Cfzapter-1

fJJie Study: Issues aruf Perspectives

CHAPTER-I

THE STUDY: ISSUES AND PERSPECTIVES

Introduction

"In the midst of this darkness. there is a ray of hope ... the people's movements, challenging the policies of the establishment. Tl1ey are expressing the will of the people by demonstrating the people's power on the ground, rather than through intellectual exercises in seminars. Tl1ey are aimed against aggression and at self­protection. The aggression is of the development projects both of centralized planning, aimed at benefiting the affluent and the regions ..... the marginalized people kept the soul of democracy-the community spirit-alive and are the last living representatives of partir::ipat01y democracy".

Sunder/a/ Bahuguna

"/ say that those who eat shrimp - and only the rich people from the industrialized countries eat shrimp- I say that they are eating at the same time the hlood, sweat and livelihood of the poor people of the Third World.

Banka Behaty Das, Activist ofCBA, (quoted in Stonich 1998).

A senous debate over development and environment ts gomg on m

sociological circles. This debate has emerged from potential issues particularly due to

the new emphasis on nature-society relations in the context of concerns over the

growing polarity of world income. It is an accepted fact that the proliferation of

environmental concerns linked to questions and issues of development has profound

theoretical and practical implications. One is that the politics of the environment has

embraced a wide terrain including not just new social movements, but transnational

environmental alliances and networks and a sensitivity to a panoply of local conflicts

and resistances. Another is that theories about development and environment- socio­

political ecology in its various guises- have been pushed and extended by the realities

of the new social movements.

The introduction is structured around two broad themes which link the issues

of dnelopment and environment. The first is the 'political ecology' which

encompasses the constantly shifting dialectic between society and land-based

resources. This leads to a discussion of how political ecology may be extended

through post-structural critiques of Western reason and discourse theory. The second

is the environmental politics and specifically ideas on social movements and other

political forms which are struggles for livelihood and simultaneously are ecological in

nature since they express objectives in terms of ecological requirements for life.

It must be noted that the intellectual firmamt!nt of the last thirty-five years is

markedly different from that of the first environmental wave of the 1960s which was

dominated by Darwinian or Malthusian thinking. Perhaps, the most important line of

recent social scientific thinking about 'environment' and 'development' is 'political

ecology". The term can be traced with some certainty to the 1970s when it emerged as

a response to the theoretical need to integrate land use practice with local-global

political economy and as a reaction to the growing politicization of the environment.

Subsequently taken up by anthropologists, sociologists and historians, it is perhaps

most closely associated with Blaikie (1985) and Blaikie and Brookfield (1987)

(quoted in Peet and Watts 1996: 4). In their view, political ecology combines the

concerns of ecology with "a broadly defined political economy". Accordingly

environmental problems in the Third World are less a problem of poor management,

over population or ignorance as of social action and political-economic constraints.

Standing at the centre of this argument is the argument of recent sociologists focusing

on "land manager" whose relationship to nature must be considered in a "'social,

historical, political and economic context".

While all such arguments are put forward, the focus of logic goes towards a

complex association of political ecology with the institution of civil society. The

growth of various environmental movements which have occurred during the last two

to three decades are devoid of suppression by the state. It is observed that efforts at

integrating political action - whether everyday resistance, civic movements, organized

political action- have proven fruitful. But what are the spaces within which these

movements develop and how do they articulate with other r:>rganizations and resist the

predations of the state remains to be studied.

The interaction between 'development' and 'environment' is often aluded to

have found its expression in the environmental movements ofThird World, especially

in India. Environmental movements as a kind of nco-social movements have been a

2

powerful environmental movement has emerged in recent years. Chilika Lake, situated

in the eastern coastal state of Orissa in India, is the largest brackish water Lake of

Asia. Its natural ecosystem is unique. Because of its unique biodiversity and

socioeconomic importance, Chilika Lake was designed as a Ramsar site in 1981 under

the convention of Wetlands of International Importance (Chilika: A Living Lagoon

2003). However, today Chilika Lake is facing the environmental dangers of rapid

siltation, decreasing salinity of Lake water, gradual lowering of depth of water and

infestation of weeds.

Human activities in and around the Lake have accelerated the environmental

dangers to the Lake. Industries have grown around the western part of the Lake. A

caustic alkali industry discharging its affluents directly into the. Lake is causing

problems of mercury accumulation in the Lake ecosystem (Varshney 1992: 45). Waste

products and water from various industries, oil from the bilge water of the naval cadet

training ships and power driven boats are disch~rged into the Lake. Fertilizers used in

the agricultural fields nearby also find their way to the Lake during the rainy season.

