Care for the Earth : Environment, Coast, Water,
Energy, Waste, Agriculture, Industry, Population
Environment
1.1 Principles
We recognise that the earth’s life support systems are
fundamental to maximising human welfare.
In pursuit of our goals, we will ensure equity and social
justice, and that those sectors of the community least able
to bear the cost of redressing environmental degradation
will not be disadvantaged.
In formulating an Environment Policy, we are striving for
ecological sustainability through:
a) the protection of biological diversity and the
maintenance of ecological integrity;
b) the use of material resources in accordance with the
earth’s capacity to supply them and to assimilate wastes
arising from their use; and
c) equity within and between generations.
Where there are threats of serious or irreversible
environmental damage, decisions should err on the side of
caution, with the burden of proof resting with technological
and industrial developers to demonstrate that the planned
projects are ecologically sustainable.
To become ecologically sustainable, our society must change
over time from one which recognises no physical or
ecological limits, to one which lives within the capacity of
the earth to support it and allows for the earth to sustain
the diversity of living things. This means that ingenuity
must be used to do more with less, the trend to more
efficient use of physical resources and energy must be
accelerated, and the limits within which society and the
economy function must be explicitly recognised. To enable
targets to be set and progress to be measured, these limits
must be defined as early as possible. We set the following
goals and limits as essential for the achievement of
ecological sustainability in our country.
1.2 Goals
We aim to:
a) achieve an ecologically sustainable society, both in
India and globally, which lives within the capacity of the
earth to supply renewable resources and to assimilate
wastes;
b) ensure that human activities maintain the biological
diversity of all named organisms at the level of subspecies
and of all other organisms, through the adequate protection
of the ecological communities of which they are part;
c) hold the amount of water captured for human use from
surface aquatic systems and provide environmental flows to
all river systems and their dependent ecosystems;
d) limit the amount of water drawn from groundwater systems
to rates not greater than they are replenished;
e) reduce emissions of Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse
gases;
f) eliminate human-induced release of ozone-depleting
substances in the upper atmosphere;
g) reduce the total quantity of solid, liquid and gaseous
wastes (including those from non-point sources) annually
disposed into the environment;
h) maintain or restore the natural diversity and
productivity of soil in agricultural and pastoral areas;
i) reduce the total amount of land occupied by human
infrastructure (transport, buildings, roads) and agriculture
(grazing, cropping);
j) facilitate closer liaison among rural, urban, tribal and
indigenous peoples in India, such that all might benefit
from indigenous knowledge of our land in order to further
its management in ways which are sustainable;
k) provide for increased participation by local communities
in planning and implementing strategies to protect the
environment;
l) increase environmental awareness leading to a desire by
all Indians to protect the environment; and
m) apply the principle of intergenerational equity in all
environmental programmes.
1.3 Short Term Targets
1.3.1 Biological Diversity
We will work to:
a) ensure funding and enforcement of habitat recovery plans
for endangered species;
b) implement, as a matter of urgency, national legislation
to control the clearing of native vegetation, with
complementary provisions at state and/or local level; and
c) establish a comprehensive and viable system of
terrestrial and marine protected areas managed primarily to
protect biodiversity; the system will include all remaining
areas of high wilderness value, and will also protect wild
and scenic rivers which remain in essentially pristine
condition;
d) prohibit automatic mining rights and mining exploration
on agricultural land.
1.3.2 Forests and Wood Production
We will work to:
a) end logging of old growth and other high conservation
value native forests immediately, and over time complete the
phase-out of most logging from native forests, including
regrowth forests;
b) adopt a Wood Products Industry Plan that will accelerate
the transition from native forests to plantations by
encouraging the fullest possible domestic processing of wood
from plantations, and increased recycling. As a complement
to the plan, we will provide a package of retraining and
other assistance for workers facing displacement from the
native forest-based industry;
c) integrate commercial wood production into diversified
agricultural enterprises, and provide marketing mechanisms
to facilitate this; and
d) support the development of alternative fibre industries
where they are more ecologically sustainable.
1.3.3 Mining and Mineral Exploration
We will work:
a) to prohibit mineral exploration and mining as well as
extraction of petroleum and gas in nature conservation
reserves, including national parks, wilderness areas and
other areas of outstanding nature conservation value;
b) to ban all new sand-mining operations in the coastal
zone.
