Whereas it is a great to know that the country has seen improvement in sustainable development goal (SDG) score, there are also haunting concerns on environmental front, and with regard to the gaps in our actions to minimise the escalating threats from climate change.
All the gains in SDG score are likely to get quickly erased if our performance on environmental front cannot improve considerably in the future. Some of the recent media reports, as in the links below, can highlight the kind of concerns we will continue to face, unless urgent and effective ameliorative measures are implemented.
Whereas we get to read about addition of solar and wind power park capacities on a regular basis, as a single important achievement in the eyes of the Union government, there have also been news about plans to massively increase the capacity of conventional technology power plants, such as coal, dam based hydro, and nuclear.
These are leading to unsustainable demand on land, water and air, leading to pollution/ contamination of air, water and soil. The consequent increase in the perceived/ real need for the associated infrastructure facilities such as coal mines, coal-ash dumps, dams, additional power transmission lines, waste management/ storage facilities etc. will all have unacceptable impacts on our natural resources which are already under a lot of stress.
There have also been other kinds of impacts on our natural resources due to the high GDP growth rate paradigm.
A World Bank report of June 5, 2013 has highlighted how the environment has suffered in India consequent to the past decade of rapid economic growth. It says:
"Although the past decade of rapid economic growth has brought many benefits to India, the environment has suffered, exposing the population to serious air and water pollution. The report finds that environmental degradation costs India $80 billion per year or 5.7% of its economy. Most importantly the report also says: A low-emission, resource-efficient greening of the economy should be possible at a very low cost in terms of GDP growth. A more aggressive low-emission strategy comes at a slightly higher price tag for the economy while delivering greater benefits."
According to a new study by the WRI (World Resources Institute) the country lost 1.6 million hectares of tree cover, and 16 million trees between 2001 and 2018, of which 9.4 million trees were felled in just the last four years. If 500 projects in forests and Protected Areas can be cleared by the National Wildlife Board between 2014 and 2018, which is one reason why the country has lost about 120,000 hectares of primary forest in the last five years, what can we say about the commitment of our country in the upkeep of the environment.
At serious risk are the country's last patches of forests, natural resources and the health of its people. As detailed in a news link, India, over the six years since July 2014, had approved over 270 projects in and around its most protected areas, including biodiversity hotspots and national parks. At the same time, the Centre has watered down environmental safeguards, prompting stakeholders to warn that such interference not only imperils habitat and ecosystems, but also endangers public health.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has approved 87% (2,256 of 2,592) of proposals that it received for environment clearance (EC) between July 2014 and 24 April 2020, according to data on the ministry’s clearance monitoring website, Parivesh. If this rate of environmental clearance for diverting natural forests and other resources is to continue, the country is likely to lose most of its original forests of enormous ecological significance within a few decades.
It is reported that the legally protected areas (PAs) in the country constitute only about 14% of the forest area and just 4.61% of the total land mass. Even though there is reported to be an increase from six national parks and 59 wildlife sanctuaries in 1970, to 85 and 462 in 1998, respectively (Wildlife Institute of India, 1998), how these PAs are being protected should be a matter of grave concern.
According to a survey carried out in the mid-1980s, over 65 percent of the PAs were characterized by human settlements and resource use (Kothari et al., 1989). The pristine forest lands within such PAs are increasingly been diverted for non-forestry purposes.
Although the past decade of rapid economic growth has brought many benefits to India, the environment has suffered
If, despite 7 decades of serious “developmental efforts”, through reduction of protected areas (PAs) to less than 5% of the land mass, there is an ongoing political perception that the so called economic development in the country is not adequate, any further reduction in the areas of PAs cannot result in betterment of our communities; instead much higher levels of community-wise disasters will be certain because of the destruction of biodiversity. Thousands of acres of forest lands are getting diverted, on an average every year, in the name of development projects.
One scientific article has said:
"The continuing loss of biodiversity will undermine our ability for poverty reduction, food and water security, human health and the overall goal of leaving nobody behind. Natural ecosystems provide the foundations for economic growth, human health and prosperity. Our fate as a species is deeply connected to the fate of our natural environment. As ecosystems are increasingly threatened by human activity, acknowledging the benefits of biodiversity is the first step in ensuring that we look after it. We know biodiversity matters. Now, as a society, we should protect it – and in doing so, protect our own long-term interests.”
Many statistical information such as these are all pointing towards a poor management of our natural resources, basically to achieve high GDP growth rate year after year. The dangerously polluted air in many parts of the country; the polluted rivers in all states, and poor quality of agricultural soils are some of the evidences in this regard.
In this context, the recent call by the MoEF&CC that "Developed economy should be a developed ecology too; we should be citizens with environmental sense" should not remain an empty rhetoric, but become a pleasant reality soon, in order to protect all sections of our country from the fast escalating threats of climate change. Our country must effectively implement all the suitable technological options, and our own heritage practices available to us to minimise the damage to our natural resources.
As is reported by many science based bodies: "Every dollar spent on nature restoration leads to at least $9 of economic benefits." According to IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the World Conservation Union, the monetary value of goods and services provided by ecosystems is estimated to amount to some US$33 trillion per year. Our country, with already constrained resources, but with a massive population base, must not forget these basic tenets of sustainability.
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*Power & Climate Policy Analyst, Karnataka. This article is based on the author’s representation to the Niti Aayog vice chairperson
"The continuing loss of biodiversity will undermine our ability for poverty reduction, food and water security, human health and the overall goal of leaving nobody behind. Natural ecosystems provide the foundations for economic growth, human health and prosperity. Our fate as a species is deeply connected to the fate of our natural environment. As ecosystems are increasingly threatened by human activity, acknowledging the benefits of biodiversity is the first step in ensuring that we look after it. We know biodiversity matters. Now, as a society, we should protect it – and in doing so, protect our own long-term interests.”
Many statistical information such as these are all pointing towards a poor management of our natural resources, basically to achieve high GDP growth rate year after year. The dangerously polluted air in many parts of the country; the polluted rivers in all states, and poor quality of agricultural soils are some of the evidences in this regard.
In this context, the recent call by the MoEF&CC that "Developed economy should be a developed ecology too; we should be citizens with environmental sense" should not remain an empty rhetoric, but become a pleasant reality soon, in order to protect all sections of our country from the fast escalating threats of climate change. Our country must effectively implement all the suitable technological options, and our own heritage practices available to us to minimise the damage to our natural resources.
As is reported by many science based bodies: "Every dollar spent on nature restoration leads to at least $9 of economic benefits." According to IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the World Conservation Union, the monetary value of goods and services provided by ecosystems is estimated to amount to some US$33 trillion per year. Our country, with already constrained resources, but with a massive population base, must not forget these basic tenets of sustainability.
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*Power & Climate Policy Analyst, Karnataka. This article is based on the author’s representation to the Niti Aayog vice chairperson
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