Global Environmental Change: India's Response and Initiatives N.R. Nijhawan Copyright 1993 N.R Nijhawan. All rights reserved. For information contact the author. The author is Head of the ICSSR Data Archives in his capacity as Executive Director, Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi, India. Views expressed in this paper are those of the author and not of the organization to which the author belongs. The environmental scene in India today is one of hope as well as concern. The positive aspect is that the country is still one of the richest in the world in biological diversity and natural habitats. With its geographic, climatic and biological diversity, India has a unique environmental heritage. India represents almost all types of habitats of the world - ranging from the snow clad peaks of the Himalayas to the hot Rann of Kutch, from the deserts of Rajasthan to the tropical ever green forests of Kerala and the north-east, innumerable mountain ranges, plateaus, wetlands, river systems, coastal areas and the oceans. The Indian tradition of love, respect and reverence for nature handed down the ages, becoming an integral part of the Indian psyche, has also contributed to the rich biological diversity of the country. The images of rhino, elephant, bull etc. found on Indus Valley seals speak of the sense of human fascination for wildlife during that period. Historically conservation of biological diversity was an ardent article of faith in India. This faith was reflected in daily lives of people and also enshrined in myths, folklore, religion, art and culture. Considerable importance was attached to mountains and rivers in ancient India. Himalayas have been considered the abode of the God, where many pilgrimage spots exists even today. Rivers are worshipped and are considered to be the manifestations of Hindu goddesses. Despite this rich heritage, and traditional wisdom of protecting nature, destruction of environment in India today is acquiring alarming proportions, and has become a matter of concern and debate. The concern arises from the environmental degradation that the country has suffered so far due to human pressure and over exploitation of resources in order to meet the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, work, education and ensuring better quality of life of the people. Development based on utilization of natural resources, the pressure of population, and the poverty of people which makes them directly dependent on natural resources has taken a heavy toll on environmental assets. There has been a considerable degree of deforestation, depletion of wildlife, degradation of land, soil erosion and pollution of the air and water. The threat posed by continuing environmental degradation is no longer hypothetical, and it has serious economic and social implications for the future.Initiatives taken by the Government India is one of the few nations in the world to have positively responded to the global concern for survival of the Earth System and given priority to environmental protection. The attention of the Government to deal with environmental issues can be attributed to the U.N. sponsored meeting on 'Environment' held at Stockholm in 1972. It was, however, towards the beginning of 1980 that the Government took certain bold initiatives to deal with series of environmental issues; the most significant among these in Governmental action which lead to the formation of a full- fledged Ministry of Environment and Forests. As a nodal agency in the administrative structure of the Central Government, the Ministry has formulated environmental policies including legislative measures and started a number of projects aimed towards environmental protection through out the country. The most significant programme initiated by the Central Government include conservation and survey of flora, fauna, forests and wildlife, prevention and control of pollution, afforestation, and regeneration of degraded areas and protection of environment, environmental impact assessment, eco-regeneration, enactment of environmental legislation, and creation of environmental awareness among all sectors of the country's population. Some of the significant programmes [1] initiated by the Government in protecting the environment deserve a special mention: The Natural Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development covering various environmental concern and action points has been adopted by the Government of India in June, 1992. The policy document has enlisted the specific requirements for environmental orientation needed for sustainable development in some key sectors -agriculture, irrigation, animal husbandry, forestry, energy, transportation and human settlements. The Forest Survey of India (FSI) has been set up to survey national forest resources and to assess the extent of forest cover and monitor broad changes in forest vegetation cover of the country by using multi- satellite data. Using remote sensing technology, the FSI has brought under the forest cover about 20 per cent of the total geographical area of the country. The Forest (conservation) Act, 1980 has been enacted to check diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes. This Act was amended in 1988 to make it more stringent. Currently the protected area under the National Wildlife Action Plan comprises 75 National Parks and 42 Wildlife Sanctuaries covering an area of over 140 thousand Sq. Kms. Environmental Impact Assessment has been made a statutory requirement for all developmental projects. The environmental clearance to development projects is subject to implementation of stipulated safeguards under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Annual environmental audit has been made mandatory for all industries applying for environmental clearance. A National River Action Plan has been prepared for reducing the pollution load and improving the quality of water of major rivers of the country. The detailed pollution load surveys of polluted stretches of twenty six rivers have been undertaken for this purpose and action initiated to check further pollution of these rivers. Action has already begun to reduce the pollution load of river Ganga. Recently, the Apex Court of the country has ordered immediate closure of 190 industrial units situated on the banks of river