Consumerism: A New Disease of Developing Countries

The latest study conducted by the psychologists of Northwestern University relating to consumerism confirms the vanity of human wishes including materialism and consumerism. (http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/consumerism-and-its-antisocial-effects-can-be-turned-onor-off.html ).The research shows that that people who place a high value on wealth, status, and stuff are more depressed and anxious and less sociable than those who do not. Apart from above worthlessness of these values which are on the top of the wish list of every one in today’s world, the Consumerism and materialism influence the human attitude to act in a ways which are less ecologically beneficial and indirectly force human being to behave in less social manner.

 "The more we consume, the happier we will be. Or so we like to believe. But for the planet, it's disastrous." - George Monbiot .

The simple indicator reflecting the surging economic growth of developing countries including India is the number of millionaires and Billionaires. There were 85000 millionaires in India in 2005 which rose to 153000 in 2011 apart from having   55 Billionaires (2011).  However on the other side we are witnessing the continued degradation of environmental conditions, over exploitation , social unrest, corruption and other socio-environmental problems. These offshoots of growing economies are one of the major challenges which the developing countries are going to face in coming years.

 So we have a bigger question to ask.

What kind of life style we shall adopt?

One that is full with high materialistic value, consumerism and supporting exploiting of resources unmindful........ 

or 

the one that is socially just, responsible, environmental friendly and rational in  consumerism..

SUSTAINABILITY: Oh. Environment !! Who cares ?

The concept of sustainability was adopted in 1969   by IUCN but a formal approval to this term was given  in 1972 during the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm when the conflicts between environment and development were first acknowledged. A standard definition of Sustainability was adopted  during World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 where  economic development, social development and environmental protection were recognized  as three pillars  and collective responsibility  and mutually interdependent actions at local, national, regional and global levels to advance and strengthen these three reinforcing pillars of sustainable development  were  identified as core area of action.

Development of technology has also facilitated the economic growth . Apart from meeting the genuine demands of population growing at exponential rate , the increased trends of consumerism and materialism have affected the demand regime fuelling for further development of market. This process of development, which started germinating its seeds into the mind of Homo sapiens about 2 lakhs years ago, accelerated all processes leading into change of all ecosystems of the world in a gradual but sure manner. Technological advancements leading to economic changes , socio- ecological combinations and complexities  leading to organizational transformation of  communities and communication processes have helped man to reach the present stage .However the process has severely influenced the resource base and also resulted into unprecedented environmental damage in the form of pollution of various kinds, degradation of precious lands resources and depletion of valuable plants and animals.

The other important concept of sustainable development is social sector where the concept of equity is envisaged to deal all the challenges arising out of increased economic growth  which is not equal in all parts of the Globe. Whether it is health, education, food security or any other sector related to social well being of  the community , the Govt/States are playing crucial role  to provide necessary inputs, though the other reason behind this is to sustain the political interests which is very common in a democratic system like ours and where the people as an electorate play crucial role at frequent intervals. It is also  true that in spite of continued efforts towards improvement of  social sectors for the last 50 years, the results of these interventions have not been very encouraging mainly due to poor delivery mechanism , lack of interest and commitment leading into administrative incapacities apart from  faulty implementation of the programmes.

Environmental  conservation is  being considered  very crucial not only for the overall survival of the man kind but also for the intergenerational needs. Recent phenomenon of climate change and related problems  including global warming has made the amelioration and conservation of environment arduous and challenging. To counter this  additional problem, there is need to have  much emphasis  towards  technological innovations and  financial support which is somehow missing in  the present system of governance .

