Using drones is cheaper and faster than traditional instruments like the Electronic Total Stations (ETS), which is used to establish the boundaries and maps for landowners.https://t.co/ODYa8RC2fQ
— India Outbound (@india_outbound) April 1, 2019
#Data is a valuable resource for delivering social good, not just for measuring evidences of impact, but also to shape action in a more targeted and efficient manner as well as make informed decisions.https://t.co/0jFx9Co4XX
— India Outbound (@india_outbound) April 1, 2019
An in-depth analysis of the access to the world’s largest nutrition programme, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).https://t.co/RhMyIRyjpw
— India Outbound (@india_outbound) April 1, 2019
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released a report in March 2019, titled, “Global Energy & CO2 Status Report 2018.” This annual report provides a snapshot of recent global trends and developments across fuels (coal, oil, gas), electricity, renewable sources, energy efficiency and carbon emissions in 2018. This article highlights the global trends outlined in the report.
The demand for all fuels has increased but the biggest gains came from natural gas, as the fuel of choice in 2018, accounting for almost 45% of the increase in total energy demand. Fossil fuels met nearly 70% of the growth. Oil and coal accounted for 25% of the global demand growth. Solar and wind energy have shown a double-digit growth.
A major factor that caused almost a 20% increase in the global energy demand is the weather conditions in 2018 that pushed up the demand for cooling and heating, since the average summer and winter temperatures respectively, across certain regions, reached historical highs and lows.Thus, the growth in energy needs has occurred primarily due to a higher electricity demand.
The global electricity demand grew by 4% in 2018, thereby coming closer to a 20% share in the total consumption of energy. The increase in power generation contributed to more than half of the growth in primary energy demand. Due to an increase in energy consumption, carbon emissions showed a record increase of 1.7% in 2018. Coal-fired power generation has been the single largest contributor, accounting for 30% of all energy-related carbon emissions.
Renewables, which grew by over 4%, accounted for 25% of the growth in primary energy demand. In terms of expansion in electricity generation, renewables contributed 45% of the growth in 2018. The growth in nuclear by 3.3% was a result of the new capacity addition in China and the restarting of four reactors in Japan. Globally, 7% of the increase in energy demand was met by nuclear generation.
The United States, China and India collectively accounted for approximately 70% of the rise in energy demand. After three years of decline, the energy demand in the US grew by 3.7%. It was also responsible for the largest rise in gas and oil demand worldwide. Half of this rise was caused due to the weather changes. Gas consumption rose by 10% since 2017, which has been the fastest increase recorded by IEA since 1971. This increase is equivalent to the UK’s current gas consumption.
One-third of the increase in the global energy demand took place in China, at a growth rate of 3.5%, the highest since 2012. This country also witnessed the world’s largest increase in wind and solar generation in 2018. The inputs to the power sector contributed to over 95% of the Chinese growth in energy demand. There was an expansion in the power generation from all technologies, especially coal, to meet the 8.5% jump in electricity demand.
With the third-largest share, the primary energy demand in India rose by 4%, thereby accounting for 11% of the global growth. Coal for power generation and oil for transport purposes were the first and second largest contributors respectively, to the growth in energy demand in India.
The 2018 trend of energy demand in Europe followed a different route. The economic expansion of 1.8% led to an increase in energy demand by only 0.2%. In Germany, the increase in energy efficiency led to a 2.2% dip in energy demand and oil demand fell by more than 6%. The energy demand in the UK and France increased only moderately.
Thus, in a nutshell, 2018 witnessed an increase in the global energy consumption by 2.3%, at nearly twice the average rate of growth, since 2010. This growth has been driven by a robust global economy (expansion by 3.7% in 2018) and increase in the heating and cooling needs across certain regions.However, there has been a lack of improvement in terms of energy efficiency.
All information and images sourced from IEA’s online report.
India Outbound
March 29, 2019
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will officially and publicly release a three-year long, UN-backed study on May 6 2019, at the UNESCO world headquarters in Paris, to representatives of 130 governments. This report has been prepared by 150 leading international experts (across the natural and social sciences) from 50 countries, with contributions from another 250 experts working for IPBES, at a total cost of more than US$2.4 million.
This study is the first global assessment that systematically examines global biodiversity and ecosystems, incorporating issues and priorities based on indigenous and local knowledge. It will provide an integrated overview of where does the world currently stand, vis-à-vis key international goals, like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
In examining the underlying causes of ecosystem and biodiversity change, along with the implications for people, policy options and possible future pathways and other scenarios, if current trends continue over the next three decades, the study will provide a definitive new global synthesis of the state of nature, ecosystems and nature’s contributions to people.
This will be the first report since the landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was published in 2005, and the first ever that is intergovernmental. It builds on earlier reports, for instance, the Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment and the Regional Assessment Reports for Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe and Central Asia, released in March, 2018.
The assessment will cover the following aspects:
In addition to these elements, the global assessment will:
The expected impacts of the IPBES Global Assessment are:
The study will be presented to the widest spectrum of decision-makers, including government and business leaders, civil society groups, indigenous peoples and communities. To ensure the highest possibility of accuracy, credibility and policy relevance, it will be extensively reviewed, through an open and transparent process, by the stakeholders.
Sustainability
March 28, 2019
From 1st June, 2019 onwards, an INR 346 crores-worth land survey project will be undertaken in Maharashtra, across 1.20 lakh hectares and 40,000 villages, in consonance with the state government’s aim to extend ownership rights to around 15 million rural households in the state. This exercise will take place over three years, with the help of drones, mounted with high-resolution cameras. Out of the total project cost, INR 75 crores will be allocated for the drones and supporting equipment.
Using drones is cheaper and faster than traditional instruments like the Electronic Total Stations (ETS), which is used to establish the boundaries and maps for landowners. Using ETS would take 30 years to complete the same project. Drones will enable the coverage of two villages daily and the process will be completed in three years. These drones will be procured by the Survey of India to survey the lands. The images will be processed and the data will be handed over to the office of the Settlement Commissioner.
This project is being heralded as the largest survey exercise in modern India, aimed at providing villagers with security of tenure, for the land they live on, pay taxes for, but have no titles since the land has never been surveyed. Before this, in 2008, India undertook a massive land record modernization programme to survey lands, upgrade records and establish ownership. However, many areas in India have not been mapped in the last century.
