Last week the Goa State Pollution Control Board hosted the 2nd International Environmental Sustainability Summit, on side lines of which was an impressive expo with the latest environmental technology and practices on display. National and international stakeholders of environmental protection were in attendance over the three days, and the venue was abuzz with phrases like ‘green technology’, ‘sustainability’, and ‘carbon neutral circular economy’.
The ‘suit-boot’ industry honchos, ‘somber faced’ bureaucrats, ‘we have a solution’ NGOs and ‘lost in thoughts’ academics were all there; besides a large contingent of in-house staff of GSPCB. Though Suresh Prabhu and our very own Saxtti Minister Aleixo Bab Sequeira graced the inaugural, the political class went missing all through using the excuse of the ongoing assembly session. However, there were two face savers, the video-recorded message of the union minister for environment and the eleventh-hour elevation of Barad, Chairman Gujarat State Pollution Control Board as the chief Guest for valedictory.
The essence and outcome of this summit proceedings should have been more for the decision makers in environmental governance, than anyone else. The whole thing felt like a plush wedding pandal packed with invitees, but the bride and the groom missing!
The chief of GSPCB, Chairman Mahesh Patil played a good host backed by his calm demeanoured Member Secretary Dr Shamila Monteiro and other staff. All in all, it was a great theme, a glamorous venue, and a carefully curated event to the credit of the state and its forward players who can earn a few more stripes on their coat.
But what was the takeaway? Were the attendees candid on their ‘soiled hands’ and role in accelerating the deterioration of environment? Did the industry admit to its collective ‘feet dragging’ on investment in pollution control technology? Did the statutory watch dogs confess to their failure in prosecuting the defaulters and environmental criminals? Did the executive powers feel guilty for looking away while the big players dirtied our air, water, and soil?
A thunderous applause after sermons by some retired corporate functionaries who spent their lifetime dodging the law and advising their operations department about enhancing profit margins at the cost of the earth, and now feigning ‘earth wisdom’, preaching ‘be kind to earth’ philosophy in their accented English, is no respite to the environment from assault of human greed. Words without intent and action are as empty as the Opa and Selaulim reservoirs in peak summer!
A few days before this summit, my ex-student, and incumbent scientist at the Pollution Control Board, Connie Fernandes called up with a request that I should script a Goa-centric article on environmental sustainability for the souvenir to be released on the occasion. I happily agreed with the condition that my script shall not be edited without consulting me. Perhaps as a gesture of reciprocation, a ‘special Invitee’ status was extended to me for the summit.
I chose to attend only the last technical session on ‘Biodiversity Conservation: An opportunity for business’. The panelists were erudite, experienced, and articulated their thoughts effectively. The discussion was moderated by Vivek Talwar, a transformative leader and sustainability consultant having had a long stint with TATA group. Each of the three speakers; Kedar Gore of The Corbett Foundation, Vishaish Uppal of WWF and Pradip Sarmokadam of Goa State Biodiversity Board were candid and knowledgeable.
Talwar exuded experience and was full of anecdotes to drive his point. His statement that “gloss on the company’s environmental audit reports is inversely proportionate to the actual effort at sustainability” was striking. Gore sounded fearful of the threat to some very critical habitats in India that are being sacrificed in the name of development and projects of national priorities. Vishaish emphasized the need to take the community along and incentivize their participation in environmental protection. Pradip came loaded with facts and figures on Goa’s biodiversity conservation initiatives and engagement with the community. The panelist agreed that the industry must move away from the culture of mere compliance to voluntary earth stewardship.
In fact, many agreed that falling in line with the sustainability prescription was never to be viewed just as a statutory diktat, that there are tangible benefits that the industry can accrue in the long run. One often hears this dismay from the industry that they are being unfairly labelled as the ‘bad boys’, an attribution earned due to the environmental cost incurred by the industry in their operations. By now it is amply clear that the industry admits to and owns their damage potential and the need to mitigate that risk.
In fact, it is heartening that their understanding of the environment is now inclusive of biodiversity, and not just focused on conventional air and water quality. That the plants and animals are living entities that fill some critical ecological niches necessary for our ecological integrity and security is the new ‘Gyan’ that has permeated through the layers of technocentrism, egotism and indispensability that insulated industry until recently.
‘Green belt’ plantations as a condition laid down in environmental clearances have become a convenient ‘greenwash’. The planted trees are neither endemic nor selected as per CPCB list that considers regional suitability. One cannot be planting pine trees in Goa and coconut palms in Himachal in fulfilment of green belt creation!
India has vast tracks of degraded forest lands desperate for restoration. As an offsite compensation initiative, industry can come forward to revert these biologically dead and ecologically defunct pockets to their pristine state as ‘rejuvenated sequestration sinks’, as also recreate lost habitat for many species currently displaced by habitat loss.
The success of this 2nd summit can only be measured by its influence on the industry stakeholders, in changing their perception of the earth simply as repository of raw material for their manufactured end products.
Of course, as I asked Talwar if he believes that political leadership too must demonstrate ecological prudence, there is a pressing need to instill ‘earth wisdom’ in our leaders.
