Inda and the Path to Environmental Sustainability

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2008 ProQuest Released February 2008

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India and the Path to Environmental SustainabilityBy Ethan Goffman

Introduction

India is a complex, stunningly diverse country replete with seeming contradictions. It has astrong education ethic indicated by a significant segment of the population holding advanceddegrees, yet also massive poverty and illiteracy. It is the worlds largest democracy, yet weakimplementation of laws and corruption are widespread. Its population is largely Hindu, a faithnoted for harmony, peace, care for the poor, and vegetarianism, particularly in the versionespoused by Mahatma Gandhi, considered the founder of modern India. Yet India has deepsocial divisions, most notably in the untouchable caste relegated to jobs such as handling

human waste. Virulent religious conflict, especially between Muslims and Hindus, also polarizeits society. Currently, India is undergoing tremendous economic growth, second only to China,yet its galloping population, together with poor policy and insufficient infrastructure, threatenenvironmental disaster that could end this growth.

With a smaller land area than China and a population over 1.1 billionon the verge of becom-ing, or perhaps already, the worlds most populous nationIndia might be the ultimate test caseof how many people one can squeeze into a given area and still provide a decent, modern life-style. Currently, India ranks 101 out of 146 countries on the 2005 Environmental SustainabilityIndex (ESI), which ranks countriesbased on such measures as health,governance, technology, andinternational cooperation andevaluates the likelihood that a

country will be able to preserve

valuable environmental resourceseffectively over the period ofseveral decades (Esty 23).Although this is slightly better thanChina's ranking, India, with itssoaring population, faces increasingstresses to its air and water; itsfuture energy and resource use isuncertain, and its agriculturalproductivity is at risk. India is alsotesting the efficacy of democracy

which Winston Churchill calledthe worst form of government,except for all the othersandwhether networks of individualscan provide a better watch on theenvironment than can anauthoritarian system.

India contains a large, complex, and variegated population packedinto a relatively small areahttp://www.indianembassy.pl/iglance.html


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ProQuest Discovery Guideshttp://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/discoveryguides-main.php Released February 2008

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India, then, is in many ways a microcosmalbeit an ex-traordinarily large microcosmof the tricky path to devel-opment that many poor and emerging countries must tread.On todays planet, development can no longer follow the

traditional path of emphasizing heavy industry while pay-ing little attention to the surrounding environment. Sus-tainable development is the watchword of the day, whichmeans that care must be taken to preserve existing envi-ronmental resources for the benefit of future generations.At the risk of failure, India may also provide a shiningmodel of how to simultaneously advance democracy, eco-nomic growth, quality of life, and environmental health.

Growth in a Diverse Society

Along with its population, Indias economy is gallopingahead. It is doing so against a backdrop of clashingtraditions: In no other nation-state is there so much ofethno-cultural diversityin terms of religion, language,

region, caste, class, ethnicity and ideology (Kapoor 637). For example, eighteen principal lan-guages and hundreds of dialects are spoken. Furthermore, the country is divided into a relativelywealthy and educated southern half that is at times at odds with a more impoverished andoverpopulated northern half.

For a country that strives to be modern, India is often criticized as stuck in ancient customs,derided by modernization advocates as Hindu thinking, in which the underlying mindset ofthe ordinary Indian is of ambiguity, uncertainty and seeking godly benevolence (Kapoor 638).Critics consider this a fatalistic attitude unsuited to therationalist planning for the future of industrial and post-industrial society. Indeed, after India declared independencefrom Britain in 1947, a combination of traditional thinking,anti-colonialism, and socialist policies guided India, whichcorrelated with an extremely slow rate of economic growth,about 3.5% annually, or a miserly 1.5% per capita from 1950to 1980 (Acharya et al 206).

This mindset, which seems to undermine development andmodernity, has been under attack since the regime of IndiraGandhi in the 1970s, and even more so beginning in 1991,when an economic crisis brought external sectorliberalization, deregulation of industry, reforms of taxationand the financial sector and a more commercial approach tothe public sector (Acharya et al, 206). Following these

Aerosol pollution over Northern India andBangladesh. Photo: NASAhttp://www.answers.com/topic/particulate?cat=health

Brahma, the Hindu god of creationhttp://www.crystalinks.com/indiadieties.html


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reforms, the Indian growth rate soared, and it has continued torise. A recent World Bank report estimates annual growthaveraging 6% over the last decade, 7%-8% more recently, andaspirations of an average annual growth rate of 8 percent or

higher, much needed for eliminating poverty (World Bank 2007,

1).

