1. Social Issues and TheEnvironmentMODULE - VI Dr. Geetanjali Kaushik AIES

2. SOCIAL ISSUES India is the largest contributor to world population growth,adding about 17 million people every year to an already hugepopulation of over one billion. Although more than two-thirds of Indias population still lives inthe rural areas, it has experienced rapid urbanization over thelast two decades. India has attained food sufficiency in spite of its growingpopulation. It has also created a large base of skilled scientificand technical human resources with a diversified industrialbase. However, the benefits of this impressive growth have beensubstantially offset by environmental degradation. Even thoughIndia has a rich tradition of environment conservation, largescale environment degradation has resulted from populationpressures, industrialization and the indiscriminate use of forestareas for fuel, power generation and irrigation purposes. 3. The spread of input- intensive green technology has givenIndia, of a certain measure of food security, but it has been atthe cost of falling water tables, degrading soils, poormanagement of irrigation systems and the harmful side-effects of increasing pesticide and fertiliser use. Industrial growth and uncontrolled urbanisation pollute water,air and land. Similarly, rapid economic growth led to changing lifestylesuch as increasing use of automobiles and plastics are alsoputting an immense stress on resources and theenvironment. All these circumstances raise the issue of how to achieveenvironmentally sustainable economic development. In thiscontext, it is fundamental that policy-makers and the publicunderstand how society and the economy have changed, andhow they cause environmental degradation. 4. FROM UNSUSTAINABLE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Sustainable development has been defined asDevelopment that meets the needs of the presentwithout compromising the ability of future generations tomeet their own needs (The World Commission onEnvironment and Development, Brundtland Commission1987). In other words, when people make decisions about howto use the Earths resources such as forests, water,minerals, wildlife, etc. they must take into account notonly how much of these resources they are using, whatprocesses they used to get these resources, and whohas access to these resources. Are enough resourcesgoing to be left for our future generations to use and willthe environment be left as we know it today? 5. Therefore, development plans have to ensure: sustainableand equitable use of resources for meeting the needs of thepresent and future generations without causing damage toenvironment. The primary objective of sustainable development is toreduce the absolute poverty of the worlds poor throughproviding lasting and secure livelihoods that minimizeresource depletion, environmental degradation, culturaldisruption and social instability. It also considers the equity between countries and continentsraces and closes, gender and ages. It includes social andeconomic development. It is a process which leads to abetter quality of life while reducing the impact on theenvironment. 6. Practicing sustainable development poses a challenge becausepeople must learn to live on the worlds ecological interest and noton ecological capital. To accomplish sustainable development, anumber of areas have to be organized. Those are1. Improving energy efficiency2. Saving forests3. Safeguarding biodiversity4. Adopting water resources management5. Managing coastal zones and ocean fisheries6. Arresting pollution7. Planning cities better8. Accomplishing a second green revolution9. Stabilizing world population 10. Stopping environmentally destructive subsidies 7. WOMEN AND CHILD WELFARE There are several environmental factors that are closely linked tothe welfare of women and children. Each year, close to eleven million children worldwide are estimatedto have died from the effects of disease and inadequate nutrition. Most of these deaths are in the developing world. In some countries,more than one in five children die before they are 5 years old. Seven out of ten childhood deaths in developing countries can beattributed to five main causes, or a combination of them. These are:pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, malaria and malnutrition. Around theworld, three out of every four children suffer from at least one ofthese conditions. Most respiratory diseases are caused by or are worsened bypolluted air. living in crowded, ill- ventilated homes with smoky, openfires can trigger respiratory conditions, especially in children. 8. There are strong connections between the status of theenvironment and the welfare of women and children inIndia. Women and girls are often the last to eat, as their role intraditional society is to cook the family meal and feedtheir husband and sons first. This leads to malnutrition and anemia due to inadequatenutrition. The girl child is given less attention andeducational facilities as compared to boys in India. Thus, they are unable to compete with men in later life.This social-environmental divide is a major concern thatneeds to be corrected throughout the country. 9. Poverty-environment-malnutrition: There isa close association between poverty, a degraded environment, and malnutrition. This is further aggravated by a lack of awareness on how children becomemalnourished. 