CHAPTER I1

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT RATIONALE A N D M E A N S

The Sustainable Development paradigm (SDP) emerged as a

reactiorl to the large number of prob/erlls relafed to the dominant model of

ecorlomic growth which is pursued worldwide. There is a growing apprehension

tlzat, the model, i j allowed to operate unchanged for a few decades more, ntay

ir~vite a nu~i~ber of complex issues which ntay be beyond the management

cal~ability of the technological, social and political systems that nations possess at

preser~t. This chapter deals with topics centered on repercussions of rlon-

sustainable growth, emergence of the New Economics and the rationale and

means to sustainable development.

A Critique of the Dominant Growth Model

Modern growth was made possible by technologies that bestowed

on man,the power to interfere in the mechanics of nature's process,by excessively

drawing on resources and significantly altering environment. For a while many

took pride in having 'conquered' nature. But the euphoria was short lived. Dis-

amenities of growth appeared on different fronts. This section deals with the

adverse impact of economic growth on resources and environment.' The global

issues that complicate the above problems are also mentioned.

The Ecorzomics of No~orl-Sustainabiliry: The economic theory behind modern

growth is obviously flawed. According to Michael Rothschild, "Two centuries of

economic thought, both capitalist and socialist, are based on the concept of

'econorny as machine' rather than economy as ecosystem. Nonetheless, history

has demonstrated that no economy behaves like a simple, cyclical machine"'.

Due recognition was not given to the intimate and intricate relationship between

the economic system and the wider ecosystem, and hence the general disregard for

the liniited nature of 'natural capital'.

There are some historical reasons for the disregard, in conventional

econo~i~ic theory, for the limits posed by shortage of natural resources. Most of !@r

the MDCs * /developed during the colonial era. Cheap import from colonies /

augmented domestic resources. Further, the global scale of activity was much

smaller than what it is now. Consequently, natural capital regeneration was

regarded automatic. Capital seemed to include only the manmade items in the

form of tools and machines. There was also an implicit assumption that physical

capital could substitute natural capital in most casesz. Many of the undesirable

trends related to modern growth process,may be directly or indirectly attributed to

the kind of economic theory that guided major nations as they attempted to scale

new heights in material affluence.

(;loha1 Spread of the Western Model of Growth: The process of modern growth,

which started in Europe, spread to the rest of the world, though in differing

magnitudes. Colonial rule. so to say, 'exported' the model to new territories.

Even though the colonial system gut disbanded after world war 11, the new

governments in erstwhile colonies left the basic foundation that determine the

economic process, untouched at the core. This was the result of two factors.

First, the weak administrations that replaced the highly authoritarian colonial set

up,had neither the will nor the means to carry out credible structural reforms.

Secondly, for all practical purpose, they still clung on to their former masters, for

advice and finance. Many of the multilateral agencies that cropped up in the

meantime ,were heavily dependent on the financial and political patronage of the

imperialist powers so much so that the latter could set the agenda of these

institutions. Using this leverage and under the cover of the apparently neutral

institutions, the western model of growth, which suited the immediate interest of

the MDCs was made the frame work of economic policy in the newly independent

nations. "Development", according to Wolfang Sachs, "is a post World War 11

project designed by rich nations with USA at its heap3. Poor nations were egged

on to compete for development. The critical problems arising from the

cotnpetition for growth are discussed below.

A. The Resource Depletion Problem

Natural resources, according to the ecological perspective, are to

be regarded as capital. An investor who is sensible will live on the interest on

capital and leave the principal intact. Applying the same principle to the use of

resources,the sensible thing for a society is to draw on resources,at such rates that

the process leaves the base quantity untouched. In fact, the opposite happened.

Modern technology was employed for large scale and 'fuller exploitation' of

natural capital. Human societies, which closely followed the biological process

and its speed in the past, now got transformed. 'Economy' was conceived, for all

practical purpose, as an entity distinct from ecology. The pursuit of economy's

ends, at rates larger than that permitted by natural process is at the core of

resource problem. Rothschild summarises the issue thus: "the chief distinction

between the biologic and economic forms of evolution is speed. Technological

change happens roughly one million times as fast as genetic changew4.

The resource problem manifests itself in different ways. (i.) There

are only finite quantities of certain resources [non-renewable (NRR)]; others are

renewable (RR), but exploitation beyond a level will push them to the category of

NRR. (ii.) Large-scale exploration, mining, transportation, processing and

consumption of resources generate a number of environmental problems. (iii.)

Even if some resources are abundant relative to current demand, their exploitation

has to be regulated, in the interest of leaving enough of them for future

generations.

For convenience of exposition, the resource problem is treated

under a number of heads, viz. the decline in cultivable area, the reduction of

forests, the depletion of minerals and the shortage of water. To the extent that

biodiversity is a part and parcel of nature's grand design for the mutual survival of

the living organisms, it can be rightly regarded a resource. Hence the decline in

biodiversity also finds a place in this section.

A.I. Tlze Decline irz tlze Area of Cultivable Land: The overall physical quantity of

land available for human use is limited. Nearly three fourth of Earth's surface is

covered with water. A sizable portion of the remaining part is either unsuitable

for cultivation or inhospitable to man. Only about 11 per cent of the total area of

Earth is suitable for cultivation5. As a result of the rapid increase in population,

the change in technology of production and the transformation of life style, the

demand for services of land - farming, construction, recreation, transportation

etc- grew exponentially. Since supply could not be increased, the sharp growth in

demand led to severe scarcity of land. Inability of societies to respond to this

scarcity caused distortions in use, misappropriations and qualitative deterioration.

Here, the discussion is limited to the scarcity of cultivable land.

In a scenario of decline in the area for food production - in the j Go kJJl

U

period 1980-1995 arable land per head declined by over 1 1 per cent g e w and - by 21 per cent in the case of LDCS' - the sensible thing for societies was to make

use of the available land carefully and moderately. But the typical reaction to

sc:ircity of farmland was an intensification of cultivation, usually involving

irrigztion and application of considerable quantities of chemicals. There were

some immediate gains but, as i t turned out, the large-scale expansion of both

rrrigation and chemical intensive fanning had very serious repercussions on land

quality and its very cultivability. Fertile strips turned into barren deserts.

According to the World Bank "about 3000 million hectares.. . have now become

deserts or have been damaged by factors that contribute to desertification"'. Once

land is thoroughly degraded, it becomes useless for most human uses. As per the

World Development Report -1995, 'about 7000 sq. Kms of land are abandoned

each year as a result of degradation and about four million hectares of rain-fed

clopland are lost annually to soil e r o ~ i o n ' ~ .

