Sustainable Living in India (Blog 1- EES 360)

       At first glance India does not seem like a country that is particularly concerned with sustainability.  Trash is burnt on the side of the road as a form of waste disposal and open defecation is practiced nationwide.  Cows are allowed to roam the street, adding manure to the mix of empty containers, bottles, raw sewage, and papers that cover the streets of India.  The lack of a nation wide trash disposal program has led to pollution of the rivers and lakes when during the monsoon seasons and washes the trash into the water bodies.  Freshwater is already a diminishing resource, and now the fresh water that is available is being destroyed by improper waste dumping.  Proper trash disposal is not the only practice that is lacking as far as sustainable behavior.  Natural resources are also not well conserved.  Trees are often cut down for fuel and very little to no trees are replanted. 

There seems to be a lack of understanding among the “common man” of India towards sustainable behavior and the importance of conserving resources.  This may be due to various factors including lack of proper education, lack of resources, and an exploding population.  However, there is a countermovement occurring in India that is attempting to spread the message of the importance of managing resources better and living in a sustainable fashion. 

            One example of a place that is taking vast steps toward eco-friendly living is Auroville.  Auroville is a city located outside of the union territory Pondicherry.  The Auroville Earth Institute in particular is concerned with environmental issues.  The Institute was founded 20 years ago in order to focus on how to sustainably use the earth to build houses and buildings.  Mainly using compressed soil the Earth Institute makes bricks and with a staff of seven people they can produce up to 1,000 bricks a day.

The picture below depicts the Matrimandir Construction were citizens of Auroville can go and meditate and reflect on their position in nature.

Matrimandir Construction

            Auroville is a self containing and fairly self sufficient city and was built on the idea of living in harmony with nature.  However, other sustainable projects can be found throughout the nation as well.  One of the major programs that I have noticed throughout the nation is the extra charge that is placed on plastic bags.  The extra charge is rather insignificant to tourists such as me; however, to the average family in India the charge may be rather significant.  Therefore, the extra charge encourages families to bring their own reusable bag rather than getting a plastic bag and either burning it, throwing it into the streets or into the water bodies. 

            Pondicherry in particular has been successful in implementing sustainable programs throughout the territory.  There are signs throughout the area that promote throwing trash away in dumpsters.  Not only are there signs encouraging the people to throw their trash away but the government also provides a lot of dumpsters throughout the city for people to use.  It seems like the government has been rather successful because upon arrival in Pondicherry it was immediately evident to me that there was less trash alongside of the road and lining the beach.  There was still some trash here and there but the difference between Pondicherry and Tambaram was striking.  While it seems like it is nearly impossible to find a dumpster in Tambaram, there were trash cans lining the boardwalk along the beach.  I was rather encouraged by the fact that not only was the government taking initiatives to reduce the amount of trash that may end up polluting the waters and land, but the people were actually using the trash cans.  This makes me wonder as to why these types of programs have not been initiated on a wider level.  The picture below shows me on the Bay of Bengal coastline in Pondicherry.

Bay of Bengal in Pondicherry

      Even tourists are included in the stride towards more sustainable living.  Many of the resorts in India have

begun to take on an “eco-tourism” aspect.  The first eco-resort that we stayed at was the Dunes Eco Resort.  This resort was very much in harmony with nature and attempted to reduce the impact on the environment.  According to the Dunes website (www.thedunehotel.com) they partially built their facilities using reclaimed building material from old colonial houses, palaces, and mansions.  They also have a solar hot water system, use low consumption bulbs, and have their own waste water treatment plant.  The second eco-friendly resort that we went to was the Ideal River Resort in Tanjore.  They also used a solar water heating system. The picture below is of the Dunes Eco Resort.



            One speaker that we had at Madras Christian College spoke on the importance of sustainable eco-tourism in India.  The speaker defined eco-tourism as “environmentally responsible tourism involving travel and visitation to protected areas with the objective of enjoying and admiring, studying, the scenery, wild plants and animals, and cultural heritage through a process that promotes conservation, low impact on the environment and provides ecologically sound livelihood for local human communities.  Eco-tourism seems to me to be the most promising industries that various states throughout India could invest in and not worry about the environmental implications.  India certainly has a ways to go to establish a wider culture of sustainable living.  However, there are numerous groups and programs that have been and are in the process of being designed to ensure India’s continuous growth and success.