Apart from the industrial and agricultural effluents, the catchment area, whose water

drain into Chilika has suffered badly from deforestation. This has laid to soil erosion

and silting of the Lake. The problem is aggravated by the ongoing expansion of prawn

culture bandhas (embankments) in the Lake (Bogaert 1992: 1).

Liberalization and consequent devaluation of Indian rupee m 1991 and

continuing depreciation of rupee till today further increased -the export potential and

earnings from it in the home currency. In 199 I, lease policy adopted by the state

government of Orissa gave a boost to both legal and illegal shrimp culture in and

around Chilika. As a consequence prawn aquaculture attempted by Tatas and other

influential groups of the state threatened the Lake's ecological balance. The Tata

project has amplified the problems that were inherent in the Lake. The process of

intensive prawn aquaculture, a model of production that has proliferated in recent

years, has caused serious damage to the Lake. According to R.N.Das, a senior scientist

in the state environment department,

"People have realized that indiscriminate prawn farming and siltation have greatly reduced the life of the Lake" ( Shankar 1992:29).

4

However, the process of development undertaken by the state of Orissa,

motivated by a keen desire to earn dollars, has ignored not only the environmental

dangers to the Lake but also the socio-economic condition of the traditional fisher-folk

living in harmony with nature. Intensive prawn aquaculture (though semi-intensive in

nature 1, (a detailed account of the semi-intensive practice of shrimp culture in Chilika

will be discussed in Chapter four while describing the techniques of shrimp

cultivation) has not only threatened the existence of the Lake but also adversely

affected the large number of poor fishing people living sustainably on the Lake.

Overexploitation of fishery sources, shrinkage of capture fishing potential, large scale

conversion of leased out fishing sources into shrimp culture gheries (bamboo

embankments), large scale encroachment are a part of this intensive shrimp culture. It

has been alleged that the intensive shrimp culture gheries have created a lot of

problems for the Lake environment. The blockage in the water channels and creeks

inside Lake Chilika, fall in the salinity and depth of water in the Lake, increasing

emergence of landmass, degradation of the eco-system and environment of the Lake

etc. are the major ecological problems that the Lake is facing now-a-days. We have

been witnessing a very powerful people's movement in the region, which has not only

transcended regional botmdaries but also national boundaries; during the last few years

against the environment degradation of the Lake. While the movement is going on

powerfully, we are also witnessing violent clashes between the local inhabitants and

other business groups sometimes erupting into bloody fights and even deaths. In spite

of various laws and state machineries the bloody clashes have not been completely

suppressed. Does the state really play any role in solving the problems among the

various groups who are trying to control the Lake resources? The Lake is socially

suffering when different class interests are going on to control the Lake. Moreover, the

Lake environment is also witnessing new trends. Different classes of people (both high

and low) have entered into the profession of fishing (prawn aquaculture), which was

Shrimp culture in shrimp ponds near the shore of Chilika is similar to Semi-intensive culture whose characteristics arc: (i) 0.25 to 1.0 hectare size of ponds; (ii) elevated ground with supply and drainage canals; (iii) pond preparation methods carefully followed; (iv) regular and periodic water exchange; (v) generally imported feed; (vi) application of drugs and chemicals when need arises; (vii) regular monitoring and management; (viii) others. (Sarna) 2002: 1718).

5

generally considered a low profession by high caste people. Thus it will be very

important in this study to search the answers for different questions like:

i) Who controls the resources ofChilika?

ii) Is it the local inhabitants or different business groups who have

developed shrimp aquaculture in the area?

iii) Is it the government machinery or any other machinery which is

controlling the local resources?

iv) Does the government of the state or even of the union play any role in

controlling the resources of the Lake, which is environmentally

important even for the whole world?

v) Who are the different class of people engaged in fishing in Chilika

Lake and what is their social class structure?

The Present Study:

The study is an attempt in providing a rational understanding of the Chilika's

people's movement against the forces of development and shrimp farm project in the

context of the present scenario of LPG paradigm (Liberalization-Privatization­

Globalization). The study promises an analysis of the new profile of state, market,

community and mass mobilization interrelations. The study is an investigation of the

linkage of this powerful environmental movement with transnational groups, if any, its

mode of operation and its degree of future success and finally its impact on the society

as a whole.