One  the major factors which is not making the environment sector eligible for the required patronage and subject of priority at various levels including political parlance is the intangible benefits arising out of it. Be it  a quality water to drink  or fresh air to breathe  or  non-degraded land to support agriculture or allied activities  or  precious forests for multifarious benefits , these issues have no potential for registering their importance in the minds of political bosses and there is bleak future of improvement of this sector unless concentrated efforts , political will translating into improved budgetary allocations and suitable technologies are infused into present environment sector which is badly  crippled and  ailing. Till the present trend of neglect, less priority and implementation bottlenecks coupled with institutional deformities like corruption and accountabilities  related to Environment  continue, it may not wise to expect any desirable outcome as envisaged for a true sustainable model of development .

There is need to  bring a change in the attitude of all the concerned including those  who play a crucial role in the conservation of environment  by putting extra efforts  and changing the present attitude  of shrugging off responsibilities and  according  least priority to this sector. The “who cares” attitude  needs to be replaced  with the  “We all care” only then we may able to expect a visible and required impact in this directions which is  very much required not only for present generations but  for the generations to come.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively mine and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency/government.)

Greenest people having most polluted Cities: India’s Air Pollution

I felt quite happy reading an article of Mr. Bhagwad on his blog (http://www.bhagwad.com/blog/2010/environment/climate-change/myth-of-the-environmentally-irresponsible-indian.html/) citing one study carried out by National Geographic in association with GlobeScan ranking the greatest people across the Globe. To my surprise and happiness Indians were ranked as the greenest people in the world for the third time. However my happiness was quite short lived, once I came across one study related to Environmental performance Index (EPI) for the year 2012 taken up by Yale and Columbia Universities in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. 22 indicators across ten major policy categories including air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity, and forest management were selected for this study. In the EPI ranking, Switzerland with 76.69 score got top rank followed by Latvia, Norway, Luxembourg and Costa Rica under strongest performers category . This was not a good report for the India . Ranked at 125 with 36.23 score, she got listed in the category of weakest performers along with Tajikistan , Iran, Iraq and south Africa.

In another significant study , carried out by World Health organization (WHO) regarding the most polluted Cities of the World,India again got it's two cities included in the list of 10 most air polluted cities of the world.

1. Ahwaz, Iran

2. Ulan Bator, Mongolia

3. Sanadaj, Iran

4. Ludhiana, India

5. Quetta, Pakistan

6. Kermanshah, Iran

7. Peshawar, Pakistan

8. Gaberone, Botswana

9. Yasouj, Iran

10. Kanpor, India

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2011/air_pollution_20110926/ en/index.html

This study was based on the status of PM10(Particulate Matter 10) an indicator of availability of fine particles of dust and other pollutants less than 10 micron in size which are responsible for a variety of diseases related to Upper respiratory tracts like Asthma, Cough, Cold, and also found to be carcinogenic in many cases. It is also estimated that more than 2 millions people die every year from breathing in tiny particles present in indoor and outdoor air pollution. As per WHO, air quality guidelines for PM10 20 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) is as an annual average but as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB ) guidelines the permissible limit of PM10 is 60 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3).

(http://cpcb.nic.in/National_Ambient_Air_Quality_Standards.php)

The status of other cities having PM 10 more than permissible limit of 60 µg/m3 is as follows.

City	Annual Mean PM 10 (µg/m3).
Ahmedabad	80
Nashik	80
Surat	81
Hyderabad	87
Visakhapatnam	87
Rajkot	89
Bangalore	90
Vijayawada	91
Bhopal	93
Nagpur	98
Pune	99
Jaipur	112
Meerut	115
Patna	120
Allahabad	128
Dhanbad	131
Mumbai	132
Jabalpur	136
Faridabad	139
Kolkata	148
Agra	165
Indore	174
Lucknow	186
Delhi	198
Kanpur	209
Ludhiana	251

The ranking of Ludhiana (known for its automobile industries) and Kanpur (for it leather industries) with PM10 limits of 251 and 209 µg/m3 respectively not only speaks about the deteriorated and lethal quality of air but also the effectiveness of regulatory bodies like State Pollution Control Boards and other govt. institutions. Lack of strong and environmentally sensitive political will always be a guiding factor for the improvement or deterioration of such state of affairs.