Since Independence, only 3,000 villages have been surveyed in Maharashtra. After a pilot project in 2018, the Maharashtra state government had issued nearly 400 title deeds in one month, based on verifications from the tax records of the villagers. Disputed and competing claims were settled by the village councils. The process of digitalizing nearly 270 million land records has almost been completed in Maharashtra.
The accordance of the land’s titles will serve multiple purposes. The villagers will be able to use them to get loans from banks and will benefit from potential increases in land prices. The gram panchayats will be able to maintain accurate property registers. The survey’s data of larger villages, being transformed into towns and cities, can be used for preparing development plans. The idle land will be identified and excess land will be reserved for housing purposes. The government will also be able to bridge data gaps to improve the process of according land rights.
Agricultural land was first surveyed in India, pre-Independence, by the British government, in order to assess the land revenues across the country, barring the North-Eastern region. Only those villages were surveyed, which were populated by more than 2,000 people. Rocky land parcels and infertile lands (unfit for cultivation) were excluded from the survey, due to the lack of revenue streams from them. These pieces of land were considered “wasteland”, fit for only the construction of houses and were not surveyed holistically. However, today, these rocky lands have monetary value for the landowners.
The Maharashtra government is in the process of using drones for other forms of administrative and development surveillance as well. These include tracking the levels of flood waters, providing a bird’s eye view of industrial estates to investors and so on. The use of drones is an example of how digital tools can be used for the documentation and analysis of land and resource rights information. However, only time will tell whether the applications of drones are being used purely for veiled economic purposes or for larger goals of community welfare and development.
The image used is for representative purposes only.
India Outbound
March 27, 2019
Plastic pollution is one of the most deleterious forms of environmental degradation globally, causing damage to the land and oceans of the world. The accumulation of plastic products in the environment is persistently creating problems for the wildlife, natural habitats and human beings. Floating plastic waste has accumulated across 40% of the world’s oceans. Within this context, it is imperative the efforts be taken to prevent dumping of plastic because it is not biodegradable and chokes landscapes and waterways.
Since 2015, Adidas, one of the largest sportswear manufacturers in the world, has been making concerted efforts to recycle plastic waste from beaches into shoes. This has been in collaboration with an environmental group called “Parley for the Oceans.” In this mode of production, the upcycled plastic waste from beaches and coastal communities is converted into a type of yarn, which is a key component of the Adidas footwear. The company has also used recycled materials to make football jerseys. In 2016, the stores stopped using plastic bags.
Adidas is committed to improving its environmental performance during its manufacturing processes, in the form of usage of sustainable materials, waste prevention and reduction of carbon emissions. It is also striving to use recycled polyester only for every product and application by 2024. Adidas is the founding member of Better Cotton Initiative and hence, sources cotton that is sustainably produced only.
With the success of producing more than five million pairs of recycled shoes in 2018, Adidas plans to produce at least 11 million shoes in 2019, incorporating the plastic waste. These shoes have been made using the plastic waste intercepted from beaches, like Maldives, before it reaches the oceans. In 2018, by adopting sustainable solutions, Adidas has saved 40 tonnes of plastic waste across its offices, warehouses, retail stores and distribution stores worldwide.
In December 2018, the Climate Protection Charter for the Fashion Industry was launched during the UN Climate Change Conference held at Katowice, Poland, to envision the achievement of net-zero emission by 2050, by the clothing, textile and fashion industry, in a holistic commitment towards climate action. Adidas has signed the Charter with a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% before 2030.
Unless stakeholders across the spectrum come together to innovatively resolve the developmental issues that the world is facing, no change can be widespread and effective. By preventing plastic from entering the oceans and transforming it into high performance footwear, Adidas has set a laudable example globally of using eco-innovation around products and materials. This initiative is also an embodiment of cross-sectoral collaboration, geared towards environmental sustainability.
India Outbound
March 26, 2019
The Indian government has a flagship programme called Poshan Abhiyaanthat is aimed at improving the nutritional outcomes for children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers, by leveraging technology through a targeted approach and convergence. In order to support this mission, an initiative titled “IMPAct4Nutrition” has been convened and launched by Tata Trusts, UNICEF, Sight and Life, CSRBOX, CII, WeCan and NASSCOM Foundation.
This initiative provides a platform for the private sector to become actively engaged and build a social movement with their employees and their families, customers as well as anyone else who is a part of the business ecosystem, to support the Poshan Abhiyaan.Dr. Rajan Sankar, Senior Advisor, Nutrition at Tata Trusts has highlighted the importance of food fortification under nutrition. In addressing the issue of exclusion in access to nutrition interventions and services, he emphasised upon the need to improve service delivery.
Companies like Arvind Mills, Bosch, CareNX Innovations and Moody’s Analytics pledged their support to the platform before the initiative was formally launched on March 13, 2019. Through this initiative, private sector companies will function in three strategic areas i.e. assets/core business for nutrition, cash/CSR for nutrition and employee engagement for nutrition (ACE).
The underlying rationale for this initiative is that the government and its initiatives have been striving to strengthen the supply-side issue of the malnutrition problem in India. However, the government requires the support and cooperation of the private sector and civil society to address the demand-side of the issue. According to Kumar, within this context, the private sector must come up with packages and solutions for nutrition food.
The malnutrition burden in India is a 100% preventable. Alok Kumar, NITI Aayog Advisor said that, “one-third of the children in India are growing up stunted and tackling malnutrition is a key challenge for India. The main reason is lack of awareness around nutrition issues. This requires introducing behavioural changes in a campaign mode to reach every household. The government cannot do it alone. Theprivate sector needs to join forces with the government as part of the Jan Andolan or peoples’ movement to tackle malnutrition.”
Arjan De Wagt, Chief Nutrition at UNICEF India, has described IMPAct4Nutrition as a platform for widespread socio-economic change, hinged upon improving the levels of nutrition awareness and literacy (health, hygiene and food literacy) in society, thereby increasing the productivity and boosting the nutritional status of people. He also outlined the benefits of investing in nutrition vis-à-vis increase in economic growth, prevention of child mortality etc.
The platform will function as the business link to the broader movement centered around Poshan Abhiyaan and will provide relevant education material and program information. According to a release issued by UNICEF, “through this initiative, companies will engage their employees, customers and families, to create holistic nourishment through better nutrition, health and hygiene.”This is yet another illustration of public-private collaboration to address a socio-economic issue hindering the path towards a healthy India.
