Environment and Sustainable Development — Practice

Question 1

State the Brundtland Commission's definition of sustainable development. Using this definition, explain why building a large dam that displaces 50,000 tribal people and submerges a forest may not be 'sustainable development.'

Accepted Answer

**Definition**: 'Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.' (Brundtland Commission, Our Common Future, 1987).

**Application**: The dam may generate electricity (meeting present needs) but:
(i) Submerging forests permanently destroys carbon sinks and biodiversity — future generations lose these ecological services.
(ii) Displacing 50,000 tribal people destroys their livelihood systems that were themselves sustainable (forest-based economy).
(iii) The irreversibility violates intergenerational equity — the submerged forest cannot be restored.

Sustainable development requires that benefits to the present generation do not impose irreversible ecological and social costs on future generations — this project fails that test.

Question 2

A paper mill on the Cauvery River discharges untreated effluents. Its private production cost is ₹50 per tonne of paper. However, downstream farmers lose ₹20 per tonne worth of irrigation water quality, and fishermen lose ₹15 per tonne in fish catch. (a) Calculate the social cost per tonne. (b) What is the externality? (c) What policy can internalise this externality?

Accepted Answer

(a) Social Cost = Private Cost + External Cost = ₹50 + (₹20 + ₹15) = **₹85 per tonne**.

(b) The externality is a NEGATIVE EXTERNALITY — the paper mill imposes costs (₹35/tonne) on third parties (farmers, fishermen) who are not part of the transaction. The market price of paper (reflecting only ₹50 private cost) is too low; the mill overproduces relative to the socially optimal level.

(c) Policy solutions:
(i) **Pigouvian tax**: charge the mill ₹35/tonne — equal to the external cost — forcing it to internalise externality. This is the 'polluter pays' principle.
(ii) **Regulation**: CPCB sets effluent standards; violation = fine/closure.
(iii) **Effluent Trading**: set total effluent limits for all mills on the river; allow mills to trade pollution permits (cap-and-trade).

Question 3

Describe India's four major environmental problems. For each, explain the economic cause and suggest one specific policy solution used by India.

Accepted Answer

**1. Air Pollution**: India has 14 of the world's 20 most polluted cities (IQAir 2023). Cause: coal-based power (70% of electricity), vehicle emissions, construction dust, and crop stubble burning (Punjab, Haryana). Economic cause: energy is subsidised, making coal-burning cheaper than social cost warrants. **Policy**: National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) targets 40% reduction in PM 2.5 by 2026; FAME scheme subsidises electric vehicles.

**2. Water Pollution**: Ganga receives effluents from 764 factories and sewage from 51 cities. Only 30% of India's sewage is treated (CPCB 2022). Cause: inadequate sewage infrastructure; industries externalise costs by discharging untreated effluents. **Policy**: Namami Gange Programme (2015) — ₹20,000 crore to build 155 sewage treatment plants; National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposes fines.

**3. Land Degradation**: 120 million hectares (37% of total land) is degraded — waterlogged, eroded, or saline (ICAR 2019). Cause: overuse of chemical fertilisers (Green Revolution), deforestation, overgrazing. **Policy**: National Watershed Development Project; soil health cards scheme (2015) guides farmers on fertiliser use.

**4. Biodiversity Loss**: India loses ~5,600 animal species to extinction risk; forests cut for agriculture and mining destroy habitats. Cause: forest land treated as 'resource' for extraction rather than ecosystem service. **Policy**: Biological Diversity Act 2002; Tiger Project (1973) expanded to 53 tiger reserves; wetland conservation under Ramsar Convention (India has 75 Ramsar sites).

Practice — Environment and Sustainable Development

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