Democracy & Human Rights (JDHR)

JDHR is a public interest media think-tank and research organisation that conducts research thus sensitizing media, journalists and the people, on democratic norms and human rights, globalisation, trade liberalisation, WTO Agreements and their impact, sustainable human development, governance, poverty and livelihoods. JDHR builds capacity of media professionals on how to address trade, economic and technical aspects of WTO issues with a human rights perspective.

JDHR has two centres namely: JDHR Centre for Trade, Economics, Environment and Development (CTEED) and JDHR Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDHR). Both deal in relevant areas with a rights-based approach. Besides SAWTEE, JDHR is also a member of South Asia Media Committee on Human Rights (SAMCOHR) and is a Research Partner in Pakistan of the Centre for Competence in Research North-South (NCCR), Zurich, Switzerland in its IP6 project on "Institutional Change and Livelihood Strategies under the WTO Regime" in collaboration with Zurich University.

JDHR is a countrywide network of senior, mid career and young development journalists and has a pro-people stand on policy issues. It has been working since 1998 and functioning through its network of working journalists throughout the country. JDHR has provincial coordinators in all four provinces and also has district coordinators.

Contact: Mr Shafqat Munir
Email: shafqat62@hotmail.com

Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)

SDPI was founded in August 1992 on the recommendation of the Pakistan National Conservation Strategy (NCS) also called Pakistan's Agenda 21. The NCS placed Pakistan's socio-economic development within the context of a national environmental plan. This highly acclaimed document approved by the Federal Cabinet in March 1992, outlined the need for an independent non-profit organisation to serve as a source of expertise for policy analysis and development, policy intervention and policy and programme advisory services in support of NCS implementation. The design of the Institute was initiated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature-Pakistan (IUCN-P) with significant support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The Committee for the Constitution of SDPI consulted government officials, academics, intellectuals, NGOs and journalists while formulating the bi-laws and identifying the board of governors.

The SDPI Board of Governors is an independent governing body that determines not only financial and management policies but also the Institute's research priorities.

SDPI as a policy-oriented research institute has had to reestablish relationships with the government each time the administration has changed. Despite this relatively unstable political environment, SDPI has and will continue to produce quality policy research and advocate democratic governance and pro-people initiatives. SDPI is registered under the Cooperative Societies Act, 1860.

Contact: Dr Abid Q. Suleri
Email: suleri@sdpi.org
Web: http://www.sdpi.org

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SRI LANKA

The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)

The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1998 as an autonomous institution designed to promote policy-oriented economic research and to strengthen the capacity for medium-term policy analysis in Sri Lanka. IPS has functioned under the key ministries involved in economic policy making and implementation in Sri Lanka while enjoying considerable autonomy in setting and implementing its research programme.

Contact: Dr Saman Kelegama
Email: ips@ips.lk
Web: http://www.ips.lk

The Law & Society Trust (LST)

LST is a non-profit making body committed to improving public awareness on civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights and equal access to justice. LST is also concerned with the consideration and improvement of professional skills within the legal community. The Trust has played a leading role in promoting cooperation between government and society within South Asia on issues relating to human rights, democracy and minority protection and has participated in initiatives to develop a global intellectual and policy agenda for the nineties.

LST was established in June 1982 under the provisions of the Companies Act of 1982. The Trust designs activities and programmes and commissions studies and publications, which have attempted to make the law play a more meaningful role within society. The Trust attempts to use law as a resource in the battle against underdevelopment and poverty and is involved in the organisation of a series of programmes aimed at members of the legal community including publications, workshops, seminars and symposia.

Contact: Ms Damaris Wickremesekera
Email: lstadmin@sltnet.lk
Web: http://www.lawandsocietytrust.org

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