Sustainable Development Notes For UPSC Exam

Sustainable Development Notes for UPSC Exam
Www.iasbio.com | whatsapp for UPSC NOTES 7091958453

Anecdote
• Researchers have put an average price tag of US $ 33 trillion a year on

fundamental ecosystems services, which are largely taken for granted because they are free.
• This is nearly twice the value of the global gross national product GNP which is (US $ 18 trillion
• In 1928, forty-five years before the birth of the Chipko movement, Mahatma Gandhi wrote,
"The economic imperialism of a single tiny island kingdom [England] is today keeping the
world in chains. If India blindly followed the Western model of development, it would strip
the world bare like locusts."
Quotes
• One must care for the world one will not see - Gandhi
• We represent a culture that calls our planet Mother Earth. As our ancient text say: "Keep
pure! For the Earth is our mother! And we are her children!"
• “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children"- African
proverb
Definitions
• The concept of sustainable development was emphasised by the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development (UNCED), which defined it as: ‘Development that meets
the need of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation
to meet their own needs
• The seminal report of Brundtland commision—Our Common Future—explained sustainable
development as ‘meeting the basic needs of all and extending to all the opportunity to satisfy
their aspirations for a better life’.
o Meeting the needs of all requires redistributing resources and is hence a moral issue.
• Brundtland Commission emphasises on protecting the future generation. This is in line with
the argument of the environmentalists who emphasise that we have a moral obligation to hand
over the planet earth in good order to the future generation; that is, the present generation
should bequeath a better environment to the future generation.
Impact of Environmental Degradation on Economic Growth
• India and many developing countries actually suffer “a double injustice”: environmental degra
dation and climate change will impinge on the poor countries hardest, but at the same time, t
hey are required to be part of the solution” by cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the
expense of their economic development.
• Environmental degradation can only intensify the existing development problems. For
example,increased maximum temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are already exerting
negative impactson the agriculture and food security of many lowincome communities.
• Compared to developed nations, developing countries are much more vulnerable to the
effects ofclimate change due to their low capacity to adapt and their disproportionate
dependency on naturalresources for welfare.

• The resourceintensive model of growth of the past fails not only because of the lack of cheap
rawmaterials, but also because of the earth’s limited capacity to absorb carbon emissions and
waste. Since environmental degradation will harm human productivity and welfare, the
traditional economic growth pattern cannot be sustainable, and will eventually be self-
defeating.
Way forward - Maintaining the Balance
• The perception of a trade-

off between the two goals of development and environmental protection rests on the view th
at environmental protection is an obstacle to rapid growth.
• The reality, however, is that it will not be possible to sustain high growth in the coming years
without environmental care. The reason is that we are facing a twin crisis — economic and en
vironmental — and the two are highly interlinked.
• The spike in food prices signal in good measure, pressures on production that are exacerbated b
y the deleterious effects of environmental devastation and climate change.
• While some may set aside the global risks of climate change as being distant, recent extreme
weather events point to changes that may already be upon us.
• The economic costs, including the losses caused by air pollution, water contamination and soli
d wastes as well as deforestation are estimated to amount to some three per cent of GNP in C
hina as well as India, Argentina, Turkey and elsewhere.
• Strikingly, prevention is often far cheaper than cure — whether it is curbing industrial pollutio
n, arresting deforestation or reinforcing structures in disasterprone areas.
• Green growth aiming to achieve a harmony between economic growth and environmental sus
tainability is just what the world needs to obtain long-
term and all rounded human development.
• With sound protection and management, natural capital can actually yield considerable econo
mic dividends for India as well — especially due to its dependent on agricultural production, wh
ich is in turn highly dependent on natural resources for the livelihoods of producers.
• Alternatively, economic development can provide a solid material foundation for environment
al protection efforts, enabling Indian government to take better care of their ecosystems, and
equip them financially and technologically for the fight against climate change / environment.
It is about growing cleaner and greener, but not slower.
Another suggestion
• Gandhi way of life - 1 Billion people in extreme deprivation. earth on its brinks. entire paradigm
need to change.
Broad suggestions
• (i) limiting the human population to a level within the carrying capacity of the environment.

o The carrying capacity of the environment is like a ‘ plimsoll line’ of the ship which is its
load limit mark. In the absence of the plimsoll line for the economy, human scale
grows beyond the carrying capacity of the earth and deviates from sustainable
development
• (ii) technological progress should be input efficient and not input consuming
• (iii) renewable resources should be extracted on a sustainable basis, that is, rate of extraction
should not exceed rate of regeneration
• (iv) for non-renewable resources rate of depletion should not exceed the rate of creation of
renewable substitutes
• (v) inefficiencies arising from pollution should be corrected.
•
Challenges - “International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences” (CAETS-

2015) report
• Energy - Battery technology, Renewable energy development, smart grid technology

• health - Regenerative medicene, nano technology,
• Mobility - rail transportation, automatic cars,
o dilemmas in mass transportation in emerging economies are many. It is important to
consider seamless connectivity, smart mobility, enforcement of advanced safety
measures, equitable allocations of road space for multiple type of vehicles and time
variant traffic demands.


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Sustainable Development Notes for UPSC Exam

Www.iasbio.com | whatsapp for UPSC NOTES 7091958453

• Researchers have put an average price tag of US $ 33 trillion a year on

Impact of Environmental Degradation on Economic Growth

Www.iasbio.com | whatsapp for UPSC NOTES 7091958453

Way forward - Maintaining the Balance

• The perception of a trade-

Www.iasbio.com | whatsapp for UPSC NOTES 7091958453

Challenges - “International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences” (CAETS-

• Energy - Battery technology, Renewable energy development, smart grid technology

Www.iasbio.com | whatsapp for UPSC NOTES 7091958453

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