Author: Akshay Shandilya, Research Associate
“The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men ((Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love Ch. 7. (1963).)).”
Deliberations over degrading environment have the capacity of attracting masses. Be it a television program or a public debate, one can see everyone around him/her bickering as to how contaminated their surroundings are. This is amusing to note as about fifty percent of those detractors unconsciously contribute to the mess by not making use of garbage bins and not recycling and reusing items in their daily lives. But let us confront ourselves with the basic truth here: our environment is at a critical stage; and it would be wrong to put the blame on industries alone for this condition. Social aspects such as population explosion are equal violators of the environment. This article, however, does not pick on the infringers but treads on a very thin line i.e. the divide between environment conservation and economic development. It assists its readers in understanding the fundamentals and facts of the ongoing debate and attempts to create a more enlightened readership. It ends nonetheless by enumerating solutions and pointing the way forward.
Tracing the Concern
The issue is not new to the society and it has its roots in the second and third industrial revolutions back in the early 20th century when the manufacturing sector skyrocketed establishing chimneys and letting out tonnes of effluents. Man’s scientific knowledge knew no bounds and to realize its full potential it encroached heavily upon nature; so much so that it was only in 1972 that global concern for environmental problems found itself on the agenda at the United Nations Convention on the Human Environment (UNCHE), held in Stockholm, Sweden. At the conference India shared the view with other developing states that environmental problems are mainly due to lack of development rather than excessive development. Thus, every Government in the world, in the process of development should encourage the establishment of industries to eradicate poverty, malnutrition, unemployment etc. At the same time, the process of development should be designed in such a way that it should not result in environmental pollution. This principle later came to be known as ‘sustainable development’ ((More commonly, sustainable development is defined as a course of development by means of which needs of the present generation are secured without compromising the future ones. The Brundtland Commission Report in 1987 defined sustainable development for the first time.)).
Sustainable Development is the Answer
Sustainable development is an ideal concept. It includes within itself the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs ((World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), Our common future, 41 (1987), http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf. The report is alternatively known as ‘Brundtland Report’.)). Notwithstanding the numerous definitions and interpretations of sustainable development all of them require that we see the world as a system—a system that connects space; and a system that connects time ((What is sustainable development, International Institute for Sustainable Development, http://www.iisd.org/sd/ (last visited July 03, 2013).)). It is necessary a mechanism which needs to be laid over a long term. It requires that societies meet human needs both by increasing productive potential and by ensuring equitable opportunities for all ((WECD, supra note 3, at 42.)). By undertaking this scheme economic growth would still very much be viable but would also keep a check on overutilization of the available resources.
Contemporary Issues: An Indian Update
Even after four decades of UNCHE it is pertinent to note that we are miles away from realizing sustainable development in its real sense.
It is clear that the devastation caused by the flash floods and landslides in Uttarakhand was at least in part due to environmental degradation of fragile mountain slopes and reckless commercialization ((Subodh Varma, Weeks before floods, Uttarakhand CM opposed green norms, The Times of India, New Delhi, Jun 27, 2013, http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-27/india/40232198_1_cm-vijay-bahuguna-uttarakhand-cm-green-norms. (Last visited July 4, 2013).)). It is for this reason that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) summoned the Ministry of Environment and Forest and the state government, to give details of upcoming projects pending clearance in the state and their ecological and environmental impact ((Uttarakhand floods: Green tribunal notice to MoEF, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, July 03, 2013, http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Uttarakhand/Uttarakhand-floods-Green-tribunal-notice-to-MoEF/Article1-1086075.aspx. (last updated July 03, 2013).)). On the other hand Bhutan, which is at the eastern end of Himalayas, has a carefully calibrated index of development, where economic needs, culture and environment are all taken into account and it can evidently serve as a role model for India ((Fatima Najm, Bhutan’s Happy Balance, The Times of India Crest Ed., June 29, 2013, http://www.timescrest.com/coverstory/bhutans-happy-balance-10606. (last visited July 04, 2013).)).
Not so long ago environmentalists hailed the government’s rejection of Vedanta’s bauxite mining project in Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills, saying the decision was in favor of the poor tribal communities residing there ((Indo-Asian News Service, Environmentalists hail rejection of Vedanta mining project, Deccan Herald, Aug. 24, 2010, http://www.deccanherald.com/content/91072/environmentalist-hail-rejection-vedanta-mining.html. (last visited July 04, 2013).)). However, critics of this decision argued otherwise. If Vedanta had succeeded in bringing schools, hospitals and employment to Kalahandi, it would have transformed the bleak, hopeless lives of those who live here ((Tavleen Singh, Politics pollutes the environment, The Indian Express, Aug. 29, 2010, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/politics-pollutes-the-environment/673939/. (last visited July 04, 2013).)).
