Has Rio mattered for India?Has Rio mattered for India?Agreements and Achievements in Agreements and Achievements in

Sustainable Development Sustainable Development

Ligia NoronhaTERI

Workshop on Institutional Framework on Sustainable Development

International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development, (iCED)

Jaipur

28 September 2011

Requires that: the basic needs of all persons should be met.The affluent everywhere aim at consumption standards which, in time if not immediately, can be reached by everyone and which are within the bounds of the ecological possible.A society’s ability to meet basic needs be maximized both by building up its sustainable productive potential and by institutional arrangements which offer a more equitable access to resources and livelihood opportunities.Long before these limits are reached the concerned community should (a) ensure equitable access to the constrained resource and (b) reorient its technological efforts to relieve the pressure on the constraint.The elements in natural systems critical for the maintenance of life be identified and all human activities be oriented so as to avoid endangering these elements locally, regionally or globally.

A development path is sustainable if it meets needs of the present without compromising the ability to do the same in future.

Sustainable development is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological and institutional change enhance not merely the current but the future potential to meet basic needs.

Needs are socially and culturally determined and the only definition that is sustainable is one which is accepted by the people themselves.

Nitin Desai, W0152c/ND/es/23.06.86

Sustainable development

Sustainable development Sustainable development

Wide acceptability of concept But inadequate political

commitment

As a goal and mission of countless organizations

Fuzziness of the concept which interestingly allows consensus building

Provides a common language

Unifying core - built around needs, ecological limits, and social acceptability

Long term, beyond electoral cycles

Requires cross sectoral thinkingo But silos mentality; protection

of turf

Needs recognition of trade offs; o Everything is a not a win win

Requires burden sharing

What do we mean when we speak What do we mean when we speak

of SD?of SD?The interfaces The paradigm

Involves not just economic efficiency but also social justice, environmental stewardship

Empowerment of social groups in decision-making

People and expert directed policiesIntegrated planningDecentralization in policy-making and implementation

People as actorsEx ante preventive actionReliance also on incentive based systems Incomparable values need to be observed Longer horizons; scenarios; uncertainty built in

Internalization of external costsKnowledge supplements science Socio-ecological multi attribute assessments used

Participatory and process oriented procedures to environmental management

TERI, 2011

IEG and Sustainable Development

About key international institutions About key international institutions

working on SD issues working on SD issues UN system does not lack institutions to deliver on sustainable

development. What it does lack is coordination and coherence within the system.o CSD has become a negotiating forum, not dialogic enough

to bring various stakeholders together on contested issueso UNEP should not hanker for political space and power.

Instead, it should focus on strengthening its current functions, as an ‘implementing agency’; and as a ‘coordinating agency’ that helps in clustering of MEAs and REAs.

o ECOSOC is incomplete without an environmental armo MEAs lack coherence and need more national

implementation.

State of the worldState of the world The MDG report 2011 suggests that reaching all the MDGs by 2015 will be

a challenge as the most vulnerable are still beyond reach. This is especially so in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia.

There are still 1.2 billion very poor people (those living on less than $1 a day) and 40% of the world’s population still lives on less than $2/day;

The worlds’ richest 500 individuals have a combined income greater than that of the poorest 416 million, the average income in the richest 20 countries is 37 times that in the poorest 20 – a ratio that has doubled in the past 40 years;

More than 1 billion people in low- and middle-income countries lack access to safe water, 1.4 billion have no access to electricity , and 2 billion lack adequate sanitation ;

Two-thirds of all fisheries are exploited at or beyond their sustainable limits, and half or more of the world’s coral reefs may perish in this century.

Three of nine interlinked planetary boundaries (rate of biodiversity loss, climate change and human interference with the nitrogen cycle), have already been overstepped as per recent estimates.

New and emerging challengesNew and emerging challenges Transnational risks such as communicable disease, climate change,

water conflicts, energy security, cyber security, and terrorism Since 2008, we have witnessed high financial volatility and uneven

growth performance which has increased social distributive tensions.

