Engineering: issues, challenges and opportunities for development ...

ENGINEERING: ISSUES CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENTplaced by electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and TV, Internet,mobile phone and solar panel companies.… applications of engineering and technologyIt is in direct applications at the community and family level– in both villages in rural areas and in urban communities –that technologies are most vital and visible in addressing basichuman needs and improving the quality of life of ordinarypeople. As previously mentioned, engineering and technologyis vital for the provision and development of food supply,production and processing, water supply and sanitation,waste disposal, housing, energy, transportation, communication,income generation, employment and enterprise creation.Examples include the development of agriculture by women,(in what is now Papua New Guinea and Melanesia where theyare still the main small farmers – in one of the few places wherelife expectancy for women is less than men), equipment (suchas animal- and engine-powered farm machines), domestic foodprocessing tools, equipment and techniques, the constructionof wells, water tanks and improved toilets, better housing andcooking stoves, low-cost roads and, of course, almost ubiquitousmobile phone use. Technology for the poor does not haveto be poor technology nor low technology. All this technologyand enterprise helps create income and jobs.Many of the engineers involved in the initial development,application and innovation of technologies that reduce povertyand human suffering on such a large scale go forgotten orunsung, as does even the fact that these technologies were createdby engineers. Roman engineers created systems of watersupply and sanitation that developed into systems that nowserve major cities, for example in London with systems developedby people such as Joseph Bazalgette following years ofcholera epidemics and ‘The Great Stink’ of 1858. While manymillions appreciate the development of flush toilets, electricpower, the motor car, the radio and television, how many ofus recall the names of Thomas Crapper, Nikola Tesla, Edison,Guglielmo Marconi, Paul Gottlieb Nipkow and John LogieBaird? Hopefully, the next generation of engineers, who needto meet the great challenge of climate change mitigation andadaptation, will be inspired by their often nameless forebears.As indicated, poverty has a gender dimension, and womencontribute significantly to family survival, particularly in theuse and innovation of technology in food production, watersupply, fuel gathering and cooking. Poverty reduction activitiesrelating to technological innovation, as in other areas, hasto be based on a dialogue with and understanding of genderroles to be effective, not only in reducing poverty and not addingto the work of women, but also in reducing gender andrelated disparities. Women in many countries, for example,gather fuel and suffer higher incidence of eye and lung diseasedue to smoky cooking conditions; they need to be involved inthe design, development and innovation of improved smokelesscooking stoves. Gender equality is also a human right, andthe access of women to education, technology and microfinancefor enterprise and job creation contributes significantlyto household income, health and well-being, social andeconomic development and the reduction of poverty.Applying engineering and technology to povertyreductionEngineering and technology need to be appropriate to thesocial, economic, educational and knowledge situations ofpeople living in poverty in order to facilitate and enable themto address their own basic needs, alleviate poverty and promotesustainable livelihoods and development. People livingin poverty are also more vulnerable to emergencies, naturaland human induced disasters, and there is an important associatedrole for engineering and technology in emergency anddisaster preparedness, mitigation and response.This requires effective policy formulation, implementation,and the integration of engineering and technology into PovertyReduction Strategy Papers, as discussed elsewhere inthis report. It also requires effective capacity and capacitybuilding,and the education and training of young engineers,particularly those in developing countries, to be aware andsensitive to the role of engineering and technology in povertyreduction. Government ministries and departments, donoragencies, universities, NGOs and other relevant organizationsneed to be encouraged and supported in this process withthe transfer of information and experience. Groups such asEngineers Without Borders and activities such as the Daimler-UNESCO Mondialogo Engineering Award can also help facilitatethis process.6.1.3Poverty reduction: case studyof infrastructure in SouthAfricaRon WatermeyerForecasts of the demand for new infrastructure expressed atthe American Society of Civil Engineers’ convention in Baltimorein 2004 indicated that approximately 80 per cent ofthe world’s new infrastructure from 2020 to 2030 will be constructedin developing countries. The provision of such infrastructureis expected to be underpinned by poverty reductionobjectives such as those relating to the stimulation of economicgrowth, the creation of jobs, the attainment of socialprogress and stability, and the promotion of the sustainableutilization of natural resources (as opposed to a strict protectioniststance).The South African construction industry is by nature a labourintensive industry with a capacity to absorb relatively unskilled256