Developmental Issues and Sustainable Development

What the official syllabus says

General Studies-III (Main Examination, Paper VI), (B) Environmental Science and Disaster Management:

• Developmental Issue, Sustainable Development.

The line closes the environment section: it asks how development and environmental protection can be reconciled. Answers usually draw on the economy and geography sections of this paper as well.

Topics in detail

The idea of sustainable development

• Brundtland Report, 'Our Common Future' (1987): the definition of sustainable development
• Three pillars: economic, social, environmental; intergenerational equity
• Weak and strong sustainability; limits to growth; carrying capacity
• Millennium Development Goals (2000) and the Sustainable Development Goals (2015): 17 goals, Agenda 2030
• NITI Aayog's SDG India Index; localising SDGs in States and districts

Development and environment conflicts

• Large dams, mining, industry and highways: benefits and environmental costs
• Displacement and rehabilitation; Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
• Development projects in forests and tribal areas: Forest Rights Act and gram sabha consent
• The Sardar Sarovar project: irrigation and drinking water for Gujarat, and the questions of displacement and rehabilitation it raised
• Coastal development, ports and industry versus fisheries and mangroves

Tools for sustainable development

• Environmental and social impact assessment; environmental accounting and green GDP
• Circular economy: reduce, reuse, recycle; extended producer responsibility
• Sustainable cities: public transport, waste management, green buildings
• Sustainable agriculture and water use: micro-irrigation, watershed development, natural farming
• Green finance: green bonds, carbon markets; corporate social responsibility (Companies Act, 2013, Section 135) and ESG reporting

Measuring sustainability

• Indicators: ecological footprint, carbon intensity of GDP, natural capital accounts
• System of Environmental-Economic Accounting and India's environment accounts (MoSPI)
• Human Development Index and the inequality-adjusted and planetary-pressures-adjusted versions
• State-level SDG ranking and dashboards

Sustainable development in practice

• Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12); Mission LiFE
• Renewable energy and energy efficiency as development tools
• Eco-tourism and community-based conservation
• Sustainable industry: cleaner production, common effluent treatment, industrial symbiosis
• Role of local bodies, civil society and business; corporate responsibility

Developmental issues

• Poverty and environment: dependence of the poor on natural resources
• Regional imbalances in development; urbanisation and slums
• Water stress and groundwater depletion
• Energy transition and jobs (a just transition)
• Health effects of pollution; gender and environment
• Gujarat examples: check dams and the water conservation movement in Saurashtra, salinity ingress prevention, industrial pollution in the 'golden corridor'

Overlaps

• General Studies-II: development processes and the role of civil society, NGOs and other stakeholders; poverty and hunger.
• Inclusive Growth on this paper.