Lately the POSCO steel plant in Odisha, India’s biggest foreign direct investment (FDI), is facing the axe. The NGT in March 2012, suspended environment clearance for the project and asked the ministry to review it saying that the ministry had failed to deal with major environmental concerns while speeding the clearance ((Deforestation for Posco plant halted in Odisha, Hindustan Times, May 29, 2013, http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Deforestation-for-Posco-plant-halted-in-Odisha/Article1-1067595.aspx. (last updated May 29, 2013).)). Two months back it halted cutting of trees to acquire land for the plant saying that it was in violation of law.
Sterlite-run copper smelter in Tuticorin, which produces 400,000 tonnes of copper every year, was ordered to shut in March this year by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) after the alleged leak of noxious sulphur dioxide gas ((Neha Sethi, Sterlite’s Tuticorin copper smelter gets interim relief, Live Mint, May 31 2013, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/p2Tq9gBX0wcwAz7K1a2koI/Sterlites-Tuticorin-copper-smelter-to-resume-production.html. (last updated June 01, 2013).)). The Apex Court has allowed it to operate until the second week of July when experts are supposed to submit their report.
Looking at these projects from a developmental perspective, had Vedanta succeeded in making aluminum close to a bauxite source, as it had planned in Odisha, world prices of aluminum could have fallen by half and India could have become an important aluminum producer ((Tavleen, supra note 10.)). The POSCO plant in Odisha is expected to create 48,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region in addition to large scale infrastructure development in the country ((Benefits, POSCO India, http://posco-india.com/website/project/benefits.htm. (last visited July 04, 2013).)). The shutdown of Sterlite’s smelter had squeezed domestic supply and boosted imports.
The Land Acquisition Predicament
It is easier for industries to set up plants in areas from where they can easily access the raw materials. More often these sites are located at great distances from major cities. So the urban population has tended to turn a deaf ear to the issues associated with industrialization. It is the rural people, or the people who are pressurized to give away their land to the lucrative corporations, who are aggrieved the most by such projects. Land acquisitions for such projects are often met by claims from people for enhancement of compensation. The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill mandates a compensation package of four times the market price in case of rural areas in addition to the fact that consent of 80 per cent of the displaced people will be required in case of acquisition of land for use by private companies or public private partnerships along with Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports which are compulsory. Furthermore purchase of large pieces of land by private companies would also require provision of rehabilitation and resettlement which may also include employment in the projects ((See Legislative Brief-The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, PRS Legislative Research, http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Land%20and%20R%20and%20R/LARR%20-%20Final%20Brief.pdf. (last visited July 04, 2013).)).
The Verdict
The current debate concerning development versus environment is premised on the fatal assumption that the two are in contradiction with each other. The industrialized world’s emphasis on green issues holds back developing countries as this is seen as interference in their affairs. It also contributes to a greater divide between the First and Third worlds ((The term “First World” refers to so called developed, capitalist, industrial countries. “Third World” is often used to roughly describe the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. See First, Second and Third World, http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/third_world_countries.htm (last visited July 03, 2013).)). Consider Kyoto Protocol for an example. The United States of America pushed other countries into ratifying the treaty but it never did the same and only signed it. Before the Protocol was agreed on, the US Senate passed the Byrd-Hagel Resolution unanimously disapproving of any international agreement that “would seriously harm the economy of the United States ((Byrd-Hagel Resolution, July 25, 1997, 105th Congress, 1st Session, S. Res. 98 [Report No. 105-54], http://www.nationalcenter.org/KyotoSenate.html (last visited July 03, 2013).)).” With developed nations shying away from such commitments it is confusing to note why developing countries should throw away the chance of securing a better future. In tribal areas where development has failed to reach, often the only means of survival is what they call ‘slash and burn agriculture’. This method involves burning down forests for fuel and food which is clearly not eco-friendly. Industrialization
Inevitable instead of banning projects essential to development, perhaps more focus should be spend on developing an environmental policy that would allow development and yet improve the environment ((Tavleen, supra note 10.)). Special reference can be made to Centre’s notification that all new government and PSU buildings will have to mandatorily comply with new green rating norms to tackle climate change threats ((All new buildings of government and PSUs will have to comply with the requirement of at least 3 star rating under the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA). The rating system is devised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).)).
Dr. Manmohan Singh, the incumbent Prime Minister of India, emphatically stated that environmental concerns must not be taken so far that they end development. Environmental governance shall keep a check on economic development and vice versa. The idea is to strike a perfect balance. There shall emerge no single victor. Developing countries might never advance if environment is given the edge. There shall be equal opportunities for all while ensuring that we do not compromise our future existence. India as a developing country shall accede to implement the policy of sustainable development in all its schemes. Economic growth does entail some degree of environmental damage and India cannot afford to ban exploitation of minerals if it wishes to develop, the only limitation being utilization of natural resources to sustainable levels.