Despite this progress, a conflict remains between traditional andmodern mindsets. Many observers have noted that the globalisa-tion of the economy is bringing in its wake notions of materialismand consumerism that do not match with Indian traditions of aus-terity, simplicity and spirituality (Kapoor 649). Those who strivefor modernization heavily criticize traditional Hindu fatalism,

favoring a capitalist technological ethos, a vision of developmentparticularly popular with Indias political-bureaucratic elite andthe business class, and many educated and patriotic Indians, many

of whom feel that India rightfully deserves to be a superpower andcan make the grade with rapid economic development in the nexttwo decades (Kapoor 640).

The days of what critics derisively refer to as the Hindu rate of growth are long over. Withgovernment economic interference lifted and globalization opening markets further, the growthrate is spurting. India is expected to remain one of the fastest growing countries over the nextdecades, with the economy continuing to move from its local agricultural base toward industry.Of course, much of the recent growth has been driven by globalization, which has allowed Indiato move into the high-tech sector, including telecommunications, software, and related services.

Nevertheless this growth faces strong challenges. It has been criticized as rewarding a relativelysmall population segment and increasing income inequality. Moreover, environmental problemsmight threaten or halt this growth. A 1995 report, for instance, estimated that annual losses dueto the environment are of the order of 4.5 per cent (Acharya et al, 225). This, however, is onlythe best guess of a range of figures, while more recent estimates are hard to come by. One ana-lyst warns ofthe enormous danger that economic progress in India faces as a result of wantondestruction and degradation of natural resources of all kinds and a growing dependence on theuse of hydrocarbon fuels that cannot be sustained (Pachauri 704).

Environmental destruction, then, threatens the current economic gains. The answer, according tomany analysts, lies not so much in slowing the rate of population growth, or even in drasticlowering of population, but in better environmental governance. A combination of effectivegovernment policy and new technology may very well allow India to continue to improve thequality of life for all its people. In a broader perspective, questions remain regarding the aims ofa 21st century economy. Traditional economics looks first at overall growth, yet sustainabilityadvocates argue for a new paradigm based on quality of life rather than economic growth. Sus-

Indira Gandhi, elected PrimeMinister in 1966, worked tobring modernity to India, andto control the populationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi


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tainability refers both to using better technologyand practices and to altering our assumptionsabout the desirability of consumption, although thebalance between the two is contested.

Torn between its traditions and rapid changes,India is in a unique position for testing the 21stcentury world order. Does the vision ofsustainable development most match that ofMahatma Gandhiand traditional Hinduthinking in generalor the capitalist technocrats?Clearly it will take something from both traditions;far less clear is what the mixture should be.

Kapoor poses as the central question, will it be a future for all, including the masses . . ., or willit be a future for a few - the well-educated, westernised, globally-connected, consumerist elitesand middle class ofIndia?

Population

Unlike China, India continues at a dangerously high rate of population growth: Though itoccupies only 2 per cent of the worlds land area, it supports over 16 percent of the worldspopulation (DSouza & Peretiatko, 80), with some nine times the population density of the

United States. A United Nations and World Bank report projects, that around the year 2026Indias population will be about 1.35 billion, and that by 2051 it will be about 1.57 billion(Dyson 75). Of course changes in fertility rates (and mortality rates) could drastically alter thisprojection.

India has attempted to stabilize its population, beginning with Indira Gandhis populationpolicies in the 1970s, which included avoluntary sterilization component.These policies were criticized asdraconian, and often coercive, withsome 8.3 million sterilizations in 1976-77 (Veron 2), leading to a crisis inIndian democracy. Gandhi declared astate of emergency that, in 1977, led toher ouster as Prime Minister. Theseproblems illustrate how difficult it is, ina democracy, to impose harshpopulation policy, contrastingdramatically with Chinas authoritarianone-child policy, which has been inplace since 1979.

