SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: NEED OF THE HOUR

Authors:
MEDHA AVASIA
PRAVIN SANKALP
FACULTY OF LAW
IFHE HYDERABAD

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: NEED OF THE HOUR

Development to be sustainable, it has to be comprehensiveit has to successfully balance economic
goals with social and environmental. Development is really much more than simply economic growth.
The understanding of development can differ among countries and even among individuals. Development
is a comprehensive process involving economic as well as social and environmental changes, this paper
attempts to explain some complex relationships among various aspects of development, including
population growth, economic growth, improvements in education and health, industrialization and post
industrialization, environmental degradation, and globalization. Before asking any questions or giving
recommendations on sustainable development the following have to be answered:
What is development?
How can we compare the levels of development achieved by different countries?
And what does it take to make development sustainable?
It is not easy to answer the above questions as they defer from person to person. Perceptions, culture,
upbringing, society influence the answer and thus the answer is not easily answered.
For example, for some people development means primarily higher incomes, for others, a cleaner
environment. Some are most interested in personal security, others, in personal freedom. Note that these
goals and values are not always easily compatiblefaster economic growth may be more damaging to the
natural environment and a strengthening of personal security may require limiting some personal
freedoms.
While reading about sustainable development one should keep in mind the multiplicity of
interconnections among all aspects of sustainable development.

As were past the first decade of the 21st century and two decades since the process of Indias economic
reforms began in 1991, it is a good time, we think, to assess what the above mentioned goals achieved;
new goals that need to be set and the challenges that remain to be addressed with suitable strategies.
Hence we first look back at the last ten years and then look forward to next twenty. In short, we believe
that with a much more focused approach towards the agricultural sector and agro-based industrialization
in rural India; the implementation of Indias unfinished reform agenda with a key focus towards policy,
institutional and governance reforms in general and in particular reforms that would help make India a
2

much more improved platform for labor-intensive manufacturing production; and substantially higher
public spending in areas, such as health and education, that over the next twenty years, India can and will
continue to grow at high rates of economic growth which can be far more inclusive than what it has been
over the last two decades.
India is moving from the phase of market reforms (1990-2010) to the new era of sustainable development.
The priority now must be not only on growth, but on the triple bottom line of growth, equity/inclusion,
and environmental sustainability.
The sustainability challenge will occupy India and the world for decades, not just for years. All countries
face the challenge of adapting to ongoing climate change, managing growing water scarcity, protecting
endangered ecosystems and species, etc. As one of the worldss most crowded country, India faces this
challenge more urgently than others.
While conventional economic development leads to the elimination of several traditional occupations, the
process of sustainable development, guided by the need to protect and conserve the environment, leads to
the creation of new jobs and of opportunities for the reorientation of traditional skills to new occupations.
Women, while continuing to perform their traditional domestic roles are increasingly involved in earning
livelihoods. In many poor households they are often the principal or the sole breadwinners. A major thrust
at the policy level is necessary to ensure equity and justice for them.
Literacy and a basic education are essential for enabling the poor to access the benefits offered by
development initiatives and market opportunities. Basic education is therefore a precondition for
sustainable development.
In the last half of the twentieth century, four key themes emerged from the collective concerns and
aspirations of the worlds peoples: peace, freedom, development, and environment. 1
The World Commission on Environment and Development was initiated by the General Assembly of the
United Nations in 1982, and its report, Our Common Future, was published in 1987.2It was chaired by
thenPrime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland, thus earning the name the Brundtland Commission. The commissions membership was split between developed and developing countries. Its roots
were in the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environmentwhere the conflicts between
environment and development were first acknowledgedand in the 1980 World Conservation Strategy of
the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which argued for conservation as a means to
assist development and specifically for the sustainable development and utilization of species,
ecosystems, and resources.