India Outbound
March 25, 2019
This is a two-part series, highlighting the burgeoning debate of land access and traces the discrepancies in the process of securing land access for women. It further examines the congruence that exists between the access to land for women and their identity. Part 1 underlines how the influence of international and national level frameworks is limited in character and has not been able to make any significant contribution towards the entitlement of land access to women. Part 2 conceptualizes that women’s access to land should be studied with respect to the women’s class, in this case, her caste.
While we have witnessed a surge of women-specific discussions on land rights, there still exist many fissures that need to be addressed, before we plunge into the discussion about women’s ownership of land. Certain national level efforts have played an obligatory role in defining what ought to be done i.e. including women in the land rights debate and acknowledging their contribution.
However, these plans conveniently miss out to crucial aspects of the issue (i) restatement of the old laws(ii) clarifications on how women are going to be included in the agricultural negotiations in a largely male-dominated and patriarchal setting, and (iii) failure to state who will be answerable if these are not implemented.
The failure to see policies from the lens of gender can also be attributed to the fact that discussions about women are always seen supplementary to the welfare discussion, when instead, they should be seen as harbingers of change in the development dialogue. This failure also results in a lack of nuance involved in the land rights debate, which misses out on the material and ideational causal links specific to gender, which impact the access for women.
The obsession over how to include women in the land rights debate, without any recognition accorded to intersectionality i.e. how land rights would be differentiated between women based on their gender, class, status or marital status, also makes for a peripheral engagement within the problem of land rights for women.
This debate needs to acknowledge:
(i) The involvement of women and men in farming is different. Based on this difference, the contribution of women in agriculture is seen as inferior. Women are usually involved in “subsistence farming” defined by Barnett, etal, (1997) as “farming and associated activities which together form a livelihood strategy where the main output is consumed directly, where there are few if any purchased inputs and where only a minor proportion of output is marketed.” Subsistence is often associated with poor farmers and small farmer holdings. Thus, the discrimination based on subsistence farming can wreak havoc on the already poor conditions of the marginalized population.
(ii) Additionally, it requires an inquiry into the access of the lower caste population as well, in order to determine whether or not, the same access will be provided for all women, irrespective of their caste, class and status.According to the 2011 Census, the Scheduled Castes(SC) constitute about 201.4 million people which is 16.63 % of the entire Indian population, while Scheduled Tribes(ST) constitute 104.3 million people, which is 8.61% of the Indian population. The high poverty incidence among the SC (Dalit) and the ST (Adivasis) in both rural and urban areas demonstrate the alarming exclusion that lower-caste population faces. The SC/ST women also face the consequences for their caste, the sex ratio for SC women is 945 in 1000 men and for ST women it stands at 990 in 1000 men. The caste system is still intrinsic to the Indian society and influences the societal associations, therefore a caste analysis is imperative to the discussion of access to land rights for women.
To engage better with providing land rights to women and marginalised women, the debate related to the access toland for women requires an exploration of the causal antecedents existing at the institutional level, to fully trace the genealogy of power relations that women face. These demand the need to move beyond the household relations at which power dynamics have been already explored such as, the banality of discussions over male vs. female. Instead, the focus needs to be on the complementarities of interests, ideas, and wealth distribution involved across different classes, castes and genders.
Pallavi Karnatak
March 22, 2019
This is a two-part series, highlighting the burgeoning debate of land access and traces the discrepancies in the process of securing land access for women. It further examines the congruence that exists between the access to land for women and their identity. Part 1 underlines how the influence of international and national level frameworks is limited in character and has not been able to make any significant contribution towards the entitlement of land access to women. Part conceptualizes that women’s access to land should be studied with respect to the women’s class, in this case, her caste.
Debates around land stand at the cornerstone of deliberations around poverty, employment, food security as well as preservation of rights for the indigenous and marginalized populations across the globe. Despite the wide-ranged porosity of the land debate across diverse development debates, the attention given to the subject of gender justice is not adequate.
The lack of attention needs to be scrutinized since women comprise just over 40% of the agricultural labor force in the developing world. The highest contributors are Asian women, with South Asian women comprising 35% of the agricultural labor. Despite the notable contribution of women, their access to land rights in Asia is precarious. Merely 10.9% of women have agricultural holdings against 89% men with agricultural holdings in Asia. The relative deprivation of women vis-à-vis men calls for attention to the gendered constructions, which impinge on women’s access to land.
According to a 2013 report by the IDFC Rural Development Network, agriculture is central to the Indian economy and about 69% of the total population is rural. 70% of this rural population, or nearly half of all Indians, still depend on land and land-based activities for their livelihoods. Land ownership in India is also linked to the identity, status and position of the individual with respect to her/his socio-economic milieu. Land in India is also often an indicator of security and political power in a village setting.
The idea of women securing land access and rights is a recent phenomenon in India. In the past, it was not considered as important, given the fact that gender-based discussions were not credited to play any crucial role in the development dynamics of India. This led to the widening of the gap between gender and the questions of land rights, so much so that gender was not considered to play any role in regard to the discussions of land rights.
However, once the decade 1975-85 was declared as the decade for women, there occurred a huge surge in gender-related information, from policy to implementation, even gender-based documentation was being produced extensively. International frameworks acted as catalysts for change in the national policy-making processes in order to establish gender-specific information and help lessen the gender-gap.
Gender-based specifications directed India to also produce information that would show the position of women from diverse sectors, such as the 1979 National Committee to review and analyze participation of women in agriculture and Rural Development, set up by the Ministry of Agriculture in India.
One such other recent instance is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) embracing gender dynamics; Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls: (5.a) undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance, and natural resources in accordance with national laws- national laws (UNDP, 2016).
The achievement of this SDG becomes daunting in the Indian context, given that the agricultural sector employs around 80% of all economically active women in the country. 48% of India’s self-employed farmers are women. There are 75 million women engaged in dairying as against 15 million men and 20 million in animal husbandry as compared to 1.5 million men. While women are central to agricultural activities and show more involvement, what is baffling is that merely 11.7% of Indian women are agricultural holders in comparison to 88.3% of male population, according to the data from FAO gender and Land Rights Database.