1.3.4 Marine Environments and Fishing
We will:
a) work to establish a comprehensive system of marine
reserves in Indian waters; and
b) for existing fisheries, work to immediately prohibit an
increase in level of harvest, and determine as a matter of
urgency the requirements for ecological sustainability and
regulate the catch accordingly, with a substantial safety
margin to ensure sustainability
1.3.5 Climate Change and Ozone Depletion
We will work to:
a) reduce emissions of Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse
gases and to have clear national, regional and local energy
policies adopted to enable this target to be reached;
b) support an international protocol that makes these
greenhouse gas emission targets binding for all
industrialised countries; and
c) phase out production of carbon tetrachloride, methyl
chloroform, CFCs and halons immediately, and HCFCs and
methyl bromide by 2005.
1.3.6 Machinery of Government
We will work to:
a) legislate to establish a Commission with independent
funding to examine and report on the environmental
performance of public authorities;
b) strengthen the Environment Protection Act 1986.
c) ensure the development of publicly accessible, well
resourced, compatible, coordinated networks of data
monitoring and data-based legislated State of Environment
reporting at local government, state/territory or regional,
and national levels;
d) ensure the Government maintains and exercises those
constitutional powers which are applicable to the
environment, with State environmental policy to be
supervised and subject to a minimum set of stringent
national standards.
Coast
2.1 Principles
Our policies for the management of our coasts are based on
the following general principles which underpin ecologically
sustainable development:
a) the protection of biological diversity and the
maintenance of ecological integrity;
b) the use of material resources in accordance with the
earth’s capacity to supply them and to assimilate wastes
arising from their use;
c) equity within and between generations; and
d) public participation and involvement.
2.2 Goals
We aim to:
a) increase ecological, economic and social awareness of the
importance of coastal and inland waters and of human impacts
on them;
b) protect coastal ecosystems;
c) allow the replenishing of stocks of depleted aquatic and
coastal life;
d) reduce the harvest of all coastal resources to well
within an ecologically sustainable limit;
e) protect fish breeding areas;
f) reduce marine and other aquatic pollution, including from
diffuse urban and agricultural sources;
g) increase the involvement of local communities in the
management of coastal, onshore and aquatic resources;
h) ensure an integrated approach to management;
i) improve local, national and global coordination of
coastal management policies;
j) locate activities that are not coast-dependent away from
the coastal zone; and
k) develop long-term strategies to contain urban and tourism
development.
2.3 Short Term Targets
We will work to:
a) establish a comprehensive national system of marine
reserves in Indian waters by the year 2005;
b) for existing fisheries, immediately prohibit an increase
in level of harvest, and determine as a matter of urgency
the requirements for ecological sustainability and regulate
the catch accordingly, with a substantial safety margin to
ensure sustainability;
c) work with the States and Union Territories and/or
directly with local governments to complete an environmental
audit of the coastal zone by 2005 and an action plan by
2010;
e) implement a national legislative/planning regime to
control land use and development in the coastal zone,
including a moratorium on new subdivisions until completion
of the coastal action plan;
f) ban all new sandmining operations in the coastal zone and
inland rivers.
Water
3.1 Principles
Our policies for water are based on:
a) adopting a total catchment approach to the management of
water;
b) preserving biodiversity and ecological integrity;
c) recognising that the restructuring of the water supply in
India by introduction of free market competition is likely
to be accompanied by a severe loss of social and
environmental accountability and responsibility; and
d) equitable allocation of water amongst all users.
3.2 Goals
We aim to:
a) decrease per capita consumption of fresh water by
increasing efficiency of water use, and expanding
opportunities for re-use;
b) stop the discharge of sewage into aquatic systems;
c) maximise the capacity to reuse sewage treatment
by-products by reducing pollution at source, minimising
waste, and phasing out the discharge of toxic chemicals to
sewerage systems;
d) hold the amount of water captured for human use from
surface aquatic systems and provide environmental flows to
all river systems and their dependent ecosystems;
e) draw water from groundwater systems at rates not greater
than they are replenished;
f) ensure equitable access to adequate supplies of clean
water for human consumption;
g) apply the principles of least-cost planning to the
provision of water, drainage and sewerage services;
h) reduce erosion, sedimentation and pollution of
watercourses, wetlands and estuaries, by protecting and
restoring native riparian vegetation and improving catchment
management;
i) maintain public ownership and control over all major
water supply, distribution, drainage and disposal systems;
j) maintain and where possible increase the area of water
supply catchments that are free of logging, agriculture and
other land uses which degrade water quality
k) provide for full public participation in decisions about
water, drainage and sewerage; and
l) provide information and low -interest loan incentive
programme to assist rural residents to adopt water
conservation practices for domestic and farm use.
