22 Sustainable Development and Industrialization

Dr. Vijeta

epgp books

 

 

Contents:

    1.  Introduction

2.  Industrialization

3.  Impact of Industrialization

3.1. Positive Impact of Industrialization

3.1.1. Low cost of production

3.1.2. Self-sufficient

3.1.3. Employment

3.1.4. Improved Agriculture

3.1.5. Defense and security

3.2. Negative Impact of Industrialization

3.2.1. Decline of cottage industry

3.2.2. Mass migration from rural areas

3.2.3. Depletion of natural resources

3.2.4. Pollution

3.2.5. Increase of war-like situation

4.  Accidents due to Industrialization and strategies to overcome

5.  Need of Sustainable Development

6.  Strategies for Sustainable Development

7.  Summary

 

Learning Objectives:

 

1.  To learn about the sustainable development and Industrialization.

2.  To study the impact or consequences of industrialization.

3.  To explore the strategies to implement sustainable development.

    1. Introduction

 

Development, if we broadly see is a progress in desirable direction, consequently enhancing quality of material life. However, it is more of a statement about economic development. In a country like India, where we have multitude of societies, social practices and therefore difference in expectations of the people, it is a mammoth task to devise a single or uniform approach to bring out desired changes or say, development. We need to take every difference and every similarity in consideration before we initiate any programme or idea towards development.

 

Development involves a progressive transformation of economy and society. A development path that is sustainable in a physical sense could theoretically be pursued even in a rigid social and political setting. Sustainable development is defined by World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:-

  • The concept of ‘needs’, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
  • The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.

   This definition emanates from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report published by World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987. The doctrine of Sustainable Development has most commonly been defined as development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. For the first time, the doctrine of “Sustainable Development” was discussed in the Stockholm Declaration of 1972. Thereafter, in 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development submitted its report, which is also known as Bruntland Commission Report wherein an effort was made to link economic development and environment protection. In 1992, Rio Declaration on Environment and Development codified the principle of Sustainable Development. Simply put, the principle of Sustainable Development attempts to maintain a balance between development and the environment. It promotes inter-generational equity, i.e. better quality of life for present and future generations. The benefit from development ought to be equated with the impact on the environment for such development. While development is important or in fact necessary, the impact on the environment ought to be studied before undertaking such development. The basic concept of sustainable development aims to maintain a balance between economic advancement while protecting the environment in order to meet the needs of the present as well the future generations. The two pillars of the doctrine of Sustainable Development are Polluter Pays principle and Precautionary principle (Ohri, 2017).

 

The sustainability of development is intimately linked to the dynamics of population growth. The issue, however, is not simply one of global population size. A child born in a country where levels of material and energy use are high places a greater burden on the Earth’s resources than a child born in a poorer country. A similar argument applies within countries. Nonetheless, sustainable development can be pursued more easily when population size is stabilized at a level consistent with the productive capacity of the ecosystem. (http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm).

 

Sustainable development recognizes that growth must be both inclusive and environmentally sound to reduce poverty and build shared prosperity for today’s population and to continue to meet the needs of future generations. It is efficient with resources and carefully planned to deliver both immediate and long-term benefits for people, planet, and prosperity. Through a variety of market, policy, and institutional failures, Earth’s natural capital has been used in ways that are economically inefficient and wasteful, without sufficient reckoning of the true costs of resource depletion. The burning of fossil fuels supported rapid growth for decades but set up dangerous consequences, with climate change today threatening to roll back decades of development progress. At the same time, growth patterns have left hundreds of millions of people behind: 1.2 billion still lack accesses to electricity, 870 million are malnourished, and 780 million are still without access to clean, safe drinking water. (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/sustainabledevelopment/overview).

    2. Industrialization

 

Industrialization is a generic name for a set of economic and social processes related to the discovery of more efficient ways for the creation of value. These more efficient ways are lumped together under the label ‘industry’ or ‘the secondary sector’ (the primary sector of economic activity referring to agriculture, hunting, fishing, and resource extraction, and the tertiary sector referring to services). Beginning with the late-seventeenth century, industrial activity has dramatically enlarged its scope and scale, as machine-facture began to replace manufacture. Historically, industrialization studies have concerned themselves primarily with the period known as the Industrial Revolution, although in geography this area of enquiry has been the focus of many economic geographers interested in the contemporary logic of the global economic landscape. Using the criterion of the abruptness of change, one can distinguish two types of economic change: events (swift singular changes) and processes (protracted cumulative changes). Industrialization is a process, not an event. A process is an emergent property of a system (country or region) resulting from a collection of events that share a number of similarities and that unfold over a slower timescale than that of its component events (Simandan, 2009).