This disparity of 76.5% highlights the precarious position of women in achieving access to land and signals at gender-based deprivation and poverty. Despite international efforts and the formulation of the Sixth- and Seventh-Year Financial Plans in India that dedicated a chapter on women and development, nothing substantive has changed with regard to the control of land for women.
Pallavi Karnatak
March 20, 2019
Deloitte, the multinational professional services network, has a global organisation-wide initiative called WorldClass that exemplifies Deloitte’s commitment to empower 50 million people to succeed in a rapidly changing global economy by 2030, in a quest to resolve the widening socio-economic inequalities and deepening social tensions, also in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The promise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has resulted in seismic shifts in the socio-economic fabrics of the world. On the one hand, resulted in technological acceleration and digitalisation across all aspects of life, but on the other hand, millions of people have been left behind globally. These people do not have the ability to fulfil their potential and aspirations because of the lack of the requisite training, skills and education.
Through WorldClass, Deloitte is applying its core skills, experience and global reach towards people’s empowerment via skills development, education and access to opportunity. It is using its capabilities to enable educators and businesses to deliver the individual skills needed for future jobs by creating simple solutions.
Deloitte is doing this by facilitatingcross-sector collaborations with businesses, government, educators, NGOs, local schools etc. across the world, to amplify their existing efforts and transform learning and enable individuals to bridge the gap between the learnings and skills people have and the skills employers need.
The people of Deloitte are currently working in regions like South Africa, Luxembourg, Austria, New Zealand, the United States, Australia, South Korea, Uruguay, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago and the Netherlands. On 22ndFebruary 2019, Deloitte launched a new initiative in India, under WorldClass, in New Delhi. The initiative was launched by Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Honourable Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India and Deloitte’s Global CEO, Punit Renjen.
Deloitte aims to provide skills training and education to 10 million girls and women in India by 2030. This programme will focus upon improvements in the retention rates of girls in school, achieving higher educational outcomes and suitable skills development for women to access meaningful employment and opportunities in a new economy.
Deloitte will engage in long-term partnerships with organisations that are driving transformational change in rural and urban areas, in order to invest in and accelerate high-impact solutions. Two such organisations are Katha and Pratham that are working towards the improvement of learning outcomes of millions of children and young people across schools and communities in India.
Pradhan said, “the vision of new India places women in the centre of our quest for economic growth. In success of women, lies the country’s success. The onus is on us to ensure women become self-reliant, and active participants in our economy. Providing quality education and skill development, and facilitating access to opportunities, are key stepping stones.”
According to Ranjen, “across India, almost 40% of girls aged 15-18 years drop out of school and college, and only 26% of women are employed. There is a tremendous opportunity to make a meaningful impact and create pathways for women of all ages to fulfil their aspirations.With our investments in the community, we aim to support the economic empowerment of women which is often a catalyst for long-term sustainable change. We are committing to help those who are left behind, develop skills required for new and better opportunities.”
Thus, this initiative is an attempt to harness the potential of the demographic dividend in India to become an integral part of the country’s growth story, as an emerging economy. It is an example of cross-sector partnerships, fuelled by the private sector, to promote the overall goals of inclusive and sustainable development.
India Outbound
March 19, 2019
In 2018, the global economic climate was dominated by trade tensions and populist undercurrents. The combination of tightening of monetary policy and the volatility looming over markets, international businesses have been under immense pressure to secure their overseas operations.
Within this context, Mercer provides an authoritative annual survey that provides data on quality of living for employees who are sent to work abroad. Ongoing research related to the practicalities of daily life for the expatriate employees and their families, forms the basis of the annual ranking of cities.
According to the 21st annual Quality of Living survey, many cities around the world offer attractive environments for doing business, with the top ranking ones displaying the realisation that quality of living is an essential component of the attractiveness of city for businesses and mobile talent.
The survey took place between September and November 2018. 39 prime factors provided the basis for city-to-city comparisons. Some of these have been highlighted below:
Out of the 231 cities surveyed, the top cities in the 2019 rankings are:
This survey lays emphasis upon the fact that the appeal of cities as a place to live and work is key to attracting talent as well as local and global businesses. There are three main broad questions that need to be responded to, in order to understand: How can cities improve Quality of Living?
Vienna emerged at the top of the rankings globally, for the tenth time in a row, closely followed by Zurich at number 2. Vancouver, Munich and Auckland shared the third place. Vancouver has been the highest-ranking city in North America for the last ten years. Singapore (25th), Montevideo (78th) and Port Louis (83rd) have retained their status as the highest-ranking cities in Asia, South America and Africa respectively.
In India, only five cities made it to the list. Hyderabad has been named the best city to live in for the fifth time in a row. It shares the 143rd position with Pune. Bengaluru has been ranked 147th, Mumbai is 154th and New Delhi is 162nd. In terms of safety in cities, Chennai was named the safest one in India with a global ranking of 103rd.
As per Mercer’s press release, “strong, on-the-ground capabilities are integral to the global operations of most international businesses and are in large part driven by the personal and professional wellbeing of the individuals that companies place in those locations,” said Ilya Bonic, Senior Partner and President of Mercer’s Career business. “Companies looking to expand overseas have a host of considerations when identifying where best to locate staff and new offices. The key is relevant, reliable data and standardised measurement, which are essential for employers to make critical decisions, from deciding where to establish offices to determining how to distribute, house and remunerate their global workforces.”
India Outbound
March 18, 2019
Farewell @manoharparrikar - the man who embodied 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas'. An IITian who applied a rational mind to work. An inclusive politician who made minorities a part of the democratic process. A man who embodied humility. And a man who fought till the end. #GoaCM pic.twitter.com/G8ViOsr0xJ
— India Outbound (@india_outbound) March 18, 2019
On 5th March 2019, the World Bank and the Government of India signed an agreement, valued at $250-million, to promote farm and non-farm enterprises in India that are “women-owned and women-led.” The underlying goal is to help women belonging to rural households to shift to a new generation of economic initiatives, aimed at developing viable enterprise for non-farm and farm products.
The agreement was signed by Mr. Sameer Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Mr. Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank India. This $250-million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a five-year grace period, with a final maturity of 20 years.
This agreement is a part of the National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP), which provides additional financing to the $500 million-worth National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP) approved by the World Bank in July 2011. The development objective of the NRETP is the establishment of efficient and effective institutional platforms for the rural poor to enable them to increase household income, via sustainable enhancement of livelihoods and improved access to public (financial) services.
