Unit : 03

Module 23: Sustainable Development:

Programme and Policies

Learning objectives

By the end of this module, you will able to

 Understand the need for sustainable development policy
 Learn about national environment policy

Introduction

In 2011, the global population reached the 7 billion mark, it stands at almost 7.9
billion in 2021, and it's expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in
2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100. However, the world has grown more aware of
environmental issues during the last few decades. The United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) and other international organizations focus
on pressing global issues. Some of the global issues include:
 species extinction,
 depletion of the ozone layer that protects the earth,
 destruction of tropical and old-growth forests and wetlands, and
 the steady buildup of "greenhouse" gases like carbon dioxide that cause
global warming and climate change.
The UNEP reports provide proof that the international environmental issues
mentioned at the UNCED conference in 1992 have persisted or gotten worse. UNEP
also cites exposure to toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes, nitrogen pollution in
freshwater and oceans, water contamination and diminishing groundwater supplies,
damage to forest and freshwater ecosystems, overexploitation of major ocean
fisheries, urban air pollution and wastes, an issue where significant reductions in
emissions have been achieved through international agreement.
The demographic problem, including population increase that adds more than
70 million people per year, is what underlies all of these issues. Besides, scientists
and governments have started searching for sustainable development solutions
(Figure 1) in response to the pressing threat of environmental degradation.
 Figure 1 Scientific solution for sustainable development
The United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development
(WCED, 1987) (Figure 2) coined a definition of sustainable development, which is
probably the most well-known in all of sustainability literature:

Figure 2 WCED
“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
• How can we protect the planetary systems that sustain life from irreparable
harm?
• How can we prevent the tremendous environmental cost that irresponsible
corporate practices cause?
• How can the "environment-friendly" development idea strike a balance
between environmental protection and economic growth?
The question of sustainability of economic activity has already taken centre
stage and will only grow in significance over the next few decades. The term
"sustainability" has gained widespread popularity as a potential remedy for a number
of global, regional, and local issues that are currently plaguing society, such as
resource scarcity, pollution, overcrowding, sickness, and political unrest.
Though it has been defined in a variety of ways, sustainable development
actually has three dimensions: economic, environmental, and social. Policies and
programs for sustainable development work to make sure that development is carried
out in the proper way, but more importantly, that the right things are done. With the
application of sustainable practices for better agricultural output, energy consumption,
natural resource management, and industrial production, the concept of sustainable
development incorporates both economic and environmental aims.
Today, we have enough information to say that these methods have great
potential but have not yet gained widespread acceptance. Limits on population growth
and material consumption are also necessary for a sustainable global economy. As a
result, regional sustainability is the method advocated for raising human life quality
within the confines of the global environment. It entails finding ways to enhance human
welfare without harming the environment or affecting the welfare of other people.
• Understanding the connections between the economy, society, and
environment;
• living within the earth's capacity to support life; and
• preserving a fair distribution of resources and opportunities for this generation
and the one next;
are all aspects of sustainable measures.
Much of the motivation to work on sustainable development at the international,
national, and local level came from the 1992 Rio Conference on the Environment and
Development (UNCED) (Figure 3), which established Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration,
and several treaties. As a response, some nations adopted sustainable development
strategies.

Figure 3 Rio Earth 1992

UN Commission on Sustainable Development was established to monitor the
execution of the Rio Commitments. By enhancing economic performance and
empowering economies to address structural issues, measures to construct a strong
and dynamic financial sector, subject to appropriate supervision and regulation, for
instance, provide a critical contribution to sustainable development.

