SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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Speech by Ambassador of India Ms Chitra Narayanan at the graduation ceremony of IIIEE, Lund University, 4 October, 2002:

Thirty years ago, in 1972, a historic meeting took place in Sweden, the UN Conference on Human Environment. For the very first time the world focused on a crucial issue, the future of our planet Earth, and the concept of environmental security. India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the only foreign head of government to attend the Conference apart from the host, the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. Her immortal speech is still referred to in almost every major document on environmental issues, in particular her courageous words which shocked the audience to attention “Are not poverty and need the greatest polluters?”. From that time onwards India has drawn inspiration from the lead Sweden has provided in environmental issues.

Since 1972 great developments have taken place and environmental policy is part of every government’s programme. This is the triumph and visible result of summits like Stockholm and Rio. However the practical implementation of policies is still to match the desired targets. This convocation today, of Masters graduates in Environmental Management and Policy from the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics is a contribution to this global objective. It is encouraging to learn that the Institute is working in the EU enlargement countries, Africa, China, India and Latin America. During my visit to the Institute in May this year, I was particularly interested to learn of the intensified activity in India through NetPEM and look forward to continued dynamic activity of this Institute in the region.

In December 2000 the Swedish Minister for Environment Kjell Larsson visited India with a twenty members delegation of Swedish businessmen to promote export of environmental friendly technology. In a few days from now (6–7 October, 2002) the head of the Confederation of Indian Industry, CII, visits Stockholm with 20 Indian Chief Executive Officers for a seminar on ”India and Sweden – New Vistas of Cooperation”. This will facilitate integrating environmental criteria in technology development and technology transfer.

All nature is dovetailed together for a common cause. Nothing exists for itself. The story of human civilization is on one hand harmonious and amicable adjustment to nature and on the other, of conquest and exploitation of nature. Mahatma Gandhi said “Ignorance will not disappear merely with education. It can go only with a change in our ways of thinking”.

The significance of the Stockholm Conference was the creation of awareness and culminated in the formation of the United Nations Environment Programme. Yet too little progress had been made and in 1984 the UN General Assembly decided to establish a World Commission on Environment and Development headed by former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland to examine the progress and prospects in the perspective of 2000 and beyond. The Commission’s report ”Our Common Future” recommended sustainable development through the full integration of environmental and social dimensions into economic planning, policies and management.
It was decided that twenty years after Stockholm a UN Conference on Environment and Development would be held at Rio de Janeiro at the Head of Government level. The Agenda 21, framework treaties on climatic change and biodiversity were the outcome of this Earth Summit. I was fortunate to witness these events in my past assignment as Deputy Permanent Representative to UNEP during the time of the Brundtland Commission and also attend the Rio Conference.

The most exciting outcome of the Rio Conference was the explosion of activities and initiatives by grassroots organizations, citizen groups and key sectors of civil society. Engineers and architects, through their international associations, committed their professions to sustainable development. Business and industry leaders set up councils for environment. A new generation of enlightened leaders in business and government realized that sound economic policies and practices must integrate environmental and social considerations and that this was also the soundest approach in economic terms. The Earth Summit in Rio and the environmental movement had captured public imagination. There was an air of energy and vibrancy both out of hope and idealism.
Much has changed since then. Within ten years the atmosphere at the World Summit on Sustainable Development at Johannesburg had changed. Despite the achievements the outcome was very different from Rio. I am reminded of the prophetic words of Indira Gandhi in 1972 at Stockholm.
“It would be ironic if the fight against pollution were to be converted into another business, out of which a few companies, corporations or nations would make profits at the cost of the many”.

Maybe the time now has come to reassess the multilateral approach to environment. It is imperative that these issues remain on the international agenda and not be reduced to bilateral partnerships. Focus on the wider implications of environment cannot be diluted. National policies of individual governments are crucial but cannot replace the overall big picture.

How does India fit into this canvas? It is often forgotten that India is the size of Europe, with some states the size of entire European nations. Many find it difficult to conceive and appreciate the enormous task of governance of a country this size and one billion people and at the same time remaining a vibrant democracy. It is a tribute to democracy that such a vast country can be governed without sacrificing democratic principles. Maybe our progress is not as fast as we would like it to be, maybe it will take longer to reach our goals and yes, there is much to be done to close the gap between the rich and the poor, but the individual has rights and dignity and the freedom to exercise these rights and this is what makes India part of the free world.
It is the size and geographical diversity of India that makes sustainable development or as Mahatma Gandhi put it “the economy of permanence” a priority. Alva Myrdal, Sweden’s first Ambassador to India in 1955 played an important role in influencing social reform and recognition of the human aspects of development. The meeting of minds through the close friendship of Alva and Gunnar Myrdal with the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was based on a shared commitment to social democratic ideals and policies.

After Stockholm, India was one of the first countries to establish a National Council of Sustainable Development. By 1978 an Environment Impact Assessment was statutory for development projects in industry, mining, irrigation etc. In 1997 public hearing became an integral part of assessment procedures and an impact assessment agency was set up by the Ministry of Environment. The Central and State Pollution Control Board was established to enforce the Acts for Prevention and Control of Pollution of Water and Air.
In 1992, the National River Conservation Directorate and National Afforestation and Eco Development Board came into being. Sustainable development has become a part of India’s planning process. India has deposited its instrument of accession to the Kyoto Protocol this August and is hosting this month the 8th Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

As in many other countries, in India the main guardians of environment degradation and exploitation has been non-governmental organizations, NGO’s, and peoples participation. Their effectiveness is enhanced by the legal infrastructure that exists through legislation and local government. It is the villager and farmer whose perseverance has led to success stories not often noticed in the media. For example in the desert state of Rajasthan dramatic results are visible in the renewal and modernization of the traditional method of water harvesting. In fact one of these projects is supported by SIDA.

The challenges that face the world are only going to increase. Mahatma Gandhi said “the world has enough for everybody’s need but not for everybody’s greed”.

If there is one certain fact of life it is that we are all mortal. It is the only destiny we know for sure. It is this that spurs human beings to contribute and leave an impact for the next generation. It is this that makes us work for a better world for others than the one we live in today. Humankind has been blessed with this desire for excellence, the hope for a better future, the desire to correct and learn from mistakes and turn guilt into virtue. This desire for excellence is most visible in this great country of Sweden and the Nobel Prize.

Who shall fulfill this task of safeguarding environmental concerns? It is you the graduates and young professionals of today. The politicians, industrialists and bureaucrats have a commitment to this end but will they ensure that it is implemented? The biggest challenge for the graduates of today is to device strategies and mechanisms through which one can cut through the maze of obstacles and ensure others focus on the path to sustainable development. One major achievement is that every project, industry and policy has an environmental component. This was achieved through a long struggle by activists, environmentally aware and concerned policy makers and a healthy respect for legal liabilities. But it is not enough. The world is progressing at a pace so fast that new facets and challenges spring up at every corner.

Therefore there is only one solution. Each and every one has to be not only a professional but an environmental leader. Lund University has shown you the methods and mechanisms available. It is now up to the young professionals to convert the knowledge into creative instruments. May I offer my sincerest congratulations to the graduates and wish you all success for a bright and dynamic future.

I will conclude with a line from a poem by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore:

Hear the prayer of an earth that is stricken with pain:
In the green woods, O may the birds
Sing supreme again.