3.3 Short Term Targets
We will work to:
a) establish a major new national programme to restore
environmental flows to all river systems and improve water
quality and implement the programme through national
agreements between Central State and/or local governments;
b) use all available powers to maintain major water supply,
distribution, drainage and disposal systems in public
ownership;
c) cancel all plans to build large-scale new dams; and
d) ensure that drinking water supplies meet or exceed WHO
(World Health Organisation) standards, and that their
quality is publicly reported regularly.
Energy
4.1 Principles
Our Energy Policy is based on these premises:
a) the price of energy should fairly incorporate the full
social, health and environmental costs of production and
use;
b) there is a finite limit to non-renewable resources
available for energy production;
c) the most commonly used methods of energy production have
serious, deleterious effects upon the planet, most notably
air pollution and contribution to greenhouse gases;
d) energy problems will not be solved by additional
conventional power generation capacity;
e) transition to ecologically sustainable energy systems
will be achieved through long term planning, research and
development, demand management, increased energy efficiency
and conservation, and greater reliance on renewable sources
of energy;
f) given the environmental impact of large scale dams for
hydro-electric schemes, and the high costs and risks to the
environment and human health associated with nuclear energy,
we do not consider that these systems form a viable
long-term basis for putting the energy sector on an
ecologically sustainable footing; and
g) achieving sustainability in the use and production of
energy will have ramifications for every sector of the
economy.
4.2 Goals
We aim to:
a) take a lead role internationally in promoting policies to
reduce the impact of climate change due to the enhanced
greenhouse effect;
b) assist other countries to develop and meet greenhouse gas
emission targets through technology transfer and other forms
of assistance;
c) apply integrated resource planning principles to the
provision of all non-transport energy services. This is a
systematic way of providing energy services to society at
least cost;
d) provide for participation by local communities in
planning and implementing strategies to provide energy
services sustainably;
e) exercise restraint in use of non-renewable fossil fuel
reserves in order to leave adequate supplies for future
generations;
f) reduce dependence on fossil fuels by
l supporting the phase-out of coal and oil-fired power
stations and the development of renewable alternatives;
l decreasing reliance on private motor transport; and
l increasing energy efficiency;
g) address regional equity impacts of making the transition
to ecologically sustainable forms of energy production and
use, through long term planning and specific development
programme for affected regions. Some regions which are
currently heavily dependent on the extraction of fossil fuel
and the development and maintenance of power generation
facilities which use fossil fuel will suffer employment loss
in the transition;
h) establish strong national regulation over energy
production, distribution and supply to ensure that
integrated resource planning is implemented, to control
economic, social and environmental impacts in the public
interest and to ensure full community consultation;
i) provide incentives to encourage consumers to promote
alternative energy technologies;
j) introduce a comprehensive carbon levy; revenue from this
levy is to be used to fund public transport as well as the
development of alternative energy techniques such as solar
thermal power, photo-voltaics and wind power; there will
also be compensation for any regressive impact of this levy
on low income earners.
4.3 Short Term Targets
We will work to:
a) introduce a carbon levy;
b) use all available mechanisms to optimise electricity
generation, distribution and supply infrastructure;
c) introduce tight enforceable regulation of the electricity
supply industry to protect the public interest and the
environment;
d) reduce emissions of Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse
gases and adopt clear national, regional and local energy
policies to enable this target to be reached;
e) support an international protocol that makes these
targets binding for all industrialised countries;
f) introduce national legislation to give effect to climate
change controls;
g) establish a Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) to
coordinate and oversee programme for research, development
and adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy in
India;
h) adopt mandatory energy labelling, and mandatory minimum
energy performance standards for all commercial and domestic
appliances, equipment and buildings;
i) oppose any new coal-fired power stations and large-scale
hydro-electric dams;
j) provide information and low-interest loan programmes to
encourage rural residents to choose renewable energy systems
for domestic and farm power supplies.
Waste
5.1 Principles
Waste management is a growing issue. The accumulation of
rubbish presents aesthetic, social and environmental
problems and is representative of inefficient resource use.
Recycling technology, and profit from the resale of recycled
materials, are improving and this is to be encouraged. More
important, however, is the encouragement of avoiding waste
as well as reducing and reusing at both the manufacturing
and consumer levels. A comprehensive waste reduction
strategy should be developed addressing each stage of the
production and consumption cycle.