Sustainable development policies

Following are the policies for sustainable development:

i. Reducing poverty
Poverty reduction is the main objective of policy. The initiatives offering
underprivileged people more employment options should be launched. Investments in
public utilities, such as the provision of drinking water and sanitary facilities, etc., would
enhance the environment of the nation.
ii. Removal of subsidies
Subsidies should be eliminated in order to lessen environmental harms caused
by the usage of resources like power, fertilizer, insecticides, and diesel, among others.
These subsidies encourage its careless use. These contribute to environmental issues
as well.
iii. Market-based strategies
Market-based strategies must be adopted immediately in order to protect the
environment. They want to make consumers and businesses aware of the impact that
exploiting natural resources has on the environment. The best course of action is to
use instruments based on the market. These tools take the form of environmental
taxes, which also include user fees and emission levies.
iv. Economic incentives
Price, quantity, and technology-related economic incentives can also be of
greater assistance. For the amount of pollutants in air, water, and land use, resource
users are typically given incentives in the form of variable fees. If they produce less
trash or pollution than the government-mandated criteria, they receive refunds.
v. Public awareness
Public participation and knowledge are very helpful in enhancing environmental
conditions. Environment management education programs should be undertaken in
both formal and informal settings. Participating the public can help with park
management, wildlife conservation, and other important tasks.
vi. Participation of Global environmental efforts
Participation in global environmental initiatives: It is believed that taking part in
global environmental initiatives can reduce the harm caused by environmental
degradation. As a result, efforts should be undertaken to reach environmental
protection agreements.
vii. Trade Policy
Trade policy places a strong emphasis on the construction of less polluting
industries outside of urban areas and the implementation of environmentally friendly
procedures for polluting sectors through the adoption of newer, more advanced
technologies.

Polluter-pays principle
 The National Resource Efficiency Policy (NREP) policy enlists a number of
market-based and regulatory instruments that can drive resource efficiency. The
polluter-pays-principle (PPP) is one such instrument that will play a central role in
doing so.
The PPP is an internationally recognized market instrument to abate pollution.
Historically its application has been rare and often associated with big polluters. As
India readies its industries to transition into a more resource efficient future, it will be
vital to ensure proper enactment of PPP down to the local level. The Rio Declaration
adopted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1972 first
introduced the Polluter-pays-Principle at an international level. Principle 16 in the
declaration states:
“National authorities should endeavour to promote the internalization of
environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the
approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, with due
regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment.”
The PPP is primarily legal and an ethical instrument that has been a part of
environmental legislation in the European Union. In India landmark cases like M.C.
Mehta vs. Union of India in 1986 enacted the PPP holding the polluter liable for
damages due to oleum gas leak. Since then, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) uses
PPP as one of their core principles to hold state governments and industries
responsible for causing environmental and societal harm. Cost of abatement is what
needs to be internalized to the costing structure of the company. What companies are
doing currently is that they are just calculating the private production cost. While there
is no blanket methodology to determine the cost, each type of resource will have a
specific approach.
For example:
Air: Cost of shifting to cleaner fuels can be considered as the cost of pollution
as well as secondary approach through health as that is cost incurred by society
Forest: Cost can be estimated through carbon sink opportunity of the forest
cover
PPP is there not just to discourage producers from overusing, but also to make
sure consumers make smarter more efficient choices. Since the production and
consumption of goods and services involves a large number of players, PPP will be
an effective tool when imposed in the form of market-based instruments. The effort to
integrate command-and-control approaches with market-based approaches can result
in a smooth transition given entities are levied appropriately, enabling them to develop
as well as be resource efficient. Initiatives like tradable pollution permits can be a
source of revenue for industries and consumers can benefit from deposit refund
schemes put in place by those industries. The call for a national level policy for
resource efficiency in India is a requirement if the country wants to develop in a
sustainable manner. Using polluter-pays-principle as a central tool in doing so can
support economic growth and well as development.

National Environment Policy (NEP)