Increased burden of disease in developing countries, estimated between 25-25%, attributed to environmental causes. Risks are linked to poverty, gender and social factors.

Many of these security concerns, serious enough on their own, also have inter linkages, e.g., food-energy-water, climate-energy-security

An increasing international development and environmental commitments’ funding gap: estimated in the range of $324-336 bn/ year between 2012 and 2017 ( $156 bn for climate change, $168-180 bn for ODA).

A reduced multilateralism

Global Global

Partnerships Partnerships

will depend on will depend on

commitment of commitment of

nations to nations to

development development

Source: http://www.cgdev.org/section/initiatives/_active/cdi

CDI, 2010

India’s engagement with international India’s engagement with international

sustainable developmentsustainable development Active engagement with the concept since it first

came into use

Engaged with many of its own challenges; but has

many innovations to offer the international community

Responses to Climate change are ensconced in the

“common but differentiated responsibility” principle

A wide array of laws, policies and programmes that

address SD issues. Some key ones at the interface

India and International AgreementsIndia and International Agreements India has been in the forefront of international agreements.

o WTO Agreement (1995), o RTA with ASEAN (2009), o Bilateral Investments Promotion and Protection Act

(BIPAs), o Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Racial

Discrimination (1968), o International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

(1979), Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1993), C

o Convention on the Rights of a Childo India is one of the founding members of the ILO

Major Environmental agreements India is a party toMajor Environmental agreements India is a party to

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 1971- designated 25 wetland sites in India as Ramsar Sites of International Importance

CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna

Montreal Protocol under the Vienna Convention on substances that deplete the ozone layer, 1987

Three Chemical Conventionso Basel Convention on trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes, 1989o Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) o Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in

International Trade (entered into force from 2004)

Rio Conventionso Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992o United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992 and Kyoto Protocol o United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

Socio-ecological (environment and social) Key Acts Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991

National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997National Green Tribunal Act, 2010

Social equity (economic and social)

Key Acts Person with Disabilities Act, 1995(right to employment of the disabled)The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Right Act, 2001The Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007

Green economy (economic and environment)

Key Acts Energy Conservation Act, 2001The Electricity Act, 2003

Sustainable development (social, environment and economic)Key Acts The (Wildlife Protection Act), 1972 and its amendments in 1991, 2002

Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, 1996Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and the Biological Diversity Rules, 2004National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005Forests Rights Act, 2006

Indian laws at the SD interfaces Indian laws at the SD interfaces

Social equity (economic and social) Key Policies and Programmes

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, 1995Annapurna Scheme, 2000-01Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, 2007Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, 2007Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme, 2009

Socio-ecological (environment and social)Key Policies and Programmes

National Agricultural Policy, 2002National Urban Sanitation Policy, 2008Integrated Watershed Management Programme, 2009

Green economy (economic and environment)Key Policies and Programmes

Technological Upgradation Fund Schemes, 1999Fodder and Feed Development Scheme, 2005Integrated Energy Policy of 2008Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT)

Sustainable development (social, environment and economic)Key Policies and Programmes

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, 2005National Urban Transport Policy, 2006National Environmental Policy, 2006National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy, 2007National Action Plan on Climate Change, 2008National Disaster Management Policy, 2009National Rural Livelihood Mission, 2009

India’s policies/programmes at the interfacesIndia’s policies/programmes at the interfaces

Economic AchievementsEconomic Achievements 7.2% GDP growth rate in the past decade with an 8.25% GDP

growth rate between 2005-06 to 2009-10. Shifts in economic structure– declining share of agriculture in the

GDP, rise in share of industry and services in the last two decades.

MSME sector : 26 million units and employs about 60 million people, contributing to about 8% of GDP, 45% of manufactured output and 40% export (Economic Survey 2010-11)

FDI inflows increased from 148 million USD in 1991-92 to 18,800 million USD in 2009-10.

Exports increased from 6.2% in 1990-91 to 12% in 2010-11. Important policies, programmes and legal framework put in

place: Industrial Policy Statement (1991), National Rural Livelihood Mission, Right to Information Act (2005), National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005), Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Mission (2005), Public Liability Insurance Act (1991), etc.