Scarcity of land as well as its degradation poses a serious threat to

food security. With a predicted doubling time of just 40-50 years for world

population now, this threat can not be taken lightly. The problem has other

ramifications as well - like the chance of further decline in biodiversity, an

increase in cost of food and possible shift in the comparative advantage position

of countries in world trade.

A.2. Depletion of Mineral Resources: Man's dependence on minerals increased

several fold with changes in production and consumption practices. Minerals that

are naturally present in Earth's crust and those (like petroleum) accumulated over

a long period, are NRRs. The fast depletion of some of these has attracted

considerable academic and media attention. The birth of the SDP can be partly

attributed to the apprehensions on the steady supply of resources.

l'here are fairly dependable estimates of the stock, rate of use and

lifetime of important mineral resources. A typical one is presented in table 2.1.

As can be observed, the relative scarcity of minerals varies. The fast depletion of

petroleum resources on account of its many uses and limited availability is of

universal concern.

Table 2.1:

-

Aluminium

Copper

Estimated life of selected minerals (years)[c. 19901

r~ineral item Reserves * Resources *

Cobalt

Nickel

group

* 'Reserves' estirilates based on quantity of minerals that can be extracted using current technology. 'Resources' estimates based or1 total quantities thought to exist.

L~etroleum

A.3. Deforestation: The economic and ecological importance of forests is well

109

66

225

206

known. It is recolntnended that every nation maintains around one third of its

429

163

413

3226

Source: Blunden & Reddislt(eds., 1991) p. 74, adapted 35

geographical area under thick forest cover. Only in exceptional cases the actual

83

quantity is anywhere near this ideal. The total closed forest cover in the world is

only about 1700 million hectares i.e. just 13.5 per cent of total land area9.

Deforestation of the present magnitude raises questions about the sustainability of

the development process. Loss of biodiversity due to i t can have dire

consequences to human society. With reduced forest cover, global warming will

be: accelerated. Increased scarcity of water is another dangerous outcome.

Deforestation has severe adverse consequences to the world's poor, since forest is

the major source of fuel and food for them.

A.4. Entergirig Water Scarcity: One of the most underrated (resource) issue

facing the world.. . is spreading water scarcity. Between 1950 and 1998 water use

has tripled. Due to massive over pumping, water tables are falling on every

continent. Water scarcity and (possible) food scarcity need to be seen together.

Presently 70 per cent of all human use of water is for irrigation1' and a significant

decline in the overall supply of water can drastically reduce agricultural output. A

major part of ground water in some countries - eg. China, India, (Southern) USA

- comes from fossil aquifers, a body of under ground water deposited during a

previous geological era. There is only limited recharge - and hence excessive

pumping from such sources may cause a total depletion in the long run. In

Northern China water tables fell by as much as 30-35 meters over the last two to

three decades".

Scarcity of water leads to tensions between the relatively better off

urbanites and the rural people. Since the former control more wealth and power,

the fight will end with the cities getting an undue share of the available supply.

This will, in the long run, reduce farm output and necessitate grain import. Faced

with water shortage, more and more nations are entering world grain market as

importers, pushing up prices. Water scarcity has started to shape the pattern of

international trade". Water disputes between countries of Asia and Africa has

attracted considerable attention in recent period. In Earth's ecosystem, oceans and

continents have a symbiotic relationship, with the oceans watering the continents

and the continents nourishing the oceans. When rivers fail to reach sea - this is

true of rivers like Colorado (US) Huang He (China) for most part of the year - the

marine life environment is affected. The steady flow of nutrients is impaired as

inflow from rivers stops or only a small amount of recycled and polluted water

reaches the oceans. The adverse impact of the process on oceanic food chain has

already been noted. The low yield of fisheries, in turn, reduces a source of

nutrient rich food for hurnan society.

A.5. Loss of Biodiversity: Life on earth is enabled and enriched by biodiversity.

I'lants are the primary producers. Animals directly (herbivores) or indirectly

(carnivores) depend on plants for their food. On the other hand, decomposition of

i~nimals provides vital nutrients for plant growth. Variety of organisms is thus

rnutually beneficial. Biodiversity also plays a significant role in enriching the soil,

maintaining water cycle and recycling wastes into valuable nutrients. Its

protection serves many social purposes too. Food security vitally depends on it.

'The traditional medical systems totally depend on natural ingredients. Even the

modern medicine uses such ingredients to a significant level. In fact, the rich

diversity of nature declined in the course of economic growth. Baillie and

Groombridge have made an extensive survey of the problem, and their results are

summarised in table 2.2.

1 3. Reptiles 1 74 1 6 1 2 1 8 1

Table 2.2 Conservation Status Report (Period : 1996)

(data as percentage of sample studied *)

1 4. Amphibians / 70 1 5 1 1 5 1 10 1

-

Category

1. Birds

2. Mammals

Source: Tuxill, J and Chris Bright (1998), PIJ. 47-53. (adapred)

Conservation Status

~ i s h

The rapid loss of biodiversity has both short term and long term

Not currently

Threatened

80 -

6 1

adverse effects on human survival. The reduction in biodiversity is a threat to the

* In each category about 2500 major species were studied. The percentages refer to the sarnple and not to the actual total of species in each category.

6 1

food and health security system of the world. "With each loss, the living fabric

Nearing threatened

status

9

14

that makes the planet hospitable becomes weaker, less stable and more likely to

5

evolve in new directions not to our liking"13.

Threatened

7

14

13. Environmental Threats to Sustainability

In immediate danger of extinction

4

11

21

All environmental problems can be directly or indirectly attributed

13

to pollution from production or consumption. Economic growth typically

ir~volved an exponential growth in pollution and thereby caused severe stress on

environment. Both economic development and the lack of it generate this

problem14. While the rich pollute the environment due to wasteful use of

resources, the poor degrade it the by surviving at its expense.

According to Savage, "Pollution consists of consumption and

production by-products which either adversely affect the senses or physical well

being of a significant proportion of a given population or act to reduce the real or

potential output of goods"1s. It is generally seen that pollution increases at a more

rapid rate than the increase in output. As per one estimate, the volume of debris

and pollution in the U.S. doubled every ten years or by roughly twice the rate of

increase in the c;NP'~. Melvin Burke has employed a modified Rostow model to

explain the close relationship between pollution and stages of growth. This is

given in diagram D-2.1. In the traditional society, major activity was farming in

which inputs as well as outputs were biodegradable. Low productivity of

agriculture ensured that population was small and sparsely dispersed. In contrast,

modern industrial society produces many items that are non-biodegradable and

progress in agricultural technology permits large populations,that often live in

close proximity, generating enormous waste in the process. With more countries

stepping up growth efforts global pollution is bound to go up.