The National Environment Policy of 2006 is a reaction to India's commitment to

a clean environment, which is enshrined in Articles 48 A and 51 A (g) of the
Constitution and bolstered by judicial interpretation of Article 21.
It is acknowledged that the state does not bear sole responsibility for
maintaining a healthy environment. Every citizen must take responsibility for it,
therefore a spirit of cooperation must be achieved through the nation's environmental
management. Our diverse and expanding society presents a number of difficulties in
the areas of the economy, society, politics, culture, and the environment. All of these
factors combine to form the overarching imperative of reducing widespread poverty,
taking into account the many facets of economic security, health care, education,
empowering the underprivileged, and eliminating gender inequities. Towards these
objectives, when the nation starts moving, evidently there is a direct or indirect impact
on the environment.
For this purpose, many national policies to manage the environment have been
devised which includes:
i. National Forest Policy of 1988
ii. National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and
Development, 1992
iii. Policy Statement on Abatement of Pollution, 1992
iv. National Agriculture Policy, 2000
v. National Population Policy, 2000
vi. National Water Policy, 2000
All these policies have worked out methodologies and strategies to resolve
specific issues in the context where they were formulated. However, certain underlying
factors and gaps still need to be filled to achieve a comprehensive plan for
environmental management. In their unique settings, each of these policies has
acknowledged the necessity of sustainable development and developed the required
plans to put this realization into practice. In light of current knowledge and acquired
experience, the National Environment Policy aims to broaden the scope and fill in any
remaining gaps. It expands upon past policies rather than replacing them.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests' (MoEF) National Environment Policy
(NEP) seeks to integrate environmental concerns into all forms of development. It
places a strong focus on resource conservation and argues that the greatest method
to promote conservation is to make sure that those who depend on those resources
can live better thanks to conservation than they can because of resource degradation.
It makes the case that population impoverishment and poor health outcomes are
frequently caused by environmental deterioration.
The objectives of the policy include:
• Conservation of critical environmental resources,
• Intra-generational equity,
• livelihood security for the underprivileged
• Inter-generational equity
• Integration of environmental concerns in economic and social development
• Efficiency in environmental resource use
• Environmental governance
• Enhancement of resources for environmental conservation
The document outlines a range of strategies to meet these objectives that aim at:
• Conservation of existing environmental resources through regulatory
reforms
• Emphasis on education, information, research, capacity building and
technological innovations
• Intersectoral collaboration and periodic evaluations of the existing policies.
The NEP evolved from the recognition that only such development is
sustainable, which respects ecological constraints, and the imperatives of justice. The
objectives stated above are to be realized through various strategic interventions by
different public authorities at central, state, and local government levels.
The document goes on to highlight the principles underlying the policy
• The centre of sustainable development is people.
• It is important to realize the right to development in order to fairly meet the
environmental and developmental demands of the present and future
generations.
• Environmental protection must not be viewed in isolation but must be a
crucial component of development in order to achieve sustainable
development;
• In areas where there are threats of serious nature or indications of
irreversible harm that will happen to environment, lack of complete scientific
knowledge shall not be used as an excuse for any postponement of
environment protection measures;
 • Economic efficiency can be tried for environmental conservation.

