Published in IIPS Mumbai, ENVIS center, Volume 1, No. 4, December 2004

Environment and Development:

Shift in the Development Paradigm by

K. Sita, Consultant, B7, Beach Resort, Sector-9, Vashi, New Bombay-400 703

The world has become increasingly sensitized to Environment in Stockholm in 1972 gave the first environmental issues since the early 1970s. They span many disciplines and different spatial scales. Some are global in nature, such as the increase in greenhouse gases, depletion of stratospheric ozone, loss of biodiversity, depletion of non­renewable resources, accelerating degradation of air, land and water etc. Some issues are of regional significance such as impact of large dams, effects of deforestation, increase of ozone pollution in the troposphere, acid rain etc. Yet others are local such as contaminated ground water, CRZ violation, accumulation of wastes, proliferation of slums etc. To understand these in the proper perspective, it is desirable to comprehend the shifts in the development paradigm over time.

The 1950s was a period of decolonization in Asia and Africa. The efforts at national reconstruction highlighted the need for country specific priorities. Development was initially considered as synonymous with economic growth, so that the indicators were GDP, per capita income etc. Industrialization and modernization were considered as the main pathways to achieve these goals. It was a top-down process and the trickle-down was expected to lead to spread and multiplier effects.

By the end of the 1960s disenchantment set in due to accentuation of social and regional disparities in development. It became evident that some practices were bringing in their wake environmental problems in developing countries. For example, plantation agriculture, which involves the cultivation of a single species over an extensive area, was ecologically not suited when introduced in areas where natural ecosystems were characterized by extreme heterogeneity. Issues of inequity, poverty and unemployment also became critical. It was realized that the priority in developing countries should be towards satisfying the basic needs of the population. By the 1970s, governments were experimenting with different approaches.

This coincided with a period of concern and anxiety in developed countries regarding environmental issues such as pollution, depletion of resources etc. The U.N.Conference on Human warning signal regarding the negative aspects of development strategies. The U.N. Symposium in 1979 identified consumption and life styles as basic issues and stressed the need for environmentally sound, socially relevant and less wasteful methods. The Club of Rome talked of limits to growth and brought into focus issues of sustainability, environmental degradation and ecological balance.

The Brundtland Commission’s report in 1987 titled “Our Common Future” was a landmark in development thought and provided an impetus to address environmental issues. Sustainable development became a keyword, i.e., development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The Commission emphasized that the relationship between economic growth and environmental conservation is one of complementarily and interdependence. The Earth Summit held at Rio in 1992 reemphasized the need for sustainable development.

2.Another viewpoint holds that developmental concerns are of paramount importance. It stresses the significance of scientific and technological advances and points to how Malthusian predictions were rendered wrong due to man devising more effective techniques for coping with situations.

3. The third viewpoint emphasizes the need for blending of economic objectives with environmental imperatives in order to focus on sustainable development, with the involvement of all the stakeholders in policy formulation.

The concept of ecological sustainability has to take into account the three basic functions of environment for man, viz., provision of (a) natural resources such as food, raw materials etc.,

(b) publicly shared resources such as atmosphere, ground water, biodiversity etc., (c) receptacles for solid and liquid wastes.

How is the concept to be applied? The conventional method was through the determination of the carrying capacity of an area, i.e., the maximum population that a given habitat can support indefinitely. However, as Rees and Wackernagel (1994) remark, ‘ in a economy globally integrated through trade, regions can no longer be viewed as independent units’. Hence they argue, “ that rather than asking how many people a given region can support, the relevant question becomes: How much land/water, wherever it may be located, is required to produce the resource flows (consumption) currently enjoyed by the region’s population?” The estimate of this quantity represents the “ecological footprint” and provides a physical measure of the demand on natural capital. The concept of ecological footprint can be applied at different scales of analysis, i.e., a city, a region, a country or the earth. For example, an urban area can survive only if there are reliable supplies of food, water and raw materials. Equally important is a surplus waste absorption for the tremendous wastes- solid, liquid and gaseous- generated in a city. Thus, the ecological footprint of a large city is much larger than the area it physically occupies. The same is true of densely populated areas. Sophisticated techniques of analysis have been evolved in the field of environmental economics to determine the ecological footprint of any given area.

The concept of the ecological footprint focuses attention on the interrelationship between man and environment. It is pertinent to conclude with a story from our scriptures. When Vamana went to King Bali’s court he was asked what boon he wanted. Vamana requested for an area equivalent to three of his footprints. When King Bali agreed to his request, Vamana grew in size. He occupied the entire land surface with one footprint and the whole ocean surface with the second. Since there was no space for the third, the king asked Vamana to place his  foot on his head. With this move, the king was pushed into oblivion (Pathala loka). This illustrates the danger that mankind faces if cognizance is not taken of ecological issues and efforts made to reduce the extent and magnitude of ecological footprints.

Suggested Reading:
Adams W.M (1990) ‘Green Development: Environment & Sustainability in Third World’ (London, Routledge).

Folke C, Larson J and Sweitzer J (1996) ‘Renewable Resource Appropriation by Cities’, in Costanza R et.al (ed) ‘Getting Down to Earth’ (Island Press, Washington D.C.) 201-221.

Leggett J (ed) (1990) ‘Global Warming: The Green Peace Report’ (New York, OUP)

Rees W.E and Wackermagel M (1994) ‘Ecological Footprints and Appropriated Carrying Capacity: Measuring the Natural Capital Requirements of the Human Economy” in Jansson A.M et.al (ed) ‘Investing in Natural Capital’ (Island Press, Washington D.C.) 362-390.

World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), (1987) “Our Common Future’ (New York, OUP). World Development Report (1992) ‘Development and Environment’ (New York, OUP).