 

3. Impact of Industrialization

 

Industrialization affected human population in many ways. The main features are briefly discussed as follows by (Sen, 2015):-

 

3.1. Positive Impact of Industrialization

 

3.1.1. Low cost of production: The introduction of industries has led to the decrease in the cost of production of many essential items. The decrease in cost is the result of economy of large scale production. It allows to save time and labour. Industrial goods have become more affordable for common people.

 

3.1.2. Self-sufficient: Before independence, we used to spend hundreds of millions of rupees over import of cloth only, as we had no heavy industries in the real sense of the term. With the advancement of textile industry in our country, we are able to manufacture clothes at a much lower cost. In this way, we made ourselves self-sufficient in providing our basic needs.

 

3.1.3. Employment: Large industries need thousands of skilled and semi-skilled workers. It provides massive employment opportunity for a large chunk of people.

 

3.1.4. Improved Agriculture: In the modern age efficient agricultural system is that, which is done with the help of machine and mechanical devices. For this purpose, we have to adopt the latest Industrial system.

 

3.1.5. Defense and security: But we must keep pace with the march of time. We have to defend our country against foreign aggression. We must manufacture latest weapons, for it is most unwise to depend upon foreign aid for defense of one’s country.

 

3.2. Negative Impact of Industrialization

 

Mechanized, heavy and large-scale industries have negative impact which adversely affects the environment, society and economy of this country. The main features are as follows by Sen (2015).

 

3.2.1. Decline of cottage industry: Throughout, India has been proud of her rural cottage industries. The silk produced by the village-weavers had been a source of attraction all over the world. With the advent of heavy mechanical industries began the chapter of the decline of our village cottage industries.

 

3.2.2. Mass migration from rural areas: Another attack is that with the creation of heavy mechanized industries in the urban areas, the rural population would start mass-migration into town and cities, thereby making the unemployment problem more acute and complex.

 

3.2.3. Depletion of natural resources: Due to industrialization, there is constant depletion of natural resources. Many industries are powered by thermal power plants that consumes coal. Since, large industries are spread over many acres of land, agricultural lands and forests are often cleared to make available the required land.

 

3.2.4. Pollution: Large industries emits many harmful gases into the environment. The introduction of harmful chemicals into air leads to air-pollution. The noises that it produces leads to noise-pollution.

 

3.2.5. Increase of war-like situation: Out of the degenerating effects of heavy industries is born contention. In developed nations, most of these Heavy industries are engaged in the production of war materials. With a lot of war weapons in hands, there has been an increase in war-like situation among countries (Sen, 2015).

 

4. Accidents due to Industrialization and strategies to overcome

 

Accidents involving toxic chemicals and radioactive materials can occur in plants in any region. According to a survey carried out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 6,928 accidents of varying severity occurred at U.S. plants between 1980 and 1965 – an average of five a day. In 1984, liquid gas storage tanks exploded in Mexico City, killing 1,000 people and leaving thousands more homeless. Only months after the Bhopal tragedy in India, which killed over 2,000 people and injured 200,000 more, an accident at a plant in West Virginia in the United States operated by the parent company of the Bhopal facility resulted in emergency evacuation of residents and some health problems. The accidental release in 1976 of the highly toxic and mutagenic chemical dioxin at Seveso, Italy, and the ensuing saga of drums of contaminated soil being passed around Europe, also showed that in industrial countries regulations can be evaded and minimum safety standards breached. In early November 1986, a fire at a warehouse of a chemicals manufacturer in Basel, Switzerland, sent toxic fumes into France and the Federal Republic of Germany and released toxic chemicals into the Rhine, causing massive fish kills and affecting the vital water supply in countries downstream, all the way to the Netherlands. Scientists investigating the Rhine agreed that it could be years before the damaged riverine ecosystems would return to their former statue. Thus incidents at Mexico City, Bhopal, Chernobyl, and Basel – all occurring within the short lifetime of this Commission raised public concern about industrial disasters. They also demonstrated the likelihood of significant increases in the frequency and magnitude of industrial accidents with catastrophic consequences. These events point to the need to strengthen national capabilities and the framework for bilateral and regional cooperation (http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm). National and local governments should:

  • survey hazardous industrial operations and adopt, and enforce regulations or guidelines on the safe operation of industrial plants and on the transport, handling, and disposal of hazardous materials;
  • adopt land use policies or regional development plans that would require or provide incentives to industries that have a high pollution or accident potential to locate away from population centres, and that would discourage people from moving close to plants and waste disposal sites;
  • ensure that plant workers are provided with full information about the products and technologies they handle, and are given adequate training in safe operational procedures and emergency preparedness; and
  • involve local governments and community residents in major sitting decisions and emergency preparedness planning (http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm).