When it comes to implementing the strategy Governments have
largely relied on voluntary measures, which have proved
insufficient, particularly as far as the industrial sector
is concerned. We are proposing legal measures as well as
economic incentives to encourage waste minimisation.
5.2 Goals
The disadvantages of landfill disposal of waste are obvious
to most people. The loss of various resources is accompanied
by water pollution, odour and vermin. We support measures
that will reverse such a procedure. We want to be part of
building a society where:
a) individuals are aware of the importance of reusing
whatever can be reused and refusing whatever will eventually
go to landfills when another choice is available;
b) manufacturers move towards a whole life cycle approach to
resource management and ultimately toward closed loop
production systems;
c) in the short term, levies are imposed on non-recyclable
containers and other plastic and metal items, with a view to
the long-term phase-out of these items;
d) material that can be recycled is collected and then
actually used in the production of new goods; and
e) departments, offices and private citizens are given
financial incentives to use recycled material and
disincentives against their use are examined.
5.3 Short Term Targets
5.3.1 Non-Recyclables
We will support the phasing out of non-recyclable plastics
through various means, including the imposition of levies on
their use.
5.3.2 Encouraging Reuse Of Containers
We will :
a) propose container deposit legislation to encourage the
reuse of glass containers; and
b) propose a levy on disposable plastic carry bags in shops;
this is to be paid by the customer, as a means of
discouraging wasteful plastic packaging and for encouraging
recycling of old bags.
5.3.3 Increasing Recycling
We will:
a) ensure the Government gives preference in purchasing
contracts to recycled products or products that can be
re-used (for example, recycled paper and the re-filling of
computer printing cartridges). The preferred purchasing will
be extended to low energy rated products such as equipment
that has energy saving features;
b) propose mandatory recycling of waste paper from
Government departments and other big paper users;
c) investigate what happens to material collected as
recyclables to ensure they are in fact being recycled;
d) propose special facilities for the collection of heavy
metals contained in fluorescent tubes and non-rechargeable
batteries;
e) implement a levy for non-rechargeable batteries to make
rechargeable batteries more cost competitive; and
f) propose the establishment of tyre recycling facilities.
5.3.4 Composting
We will :
a) encourage home composting;
b) support local government provision of composting bins
both for collection and for on-site usage; and
c) examine mechanisms for removing disincentives.
5.3.5 Disposal of Harmful Substances
We will :
a) support measures to collect, and whenever possible
recycle, material for which dumping can be harmful to fauna
or flora;
b) work to establish a National Waste and Pollution
Inventory and legislation requiring companies to report any
toxic substances released into air, soil or water, with
details about when, where and how emitted. The data base
should be accessible to the public; and
c) require industry to work towards elimination of toxic
waste.
Agriculture
6.1 Principles
Our policy for land management and agriculture is based on:
a) recognising the need for flexibility and diversity in
agriculture for environmental and economic reasons;
b) recognising the central role of ecologically sustainable
agricultural production to regional economies and the
nation;
c) preventing significant or lasting negative impacts on
soil and water quality and biodiversity;
d) recognising India’s national and international moral
responsibilities as a food producer;
e) supporting trading patterns and local controls which
enable environmental and food quality standards to be
maintained and improved; and
f) concern for the welfare of animals used in agriculture.
6.2 Goals
We aim to:
a) build on participatory processes which improve land and
water catchment management;
b) ensure that economic viability does not force
exploitation of labour;
c) ensure that agriculture takes full account of the need
for water management as an input to farming and as a
resource vital to others;
d) encourage forms of primary production and rural land-use
that conserve soil and water, maintain biodiversity, and use
minimal amounts of non-renewable energy, agrochemicals and
water;
e) encourage the development of value-adding and quality
agricultural products;
f) encourage agricultural systems, enterprises and processes
which are resilient and diverse;
g) introduce policies to reverse land degradation (erosion,
salinity, acidification, nutrient loss, soil structural
decline, loss of native vegetation) and ensure that land
management practices are compatible with programmes to
restore degraded ecosystems and habitat;
h) reduce the dependence of agriculture on chemicals, and
provide accurate information about them to farmers and
consumers;
i) ensure that the use of genetic engineering is strictly
controlled, particularly the transfer of genetic material
between species, with the onus of proof on the proponent;
j) require food that has been produced as a result of
genetical engineering to be labelled accordingly;
k) improve the welfare of animals used in agriculture;
l) ensure that responsibility for sustainable land
management is shared by businesses which process and sell
produce, or supply inputs, and by consumers, as well as by
landholders and all levels of government;
m) encourage systems which maintain socially and
economically diverse and vibrant rural communities;
n) encourage the revitalisation of rural companies and
ensure adequate services for physical and social needs;
o) provide for participation in planning and implementing
strategies for ecologically sustainable agricultural
production;
p) facilitate dialogue between conventional and modern
farmers to assist the exchange of land management skills;
q) move towards regional levels of planning and organisation
for the management of natural resources;
6.3 Short Term Targets
We are working to establish a clear regulatory environment
for agricultural businesses, through national legislation,
complemented by state and/or local provisions. Areas to be
regulated include:
l clearing, management and restoration of native vegetation;
l importation, propagation and movement of exotic plants and
animals; and
l mandatory notification, assessment and monitoring of all
genetic engineering proposals, including environmental
impact assessment.
