Environment and Sustainable Development – Class 11 Economics Chapter 7 Notes & NCERT PDF

Introduction

"The environment, left to itself, can continue to support life for millions of years. The single most unstable and potentially disruptive element in the scheme is the human species..." — Anonymous

India's economic development so far has come at a very heavy price — at the cost of environmental quality. As India enters an era of globalisation that promises higher growth, it must keep in mind the damage caused by past development and consciously choose a path of sustainable development. The chapter has three parts: the functions of the environment, the state of India's environment, and strategies for sustainable development.

Key Concepts

7.2 Environment — Definition and Functions

Environment is the total planetary inheritance and the totality of all resources. It includes all biotic factors (birds, animals, plants, forests, fisheries) and abiotic factors (air, water, land, rocks, sunlight) that influence each other.

Four functions of the environment:

Carrying capacity: the environment can perform these functions only as long as demand stays within its carrying capacity — i.e., resource extraction does not exceed the rate of regeneration and wastes stay within its assimilating capacity. Absorptive capacity is the ability of the environment to absorb degradation. When these limits are crossed, the environment fails in its life-sustaining function — an environmental crisis.

Why a crisis today? The rising population of developing countries and the affluent consumption and production standards of the developed world have placed huge stress on the first two functions. Many resources have become extinct, and wastes are beyond the environment's absorptive capacity. Rivers and aquifers have dried up or been polluted, making water an economic good. The book notes that seventy per cent of water in India is polluted, increasing respiratory and water-borne diseases and health spending.

Opportunity costs are high: we must spend huge amounts on technology and research to find new resources, on health costs of degraded air and water, and on global issues like global warming and ozone depletion.

Supply–demand reversal: In the early days, the demand for environmental resources was less than their supply — pollution was within absorptive capacity and extraction was slower than regeneration. With the population explosion and the Industrial Revolution, demand overtook supply. Now we face increased demand but limited supply due to overuse and misuse — this reversal explains today's crisis.

Box 7.1 — Global Warming: a gradual rise in the average temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere due to more greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution — mostly human-induced through burning fossil fuels and deforestation. Since 1750, atmospheric carbon dioxide rose 31 per cent and methane (CH₄) 149 per cent above pre-industrial levels; in the past century temperature rose by 0.6°C (1.1°F). Effects: melting polar ice, sea-level rise and coastal flooding, disrupted drinking water, extinction of species, more tropical storms and tropical diseases. The UN Conference on Climate Change at Kyoto, Japan (1997) produced an agreement calling on industrialised nations to cut emissions.

Box 7.2 — Ozone Depletion: reduction of ozone in the stratosphere, caused by chlorine and bromine compounds from CFCs (used in air-conditioners, refrigerators and aerosol propellants) and halons (in fire extinguishers). More ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaches Earth — causing skin cancer, lowering phytoplankton and affecting plants. About 5 per cent reduction in the ozone layer was detected from 1979 to 1990. The Montreal Protocol banned CFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals.

7.3 State of India's Environment

India has abundant natural resources: fertile soils (the black soil of the Deccan Plateau is suited to cotton, which concentrated textile industries there), the Indo-Gangetic plains (among the world's most fertile and densely populated regions), forests, hundreds of rivers, a vast stretch of the Indian Ocean, and minerals — India holds nearly 8 per cent of the world's iron-ore reserves, plus bauxite, copper, chromate, diamonds, gold, lead, lignite, manganese, zinc and uranium.

The dichotomy: India faces both poverty-induced environmental degradation and pollution from affluence and a rapidly growing industrial sector.

Five priority issues:

Factors responsible for land degradation (the book lists twelve): loss of vegetation due to deforestation; unsustainable fuelwood and fodder extraction; shifting cultivation; encroachment into forest lands; forest fires and overgrazing; non-adoption of soil conservation; improper crop rotation; indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals (fertilisers, pesticides); improper planning and management of irrigation; extraction of groundwater beyond recharge capacity; open-access resources; and poverty of agriculture-dependent people.

Pressure on land: India supports about 17 per cent of the world's human population and 20 per cent of its livestock on a mere 2.5 per cent of the world's geographical area. Per capita forest land is only 0.06 hectare against a requirement of 0.47 hectare, causing excess felling of about 15 million cubic metres beyond the permissible limit. Soil erodes at 5.3 billion tonnes a year, with losses of 0.8 million tonnes of nitrogen, 1.8 million tonnes of phosphorus and 26.3 million tonnes of potassium every year.

Air pollution: vehicles are the main urban contributors — as ground-level sources they have the maximum impact on people. Motor vehicles rose from about 3 lakh in 1951 to 35 crore in 2022; two-wheelers and cars were about 85 per cent. India is one of the ten most industrialised nations, and the CPCB has identified seventeen categories of large and medium industries as significantly polluting.

Box 7.3 — Appiko Movement (Karnataka): like the Chipko movement in the Himalayas, Appiko means 'to hug'. On 8 September 1983, when felling began in the Salkani forest in Sirsi district, 160 men, women and children hugged the trees; they kept vigil for six weeks and saved 12,000 trees. Volunteers asked that local people be consulted and that trees within 100 metres of a water source or on slopes of 30 degrees or above not be felled.

Box 7.4 — Pollution Control Boards: the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was set up in 1974 to address water and air pollution, followed by state boards. They set standards for effluents and emissions, inspect industries, run awareness campaigns, and monitor water quality in 125 rivers (with tributaries), wells, lakes, ponds, drains and canals.

7.4 Sustainable Development

The UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) defined sustainable development as: "Development that meets the need of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs." The key phrases are 'needs' (linked to fair distribution of resources — a moral issue) and 'future generations' (intergenerational equity). The report Our Common Future (the Brundtland Commission) explained it as meeting the basic needs of all and giving everyone the chance for a better life.

The present generation should promote development compatible with (i) conservation of natural assets, (ii) preservation of the regenerative capacity of ecological systems, and (iii) avoiding added costs or risks on future generations.

Herman Daly's five conditions for sustainable development:

In 2015, the UN adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030.

7.5 Strategies for Sustainable Development

7.6 Conclusion

Development to meet rising needs puts pressure on the environment. Earlier, supply of environmental resources exceeded demand; now demand exceeds limited supply. Sustainable development minimises environmental problems while meeting present needs without compromising future generations.

Key Facts & Figures

Exam Focus

Key Terms

Common Mistakes