Economic ChallengesEconomic Challenges

Infrastructure shortages, particularly in the rural areas Employment opportunities in urban areas higher than

rural areas-- leading to high levels of rural-urban migration

Urban population growing at a faster rate than rural population causing a huge divide.

High levels of inflation in the country High fiscal deficits; need to restructure spending patterns

based on identified priorities. Strengthening of financial reforms to channel savings

effectively into investment, meet funding requirements for infrastructure and enhance financial stability

Social AchievementsSocial Achievements Process of a demographic transition from high fertility, high mortality to low

fertility, low mortality rates--population growth declined from 2.2 in 1994 to 1.9 in 2001.

Fertility rate reduced from 3.9 in 1990 to 2.8 in 2010; life expectancy increased from 55.9 in 1991 to 63.5 in 2002-06.

Literacy rate increased from 52.2% in 1991 to 74.4 in 2011. Sex ratio gone up from 927 in 1991 to 940 in 2011 Number of people with water supply facilities increased from 78% in 1981

to 91% in 2004. Financial inclusion being encouraged for social and economic upliftment of

the disadvantaged and vulnerable. Important policies, programmes and legal framework put in place: National

Agricultural Policy, National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (2008), Integrated Rural Development Programme (1970s), Education for All Campaign (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan), National Rural Health Mission (2005), National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM, 2009) National Policy for Empowerment of Women (2001), CEDAW (2003), Public Liability Insurance Act (1991)

Social ChallengesSocial Challenges Not able to achieve most MDGs related to health indicators--

mostly due to inadequate access to public sector health facilities and the quality at which it is supplied.

Decline in child sex ratio to 914 in 2011- lowest since independence.

High urban-rural disparities in terms of people living below poverty line, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, literacy, etc.

Need to focus on quality and access to education in the country more than running after numbers.

The proportion of population that has dietary energy consumption below 2100/2400 kcal in India seen to rise since 1987‐88 with about 64% below the norm in 1987‐ 88 increasing to 76% in 2004‐05 (figure may be higher with rising food prices in last 2 years).

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)Goal No. Goal Progress

1 Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger Slow or Off Track

2 Achieve Universal Primary Education On Track or Fast

3 Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Moderately on Track

4 Reduce Child Mortality Slow or Off Track

5 Improve Maternal Health Slow or Off Track

6 Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

Moderate to Slow Track

7 Ensure Environmental Sustainability On track to Off Track Depending on the Indicators

8 Develop a Global Partnership for Development

On track

Underweight childrenUnderweight children

Key reasons: inadequate breastfeeding, micronutrient inadequacies, absence of child and maternity benefits, poverty, nutrition education,

40% of children < 3 yrs will be underweight by 2015 as compared to target of 26.8%

Source:MOSPI, India Country Report 2009, MDG civil society report, 2010

Infant (under five) mortalityInfant (under five) mortality

key reasons•pneumonia, measles, diarrhoea, malaria and neonatal conditions that occur during pregnancy and during or immediately after birth.•Lack of health care, maternal and child malnutrition and poor environmental health conditions

UN5 mortality can come down to 70/1000 live births as against target of 42/1000

Source: GOI, India Country Report 2009, MDG civil society report, 2010

Maternal healthMaternal health

Key reasons: main causes of maternal deaths are as follows: Haemorrhage (38%), Sepsis (11%) and Abortions (8%), Obstructed Labour (5%), Hypertensive Disorder (5%) and other conditions (34%) (p 61 of MDG Report)Maternal malnutrition is another key issue (RGI, 2006)

MMR is expected to come to 135/100,000 as compared to 109 target

Source: MOSPI, India Country Report 2009, MDG civil society report, 2010

Access to water, sanitation, clean energyAccess to water, sanitation, clean energy

Source: TERI, 2009Even where infrastructure exists, service delivery is poor

Gender-poverty energy nexus

Rural-urban divide

Bottlenecks to achieving MDGsBottlenecks to achieving MDGs

0.0%0.2%0.4%0.6%0.8%1.0%1.2%1.4%1.6%1.8%2.0%

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

Sheer scale of the goals

Governance constraintso Capacity &

resourceso Coordinationo Other priorities?

