Myanmar must not squander its riches in the rush to grow

Myanmar faces a tricky future finding a development model that will allow it to alleviate poverty and create an equitable society.

As one of the last countries in Asia to open its doors, it has the opportunity to draw on some of the lessons its neighbours have learnt from their decades-long pursuit of growth at any cost. Many in the region now lament the erosion of cultures and values, and the high cost to their resource base that has accompanied their embrace of unfettered free markets and extreme capitalism.

Examples include the questions being asked in Japan, following its tragic earthquake and nuclear accident, about the pursuit of prosperity; the fact that the worst floods in living memory in Thailand were the result of economic development at the expense of the natural environment; the awful air pollution that engulfs so many Asian cities as they blindly embrace cars and low-cost manufacturing; and the obesity explosion in countries from India to Malaysia.

Myanmar's opening occurs at a critical time for thinking about routes to development. With the West's reputation undermined by the global financial crisis and its aftermath, its recipe of consumption-led growth is being questioned.

Many Asian countries are beginning to come to terms with the reality that they cannot simply 'manufacture and export' their way out of poverty and ape an economic model that appears to have exhausted itself because it thrives on promoting relentless consumption by underpricing critical resources.

This offers Myanmar an opportunity to look for a more sustainable development model. Travelling there last December, I observed that multiculturalism is a striking feature, yet historically at the core of its woes.

Fostering harmony in a resource-rich country will be a key to its future success.