The Challenge of Balance by Anthony Chan

In the summer of 2010, I had the opportunity to attend ‘A Challenge of Balance’, a certificate course
organized by the Centre of Science and Environment India (CSE India). This course was aimed at allowing
participants experience first-hand the challenges facing the developing world, with primary focus on the
issues surrounding the environment-development interface. Issues such as poverty, equitable and
sustainable development and climate change were taught and discussed.

A country’s development and its environment are inextricably linked, and more often than not it ends up as
a zero-sum game – stronger economy, greater development but greater environmental destruction. As India
powers ahead with strong GDP growth figures in the midst of the worst global economic recession, the
challenges it faces to safeguard its environment and maintain sustainable and equitable growth is immense.
In a general sense, these challenges are not unique to India alone, but also to all other developing nations
chasing a larger share of the world’s economic pie. Today, however, with the backdrop of climate change,
these local challenges have inevitably become global concerns. Having taken up interest in the environment
and sustainability, I wanted to see and understand how these local challenges are being tackled (or ignored)
so as to better understand the larger issues in the global context.

CSE India put together a notable panel of lecturers to conduct the

course, each of whom is a reputable professional in India in his/her
own field of work. We had lecturers that were lawyers, activists,
leaders of NGOs, government leaders and more, altogether covering
a wide-range of topics: Water policies, environmental law, solid
waste management, transport policy, sustainable development,
wastewater management, pollution etc. On top of these lectures, a
one-week long field trip in the mountainous northern state of
Himachal Pradesh was organized to complement the knowledge
Class in action at CSE’s Anil Agarwal Green College,
picked up from the lecture. where the course was conducted.

Amongst the diverse pool of participants, we had undergraduates specializing in engineering, land economy,
development studies and even journalism. Several participants were also graduates working in the
environment sector. One thing we had in common, however, was the desire to understand the complexities
behind balancing development with environmental protection and people and hence see for ourselves the
roles we can play in maintaining this delicate balance in our future sphere of work.

Incidentally, I happened to be the youngest participant and also the only participant from Singapore. Being
in the midst of such a passionate group of people and taught by such a high level panel of lecturers was an
eye-opening learning experience indeed. I thoroughly enjoyed the impassioned discussions and debates
during lessons on environmental issues affecting India and the harsh politics behind them. The immense
human suffering behind environmental destruction, the tug-of-war between profit-chasing MNCs and
environmental lobbyists, the blind-eye approach by government to the destruction of livelihoods for the
pursuit of industrialization and the huge dichotomy between the rich and the poor in a booming economy
are circumstances little found in Singapore. I was there, first-hand to witness these problems in action.
Yes, development, but for who?

One issue that caught my attention and interest is that of poverty and equitable development in India.
Unlike Singapore, India is a massive sub-continent with a massive population of 1 billion. Today only a mere
30% of India’s population live in the urban areas, while the remainder lives in the rural agricultural or tribal
lands. While agriculture counts for little in India’s GDP, it remains a source of livelihood for more than two-
thirds of India’s population. Yet, the India we see in the news today is that of Tata, steel giants and IT
industries, which speaks well about how the agricultural community has been progressively neglected by the
Indian government. GDP growth has been a steady 9% per year since 2000, but in the same period,
agricultural growth has been a mere 2.6%, the lowest in decades. Yet, the number of dependants on
agriculture for livelihood has hardly changed. Worse, increasingly, agricultural lands are lawlessly taken over
by industries with impunity, giving little respite to the people dependent on Mother Nature for survival – an
ecological disaster. Hence, that the highest suicide rates are found in the farming community is of little
surprise. While India is indeed developing rapidly in terms of growth figures, many people are left behind
lost in the race for equitable development – case in point, the huge rich-poor gap in India.

Work in progress: For a better future, OUR common future?

The point to note here is the stance a country takes when development comes to question. Aptly put across
by a lecturer was the question, ‘Development, but development for who?’ When Vedanta Resources, one of
the world’s mining giants, were granted permission to set up a mining base in the bauxite-rich region of
Niyamgiri before legal proceedings ever granted them rights, essentially robbing away the source of
livelihood for several tribal communities and a valuable carbon-sink, the question above is given an eerie
answer. For the poor and powerless in India to get an equitable share of the country’s growth is an
impossible dream, as the government’s norm for development today is to develop for the present and the
powerful, rather than a pro-people, pro-future approach. The norm of development is to consume whatever
we have on our resource table to build more industries and factories, to roll out new cars and gadgets at
breakneck speed without consideration for the people that depends on them for survival and failing to
realize that the economic benefits reaped from them hardly trickles down to the poor who needs them the
most. Needless to say, versus development, the environment takes the backseat for it is viewed as a utility
rather than a valuable asset to be kept and protected for the future. ‘A criminal oversight of the world’s
reality’ is how another lecturer describes the situation today in much of the developing world.