Roads in India suffer extreme traffic congestion(Reuters: Krishnendu Halde)http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/28/1964129.htm

India: Population Density (square km)http://cee45q.stanford.edu/2003/briefing_book/india.html
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Interestingly, Indias move away from draconian mandates

to curb population growth received a kind of confirmation atthe 1994 International Conference of Population andDevelopment in Cairo, which affirmed a voluntary programof education, particularly womens education, as well as

access to contraception (United Nations Population). ANational Population Policy adopted in 2000 emphasizespromoting contraceptive use among eligible couples and

aims to improve the health of women and their children(Westley & Retherford 1). Overall, the policy moves fromachieving demographic targets toward meeting thereproductive health needs of clients (Ibid).

Still, critics claim that Indias policies have remained coercive, including huge sterilization tar-gets for selected districts (Rao 24). Additionally, abortion of female fetuses remains a wide-spread practice; nevertheless, with a large proportion of the population almost 60 percent

below the age of 30 years, further growth of population is inevitable (Rao 25). Indias morevoluntary measures have correlated with a faster-growing population than those of the more au-thoritarian China. Indeed, stabilization of Chinas population is expected to occur around 2030,while Indias population will inevitably continue to grow for at least 50 years, increasing by a

half over the period (Veron 4). Mortality decline, furthermore, is slowing the deceleration ofIndias population growth. In the long run, however, it seems likely that urbanization, education,and contraceptive availability will lead to population stabilization. Indeed, the trend in India ap-pears to be towards women marrying, having a small number of children, and then getting steril-ized (Visaria 73).

Population stabilization, however, depends upon local conditions, with the rural-urban split cru-cial. Urbanization in India has been slow. Whereas 17.3 per cent of the population lived in ur-ban areas in 1951, by 2001 this figure had risen to only 27.8 percent (Dyson & Visaria 116). Incomparison to the rest of the world, where 1 out of every 2 people live in a city, India's urbani-zation is a relatively small. Because rural areas are noted for higher birth rates, stabilizing Indias

population will not be easy.

Complicating population policy is Indias diverseand often contentious society. Fertility patterns areextremely uneven and vary by location, with thepopulation growing faster in the more impoverishednorth. In the south, by contrast, and strikingly inKeralanoted for its progressive policiespopulation stabilization began early, but has beenmuch slower around the Ganges Valley, the heartof traditional India, where fertility has scarcelydeclined. The Hindi-speaking core region ischaracterized by high fertility, an entrenched

By 2050 there will be 1.63 billionIndians, according to one studyhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3575994.stm

An Indian man searching for scrap at a NewDelhi landfill siteSource: MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/GettyImages


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patriarchal value system, economic underdevelopment, predominance of Brahminical influence,and exclusion of women from education (Guilmoto & Rajan 713). Indeed, fertility isparticularlyhigh among illiterate women and poor women (Westley & Retherford 2). Local andtraditional culture, along with economic factors, are thus crucial in explaining the uneven effectsof Indias population policy.

How is this relevant to sustainability? Obviously, population is a key driving factor in environ-mental degradation, as more people consume more resources, occupy more land, release morewastes, etc. Nevertheless, population is only one factor; analysts and environmentalists fromThomas Malthus in the 18th century to Paul Ehrlich in 1967 have exaggerated its singular im-pact. Economic growth is also a significant factor, yet so is resource use and environmental pol-icy. Dennis Anderson, for instance, argues that technical progress, together with the policieswhich induce it, is by far the most important factor in enabling countries to reconcile economicgrowth with environmental improvement (255). He adds that technologies and practices in de-veloped countries explain why local air and water pollution levels are orders of magnitude

lower than in the developing countries, even though their economic outputs per capita are an or-

der of magnitude higher (258). Of course, in a globalized world, the analysis needs to be ex-tended to account for the consumer appetites of the developed countries, considering that manyconsumer goods are manufactured in less developed countries. Nevertheless, given the right mixof technology and policy, it seems likely that India can do much to offset the impact of itsgrowing population.

Land Use & Agriculture

Despite rapid economic development, the majority of Indias population remains employed as

small farmers. Even with this huge amount of agricultural labor available, the Indian people fre-quently faced malnourishment and recurrent famine until the late 1960s. At that time the so-called green revolution brought modern agricultural techniques to India. Three factors are es-pecially notable: increase in arable land, cropping intensity, and higher yield per acre (Singh

490). So, for instance, wheat production nearly trippled between 1961 and 1980 (Singh 487)and has continued to grow. Other staple crops, such as rice and corn, also increased dramatically.