The Aims and Objectives of the Study:

The study focuses on the following aspects and objectives:

1. To enquire about the necessity of adoption of a developmental/globalized

scheme of economy in the context of shrimp aquaculture in India with specific

reference to Chilika.

2. To find out the pattern of relationship between the community of local people

with nature in the framework of sustainable development.

6

3. To find out the utility of such development projects for the

underdeveloped/marginalized class in a developing/ under-developed country

and also the real beneficiaries of such projects.

4. To analyze the socio-economic and environmental impact of the policy of

development as adopted by India and followed by the state of Orissa through

lease policies in Lake Chilika.

5. To find out the different factors of local resistance by the 'ecological people'2

against such development projects and also the state policy.

6. To examine the goals, target groups, leadership pattern and different actors

involved in the movement.

7. To find out possible alternatives, if any, by such a sociological study.

Development in a Global Perspective and Ecological Crisis

The genealogy of development is a very complex phenomenon. There are

various schools of thought regarding this genealogy. One school emphasizes that

'development' came into the English language in the eighteenth century with its root

sense of unfolding. It was granted a new lease of life by the evolutionary ideas of the

nineteenth century. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was possible to talk of

societies in a state of' frozen development' (Peet a.nd Watts 1995: 19). There is another

school of thought to the genealogy which is traced by Cowen and Shenton to

eighteenth and nineteenth century notions of progress and specifically to developm~nt

as a sort of theological discourse set against the disorder and dis-junctures of

capitalist growth. However, there is a more modem sense in which Third World

development as state and multilateral policy harnessed to the tasks of championing

economic growth, improving welfare and producing governable subjects is of more

recent provenance (Sachs 1992). These origins of development and practice as an

academic and governmental enterprise are inseparable from the process by which the

colonial world was reconfigured into a developing world in the aftermath of the

Second World War.

It refers to those traditional local people who depend upon the Lake for their sustenance and also protect the Lake from misuse and environmental hazards.

7

'Development', as a buzz word of the twenty first century means 'economic

development'. It is a transnational project which has been designed to integrate the

world. It is intended to see this integration of global village project, which is currently

undergoing dramatic re-vision through economic globalization. 'Development' as a

concept has many connotations- it is about people, about enhancing their ability and

power to direct their own lives, in the context of their environment, history and

aspirations for the future. Development is not about catching up with other people. But

it is about an enlarged range and quality of choices, of lifestyles, of occupations. The

process of development involves structural transformations in the organization of

society and the economy (Krishna 1996:8).

The most appropriate definition, typical of all contemporary discourses on

development is given by Ridell. He says:

"Change in favour of general human improvement and change of two kinds usually linked: expansion in consumption and enhancement of welfare" (Rid ell 1981: 4 ).

This development model is based on the assumption that techno-economic

growth is the universal panacea for every crisis that hits mankind. It will eradicate

poverty, ill-health and associated human miseries and will lead to general human

welfare. Economic growth, productivity and consumerism thus gain prime importance

in a country's planning as indicators of development (Mohanty. unpublished Thesis).

Development, according to McMichael, 'is a way of organizing or motivating

societies to change' (McMichael 1999: 15). As a concept it evolved in the West to

integrate the whole world. According to some contemporary critics, development is a

totalizing and hegemonic discourse that perpetuates social and economic inequalities

between the rich and poor regions and social groups (see Escobar 1995, Mies and

Shiva 1993, Shiva 1988). Development, as one such critic says:

"has to be seen as an invention and strategy produced by the "First World" about the" underdevelopment" of the "Third World", and not only as an instrument of economic control over the physical reality of much of Asia, Africa, Latin America. Development has been the primary mechanism through which these parts of the world have been produced and have produced themselves, thus marginalizing or precluding other ways of seeing or doing" ( Escobar 1992, quoted in H.Rangan 1996: 207).

8

However, this argument regarding development is problematic. Rather, the

very fact that the term ' development' has a complex geneology encompassing a

diversity of meanings indicates that it is as dynamic as life's processes--coming into

being as an idea, changing over time, diversifying into meaning, becoming a contested

terrain, diffusing through translation and re-emerging in different forms in different

regions. Development is a dynamic process that involves states, markets and civil

societies to varying degrees in actively reshaping social relations and institutions

(Rangan I996: 207).