The NRLP is currently being implemented across 13 states, 162 districts and 575 blocks. So far, 8.8 million women have been mobilized from poor rural households into 7,50,000 self-help groups (SHGs). These SHGs have further federated into 48,700 Village Organizations and 2900 Cluster/Gram Panchayat-level Federations. The new agreement will support these existing 13 states, but 125 additional districts in these states will be covered too.
According to Mr. Sameer Kumar Khare, “the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) aims to alleviate rural poverty and create sustainable livelihood opportunities in rural communities by promoting sustainable community-based institutions which will facilitate economic and financial services for the rural poor. He further said that this additional funding will help give impetus to the poverty alleviation measures by the Government and ensure equitable and inclusive growth in the country.”
Mr. Hisham Abdo, Acting Country Director, World Bank, India said that “the National Rural Livelihoods Project has mobilized close to 9 million rural women into strong self-managed institutional platforms, helping them access services, participate in Gram Sabhas and start engaging in income generating activities. Many of these women are now geared towards moving into higher order economic initiatives in farm and non-farm sectors. He further said that the New Project will now help them engage purposefully in an evolving rural economy.”
NERTP will enable the development of enterprise programs for the rural youth and power women by providing themaccess to markets, networks and finance, for start-up options and building individually/collectively-owned enterprises. A crucial component of the project includes the development of financial products using digital financial services to aid small producer collectives in scaling-up and engaging with the market.
NRETP will also play a role in supporting the development of youth skills, in collaboration with the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. The demonstrated success of peer-to-peer learning under NRLP will be leveraged across the communities and states for employment generation.
By providing technical assistance, skills building and investment support, across value chains, for businesses to build and diversify into high value farm and non-farm commodities such as commercial crops and livestock products, and fisheries, the project envisions a transformation of the economic participation of the SHGs and rural women entrepreneurs. This will fulfill broader goals of economic growth and inclusion.
India Outbound
March 15, 2019
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has released a study based on an in-depth analysis of the access to the world’s largest nutrition programme, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in India, at the individual and household level. It specifically assesses the inequity in terms of the expansion of programme usage, while focusing upon the complex factors underlying these aspects. Part 1 of the article provides an overview of the outcomes of the study. This article outlines in some detail the context of the study and highlights the factors shaping the inequities in the uptake of ICDS.
In 2013, certain nutrition-specific interventions were reviewed and it was estimated that scaling-up the effective ones would result in a 20% reduction to stunting levels and 15% reduction in child mortality. While these accounted for progress vis-à-vis goals related to economic growth and sustainable development, a mismatch prevailed, between the coverage and efficacy of these interventions.
The ICDS was launched in India in 1975 and by 2000, all states were brought under its ambit. In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the programme was to be offered universally. This resulted in an expansion of the availability of the programme, with a goal of establishing 1.4 million programme centres across the country.
Subsequent studies on the impact of the reforms to ICDS have focused upon the performance and implementation at the state-level. However, there has been limited investigation at the individual and household level, vis-à-vis uptake of the programme. Thus, IFPRI’s study has assessed equity gaps and other factors impacting this aspect, based on data from the Indian National Family Health Surveys of 2005-06 and 2015-16.
According to the trends discussed in the report, the poorest people in India have been excluded from the ICDS, especially in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that are in any case weak performers and suffer from a high malnutrition burden. This indicates a relation between massive exclusions and poor performance in high-poverty states.
Multiple factors could contribute to the exclusion and inequitable patterns of usage of the ICDS programme. These include challenges related to traversing difficult terrains in certain geographical areas, compliance with the conditionalities of the programme, entry-level barriers, variations in education levels, caste and tribe-based discrimination etc.
In 2006, the coverage of supplementary food during pregnancy and lactation was less than 25% in most states, except Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. By 2016, the situation improved in almost all states. State-wise coverage of supplementary food during childhood also increased to more than 50% in most central and southern states.
However, targeted efforts have been made in states like Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra to address some of these challenges, as part of the state nutrition missions. Interestingly, despite the hypothesis that girls are discriminated against in health service use in India, the study found no evidence of preferential treatment towards the sons, over daughters, in terms of using the programme. Instead, the likelihood of receiving services was marginally better for female children.
According to the study, people with health insurance coverage were about twice as likely to use the programme’s services in 2016, even though insurance plays no direct role in gaining access, since the services are free. This trend may simply reflect self-selection i.e. households that take up government health and nutrition services are also more likely to be enrolled in the national health insurance. Under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, health insurance coverage improved 10-fold between 2006 and 2016.
Thus, while the child development services in India have become more inclusive between 2006 and 2016, especially amongst the historically disadvantaged tribes and castes, there has been an inadvertent exclusion of certain social groups. Women with poor education and households with the poorest incomes are still not adequately served.
India Outbound
March 14, 2019
In February 2019, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) published results of a study conducted to investigate the equity and extent of the coverage of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program in India between 2006 and 2016. The study reflects upon the continuum of care provided from pregnancy to early childhood, before and after the programme was expanded to provide universal access.
The key findings of the study, vis-à-vis increase in the mean proportion of respondents using ICDS from 2006-16 have been summarised below. The utilisation of ICDS services increased from:
The substantial increase in the utilisation of ICDS shows high levels of positive association with wealth, maternal education and caste. However, the expansion in terms of using ICDS has varied at the sub-national level. Despite an increase in overall use and coverage of marginalised sections of society (disadvantaged castes and tribes), the poorest and most uneducated quintiles of population have been inadvertently excluded, especially in the largest states of the country, which carry the highest burdens of malnutrition.
IFPRI’s study concludes that the policy reforms in India have succeeded in terms of increasing the coverage of the ICDS at the national level. This is commendable given the associated challenges of decentralisation of implementation, population size and diversity, funding constraints, lack of community awareness and so on. However, it is crucial that the programme’s focus on the lowest socio-economic strata of society, especially women with low levels of education, be strengthened, in order to increase uptake of ICDS, even while scaling-up the programme further.
The study does not delve into questions related to the regularity and intensity of participation, the actual consumption of foods provided through the programme and the regularity of use of specific services such as growth monitoring. However, the study has immense policy implications for India in terms of making informed assessments about the strengthening of nutrition interventions and also offers lessons applicable to other countries who may be in the process of scaling-up integrated programmes to address issues of maternal and child health as well as nutrition and child development.