Stages of Economic Growth (time)

m: Burke, Melvin (IY74), Fig.7.3,P.lll

D-1: Modified Rostow Model of Pollution

What follows is a discussion on the important types of pollution

cor~nected to economic growth:

E .- t - 7 - S L C x c T c -

B.I . Air Polluriott: Major air pollutants are oxides of carbon, nitrogen and

sulphur, hydrocarbons, particulate matter and petrochemical oxidants. If industrial

sources accounted for the lion's share of air pollution in the past, automobile

pollution is fast emerging as the leading cause in recent years. For instance,

vehicular sources accounted for 14 per cent of global COz emissions in 1985, up

by two percentage points cornpared to 1971 ". The huge accumulation of COz in

the atmosphere is considered to be a major cause of climatic change. Air pollution

makes severe impacts on human health and survival and consequent reduction or

loss of production and productivity in the economy.

Traditional Society

8.2 . Water Pollution: With the reduction in availability, the quality of water has

deteriorated in many countries. This is quite natural. Water bodies now function

as a sink or waste from agricultural and industrial sectors. Effluents from farms

and firms often contain dangerous levels of chemicals and toxic substances.

Human and animal wastes also contaminate water bodies. In fact, water flowing

through many rivers is not fit even for irrigation p ~ r p o s e ' ~ . In Shanxi province of

China, rice consumed was found to contain excessive levels of the heavy metals

lead and chromium due to the use of polluted water for farmingi9. According to

one estimate, global GNP in mid 1990s was a staggering 35 per cent below its

potential value because of water home diseases2'. Water pollution, by affecting

marine organisms, is a threat to biodiversity too.

8 .3 Land Pollution: This refers to the degradation of Earth's surface due to soil

erosion and accumulation of huge volume of solid waste. Poor agricultural

practices lead to soil erosion, which removes the rich humus topsoil and thereby

strips land of valuable nutrients for crop growth. Additionally, soil erosion

increases the suspended-solids load of waterways affecting marine life and water

transport. Enormous volume of solid waste enters land regularly, some of which

is non-biodegradable and poisonous. The modem industrialised societies generate

a lot of wastes; some of these are lethal - like the radioactive waste, with a

radiation lifetime of around 200000 years. According to a recent estimate, five

major producers of nuclear power possess an accumulated stock of 6700 tones of

this waste2'.

Strip tilining is an activity that lays waste thousands of areas of

land each year. Mining of metals generates waste heaps several times the physical

volume of the valuable product; the average ratio of waste generated to valuable

material is 100:lZ2. Such wastes will increase, when, mining activity is extended

to less resourceful areas. Waste generated while producing, moving and using

chemicals poses a serious health hazard. Estimated 400-500 new chemicals are

marketed every year, a growing portion of which is non-biodegradable.

According to an authoritative source "Very little is known of the health effects of

the 65725 chemicals that are in common use"21. The National Research Council

of the U.S.A., found that only 10 per cent of pesticides and 18 per cent of drugs

(used in that country) were having a complete health hazard evaluation statisticsz4.

The 'Waste Pollution' problem has assumed threatening

proportions with increased scale of human activity. Keekok Lee summarises the

problems thus: "the capacity of the environment to act as a sink for our total

waste, to absorb it and recycle it so that it does not accumulate as pollution, is

8.4. Thennal Pollutio~i: It is the discharge of waste heat via energy dissipation

into cooling water and subsequently into nearby waterways. The major sources of

thermal pollution are fossil fuel and nuclear electric power generating facilities

and to a lesser degree, cooling operations associated with industrial

manufacturi~~g.~' An estimated 90 per cent of all water consumption excluding

agricultural uses is for cooling. Thermal pollution, by raising temperature in

water bodies causes ecological imbalance, sometimes resulting in major fish kills

near the discharge source. This is because of the fact that increased temperature

decreases the ability of water to hold dissolved oxygen.

B.5. Radiation Pollution: is any form of ionizing or non-ionizing radiation that

result from human activities such as detonation of nuclear devices, operation of

nuclear power plants, mining of uranium and high exposure to medical X-rays.

Accidents in nuclear power plants, such as those at Three Mile Island and

Chemobyl, have raised public concern over radiation pollution. Exposure to high

levels of radiation can be fatal. The latent maladies of radiation poisoning have

been recorded from 10 to 30 years after exposure. Continuous low level exposure

has the potential for causing cancer and genetic damage.

B.6. Noise Pollution: It is a composite of sounds generated by activities like

operation of industrial machinery, the use of supersonic transport jets and blasting

connected to mining, that exceeds tolerable levels. The urban areas with high

concentration of traffic and industrial activity,typically, have ambient noise levels

well above the acceptable maximum. In the USA there was an estimated average

increase in ambient noise of one-decibel (dB) per year in the 1980s2'. Noise

pollution causes physical and psychological problems. Continuous exposure to

high sound leads to partial or total hearing loss. Even a single exposure to sound

intensity exceeding 150 dB is capable of causing hearing loss due to

physical damage inside the ear. Psychological effects of constant exposure to

I~igh noise levels include increased irritability, decreased tolerance levels and a

chronic feeling o f fatigue.

C. Other Issues of Non-Sustainability

There are a number of global issues, which threatens sustainable

development such as the rapid growth of population, excessive consumption,

global warming and climate change, and the ozone hole problem. Besides, there

are social limits to sustainability.

C.I. Rapid growth ofpopulation: It was the in~provement in medical technology

that permitted an unprecedented increase (table 2.3.) in world population since

1950. Excessive growth of population, directly and indirectly affects the

sustainability of the development process: directly, since it puts severe pressure on

natural recourses and the ability of governments to provide services; and

indirectly since it is a growing factor in deforestation, land degradation and other

environmental problems.

Table 2.3

Estimated Annual percentage increase in the Year intervening period

1900 160.8

1950 257.6 0.91 - 1970 2.09

1980 1.76

1990 -.

1.73

2000 626.0 1.70

(Projected)

Source: Torlnro,M.,/1974(1994) I , Table 6.1, adapted

Projections based on trend upto 1990, pointed to the chance of a

doubling of world population by 2040. A rate of increase of this magnitude is a

threat to the sustainability of development because, (a) most of the future

additions to world population will take place in LDCs, which are not able to

provide even the bare minimum of social services to its current population (b)

nearly 25 per cent of the global net primary production (energy stored in plants) is

now used up by man. Two more 'doublings' in human population may lead to

food shortage to other species and cause an ecological stress of immense

magnitude2! (c) there was an expansion in the percentage of urban population

from 40 in 1980 to 46 in 1990'~. Rapid urbanisation gives rise to new social

problems and a worsening of pollution.