Yet, the green revolution brought with it inherent limitations, which became clear by the 1990s.Its reliance on monocultures, i.e., the use of only a fewcrops planted over huge areas, has decreasedbiodiversity. As Singh explains, in pursuit of achievinghigher and higher production, farmers put heavy stresson agricultural resource base, consequently degradingthe agroecosystem through putting heavy doses ofagrochemicals while ignoring the long-term hazardouseffects on soil health-nutrients (489). Water, andespecially clean water, is scarcer for agricultural andother uses. While Indias population continues toincrease at a near-exponential rate, its food productionTraditional farming in India

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has slowed. As a result, the country's ability to feed its own people is diminishing again.

Indeed, many analysts believe that the pattern of large-scale agriculture is unhealthy, not just en-vironmentally, but economically. One critic argues, in terms of food and nutrition productivityper acre, in terms of efficiency in water use, in terms of creation of livelihoods small farms are

more productivity [sic] than large ones (Shiva 716). Energy-intensive agriculture also runs intolimits, since growth in output is increasingly dependent on limited fossil fuel reserves(Thankappen et al 191). Two possible solutions to the problems of current energy sources arealternative energy or more labor-dependent agriculture.

Groundwater depletion is another problem, intensified by a move, typical in developing coun-tries, toward water intensive food, such as vegetables and animal products. The classic patternhas been from grain-based diets toward increased consumption of a diversity of vegetables, aswell as meat and milk. It remains to be seen how much India, with its Hindu traditions, will in-crease its consumption of meat.

The argument continues over how much tomodernize, how much to retain traditionalpeasant agriculture, and how best to utilizenew technologies. If globalization could beconsidered the next step after the green revo-lution in modernizing Indian agriculture, ithas also been criticized as disempowering.One critic argues, seeds and biodiversity,which have been the common property offarmers and local communities, are beingtransformed into private property of a handfulof corporations (Shiva 718). Regardingbiological and genetic rights, patents, intendedto reward innovation, may end up limitingwidespread use of knowledge.

Of equal concern is that agriculture brings other environmental stresses. As the World Bank ex-plains, land and soil nutrients have suffered from overgrazing, deforestation, and poorlyplanned irrigation schemes (Ringskog 3). Furthermore, agriculture inevitably leads todeforestation, yet forests provide ecosystem services that, over time, benefit farm land (such aspreventing soil erosion). In India, which remains deficient in modern energy infrastructure,fuelwood collection has also harmed forests. Illegal tree harvesting for a variety of uses iscommon. Of Indias 329 hectares of land, around 21% is classified as forestland (Gundimedaet al, 636). Yet land volume is only one aspect of the problem; forest quality is another. Althoughshrinkage of forest land appears to have stopped, density of forest cover seems to be diminishing.Forest ecosystem services, such as replenishment of land, sequestering of carbon, protectionfrom weather events, and recreational uses, remain threatened. One scholar explains, "[defores-

Organic farming in Keralahttp://persianoad.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/why-india-should-promote-organic-farming/


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tation] fortunately has been arrested in most parts of India, but now what is required is major ef-forts to increase tree cover throughout the country (Pachauri 708).

Air and Water

Agricultural policy cannot be extricatedfrom water use; indeed, about 80% ofIndias fresh water is used for agriculture

(Bhaskar et al 315). A growing popula-tion is placing increasing stress on Indiaswater supply, a situation likely to be ex-acerberated by climate change. Accordingto the WorldWatch Institute, in India,

the demand for water in urban areas is ex-pected to double and industrial demand totriple by 2025, relative to 2006 (Lemmer

287).

Indias major water sources are rainfall

and the melting snows and glaciers of theHimalayasthese are what ultimatelyfeed the rivers, canals, and groundwater

tables (Bhaskar et al 312). Best management practices are undetermined; a heated debate overthe impact of deforestation on Himilayan water remains unresolved (Wasson). Furthermore,fresh water that moves through its cycle away from its sources does not always remain fresh; aportion suffers from urban and industrial pollution. According to a 2002 source, a staggering70% of the available water in India is polluted (Nagdeve 11).

