climate forecasting and modeling is benefitting ESAP agri­culture. Improved climate forecasting is essential if effec­tive coping strategies are to be devised (Verdin et al., 2005). ICT can facilitate the rapid transfer of technology between regions within ESAP, or be utilised to develop a Decision Support System (DSS) for sustainable land management at the farm, village, watershed and regional scale (Rais, 1997; Craswell et al., 1998).

5.3.7.1  Impact The effective dissemination and adoption of ICT in the re­gion can be critical to economic and social development in this information age—akin to electrification in the indus­trial age (Castells, 1999). The correlation between access to information and poverty is widely acknowledged, for reasons outlined by Flor (2001): information leads to re­sources; information leads to opportunities that generate re­sources; access to information leads to access to resources; and access to information leads to access to opportunities that generate resources. Data from the Human Develop­ment Report (UNDP, 1999) database on four major ICT indicators (internet hosts per 1000 persons, telephone lines per 1000 persons, personal computer ownership and televi­sion ownership) were compared with the human develop­ment index (HDI) and the human poverty index (HPI) for ten ESAP countries, showing a strong correlation between ICT and poverty. The higher the HPI, the lower the number of ISPs, telephone lines, personal computers and television sets per 1000 persons. Similarly, the higher the ICT indica­tor value, the lower the HPI—as in the case of Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia.
     Research from Thailand, South Korea, India and China also indicates that growth rates of ICT consumption cor­relate well with growth in productivity and GDP (Mody and Dalman, 1992; Kraemer and Dedrick, 1998). Research for India in particular—which showed an average growth rate in IT-related investment of 22.21% per year—shows a strong correlation between growth in ICT consumption and productivity and GDP between 1984 and 1990 (Krae­mer and Dedrick, 1998). ICT can have an impact on pov­erty alleviation and meet development and sustainability goals by educating rural and disenfranchised communities about their circumstances and rights and by providing ac­cess to health-related and agricultural and natural resource management   information,   among   other   issues   (Pigato, 2001).
     Knowledge management offers great promise to pov­erty alleviation initiatives in ESAP countries, particularly in the realm of policy, strategic planning and monitoring and evaluation. For instance, Southeast Asia, home to the two largest archipelagos in the world, Indonesia and the Philip­pines, is rich in marine biodiversity. A regional knowledge network enabled by information and communication tech­nology is now being proposed to share best practices and lessons learned from these projects and more effectively ad­dress marine resource depletion.
     International organizations have forged linkages to fa­cilitate database information collection and sharing within the ESAP region through the creation of decision support systems, expert systems and similar initiatives to help farm-

ers and other users make informed decisions. Two prominent examples of such efforts are the International Rice Research Institute's internet or computer-based "Rice Doctor", a field diagnostic to identify factors limiting rice crop growth in the Tropics. Another is the multi-agency (GTZ, DFID, ACIAR, CSIRO, CIAT, ILRI and Queensland Government) "Tropi­cal Forages"—an interactive, computer-based selection tool that brings together in one package accumulated informa­tion on the adaptation, use and management of tropical and subtropical forage species.
     Yet another notable knowledge initiative to improve the lives of Filipino farmers and fisherfolk is the K-AgriNet program  (Knowledge Networking Towards  Enterprising Communities), jointly implemented by a number of govern­ment agencies. It aims to modernize the agricultural sector by utilizing ICT to access information, modern technolo­gies and indigenous knowledge. The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), with its e-Consortia and e-Farm components establishes a digital community by intercon­necting the Farmers Information and Technology Service (FITS) centers that serve as the ICT/ICE kiosks for agricul­tural information, technology and other interventions.
     ICT has allowed women and disadvantaged groups in the ESAP region more scope to project themselves. For ex­ample, the organization IT for Change, in partnership with Mahila Samkhya (women's collectives) is implementing a development strategy called Mahiti Manthana to institu­tionalize ICT-based innovations in the state of Karnataka (India) using radio, video and telecenter-based initiatives. This initiative focuses on adult learning, health care, the re­sponsibilities of Panchayats (village governance bodies) and gender mainstreaming in local development processes (IT for Change Report, 2006). However, despite such benefits, uneven distribution and access to ICT has given rise to the "digital divide," a widening gap between the information-rich and information-poor, creating yet another form of so­cial exclusion.
     Despite the digital divide being a concern, there has been some  success in ensuring equitable access to ICT within the region. The founder of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank, Professor Muhammad Yunus, embarked on an inno­vative undertaking based on a simple idea (Flor, 2001). The bank has initiated a cellular phone project, through which the Grameen Phone Company has put mobile phones in ap­proximately 45,000 Bangladeshi villages, greatly increas­ing villagers' access to ICT. Each mobile phone is acquired through a small bank loan and becomes a village telephone service provider, earning income for the owner and provid­ing a much-needed utility to the community. This endeavor is being followed with an experimental Village Computer and Internet Program or VCIP, which would provide a very low-cost email and Internet service to villagers. A simple form of e-commerce will also be initiated by this system, al­lowing farmers to check market prices and study the list of wholesalers in Dhaka by surfing the Web.
     In a similar development, the Philippines government established a Short Message Service (SMS) using cellular phones to gather and disseminate knowledge about agricul­ture. The Philippine Rice Research Institute established the