C ! Excessive Consumption: Overconsumption is an issue that is understated in

multilateral conferences. In fact, as far as sustainability is concerned, the

excessive consumption by the rich, belonging to MDCs,is a far more serious

problem than the population problem in LDCs. In the opinion of Barcena, "the life

styles of the rich are the sources of the primary risks to our common future. They

are simply not sustainable. Those in industrialised countries who enjoy these life

styles are all security risksn'@. According to one estimate, an American, on the

average, consumes 50 times as much as an 1ndian3'. Another estimate puts the

ratio of average consumption between developed and developing nations as

18 1j2. Thus the impact made on environment by an additional population unit

belonging to any one of the MDCs is equal to th& generated by 18 population

unrts in the LDCs. Ideally, 'population multiplied by consumption' should be the

standard to judge the impact of population on the economy and the environment.

The 'consunlptiorz-weighted population index' for selected countries was

calculated by the researcher to assess the impact,and is provided in table 2.4.

Population data of five low-income countries (weight=l), three middle-income

counties (weight=lO) and five high-income counties (weight=18) are given in

column 2. Consumption weighted population index is obtained by multiplying

coX.2 with co1.3. This is given in co1.4. Country ranks based on the index are

shown in col-5. According to this new scale, the American economy makes the

highest population impact on environment and resources. China and India occupy

7th and 10th ranks respectively. Clearly, reducing the exorbitant rate of

consumption in the MDCs is an issue, as urgent as that of reducing population

elsewhere.

Table 2.4

Consumption-Weighted Population Index- Selected Countries

I China 1 120.02 1 I 1 120.02 1 7 1

Bangladesh 11.98 1 1.98

Nigeria 11.13 11.13

Indonesia 19.33 10 193.30

I I Brazil 15.92 I 10 1 159.20 1 4 1 Russian Fed.

Germany

0.K

*Weights attached: MDC=IB;LDC=I; Middle iitcoit~e countries=lO. Source for col.2: World Rank (1997), pp.214-215.

1 Italy 1 5.72 1 18 1 102.96

The wasteful life style of the North is fast spreading in the South, a

10

18

18

18

18 I

9

trend that was hastened by the communicatior~ revolution. In fact, a high

consumption society is also a high-tension society. Tension arises because the

148.20

473.58

225.36

147.42

105.84

5

1

2

6

8

proliferation of goods presses harder against the scarcity of time available for their

use. The commercial promotion of hedonic pursuits breeds anxiety and

d i ~ c o n t e n t ~ ~ .

C3. Global Wartnirlg and Climatic Change: Global warming or the greenhouse

effect (GHE), is an issue that has attracted wide attention. From the middle of the

19th century average global temperature has consistently increased - from about

14.3OC in 1860 to around 15.3'C. in mid 1 9 9 0 ' s ~ ~ . Based on available trends in the

generation of GH gases, scientists predict that, by 2070, the earth would be

warmer by 3 ' ~ ~ ~ . This long term increase in temperature is attributed to the

excessive generation of the so called green house gases which include natural

gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and artificially generated gases

like the chlorofluro carbons (CFCs), hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) and the perfluro

carbons (PFCs). While the three natural gases contributed 76 per cent to the GHE

in the 1980's CFCs accounted for 24 per cent.36

Problems related to GHE are varied and complex. A change in the

global climatic pattern is the worst probable outcome. In fact no region in the

globe will be left out of the climatic change scenario predicted, as shown in

diagram D.2.2. The impact of warming is not likely to be uniform throughout the

world. "A 3°C average increase may mean 8-IO°C increase at the poles; the extra

heating at the poles may directly affect high latitude weather and climate .... (Such

changes may require) major shift in geographical distribution of agriculture"37.

D 2.2 The Impact of Global Warming - Projection for Future

Disruption of Global weather trend in recent decades is attributed

to changed wind and rain pattern, due to GHE. Global warming also has

important effects on health and biodiversity. Many plant and animal species may

not be able to withstand the resulting climate change. Typically tropical diseases

like malaria, plague and yellow fever may break out in Europe, Australia and

North America, posing a new challenge to their health systems3*. The economic

and socio-political disruptions, which the Global Warming would cause in the

future, are yet to be ascertained.

C.4. The 'Ozone Hole' Issue: A noticeable infringement in the protective ozone

layer (at 25-35 Km, over earth's surface) over the polar regions has created much

concern in the last few years. The World Meteorological Organization, in 1995,

reported that the 'severely depleted ozone area' over Antartica in that year was 10

mill. Km2. (almost the size of Europe). This was twice the size recorded in the

preceding two years39. The ozone hole problem is attributed to the production and

large-scale use of certain man made chemicals, most importantly, the chlorine

compounds (CFCs) and the bromin compounds (halons). Though some controls

in the use of CFCs could be brought on recently in the OECD nations, their use in

the: third world continues as before. Depletion of ozone is believed to cause

serious health problems. A study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

concluded, "every one percent decline in column ozone will result in a three

percent rise in the incidence of non- melanoma skin cancers together with a

possible one percent increase in mortality from melanoma. Exposure to enhanced

levels of ultra violet - B can also have other directly harmful effects on the human

body, the most serious being a tendency to suppress the body's immune

responses, and to cause damage to the eyes, especially the development of

cataract4'. Other damages from the ozone hole include an aggravation of

deforestation and biodiversity loss.

C.5. The Social Limits to Sustainability: Existence of extreme inequality and

widespread poverty are clearly problems having the potential to disrupt smooth

development. Pressed hard by the needs of survival, the poor are known to follow

a life style that draws down resources (eg. deforestation) or leads to pollution (eg.

littering and defecation in the open etc.). It is inhuman to blame the poor for such

actions. It is just a wishful thinking that environment can be defended at the cost

of the needs of the masses. All talk of intergenerational equity will be hollow, if

nations fail to ensure intra-generational equity.