Legal Obligations under the Policy

The criminal liability-based environmental redressal mechanisms haven't
worked out well enough and need to be supplemented. The proposal embraces legal
culpability for environmental damage, which would discourage environmentally
hazardous behavior and provide compensation to those who have been harmed by
the environment.
The Doctrine of Public Trust
According to this doctrine, the State is not the sole owner of any natural
resources; rather, it is merely a trustee of them, as they are by their very nature
intended for use and enjoyment by the general public, subject to reasonable
restrictions that are required to safeguard the legitimate interests of a large number of
people or for matters of strategic national interest.
Legislative Reforms
Through a review of the current law, a careful balance of civil and criminal
procedures and sanctions will be used in the legal system for enforcement. According
to the National Environment Strategy, the policy calls for identifying the growing
sectors that require new regulation as a result of improved scientific understanding,
economic and social development, and the creation of multilateral environmental
regimes. In order to create synergies among pertinent statutes and regulations, it also
calls for a detailed study of all the enacted legislation.
Environment Impact Assessment
The goal of the strategy is to persuade the Central and State regulatory
agencies to institutionalize regional and cumulative environmental impact
assessments in order to guarantee that environmental issues are recognized and
handled even during the planning process
Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
In order to ensure protection for coastal ecological systems, coastal waters, and
some coastal areas' vulnerability to extreme natural events and potential sea level
rise, the policy aims to review the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notifications. By
doing so, it will ensure that coastal environmental regulation takes a more holistic
approach. The CRZ Notification 2011 was published in accordance with the policy.
Living Modified Organisms:
Modern biotechnology has produced "Living Modified Organisms" LMOs, which
are roughly identical to GMOs. A Living Modified Organism (LMO) is different from a
Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) in that it may grow and usually refers to
agricultural crops. LMOs and organisms that are dead, or are incapable of growing,
are both considered genetically modified organisms.
 According to the National Environment Policy, as part of pertinent regulatory
processes, genetically modified organisms must have their potential advantages and
dangers assessed. Due to their capacity for reproduction, the subgroup of LMOs,
however, may also involve environmental issues. The health of people, animals, and
ecological resources could all be significantly at danger from LMOs. The goal of the
policy is to review the regulatory procedures for LMOs to ensure that all pertinent
scientific knowledge is taken into account and that ecological, health, and economic
concerns are adequately addressed in order to prevent the development of
biotechnology from having unanticipated negative effects.
Environmentally Sensitive Zones (ESZs)
The "Environmentally Sensitive Zones" are those regions where certain
environmental resources have been recognised as having "Incomparable Values" and
needing special care to preserve them. The National Environment Policy seeks to
identify and give legal status to Environmentally Sensitive Zones in the nation that
have environmental entities with "Incomparable values,“. Necessitating special
conservation efforts, in order to conserve and enhance these resources without
obstructing the legitimate socioeconomic development of these areas. The program
also calls for creating area development plans for these zones that are based on
science and involve the local community sufficiently.
Desert Habitats
The arid and semi-arid region of India covers 127.3 mha (38.8%) of India’s
geographical area and spreads over 10 states. The diversity of species among the
mammals and migratory birds that spend the winter in the Indian desert is quite high.
However, adopting novel and comprehensive strategies for the conservation of desert
ecosystems is necessary. This is due to the constraints, a fast expanding population
base is placing on the natural resource base. The strategy aims to implement methods
such as intensive water and moisture conservation by utilizing traditional infrastructure
and knowledge derived from both traditional and scientific sources.

Panchayats and Women Participation

The goal of the strategy is to work towards granting the traditional rights of
people reliant on forests legal status while taking into mind the stipulations of (PESA).
This would make up for a severe historical injustice, protect their way of life, lessen
the likelihood of conflict with the forest departments, and give these people long-term
incentives to protect the forests.
Wild life
The strategy seeks to increase the nation's network of protected areas (PAs),
including conservation areas and community reserves, in order to fairly reflect all of
the nation's bio-geographical regions. In order to balance the needs of socioeconomic
development with the needs of ecological and physical features. Norms for the
delineation of PAs should be developed in accordance with the Objectives and
Principles of the National Environment Policy, with the participation of local
communities, concerned public agencies, and other stakeholders.
Wetlands
A broad definition of wetlands is provided by the Ramsar Convention, which
states that they include "areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or
artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish
or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed
six meters." Along with pollution, wetlands are threatened by drainage, conversion to
agriculture, and human habitation. The goal of the strategy is to create a legally binding
regulatory framework for recognized significant wetlands in order to stop their
deterioration and improve their conservation. Make an inventory of these wetlands
across the country.
Policies should secure:
i. regeneration – i.e. renewable resources should be used efficiently and their
use should not be permitted to exceed their long term rates of natural
regeneration;
ii. substitutability – i.e. nonrenewable resources should be used efficiently, and
their use limited to levels that can be offset by renewable resources or other
forms of capital;
iii. assimilation – i.e. releases of hazardous or polluting substances to the
environment should not exceed its assimilative capacity, and concentrations
should be kept below established critical levels necessary for the protection of
human health and the environment. When assimilative capacity is effectively
zero, zero release of such substances is required to avoid their accumulation
in the environment;
iv. avoiding irreversibility – i.e. irreversible adverse effects of human activities
on ecosystems and on bio-geochemical and hydrological cycles should be
avoided.
The natural processes capable of maintaining or restoring the integrity of
ecosystems should be safeguarded from adverse impacts of human activities. The
differing levels of resilience and carrying capacity of ecosystems should be
considered, in order to conserve their populations of threatened, endangered and
critical species. Policies specifically aimed at securing sustained economic growth, a
healthy environment or an inclusive social development are important in their own right
for sustainable development.
 Summary

In this module we have

 Understood the need for sustainable development policy
 Learnt about national environment policy