|
Magazine
THE STATE OF THE NATION
Environmental challenges
RAVI CHELLAM
|
As various players jostle for access and control over natural resources, India needs a road map that could turn things around.
|
Programmes, which are knowledge-based, appropriate to the local ecological and socio-cultural contexts and have the support of the local people, have better chances to succeed and be sustainable.
Photo: K.R. Deepak
Very valuable: Millions of people rely on natural ecosystems to sustain their livelihoods.
The last few years have seen rather dramatic developments in the policies related to the management of industrial and economic development as well as the environment in India. In many ways we are still to experience the full impact of these changes i
n the policies in that they have not been under implementation for long enough for us to judge their synergies and impacts on the environment and especially the socio-economic status of the poorer sections of our society. Nevertheless what little we have seen does not augur well for the future of either the nation’s environmental health and ecological security or for the livelihoods and well being of a significant proportion of our population. Although it is heartening to see people at the local level beginning to organise themselves better and also to demand a better deal for themselves and their immediate environment.
2008 promises to be an interesting year as the various players jostle for access and control over natural resources (especially land, minerals and water) as the implementation of the new policies commence, especially the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Right to Forests) Act, 2006.
I am not going to elaborate on the major environmental issues that currently confront all of us since these have been reasonably well reported on. What I do want to do is to present an analysis of the situation and a road map which could potentially turn things around.
Unsustainable model
Like many other countries, India has also unquestioningly embraced an economic growth model based on increasing consumption, which is neither sustainable from the environmental perspective nor inclusive in ensuring that the economic benefits are shared equitably. To prevent further degradation of the environment and to enable more informed and participatory environmental management, which can then be held accountable, we need a paradigm shift in our approach. We need to adopt a more holistic model of development, which includes environmental and social factors right from the beginning and is based on a robust ethical framework. To separate development, environment and social justice or to present these as conflicting issues is incorrect. Unless this fundamental shift takes place, all our attempts to protect and conserve the environment are bound to fail in the long run.
Traditionally development projects have not really accounted for environmental costs when financial viability is examined. Nor are projects assessed based on their performance post-completion against the initial cost-benefit calculation. If more realistic accounting methods are adopted, methods that would actually capture the costs of environmental loss and the damage to both ecosystems and also to the ecosystem services that they would provide on a sustained basis. This will enable us to get a far more realistic picture of how destructive, unsustainable and economically unviable the current development model is.
It is important to recognise that degradation of natural ecosystems is currently very rapid, resulting in loss of species or ecosystems that is often irreversible. The loss of natural ecosystems results in loss of ecosystem services such as clean water from watersheds, retention of soil and soil fertility, sequestration of carbon and provision of pollinators and natural predators of pests. Value of these ecosystems services often exceeds the annual gross domestic product of countries. In India, millions of people rely on services and products from natural ecosystems to sustain their livelihoods. Fortunately there seems to be an increasing recognition of the value of ecosystem services and certain economic models, which account for payment of ecosystem services, are being developed. It is crucial to undertake research and studies that will provide us the required understanding to develop and implement such innovative management systems.
We currently adopt a single national model for most development and conservation initiatives and these are not based on the currently available understanding of these issues. The available knowledge could be both from formal research done by scientists as well as traditional knowledge of the local communities. Hence the current approach has its limitations since we are dealing with very diverse ecologies and cultures and the interaction of people with nature is a very dynamic process.
Other models
The solution for this is to develop models based on local experience with the active participation of the local communities that integrate science and traditional knowledge. This will ensure that we implement programmes which are knowledge-based, appropriate to the local ecological and socio-cultural contexts and have the support of the local people and hence will have better chances to succeed and also be sustainable. Some of the recent policy developments allow for increased participation by local people but these provisions need to be operationalised and the participation of the local communities needs active encouragement and facilitation. Scientists still find it difficult to carry out their research projects since the system of review and granting of research permissions is still very complex, time consuming and not sufficiently transparent or accountable.
On the whole the year ahead is full of challenges at varying scales from local to national. As a nation these challenges present a good opportunity for us to develop innovative solutions to enable better conservation and continue our leadership for conservation in South Asia and potentially even set examples which are relevant globally.
The writer is Senior Fellow and Director, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment based in Bangalore.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Magazine
|
