Science and Technology for Development

Science, technology and development have always been inextricably linked. As scientific knowledge evolves and new technologies are developed new opportunities for developing countries open up alongside new challenges and threats. The Green Revolution raised yields of cereal crops but brought about unforeseen societal and environmental problems. Genetically modified crops may offer improved yields but raise new questions regarding intellectual property and trade. The development of alternative forms of energy, such as bioenergy, may play a role in combating climate change but there are implications for food supply and global food prices. New technologies, biotechnologies, information and communication technologies and nanotechnologies are creating new relationships between society and technology. Indeed, it is increasingly impossible to unpick technology from society it is so meshed into everything we do. The changes these technologies can bring about are felt most keenly in developing countries, either through their absence of through the more profound ways in which technology may bring change to poorer, more vulnerable communities and societies. Consequently, the role technology has played, and ought to play, in driving forward development in increasingly contested. This book presents some of the key debates and questions surrounding technology for development. Can technology transform developing country societies? Can technology allow developing countries to 'catch up' with developed countries? How can we mitigate against the impacts, unforeseen as they may be, of new, increasingly complex and transformative technologies? How can we best organise research and development to ensure that technologies that reflect the needs and realities of those most in need are articulated? These questions and more are interrogated through a series of case studies of science, technology and development.