The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development lists the following areas as coming within the
scope of Sustainable Development:

National Research Council, Policy Division, Board on Sustainable Development, Our Common Journey: A Transition toward Sustainability (Washington, DC:
National Academy Press, 1999)

World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), Our Common Future (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987)

Agriculture

International law

Science
Technology

Atmosphere

Education and
awareness

Biodiversity

Energy

Internationalcorporation
enabling environment

Biotechnology

Finance

Institutional arrangements

Transport

Forests

Land management

Capacity building

Waste

Consumption and
production patterns

Freshwater

Oceans and seas

Water

Poverty

Disaster
reduction
and management

Health

Demography

Human settlements

Desertification and
drought

Indicators

Sanitation

Trade & environment

Income inequality

Industry

Information for
Decision
Making and
Participation
Integrated
Decision
Making
Education and
Awareness

The concept of sustainable development does imply limitsnot absolute limits but limitations imposed
by the present state of technology and social organization on environmental resources and by the ability
of the biosphere to absorb the effects of human activities.3
UNESCO has said:
Some argue that there is no need for one agreed definition of sustainable development; instead,
sustainable development as a possessive change that is heavily reliant upon local contexts and need and
priorities. Clearly, while there is no one definition, the global dimensions and impacts of the challenges
facing the 21st century require extensive international co-operation, political commitment and
stewardship, and energy to move forward in a sustainable future.4
3
4

World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), Our Common Future (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987),

UNESCO :Sustainable development and evolving concept

http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/TLSF/decade/img/DESDbriefWhatisSD.pdf

Balancing so many diverse objectives of development is an enormous challenge for any country. For
instance, how would you compare the positive value of greater national security with the negative value
of slower economic growth (loss of jobs and income) and some, possibly irreversible, environmental
damage? There is no strictly scientific method of performing such valuations and comparisons. However,
governments have to make these kinds of decisions on a regular basis. If such decisions are to reflect the
interests of the majority, they must be taken in the most democratic and participatory way possible. Thus,
to ensure that future generations inherit the necessary conditions to provide for their own welfare, our
present day values must be educated enough to reflect their interests as well.
The challenge is further complicated by the fact that in todays interdependent world many aspects of
sustainable development are in fact international or even global. On the one hand, many decisions taken at
the national or even local level actually have international consequences economic, social, and
environmental. When these consequences are
Negative, the situation is sometimes referred to as exporting unsustainability.
On the other hand, national policies are often inadequate to effectively deal with many challenges of
sustainability. Thus international cooperation on the wide range of so-called transboundary and global
problems of sustainable development becomes indispensable.
Arguably, the most critical problem of sustainable developmentin each country as well as globallyis
eradicating extreme poverty. That is because poverty is not only an evil in itself. It
Also stands in the way of achieving most other goals of development, from clean environment to personal
freedom. Another, closely related, global problem is establishing and preserving peace in all regions and
all countries. War, as well as poverty, is inherently destructive of all economic as well as social and
environmental goals of development.
The following are the few areas falling under the scope of sustainable development:
Atmosphere:
Most of the worlds most populous cities are in developing countries. Many of these cities are in Asian
countries with low per capita incomes but big populations, such as China, India, and Indonesia. These
cities have high concentrations of poor residents and suffer from social and environmental problems
including severe air pollution.
Particulate Air Pollution in largest cities:
Country
BRAZIL
AUSTRALIA
BULGARIA
CHINA
FINLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
INDIA
ITALY

City
Sao-paolo
Sydney
Sofia
Beijing
Helsinki
Paris
Berlin
Mumbai
Rome

SPM
86
54
195
377
40
14
50
240
73
5

JAPAN
SWEDEN
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
UNITED STATES

Tokyo
Stockholm
Moscow
New York

49
09
100
61

The level of air pollution depends on a countrys technologies and pollution control, particularly in energy
production. Using cleaner fossil fuels (such as natural gas and higher-grade coal), burning these fuels
more efficiently, and increasing reliance on even cleaner, renewable sources of energy (hydro, solar,
geothermal, wind) are some of the best ways to control and reduce air pollution without damaging the
economic growth.
In china, US and Russia the main source of electricity is coal and natural gas.
Airborne lead is one of the most harmful particulate pollutants. Young children are especially vulnerable:
lead poisoning of children leads to permanent brain damage, causing learning disabilities, hearing loss,
and behavioral abnormalities. In adults lead absorption causes hypertension, blood pressure problems, and
heart disease. The main sources of airborne lead are motor vehicles using leaded gasoline, industrial
processes such as ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, and coal combustion. While governments
increasingly control large industrial sources of pollution, motor traffic is rapidly growing. In many urban
areas vehicles using leaded gasoline cause more than 80 percent of lead pollution. Therefore, since the
1970swhen medical evidence on the adverse health impacts of lead became availablemany countries
have reduced or eliminated lead additives in gasoline. The elimination of leaded gasoline has been
achieved, for example, in Austria, Japan, and Sweden. An improved quality of air does not result directly
from economic growth. Any environmental benefits are usually achieved only as a result of political
pressures from environmentally concerned population groups, and only through democratic mechanisms
can these pressures translate into regulatory and technological changes.
Education:
The national stock of human capital and its rate of increase are critical to a countrys level and rate of
economic development, primarily because these are important determinants of a countrys ability to
produce and adopt technological innovations. But investing in human capital, although extremely
important, is not sufficient for rapid economic growth. Such investment must be accompanied by the right
development strategy. Consider the Philippines and Vietnam.
In both countries adult literacy is higher than in most other Southeast Asian countries nevertheless, until
recently both countries were growing relatively slowly, largely because of development strategies that
prevented them from taking full advantage of their stock of human capital. In Vietnam central planning
stood in the way, and in the Philippines economic isolation from the global market was to blame. In
recent years, however, both countries have realized a return on their investments in human capital
Vietnam by adopting a more market- based approach to development and radically improving its growth
rate, and the Philippines by exporting many of its educated workers and importing their foreign
exchange earnings.
Health:
During the second half of the 20th century health conditions around the world improved more than in all
previous human history. Average life expectancy at birth in low- and middle-income countries increased