The New Economics of Sustainable Development

Proponents of SD advocate a rtew ecorzonzics based on principles of

ec:ology. According to them,there should be a basic change in the broad value

system guiding individuals and social institutions. Schumacher, for example, calls

for a 'life style designed for permanence' based on a new value system4'. The

present system does not guarantee permanence. As Lee sees it, 'the present

industrial society, celebrates competition and represses co-operation, leading to

conflicts and tensions'42. Mishan makes the call to put "some limit to pleasure

seeking and the mad rush for wealth ... We are (in) an era of incredible artifice in

the purveying of services and entertainment ... in which basic psychic needs are

neg~ected"~'.

One of the principal values to be carefully cultivated is moderation

irt consumption. Affluent societies have a tendency to treat 'all wants as needs'.

This runs against ecological sustainability and social justice. In fact needs can be

calegorised into three (a) the needs of survival (b) the needs of efficient agency

and (c) the needs of enriched agency. In a poor society maximum emphasis has

to be on satisfaction of the first; thereafter, other needs can be pursued in the

given ordeP4.

There is a large number of theoretical models that attempt to

systematically treat the conceptual and practical aspects of SD. Herman E.Daly,

broadly categorises the models into two: (a) Weak Sustainability Models which

allows for substitution between natural capital and manmade capital, and (b)

Strortg Susfninnhility Models that advocate the maintenance, separately, of the

aggregate stock of manmade capital and natural capita14j.

A recent model of SD, contributed by Atkinson and colleagues, is

presented below briefly for illustrative purpose. According to the methodology

used, economies are checked for sustainability on the basis of their genuine

savings (GS). GS is obtained by subtracting from the GNP, the money value of

(a) total consuniption (b) depreciation of physical capital (c) the difference

between the rate of resource growth and resource extraction, and (d) net

pollution, which is the difference between pollution emission and natural

dissipation of pollution4h. Diagram 2.3., presents the case of U.K.

Those countries that have a positive GS are considered to be

growing sustainably. The GS for different country groups was calculated which

showed that countries of the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

had negative GS throughout I 980s4'.

D 2.3. Derivation of G.S. for U.K.(1980-90)

Depreciation

1 0 -

-5 7

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

-e Cross saving +Net saving -& Res. net saving -c Genuine Source : Atkinson, Gilvs et.al. (1997)

Though the idea of GS is intellectually appealing, a number of

practical problems remain. It is not easy to compile the data on total deprecation

of physical assets. Sound methods are not yet available to make clear valuation of

the change in natural capital. Putting a price tag on pollution involves methods

that are highly contentious. Only with many heroic assumptions can one draw the

GS curve.

The Rationale and Means

To form a basis for policy the SDP ought to be interpreted suitably,

based on the specific situation. Though the general orientation has to be the same,

in details, the programme applicable to a MDC should be different from that

meant for a LDC. Various presentations of the SDP speak of a number of ideals

which nations have to take care of while designing their development plans/

growth priorities. Based on these, the outline of an action plan for SD is laid

below

A plan for SD has to necessarily provide for:

. Protection of the Resource Base, arid Change ill the Mode of Resource Use

. A Development Policy that is Compatible with Environmental Health and

Safety.

. Maintenance of a Healthy Balance Between a Country's Population and

Resources.

. Proruotion of a New Consumption Culture and Life Style

s Significant Reduction in Poverty and Inequality

. Effecting a Change in the Value Systems and Accounting Practices.

. A Proactive Government - Which Plays a Central Role in Social Process

Without Being Centralistic

. More Active Co-operation Between Nations

. A Rethinking on Economic Growth itself.

It is a matter of some comfort that technologies and mechanisms

now exist that help societies in their pursuit for S.D. There are examples flowing

from many parts of the world that testify to the fact that, given the will, there are

wa,ys to bring back the world from the edge of human induced extinction. The

rationale and means to SD are discussed below

I. Coping with the Resource Problem

The resource exhaustion problem can be addressed through the

conservation of non-renewable resources and protection of the renewable

resources. Non-renewables (NRR) are conserved by saving with increased

efficiency of resource use and by recycling. Similarly, there are effective means

to sustainable utilisation of renewable resources.

(:onservation of NRR : A central objective of resource-conserving technological

change was 'squeezing more output per unit of resources', by efficiency

improvement. The use of steel and cement per construction unit has fallen in

many OECD nations in the period afte1965.~' The result of the process of

technological improvement was more conspicuous in the automobile sector that

led to substantial reduction in oil use. Daily use of oil was lower by seven billion

barrels in 1984, compared to 1979, in the OECD group of nations. 49 Industrial

process changes leading to a fall in energy use included the use of fluidised bed

furnaceSo and direct casting of metallic product^.^' By using special insulation

techniques, energy use in housing units could be brought down upto 95 per cent in

countries like Norwy, Sweden and Denmarks2 In the USA,wide use of energy

efficient household equipments resulted in saving of over 80 per cent in energy

con~umption.~~ There is great scope of recycling substances like metals, glass and

paper - a process which saves enormous quantity of virgin material and much

energy. Many nations have already shifted from the linear, resource wasting

rr~ethods of the past to cyclical resource reserving methods as the data in table 2.5

indicate.

Table. 2.5

PI1:. I I 1 U.S.A. 1 29 1 20 1 Japan

Source: Klobby, J (1997), p. 136.

Conservation via recycling (Recycled product as percentage of aggregate consumption)

Another possible way to conserve NRR is their replacement by a

Country

Australia

Canada

Denmark

France

Finland

Germany

RR. Use of non-renewable sources like solar power and wind to produce

electricity and coal in place of oil, is a typical example.

Paper (%)

37

20

35

46

41

40

Controlled use of Renewables : Renewability of RR is a function of its use - i.e.,

over exploitation can push a resource from RR category to NRR category, so that

Glass (%)

60

12

60

29

36

45

considerable care needs to be taken on their optimal use. In this respect two

possibilities may be highlighted. The first consists of demand managemeitt,

Country

Netherlands

Newzealand

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

U.K.

Paper (%)

50

19

5 1

43

49

3 1

Glass (%)

67

53

27

44

65

2 1

where policy tools are manipulated to shift consumption from products that use up

a RR at a fast rate, to products that require lesser quantity of the same resource.

For instance, in case of meat, a shift of consumption from beef to poultry, offers

considerable chance for saving feed-and hence the use of land resource- as cattle

require seven pounds of feed to put up body weight by one kilogram whereas the

same gain for chicken requires only 2.2 k.g. of feed..54 The second measure

consists of augmenting the effective supply by better exploitation of an RRs, a

good example of which is the increase in water availability brought through the

application of different types of water harvesting technologies. Currently the rich

potential of solar and wind energy is not exploited even by the advanced

countries, and so, considerable scope exists in this direction:" Conservation

measures prove very effective in case of forest and biodiversity, where

governments are earnest and finance is not a constraint. A global afforestation

programme, involving an amount of $ 180 to 400 billion(in20 years from 1997),

according to one estimate, can bring forest resources to reasonable state of

hea~th:'~ By establishing protective zones, biodiversity can be preserved.