India Outbound
March 13, 2019
The Shift Project, a French think tank advocating for the shift to a post-carbon economy, released a report titled “Lean ICT – Towards Digital Sobriety” in March 2019, flagging the surging energy consumption of the digital industry. The report has highlighted certain assessments at the global level, of burgeoning energy and carbon footprints, resulting from massive investments in transitioning to digital technologies, infrastructures and products. For instance, 80 times more energy is required to produce “a gram of smartphone” as opposed to “a gram of car.” Miniaturisation of digital devices also leads to an increase in energy consumption as a function of separating metals from the complex assembly, during recycling.
Adoption of digital sobriety as a principle of action, advocated by the report, entails buying the least powerful equipment possible, changing them the least often possible and reducing unnecessary energy-intensive uses. This implies questioning and consequently, adapting the economic and social utility of the consumption behaviours of digital objects and services. This shift in paradigm requires the adoption of a plethora of management tools by large organisations like banks, public administrators and service companies.
This includes the adoption of a public database or Digital Environmental Repository (DER), for stakeholders to access and analyse verified data of the magnitude of carbon impacts of the production and consumption of common digital technologies. This will enable them to act upon the demand and consumption of digital services, without hampering their digital transition. The overall goal is to ensure that benefits of digitalisation can be sustainably reaped.
From a policy perspective, a sober digital transition entails the following:
“Our Lean ICT report brings evidence to companies that their digital transformation is not automatically compatible with their climate change mitigation targets. As digital has become an integral part of the corporate strategy, we have developed tools that are intended not only to Information Systems departments but also to business leaders. This way, the environmental impacts of digital technology can be integrated in the definition of strategies and in the choices made on organizational structures and innovation methods. Creating awareness of the stakes involved is the first and mandatory step. It enables a reset of our digital ecosystems and consumption patterns, a reset that we need in order for them to contribute to an environmentally and socially sustainable society,” says Hugues Ferreboeuf, Director of the “Lean ICT” working group at the Shift Project.
India Outbound
March 12, 2019
Digital transformations the world over have been hailed for being “green”, in addition to the other benefits vis-à-vis economic and social development. Intuitively, one would imagine that transitioning to everything digital is good for the environment. Digitalisation is considered a key tool for the reduction of energy consumption in multiple sectors like IT. As a result, efforts to curb the damaging effects of climate change often incorporate digital technologies.
However, in its current format, the implementation of interventions geared towards digital transitions are actually contributing to, not preventing, global warming. This results from a constant underestimation of its direct and indirect environmental impacts or rebound effects, due to the miniaturisation and “invisibility” of digital infrastructures. Massive investments in digital technologies are likely to contribute to a burgeoning carbon footprint of the digital sectors.
The Shift Project, a French think tank advocating for the shift to a post-carbon economy, released a report titled “Lean ICT – Towards Digital Sobriety” in March 2019, highlighting the surging energy consumption of digital infrastructures and products. There are three key takeaways from the report, in terms of highlighting the global systemic effects of the highly uncertain nature of the current digital transition.
Every year, the energy intensity of the digital industry increases by 4%, in stark contrast to the trend of global GDP’s energy intensity evolution, which is currently declining by 1.8% per year.
Since 2010, the direct energy consumption caused by $1 invested in digital technologies has increased by 37%. This evolution contradicts the Paris Agreement’s goal to decouple energy consumption and climate change from GDP growth.
The CO2 emissions of digital technologies increased by about 450 million tons since 2013 in OECD countries, while in the same period, the overall CO2 emissions globally decreased by 250 million tonnes.
Current digital consumption is highly polarized. The digital overconsumption is not a global phenomenon: it is caused by high income countries, for which the major challenge is to take back control of their digital uses.
Expected impacts of the digital transition on growth and productivity remain invisible in developed countries over the last 5 years. OECD GDP’s growth rate remains stable around 2% while the annual growth of digital expenditures has increased from 3% to 5%.
The key challenge is to plan and prioritize investments by ensuring they efficiently serve sectoral priorities, that developing countries will derive the greatest benefits from increasing use of digital technologies.
The digital overconsumption trend is unsustainable in terms of its requirements for energy and raw materials.
The direct energy footprint of ICT includes energy for the production and use of equipment (servers, networks, terminals) which is increasing rapidly, by 9% per year.
The capture of a gradually disproportionate part of available electricity increases the demand on electric production, which already struggles to decarbonize.
The share of digital technologies in global greenhouse gas emissions has increased by half since 2013, from 2.5% to 3.7% of global emissions. The demand for raw materials such as rare and critical metals, essential for both digital and low-carbon energy technologies, is also growing.
The explosion of video uses (Skype, streaming, etc.) and the increased consumption of short-lifespan digital equipment are the main drivers of this inflation.
The report advocates for managing the environmental impact of digitalization by collectively making it “leaner” via sober digital practices. It highlights the possibility of digital sobriety to limit this growth to 1.5% per year. The underlying motivation is to recover individual and collective abilities that challenge socio-economic benefits of the consumption of digital objects and services, even though high-income countries alone bear the responsibility of overconsumption.
This shift from intemperance to sobriety in human relationships with digital technologies will not challenge the core principles of the digital transition. It cannot reduce the digital environmental footprint but prevents an explosion. Part 2 of the article discusses the means to deploy digital sobriety, in the context of digitalisation and the global analysis of the environmental impact of digital technologies.
India Outbound
March 11, 2019
nbsp;
The article explores how gender dynamics plays an important role in determining access to mental health for men.
With the rise in incidences of non-communicable diseases across the globe, there is a widespread interest in the promotion of mental well-being. Mental health problems are a significant issue for millions of people across the globe. Yet, there have been very few studies related to gender-targeted interventions, which are primarily aimed at promoting mental well-being differently for men and women.
Gender plays an important role in explaining how men and women possess power, control and access over various resources. To fully understand and address mental health issues, it is critical to acknowledge that due to social, economic and environment factors, certain people are at higher risks to different mental health problems, which often interact with other factors like ethnicity, gender, race and disability.
A 2006 WHO report states that gender has significant explanatory power regarding the differential susceptibility and exposure to mental health risks and differences in mental health outcomes.
