Issue 8: April – May 2001

Q&A:

Prof. Zakri Hamid,
Director,
UNU Institute for
Advanced Studies

Prof. Zakri Hamid took up his post as Director of UNU Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU/IAS) in January. A national of Malaysia, he was formerly Deputy Vice Chancellor at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia).

Prof. Zakri received his Ph.D. in Genetics and Plant Breeding from Michigan State University in 1976. Since then he has worked at the National University of Malaysia, where he was made a full professor in 1986. He has published extensively on the issues of genetics, plant breeding, biotechnology and biodiversity and has received numerous awards and honours.

Prof Zakri has extensive international policy experience. He was Secretary-General of the Society for the Advancement of Breeding Research in Asia and Oceania (SABRAO) from 1981-1989 and has worked extensively on Committees of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Biosafety Protocol. Since 1999, he has been the interim Chair of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a major undertaking to assess the world's ecosystems.

What makes the UNU/IAS a unique educational organization?

One of the most unique qualities of the UNU/IAS is the advanced, multidisciplinary, approach used to study some of the key components of our global efforts to achieve sustainable development. At the UNU/IAS we ask academics from traditional disciplines such as economics, law, ecology, engineering, physics and chemistry to pool their specific knowledge and expertise in a focused attempt to understand and resolve some of the key challenges to sustainable development. We also use advanced research methodologies and approaches in our efforts to challenge orthodox thinking and locate creative solutions to our most pressing global problems. Another unique quality stems from our research focus, which is continually aimed forward with the goal of identifying future issues of concern for all the peoples of the world, particularly those from developing countries.

What role do you envision UNU/IAS playing within the educational community in the future?

One element that I would really like to emphasize is the need to establish a direct link between academic knowledge and expertise, and the problems that are being identified within the UN system. I think it is important that we pay careful attention to what goes on within the UN and its various organizations and processes. This will allow us to focus our research agenda toward filling knowledge gaps and addressing the specific issue areas that are highlighted by UN members. Any academic research must have a purpose. This is particularly relevant for us, given that the IAS is a public organization, and part of the UN system. The Institute has an important role to play in terms of ensuring that the results of our research actually reaches the people involved in decision making and negotiation at both the national and the international level. We need to package our research in a manner that is easily accessible to those who need it the most. We must also be proactive in making sure that the results are taken to the most appropriate forums. Eventually, as the Institute's reputation as a trustworthy source of timely and accurate information and insight grows, our constituents will seek us out. Until then, one of the core priorities for our relatively young institute must be the proactive, timely, and effective dissemination of relevant research findings.

What objectives do you have for the Institute in your first year as Director?

I will spend my first year consolidating and completing outstanding institutional matters, and preparing the IAS for its new programme beginning in 2002. As I mentioned, the IAS is a very young institute, barely five years old, but it has had a tremendous beginning. For a large part, the first few years have been focused on launching research projects and programmes and finding the Institute's niche. This means that the IAS is now at the stage where some stocktaking is required. We need to solidify our institutional and administrative footing. As you know, I came in during the middle of a biennium and most of the Institute's activities are in midstream. This provides me with the opportunity to concentrate on building upon, and strengthening, the Institute's foundations. One of my immediate priorities is the Institute's funding. We also need to examine personnel matters and, in keeping with our goal to be flexible and dynamic, explore new research directions for the Institute. I would like to instill in all future projects, the recognition of a need to secure outside funding, to create diversity in terms of the member states and  stakeholders involved, and also the need to ensure that each project team is engaged in advanced research.

What do you see as the major global concerns/problems that the UNU/IAS might address during the next decade?

I think there are several areas that we could address. The Institute has, so far, focused on Sustainable  Development, but this is a very broad principle. What is needed, is a focus on specifics, a focus on the concrete strategies and drivers that are needed to achieve sustainable development. This is why I would like to move the IAS away from some of the more philosophical approaches to the key challenges involved, and concentrate more on strategic approaches and on-the-ground policy research.

New technologies such as information and bio-technology w ill also be important in the next decade. Understanding how to manage these technologies; how to share the benefits equally, how to cope with the inherent risks relating to the uncertainties involved, these are some of the specific challenges that could be usefully addressed by the IAS.

Capacity building should also represent one of our key activities. The empowerment, from within, of developing countries, must become an imperative within our work. To participate fully in global processes, developing  countries must build upon the skills and knowledge that are necessary to create their own prosperity. 

What are some of the obstacles encountered by an academic institution such as the UNU/IAS in ensuring that its recommendations are translated into national policy?

Obscurity is probably the biggest obstacle to overcome. The UNU is not so well known as a policy relevant institution and, as a consequence, countries and other organizations do not turn to us for advice as much as they should. This could change very rapidly and easily if we engage ourselves in relevant, user-oriented, research, and take this research to the right forums.

How will the trend towards globalization and the wired world affect the future programmes and  priorities of the IAS?

As a whole, the IAS is already tuned in to many of these trends. Thanks to the former Director, we have many young and vibrant researchers who are working specifically in these areas. The VU Initiative, and the Iwate Environmental Information Network, for example, have been very active in exploring different ways of using the Internet. They have also focused on information technology as a teaching tool and have looked at ways of developing an actual curriculum out of the Institute's research. The IAS Urban and Regional Development Programme has conducted a pretty thorough examination of the impacts of globalization on development and urbanization around the world. Of particular interest here has been the role and functioning of mega-cities. We plan to build on these strong programmatic foundations, particularly in the area of science and technology.

What are the most important dates on the UNU/IAS calendar in 2001?

There are several dates, but some of the larger activities are the following:

June 5. The launch of the Millennium Eco-system Assessment in the Asia Pacific. This scientific assessment will cost an estimated twenty million dollars, and will be the first cross-sectoral, inter-agency, assessment of its kind. On World Environment Day, the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, will officially launch the Millennium Assessment at the UN in New York. In the Asia Pacific, the project will be launched from the IAS. The following day, a second Asian launch will take place in Beijing.

July 20-21 (tentative). Global Thematic on Inter-linkages. The UNU Environment and Sustainable Development Programme and the IAS have been very active in developing the Inter-linkages concept. This has included efforts to operationalize the concept and turn it into a means for better utilizing natural environmental synergies and promoting more effective and efficient coordination between multilateral agreements. The Global Thematic will attract world experts to the UNU to further deliberate on the potential implementation of the inter-linkages concept and formulate some concrete recommendations for Rio+10.

10-11 September (tentative). Back to back with the second official design meeting for the Millennium Eco-system Assessment on 13-16 September, the IAS, in partnership with the Japanese Environment Ministry, will hold a workshop aimed at defining specific projects and initiatives that will be closely linked to the Millennium  Assessment.