SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MEANING

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". This is a definition offered by the famous World Commission on Environment and Development in its report Our Common Future. Economists have also provided a definition of sustainable development as being an economic process in which the quantity and quality of our stocks of natural resources (like forests) and the integrity of biogeochemical cycles (like climate) are sustained and passed on to the future generations unimpaired. In other words, there is no depreciation in the world"s "natural capital", to borrow a concept from financial accounting.

MAIN FEATURES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

A desirable human condition : a society that people want to sustain because it meets their needs.
A enduring ecosystem condition: an ecosystem that maintains its capacity to support human life and others. A balance between present and future generations; and within the present generation.

Contd..
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH For growth we need resources and the rate of depletion of resources cannot be matched with the regenerating capacity of earth, as it is finite, not-growing and materially closed. Therefore, Sustainable growth is an impossible theorem! SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION Sustainable consumption is related to production and distribution, use and disposal of products and services and provides the means to rethink our lifecycle. The aim is to ensure that the basic needs of the entire global community are met, excess is reduced and environmental damage is avoided.

Contd
SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability is the action oriented variant of Sustainable Development. There are some principles of sustainability which include the following Protecting Nature Thinking long-term Understanding systems within which we live Recognizing limits Practicing fairness Embracing creativity

5 Aspects of Sustainable Development

Meeting the needs of the present means satisfying:

Economical
Must be able to produce goods and services on a continuing basis a. adequate livelihood or productive assets b. economic security when unemployed, ill, disabled or otherwise unable to secure a livelihood

Social
gender equity political accountability participation

Political
Freedom to participate in national and local politics Participation in decisions regarding the management and development of ones home and neighborhood, with respect for civil and political rights and in the implementation of environmental legislation

Environmental
Must maintain a stable resource base avoiding overexploitation of renewable resource systems and depleting non-renewable resources

Cultural
A means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral, and spiritual existence

Meeting such needs without undermining the ability of future generations to meet their own needs means:

What to do?
Minimizing use or waste of non-renewable resources (by minimizing the consumption of fossil fuels and substituting with renewable sources where feasible) Minimizing the waste (by reducing use, reusing, and recycling). Sustainable use of renewable resources (by using freshwater, soils, and forests in ways that ensure a natural rate of recharge) Keeping within the absorptive capacity of local and global sinks of wastes --- including the capacity of rivers to break down biodegradable wastes as well as the capacity of global environmental systems, such as climate, to absorb greenhouse gases.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

Sustainable development in India encompasses a variety of development schemes in social, clean tech (clean energy, clean water and sustainable agriculture) and human resources segments, having caught the attention of both Central and State governments and also public and private sectors. In fact, India is expected to begin the greening of its national income accounting, making depletion in natural resources wealth a key component in its measurement of gross domestic product (GDP). India's sustained efforts towards reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) will ensure that the country's per capita emission of GHG will continue to be low until 2030-31, and it is estimated that the per capita emission in 2031 will be lower than per capita global emission of GHG in 2005, according to a new study. Even in 2031, India's per capita GHG emissions would stay under four tonnes of CO2, which is lower than the global per capita emission of 4.22 tonnes of CO2 in 2005.

Major Achievements in India

The number of carbon credits issued for emission reduction projects in India is set to triple to 246 million by December 2012 from 72 million in November 2009, according to a CRISIL Research study. This will cement India's second position in the global carbon credits market (technically called Certified Emission Reduction units or CERs). The growth in CER issuance will be driven by capacity additions in the renewable energy sector and by the eligibility of more renewable energy projects to issue CERs. Consequently, the share of renewable energy projects in Indian CERs will increase to 31 per cent.

CRISIL Research expects India's renewable energy capacity to increase to 20,000 megawatt (MW) by December 2012, from the current 15,542 MW.

 The contribution of renewable energy to the power business in India has now reached 70 per cent, compared to 10 per cent in 2000, in terms of project numbers and dollar value, according to Anita George, Regional Industry Director, Asia Infrastructure and Natural Resources, International Finance Corporation (IFC). Growth in use of green technologies has put India on the green-building leader board with countries such as the US. "About 2-3 per cent of all construction in India is green, as good as (in) the US. In the next two or three years, we want to bring it up to 10 per cent, which will put us on top," as per the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). The US$ 1.79 billion Indian lighting market is estimated to be growing at 18 per cent annually and switching rapidly to energy-efficient systems. In value terms, about US$ 425.58 million of the current market size belongs to the compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), according to Electrical Lamp and Component Manufacturers' Association of India (ELCOMA) statistics.

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