Extreme events in some states

Falling external assistance

India’s external assistance as a percentage to total GDP Source: Economic survey, 2009, IMF Economic database, 2010

Environment AchievementsEnvironment Achievements Increase in forest and tree cover by 728 km2 and 1106 km2 respectively in 2009 as

compared to 2005; 21 percent of geographical area under forest cover. According to the State Forest Report 2009, in the last 10 years, forest cover in the

country has increased by 3.31 million hectares, showing an average 0.46% increase every year.

Energy intensity (total primary energy supply with respect to GDP) declined over time. For 1980-90, it was estimated at 1.08 while the same for 1990-91 to 2003-04 was estimated to be 0.82.

Last ten years has seen close to 180,000 rural habitations being connected to all weather roads in the country.

India has also become one of the Clean Development Mechanism project host countries in the world with projects being undertaken at various levels.

Important policies, programmes and legal framework put in place: National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC, 2008), State Action Plan on Climate Change, Joint Forest Management Act (1990), Biological Diversity Act (2002), Environment (Protection) Act (1986), National Environmental Tribunal Act (1998), eight NAPCC missions, etc.

XIII th Finance Commission recognizes that environment is a shared legacy with future generations, and makes a beginning in introducing an environmental dimension into intergovernmental fiscal arrangements.

Environmental ChallengesEnvironmental Challenges Poor urban air quality in all Indian cities due to increasing

vehicular fleet, industrial expansion, etc. Water availability, land and food security a rising concern in

the country. Energy security (electricity and fuel) is still a huge problem.

Energy poverty is a growing problem, specially in rural areas and it has major health implications.

Unsustainable patterns of consumption and production Increase in solid waste and e-waste Climate change, natural disasters and hazards risks Slow diffusion of climate and environmental friendly

technologiesConservative estimates suggest that environmental degradation takes a

toll of about 4% of India’s GDP (morbidity due to unclean air and water, productivity loss due to degraded land and forests) and over 800,000 premature deaths (due to air and water pollution).

Example: SD issues around the Example: SD issues around the Western Ghats - a biodiversity hotspot Western Ghats - a biodiversity hotspot

Why should mining not be banned to arrest the further loss of cultural and biological diversity and destruction of the ecology of the Western Ghats? (WGEEP)

Why should mining be privileged over other land, waterways, forests and groundwater uses/users?

How have/are the intergenerational questions around mineral depletion been addressed?

Why is there so much illegal mining? Who is doing anything about it?

What about the corruption at all levels of jurisdiction?

Some Questions that we have been confronted with from stakeholders, 2010-2011, WGEEP and Goa

Regulatory coordination deficitsRegulatory coordination deficits Strong set of environmental rules and regulations in

place, buto EIAs are fraudulent; Conditions of Environmental clearance are

not observedo Discrete, stand alone EIAs when cumulative impact studies of

development are neededo Not enough capacity at SPCB levelo Absence of local monitoring institutions

Poor redressal of people’s concerns Government machinery is perceived skewed in

favour of corporates. Lack of knowledge of ground realities in villages

where several developments are taking place Illegal activities: logging, hunting, mining

Strengthening sustainable development governanceStrengthening sustainable development governance- what can ICED do- what can ICED do

Provide improved environmental accounting to support informed policy making and policy engagement

Draw attention to niche areas (co-benefits) Analyse regulatory deficits Help improve benefit sharing of development projects Work towards environment and resource adjusted income

accounting Creation of Incentives for conservation and innovations

o Payments for ecosystem serviceso Reward good corporate/state performanceo Encourage green innovations

Data bases need to be developed which can support regulation and good development planning, for example spatial data bases.

Thank you Thank you

Dr. Ligia Noronha,Dr. Ligia Noronha,Director, Resources and Global Security DivisionDirector, Resources and Global Security Division, , TERITERIemail: email: ligian@teri.res.inphone: 011-24682100, 41504900phone: 011-24682100, 41504900