Thinking Global, Acting Local

The need for protecting the natural environment was realised by human beings at the dawn of human history, as is evident from ancient texts. In India, for example, the voice for protecting the environment was heard in the hermitage of old saints who lived in forests.

The current concern for environmental sustainability owes its origin to the Industrial Revolution, which caused irreparable damage to the natural environment. Naturalist John Evelin complained about the "hellish and dismal" cloud over London in 1661 due to air pollution from coal-burning. The emergence of the concept of sustainable development at the Stockholm Conference, followed by the Rio Summit, highlighted the issue and its disastrous effects on human life.

Urbanisation and Environmental Degradation

Urban centers are more prone to environmental degradation due to the interlinkage between urbanisation and industrialisation. By 2007, half of the world's population lived in cities, contributing to 80% of the global GDP, but also responsible for 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. India's top 25 cities contribute to about 15% of GHG emissions. The latest Global Air Quality Report (2020) indicates that India is the third most polluted country in the world, with its capital being the most polluted capital city. According to the Climate Risk Index 2029, India was ranked as the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change.

India is currently home to over 35 cities with a population of over one million. According to estimates, by the end of this year, India will account for 14% of the world's urban population. However, the country's urban landscape is facing significant challenges. Four decades ago, the National Commission on Urbanisation observed that urban India was "in a mess." This sentiment was echoed by Liberhan in a recent article in Millennium Post, where he described urbanisation as "a hapless story of dynamic chaos pushing our cities and towns into unhealthy and unlivable spaces."

The situation has been exacerbated by weak urban governance, characterised by a fragile set of laws and excessive rules that often lack compliance. This has hindered effective management of urban growth, leading to a range of environmental, social, and economic challenges.

The Role of International Agreements and National Policies

The Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) has worsened the situation, enabling developed countries to make intensive use of natural resources in developing and underdeveloped countries for commerce. A report by World Wide for Nature in 1992 noted that development strategies pursued by countries like Ivory Coast, Mexico, and Thailand created high levels of environmental degradation and generated unnecessary waste and loss of natural wealth.

As a part of its commitment to the Stockholm Conference, India amended its Constitution to hold states responsible for protecting and improving the environment and safeguarding forests, wildlife, and natural resources. This amendment also requires all citizens of India to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.

Judicial Activism in Environmental Protection

The Indian judiciary has played a proactive role in environmental protection. The apex court has explained that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution includes the right to enjoy unpolluted air and water. The apex court has also ruled that environmental issues are to be given utmost priority by the courts in India. The court has applied principles like the "polluter pays" principle and the precautionary principle, stressing the importance of sustainable development and ecological preservation.

The Global Campaign for Environmental Sustainability

The Environmental sustainability campaign has popularised the phrase "Think global and act local," which originated from Patrick Geddes' book "Cities in Evolution" in 1915. This idea was reinforced by scientist and philosopher Rene Dubos in the 1970s, who emphasised the importance of addressing environmental problems through local action.

The global Agenda 21 of the UN recognises the crucial role of local governments in promoting sustainable development goals. In India, the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act empowers urban local government institutions, providing for Ward Committees to facilitate citizen participation in local developmental activities.

However, the implementation of these reforms has been slow. According to a CAG report, Ward Committees were not constituted in most urban local bodies. Some states have constituted Ward Committees consisting of a number of wards, making participation almost impossible but states like West Bengal and Kerala have formed Ward Committees ward-wise. The CAG study reported that in the Municipal Corporation of Shimla they were formed in 30 out of 34 wards. Moreover, the required number of meetings was not held, with only one meeting taking place in each Ward Committee between July 2017 and November 2020.

The 12th Schedule of the 74th Constitutional Amendment lists urban forestry, environmental protection, and promotion of ecological aspects as key functions of local bodies. However, progress in these areas has been tardy. Urban forestry remains under the purview of Forest Departments in most states, and few local bodies have prepared comprehensive plans for environmental protection and ecological promotion, despite the presence of institutional mechanisms like district planning committees and metropolitan planning committees in some states, including West Bengal as a pioneering state.

Initiatives for Good Urban Governance

In 2001, the Government of India launched the Good Urban Governance Campaign, in line with the Habitat Agenda adopted at Istanbul in 1996. The campaign focuses on community awareness, annual environmental status reports, and proper solid waste management. However, despite its potential, only a few local bodies have taken concrete steps to implement these initiatives.

The biggest threat to the urban natural environment comes from pollution, primarily due to the state's inability to enforce environmental laws on industrialists. To address this challenge, a collaborative effort between the national state, constituent units, and local government outfits is necessary. This partnership can help create the necessary conditions for effective environmental protection.

The deplorable living conditions in sprawling slums exacerbate environmental degradation. To mitigate this, some national urban development programs have made provisions for creating community structures based on civil society participation. This was actively followed up when Swara Jayanti Saharai Yojana was introduced in 1997 after subsuming the earlier schemes, namely Nehru Rozgar Yojana Urban Basic Services for the Poor and Prime Minister's Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme. At present, the National Urban Livelihoods Mission also promotes self-help groups to improve the lives of slum dwellers.

Challenges in Community Environmental Management

Studies on community environmental management in slums have identified structural constraints such as unemployment, extreme poverty, and lack of tenurial rights that hinder improvement in environmental practices. Community-level constraints include the absence of communal exchange networks, weak cooperative institutions, unequal division of labour, and limited participation of women in decision-making processes.

To address these challenges, it is essential to provide basic services and enhance livelihood opportunities through community organisation building. This bottom-up approach can help improve environmental management practices in slums.

Urban life poses significant challenges to environmental sustainability. To create climate-resilient cities, it is necessary to develop robust, climate-sensitive, and citizen-centric governance structures. This can be achieved by creating participatory bodies like Ward Committees as provided for in the constitutional amendment.

Strengthening Local Democratic Institutions

Effective collaboration between democratic bodies, private sectors, and local communities is crucial. National missions and schemes can be fine-tuned to address environmental degradation issues. Additionally, creating an effective legal system to punish environmental law violators and allocating municipal budgets to protect the environment are essential.

Local democratic institutions regenerated through constitutional amendment, must be made more sensitive to environmental protection through training and workshops. There should be Ward Committee for each ward instead of Wards Committees to ensure more effective and meaningful participation of the citizens. A mandatory requirement for spending grants from higher-level governments on environmental awareness can also be effective, as seen in lessons from African countries.

Fr. John Felix Raj is the Vice Chancellor of St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata, and Sovik Mukherjee is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Commerce and Management at St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata. Views expressed are personal