TIGERS or TRIBALS: What to choose & what to lose?

So India lost 367 sqkm of forests in 2 years, out of which281 sq km of forest cover was lost in Andhra Pradesh. As per the latest report, the on-going naxalite activities in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh are squarely blamed for this state if affairs as 182 sqkm of forest lost in Andhra Pradesh pertains to Khammam district known for leftist activities.

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article2869267.ece

This report has not only generated lot of discussion among the environmentalists, concerned citizens and officials for further depletion of already dwindling resources, same time conflicting opinions are being advocated for this problem.

A few of these are listed below.

1. The main reason for this situation is clearing of forests by local tribals to prove their claim over the forest lands so that they can be benefitted under recently promulgated Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Andhra Pradesh is one of the States implementing this Act very effectively.

2. There are many areas where the felling of mature plantations of Teak, Eucalyptus etc. was also taken up under the approved working plans resulting into display of clear patches in aerial photography.

3. Illegal felling of forest area under the support of leftist or other anti-social elements is also one of the reasons.

Whatsoever the reasons we may cite for the depletion of forests by the local tribals, a candid analysis points at only policy and management of government programmes. In spite of adequate allocation of funds and legal safeguards/supports and protection in the form of reservations and mandatory allocation of funds, the developmental activities and schemes are not percolating down to the lowest and needy individuals for the last 50 years. The lack of access to developmental activities and marginalization of poor in distribution of resources which are the corner stones for a sustainable and environmental friendly development , has only compelled the poor including tribals to exploit the adjacent forests which is only resources accessible to them and from which they eak-out their livelihoods

According to one latest survey under taken up by Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC), there is inequality in the efforts made to prevent people from poverty and get them out of it. The numerous are inadequate and insufficient.

(http://infochangeindia.org/poverty/books-reports/why-poor-rural-tribals-will-remain-poor-for-generations.html) .

Of the 29 poverty alleviation programmes studied in the survey, only nine could prevent people from falling into the poverty trap. Thirteen could enable escape from poverty and 16 could alleviate chronic poverty. Consequently, says Shashanka Bhide, a senior fellow of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, a significant proportion of non-poor households may fall into poverty while a large proportion of poor may not manage to escape it. The result in case of forest dependent tribal communities, more and more forests are cleared in order to eking out their livelihoods. The poor remains poor for generations. So the question arises when we are not able to improve the conditions of tribals and aboriginal communities in spite of so many interventions/ experimentations , is it possible to conserve the wild -life specially tiger which is an indicator species of a balanced and perfect ecosystem and the tribals are one of the integral parts of this ecosystem ?

When discussing the status of Wildlife particularly the number of Tigers in the Country, tremendous concern for this matter has been shown not only by the media, officials and environmentalists but also by the general public.. Though the currents census of tigers has indicated an improved population of 1706 against the 1411 in 2007.

( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12877560).

However in case of any incidence of death of a tiger and a leopard to that matter there is genuine response from all sections of the society which is appreciable but the hard fact remains that such concern and response fizzle out very fast. Very quickly we forget these issues be it forests or tigers or pollution.

Rapid urbanisation, multifarious demands of population that is increasing at exponential rate and industrialisation has to follow the rapid and fast mode of development. This developmental process demands exploitation of resources at a rate which is unusually fast. Forests resources of the world had already been easy target of this process. Moreover Forests never had been an important agenda at political parlance. Supposing if all trees would have a voting power then the scene would have been entirely different .The on-going programmes and schemes of the Government aiming at improving the forest cover of the country are not at all sufficient to counter the total impact and pressure of all on-going developmental activities including pressure on existing land/forests for various purposes .Apart from providing a higher budgetary allocation there is need to inculcate a sense and positive approach towards environmental conservation among our policy makers and programme implementing agencies at various levels including forest departments. Otherwise we will be always fighting the battle of survival of forests and tribals at one forum and the dwindling number of tigers at other forum in isolation while the solution is very simple. Conserve and improve the forest resources, it will provide more livelihood opportunities for tribals; such a system will be always conducive for the growth of the tigers, a species indicating the health of a balanced and ideal environment.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively mine and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency/government.)