What I have learnt is that all these needs to change, but change do not come easy unless people are
educated about the stark realities of development, so that we can all look behind the veil of GDP growth and
see the human struggles and ecological losses behind it, so that we could all play our part, for humans have
an ‘innate sense of goodness’, as Muhammad Yunus puts it. One lecturer commented that he could only
hope the future generations of India are courageous enough to work against the current development norm
and bring the country back in step, for the current leaders in industry and government are lost in the
tantalizing maze of power and money. This brings to mind the importance of a value-based education for our
future generations. For people like us from faraway countries, we could do our little part by purchasing fair-
trade products, as an example, which brings to mind the importance of awareness building. There is, hidden
within, a lot of power waiting to be harnessed to help the powerless and much can be changed.

Water rich; no more | Development yes; Environment no.

For a long time, India used to be water-rich, but today, it is classified as a water scarce country. Several of its
river bodies have run dry due to the diversion of water to dams for hydro electrical power. On the other
hand, there is an increasing tendency for floods in the several areas during the wet season, also a result of
the incessant dam construction along the rivers and compounded by climate change. During the one week
field trip I had the opportunity to visit the Rispa community, one of those whose livelihood is affected by this
phenomenon.

The Rispa village lies within the Indian Himalayas and their sole source of livelihood is agriculture. They grow
apples and harvest the fruit of chilgoza, a rare self-growing plant, for sale. However, in 2005 a dam was
proposed to be built on the Sutlej river stretch close to their community. The construction of the dam
involves the construction of a water diversion channel which would result in the clearing of the forest and
agricultural lands surrounding the village. The 70 villagers were offered scanty compensation and resisted
the plans. Mr Negi, a former high-level government official, stepped in to help the Rispa people with their
cause.

When we spoke to the villagers, what we realized was that none of them were resistant to the idea of a dam
construction, but to the unlawful and inequitable manner in which they were treated. Before legal
proceedings ever allowed for the dam, workers of the construction company went in and cleared the forests
in preparation for the construction. A clear patch was evidently visible as we peered across the mountains.
The loss of several chilgoza trees presented a huge monetary loss to the villagers. Yet, the company denied
involvement in the forest clearance, even going to the extent of ‘removing the roots of the trees to remove
any evidences of involvement,’ as a villager lamented. Such lawlessness is hard to accept.

Clearly visible bald patches of forest surrounding the village

Fruit of the chilgoza – 1 kg fetches
thousands of rupees
 Honestly, I was surprised to hear that the villagers were not against
the idea of the dam construction. Why would they be willing to
accept a project that was going to destroy what has been their sole
source of livelihood for years? ‘It is inevitable,’ says Mr Negi, ‘with so
many sub-cities and mega-cities emerging, India needs electricity,
and something has to give way. These people (Rispa) were
unfortunate to be in the way, but what they are demanding is their
fundamental rights of being treated in a lawful and equal manner,
that is, adequate compensation and a long term resettlement and
rehabilitation plan for them.’
Participants and villages in deep discussion
Mr Negi’s comment highlighted the seemingly difficult, but unavoidable fact
that the environment and tribal communities have to give way in order for
development to take place. I fully respect such a view, but even if people are
willing to give way, how long more can our ecology sustain our lifestyles? As
we travelled further to another dam, all that could be seen in the vicinity was a
dead, heavily silted river with little sign of life. What would be left of the Sutlej
River when more dams are built in the future is unthinkable.

Today, as developing nations attempt to lift themselves out of the poverty trap,
more people attempt to enter the middle-class and chase the American dream,
of big cars, big houses, big money, big everything. As exemplified by the above
example, this has created a huge strain on our ecology. Yes, when forests are
cut, there is always afforestation as a remedy. When groundwater table has Mr Negi, ‘It’s not about rejecting
development, it’s about
been depleted, there is rainwater harvesting to restore the balance. However,
demanding for their lawful rights’
whatever little that would be saved would be, as described by Thomas
Friedman, ‘eaten up by China for breakfast, India for lunch, Russia for tea, Brazil for dinner and the whole of
Africa for a huge sumptuous supper.’ Changing our consumerist attitudes seems like a foregone conclusion,
however.

The American Dream

Our classroom was based in South Delhi and we lived further south off-Delhi in Faridabad. The distance
between the two was a mere 7.5km, yet every morning we had to endure a one-and-a-half hour bus ride in
the merciless heat (and choking fumes) to get there. If we thought the rush hour jam on CTE was bad, try
this.