from 40 years in 1950 to 65 years in 1998. Throughout the 20th century, national indicators of life
expectancy were closely associated with GNP per capita.
The Governments of developing countries have invested in improving public health measures training
medical personnel, and building clinic and hospitals but much remain to be done.
Income Inequality:
Income Inequality is the difference between the income level of the rich and the poor. The richer the rich
get the difference in the income and balancing the income level between these two sectors of the society
gets more complicated. Income inequality doesnt only exist within a country it is also amongst the
countries.
The following are the reasons why international experts recommend decreasing inequality in developing
countries:

In cases of inequality, even if the prices are slightly higher it causes extreme deprivation among
the poorest citizens.
It causes political instability as the people are not satisfied with the economic status.
It discourages the basic norms of behaviour amongst the economic agents.
The access to resources is also faced amongst the lower classes of the country.

Poverty and Hunger:

There are two kinds of poverty: material deprivation and human poverty. Measures of income poverty are
different in different countries. The richer the country is, the higher the national poverty line. The
definition of poverty other than its basic structure that is deprivation is not clearly laid down so it requires
a comprehensive policy country wise aimed at poverty reduction.

CASE STUDY:
ODISHA
Case Study: Iron Ore Mining in Keonjhar5
Odisha is one of the leading mining states of India, both in terms of mineral resources and production.
The State accounts for 95 per cent of chromite, 92 per cent of nickel, 55 per cent of bauxite and 33 per
cent of iron ore (hematite) resources of the country. It is also rich in other minerals like coal, dolomite,
fire clay, manganese, graphite, and lime stone, apart from having a host of minor minerals.
Table 7.1: Mineral Resources of Odisha6 (in million tonnes)

Data (both qualitative and quantitative) collected through questionnaires and personal discussions with
government and mining company officials, non-government organizations, civil society and local
community groups, during visits to Odisha, specifically to various iron ore, manganese, bauxite and chromite
mines (Annexure 13) in the mining regions of the state.
6
IBM. 2011. Indian Minerals Yearbook 2009, Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), Nagpur, January.

Mineral

Odisha

India

Chromite

202.96

213.06

Percentage
India
95

Nickel

174.48

188.71

92.46

Bauxite

1808.27

3289.81

54.96

Manganese Ore

152.96

378.57

40.40

Iron Ore

4760.63

14630.39

32.54

Coal

61999.26

253301.66

24.48

Fire Clay

175.48

704.76

24.89

share

in

Sustainability Performance of Mines

The sustainability performance of a few large, medium and small mines was studied with the conclusion
as given below:-

A. Scientific Mining
Scientific mining comprises mining methods and practices originating from a systematic approach to
mine development and operation. It involves adoption and continuous development of technology
reflected in the advances in equipment and management practices. Scientific mining is the first step for
ensuring environmental sustainability in mining; it is also essential for the conservation of a nonrenewable resource and its optimum utilization. The Mineral Conservation and Development Rules
(MCDR) 1988 lay down some parameters including the requirements of a proper mining plan for each
mine, operational mining schemes and a mine closure plan when the resources are fully exhausted.