Is Community Cleanliness in India is of very low standards?

While going through one of the references related to Environment and Culture, I came across one article by Mr. David Leuthold (1989) related to culture and environment wherein he has correlated the reason of lower grade of Community cleanliness in India to its relegating to lower classes in the pa st. He further states that “ ..Hindus were very careful about their personal cleanliness, but had little concern about community cleanliness”. This statement initially puzzled me mainly because someone else commented badly about our Country and its culture. Nevertheless the existing scenario in this regard is also not worthy to refute the above statement.

This aspect is more relevant in current situations wherein most of us are not much bothered about the community cleanliness. (Who has the time? a stereotype but acerbic answer).Moreover the changed life style and increased consumption and consumerism have resulted into waste generation of the first magnitude. The situation is more pathetic in Metropolitan Cities including modern multi storied complexes/megacities where the disposal of solid waste (mainly municipal waste) has become one of the burning problems both for the civic authorities and citizens.

India’s urban population which was around 62 million in 1951 has been increased about 5 times in 50 years (285 million in 2001) and likely to cross 500 million by 2021.Such an alarming growth is bound to increase the waste generation especially in urban areas. The present per capita waste generation is estimated to be between 0.3 to 0.6 kg/day which makes our daily waste production more than 1.5 lakh MT and annual production around 60 MT.

The current trend of population growth is growing to increase the waste generation proportionately and causing a huge problem of waste disposal apart from the pressure on the existing land for its disposal. As per one report,more than 1400 sq. km of land would be required by the end of 2047 for waste disposal only .

The interesting thing about municipal solid waste is that around 50 % of the waste is of bio-degradable category, so if it is handled with little care and efforts, half of the waste being generated in our cities can be converted into manure by composting. This is possible only by one simple but sensible action of segregating waste at source and its proper disposal. While the first involves the initiatives at individual level starting at home, the later involves proper planning and practices at Municipal level. This should be followed by self discipline of not throwing any kind of waste whether industrial, building or household without proper disposal. Then only we will not be blamed as insensitive towards community cleanliness.

Following simple but practical tips can help further.

1. Generate less waste (reusing and recycling).

2. Take your own bag (Reduced plastic consumption will reduce the problem of disposal).

3. Segregate waste at home.

4. Promote two bin system (one for bio-degradable and other for no bio-degradable like plastics) in your society /colony.

Key words: Plastic, Municipal solid waste, conservation, recycling, cleanliness, community.

Rice , Millets and Water Scarcity

Today participated in World water day celebrations along with college students from JNTU and officials of the A P pollution control Board. The March 22^nd is being celebrated as World Water Day ( started in 1992). One of the guest speakers while emphasizing the importance of water and its conservation put forth a new dimension of water conservation by changing food habits. Indian staple diets from times immemorial have been centering around rice ( south) and wheat (north) .If we see the water requirement of these crops it takes around 750 liters of water to produce one Kg of Wheat while for rice the water requirement is more than double ( 1550 Liters). (http://www.reec.nsw.edu.au/k6/page/wa49.htm ).

Ever increasing demand for rice and wheat puts enormous pressure on existing water sources . This aggravates the existing problem of drinking water availability since the status of India is not very comfortable as far as drinking water availability is concerned . It is placed at 76 rank with 84% availability of drinking water.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_dri_wat_ava-health-drinking-water-availability .

The availability of drinking water is getting grim every day. As per one estimate 50% of the world's population will face acute water shortage by 2030. A report from the World bank predicts that all the major Indian cities will run dry in the coming 20 years.

