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The Underlying Causes ofEnvironmental Degradation
37. Environmental degradation is a result ofthe dynamic inter
play of socio-economic,institutional and technological
activities.
Environmental changes may be driven by manyfactors including
economic growth, populationgrowth, urbanization, intensification
ofagriculture, rising energy use and transportation.Poverty still
remains a problem at the root ofseveral environmental problems.
Social Factors
Population
38. Population is an important source ofdevelopment, yet it is a
major source of
environmental degradation when it exceeds thethreshhold limits
of the support systems. Unlessthe relationship between the
multiplyingpopulation and the life support system can bestabilized,
development programmes, howsoever,innovative are not likely to
yield desired results.Population impacts on the environment
primarilythrough the use of natural resources andproduction of
wastes and is associated withenvironmental stresses like loss of
biodiversity,air and water pollution and increased pressureon
arable land.
39. India supports 17 per cent of the worldpopulation on just
2.4 per cent of world landarea. Its current rate of population
growth at1.85 per cent continues to pose a persistentpopulation
challenge. In view of the linkagesbetween population and
environment, a vigorousdrive for population control need hardly be
overemphasised.
Poverty
40. Poverty is said to be both cause and effectof environmental
degradation. The circular linkbetween poverty and environment is
anextremely complex phenomenon. Inequalitymay foster
unsustainability because the poor,who rely on natural resources
more than therich, deplete natural resources faster as theyhave no
real prospects of gaining access to othertypes of resources.
Moreover, degradedenvironment can accelerate the process
ofimpoverishment, again because the poor dependdirectly on natural
assets. Although there has
been a significant drop in the poverty ratio inthe country from
55 percent in 1973 to 36 percentin 1993-94 , the absolute number of
poor have,
however, remained constant at around 320million over the years.
An acceleration in povertyalleviation is imperative to break this
link betweenpoverty and the environment.
Urbanisation
41. Lack of opportunities for gainfulemployment in villages and
the ecologicalstresses is leading to an ever increasingmovement of
poor families to towns. Mega citiesare emerging and urban slums are
expanding.There has been an eightfold increase in urbanpopulation
over 1901-1991. During the past twodecades of 1971-91, Indias urban
populationhas doubled from 109 million to 218 million andis
estimated to reach 300 million by 2000 AD.
42. Such rapid and unplanned expansion of
cities has resulted in degradation of urbanenvironment. It has
widened the gap betweendemand and supply of infrastructural
servicessuch as energy, housing, transport,communication,
education, water supply andsewerage and recreational amenities,
thusdepleting the precious environmental resourcebase of the
cities. The result is the growingtrend in deterioration of air and
water quality,generation of wastes, the proliferation of slumsand
undesirable land use changes, all of which
contribute to urban poverty.Economic Factors
43. To a large extent, environmentaldegradation is the result of
market failure, thatis, the non existent or poorly functioning
marketsfor environmental goods and services. In thiscontext,
environmental degradation is aparticular case of consumption or
productionexternalities reflected by divergence betweenprivate and
social costs (or benefits). Lack ofwell defined property rights may
be one of the
reasons for such market failure. On the otherhand, Market
distortions created by pricecontrols and subsidies may aggravate
theachievement of environmental objectives.
44. The level and pattern of economicdevelopment also affect the
nature ofenvironmental problems. Indias developmentobjectives have
consistently emphasised thepromotion of policies and programmes
foreconomic growth and social welfare. Between1994-95 and 1997-98,
the Indian economy hasgrown a little over 7 per cent per annum:
thegrowth of industrial production and manufacturingaveraging
higher at 8.4 per cent and 8.9 per
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cent respectively during these years. Themanufacturing
technology adopted by most ofthe industries has placed a heavy load
onenvironment especially through intensiveresource and energy use,
as is evident in naturalresource depletion (fossil fuel, minerals,
timber),
water, air and land contamination, health hazardsand degradation
of natural eco-systems. Withhigh proportion fossil fuel as the main
source ofindustrial energy and major air pollutingindustries such
as iron and steel, fertilizers andcement growing, industrial
sources havecontributed to a relatively high share in airpollution.
Large quantities of industrial andhazardous wastes brought about by
expansionof chemical based industry has compounded thewastes
management problem with seriousenvironmental health
implications.
45. Transport activities have a wide variety ofeffects on the
environment such as air pollution,noise from road traffic and oil
spills from marineshipping. Transport infrastructure in India
hasexpanded considerably in terms of network andservices. Thus,
road transport accounts for amajor share of air pollution load in
cities such asDelhi. Port and harbor projects mainly impacton
sensitive coastal eco systems. Theirconstruction affects hydrology,
surface water
quality, fisheries, coral reefs and mangroves tovarying
degrees.
46. Direct impacts of agricultural developmenton the environment
arise from farming activitieswhich contribute to soil erosion, land
salinationand loss of nutrients. The spread of greenrevolution has
been accompanied by overexploitation of land and water resources,
anduse of fertilizers and pesticides have increasedmany fold.
Shifting cultivation has also been animportant cause of land
degradation. Leaching
from extensive use of pesticides and fertilizersis an important
source of contamination of water
bodies. Intensive agriculture and irrigationcontribute to land
degradation particularlysalination, alkalization and water
logging.
Institutional Factors
47. The Ministry of Environment & Forests
(MOEF) in the Government is responsible forprotection,
conservation and development ofenvironment. The Ministry works in
closecollaboration with other Ministries, StateGovernments,
Pollution Control Boards and anumber of scientific and technical
institutions ,universities, non-Governmental organisations etc.
48. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 is thekey legislati on
governing environmentmanagement. Other important legislations in
thearea include the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
and the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Theweakness of the
existing system lies in theenforcement capabilities of
environmentalinstitutions, both at the centre and the state.There
is no effective coordination amongstvarious Ministries/Institutions
regardingintegration of environmental concerns at
theinception/planning stage of the project. Currentpolicies are
also fragmented across severalGovernment agencies with differing
policymandates. Lack of trained personnel and
comprehensive database delay many projects.Most of the State
Government institutions arerelatively small suffering from
inadequacy oftechnical staff and resources. Although overallquality
of Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) studies and the effective
implementationof the EIA process have improved over the
years,institutional strengthening measures such astraining of key
professionals and staffing withproper technical persons are needed
to makethe EIA procedure a more effective instrumentfor environment
protection and sustainable
development.