B. Environmental Protection and Biodiversity

The major environmental management practices being followed by the iron ore mines in Keonjhar are
described below:
(i) Air quality management
The major air pollution in mines is caused due to the particulate matter of various sizes and chemical
constituents or dusts. Thus dust management at various stages of mining operations is the most important
challenge. The major sources of dust are haul roads, drilling and blasting, crushing and screaming
operations, material handling and waste rock dumps.
(ii) Water pollution and waste water management
In Keonjhar, the iron ore mining operations do not intersect with the areas water table. However, water
pollution is caused due to higher loads of suspended solids through ore-washing at the screening plant,
slimes generation in the stockpiles or dumps and erosion over degraded lands. The main consideration is
how to limit the extent of the flow of slimes into the natural streams in the area and prevent
environmental damage.

C. Local Community Development

Community development needs to be one of the central concerns of the mining industry since wealth
removed from the community in the form of minerals may not necessarily be returned to the community
in any other form. On this score, the performance of the mining companies in Keonjhar is quite patchy

and indifferent. Firstly, no mining project, large or small, prepares a social impact assessment survey as
there is no mandatory requirement to that effect. This prevents the enterprise from taking a holistic view
of the socio-economic situation in the area of its operation which in Keonjhar is dominated by tribals and
other marginalized groups.

Conclusion
The picture that emerges from the analysis of the situation in Keonjhar is a mixed one. While larger
mining enterprises have some concern for scientific mining, environmental protection and limited social
development (through CSR activities), smaller enterprises are focused on the maximum extraction of
mineral resources from their lease areas. There is also considerable illegal mining. In Keonjhar, mining is
being carried on without any concern for the environments carrying capacity and infrastructural
limitations. Engagement with local population and socio-economic development in the mining project
area are neglected issues both by the mining industry and the government agencies which mostly focus on
regulatory matters. Multiple central and state agencies create problems of coordination and are ineffective
in ensuring sustainable mineral development.

GREEN TECHNOLOGY:
The United Nations Asian and Pacific Centre for Agricultural Engineering and Machinery
(APCAEM) has been taking initiative to promote the agro-based environment-friendly technology termed
as Green Technology (GT) to promote sustainable agriculture development for the eradication of poverty
and guarantee environmental sustainability. The GT application is aimed at linking agriculture with the
environment-friendly technology, which contributes to both poverty reduction and sustainable agriculture
development. The objective of proposed study is to find out the viability of green technologies and
provide a framework and direction for its development and delivery.
Technology can be termed as the application of knowledge for practical purposes. In this context,
technology allows people to become more efficient or to do things that were not possible before. To
benefit from technology, it needs to be successfully linked with country's overall development objectives
and applied to solving socio-economic problems.
The "green technology" is a broad term for more environmentally friendly solutions. GT for that matter
can be used as environmental healing technology that reduces environmental damages created by the
products and technologies for peoples' conveniences. It is believed that GT promises to augment farm
profitability while reducing environmental degradation and conserving natural resources.7
A UNDP and Government of China's collaborative project in arid mountains bordering the provinces of
Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan on green technology is quite noteworthy in the sense that it helps
communities and ethnic minorities in ecologically fragile and remote regions to create a new source of
sustenance and to develop green energy. The production of bio-diesel by growing trees in the mountains
can create a market for the oil-rich seed of the Jatropha Curcas L tree. Its widespread cultivation on
barren land can lead to more fertile land and environment-friendly agriculture and ecosystem, which
ultimately avoid the difficulties created by soil erosion and aridity.8
World Bank in its World Development Report 2007 has laid emphasis to the agriculture development for
poverty alleviation and has advised to put this sector in the centre of development agenda, if world wants
to halve poverty by 2015. In the mean time economists have taken it as challenge to sustain and expand
agriculture sectors unique poverty-reducing power. It is logical to assume that agriculture should itself be
sustainable to keep and expand this power.
Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals-environmental healths, economic profitability, and
social and economic equity.9
The decision about which particular method or combination of methods to choose vary from country to
country and region to region. Some of the common ways towards sustainable agriculture are:
a) Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
b) Rotational Grazing
c) Soil conservation
d) Water quality/wetlands
e) Cover crops
f) Crop/ landscape diversity
g) Nutrient management
7

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib752/aib752d.pdf
http://www.undp.org.cn/modules.php
9
http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm
8