Delhi is exploding, literally. I say this because wherever I went, I saw cars (Tatas), three-wheelers,
motorcycles, rickety buses, crowds of people lining the streets, street vendors plying their trade,
construction workers building infrastructure for the Commonwealth games, slums and shanties along the
sidewalks, and oh, not to mention, stray cats and dogs aplenty. Put together, these are like erupting
volcanoes sending the cities’ infrastructure crumbling.
An exploding city with vehicles moving at crawling pace Tata Nano, a dream car for the masses or the world’s nightmare?

One morning along the way to school I asked my Indian coursemate if he would want to buy a car upon
graduation. I was expecting an easy ‘no’, for it would be illogical to buy one but get stuck in a traffic jam daily
on the way to work. I was surprised, however. ‘No car, no marriage,’ he says.

The car, a symbol of luxury, a symbol of the American dream, our dreams. If anything, the world is fast
becoming sick with a strain of influenza – ‘affluenza’. In India, roads and infrastructure are still designed
today for more cars and more consumption, instead of being designed to help us cut down to limit the long-
term environmental effects that this brings.

However, our consumerist attitudes have become so deeply ingrained in our lifestyles that it is hard to
change. Each of us is chasing our own American dream as we move up the social ladder – more gadgets,
more cars, bigger houses with gold tinted windows. We want a lifestyle that is fed by increasing
consumption. I am a culprit myself but I have become more aware and could seek a change, but what about
the millions in the BRICs entering the middle-class? How can we deny them to a better standard of living?

How can we deny them of a better standard of living, a better future, a chance to fulfill their childhood dreams?

For Indians seeking a way out of the poverty trap, big cities like Delhi and Mumbai are the beacons of hope.
With the upcoming Commonwealth games several rural dwellers have swarmed into Delhi in hope of better-
paying jobs, but many have fallen behind without anything to receive, helpless, hopeless and homeless.
Many of them ended up finding refuge along the Yamuna river. For my course assignment, I went to the
Yamuna river bank in Delhi hoping to understand the effects of pollution along the river, but what I saw was
also an epitome of how a city is crumbling under the effects of urban inflow, overpopulation and
overconsumption.
During the summer months the river is a scene of filth, muck and squalor. The river water becomes pitch
black with methane bubbles visible and stops flowing. With ever increasing population, more water has to be
diverted to serve the city, leaving the river low and dry. Without adequate infrastructure in place to serve
the incoming urban dwellers, people are left to live in slums and defecate in the open, leaving the landscape
around the river a scene of filth. Without adequate awareness on the need to conserve, people continue
their wasteful use of water. Without quality wastewater treatment facilities to handle the urban discharge,
untreated water ends up on the river.

People who lost the race up the social ladder, yet still lost in their dreams and nothing is going to stop them from
their right to dream; The Yamuna filth: an evidence of strain on an infrastructure that is hardly able to accommodate
the urban influx: a persistent issue in the development agenda
While I would end up writing about the need for greater political will and tougher pollution regulations to
solve the Yamuna crisis, the matter of fact is simple: If everyone is chasing our own American dream, no
matter how determined we might be, Planet Earth will not be able to accommodate all of us. The
fundamental idea of a high consumption lifestyle that is today’s norm for a good standard of living has to
change and the culprits have to take the lead. Only then will the legions in the lower social echelons follow
the lead to live a newly defined ‘right’ lifestyle. How? I have no answer myself, but might it help if I seek to
change myself? Perhaps.

One example: Being a huge meat-eater myself, I had a lot of difficulty adapting to the vegetarian food served
in India. My penchant for meat became so strong at times that I decided to skip dinner at the hostel for
restaurant food outside, despite being aware of the climate changing effects a meat-rich diet has. After
India I have grown to accept vegetarian food better and will attempt to have more it in my diet.

Climate Change – a first hand encounter

Before India I had known about climate change, but never have I before experienced an encounter when the
effects of climate change can be clearly seen, other than watching news of forest fires and floods that are
apparently caused by global warming due to human activities. The experience at the field trip changed this.

