India at 75 | retreat from the ecological abyss

Stick it Silent Valley. Narmada. Cuckoo – do it. Growing up in the 1970s and early 1980s, many of us who were passionate about environmental issues were inspired by these and other movements. As the government also responded with a series of laws and policies related to forests, wildlife, the environment, it was expected that India would be able to balance its development needs with the sustenance of its ecological foundations. As India celebrates the 75th anniversary of independence, is this hope alive?

an earth in tension

The prospects today seem far more bleak than in the 1980s. Four hundred and eighty million Indians face some of the world’s most extreme air pollution levels. According to the NITI Aayog, “600 million people in India face extreme water stress… About 70% of the water is contaminated; India ranks 120 out of 122 countries in the water quality index. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation, land Erosion and desertification are taking over 30% of our land. The average level of land productivity is a quarter or one-fifth of what it could be; Pumping in artificial fertilizers restores little, but has the potential to push soil to death At a cost. Foods in most cities contain pesticide residues far above human safety levels. The World Bank – partly responsible for pushing India down unsustainable paths – reported in 2013 that India was causing environmental damage to GDP. The latest global environmental ranking by Yale and Columbia Universities puts India at the bottom of 180 countries; while flawed in many respects, including how it lets rich countries off the hook, Yet it reflects what is happening on the ground.

In favor of corporate reach

All this evidence has still not entered the minds of politicians and economists who set development priorities. The passion for economic development – ​​despite growing evidence that GDP is a very poor indicator of human well-being – treats the natural environment (and associated livelihoods) as fodder for exploitation. Despite public attitudes about the Sustainable Development Goals, the natural elements without which we would all die – land, water, biodiversity, air – are ignored or crushed.

In fact, the government is phasing out environmental and social security policies in favor of corporate access to land and natural resources, such as the latest proposals to amend forest and environmental laws and the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification. Its priority programs include building physical infrastructure on a large scale that only disrupts the natural infrastructure we desperately need to protect. For example, the budget for 2022-23 has an allocation for highways which is 40 times more than the budget of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change alone. What is the use of faster and faster mobility if at the end of the journey we still have air and water and food that are killing us?

Given the optimistic signs of the 1970s and 1980s, how did we get to this point? in our book earth churning, Asim Srivastava and I analyzed a turning point in detail – the economic ‘reform’ that began in 1991. With greater integration into the global economy, the entry of multinational (and large Indian) corporations in every sector, and increased exports of natural materials and imports of toxic waste, the issue of environmental sustainability was drawn back into the background. Mining projects moved into previously protected areas, including wildlife protected areas and tribal areas, the oceans became a target for major commercial extraction (and will be even more so with the new Deep Ocean Mission), and large infrastructure became a sacred mantra. .

While wildlife and biodiversity have been the major victims, there are also serious socio-cultural costs. More than 60 million people have been physically displaced by ‘development’ projects with very poor (if any) resettlement in the past few decades, and according to the pre-planning commission, a disproportionately high percentage of these are Adivasis and Dalits . Ironically, a component of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) is new coal mining in central India, displacing already self-sufficient tribal communities and making them dependent on government and corporations. .

extreme events

The climate crisis has seriously complicated all of this. This year’s extremely hot summer should be a warning, even though we have yet to learn from past events of extreme temperatures, erratic rainfall, cloudbursts and cyclones. In recent visits to Ladakh, I learned that many villages (such as in Zanskar) are being abandoned due to water scarcity due to receding glaciers. a Lancet Planet Health The journal article said extreme temperatures in India are responsible for an additional 7,40,000 deaths annually. Most of these are likely to be labourers, farmers and other vulnerable sections, who have to work, live and commute in these temperatures without access to air conditioning, suitable clothing etc. And we are not ready at all. Low budget for optimization measures. The Climate Action Plan got only Rs 30 crore in the budget for 2022-23.

enable stability

So, India’s biggest challenge: Can ecological sustainability be ensured while creating livelihood security and dignity for over a billion people? Answers exist in thousands of initiatives across the country, as documented in the Vikalp Sangam process. Five thousand Dalit women farmers of Deccan Development Society have demonstrated how organic, rainfed farming along with traditional seed diversity can provide complete food security and sovereignty.

Several hundred handloom weavers in Kutch (Gujarat) have demonstrated how prestigious, creative livelihoods can be revived based on organic black cotton and a blend of traditional and new skills. In fact, India’s crafts have sustained several hundred million people in the past, and may do so again if in textiles, footwear, cleaning agents, ships, pottery, furniture, architecture and construction, technologies related to water. Incredible traditional and new skills, and a range of household items are prioritized. Community-led ecotourism, such as homestays in Uttarakhand and Ladakh and Sikkim, have increased incomes with ecologically sensitive travel. Community protected areas show a democratic approach to wildlife conservation that is very different from the top-down ‘protected area’ model. As advocated by the United Nations Environment Programme, public transport, organic farming, land and water regeneration, renewable energy, community health, eco-friendly construction, eco-tourism, and small-scale manufacturing can significantly increase job creation. Huh. There is also a lot of potential for linking programs like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to activities in some states.

need, a mobilization

Such an orientation requires a fundamental restructuring of the economy and governance. This would mean moving away from large infrastructure and industrialization, replacing mega-corporations with producer cooperatives, ensuring community rights over the ‘commons’ (land, water, forest, coast, knowledge), and direct decision-making powers. Gram Sabha and urban areas meetings while tackling gender and caste inequalities. It will respect both human rights and the rights of nature. But since this would inevitably (and desirable) cut into the profits and consumerism of India’s ultra-rich, and reduce the centralized power of the state, it would not be through mere government action. This requires a mass mobilization of industrial workers, farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, herders, urban and rural youth, women from all walks of life, ‘disabled’ and LGBTQ, and wildlife speakers, all of whom are prominently represented by the elite. are on the margins. , Only then will India end its centenary of independence as a nation that has achieved real welfare – a real ‘elixir’ and not the enticing but poisonous fantasy promised by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2022-23 Budget speech Is.

Ashish Kothari is with Kalpavriksha, Pune. views expressed are personal