Rousbeh Legatis interviews DR. ARJUN K. KARKI, International Coordinator of LDC Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 5, 2011 (IPS) - Maximising time, energy and resources toward improving living conditions for millions of people in the poorest countries of the world - the so-called Least Developed Countries (LDCs) - means that the "business-as-usual" approach must yield to a holistic strategy, says Arjun Karki, a longtime expert on grassroots, democratic peace-building and development.

With an eye on the upcoming Fourth U.N. Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC IV) in May, Karki underscores that unless there is a decisive shift, the world is heading toward "another unproductive decade" in terms of LDC policy- making.

The major gathering of head of states, civil society and the private sector in Istanbul represents a "historical opportunity" to "pave the road of translating rhetoric into action", Karki says.

Rethinking old patterns would make it possible to halve the number of LDCs by 2020, he argues.

For more than 10 years, LDC Watch has monitored policy- making and the outcomes for people on the ground. U.N. correspondent Rousbeh Legatis spoke to Karki about flaws in the past and his hopes for the future. Excerpts from the interview follow.