Figure 1: Diagram of social determinants of mental health adapted from the Determinants of health (Mental Health Foundation, 2016)
The elevated rates of suicide and substance abuse, as well as low rates of usage of mental health services amongst men is a burgeoning crisis. To understand mental health specific to men, it is important to navigate the ambit within which gender roles function. Multiple studies conducted by WHO and other independent scholars indicate that difference in rates of disorder is only one dimension of the role that gender plays in mental health and illness. Beyond rates, gender is also linked to differences in risk and susceptibility, the timing of onset and course of disorders, diagnosis, treatment and adjustment to mental disorders (WHO, 2006) (Astbury, 1999) (Afifi, 2007).
The gender specific mental health studies (which are only a handful) oftentimes focus on the differences between mental health problems that each gender is susceptible to. These studies show that prevalence of depression and anxiety is much higher in women, while substance use disorders and antisocial behaviours are higher in men. In case of severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar depression, there are no consistent sex differences, but men typically have an earlier onset of schizophrenia, while women are more likely to exhibit serious forms of bipolar depression (WHO, 2002) (Mental Health Foundation, 2016).
While there exist differences in the kinds of disorder and the onset, it is also critical to study how gender roles determine the differences in help-seeking behaviors between men and women. Recent researches show that socially constructed differences between women and men in roles and responsibilities, status and power, interact with biological differences between the sexes to contribute to differences in the nature of mental health problems suffered, health seeking behaviour of those affected and responses of the health sector and society as a whole (WHO, 2002). Men are often late in recognising the symptoms and acknowledging the need for help, thereby exacerbating the symptoms. A study from Finland indicates how men might use alcohol and other substances to deal with their stress or personal problems.
To decrease the morbidity of mental illness and addictions among men, it is imperative that their mental health is improved, by bettering their mental health knowledge, coping skills and help-seeking behaviours. Importantly, this involves reducing the associated stigma amongst men. Additionally, digital interventions with its proliferation rate and anonymous emotional support, can also play a significant role in improving men’s mental health. For these interventions to be effective, they will need to continuously evolve and factor in the interaction of social, political, economic factors, which influence health-related behaviors i.e. symptoms, help-seeking, utilisation of health services and diagnosis.
Pallavi Karnatak
March 8, 2019
Greenpeace and IQAir AirVisual have released a study titled “2018 World Air Quality Report: Region & City PM 2.5 Ranking.” It presents air quality data aggregrated through the IQAir AirVisual platform in 2018, containing a subset of information related to the measure of PM 2.5 from ground-based stations (government monitoring networks and validated air quality monitors) with high data availability. This report is an accompaniment to an extended online interactive display of the world’s most polluted cities, allowing real-time exploration of air quality.
PM 2.5 refers to particulate matter (ambient airborne particles) that measure up to 2.5 microns in size, with a rage of chemical constitution and sources. The report views PM 2.5 as a representative measure of air pollution because it is widely regarded as the air pollutant with the maximum health impact amongst those commonly measured and affects most people globally. Its small size enables it to penetrate deep into the respiratory system and thereby, the human body, causing a plethora of short-term and long-term effects. Common sources include combustion (vehicle engines, wood, coal, industry) and through other pollutants reacting in the atmosphere.
Global overview
Rankings of Top 20 cities
Amongst countries weighted by population, Bangladesh emerged as the most polluted country on an average, closely followed by Pakistan and India. The report studied 3000 cities, out of which 64% exceeded the annual exposure guideline for particulate matter, established by WHO. 100% cities in the Middle East and Africa, 99% cities in South Asia, 95% in Southeast Asia and 89% in East Asia exceeded these targets. India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh feature in the Top 50 cities. Kuwait, Dubai and Manama exceed the WHO guidelines by over 500%.
Data released by the World Bank states that air pollution is the deadliest form of pollution and is the 4th largest contributor to premature deaths worldwide. Measured in terms of lost labour income, this costs the global economy roughly US$225 billion.According to Laura Tuck, Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank, “air pollution is a challenge that threatens basic human welfare, damages natural and physical capital, and constrains economic growth. We hope this study will translate the cost of premature deaths into an economic language that resonates with policy makers so that more resources will be devoted to improving air quality. By supporting healthier cities and investments in cleaner sources of energy, we can reduce dangerous emissions, slow climate change, and most importantly save lives.”
The WHO estimates that while 9 out of 10 people globally are breathing unsafe and polluted air, large parts of the world still lack access to real-time monitoring and data related to air quality. Japan, Mainland China and the United States have the most extensive networks globally. This large variation in real-time monitoring networks across countries and regions must be addressed. The governments can quickly set up low-cost monitoring sensors in order to accelerate access to information related to air quality.
Real-time public air quality information is essential for the empowerment of populations to effectively respond to prevalent conditions and improve human health. However, more importantly, it provides the cornerstone for generating public awareness and driving action to combat air pollution through long-term action.
The information and images within the article have been sourced from here.
India Outbound
March 6, 2019
This article is Part 2 of a series on the complexities of the marital rape debate in India. It outlines certain steps that can be taken towards efforts to recognise the concept of marital rape in India.
The issue of marital rape should not be seen as a standalone one, but rather as symptomatic of traditional dominant patriarchal norms and notions in Indian society – perverse and pervasive. The unrecognition of marital rape in the Indian legal framework (except when the victim is under 18 years old) reinforces that women cannot make decisions regarding their body and sexuality after they are married.
This is rooted in the historically unequal relations between men and women in which there is a prevalence of discriminative attitudes towards women; they are less valued and considered property of men, especially after they are married. Religion, which deems marriage as sanctimonious, more often than not legitimises these problematic attitudes.
An overhaul of such attitudes and consequent behavioral patterns is central to addressing the issue. It is also critical to denounce baseless linkages between culture and justice; however, it is not possible to entirely condone the larger audience, which still believes in such patriarchal norms and constitutes a large percentage of stakeholders in the decision making of such laws.
Nonetheless, a joint effort towards (i) strengthening our existing frameworks where some laws could be strengthened to act as a deterrent, and consequently facilitate protection to victims, (ii) advocating for a new policy that criminalises marital rape, and (iii) altering attitudes in long term, could together concretise efforts to deal with marital rape whilst gaining support from even the difficult audience.