Eniorcement of a 'biological pause', by an officially enforced quota system for

fishing, in case of Australia and British Columbia, proved a success as the marine

life systems in their territory showed a significant improvement thereafter. ''

11. Caring for the Environment

Considering the fact that the environment is currently in a very bad

state, urgent steps are necessary to prevent further deterioration on the one hand,

and to foster environmental quality on the other. A society that is desirous of

having sustainable growth should invest in environmental protection. In fact, it is

profitable to invest in the improvement and maintenance of environmental health.

Technological strides made in the recent past not only enable a close monitoring

of environmentally critical variables but contribute to amelioration of the problem

also. Findings of a large number of case studies made in different countries

indicate that, the cost of environmental control to society as a whole, is

surprisingly small5a. Investments in pollution control yield substantial returns by

improving health and reducing death rate. As the World Resources Institute

observes, "pollution is not an inevitable consequence of industrial activity. Such I

effluents reflect insufficient technologies or wasteful processes as well as . 3 carelessness and lack of economic penalties ... Sustainable development means

shifting to technologies that are cleaner and more efficient - as close to zero

emission or closed process as possible -- and that minimises consumption of '

energy and other natural res~urces"'~.

Industrial activity accounts for the major part of air and water

pollution. These can be minimised by appropriate changes in the very process of

production. A few examples can be given:

. By better designing of the combustion chambers and furnaces, oxygen

supply can be accelerated resulting in less smoke and pollution.

. Emission of particulate matter can be reduced by setting up cyclone

collectors, electrostatic precipitators, bag houses scrubbers etc.

. 'Dilution' is yet another remedy which consists in providing mechanisms

that help better absorption of pollutants within the plant.

a Provision of a green belt around the factory complex will decelerate the

spread of air pollutants.

But the mere availability of a clean technology will not guarantee

its actual use. A carrot and stick policy may be needed to promote their adoption.

While setting up the control system and enacting legislation, social good should

be the guiding principle. Most governments in MDCs use multiple tools in the

management of pollution problem, like issuing pollution permits, implementing

fiscal measures and introducing refundable deposits. In case of pollution permits,

the government first determines the maximum permissible amount of a pollutant

in an area and then issues permits in convenient denomination upto that level.

Intiustrial units, with a potential to pollute are asked to purchase their quota of

permits, which are exchangable6'. Fiscal tools mainly consist of taxes and

subsidy. A subsidy is typically offered for installation of pollution abatement

systems. Examples of high taxes and fee keeping pollution under control are

numerous. In caqe of Singapore ownership of ;i personal car in 1995 involved a

high entitlement fee ($ 71000); 200 per cent tariff was charged on new cars.

Moreover a motorist who wanted to drive in the city centre during the daytime

had to take a monthly licence that costed $43". A reduction in subsidy has the

same effect as a tax. Pesticide subsidy was phased out in Pakistan and Indonesia,

which led to a sharp fall in the use of the item, without any significant impact on

output of farmsh2. Refundable deposits are usually imposed to curb careless

disposal of waste items like empty containers. The 'bottle bill' pnssed in Oregon,

IJSA i n 1971, made i t mandatory for suppliers of bottled drinks, to include in the

price, a small refundable deposit, which was repayable to the consumers who

returned the empty bottles. In a brief period, roadside litter declined by 72 per

cent63. There are effective non-fiscal measures as well. An interesting episode of

innovative control of waste comes from the Brazilian city of Curitiba, where

Mayor J. Lerner offered the slum people bags of vegetables in exchange for bags

of household garbage. The purpose was well served".

111. Managing Population

SD requires significant progress towards stable populations.

E.ffective measures have to be adopted to bring down the high growth rate of

population in LDCs. Results of a number of recent studies on variables

contributing to population decline, reveal the following to be very significant -

easy accessibility to medical care and modern contraceptives; reduction in infant

mortality; a significant increase in per capita income; increased literacy,

especially of females; and empowerment of the poor. Excessive concentration of a

country's population in a few centres leads to environmental deterioration, crime

and social unrest. A geographical shifting of the population is suggested which

necessitates the designing of satellite cities in the suburbs. Rural areas are to be

made more prosperous and attractive to live in6'. But these options are open only

to large and rich countries. Poor and small sized nations require international

assistance in this. Possibilities of population shifting across the world need to be

explored. Despite much opening of trade at the global level, MDCs have - shown a . . . .. . .- -. .. .. ,

tendency to keep their doors closed to immigrants. . Japan, for instance, in early -

1990's was short of labour to the extent of 1.8 million but preferred to fi l l the gap

by increased use of robots and over working of its labour force66. An

accommodative immigration policy from the part of rich nations is really called

for.

An ideal population policy will also include measures for the

protection of women. Typically women and girl children in LDCs suffer from

considerable malnutrition and discrimination. Their life and survival now involve

larger risks, compared to their male counterparts. Policies that improve women's

chances for education and employment go a long way in bettering the above

conditions.

IV. Controlled Consumption

SD calls for life style changes - a major one being a reformed

consumption culture. There is an urgent need to limit overall Global consumption

within the ecological means6'. Presently the global consumption is heavily tilted

in favour of MDCs. While they contain just 25 per cent of world population, their

share in aggregate consumption of metals, chemicals and gas is 85 per cent; the

share of consumption of other items are: electricity- 82 per cent, paper - 81 per

cent, Diesel and milk - 72 per cent6'. Consumption of such a magnitude creates

many environmental problems, which Pierre Pradervand dubbed as 'wealth

generated ec~cide"~. In the opinion of Tibor Scitovsky "the consumers (today)

choose an excessively expensive life style to achieve sa t i s fac t i~n"~~.

For the purpose of bequeathing a reasonable quantity of basic

resources future generations, societies need to control the consumption spree. The

scope for improving the efficiency of consumption by a change in process and

product technologies is really large. In the construction sector, the development

of lightweight composites (eg. fibreglass) enabled lighter structures that require

lesser amount of cement and steel7'. Similarly, computer aided designs and

processes enable reduction of inputs in industries. By exploiting all options for

recycling, repair and re-use, societies can keep using the same material several

times. In the designing stage of products itself, the potential for recycling and re-

use can be incorporated - a process known as 'designing for environment (DFE)

72.