We will work to:
a) introduce enforceable national standards for the
licensing and use of agricultural chemicals. Such standards
shall be compatible with or better than the most rigorous
standards for specific chemicals with related use-paths
elsewhere in the world;
b) ensure the adoption of national, legally enforceable
codes of practice to ensure that animals used in agriculture
have the ability to satisfy their natural physical and
behavioural needs;
c) target direct funding and other forms of economic
assistance to enhance achievement of ecologically
sustainable land management;
d) propose changes in the taxation structure for chemical
fertilisers and pesticides with the aim of supporting a
change to ecologically sustainable farming methods. Levies
on these products will be redistributed to the farming
community through education, information and other
appropriate programmes on integrated and non-chemical pest
management and sustainable farming practices;
e) systematically and regularly review the efficacy of
existing agricultural assistance and rural land management
programme;
f) significantly enhance funding for research and programmes
which provide control of environmental weeds and
environmentally sound and humane methods for control of
feral animals;
g) monitor land degradation and biodiversity on rural
private land at a national level;
h) initiate a comprehensive, uniform national mapping of
land systems and biota, and their condition, as a base for
preparing regional plans for sustainable land management;
i) ensure comprehensive review and restructuring of the arid
lands pastoral industry;
j) propose research, promotion and training in farm
practices including effective forms of biological pest
control that reduce the use and impact of chemicals;
k) immediately transfer responsibility for land protection
to the environment portfolio; and
l) implement an action plan for the retirement and/or
conservation covenanting of land deemed ecologically
unsuited to continuing agricultural use, or of significant
ecological value.
Industry
7.1 Principles
We hold that :
a) India must find creative solutions to the urgent global
problem of developing products and processes to meet an
increasing population’s material needs while protecting the
natural environment on which all economic activities and
social well-being ultimately depend;
b) governments should provide a clear national regulatory
framework for environmental protection, and adjust economic
incentives accordingly, to encourage industry to commit to
major, long-term ecologically sustainable projects;
c) strong regulation can assist business to become more
competitive;
d) governments should play an active role both in mediating
negative social and economic effects which may result from a
shift to ecologically sustainable industries and in
developing new opportunities;
e) clean production technology which seeks to minimise
potential problems at their source is preferable to costly
and often ineffective clean-ups;
f) industry has a crucial role in advancing sustainable
development through the adoption of appropriate technology
and practices;
g) industry can become more efficient and competitive by
adopting Green objectives to reduce raw material consumption
and reduce pollution;
h) investment in education and training at all levels and
maintenance of the nation’s research facilities at world
best standards will provide the human and intellectual
capital required to compete in high-skilled, high
value-added and innovative green industries; and
i) decisions relating to the impact of industrial activities
on the environment are complex and must be supported by
accurate, detailed and timely data.
7.2 Goals
We aim to:
a) phase out tax breaks, subsidies and other government
policies that encourage resource waste, pollution and
environmental degradation;
b) offer positive incentives like tax deductions, rebates
and enhanced depreciation allowances to businesses investing
in technology or capital expenditure which reduces resource
use, waste and pollution;
c) phase in price adjustments for energy, water and landfill
that equitably incorporate the social, health and
environmental costs of production and use;
d) promote environmental auditing procedures and best
practice management to utilities, government enterprises and
private sector businesses;
e) encourage unions to pursue environmental improvement
plans in the context of enterprise bargaining to enable all
employees to participate in and benefit from workplace
environmental performance;
f) press manufacturers to move towards a whole life cycle
approach to resource management and ultimately toward closed
loop production systems;
g) encourage industry to take maximum responsibility for the
reduction, sale or recovery of by-products so that external
waste treatment becomes the instrument of last resort;
h) incorporate the polluter-pays principle into national
legislation;
i) assist consumers to make environmentally conscious
evaluations of goods and services by providing accessible,
practical, comparative information, including whole of life
cycle assessments, and by further strengthening the National
Eco-labelling Scheme to define green products;
j) institute preferential purchasing by governments for so
defined “green” products;
k) give top priority to research that facilitates the
achievement of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD),
with particular emphasis on energy saving technologies and
renewable energy sources;
l) fund research into the linkages between threats to
biodiversity and ecological integrity and particular
industries or industrial processes;
m) implement a national approach to environmental monitoring
and reporting;
n) phase out the exportation of toxic and putrescible waste
to landfill; and
o) encourage environmental performance reporting in
accounting information and company annual reports.