10. The Department of Women and Child Development was set up inthe year 1985 as a part of the Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment to give the much needed impetus to the holisticdevelopment of women and children. As the national machinery for the advancement of women andchildren, the department formulates plans, policies andprogrammes; enacts/amends legislation, guides and coordina testhe efforts of both governmental and non-governmentalorganizations working in the field of Women and ChildDevelopment. Besides, playing its nodal role, the Department implements certaininnovative programmes for women and children. These programmes cover welfare and support services, training foremployment and income generation, awareness generation andgender sensitization. These programmes play a supplementary and complementary roleto the other general developmental programmes in the sectors ofhealth, education, rural development etc. All these efforts aredirected to ensure that women are empowered both economicallyand socially and thus become equal partners in nationaldevelopment along with men. 11. Child DevelopmentGovernment of India proclaimed a National Policy on Children in August 1974 declaring children as, supremely important assets. The policy provided the required framework for assigning priority to different needs of the child. The programme of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) was launched in 1975 seeking to provide an integrated package of services in a convergent manner for the holistic development of the child. For the holistic development of the child, the Department has been implementing the worlds largest almost unique and outreach programme of Integrated Child Development services (ICDS) providing a package of services comprising of the following: Supplementary nutrition, Immunization, Health check-up and referral services, Pre-school non- formal education. 12. HIV/AIDS The Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) causes AcquiredImmunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) through contact with the tissue fluids ofinfected individuals, especially through sexual contact. It is not a disease buta weakness in the body that results in the body being unable to fight offillnesses. The immune system of a person with AIDS is weakened to such a point thatmedical intervention is necessary to prevent or treat the deterioration in thebody and the entire system. AIDS is the most serious stage of HIV infection. It results from thedestruction of the infected persons immune system. As it reduces an individuals resistance to disease, it causes infectedindividuals to suffer from a large number of environment-related diseasesand reduces the ability of infected individuals to go about their normal lives.It saps their strength, leads to skin lesions (Karposis sarcoma) and theybecome increasingly vulnerable to any air- or water-borne pollutant, untilthey eventually die. HIV attacks and destroys the disease-fighting cells of the immune system,leaving the body with a weakened defense against infection and cancer. 13. HIV/ AIDS has a serious impact on the socioeconomicfabric of society. By 2002, India had an estimated 3.97 million infectedindividuals. HIV in India is rapidly moving from being a primarilyurban disease to rural communities. Research in Nepal has shown a linkage between ruralpoverty, deforestation and a shift of population to urbanareas resulting in a rising number of AIDS patients. Prior to 1992, it was mainly seen in males who migratedto urban centers. 14. HIV Test The only way to know infected person is to be tested for HIV infection. Many people who are infected with HIV do not have any symptoms at all for many years. The following may be warning signs of infection with HIV: Rapid weight loss, dry cough Recurring fever or profuse night sweats, profound and unexplained fatigue Swollen lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck, diarrhea that lasts for more than a week, white spots or unusual blemishes on the tongue, in the mouth, or in the throat Pneumonia, red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids Memory loss, depression, and other neurological disorders 15. Transmission of HIV1. By having sexual intercourse with an HIV- infectedperson;2. By sharing needles or injection equipment with aninjection drug user who is infected with HIV;3. From HIV infected women to babies before or duringbirth, or through breastfeeding after birth.4. HIV can also be transmitted through transfusions ofinfected blood or blood clotting factors.5. Some health care workers have become infected afterbeing stuck with needles containing HIV infected blood or,less frequently, after infected blood contact with the workersopen cut or through splashes into the workers eyes orinside his or her nose 16. PREVENTION1. However, the most important measureto prevent AIDS is the proper use ofcondoms that form a barrier to the spreadof the virus.2. Using disposable needles3. transfusion of uninfected blood4. Organizing AIDS education onprevention and management of disease. 