    5.  Need of Sustainable Development

 

Due to Industrialization, there has been an impact on people and environment. Simply put, environment has been affected due to the negative impact of industrialization. So, there was an urgent need of development, which can be helpful in overall development of human beings but without any negative impact on them and thus, concept of sustainable development came into force. In September 2015, the United Nations achieved international agreement for its 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. The agenda identifies 17 Goals and 169 targets to address a number of economic, environmental, and social concerns facing the world today. There are 17 Goals that cover five key themes. Below are excerpts from the descriptions of the five themes:

  1. People: to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.
  2. Planet: to protect the planet through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.
  3. Prosperity: to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature.
  4. Peace: to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence? There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.
  5. Partnership: to mobilize the means required to implement this Agenda through … the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.

    A key focus is the impact economic growth has had on the environment – in particular human activity that has caused an uptick in greenhouse gases such as methane or CO2, which in turn have caused the atmosphere to retain heat. Climate change was first introduced back in 1896 when Svante Arrhenius predicted that emissions of carbon dioxide due to the burning of fossil fuels and other combustion processes were large enough to cause global warming. But it is also important to put the concept of global warming into current context. In 1896, when Arrhenius first started writing about climate change, only 1.6 billion people lived on the planet and the world GDP was valued at around US$1.6 trillion. Now, our planet is home to 7.2 billion people and GDP has grown by about 4000%. Not only has the population grown, but defining characteristics of the population have changed. For example, 700 million fewer people live in extreme poverty conditions in 2010 than in 1990. But as poverty goes down, protein consumption goes up and farming methods become more intensive. Another phenomenon is that of the rising global middle class, which is predicted to increase from 1.8 billion people in 2009 to 3.2 billion by 2020 and 4.9 billion by 2030. Most growth will come from Asia. In fact, by 2030 Asia will represent 66% of the global middle-class population and 59% of middle-class consumption, compared to 28% and 23%, respectively in 2009 (Darroch, 2016).

 

6. Strategies for Sustainable Development

 

Local interdependence has, if anything increased because of the technology used in modern agriculture and manufacturing. Yet with this surge of technical progress, the growing ‘enclosure’ of common lands, the erosion of common rights in forests and other resources, and the spread of commerce and production for the market, the responsibilities for decision making are being taken away from both groups and individuals. This shift is still under way in many developing countries. If the desert is growing, forest disappearing, malnutrition increasing, and people in urban areas living in very bad conditions, it is not because we are lacking resources but the kind of policy implemented by our rulers, by the elite group. It is hoped that the World Commission, will not overlook these problems of human rights in Africa and will put emphasis on it. Because it is only free people, people who have rights, who are mature and responsible citizens, who then participate in the development and in the protection of the environment. The search for common interest would be less difficult if all development and environment problems had solutions that would leave everyone better off. This is seldom the case, and there are usually winners and losers. Many problems arise from inequalities in access to resources. An inequitable landowner ship structure can lead to overexploitation of resources in the smallest holdings, with harmful effects on both environment and development. Internationally, monopolistic control over resources can drive those who do not share in them to excessive exploitation of marginal resources. The differing capacities of exploiters to commandeer ‘free’ goods – locally, nationally, and internationally – is another manifestation of unequal access to resources. ‘Losers’ in environment/development conflicts include those who suffer more than their fair share of the health, property, and ecosystem damage costs of pollution. As a system approaches ecological limits, inequalities sharpen. Thus when a watershed deteriorates, poor farmers suffer more because they cannot afford the same anti-erosion measures as richer farmers. When urban air quality deteriorates, the poor, in their more vulnerable areas, suffer more health damage than the rich, who usually live in more pristine neighbourhoods. When mineral resources become depleted, late-comers to the industrialization process lose the benefits of low-cost supplies. Globally, wealthier nations are better placed financially and technologically to cope with the effects of possible climatic change (http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm).

