Page 127 - Built Expressions - Online Construction Magazine - November 2014 Issue

Techno-Crate super-rich, conserves nature and government have indeed helped in clearance’ has brought in some focus sustains the ecological basis and safeguarding the country’s environment on environmental impacts. A number resilience so crucial for our existence, to some extent. For instance, the of innovative water harvesting and is not evident in the priorities of the network of protected areas is likely distribution projects have helped government. to have staved off some key threats reduce the number of people without This is not to belittle a number of to wildlife and natural ecosystems in access to safe and adequate water. positive initiatives by the state relating 4–5% of India’s territory. Legal and However, beyond the specifc to poverty, environment, employment, programmatic measures related to indicators reported by India, there and empowerment. Nor is it to hide the many other ecosystems and wildlife is a more serious issue. There is exciting and innovative work done on species, including those listed in the no indication of a comprehensive these fronts by many communities, civil above report, have also contributed or systematic integration of the society organizations, institutions and to biodiversity conservation. principles of sustainable development private sector agencies. All of these are Similarly, the legal requirement of into India’s policies and programmes. indeed elements of a more sustainable development projects having to obtain Nor is there evidence that the rate of and equitable future. However, at ‘environmental clearance’ and ‘forest biodiversity loss has been reduced, present these are submerged and overwhelmed by the sheer bulldozer effect of current macroeconomic India’s Achievement of MDG7 (as offcially reported) policies and political governance structures that are taking India further Target 7A (Integrate principles of sustainable development into country policies down the path of unsustainability, and programmes, and reverse the loss of environmental resources): deprivation, and inequity. A number 1. Forest cover has increased by 3 million hectares (m.ha.) in the last decade; between of course corrections, including better 2005 and 2007, it has increased by 72,800 hectares; the Green India Mission aims implementation of progressive policies to increase forest and tree cover in 5 m.ha., and improve forest quality in another 5 and programmes that already exist, m.ha. reforms in other existing policies 2. Protected areas cover 4.90 % of the country’s land area, having increased by about and programmes to make them more 70,000 hectares from 1999 to 2011. progressive, and fundamental changes 3. Energy intensity (energy used per unit of GDP) has remained more or less at the 1970–71 levels, having increased signifcantly in the 1970s and 1980s but declined in pathways of development and again in the last two decades. governance are necessary if holistic 4. CO emissions have ‘experienced dramatic growth’, with India becoming the 2 human well-being is to be achieved. world’s third largest CO emitting country; coal burning is the single biggest This must also avoid the pitfalls of contributor. 2 myopic or false solutions such as 5. Consumption of ozone-depleting substances per capita is still very low;6 CFC carbon markets, geo-engineering, and consumption has sharply declined. supposedly renewable sources like Target 7B (Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a signifcant reduction nuclear power and large hydropower. in the rate of loss) The post-2015 framework for (missing from the report, presumably integrated into the above) ‘sustainable development’5 provides Target 7C (Halve by 2015, proportion of people without sustainable access to an opportunity to head in this direction. safe drinking water and basic sanitation): 1. Proportion of households without access to safe drinking water has reduced India’s record on MDG7 signifcantly from about 34 % in 1990 to about 9 per cent in 2008–09, and India is Implementation of globally specifed on its way to 100% coverage for safe drinking water by 2015 (surpassing the MDG targets and indicators India’s latest targets). report on MDG implementation (GOI 2. Proportion of households without sanitation facilities has reduced from about 76 2011) contains a section on MDG7. On per cent in 1990 to about 50 % in 2008–09 (at which rate, 43 per cent will remain a number of indicators, such as forest without such facilities, missing the MDG target by about 5 % points). Target 7D (By 2020, a signifcant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million cover, consumption of ozone-depleting slum dwellers): substances, access to safe drinking 1. Slum population increased from 46.26 million in 1991 to 61.82 million in 2001; water and sanitation facilities, some while the number of slums declined about 13% from 1993 to 2008–09, the latest to substantial progress is reported; on estimate of slum population is not available. others like CO2 emissions, and growth 2. Marginal improvement is reported in facilities to slumdwellers, between 2002 and of slums, the story is not positive. 2008–09. A number of actions taken by the Source: GOI 2011 Vol: 3 Issue: 11 November 2014 Built Expressions PG127