In the I990s, the disappearance of the belief in progress was translated into the

growth of, on the one hand, various versions of post-modern ( non) development

thinking, and on the other hand, of the idea of the global risk society ( Schuurman

200 I :6). An early version of post-modern, in fact, anti-modernist ( non) development

thinking was introduced by Wolfgong Sachs (1992),

"....... Development talk still pervades not only official declarations but even the language of grassroots movements. It is time to dismantle this mental structure" (Sachs 1992: I).

Later version of post-modem thinking also reflected similar anti-modernist

ideas (see Escobar 1995), relegating progress and development to the dustbin of 20th

century concepts better left behind before entering the third millennium. However,

writes Schuurman (200I) that, the western notion of progress would only caus·e

environmental pollution because it means industrialization. It would sever indigenous

peoples from their cultural roots and expose them as helpless victims to a global,

exploitative capitalism that through manipulation in the media urged them to consume

the wrong thongs for the wrong reasons with money they don't have.

However, the post-modernism enjoyed its hegemonic popularity for a

relatively short time because of the appearance of that other fin-de-siecle concept -­

globalization (Schuurman 200 I: 8). Globalization further changed all that... by

describing this Schuurman goes on to highlight that when globalization indicates a

new historical period, then he clarifies if there ever was anything like globalization,

then that is already over because we have now entered a period of increasing

9

fragmentation and de-globalization. Globalization contributed to new forms of

inequality and new forms of resistance. However, it is inequality, as such, which

should constitute the main focus within the explanandum of development strategies.

Like the development project, writes McMichael ( 1996), the globalization project is an

attempt to fashion the world around a central principle through powerful political and

financial institutions. Because the principle is framed in the liberal discourse of rights

and freedom, its power ultimately depends on consent.

Thus, the debate on the terms of this development debate cannot be adequately

understood or resolved without a global perspective. Without a global perspective,

therefore, we cannot understand the developmental processes of either constructing

markets or establishing a productive military- industrial power base for nations.

Furthermore, where as the development project emphasized the national market, the

globalization project emphasizes development through global markets. But when

global markets are so volatile and unevenly structured, there are no guarantee of

success. As shown most clearly in the poor regions of the world, finding a niche in the

global market place through specialization often results in the " export trap",

exacerbated by First World protectionism and leading, in the case of Africa, to a

process of economic liberalization 3•

Vandana Shiva sees globalization as a concept "put in place through control,

but producing systems out of control", because of the dismantling of the regulatory

capacity of nations and the disruption of societal and ecological process4• She

specifically points to institutions and forces such as IMF (International Monetary

Fund) and the World Bank, multinational corporations such as Monsanto and

W.R.Grace and within nations, the centralization of power away from local

constituencies.

Therefore, we see that development stemmed in a historical context in which

the west offered a model for the future economic growth through the global market

place. The global market place is a tapestry of commodity exchanges that bind

producers and consumers across the world. The development, in recent years

ibid: I 59

A'ailablc at: file:/ lA:/ vandana shiva on violence of globalization.htm.

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economic globalization, has been a linkage of human development to national

economic growth.

The emphasis on economic growth allowed the application of universal

standard to national development. Global economic integration played substantial role

in the deveiopment process. The development process had offered universal blue

prints for national economic development all over the world. Technologies and

infrastructural programmes were the universal hardware of this process and

modernization was a universal ideal. In recent years the new concept of development

is 'globalization'. However, the focus of both development . and globalization is to

develop the global economy. Both these concepts of' development' and 'globalization'

has given rise to a new concept called the 'substantial development' which is used by

grassroots movements now-a-days. It is important to note here that the concept of

development or globalization focuses on market liberalization: Thus national

economies were opened up to global forces and were increasingly globalized. National

governments embraced global rather than national criteria of economic growth. Thus it

entered into a very critical phase. Whereas it meant development for the western

countries its nature differed in the case of the third world countries where the society

and culture are highly heterogeneous. There has been growing reaction from the third

world countries to this concept and theory. Most of the third world countries joined the

development project pursuing a strategy of national economic growth. The pursuit of

national economic growth required international supports through international trade,

foreign and technology imports etc. Most of the third world countries adapted this

development because they thought it was a key to raising living standards. From an

international stand point the development project involved the reconstructing of the

world economy along particular lines. The prescription was that the third world

country should follow other countries pursuing a strategy of export oriented

industrializatio'1, globalization etc. Unfortunately this created problems for the third

world countries because these countries were not achieving the rising living standards

promised by the strategy of development. Although there has been a rapid economic

growth in these countries still it has not benefited the majority of the population. The

very idea of aggregate growth as social objective is increasingly being challenged by

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about the spectacular economic growth in the industrialized, developed countries.

