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Indian Resource Panel - I ndia is facing dynamic transformations due to fast economic growth characterised by rising population, rising industrial and service-related production, rising (average) incomes, increasing urbanisation levels and growing formation of the middle class. In India, the per capita materials consumption currently is one of the lowest in the world, but the absolute material consumption (which includes biomass, fossil fuel, minerals and metals) has increased sharply. With a growing demand, India has changed from being a net exporter to a net importer, with import growth dominated by fossil fuels and metals (UNIDO, 2011). India’s total material demand is estimated to increase from its current levels of 2 billion tonnes to more than 4 billion tonnes by 2030 with a GDP growth rate assumption of 8%. The demand for materials is estimated to further increase to almost 10 billion tonnes by 2050 as India’s GDP is expected to grow annually at a rate of 6% (GIZ,2015). With a growing economy, India is expected to have the world’s third largest consumer group by the year 2020, with a consumption share of 13%. Issues related to resource availability and their associated environmental and social impacts have already started to emerge in India. Sand mining is facing bans in several states of the country in view of rampant illegal extraction and huge environmental impacts associated with it. Soil is another resource that raises food security issues due to conflicts of its use in agriculture and brick production.After the Paris agreement in the year 2015, the world
has arrived at a critical decision-making juncture that will shape the
viability of current and future generations. The Sustainable Development
Goal number 12 to ‘ensure sustainable consumption and production
patterns’ clearly addresses resource efficiency and 13 of the 17 goals
refer to the need to manage natural resources sustainably. Countries
such as Germany and Sweden are pioneers in adopting resource efficiency.
Resource efficiency through material-efficient production processes has
so far not been adequately explored in India. Multiple initiatives have
been taken up by the Indian Government, selected private sector actors,
academia and civil society to promote sustainable resource use in India.
There is, however, still a need for policies that identify the
underlying potential for enhancing resource efficiency and promoting
secondary resource management across the multiple initiatives and
missions of the Government of India. The many initiatives, policies and
networks need to be strengthened and consolidated in order to make sure
that the Indian economy becomes economically, environmentally and
socially sustainable.
The Indian Resource Panel (InRP) was launched in November 2015 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF & CC). It is not only the country’s first but also the world’s first national resource panel. The overall objective of the InRP is to provide advise to the Government of India (GoI) regarding the design and implementation of a framework for the promotion of primary raw material productivity and secondary resource management. The Indian Resource Panel (InRP) shall support this consolidation, strengthening it and be one of the institutional mechanisms to highlight the main challenges with regard to resource use, suggest possible resource management options and take forward the need for a policy level intervention focusing on fostering resource efficiency and reuse of secondary raw materials by: • Agenda setting for overall legislative framework for secondary resource utilisation. • Providing recommendations to the Government of India (GoI) towards a legislative framework on resource efficiency. • Developing an action plan on sustainable secondary resource management and material resource efficiency for consideration by the GoI. • Functioning as the platform for the Indian resource transformation by initiating information campaigns and high-level conferences. Environment minister Mr. Prakash Javadekar acknowledged that it is an important and timely initiative, which shall prepare a strategic roadmap for utilisation of secondary resources for meeting the developmental needs (Source: PIB). Development Alternatives (DA) has been instrumental in the launch of the Indian Resource Panel. Dr Ashok Khosla, Chairman of Development Alternatives is one of the members of the 10 member panel. The panel includes esteemed members from the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF & CC), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Toxic Links and Environmental Management Centre (EMC). As a knowledge partner, DA will provide research and technical support to the panel. The research findings of Development Alternatives (DA) on C&D waste generation, processing and market evaluation of secondary raw materials using C&D waste will be disseminated to the members of the panel. DA will also provide inputs on policies on resource efficiency in the construction sector. q Vaibhav Rathi |