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h) Agro-forestry
i) Marketing
The demand for cereals in the developing country is expected to increase by 59% in next 25 years. The
data shows, the growth rate in cereal yields has declined from an annual rate of 2.9% in 1967-82 to 1.8%
in 1982-1994.10
Technological change can make both the direct and indirect impact on reducing poverty. Increased
production, higher gross revenues from higher volumes of sales, reduced production cost, lower yield
risks, and improved natural resource management means an increased welfare to the farmers, which is the
direct impact of innovation. The indirect impact is the reduced food price for net buyers, employment and
wage effects in agriculture and other sectors of the economy and agriculture's contribution from foreign
exchange earnings to overall economic growth.11
FAO considers the challenge of agriculture is to ensure people's rights to food security, at the same time
the challenge also is to retain the natural resources productive for future generation. This is a difficult task
because of the high rate of growth of population and declining land and water resources. This particular
situation requires a shift to sustainable agriculture and rural development, which may ensure that present
and future generations have equal access to the total capital of natural and human resources.12
In some countries government purchasing is encouraged for the products whose contents and methods of
production have the smallest possible impact on the environment13. In recent years, much more emphasis
has been given in linking environmental factors with diversified development activities. For example, the
terminologies, often used as "green building", or "high performance building", and or "sustainable
building" address the impact of technology on environment. It is found that energy, water, and materials
are used so efficiently while constructing the structure, it not only support the longer lifetime of the
structure alone, but also the health and productivity of occupants. It is believed that the impact of such
structure on the local and global environment is minimal 14
Environmental impact from intelligent products15
Phases
Impacts
First order

effects Increase environmental impact from an increased and more

dispersed amount of ICT equipment and infrastructure. The impact will
be smaller, if national and international regulation implies a reduction of
the energy and resource consumption and use of hazardous chemicals
during the manufacturing, the use and the disposal of the equipment.

Second order

effects Depends on the focus of environmental aspects in the

development of the intelligent products and whether new
and maybe more efficient products substitute less efficient products or
the fleet or the stock of products among consumers increase. The focus

10

Janvry, Graff and et al., 2000

http://ideas.repec.org/p/mil/wpdepa/ 2005-14.html
12
http://www.unep.org/unenv/default.asp?gegid=9
13
http://www.green-technology.org/what.htm
14
http://www.ncgreenbuilding.org/site/ncg//index.cfm
11

15

The integration of electronic components into products is called Intelligent Products.

11

of the optimisation is determined by governmental regulation, resource

costs, customer demands etc
Third order

effects Depends on whether the environmental knowledge base leads to

competitive advantages for companies applying environmentally oriented
process regulation and control,for example through governmental
regulation of emissions, energy costs etc. Depends also on whether a
rebound effect from the reduced energy consumption from more
intelligent products induces a rebound effect, where other products are
brought due to reduced energy costs.16

CASE STUDY:
INDIA: Biofuel- Jatropha
Petroleum products are no longer well-suited source of energy due to their non-renewable characteristics
and their role in accelerating global warming. Continuous rise in oil price adds further to the problem
especially for the people of underdeveloped countries. Biofuel could be the possible solution for this
problem. Many countries have already practiced production and use the biofuel. Indonesia and Malaysia
are growing palm oil while Brazil heavily grows sugarcane for producing this renewable source of
energy. There can be long list of benefits of biofuel.
For example;
a) Using biofuel reduces the problem of global warming.
b) Provides new market for farmers. If farmers of under developed countries start to produce feedstock
for biofuel then there income will change considerably.
c) Due to renewable nature; there will be no fear of energy crisis in the world.
d) Since farmers of both developed and underdeveloped countries will produce it; there will be no
monopoly market for fuel in the world, etc.
However, there is risk associated with the production of biofuel. Due to high price of biofuel in
comparison to staple foods, farmers of underdeveloped country may divert resources such as arable land
and water towards production of feedstock. This may result in high and unstable price of food grain,
scarcity of staple foods followed by hunger and poverty. To overcome from the problem of trade off
between biofuel and food grain, IFPRI (2006) has recommended producing feedstock for biofuel in
marginal land.India is second highest populated country with one of the highest growth rate in the world.
This necessitates high demand of energy. Indias energy demand is expected to grow at an annual rate of
4.8 per cent over the next couple of decades (Gonsalves, 2006). Most of the energy requirements are
currently satisfied by fossil fuels coal, petroleum-based products and natural gas. Domestic production
of crude oil can only fulfill 25-30 per cent of national consumption (ibid). In this situation India is also
promoting biofuel. Since January 2003, a minimum 5% ethanol blend in petrol has been mandatory in
India in nine states and four Union territories. By 2005, the ethanol content should reach 10% (Brook and
Bhagat, 2004). One of the major sources of biofuel in India is sugar cane. However, Indian farmers have
16