There has been a growing consensus that this growth is attributable to the 'cost'

imposed on the environment through the depletion of non-renewable natural resources

and damage to the physical environment. And, in the case of India, it is always seen

that the relationship between economic development and conflicts over the use of

natural resources, in tum, cause ecological movements.

In India, however, conflicts generated by the colonial modes of the natural

resource exploitation which, could not, grow, however, with a local identity. With the

collapse of colonial rule internationally, and the emergence of sovereign independent

countries in the Third World like India, resolution of these conflicts at the local level

became a difficult possibility. While political independence vested the control over

natural resources with the Indian state, the colonial institutional framework for natural

resource management did not change iri essence (Shiva 1991). Where colonialism

collapsed, the slogan of economic development stepped in. There was unfortunately

no alternative institutional mechanism other than that of the classical model of

development left by the British, with which the newly formed Indian state could

respond to the accentuated aspirations of the Indian people for a better life. No serious

thought was given to the fact that the historical specificity of early industrial

development in Western Europe necessitated the permanent occupation of the colonies

and the undermining of the local 'natural economy'. This inexorable logic of resources

exploitation, exhaustion and alienation integral to the classic model of economic

development based on resource-intensive technologies led Gandhi to seek an alternate

path of development for India when he wrote:

"God forbid that India should ever take to industrialism after the manner of the west. The economic imperialism of a single tiny island kingdom (England) is today keeping the world in Chains. If an entire nation of 300 million took to similar economic exploitation, it would strip the world bare like locusts" (original version of Gandhi in his journal; Young India, 20. December 1928, Gandhi 1951 :31)

While Gandhi's critique was a forewarning against the problems likely to arise

by following the classical path of resource intensive development, at the time of

India's independence, there was no clear and comprehensive work plan to realize the

13

allowed coastal people to exercise their traditional rights. (Stanich 1998: 5-6). It is no

wonder then that India has become a land of conflicts directly or indirectly triggered

by the abuse of natural resources to benefit a tiny elite.

Development and Environmental Crisis: Controversies between the North atJd the

South

'Environment' has been defined as 'the sum total of all conditions and

influences that effect the development and life of organisms' (Doria 1990:3).The

relationship between development and the environment is the crux of the

environmental debate in India for the last a quarter century. The environment provides

the resource base for development. But how people use (or abuse) these resources

depends on their technological capacities, on the social structure which governs their

relationships and on their world-views (Krishna 1996:8). Thus the controversy lies on

the fact: Why has environmentalism in India not had a greater and significant impact

on development policy, strategy and lives of human beings? This controversy, though

has been attempted by various scholars from various fields, my purpose of the present

study is different. It aims to look into these concerns from a socio-economic and

environmental perspective in more detailed form vis-a-vis the development­

environment dichotomy of the West. In other words, an attempt has been made here to

explore an understanding of environmental approaches and developmental issues and

their co-relations in a Third World society like India.

Both the capitalist and socialist countries follow the same model of

development with little variance. In capitalist countries market is the chief allocation

of resources, where as in socialist countries central planning assumes that role.

However, both consider industrial growth, increased production and consumption,

progress in science and technology as the index of development. The increased

material prosperity is to be achieved by conquering the forces of nature with the help

of science and technology.

The historical notes of this process of development can be traced back to the

Industrial Revolution that began in the 18th century in Western Europe. The new

inventions in the field of science and technology gave man a better understanding of

15

the world of nature and helped him in utilizing this knowledge to further his material

needs. Along with the Industrial Revolution, there was a Revolution in the field of

agriculture too. New farm technologies were used for the increased production of food

on the one hand and cash. crops for the market, and raw material for the industries on

the other. The process to put 'nature' in commercial use thus started to begin.

The developed countries of the West or the so-called 'North' which have

become industrialized over a period of time, the environmental concerns center around

problems like pollution, contamination from toxic substances, misutilization of

chemicals, acid rain and depletion of the ozone layer etc (quoted in Mohanty:

unpublished thesis). Moreover, global warming has threatened to bring about wildly

fluctuating climatic conditions and the gradual submersion of Bangladesh into the Sea.