During the field trip we travelled to the state of Himachal Pradesh, a mountainous state where the Indian
Himalayas exist. As we travelled further up the altitudes, we reached the ‘mountain desert’, an area that
hardly experiences any rainfall even during the monsoon seasons. Yet during the 7-day field trip it rained
virtually every single day, which caused serious havoc during our journey. En route we experienced several
road blockages due to landslides and several close-shave encounters with death when the jeeps skidded on
the wet surface. The effects, however, were no more obvious than what I saw at the Tabo Monastery, where
the current Dalai Lama reportedly plans to live in after retirement.
 Unprecedented rainfall causing landslides and damaged roads

The Tabo Monastery is more than 900 years old and is made of mud and wood, unlike cement and steel
today. Today it is still well preserved, not only because it has been declared a precious UNESCO heritage site
but also because it is housed in an area that experiences hardly any rain, if at all. Yet, over the past 5 years
the region has seen increased occurrences of rainfall and the structural stability of the monastery is under
threat. The pictures below illustrate this. The increased rainfall is causing major floods downstream as well,
as several rivers originate from the region. Major floods occurred in nearby Gujarat in Pakistan and
Ahmedabad in India while I was there, killing scores and causing billions in damages.

Signs of damage at the Tabo Monastery I swiped my finger along the mud walls to illustrate
the fragility of the structure.

Today, there is sufficient evidence that points to human-induced climate change, yet, the climate change
forum appears to be a dialogue for skirting responsibilities and protecting self-interests, as seen at
Copenhagen. Little are we willing to make combating climate change a global effort when this is a global,
trans-boundary phenomenon. To illustrate the developing world’s stand, Sunita Narain, CSE’s director
published an article which says,

India is no different from the rest of the world. In fact, it is at the bottom of the development trajectory—it
has a long way to go to meet its growth needs, a way that can only add pollution. This is inevitable. India will
need the ecological space to increase its emissions. But the problem is the world has decided it will not share
growth: the rich nations will not reduce and make space for late entrants such as India to first emit and then
clean up.

The hard truth is options for serious emissions reduction are limited in the industrial model we belong to or
want to inherit. The world has to look for new ways to cut emissions and pay big-time for these. There are
win-win options but only if we consider that, in all current options, the planet is losing.
 This new growth model will need changes in behaviour and lifestyle. It will need new drivers to stimulate
quick and aggressive technology innovation. Changes to take the world much beyond the known and the
ordinary. This change will not come cheap.

This is the most inconvenient of all truths. And this is precisely why the already-rich world wants to spin a
deal, built not on their commitment to reduce emissions but on the bribe that countries such as India can also
continue to emit. This is not good for climate change. It is devastating for us.

For a world that refuses to share our growth, the deadlock we are in today is hard to blame. As I mentioned
earlier, there is little we can do to stop the masses in developing nations from living higher quality life which
inevitably results in higher consumption patterns. However, living a higher quality lifestyle does not amount
to living with excesses, which is almost prevalent in the already-rich world. It is hardly unfair, then, for the
developed world to take the lead in seeking solutions for the world. Yet, in an increasingly multi-polar world,
there is so much at stakes and so much to lose for the developed world. However, we have to look beyond
this and seek global solutions, for the stakes for remaining status quo are probably just too huge for us to
bear.

Tabo Monastery might cease to exist some day, but will we care?

People power to balance the practical reality

The examples I illustrated above illustrates the difficulties the world faces in maintaining a balance between
development, the environment, and the poor people involved. To add to the woes, today, the environmental
and ecological cause becomes so intertwined with politics and the power-struggle that changing the status
quo is near impossible. Developing a nation is not merely enhancing the standard of living of its citizens, it is
also jostling for a place on the table of resources the world have and more negotiating rights in the global
forum. The practical reality: it’s tough.

Several times during the course I found myself involved in debates that ended up with no substantial
conclusion. We would go around in circles, finding ourselves in the difficult situation of having to give up one
of the three: environment, people or economic growth (a.k.a development). Yet, we cannot afford to give up
any of the former two for the world to progress. Safeguarding the environment is our future, empowering
the people is also our future.

However, we can attempt to make changes to the way we view development and to the way we live our
high consumption lifestyle. We need to see ‘rich’ in a different way. We need to, as a global citizen, take on
our individual responsibilities by cutting down on excesses and leaving more space for the poor to grow. We
need to be willing to share what little we have, be it resources, technology or knowledge.

There is little time for us to lament on the difficulties and not seek a change. There is time, however, for
individuals like you and I to make little baby steps which can help to safeguard our future.

If everyone in the world were to jump at the same time, Planet Earth would rumble. There is a lot of people
power waiting to be unleashed to clear Planet Earth of all its ailments. Let us do that.

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The Challenge of Balance was conducted between 12 July 2010 and 12 August 2010. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and
am thankful that I was given the opportunity to attend it. As part of my course assignment, I published a photo-story
about the Yamuna River entitled ‘Life along the River of Death’ in our course magazine, ‘Be the Change’.