Policy Paper Environment Sector
Eficor – Integrated Development Projects unitPolicy paper on Environment Sector
Background:
Environment is the sum of all-external conditions and influences affecting organisms. Ecology is the study of the interrelationships among organism, and between organisms and their environment. The 1992 UN conference on Environment and Development at Rio, characterized sustainable development as “the right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generation”. Thus In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it.
Reasons for Intervention:
EFICOR believes that the lives of the poor in particular are intricately related with natural resource based activities such as agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry which form the basic source of livelihood for more than two thirds of the work force. By definition, the access of the poor to, and control over, both economic and natural resource endowments is limited. Whatever limited land they own or cultivate is mostly dry and infertile. Farm sizes are normally small, and farming is usually for subsistence. It is low input based and labor intensive. Hence the Natural Resource Management is an important factor in alleviating the poverty of our country.
Policy Guidelines:
1. The natural resources bestowed by nature upon humankind include air, land, water, forests, animals, minerals, petroleum, wildlife, and marine wealth. Among these, EFICOR will address the issues that pertains to the poor and the marginalized viz., Land, Water and Forest issues.
2. The poor in India are mainly concentrated in the eight states – Bihar, Jarkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh and account for 40% of the population. These communities generally have very limited access to and control over the forests and water resources which play a vital role in their economic development. EFICOR will involve in environmental issues in above mentioned areas only.
3. Although India has a total geographical area of 329 million hectares, the per capita availability of land is 0.33 ha. 81.2% of India population is classified as small and marginal farmers. With only 9% of the area, at 14.5 million hectares, coming under these marginal and sub marginal small holdings, the average size of these comes to 0.41ha. This in itself renders agricultural operations rather uneconomical. But since the possession of land is tied up with economic security and social status farmers do not part and continue to cultivate it even under adverse conditions with environmentally destructive cultivation practices. EFICOR will promote stabilization and reduction of cultivable land by providing irrigation facilities to the agricultural lands. Sustainable Agricultural practices, which are environment friendly such as organic manure, vermi-composting, bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides etc, will be promoted.
4. Soil is the most basic resource that provides food grains for human beings and animals. It was estimated that about 5,333 million tones of soil is detached annually and of this about 20% is carried away by the rivers into the sea. Nearly 10% of it is being deposited in our surface reservoirs resulting in the loss of 1 to 2 percent of the storage capacity. As the precious top soil is eroded, the agricultural output is drastically affected and creates dependency on other lands. EFICOR will promote aggressive soil conservation measures, mainly in the areas where the slopes are greater than 5% by using resources which are locally available.
5. Forests play a major role in enhancing the quality of environment. As against a minimum requirement of 33% of the geographical area, the country has an area of 633.4 lakh hectares notified as forests which represents 19.27 per cent of geographical area. The forest resources are threatened due to overgrazing and other forms of over exploitation, both for commercial and household needs, encroachments, and unsustainable practices like unscientific cultivation and development activities. Significantly any part of the country, if left untouched, has a capacity to regenerate by itself. EFICOR will actively promote forest protection and management by the communities so that the forests will regenerate. Plant varieties which are grown in that area only will be used where ever tree plantation is necessary.
6. India is one of the wettest countries in the world. Its average annual rainfall is 1170mm, with Chirapunji in the northeast corner getting drenched under 11,400mm and the sands of Jaisalmer at the other end of the scale pulling along with 210mm. But Today India uses only a tenth of the rainfall it receives annually. India’s groundwater resources are almost 10 times its annual rainfall. But with over 170,000 tube wells added every year, the water table is declining in many areas, leaving the dug wells poor and dry. In order to address the issue of water scarcity, EFICOR will promote community water harvesting systems where ever needed. Strengthening of these water-harvesting structures will be encouraged in order to ensure availability of irrigation support to farmers. Preference will be given to develop existing harvesting structures, which will benefit the poor communities most. Where such structures do not exist, new structures will be promoted. Safe water for drinking also will be provided through bore wells, spring development structures, roof top water harvesting systems.
7. Replicability in the Natural Resources sector have been proved to work only in one setting and environment, which emphasizes the diversity and complexity of the sector. EFICOR will promote environment friendly activities which incur minimum cost, require less technical inputs and require material which is locally made.
8. High technological products like High Yielding Vatieties (HYVs) and hybrids have contributed to a sharp increase in yields during the Green Revolution period. How ever, there have been severe negative effects, including those of land degradation induced by the HYVs and hybrids, especially when input use has been indiscriminate. Where ever traditional varieties are employed, the efficiency of such varieties will be sought to be studied scientifically, in order that farmers will not continue to use in efficient seeds. EFICOR will prefer local varieties where the returns are marginally less than HYVs or other varieties, but sustainable in terms of yields. Organic farming is promoted in place of intense chemical pesticides and fertilizers, which creates severe environmental concerns.
9. Fundamental changes in the way societies produce and consume are indispensable for achieving global sustainable development. EFICOR promotes sustainable consumption and production patterns as the key answer for achieving sustainable development among the communities. Resource efficiency will be improved by preventing and minimizing waste and maximize reuse, recycling and use of environmentally friendly alternative materials, with the participation of all stakeholders.
10. An integrated, multi-hazard, inclusive approach to address vulnerability, risk assessment and disaster management, including prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, is an essential element of a safer world in the twenty-first century. EFICOR will promote reducing the risks of flooding and drought in vulnerable areas by watershed protection and restoration, improved land-use planning, improving and applying more widely techniques and methodologies for assessing the potential adverse effects of climate change.
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posted by SALATHIEL R NALLI @ 5:08 AM
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