Page 126 - Built Expressions - Online Construction Magazine - November 2014 Issue

Techno-Crate poverty, environmental degradation, and inequities on the social, economic, and political fronts have not been brought out in such a detailed manner. Or, conversely, neither have the positive interactions amongst poverty eradication, environmental sustainability, and empowerment. Thus, planning and programmes of the government, and usually those even of civil society, focus on one or the other element of the picture, in the process ignoring or even negatively impacting other elements. For instance, Legal and programmatic measures related to many other several poverty eradication or food security programmes are ecologically ecosystems and wildlife species, including those listed in the damaging (for example, chemical- above report, have also contributed to biodiversity conservation. intensive agriculture); conversely, several environmental protection programmes exacerbate poverty or create new forms of deprivation situations that are violations of capacity to recycle or manage; and so (examples being exclusionary protected minimum standards of human rights on. A 2008 report suggests that India areas for wildlife that forcibly displace and well-being. These are often so has the world’s third biggest ecological resident communities, or watershed serious as to cause irreversible health footprint, that its resource-use is programmes that stop pastoralists’ damage, premature mortality and already twice of its bio-capacity, and access without providing alternatives). suicides. Many of these have roots in that this bio-capacity itself has declined traditional socio-economic inequities by half in the last few decades (GFN Policy Frameworks and discrimination, which have been and CII 2008). Economic globalization Several policy pronouncements of compounded, or added to, by the since 1991 has signifcantly worsened the Government of India, such as the inequities and exploitation of modern the negative trend by increasing rates National Environment Policy 2006 times. of diversion of natural ecosystems for or the Approach Papers of various To this has been added the ‘developmental’ purposes, and rates Five Year Plans, have promised the degradation of the natural environment of resource exploitation for domestic integration of development and on which we all depend for our lives, use and exports (Shrivastava and environment. These policy frameworks, often to levels that are beyond recovery. Kothari 2012). Climate change impacts as also the implementation of the Natural ecosystems are under are being felt in terms of erratic MDGs, could have been opportunities stress and decline can be witnessed weather and coastal erosion, and the for a holistic pathway towards across most of the country with country has little in the way of climate sustainable, equitable well-being for exceptions only in the case of some preparedness, especially for the poor all of India’s people. protected areas and community who will be worst affected (Bidwai There is, however, little evidence conserved areas; wild and agricultural 2011; Thakkar 2009). Projections that these policy pronouncements biodiversity are under varying rates of based on the historic trend of materials have been followed up with actual erosion; well over half the available and energy use in India also point to action to achieve such holistic waterbodies are polluted beyond serious levels of domestic and global well-being. Contrarily, in fact, the drinking, and often even beyond impact on the environment if India country has headed towards greater agricultural use; two thirds of the land continues on its current development unsustainability and inequity. An is degraded to various levels of sub- trajectory modeled on industrialized integrated approach to human well- optimal productivity; air pollution in countries (Singh et al 2012). being that enhances the economic, several cities is amongst the world’s While discussions on the aspects social, and political opportunities highest; ‘modern’ wastes, including above have been extensive, the for those traditionally or currently electronic and chemical, are being interconnections between continued deprived, curbs the obscene levels produced at rates far exceeding our or new deprivations, including of wealth and consumption of the PG 126 Built Expressions Vol: 3 Issue: 11 November 2014