Governments can promote good consumption habits, by the

operation of an imaginative use of the tax and subsidy system. The educational

system can be used to spread awareness on environment - friendly consumption.

NGOs have the potential to help society conscientise on dangers of the

consumerist culture.

V. Tackling Issues of Global Warming and Ozone Hole

No nation can single handedly solve the problems of global

warming and the ozone hole. The conference on Global warming held at Kyoto,

Japan (Dec. 1997), according to media reports, generated 'much heat', without

shedding new light on how to tackle the issue, to the satisfaction of all. After

protracted deliberations, major nations reached tentative targets for reduction in

the emission73. Production of energy currently accounts for nearly half of all

anthropogenic emission of GH gases; hence priority is to be given to the

prevention of further growth in the production of carbon based energy.

Prevention of deforestation will help cut down COz emission. Proper treatment of

organic waste will reduce generation of methane, another prominent GH gas.

There is better agreement among nations on the question of

controlling the generation of ozone depleting gases like CFCs and HFCs. By

1994, major nations of the MDC group stopped production of CFCS'~. The LDCs

are granted a longer period to readjust their technologies.

VI. Social Changes fo r Sustainability - Importance o f Reducing Poverty and Inequality

Issues like environmental degradation and resource depletion

remain intertwined with poverty problem so that urgent measures are needed to

eradicate widespread poverty. Even an advanced country like the USA has

around 15 per cent of her population below the poverty line. Many LDCs have

nearly 50 per cent of their population suffering extreme deprivation.

Development plans in these countries assumed the possibility of 'trickle down',

but this proved to be a wrong assumption in most cases. Without direct measures

for poverty alleviation (PA), there is no chance for a rapid fall in poverty rate.

Hence, these nations have to carefully plan their PA programme. Emphasis has

to be on the creation of assets that ensure a stable income for the beneficiaries in

future. A major chunk of such assets has to be in the nature of socio-economic

infrastructure. A credible PA programme should involve policies for structural

changes, the most prominent one among these being land reforms. The typical

measure against inequality consists of redistribution through progressive taxation.

However, the fight against inequality should also cover social discriminations

based on gender, caste and colour.

The SDP goes further to advocate a fair division of nature's

bounties between the present generation and future generations. The resource

intensive and energy intensive life styles of modern societies endangers the

prospect of future generations enjoying a good life since they will have lesser

resources to go by. The implicit assumption of some development programmes

cl~rrently pursued is that the future will look after itself. Worse still, some models

assume that 'future generations may not exist at Three issues identified as

threatening future welfare are (a) Overuse of natural resources. (B) Operation of

budgets containing huge deficits, and (c) Production and use of toxic1 radioactive

s~bstances'~.

VII. Reforming the System of National Accounts

Many important social decisions todaylare based on the reported

'aggregates of activity' like GNP and per caplta income. There is an elaborate

system of national accounts (SNA) in every country that collects and disseminates

such data. Proponents of the SDP consider the presently used SNA as defective.

It gives a 'wrong total' of gain from economic activity. According to Mishan,

GNP overstates real output since the SNA is incapable of capturing the (negative)

value of 'bads' created in the process of production77. The present SNA, in the

opinion of Daly, treats receipts from liquidating natural assets as income, thus

giving countries the illusion that they are better off than they really are. The

inclusion of the 'defensive' (eg. Pollution control) and 'regrettable' (eg: nuclear

bomb) expenses, in net income, according to him, is a perversion and a sign of

'te!rminal hyper - growth mania"'.

Only a thorough revamping of SNA can render it as a useful tool

for social decision making. An ideal SNA will be able to distinguish between

activities that are socially beneficial and those that are not. It will be capable of

providing more complete and accurate information on the costs and benefits so

that decisions on current spending and future activities can be made based on

economically and ecologically sensible principles.

Attempts have been made to device a better system of SNA. The

World Bank has done considerable work in this direction. It exhorts nations to C.

effect an intellectual retooling through a corrected system of national accounts 2 ,%

("' ,,. that is capable of monitoring environmental progress and reflecting the change in - 1'; A. :

important socio- economic parameters79. In 1995, The European Commission, the ' . '

WWF and the Club of Rome jointly organised a conference, with the theme

'taking nature into account' (in the system of national accounts) 80. Officials from

50 nations attended it. The statistical division of the UN(UNSTAT), in early

1990s developed the accounting system called the System (for) Environmental

and Economic Accounting (SEEA) which incorporated recommendations that

experts made around that time. According to this, the conventional SNA is

adjusted for (a) the use of natural resources (-). (b) the change in environmental

quality from pollution on the one hand and environmental protection on the other

(It). The adjusted value is termed the environmentally adjusted net domestic

product (EDP) " In addition to these institutional initiatives, there were

numerous individual attempts to create a credible and viable alternate SNA.

However, short of dependable values on aspects such as pollution, resource

depletion and society's valuation of a clean environment, they fixed arbitrary

values to run the models. So the systems need further improvement and

perfection.

VIII. T h e Role of Government

Most protagonists of the SDP advocate a proactive, rather than, a

reactive government. Since the traditional social systems meant to protect the

environment are in a shambles, governments have to play the role of the guardian

of common property resources. In matters related to environment and

development, they have to organise their efforts according to a long-term plan.

However the record of many governments in matters related to environmental

protection is not good. Typically they have contributed, directly and indirectly, to

problems like deforestation and pollution. Many environmentalists take

governments to task for continuing with a high subsidy regime in case of fossil

fuels, that helps their excessive exploitation and useRZ. While it is the duty of a

government to set an example for the private sector by scrupulously following

rules, in many instances they are not doing that. The short-run orientation of

many governments is a factor that adversely affects the progress towards a

sustainable future. Pearce has put the problem as follows: "the current political

incentives are such that politicians are to be more concerned with generating

policies that secure the short term goal of re-election, rather than tackling the

inevitably fraught transition towards more sustainable development. Ironically, it

is probably democracy itself that is the greatest political barrier to a truly

sustainable f~ture"~' .

However, there are cases where governments provided a lead to an

t:nvironmentally better future. The cases of Canada, Netherlands and Sweden may

be briefly mentioned in this context. In her National Programme on Sustainable

I>evelopment, the Canadian Government engaged in a process of public

consultations. The Green Plan announced by the country in 1990, consisted of a

comprehensive set of targets with substantial allocations for renewable resources,

anti-pollution programmes, environmentally responsible decision making and

environmental assessment. The exercise is showing good resultsR4. The National

Environmental Planning policy (NEEP) of the Government of Netherlands since

early 1990s evolved in stages. By 1995, the environmental policy was sufficiently

ir~stitutionalised and the policy was placed on an equal footing with other socio-

economic policies. By close of 1990s,environmental policy was integrated in to

the various sectors i n such a way that the govel-nment could withdraw from many

activities aimed at environmental correctiona5. Similarly Sweden has established

ec:o-municipalities and promoted organic farming on a large scale by the mid the

1990s. Solid training is provided to government officials on matters connected to

environmental policy R6.