Coming to the food habits and its role in water scarcity or water conservation the millets are the promising crops which require almost no irrigation for their cultivation contrary to very high water requirement of rice and wheat as stated above. India is the largest producers of Millets in the world( 106 lakhs tones per year (2007). Eight millets species (Sorghum, Finger millet, Pearl millet, Foxtail millet, Barnyard millet, Proso millet, Kodo millet and Little millet) are commonly cultivated under rain fed conditions in India. Millets are considered eco friendly crops which can be grown in dry conditions, poor soils, require minimum inputs and no fertilizer , provide nutritional value along with livelihood and food security. In fact Millets are being fielded as one of the promising crops to counter the major challenges of climate change arising due to increased global temperature, water scarcity and malnutrition.

http://www.bhoomimagazine.org/component/k2/item/31-millets-future-of-food-and-farming/31-millets-future-of-food-and-farming.

A little change in food habits ( Rice and wheat based) by switching over to millets to the extent possible and promoting its cultivation can contribute a lot .

HOW EFFECTIVE IS OUR TREE PLANTING PROGRAMME ( VAN MAHOTSAVA) ?

Other day when I was interacting with students of a local engineering college on the occasion of a seminar on environmental issues , a student asked me whether all the trees planted during previous Vanmahotsava programmes are established and if so why we have not sufficient area under tree cover ?

The simple question raised by this student confounded me making little uncomfortable for a while. Though I somehow succeeded in convincing him but while returning from college this question started bothering me .

Vanmahotsava or The National Tree Planting Programme or GREAT FOREST FESTIVAL was started in July 1947 after a successful tree-planting drive attended by national leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr Rajendra Prasad and Abdul Kalam Azad in Delhi.

In the early 50's this movement was renamed by late Shri K. M. Munshi, the then Union Minister for Food & Agriculture. Real impetus to this programme was given in 1970 which was started by Gujarat state followed by other states.

We have been taking up tree planting programme for the last so many years in a big way .There is no concrete data available as how many trees were planted in a particular year specially in the last few decades and out of that how many really survived. In the recent times there has been an overwhelming increase or spurt of activities centering around tree planting programme during Van Mahotsava . Big announcement of planting million trees to combat global warming and environmental protection are being announced by Corporations/ Municipalities / NGOs .Lot many publicity in all media follows this and on one fine day of van mahotsava the ceremony takes off . Dignitaries and Celebrities with smiling faces (holding the poor seedling) remind us to plant trees for our future which become the headlines next day.

It is true but same time a sad state of affairs for the country that in most of the cases the tree planting programmes proves to be formality and publicity stunt. There will be hardly a few locations where the trees planted during Vanmahotsava survived with good number at least for a year .

This state of affair hardly gets attention of media and general public .In my opinion there is need for a little introspection in this issue. This is more relevant this year as India has been selected host of World Environment Day 2011 and further year 2011 has also been declared as International Year of Forests by UN.

International Year of Forests 2011

I could summarize few points which appear to be main factors for not making tree plantation programme a real success. Lot of success in the ongoing and ensuing planting programmes can be achieved if these small but important points are given due importance.

1. Lack of proper planning leading to adoption of temporary, unscientific, faulty methods like inadequate pit size, poor quality soil for plants, lack of watering facility etc. These all factors result into poor survival of the plant.

2. A quality seedling of desired species is another most important factor. It is however observed that most of the time this issue is not given due importance and whatsoever type of seedling (either crooked or undersized or weak) is available is used for planting which should be avoided. A general thumb rule for this is to use seedling having at least 3 feet height and reasonably thick stem (around 1 ” dia).

3. Other features of quality seedling include sturdy stem free from deformities, symmetrical crown, dense fibrous root system and free from diseases.

4. Real commitment and concern of all for this programme are two factors . All sections of society need to have the genuine realization about the need of tree cover and its importance.

5. Inadequate after care or maintenance specially watering and protection from animals.

Few tips for tree planting were also posted in following link.

http://anubhootiviewsnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-time-for-tree-planting-are-you.html