Indias major river, the Ganges, long regarded as holy, is polluted with, among other things hu -man waste, garbage, industrial output, and human remains. Global warming also threatens theriver: the Himalayan glaciers that are the sources of the Ganges could disappear by 2030 (WaxPost). The degradation of the Ganges has become prototypical for an India that one analyst char-acterizes as replete with water bodies unfit even for bathing, recreation and other social usesthat Indians have been used to for thousands of year (Pachauri 705). Indeed, bodies of waterthroughout India face severe pollution. As of 1999, Nacharam Lake, in Andhra Pradesh, haddangerously high levels of barium, nickel, copper, and zinc (Govil et al 23), most likely fromnearby steel, chemical, and other industrial plants. However a plan to restore the lake, employingsewage treatment and diversion of industrial effluents, seems to have been effective (Hindu).

Water shortages, exasperated by intermittent droughts, are a recurring problem in India. Water isoften distributed by wells, with distribution determined locally according to land ownership:Property rights under the law entitle anyone to pump any amount of water from a well dug onhis own land, even if this reduces the water table below the reach of neighboring wells (Bhaskar

et al 316). The stage is set for a classic tragedy of the commons, in which individual short-term

Climate change could shrink the Ganges river by melting itsglacial source. This possibility threatens Varanessi, a 3,000-year-old city known as the Jerusalem of India.http://www.worldproutassembly.org/archives/2007/06/a_sacred_river.html


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benefit hurts the long-term needs of all. The problems are not severe everywhere, however. Forinstance, in the Gangetic plain it is estimated that less than 20 per cent of potentially useable

groundwater is currently drafted (Bhaskar et al 318).

To alleviate Indias looming water crisis, better governance is needed, with integration of local

and national policies. Unfortunately, governance is divided into at least four different centraldepartments responsible for water-related issues: the ministries of water resources, rural devel-opment, agriculture, and urban development (Bhaskar et al 321). A coherent policy is lacking,while divisions remain at national and local levels. Problems are likely to worsen if currentpractices remain in force, given the extent of pollution, waste and misuse of water, and the lackof incentives for efficient use and conservation (Bhaskar et al 326).

With poor implementation of national policies, local solutions and education may be one key totackling the looming water crisis and other environmental challenges. One economist believesthat, the failure of formal regulation to control pollution has highlighted the significance of in -formal regulation for achieving environmental goals (Kathuria 403).

One local solution occurred in Tumkur, Karnata, where the major water reservoir started to failin the 1990s. However, a local farmer and engineer, B. J. Kumara Swamy, implemented a num-ber of techniques, including rainwater harvesting, creation of ponds to contain run off, and con-servation measures, that have greatly improved the situation (Padre). Regarding the local farm-ers, Swamy exclaims, Many of them havent realised that groundwater decline and loss of top-soil is the root cause of our crisis. For them, this is destiny (Padre 46). Instead, Swamy isworking to educate farmers as to the long-term causes of the water crisis and what can be done toalleviate it.

A problem of the commons even more pervasive than water is the air. Like China, India has re-lied upon an old-fashioned, crude, and highly polluting energy infrastructure: direct combustionof large quantities of coal . . . and solid biomass such as fuelwood and agricultural wastes, bothof which tend to be burned inefficiently and with large amounts of pollution (Flavin & Gardner8). Coal releases large quantities of sulfur and nitrogen, major causes of cardiovascular and res-piratory diseases, chronic bronchitis, increased morbidity, etc."(Mukhopadyay et al 236).Although fossil fuel use has been far lower than in developed countries, it is increasing fast.Increased energy demands are mainly being met with coal plants, which release SO2 and otherpollutants. Furthermore, local energy use has been inefficient and unclean: The use of lowquality fuel, inefficient methods of energy production and use, the poor condition of vehicles andtraffic congestion are the major causes of increasing emission of gases that contain sulphur andnitrogen" (Mukhopadyay et al 243). Current and future trends indicate a rise in air pollution,suggesting the need for more aggressive policies (Mukhopadyay et al 246). Delhi, for instance,has been found to have two to three times the total suspended particulate level of developedcountries, harming long-term lung function (Chhabra et al).


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While the current outlook for Delhi may seem grim, it hasactually improved since the early 1990s, when it was judgedthe fourth most polluted city in the world. Much of this im-provement took place due to the authority of the IndianSupreme Court, which mandated actions to comply with

1980s laws which had not previously been enforced (Bell etal). Still, India is far behind developed countries in reducinglocal air pollution, and will probably remain so until moresystematic compliance mechanisms are developed.