 

The world must quickly design strategies that will allow nations to move from their present, often destructive, processes of growth and development onto sustainable development paths. This will require policy changes in all countries, with respect both to their own development and to their impacts on other nations’ development possibilities. The required reorientation in international economic relations is dealt with in Critical objectives for environment and development policies that follow from the concept of sustainable development include:

  • reviving growth;
  • changing the quality of growth;
  • meeting essential needs for jobs, food, energy, water, and sanitation;
  • ensuring a sustainable level of population;
  • conserving and enhancing the resource base:
  • reorienting technology and managing risk; and
  • Merging environment and economics in decision making.

   Changes are also required in the attitudes and procedures of both public and private-sector enterprises. Moreover, environmental regulation must move beyond the usual menu of safety regulations, zoning laws, and pollution control enactments; environmental objectives must be built into taxation, prior approval procedures for investment and technology choice, foreign trade incentives, and all components of development policy. The integration of economic and ecological factors into the law and into decision making systems within countries has to be matched at the international level. The growth in fuel and material use dictates that direct physical linkages between ecosystems of different countries will increase. Economic interactions through trade, finance, investment, and travel will also grow and heighten economic and ecological interdependence. Hence in the future, even more so than now, sustainable development requires the unification of economics and ecology in international relations (http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm).

 

7. Summary

 

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. For the first time, the doctrine of “Sustainable Development” was discussed in the Stockholm Declaration of 1972. Thereafter, in 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development submitted its report, which is also known as Bruntland Commission Report wherein an effort was made to link economic development and environment protection. Industrialization is a generic name for a set of economic and social processes related to the discovery of more efficient ways for the creation of value. These more efficient ways are lumped together under the label ‘industry’ or ‘the secondary sector’ (the primary sector of economic activity referring to agriculture, hunting, fishing, and resource extraction, and the tertiary sector referring to services). Beginning with the late-seventeenth century, industrial activity has dramatically enlarged its scope and scale, as machine-facture began to replace manufacture. Industrialization affected human population in many ways. The main features are briefly discussed as follows by (Sen, 2015) include low cost of production, Self-sufficient, Employment, Improved Agriculture and Defense and security while negative impacts are decline of cottage industry, Mass migration from rural areas, Depletion of natural resources, Pollution and Increase of war-like situation. The world must quickly design strategies that will allow nations to move from their present, often destructive, processes of growth and development onto sustainable development paths. This will require policy changes in all countries, with respect both to their own development and to their impacts on other nations’ development possibilities. The required reorientation in international economic relations is dealt with in Critical objectives for environment and development policies that follow from the concept of sustainable development.

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References

  • http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm: Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development
  • http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/sustainabledevelopment/overview
  • Simandan, D. (2009). Industrialization, In R Kitchin & N Thrift, (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Oxford: Elsevier, volume 5, pp. 419-425.
  • Sen, A. 2015. Essay on Positive and Negative Impact of Industrialization in India. http://www.importantindia.com/15285/impact-of-industrialization-in-india/
  • Ohri, P. 2017. India: Need for Sustainable Development. http://www.mondaq.com/india/ Need for Sustainable Development.
  • Darroch,   J.   2016.   What   is   Sustainable   Development   and   Why   Does   it   Matter?
  • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenny-darroch/what-is-sustainable-devel_b_11966082.html.
  • World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987

    Suggesting Readings

  • Lutz, W., Sanderson, W. C., & Scherbov, S. (Eds.). (2004). The end of world population growth in the 21st century: New challenges for human capital formation and sustainable development. Earthscan.
  • Wallace, D. (1996). Sustainable industrialization. Earthscan.
  • Redclift, M. (2002). Sustainable development: Exploring the contradictions. Routledge.
  • Mebratu, D. (1998). Sustainability and sustainable development: historical and conceptual review. Environmental impact assessment review, 18(6), 493-520.
  • Murphy, K. M., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (1989). Industrialization and the big push. Journal of political economy, 97(5), 1003-1026.
  • Chenery, H. B., Robinson, S., & Syrquin, M. (1986). Industrialization and growth (p. 45). Washington: World Bank.
  • Hewitt, T., & Wield, D. (1992). Industrialization and development. Oxford University Press.
  • Nixson, F. (1991). Industrialization and development. Journal of International Development, 3(1), 79-85.