IX. International Co-operation

Some of the crucial issues in the SDP are of such a nature that

isolated efforts will not be effective. Combined action by the community of

nations, at the same time, is made difficult by many factors. Nations of the North

and the South are divided sharply on a number of issues. South would, for eg;

like to treat environmental issues and poverty issues together, to which North's

response was not encouraging. Accepting such a proposition would have meant

commitment of more financial assistance by the rich countries towards economic

development of LDCs. The latter also argue that most of the pressing global

environmental issues have arisen due to the profligate life style of the people of

the North, and hence the entire burden of correction should fall on the latter.

Citing their poverty and the urgent need to accelerate development, the South

nations demand certain exemptions and a longer period of time for adjustments in

technology (like a shift from CFCs to nnn- CFC systems). Many of the

international conventions on environment, in fact, responded to such requests

positively. However in recent years there was a less accommodative stance from

Northern countries. In the Kyoto conferences on global warming (1997),

representatives of the US Congress and industry objected strongly to the inclusion

of liberal exemption clauses for LDCs, on the ground that these would adversely

affect the competitive position of American industry

Failure to reach amicable settlement to the disputes has rendered

many of the agreements reached in high profile conferences, difficult to

implement. On environmental matters alone 140 international agreements were

concluded between 1921 and 1997 R8, but a majority of them are yet to get the

required ratification of the legislative bodies of the agreeing nations. Even when

ratification was obtained, governments took liberty to water down important

clauses. Under this condition the best strategy is to start with small agreements

and build on their ratchet effects rather than to struggle for a big, sweeping and

eternally elusive agreement 89.

X. Growth: the Need to Draw the Line

The quest for unlimited growth and SD cannot go together. SDP

advocates that, after a level, nations have to consciously opt for a 'slow growth' or

even a 'no growth' scenario. Daly writes: "growth should stop once the optimum

is reached. Growth beyond the optimum scale is anti-growth, that is, growth that

makes us poorer rather than richer. We could speak of steady-state economy as

one that develops without growing. Limits to growth do not imply limits to

development" 9n. However the idea of controlling growth , let alone a freeze in it,

is not an easily salable idea, as growth has become a craze and a symbol of

9 1 national pride . For the LDCs, sacrificing growth would mean condemning

billions of people to perpetual poverty, and hence, is not at all acceptable. Thus

the choice comes down to one of the MDCs deliberately pursuing a course of slow

to zero growth. Apart from the huge political problem of selling the proposal to

the masses, there are numerous issues related to management of the necessary

policy9*. Such difficulties, however, must not distract us from the rationality and

importance of the basic proposal that growth should have a definite stop once it

reaches unsustainable proportion.

This chapter which dealt with the various aspects of the New

Economics implied in SDP,may aptly be cc~ncluded with a brief reference to

objections raised against the model. Critics have generally highlighted the lack of

precision of the notion ('it can be interpreted as one please, hence its popularity')

and the numerous practical problems related to its implementation ('it may be

seeking the impossible'). A more fundamental criticism is that the prog5mm of \

SD is a scheme to deceive, and the main purpose of its proponents is to divert

attention from certain other issues, a just resolution of which may be costly for

MDCs. According to M. Nypels "The concept of sustainable development does

not challenge the instruments in the hands of those who have power. It only begs

those who use these instruments to be more careful in using them so as not to

destroy our ecological system" 93. There is also the apprehension that the clause

of sustainability may be used as yet another qualifying item in trade, effectively

reducing the prospects of poor nations in international trade. These critical

observations cannot be simply brushed aside since they contain grains of truth.

An important task of the proponents of SD is to strive for a more concrete and

agreed action plan built around the basic notion. But it would be a great mistake

to drop the idea altogether just because it currently lacks precision. This is not a

unique case. About 'money' 'income' etc. we have considerable definitional

problems. "We must not expect analytical precision in reasoning with dialectical

concepts ... One of the temptations of debate is to demand an unreasonable

standard of precision for concepts that have troublesome implications to one's

position ..."94.

David Pearce cautions against being over ambitious about

establishment of the sustainable society, and advocates a step by step process. In

stage one, (ultra-weak sustainability) 'substantial restructuring of microeconomic

incentives may be possible. In the next stage (strong sustainability) 'binding

policy integration and strong international agreements' can be managed. Green

accounts and green taxes may be the order of the day in this final phase9*

We may conclude on an optimistic note. Though the challenges

facing humanity are numerous and indeed complex, the world has not yet reached

the edge. By applying appropriate technology and through well-planned social

engineering, credible solutions can be found. Nations have to approach the

problems with confidence and sincerity.

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News report in The Hindu, quoting Michael Hulme, (Nov. 30,1997), p. LO

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News report in WWF - India Quarterly, (July - Sept. 1993). p.13

News report in The Hindu, quoting World Meteorological Organisation (Sept. 14, 1995), p.10

Ross S. (1991). op. cit., pp. 153 - 154

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Lee, Keekok (1989), op.cit., p.197

Mishan,E.J. (1982). op.cit., p.239

Lee, Keekok (1989), op.cit., p p 336-359

Daly, H.E (1991), op. cit ., p.34

Atkinson, Giles et, al. (1997) : Measuring Sustainable Development, Chelten ham : Edward Elgar, p. 71

Ibid., pp.76-77

Goldernberg J., et.al. (1998), op.cit., p. 96

Ibid., pp.75-76

Pirog and Stamos (1987): Energy Economics: Theory and Policy, New Jersey: Prenticehall, p. 217

Ibid., p.239

Oliver D. et. al. (1991): "Sustainable Energy Futures", in Blunden and Reddish (eds.) Energy, Resources and Environment, London: Hodder & Stoughton, pp. 183- 184

Ibid., p. 187

Brown, Lester R. (1998.b): "Building a New Economy", In Brown Lester R. (ed.) State of the World-1998, New York, Norton & Co., p.173

Tirog and Stamos (1987), op.cit., p.258

Pearce, D.(1997), op.cit., p.5

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95. Pearce D (1995), op. cit, Table 8. 3, p. 289