http://www.frontlinien.dk/eco/050414%20GTF%20140405%20ver4.pdf

12

already been experiencing lowered price of sugar cane due to over production (ibid). Another feedstock
on which India is relying on is Jatropha. There are several projects and programs that are being run to
produce Jatropha as feedstock for bio-diesel in India. Jatropha is the short name of Jatropha curcas which
is also known as Physic nut. Major attraction of Jatropha lies on its growing capacity even in saline,
marginal and infertile soil. Since it can grow without water, drought has no impact on it. Furthermore, it
requires little maintenance that in turn reduces cost of production. It grows 1.5-3.0 m high, and is capable
of stabilizing sand dunes, acting as a windbreak and combating desertification (ibid). Jatropha's
productivity is also high. The yield per hectare is 0.5 to 12 tons depending on soil quality and
rainfall17.Jatropha can give 0.75 to 2 tons of bio-diesel per hectare from fifth year onward of its plantation
(Fiodl and Eder, 1997 cited in Brook and Bhagat,2004). Jatropha can be useful for other crops as well
because it has capacity to repel other animals and insects. Jatropha has its importance not only for
producing bio-diesel but also for producing variety others products as every parts of this plant can be used
in production of one item or the other. Explaining its importance Brook and Bhagat (2004) write
"Jatropha seedcakes, produced as a by-product of pressing the oil, make an excellent organic fertilizer or
protein-rich livestock feed, and another by-product is glycerin. The plant lives, producing seeds, for over
50 years, dark blue dye and wax can be produced from the bark, the stem can be used as a poor quality
wood, and the roots help in making yellow dye. The flowers of Jatropha curcas and the Jatropha stem
have well-known medicinal properties, and the leaves can be used for dressing wounds."
Jatropha and Sustainable Agriculture Gonsalves (2006) has listed several benefits such as, reduced
emission of harmful pollutants, reduction in green house gas emission, increased employment, energy
security, improved social well being etc. Referring to inter-linkages of green technology with
sustainability, Jatropha as appropriate technology is evaluated in the following analysis. Jatropha and
environment-friendly agriculture Jatropha production has very high potential to ensure environmentfriendly agriculture. Some of the elements of exhibiting this attribute are:
Less use of fertilizer and pesticide
Reduce emission of green house gasses
Maintains the soil fertility
Reduce soil erosion
Since Jatropha can grow in saline, marginal and less fertile land, this does not require the use of fertilizer.
Similarly its characteristics of repelling animals and insects, this useful plant not only denies insecticides
and pesticides but also helps to reduce the use of these harmful elements in the agriculture of its
periphery. Jatropha can directly contribute to reduction of GHG emission. In comparison to petroleum
diesel, bio-diesel reduces emission of particulate matter by 40-65%, unburned hydrocarbons by 68%,
carbon monoxide by 44-50%, sulphates by 100%, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by 80%, and
the carcinogenic nitrated PAHs by 90% on an average (Brook and Bhagat, 2004). Finally, since Jatropha
can be growing marginal and less fertile land, it will reduce desertification and embellish the landscape.
Jatropha and poverty reduction According to 1996 agriculture statistics of India, out of 142.81 millions
hectares of net own area, only 55.05 millions hectares area is irrigated 18

17

18

Makkar and Becker, 1999 cited in Brook and Bhagat, 2004

http://agricoop.nic.in/statistics/land1.htm
13

Jatropha and Rural Environment

Since Jatropha production doesn't require pesticide, insecticide, fertilizer and irrigation, its production
will not have adverse impact on soil, water and air. Like other agriculture activity, Jatropha production is
not dependent on agriculture; it will have no negative impact on forest and biodiversity. Rather its
production will improve the soil quality of saline and wasteland and stop desertification.

CONCLUSION
There is a green contribution and importance of the natural resources as well as the renewable energy for
a developing country like India. As most of the Indian rural livelihood depends on the agriculture sector,
the promotion in this sector is desired. GT is one of the factors which help in this direction positively. GT
is also a weapon to reduce the huge problem of poverty, if it is sharpened periodically with respect to the
technical and socio-economic perspectives. Authors have also presented the renewable energy sources
and the merits of the same. At last, authors have narrated the emerging challenges faced in the
development of the GT in India and recommendations to cope up with the same.

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