1. Institutional Framework on Sustainable Development
Has Rio mattered for India? Agreements and Achievements in Sustainable Development
Ligia Noronha TERI
Workshop on
Institutional Framework on Sustainable Development
International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development, (iCED)
Jaipur
28 September 2011

2. Sustainable development
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.
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.
Nitin Desai, W0152c/ND/es/

3. 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 thinking
But silos mentality; protection of turf
Needs recognition of trade offs;
Everything is a not a win win
Requires burden sharing

4. What do we mean when we speak of SD?
The paradigm
The interfaces
Involves not just economic efficiency but also social justice, environmental stewardship
Empowerment of social groups in decision-making
People and expert directed policies
Integrated planning
Decentralization in policy-making and implementation
People as actors
Ex ante preventive action
Reliance also on incentive based systems
Incomparable values need to be observed
Longer horizons; scenarios; uncertainty built in
Internalization of external costs
Knowledge supplements science
Socio-ecological multi attribute assessments used
Participatory and process oriented procedures to environmental management

5. IEG and Sustainable Development
TERI, 2011

6. About key international institutions 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.
CSD has become a negotiating forum, not dialogic enough to bring various stakeholders together on contested issues
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.
ECOSOC is incomplete without an environmental arm
MEAs lack coherence and need more national implementation.

7. State 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.

8. New 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 $ bn/ year between 2012 and 2017 ( $156 bn for climate change, $ bn for ODA).
A reduced multilateralism

9. Global Partnerships will depend on commitment of nations to development
CDI, 2010
Source:

10. India’s engagement with international sustainable 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

11. India and International Agreements
India has been in the forefront of international agreements.
WTO Agreement (1995),
RTA with ASEAN (2009),
Bilateral Investments Promotion and Protection Act (BIPAs),
Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (1968),
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1979), Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1993), C
Convention on the Rights of a Child
India is one of the founding members of the ILO

12. Major Environmental agreements India is a party to
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 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 Conventions
Basel Convention on trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes, 1989
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (entered into force from 2004)
Rio Conventions
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992 and Kyoto Protocol
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

13. Indian laws at the SD interfaces
Socio-ecological (environment and social)
Key Acts
Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991
National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995
The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997
National Green Tribunal Act, 2010
Social equity (economic and social)
Person with Disabilities Act, 1995(right to employment of the disabled)
The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Right Act, 2001
The Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005
Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007
Green economy (economic and environment)
Energy Conservation Act, 2001
The Electricity Act, 2003
Sustainable development (social, environment and economic)
The (Wildlife Protection Act), 1972 and its amendments in 1991, 2002
Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, 1996
Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and the Biological Diversity Rules, 2004
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005
Forests Rights Act, 2006

14. India’s policies/programmes at the interfaces
Social equity (economic and social)
Key Policies and Programmes
Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, 1995
Annapurna Scheme,
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, 2007
Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, 2007
Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme, 2009
Socio-ecological (environment and social)
National Agricultural Policy, 2002
National Urban Sanitation Policy, 2008
Integrated Watershed Management Programme, 2009
Green economy (economic and environment)
Technological Upgradation Fund Schemes, 1999
Fodder and Feed Development Scheme, 2005
Integrated Energy Policy of 2008
Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT)
Sustainable development (social, environment and economic)
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, 2005
National Urban Transport Policy, 2006
National Environmental Policy, 2006
National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy, 2007
National Action Plan on Climate Change, 2008
National Disaster Management Policy, 2009
National Rural Livelihood Mission, 2009

15. Economic Achievements
7.2% GDP growth rate in the past decade with an 8.25% GDP growth rate between to
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 )
FDI inflows increased from 148 million USD in to 18,800 million USD in
Exports increased from 6.2% in to 12% in
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.

16. Economic 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

17. Social 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
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)

18. Social 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 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).

19. 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 5
Improve Maternal Health 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

20. Underweight children
40% of children < 3 yrs will be underweight by 2015 as compared to target of 26.8%
Key reasons: inadequate breastfeeding, micronutrient inadequacies, absence of child and maternity benefits, poverty, nutrition education,
Source:MOSPI, India Country Report 2009, MDG civil society report, 2010

21. Infant (under five) mortality
UN5 mortality can come down to 70/1000 live births as against target of 42/1000
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
Source: GOI, India Country Report 2009, MDG civil society report, 2010

22. Maternal health
MMR is expected to come to 135/100,000 as compared to 109 target
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)
Source: MOSPI, India Country Report 2009, MDG civil society report, 2010

23. Access to water, sanitation, clean energy
Rural-urban divide
Gender-poverty energy nexus
Even where infrastructure exists, service delivery is poor
Source: TERI, 2009

24. Bottlenecks to achieving MDGs
Sheer scale of the goals
Governance constraints
Capacity & resources
Coordination
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

25. Environment 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 , it was estimated at 1.08 while the same for to 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.

26. Environmental 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 technologies
Conservative 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).

27. Example: SD issues around the Western Ghats - a biodiversity hotspot
Some Questions that we have been confronted with from stakeholders, , WGEEP and Goa
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?

28. Regulatory coordination deficits
Strong set of environmental rules and regulations in place, but
EIAs are fraudulent; Conditions of Environmental clearance are not observed
Discrete, stand alone EIAs when cumulative impact studies of development are needed
Not enough capacity at SPCB level
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

29. Strengthening sustainable development governance - 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
Payments for ecosystem services
Reward good corporate/state performance
Encourage green innovations
Data bases need to be developed which can support regulation and good development planning, for example spatial data bases.

30. Thank you

31. Dr. Ligia Noronha, Director, Resources and Global Security Division, TERI phone: ,