17. WATER CONSERVATION, RAINWATERHARVESTING, WATERSHED MANAGEMENT Water Conservation Clean water is becoming scarce globally. With deforestation surfacerunoff increases and the sub soil water table drops as water has no timeto seep slowly into the ground once vegetation is cleared. As many areas depend on wells, it has become necessary to go on makingdeeper and deeper wells. This adds to the cost and further depletesunderground stores of water. This could take years to recharge As deforestation and desertification spreads due to extensive changes inland use the once perennial rivers are becoming increasingly seasonal. In many areas the small streams run dry soon after the monsoon as thewater table drops further and further below the surface. To this is added serious problems caused by rapid surface flow of waterduring the rains, which leads to extensive floods with loss of life andproperty. Water over use and misuse due to various activities that waste water orcause pollution has led to a serious shortage of potable drinking water. Thuswater conservation is linked closely with overall human well being 18. Traditional systems of collecting water and using it optimallyhave been used in India for many generations. These havebeen forgotten in the recent past. Conserving water in multiple small percolation tanks andjheels was important in traditional forms of agriculture.Villages all over the country had one or more commontalabs or tanks from which people collected or used watercarefully. As women had to carry water to their homes over longdistances, this was a time consuming and laborious activity,thus the water could not be wasted. Many homes had a kitchen garden that was watered by thewastewater. Conservation of water was done in traditional homesthrough a conscious effort. 19. During the British period many dams were builtacross the country to supply water especially togrowing urban areas. Post independence, Indias policy on waterchanged towards building large dams forexpanding agriculture to support the greenrevolution. While this reduced the need to import foodmaterial and removed starvation in the country,the country began to see the effects of seriouswater shortages and problems related to itsdistribution. 20. The newer forms of irrigated agriculture such assugarcane and other water hungry cash crops requiredenormous quantities of water. Finally however, such irrigated areas becomewaterlogged and unproductive. As excess waterevaporates rapidly from the surface of heavily irrigatedcroplands, it pulls up subsoil water along with salts to thesurface of the soil. This leads to salinization by which theland becomes unproductive. Reducing the high salinity levels in soil is extremelyexpensive and frequently impossible. With all these ill effects of the poorly conceivedmanagement of water at the national and local levelthere is a need to consider a new water policy for thecountry. 21. Saving water in agriculture: Drip irrigation supplies waterto plants near its roots through a system of tubes, thussaving water. Small percolation tanks and rainwater harvesting canprovide water for agriculture and domestic use. Rainwater collected from rooftops can be stored or usedto effectively recharge subsoil aquifers. Saving water in urban settings: Urban people wastelarge amounts of water. Leaking taps and pipes are a major source of loss ofwater. Canals and pipes carrying water from dams to theconsumer lead to nearly 50% loss during transfer. Reducing the demand for water by saving it is moreappropriate than trying to meet growing demands. 22. Rain water Harvesting As our world faces serious water shortages, everydrop of water we can use efficiently becomes of greatvalue. One method is to manage rain water in such a way thatit is used at the source. If as much water as possible is collected and stored thiscan be used after the rainy season is over. In many parts of the world especially in very dry areasthis has been traditionally practiced. However the stored water has to be kept pollution freeand clean so that it can be used as drinking water. 23. Current technologies of rainwater harvesting require that all roof and terrace water passesdown into a covered tank where it can be storedfor use after the monsoon. This is most advantageous in arid areas whereclean water is very scarce. However there arepractical difficulties such as constructing largestorage tanks which are expensive. 24. Another way of using rooftop rainwaterharvesting is to collect it so that it percolates intothe ground to recharge wells instead of flowingover the ground into rivers. Thus by rechargingground water harvested from rooftops, the watertable rises and the surrounding wells retain water throughout the year. 25. Watershed Management Rivers originate in streams that flow down mountainsand hill slopes. A group of small streams flow downhillsides to meet larger streams in the valley which formsthe tributaries of major rivers. The management of a single unit of land with itswater drainage system is called watershedmanagement. It is a technique that has several components. Thisincludes soil and water management and developingvegetative cover. The natural drainage pattern of a watershed unit ifmanaged appropriately can bring about local prosperityby a year round abundance of water that improves thequality of human life in the area. 26. Watershed management begins by taking control over adegraded site through local participation. People must appreciate the need to improve theavailability of water both in quantity and quality for theirown area. Once this is adequately demonstrated, the communitybegins to understand the project, people begin to worktogether in the activities that lead to good watershedmanagement. The first technical step is to take appropriate soilconservation measures. This is done by constructing aseries of long trenches and mounds along contours ofthe hill to hold the rainwater and allow it to percolate intothe ground. 27. This ensures that underground stores of waterare fully recharged. This is enhanced by allowinggrasses and shrubs to grow and by plantingtrees (mainly local species) which hold the soiland prevents it from being washed away in themonsoon. Local grass cover can however only increase iffree grazing of domestic animals is prevented bystall feeding. 28. In selected sites, several small checkdams are built which together hold backlarger amounts of water. All these measures constitute soundwatershed management. It improves the water table and keeps thestreams and nalas flowing throughout theyear. 