Improving the implementation of the already existing 2005 Prevention of Domestic Violence Act in India, under which, the term domestic violence has been defined in a manner that includes actual abuse or threat of abuse that is physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic. This is the most feasible option for achieving the twin objective of recognising and condemning sexual abuse within marriage, and diminishing and discouraging the culture of rape within marriage. Efforts should be made to strengthen the provisions under the act; make proper budgetary allocations, address major disparities in the implementation of the law in various states, establish separate special courts for speedy justice and deal with the acute shortage and disparity in appointment of protection officers.
Provisions for speedy separation and quick applicability of 376B, according to which, “whoever has sexual intercourse with his own wife, who is living separately, whether under a decree of separation or otherwise, without her consent, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than two years but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine”.
In light of the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women recommending the Indian Government to criminalise marital rape and the ruling government making promises towards “zero tolerance of violence against women”, it becomes imperative to recognise the concept of consent within marriage.
Meanwhile, due to the sensitivity of the problem, the efforts that should be need to be tactical. Through material, legal and structural changes we can help address the complexity of the socio-cultural ethos and its interaction with the growing debate on women’s safety.
Pallavi Karnatak
March 5, 2019
This two-part article highlights the lack of a legal framework recognising marital rape in India and attempts to navigate the complex beliefs, cultural ethos, attitudes, relations and power dynamics, which constitute the interlinked roots of the problem. This article also lays emphasis upon the notion of ‘consent’, required in sexual intercourse within marriage. In Part 2 of the article, solutions have been proposed that are immediate, appeal to the larger audience and can concretise efforts towards a policy change.
Sexual intercourse within marriage without consent, or commonly denominated marital rape, constitutes a grievous violation of human rights and posits a serious public health problem. It is one of the most widespread forms of violence against women in India. According to the National Family Health Survey of 2015-16 (NFHS-4), 83 per cent of ever-married women between the ages of 15-49 years who have ever experienced sexual violence reported their current husband as the perpetrator with another 7 per cent reporting their former spouse. In 2013, the United Nations Population Fund (UNDP) and the International Center for Research on Women performed a survey on more than 9,200 men across seven Indian states and one-third of them admitted to having forced sexual act on their wives, while 60 percent said they had used some form of violence to assert dominance over their partners.
Sexual intercourse without consent within marriage can currently take place legally in India. Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which defines “rape” and consent”, states that “sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape.” On 11th October 2017, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that part of the Indian Penal Code that excused marital rape of minors between the ages of 15-18, was unconstitutional. However, adult women who are married and who experience sexual violence from their spouses still have no legal basis to complain. The existence of this archaic provision unveils the prevaricate attitude of consequent governments with respect to women safety.
There are instances when the government has made feeble attempts to initiate a comprehensive law to criminalise marital rape, but have immediately faced heavy opposition from men’s rights activists and traditionalists who see the proposition as a Western concept, and as an attempt to undermine the sanctity of marriages, which consequently harms the cultural ethos. Even a section of the judiciary has raised questions regarding the implementation of the act followed by the pretext of its misuse.
Marital rape is a complex problem and only a holistic assessment of the profundity of its origins and the extent of its ramifications can help address the problem.
Pallavi Karnatak
March 4, 2019
Maharashtra’s nutritional story is replete with paradoxes and has been in the news for the high prevalence of severely and moderately malnourished children in several regions.
— India Outbound (@india_outbound) March 5, 2019
Here's our long-term take.https://t.co/ja31EDlmta
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), German brand Knorr and Adam Drewnowski, director of The Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington have released a report titled “Future 50 Foods”. With the goal of enabling healthy diets and sustainable food production, the report lists 50 foods in order to provide people with more food choices, rather than impose restrictions about what not to eat.
These Future 50 Foods have been selected on the basis of their high nutritional value, relatively lower environmental impact, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and flavour. Each food on the list has a different story to tell. Some of them have higher yields than other similar crops. Others are tolerant of challenging environmental and weather conditions. Most contain significant quantities of critical nutrients.
The criteria of selection have been modelled after the Food and Agricultural Organization’s (FAO) definition of sustainable diets i.e. “those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while optimizing natural and human resources(2010, Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity).
The report highlights the global dependence on a limited range of foods that negatively impacts human and planetary health. 12 plant and 5 animal species are responsible for 75% of the global food supply. In the entire human diet, rice, wheat and maize comprise nearly 60% of the calories obtained from plants. This dietary monotony leads to an exclusion of multiple sources of valuable nutrition and while people might be consuming sufficient calories, they are definitely not consuming enough minerals and vitamins.
A major factor causing dietary monotony is the decline in agrobiodiversity, or the diversity of plants and animals that are used in agriculture, thereby increasing dependence on a limited pool of crop species. This has not only lessened the resilience of the food systems worldwide, but also the breadth of the food consumed. Moreover, vulnerabilities to diseases, pests and climate change have increased. Global trends are testimony to this.
For instance, since 1900, 75% of the genetic plant diversity in agriculture has been lost. Thailand used to cultivate 16,000 varieties of rice at one point, which has reduced to 37 varieties. In the last century, the United States has lost 80% of its pea, tomato and cabbage varieties. This can be attributed to commercial farming practices that are unsustainable in the long-run.
The reduction in crop diversity has led to a loss of food sovereignty and food security. Food sovereignty entails (i) the right of people to healthy and culturally appropriate food, which is produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods (ii) the right to define their own food and agricultural systems.
Intensive methods are used to farm a narrow range of crops. Monoculture farming entails the repeated harvesting of a single crop that depletes the soil of its nutrients, leaving it vulnerable to the build-up of pathogens and pests. These farming practices severely impact the planet’s fragile natural ecosystems. Food security is further threatened by an over-reliance on animal-based foods and inappropriate usage of fertilisers and pesticides, which leach into the water systems and damage wildlife.
Most species cannot thrive in such biologically degraded landscapes. 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to agriculture, of which 60% is caused by animal agriculture. The production of eggs, meat and dairy consumes more land and water, as compared to plant production. It also causes more pollution with the discharge of liquid waste into water bodies.
According to Peter Gregory, Research Advisor, Crops For the Future, “diversified diets not only improve human health but benefit the environment through diversified production systems that encourage wildlife and more sustainable use of resources.”
Image and information sourced from report.
India Outbound
March 1, 2019
