ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1 162 INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT After studying this chapter, the learners will understand the concept of ENVIRONMENT analyse the causes and effects of environmental degradation and resourcedepletion understand the nature of environmental challenges facing India relate environmental issues to the larger context of ANDSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT92022-23163 ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE INTRODUCTIONIn the earlier chapters we havediscussed the main economic issuesfaced by the Indian economy. Theeconomic DEVELOPMENT that we haveachieved so far has come at a very heavyprice at the cost of environmentalquality.

2 As we step into an era ofglobalisation that promises highereconomic growth, we have to bear inmind the adverse consequences of thepast developmental path on ourenvironment and consciously choose apath of SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . Tounderstand the unsustainable path ofdevelopment that we have taken andthe challenges of sustainabledevelopment, we have to firstunderstand the significance andcontribution of ENVIRONMENT toeconomic DEVELOPMENT . With this inmind, this chapter is divided into threesections. The first part deals with thefunctions and role of ENVIRONMENT . Thesecond section discusses the state ofIndia s ENVIRONMENT and the thirdsection deals with steps and strategiesto achieve SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT DEFINITION ANDFUNCTIONSE nvironment is defined as the totalplanetary inheritance and the totalityof all resources.

3 It includes all the bioticand abiotic factors that influence eachother. While all living elements thebirds, animals and plants, forests,fisheries etc. are biotic elements,abiotic elements include air, water, landetc. Rocks and sunlight are examplesof abiotic elements of the study of the ENVIRONMENT then callsfor a study of the inter-relationshipbetween these biotic and abioticcomponents of the of the ENVIRONMENT : Theenvironment performs four vitalfunctions (i) it supplies resources:resources here include both renewableand non-renewable resources are those whichcan be used without the possibility ofthe resource becoming depleted orexhausted.

4 That is, a continuoussupply of the resource remainsavailable. Examples of renewableresources are the trees in the forests andthe fishes in the ocean. Non-renewableresources, on the other hand, are thosewhich get exhausted with extractionand use, for example, fossil fuel (ii) itassimilates waste (iii) it sustains life byproviding genetic and bio diversity and(iv) it also provides aesthetic serviceslike scenery ENVIRONMENT is able to performthese functions without any interruptionas long as the demand on theseThe ENVIRONMENT , left to itself, can continue to support life for millions ofyears. The single most unstable and potentially disruptive element in thescheme is the human species.

5 Human beings, with modern technology, havethe capacity to bring about, intentionally or unintentionally, far-reachingand irreversible changes in the ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTWork These Out Why has water become an economic commodity? Discuss. Fill in the following table with some common types of diseases and illnessesthat are caused due to air, water and noise is within its carryingcapacity. This implies that the resourceextraction is not above the rate ofregeneration of the resource and thewastes generated are within theassimilating capacity of theenvironment. When this is not so, theenvironment fails to perform its thirdand vital function of life sustenance andthis results in anenvironmental crisis.

6 Thisis the situation todayall over the world. Therising population of thedeveloping countries andthe affluent consumptionand production standardsof the developed world haveplaced a huge stress on theenvironment in terms of itsfirst two functions. Manyresources have becomeextinct and the wastesgenerated are beyond theabsorptive capacity of theenvironment. Absorptivecapacity means the abilityof the ENVIRONMENT toabsorb degradation. The result weare today at the threshold ofenvironmental crisis. The pastdevelopment has polluted and dried uprivers and other aquifers making wateran economic good. Besides, theintensive and extensive extraction ofboth renewable and non-renewableresources has exhausted some of theseAir PollutionWater PollutionNoise PollutionAsthmaCholeraFig.

7 Water bodies: small, snow-fed Himalayan streams arethe few fresh-water sources that remain AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT vital resources and we are compelledto spend huge amounts on technologyand research to explore new to these are the health costs ofdegraded environmental quality decline in air and water quality (seventyper cent of water in India is polluted)have resulted in increased incidence ofrespiratory and water-borne the expenditure on health is alsorising. To make matters worse, globalenvironmental issues such as globalwarming and ozone depletion alsocontribute to increased financialcommitments for the : Global WarmingGlobal warming is a gradual increase in the average temperature of the earth slower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since theIndustrial Revolution.

8 Much of the recent observed and projected globalwarming is human-induced. It is caused by man-made increases in carbondioxide and other greenhouse gases through the burning of fossil fuels anddeforestation. Adding carbon dioxide, methane and such other gases (thathave the potential to absorb heat) to the atmosphere with no other changeswill make our planet s surface warmer. The atmospheric concentrations ofcarbon dioxide and CH4 have increased by 31 per cent and 149 per centrespectively above pre-industrial levels since 1750. During the past century,the atmospheric temperature has risen by F ( C) and sea level hasrisen several inches.

9 Some of the longer-term results of global warming aremelting of polar ice with a resulting rise in sea level and coastal flooding;disruption of drinking water supplies dependent on snow melts; extinction ofspecies as ecological niches disappear; more frequent tropical storms; and anincreased incidence of tropical factors that may be contributing to global warming are the burningof coal and petroleum products (sources of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrousoxide, ozone); deforestation, which increases the amount of carbon dioxide inthe atmosphere; methane gas released in animal waste; and increased cattleproduction, which contributes to deforestation, methane production, and useof fossil fuels.

10 A UN Conference on Climate Change, held in Kyoto, Japan, in1997, resulted in an international agreement to fight global warming whichcalled for reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases by industrialised nations. Source: , it is clear that the opportunitycosts of negative environmentalimpacts are biggest question that arises is:are environmental problems new to thiscentury? If so, why? The answer to thisquestion requires some elaboration. Inthe early days when civilisation justbegan, or before this phenomenalincrease in population, and beforecountries took to industrialisation, thedemand for environmental resourcesand services was much less than theirsupply.