Guidelines need to be established for environmental data
labelling on goods and services, including such information
as depletion of resources, emissions and waste. All spheres
of government should make mandatory the inclusion of
environment performance and environment data labelling in
tenders from the private as well as public sector.
7.3 Short Term Targets
We will work to:
a) establish a National Ecologically Sustainable Industry
Assistance Programme with funding derived from directed
superannuation investment and national industry partnership
funding;
b) announce a Sustainable Industries Plan, setting out
directions, targets, benchmarks, time frames and funding;
c) establish uniform national environmental regulatory
standards for air and water quality, including waterways;
d) establish uniform national legislation to ensure clarity
and enforcement of environmental protection legislation;
e) implement national strategies for the treatment of
hazardous and intractable wastes, with appropriate funding;
f) establish a National Waste and Pollution Inventory and
legislation requiring companies to report any toxic
substances released into air, soil or water, with details
about when, where and how emitted. The Inventory will
include transfer data (i.e. statutory authority emissions
such as sewage, waste, etc.). The data base will be
accessible to the public;
Population
8.1 Principles
Neither the planet, nor any country, can sustain continued
human population growth. Four earths would be required for
all human inhabitants to live if population grows as the
present rate. However, the relationship between people and
environments is a complex one, not reducible simply to
carrying capacity, but mediated by economic, social,
political, cultural and technological considerations. The
Indian government should consult with the widest possible
range of interest groups to arrive at a population policy
which respects human rights.
The basis for India’s population policy, both domestic and
global, must be ecological sustainability, intergenerational
equity and social justice. A precautionary approach is
required in order to take into account the consequences of
human impact on the environment.
In order to achieve a sustainable population, action must be
taken on consumption levels and technology use as well as
population size. We must generate less waste and implement
technologies, such as those based on renewable energy, which
are more environmentally benign.
The consumption patterns are contributing to global as well
as to local environmental problems and we have a
responsibility to current and future generations to ensure
that we do not knowingly degrade their world. As Indians we
also have a responsibility towards non-human species, many
of which have already become extinct or endangered.
Government policies and taxation systems are tools which can
be used to change consumption patterns over the medium to
long term, and to protect and manage ecosystems vulnerable
to human activity.
India must contribute towards achieving a globally
sustainable population and solving the macro aspects of
demographic transition of civilisational regions as part of
international responsibility. We should set an example by:
a) managing our own population growth in accordance with
more equitable consumption patterns in relation to the
international context; and
b) redirecting the bulk of aid towards eradicating poverty
and towards those programmes which empower women.
In attaining a sustainable population India must shift its
involvement in a competitive world economy to a more
cooperative, regional, self-sufficient economy based on
equality and human rights.
8.2 Goals
An Indian population policy should consider the distribution
of human settlements rather than just concentrate upon
population size at the national level. The continuing
de-settlement of rural areas must be considered in the light
of ecological and social sustainability and efforts must be
set in place to reverse it in those areas where settlement
is ecologically benign. The ecological and social viability
of ares expected to experience great growth needs to be
safeguarded, and appropriate planning processes set in
place. Human settlements should be designed and built to
minimise environmental and maximise social well-being.
Investing in the social well-being of the entire population
should be the main aim of government, so that there are
publicly provided services of the highest possible standard.
These services should include education, infrastructure,
health, employment and income support.
8.3 Short Term Targets
We will work towards:
a) ensuring that Indian family planning programme delivers
services in the context of reproductive health programme
which increases the power of girls and women to determine
their own reproductive lives, and increase the understanding
of men of their reproductive responsibilities
b) envisaging a marketing approach to family planning
policies.
c) evolving a new communication strategy for family planning
and population control for reaching the diverse communities
in different States and Union Territories of India.