Ganga for their failure to install effective treatment plants to check pollution in the holy river [2]. To check industrial pollution the Central Pollution Control Board has identified seventeen categories of highly polluting industries and initiated steps to adopt self- monitoring depending upon the pollutant load and regular review of the actions taken by the polluting industries. To check air pollution mass emission standards for petrol and diesel driven vehicles have been laid down for compliance for vehicles manufactured in future. The National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board has been constituted for promoting afforestation, tree planting, ecological restoration and eco-development activities of the country, with special focus on the degraded forest areas, national parks, sanctuaries and ecologically fragile areas in the Western Himalayas, Aravallis, Western Ghats, etc. A network of Environmental Information System (ENVIS), with its focal point in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, has been created for information collection, collation, storage and dissemination in environment related areas. The network at present consists of 17 subject oriented centres engaged in developing relevant databases. A list of existing ENVIS centres is given at annexure. An ambitious National Environmental Database is currently being developed by the National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies (an organization financially supported by the government) to collate data on air and water pollution and other environment related parameters from several hundreds of monitoring stations run by the Pollution Control Boards and integrate these data with images sent by the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite to identify sources of pollution, determine the impact of specific polluter in a given situation, and help policy planners and administrators to take speedy decisions and remedial actions on pollution and other environmental issues. People's Response to Environmental Issues There is also a growing people's response to environmental issues. Public environmental awareness and consciousness campaign has gathered momentum in the recent past due to the efforts of the government addressed to environmental issues such as afforestation, eco-regeneration and pollution control. A large number of schools and colleges, women and youth organizations, and other voluntary activist groups receive financial assistance from the government for organizing seminars, rallies, public meetings, exhibitions, tree plantation drives and various other activities concerning environment protection. The environmental awareness campaign is largely addressed to students and youth, teachers, women, tribals, voluntary workers, administrators and the general public. Efforts are being made to produce and provide low cost teaching aids and basic environment educational material to orient the teachers on environmental issues. The government also provides financial assistance for setting up eco-clubs in schools and preparation of instructional packages and bringing out publications on environment and ecology for school children. A number of documentary films and cinema slides on environment related topics have been produced to promote public awareness on environmental issues. The national press is also playing a critical role in this respect. Even a cursory glance on the headlines of national dailies is sufficient to convince of the importance being given to environment issues in the country, and of the role of the press in promoting public awareness. Role of NGOS and Voluntary Activist Groups A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other voluntary groups have also been quite active and vocal on environment related issues [3]. One finds mass movements in various parts of the country from Himalayan Valley to the present Narmada Andolan. As a result of the efforts of NGOs and voluntary activist groups, a vibrant popular environmental movements is emerging at the national level. In early 1980's the 'Chipko' movement was started in Himalayan foothill region to protest against deforestation. The movement accomplished checking large scale destruction of trees what legislations were unable to achieve. A similar movement called 'Appico' was started by activist groups in North Karnataka in South India in 1983. The activists organized public meetings, street plays, village-fairs, ecology training camps, campaign marches to mobilize public support to check illicit trade carried on by contractors in collusion with officials of the Forest Department. Similar organized responses of the people have been mobilized by activists in other parts of the country. Environmental Hazards Created by Mega Dams After India's independence, a large number of dams have been built across major rivers in the country. India has over 2200 big dams at present. In addition, there are several thousand small dams. The explicit objective of these dams are irrigation, hydroelectricity, flood control and employment generation. However, ever since the World Bank committed itself to offer loan for the Sardar Sarover Project on the Narmada River, attention has been drawn by environmentalist non-government organizations to its devastating consequences. The construction of this dam, which was accorded conditional environmental clearance, and is in progress, is likely to displace a very large number of residents and submerge nearly 250 villages in the Narmada Valley. A number of studies undertaken during the last few years, including one conducted by the World Bank, point to harmful effects of such mega projects. Soil erosion, siltation, water logging, submergence of forests and displacement of the people and rehabilitation are the most significant among them. Massive earthquake in Tehri-Garhwal region in the foothills of Himalayas in 1991 has also given rise to fresh apprehensions regarding safety of Tehri- Dam Project due to its location in highly seismic and geologically weak area. Many environmentalists have called for a thorough review of the Tehri-Dam Project from the stand point view of environmental safety. The ecology movements emerging from conflicts over wanton exploitation of resources and peoples' assertion to their right to survival are gaining momentum in