On the broader level of global greenhouse gasses, Indiadischarges far less than China and the United States, butotherwise it is one of the major emitters. According to a

2002 source, India is the worlds sixth largest and second fastest growing producer ofgreenhouse gases (Nagdeve 3). A development much in recent news may accelerate theseemmisions. The Tata Nano, a tiny car produced in India and costing only $2,500, has made its

debut. For those in developed countries driving such a car, which gets 54 miles to the gallon,would seem environmentally conscientious (Renner). Yet should a large percentage of Indians,starting from a far lower individual environmental footprint, adopt the Nano, the result would bea noticeable uptick in global warming emissions. The Nano, then, raises crucial issues regardingthe rights of developed nations to reduce their greatly disproportionate use of the globalcommons, but also of developing nations to control their population and to seek alternativeavenues to development. Still, avoiding responsibility often seems the default option. Ininternational climate negotiation India and China plead that they are still developing and haverelatively low per capita emissions. Clearly, though, climate trends indicate the danger shouldIndia continue on the high-emissions route to development that was common in the 19 th and 20thcenturies.

Energy

Energy use is integrally connected to the environment, most obviously to air pollution. In India,coal is the primary energy source, supplying over half of total energy needs (U.S. Energy). Coal

is widely considered one of the dirtiest fuels; fur-thermore, the coal on which India relies, currentlysome 250 million tonnes per year (Anderson 262),is of low quality, thus contributing heavily toIndias poor air quality.

In return for its heavily polluting infrastructure,India receives a poor energy return. Its energy gridis intermittent and unreliable. The Economistsarcastically remarks, By tradition, Indians have

pretended to pay for their electricity and the

A maked traffic police officercontrols traffic during the rush houron Chowringhee, Calcutta (BikasDas/ AP Photo )http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3864621&page=1

A coal plant in Rajasthan, Indiahttp://www.industcards.com/st-coal-india.htm


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utilities have pretended to supply it. Black-outs and brown-outs are part of life.

Given such deficiencies, Indians continue to rely on such traditional fuels as wood, crop, anddung-cakes, which, besides contributing to local pollution, cause soil erosion and nutrient loss(Anderson 256). As automobile use becomes more widespread, oil use is rising; the International

Energy Agency expects India to be consuming 5.6 million barrels of oil per day in the year 2030(Pachauri 711). A growing reliance on automobiles means that India is certain to increase its oilimportation, despite unstable supply sources, while adding to local pollution as well as green-house gas emissions.

Natural gas is one energy option that is widely used in India. It is less polluting than either coalor oil. Currently, India is able to meet most of its natural gas needs, although increased importscan be expected in the future (U.S. Energy).

Conventional economic analysis of a normal path to growthknown as an environmentalKuznets curvesuggests that things will get worse, that growth will harm the environment until

the economy is developed enough to become more efficient. Yet the inevitability of such acourse is increasingly seen as outmoded thinking, particularly by sustainability advocates. Giventhat better technology and practices exist, they ask, why not use them as quickly as possible, andavoid the mistakes of the past?

Probably the brightest spot in Indias use of alternative

energy is the development of wind power.Implemented in part as a solution to Indias intermittentenergy grid, wind power use has risen dramatically.Not even in the top ten in 2002 (Bradsher), the Indianwind industry now ranks fourth in the world in marketshare (global wind 3). Suzlon, Indias largest windpower company, has risen to ranking 5th worldwide,

with 7.7%of the global market share in just over adecade (Suzlon).On a small scale, other experiments in renewableenergy are occuring. A United Nations program inKarnataka state has provided small loans for solarenergy systems, typically $300 to $500 for a system topower two to four small lights or appliances(Appropriate 11). These local systems replace kerosenelighting, widely used in India because of its unreliableelectricity grid, that emits harmful gases and soot. Thesolar program has already boosted local employmentand caused a 13-fold increase in the number of solarsystems financed in the pilot area (Appropriate 11).Another local alternative energy program, promulgatedby a Canadian NGO, involves biodiesel in the state of

Suzlon Energy wind farm, Khori: A father andson plow a field below wind turbines, anincreasing source of power in India.http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/business/worldbusiness/28wind.html


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Orissa. This particular biodiesel is produced from local oil seeds, making it inexpensive and easyto store. So far, it has been used in pumping water and home-lighting, and further uses andmeans of production are being explored (Vaidyanathan & Sankaranarayanan). Still, programssuch as these remain sporaidic and relatively isolated. Rather than an exotic option, they need tobecome commonplace to have a serious impact.

