TECHNOLOGY: United Nations Praises ‘Leapfrog’ Technologies

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Murtaza Mandli

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 20 1996 (IPS) - Inexpensive modern technologies in food production, energy, pollution, shelter and waste management can allow debt-burdened developing countries to catch up with the industrialised world, says the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP).

“These new technologies allow developing countries to ‘leapfrog’ by offering them inexpensive solutions to many problems,” says Mark Austin, Senior Advisor for the UNDP’s Global Technology Group.

“Leapfrogging gives us the chance to first deploy a state-of- the- art technology in a less-developed country before the very same technology is applied in an advanced economy,” says Dr. Joseph Ben-Dak, Chief of UNDP’s Global Technology Group. He added further that such practices offer poorer nations a chance at a productive future.

Among such useful technologies is a Polish invention which uses phospho-gyosum, a hazardous fertiliser waste byproduct, and converts it into a ceramic-like material that can be used as a low- cost alternative construction material.

Another invention from Peru, which uses a mortar-less block construction technique, can allow unskilled labour to construct earthquake-resistant housing at a rate 15 times faster than conventional construction methods would allow, the UNDP says.

A recent Global Technology Group workshop also featured a Slovenian circuitry technology which uses short, needle-like voltage spikes to improve energy efficiency by up to 50 percent. The gadget enables a 100-watt light bulb to deliver 100 watts of light while utilising only 50 watts of power.

Another energy-efficient technology is a new thermal insulation system. It is a collection of fluid-applied vapour barriers that can be used for hot, cold or sound insulations and can contain temperatures between -100 degrees F to 2000 degrees F. This insulation can be applied by brushing or spraying, and the water- based product is easy to handle, store and ship, the UNDP says.

The organisation also touted at its workshop a lubricant from Britain that improves the combustion of gasoline engines and reduces harmful emissions by 70 percent.

“This is just one of the few inventions that can reduce air pollution,” Austin said. He said such anti-pollution tools are “simple and easy to implement by experts and unskilled persons alike.”

The new technological inventions discussed by the workshop will enter the developing world through a private-sector strategy, he added. Austin told IPS that such activities would not only have a global or national impact, but a “regional impact on the various sectors of business or homes in developing countries”.

For example, in the telecommunications industry, Austin pointed out that countries that have minimal telephone structures can bypass infrastructure problems by introducing wireless cellular service.

“That way, time, energy and economic resources are not wasted on building telephone infrastructure,” Austin said. “You get what you want without having to invest in outdated methods or structures.”