29. RESETTLEMENT AND REHABILITATIONOF PEOPLE: ITS PROBLEMS ANDCONCERNS Major projects such as dams, mines, expressways, or thenotification of a National Park disrupts the lives of the peoplewho live there and may also require moving them to analternative site. None of us would like to give up the home we grew up in.Uprooting people is a serious issue. It reduces their ability to subsist on their traditional naturalresource base and also creates great psychologicalpressures. Especially tribal people, whose lives are wovenclosely around their own natural resources, cannot adapt toa new way of life in a new place. Thus no major project that is likely to displace people can becarried out without the consent of the local people. 30. In India, lakhs of people have been unfairly displaced bythousands of dams created since independence to drivethe green revolution. Resettlement requires alternate land. However, in ouroverpopulated country, there is no arablehigh quality land available. Thus most project affectedpersons are given unusable wasteland. The greatest battle to save their own precious land hasbeen carried out by the tribal people of the NarmadaRiver. They have fought to save their lands for decades. The Narmada Bachao Andolan has shown how bitter people can get over this issue. 31. Resettlement not only puts pressure onthe project affected people but also on thepeople who have been living in the areathat has been selected for resettlement. Thus both the communities suffer andconflict over resources is a distinctpossibility in future. 32. ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: ISSUES ANDPOSSIBLE SOLUTIONS Environmental ethics deals with issuesrelated to the rights of individuals that arefundamental to life and well being. This concerns not only the needs of eachperson today, but also those who willcome after us. It also deals with the rights of other livingcreatures that inhabit our earth. 33. Resource consumption patterns and the need for their equitable utilisation The unequal distribution of wealth and access toland and its resources is a serious environmentalconcern. An equitable sharing of resources forms the basis ofsustainable development for urban, rural andwilderness dwelling communities. As the political power base is in the urban centers,this itself leads to inequalities and a subsequent lossof sustainability in resource management in the ruraland even more so for forest dwelling people. 34. Equitable use of forest resources: We think offorests as being degraded due to fuelwoodcollection by poor rural communities, but forget that the rich use much greaterquantities of timber. Biomass based industriesinclude cotton textiles, paper, plywood, rubber,soap, sugar, tobacco, jute, chocolate, foodprocessing and packaging. These need land, energy, irrigation and forestresources. Do each of us realise this when we utilise, useexcessively or waste these resources that we getindirectly from the forests? 35. Who pays for the cost of environmental degradation? Most sections of society do not feel the direct effectsof degradation of the environment till it is too late.Those who suffer most are the poor, especially ruralwomen, and tribal people who are dependent onforests. Traditional fishermen who are dependent on streamsand rivers, and coastal people who fish and catchcrustacea, are seriously affected by the degradation ofaquatic ecosystems. Fuelwood gatherers from different types of forests,and pastoralists who are dependent on commongrazing lands suffer when their resources aredepleted. 36. While the rural people have a deep insight on the needfor sustainable use of natural resources and know aboutmethods of conservation, there are however severalnewer environmental concerns that are frequentlyoutside their sphere of life experiences. Their traditional knowledge of environmental concernscannot be expected to bring about an understanding ofissues such as global warming, or problems created bypollution, pesticides, etc. These people thus require a different pattern ofenvironment education that is related to their gaps ininformation. 37. locale specific environment awarenessprograms designed specifically for ruralschool children and adults. This must also use their local traditionalknowledge systems as a base on whichmodern concepts can be built, rather thanby fostering concepts that are completelyalien to their own knowledge systems. 38. Common property resources in India onceincluded vast stretches of forests, grazing lands andaquatic ecosystems. When the British found that they were unable toget enough wood for ship building and otheruses they converted forest areas intoGovernment Reserved Forests for their ownuse to grow timber trees. This alienated local people from having a stakein preserving these resources. This in turn led tolarge-scale losses in forest cover and thecreation of wasteland. 39. In traditional villages that were managed by localpanchayats, there were well defined rules aboutmanaging grazing lands, collecting forest resources,protecting sacred groves, etc. that supportedconservation. There was a more or less equitable distribution that wascontroled by traditional mechanisms to prevent misuse ofcommon property resources. Any infringement was quickly dealt with by the panchayatand the offender was punished. Common property resources were thus locally protectedby communities. As landuse patterns changed, thesemechanisms were lost and unsustainable practicesevolved, frequently as a result of an inadequately planneddevelopment strategy.