Rio,Johannesburg and beyond:India's progress in sustainable development

The decade following the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro in 1992 saw unprecedented economic growth that added US$10 trillion to the global economy. Yet, one person in six still lives on a dollar a day, carbon emissions have increased by 400 million tonnes and the extinction of large numbers of floral and faunal species remains a critical issue.

As a global society, we appear either overwhelmed by the enormities facing us or overly confident of a technological fix. The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg represents a rare chance to make rational choices about the sustainability issues facing our planet.

This book provides concerned citizens and national leaders with a comprehensive analysis of India's environmental problems, and with suggestions for practical, innovative solutions by a team of experts drawn from LEAD's India network. The analysis is clear and uncompromising. Agrarian women have become poorer in the ten years since Rio while environmental degradation has increased. Globalisation has clearly benefited the middle classes, but what of its impact on the poor? Can science and technology help foster sustainability and meet the needs of the poorest? Are intellectual property rights able to protect the kind of traditional and indigenous knowledge that underpins India?

The challenge lies in how to mainstream the lessons from the country's micro successes and macro failures. The writers argue that hope should not be lost and that the way forward is to build "a coalition for responsible frugality".