Given the weight of population and economic expansion, Indias environmental problems arealmost certain to get worse. For instance: it is estimated that if coal continues as the primaryfuel for power generation, the total annual consumption would reach 1400 million tonnes by themiddle of the century (Anderson 262, 3), over five times its current usage. The worst impacts ofsuch a scenario are unlikely, though. Clean coal strategies, for instance, could lessen harmfulemissions. Conservation and the use of alternative power might be better ways to alleviate thesituation. First, however, current policies must change since they provide perverse incentivesfor wasteful energy sources. Pauchauri, for instance, complains of subsidies that often did notreach the target for which they were designed (712). Similarly, Anderson argues that Indianeeds to introduce tax and regulatory incentives to support the development and use of

[alternative] technologies. Elimination of the subsidies for coal, hydro schemes, nuclear power,and rural electrification would also facilitate the emergence of renewable energy technologies(273).

Governance

Regarding the environment (and many other things), all of the technology and knowhow in theworld is useless without strong implementation of policies. In many ways, India should be poisedfor an effective environmental governance program. According to the World Bank, India has astrong environment policy and legislative framework and well-established institutions at the na-tional and State [sic] level (2007, 7). Furthermore, democratic countries with strong publicparticipation are often considered best at identifying and reacting to environmental problems.And, Indias growing prosperity is leading to an increase in public demand for better

environmental quality from the growing andincreasingly assertive urban middle class, asdemonstrated by drastic measures toimprove air quality in Delhi, which now hasthe largest compressed natural gas-drivenpublic bus fleet in the world (World Bank,

9).

Despite the advantages of a functionaldemocracy in the sense of holding regular

elections, India lacks other widespreadmechanisms for public participation.Poverty is one encumbrance to having alarge, vocal public effectively able to makeits needs known; combined with this is a

A village community and Forest Department staff discussforest management plans: Datanpalli village, Andhrapradeshhttp://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTPRRS/EXTTROPICALFOREST/0,,contentMDK:21095604~menuPK:3071045~pagePK:64168098~piPK:64168032~theSitePK:2463874,00.html


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lack of technological infrastructure. Moreover, barriers of distance, language, literacy, and con-nectivityall the factors of particular relevance to India due to the remoteness of many habita-tions, multiple languages, and significant illiterate population can also prevent full participa-tion (World Bank 2007 23). In addition, corruption (often in the form of kickbacks to govern-ment officials) is seen as strongly hindering the implementation of environmental policies.

According to one commentator, Indian democracy permits great freedom of activity and asso-ciation, and the pursuit of ddifferent ideas and interests. But rules and laws in this democracy areviolated, or manipulated, perhaps as often as they are obeyed (Kapoor 637).

Thus, the tension is growing between increased demands for environmental protection and lackof implementation. The World Bank sees a growing dissatisfaction with the state of environ-mental management in India by an increasingly vocal, active and impatient 'green' constituency.Some successes notwithstanding, the situation on the ground is considered inadequate by a broadvariety of stakeholders. Much of the problem is credited to weak implementation of laws andregulations (World Bank, 2007, 12).

One crucial instrument of environmental policy is Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)which analyzes the likely impact of various actions on the environment. EIAs originated in theUnited States in 1969 and have become one of the most successful legal mechanisms for pro-tecting the environment globally (Lemmer 276). At the heart of EIA is public participation, thebelief that local people know best their own needs and understand the impact of environmentaldegradation upon their lives. With its democratic traditions, India would seem well poised to en-act EIA. Yet, local participation is limited; furthermore, like China, India's short-term economicgrowth often depends on ineffective local enforcement of environmental laws. In practice, eco-nomic growth is often seen as trumping environmental concerns.

Still, India has strong basic laws in place protecting the environment. Following the Bhopaldisaster of 1984, when more than 2,000 people died and tens of thousands were injured by the

accidental release of poisonous gas from a pes-ticide plant, the country enacted new environ-mental laws. In 1986, the Environmental (Pro-tection) Act aimed at protecting and improv-ing the quality of the environment and pre-venting, controlling and abating environmentalpollution (Lemmer 296). In 1994, theMinistry of Environment and Forests (MoEF),Indias main environmental agency, enactedEIA to strengthen environmental protection.Initially, protection was weak, failing to covernumerous activities such as deforestation andwaste disposal (Lemmer 296) and lacking inpublic participation. The law has beenamended, however, to strengthen these areas.

A leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas the UnionCarbide Pesticide Factory at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh,caused one of the worst industrial disasters in historyhttp://www.themronline.com/200606m1.html


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Complicating matters is that India has often proved unable to enforce environmental policythrough government institutions, leading to litigation as a primary means of enforcement. In1985, the Indian Supreme Court ordered the closing of limestone quarries that were harming thewater supply, setting a strong precedent. Consequently, In most countries, the courts have beenviewed as a last resort in resolving environmental conflicts. In India, however, it has often be-

come the first resort because of the perceived inabilities or lack of political will of the regulatoryagencies to enforce environmental laws and regulations (World Bank 19). Another alternativeused in India is informal regulation in which social pressures, such as negative media coverageor direct community action, enforce local environmental goals. Mechanisms of informal regula-tion include demands for compensation by community groups, social ostracism of the pollutingfirm's employees, the threat of physical violence, and efforts to monitor and publicise the firm'semissions/discharges (Kathuria 404). Such tactics, while they may catch some of the worst of-fenders when it comes to local pollution, are obviously piecemeal. They do not offer a substitutefor an effectively policed governance regime.

While poverty, weak institutions, and corruption

can hinder environmental laws, some critics pointto a very different impediment Globalization, theybelieve, has spurred pressure from internationalbusiness to lower environmental standards. Van-dana Shiva, for instance, argues that the movementof water rights from small farmers to corporationsleads to over-exploitation and misuse of water,since those who deplete water resources do nothave to suffer the consequences of water scarcity(717). Similarly, Coca Cola has faced charges thatits operations have led to local groundwater short-ages (Kysar 2110). Critics see a conflict betweenlocal rights and international business, or evenmore broadly competing theoretical conceptions of sustainable development and market liber-alism (Kysar 2114). This analysis is probably simplistic. Clearly, corporations have done muchto harm the environment, yet increasingly they are working toward green soluti ons, partlythrough a feeling of moral obligation and even more through self-interest. Corporations, as wellas local practices, can be both part of the problem and part of the solution. Integrating these vari-ous levels is a function of social expectations and of governance.

Many critics of Indias current environmental policy advocate local solutions, often arguing thatstrong local governances and practices will tackle justice and environmental issues simultane-ously. Yet, in a globalized world such solutions, while laudatory, can only be partial. Globaltechnology sharing, for instance, is crucial, but localities will often resist new technology. Theparadox is that economic growth should provide a growing population with an improved stan-dard of living, yet environmental stress needs to simultaneously lessen. Social expectations re-garding quality of life are certainly important, yet, given Indias dilemma, these must be imple -mented in concert with technological change. As Dennis Anderson explains, the technologies

Transport in Mumbai, Maharashtra (formerlyknown as Bombay)http://envis.maharashtra.gov.in/envis_data/?q

=node/685


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are available to reduce and sometimes eliminate pollution at costs that are small in relation tooutput (259). Wind and solar power, biofuels, and rain catching are just a few of these. Identi-fying the government agencies responsible for encouraging (or mandating) these technologies ispart of the governance riddle. Tax policy, for instance, could end its subsidy of oil and coal andencourage the use of renewable energy.

If Indias growing economy still produces less pollutionand certainly fewer global warmingemissionsthan either China or the United States, its swelling population makes it an object ofspecial global concern. Still, technology, good governance, and social practices offer at least thepossibility of an escape from the seeming trap of growing population, growing expectations, andenvironmental degradation. As Tim Dyson, Robert Cassen, and Leela Visaria conclude, even ifthe population grows to 1.5 billion people India can become a more prosperous country, withless poverty and better health and education, and a better conserved environment (14).Of course, stabilizing the population at or below 1.5 billion is itself a challenge. And, finding theright balance between a modernist ethos of growth and technological change and an ethic ofsustainability, which itself might draw on Indias Hindu belief in moderation, will not be easy.

Yet great challenges may bring great opportunities; if India can achieve the right mixture to helpitself, it might also act as a leader in a new world facing unprecedented environmental threats. AsFlavin and Gardner argue, China, India, and the United States have a special responsibility to

avoid a new round of self-defeating great power competition and to instead cooperate on creatinga better future (22).

References

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Documents

Inda and the Path to Environmental Sustainability