dna edit: Story behind fury

The blame for the unprecedented scale of the disaster in Uttarakhand cannot be laid merely on nature’s fury. It is time that India came out of denial and accepted the reality of climate change and the contribution of economic activity to environmental degradation. Public memory is short, the media’s even more so.

The political bickering surrounding the rescue operations is an example of this incredible shortsightedness and the limits of our political discourse. Unlike social, communal or economic issues, the environmental movement has been unable to make inroads into our larger politics. Conversely, political parties have been unable to incorporate a cogent environmental agenda in their manifestos though they regularly tap into local discontent over dams, mines, cola companies and big industries.

It is not just politicians. The 2013 United Nations Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction warns industrialists of the risks from floods, drought, and wildfires. These natural phenomena have shown a marked increase in recent decades and there is wide consensus among scientists about the climate change link. But the global politics of development have delayed consensus over a solution. Developing countries like India wish to be spared of drastic measures that impinge on GDP growth raising the bogey of poverty alleviation.

Though India launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in 2008, signalling its acceptance of the problem, the period has also corresponded with accelerated exploitation of natural resources. The commissioning of a large number of mining projects in mountain and forest belts, and hydel, coal power projects in this period signals the ambivalence of the Indian government in addressing climate change.

This development juggernaut characterised by indifference to ecological concerns has hemmed in the environment ministry too. When the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel Report submitted by the Madhav Gadgil committee recommended slotting 75 per cent of the ghats under various levels of environmental restrictions, this was opposed fiercely by the affected state governments. The ministry was forced to retreat and appoint another committee headed by K Kasturirangan to review the report. Consequently, the Gadgil committee recommendations were drastically watered down.

While the NAPCC was successful in getting state governments to draft state-level action plans on climate change, it has failed miserably in promoting the feasibility of sustainable development. Political considerations have ensured that the NAPCC has remained anchored around national missions to boost solar energy, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture and water availability without addressing fundamental issues around increasing greenhouse emissions.

On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama will propose a national plan on climate change, which will significantly reduce fossil fuel-based energy plants. India has to act too. Putting the environment at any further peril will cause irreversible damage to the land and the people; the economy only comes later.