Ozone depletion has already sharply increased rates of skin cancer and cataracts,

especially in the Southern hemisphere (Gore 1992: 85). These problems together with

the clouds of acid rain that drift in defiance of international borders have driven home

to the West that environmental concerns need to be universalized. The futures of

North and South are therefore inextricably linked (Baviskar 1995:24). To proceed

further, transcendentalist writers in the North America such as Thorean, Whiteman

and Emerson preached the notion: of a bioethic, a sense of responsibility for the earth

and a plea for a basic ecological understanding before tampering with its resources

(quoted in Michael 1984:40). They sought the defence of nature, particularly

wilderness from the ravages of civilization.

The German Economist Schumacher believed that the 'economic expansion

which is the common ideology of all mankind today' has legitimized the rapacious

exploitation of non-renewable resources such as coal and oil. Writing in 1954, he said,

"We forget that we are living off capital in the most fundamental Meaning of the World, (again adding) Mankind has existed for many thousand of years and has always lived off income. Only in the last hundred years has man forcibly broken into nature's larder and is now emptying it out at a breathtaking speed which increases from year to year" (quoted in Guha 2000: 67).

Moreover, Lewis Mumford, the American historian (1895-1986) and the most

outstanding disciples of Patrick Geddes (Scottish environmentalist), was more

16

concerned with the instruments by which nature was being ravaged. Writing in 1955

he warned that,

"The awful ommsctence and the omnipotence of our science and technology might tum out to be more self-destructive than ignorance and impotence"5

•

Geddes deplored the rule of 'power, prestige and profit', insisting that 'only

when love takes the lead will the earth, and life on earth, be safe again.

What do all these issues suggest while talking about development/

globalization interlinkage with environment? Why industrialization, urbanization, the

liberalization of trade and free market globalization model failed to improve the lives

of the poor? These issues can be understood by examining the process of globalization

and development model and its impact on the environment both in developed and

developing countries.

The anti-free market lohby, according to Salih (2001), including

environmentalists, argue that trade liberalization is harmful to the environment

because it puts more emphasis on growth and development at the expense of global

environmental protection. They also argue for greater decentralization of economic

and political activities to empower people and enable them to care for their local

environments. Trade liberalization without proper environmental protection policies,

legal instruments and economic incentives (or liabilities) often results in land

degradation and environmental disastrous in the marginal and fragile global commons.

Other aspects of global trade and the environment are articulated by Junior and

Wellford ( 1997: 138) who argue that trade and economic globalization have greatly

expanded the opportunities for the rich to pass on their environmental burdens to the

poor by exporting both waste and polluting factories. Trade has a secondary impact on

issues of equity as it results in impacts ( positive or negative ) on poverty, health,

employment, human rights, democracy, labour laws and self determination. Quotes

Eckersley,

"One obvious objection to free market environmentalism is that full­scale privatization of the commons is not possible. After all, many environmental assets ( eg., clear air) are public goods, which by

ibid: 67

17

definition are not amenable to being captured, commodified and bought and sold ( i.e., they are non-excludable and able to withstand non-rival consumption" (Eckersley 1995, quoted in Salih 2001: 124).

Therefore, it could be highlighted that the process of globalization,

liberalization and the policy of development in developing societies and the

accompanying forces of market economy have given rise to questions of far reaching

consequences. The questions relate not only to the security, welfare and development

but also to the very existence of larger mass in general and lower class in particular in

these developing societies. Under the new market ideology with globalization,

competitiveness and liberalization being the popular catchwords, the economic growth

alone cannot solve the problem of poverty and backwardness of these developing

societies. Rather, it ignores many social concepts such as equality and distributive

justice, women rights, empowerment of the disadvantaged etc (Singh 1989: 367).

In this context, it should be noted that the development goals of the developed

countries are achieved by depleting the natural resource base of the poor countries

which are their suppliers of raw materials. Hence, it is argued that, the

environmentalism that has emerged in the developed, industrial countries has the

characteristics that cannot be extended to the Third World countries and might be

considered ethnocentric (Michael 1984:45). So, the developing countries which have

imported the western modei of development with its associated technologies and

which bear the burden of development of their ' role models', as well as their own,

have more serious problems that centre around the misutilization of the natural

resource base such as land, water and forest and the resultant growth in poverty and

ill-health. The developing countries are compelled to devastate their natural resources

to meet the demands of the developed countries as well as their own internal demands.

