In terms of its environment, India stands at a crossroads. As its economy rapidly develops, will water resources, air quality and wildlife dramatically decline? “Growth leads to environmental degradation, there’s no question about it,” says Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi. The extent of the decline will be played out in the coming critical years of development. The country also faces the challenge of improving its record on the environment without sacrificing strong economic growth.
The Energy Research Institute, (Teri) a Delhi-based think-tank, sounded the alarm in a report on the environment timed for India’s 50th anniversary in 1997. It estimated the economic costs of environmental degradation in the first 50 years of independence exceeded 10 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product because of lower agricultural productivity, forest degradation, depletion of water and rising health costs caused by air and water pollution.