India. Sustainable Development The Indian development process has hitherto proceeded at a great human and environmental cost. It is only in the recent years in India, as in the rest of the world, that environmental concerns have begun to be articulated more and more clearly. Recent ecological critiques of development strategy in India have highlighted the need for striking a balance between utilization of natural resources and ecological restoration and conservation. Indiscreet exploitation of non-renewable resources like fossil fuels and minerals can lead to depletion of resources that are not easily substitutable. Exploitation of the renewable resources like land, forests, water and marine life beyond a limit tend to threaten particularly the very survival of the poor. There is, therefore, a growing awareness and a shift from the notion of economic development to that of ecologically sustainable development[4]. While science and technology goes on enlarging the space of human activity in order to satisfying their ever growing needs, the nature and ecology impose restrictions on the extent to which this activity can be extended, without jeopardizing their own future [5]. India, like the rest of the world, is full of paradoxes - - of over production and scarcity, of affluence and extreme poverty, of proliferation of commodities and shrinkages in nature's diversity. Most of these paradoxes and contradictions are arising as a sequel of large scale industrialization and rapacious consumerism largely imitated from the West. It is now realized that it is the poor who bear the brunt of ecological degradation, while fruits of development planning and progress are usurped by the affluent sections of the Society. For instance, mega dams and excessive commercialization of forests apart from accelerating ecological degradation have led to uprooting large majority of the poor and tribal population directly dependent on forests who in the process have been marginalised and deprived of their means of sustenance for food, fuel, fodder and green manure etc. Large communities of fishermen are agitating against mechanized fishing which is adversely affecting their livelihood. It is these sections of the poor who are now asserting their right of survival and are questioning the old paradigm of development. The ecological movements emanating from conflicts over management of natural resources have raised fundamental issues about strategies of development and choice of technologies. However, the hope lies in the critical inputs provided by social scientists, environmentalists and grass-root level organizations coupled with the recent initiatives taken by the Government, and progresses made in the country during the last few years. These developments do indicate a growing concern on the part of the Government to strike a balance between environmental conservation and human welfare, and to look for alternate strategies for sustainable development. Notes and References 1. For more details about these and various other environment related programmes, see, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, Annual Report 1992-93. 2. The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, September 18, 1993. 3. A directory giving useful details of the activities of 285 NGOs or Voluntary groups engaged in the fields of ecology- environment and related aspects has been recently compiled by the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. See, Mafdhu Mishra, Director of Voluntary & other Organizations on Environment Study, Calcutta (mimeo). 4 This point has been well argued by a number of scholars during a seminar on Environment and Sustainable Development in India organized by the Indian Council of Social Science Research in February, 1993 held at Jaipur, India. For a lucid paper based on the discussions during this seminar, has been prepared by Indra Munshi Saldanha, "Environment and Sustainable Development in India: The Indian Perspective" (Unpublished). 5 See for instance D.N. Dhanagare, "Sustainable Development, Environment and Social Science Research in India", IFSSO, Newsletter, 27 & 28,1992,p.39. Similar position has been taken by a number of other scholars in the seminar on Environment and Sustainable Development in India, op.cit. APPENDIX ENVIS Centres Institution Area 1. Central Pollution Board Control of Pollution (Water parivesh Bhawan, Delhi. and Air) 2. Industrial Toxicology Toxic Chemicals Research Centre, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 3. Development Alternatives Environmentally Sound and New Delhi. Appropriate Technologies. 4. Centre for Environmental Biodegradation of Wastes Studies, College of Engineering, and Environmental Impact Madras, Tamil Nadu. Assessment. 5. Tata Energy Research Institute Renewable Energy and (TERI) New Delhi. Environment. 6. Centre for Ecological Western Ghats and Sciences, Indian Institute of Biological Diversity. Science, Bangalore, Karnataka. 7. World Wide Fund for Nature- Non-Government Organisations, India, New Delhi. Medi and Parliament Matters related to Environment. 8. Environmental Plannin gnad Environmental Management Coordination Organisation related to the State of (EPCO) Paryavaran Parisar Madhya Pradesh. Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. 9. Dept. of Geo-Engineering Eastern Ghats and Research Development Technology College of Engineering, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. 10.National Institute of Occupational Health Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 11.Central Arid Zone Research Desertification Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 12.Centre for Advanced Studies Mangroves, Estuaries in Marine Biology, Lagoons and Carol Reefs. Annamalai University, Parangipettai, Tamil Nadu. 13.Centre for Environment Environmental Education Education (CEE), Nehru Foundation for Development, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 14.Zoological Survey of India Animal Ecology Calcutta, West Bangal. 15.Indian School of Mines, Environmental Problems of Dhanbad, Bihar. Mining. 16.National Environmental Solid Wastes including Engineering Research Hazardous Wastes. Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, Maharashtra. 17.G. B. Pant. Inst. of Himalayan Ecology Himalayan Environment and Development, Kosi- Katarmal, Uttar Pradesh.