It is an irony, for example, that Switzerland has its own forests, but for coffins, they

import wood from Africa. This exploitation is also echoed within the developing

countries themselves (Mohanty 1998:81 ). Moreover, in the developed countries the

lower priority needs, such as freedom from pollution assume importance because

higher priority needs such as housing and food, have already been satisfied for

majority groups. But, when the contrast is found in the developing countries, i.e., the

18

higher priority needs retain their priority, there, then constitutes the battleground for

environmental politics. In these countries, though they have achieved a significant

degree of industrial growth, there is found abundant evidence that environmental

activity follows class lines and dictated by the participation of different groups in the

country's development model (Redcliff 1984: 17).

While environment and development look mutually so intimate in the West,

they look inimical to each other in the Third World. Thus a great deal of thinking and

re-thinking about environment versus development or vice versa in the academic circle

of the Third World has been articulated as the existing pattern of interaction between

society and environment. While both environment and development are solicited for a

better life, their antagonistic problems threaten not only the very society but also the

environment. It is an accepted fact that ecological damage and cultural destruction are

central to contemporary change and iri extreme cases, alongside militarization, they

threaten the very foundation of life, of people and of planet (Sethi 1993: 122). While

various factors are there which may cause such ecological damages, ironically the role

of development has been· accused as a major factor that has contributed to such

damages in countries of Third World like India.

The Third· World countries follow the western model of development and

implement the associated technologies, sometimes out of their own wish and

sometimes due to the pressure from the global market economy of which these

countries are vulnerable members. The experiences of these countries show that the

fruits of development have not 'trickled down' to the masses. The benefits of

development have gone to the privileged few, where as the environmental

consequences of this resource intensive development process are shared by the

dispossessed masses. Our late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi also clarified that; growth

cannot be true development if it entails environmental degradation (Singh 1988:4).

Moreover, Prime Minister late, Indira Gandhi also once said 'Poverty is the worst

polluter' in 1972 United Nation's Stockholm conference on environment. By

expressing the sentiments the leaders of many developing countries, Mrs. Indira

Gandhi said that, "how can we speak to those who love in the villages and in the slums

about keeping the oceans, rivers and the air clean when their own lives are

19

contaminated? Are not the poverty of the poor and the greed of the rich the greatest

polluter"6? Further, the Stockholm Conference of 1972 on human environment in one

of its declaration made the proclamation that "in the developing countries the

environmental problems are caused by underdevelopment, where as in the developed

countries, these problems are due to disregard for sustainable development". It again

adds, "for the purpose of attaining freedom in the world of nature, man must use

knowledge to build, in collaboration with nature, a better environment"7•

Since, the environmental movement is the result of three important instruments

created by the United Nations, it would be important to discuss two other instruments

apart from the Stockholm Declaration of 1972. Those are the World Charter for

Nature of 1982 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development of 1992.

'l11e World Charter for Nature, 1982.

The World Charter for Nature, 1982 was a Declaration of the General

Assembly of the United Nations to reaffirm that " Mankind is a part of nature and life

depends on the un-interrupted functioning of natural systems which ensure the supply

of energy and nutrients" (Bhatt 2004:39). The charter demanded certain functions

from mankind, i.e., the proper functioning of natural systems, conservation of nature,

long-term planning for economic development, control of population and maintaining

biological productivity.

Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992

The Rio Declaration is a step towards sustainable economic development and

emphasizes that economic pursuits should be environmentally sound. It calls for

"establishing a new and equitable global partnership through creations of new levels

of co-operation among states, key sectors of societies and people"8. It calls upon states

to work "towards international agreements which respect the interests of all and

protect the integrity of the global environmental and developmental system".

Quoted in Lodha and Lodha, 1991: 33.

For more details about other proclamations see Bhatt, 2004 34-43.

ibid; 41.

20

Thus, through these instruments the United Nations has responded with extra­

ordinary vision to help and guide mankind for future life and to protect the global

environment as well as move forward with economic development in harmony with

nature. Because, man is a part of nature and there should be a durable equilibrium

between the two and the symbiosis between the two should not be in disarray.

In the light of the above discussions our next unit is focused in examining the

essence of man-environment interrelationship and the intricate relationship of

communities with their local environments or natural habitats.

Interrelationship between People and the Environment

Lewis Thomas, a biologist says, "Man is embedded in nature" and all human ·

beings are indispensable elements of natural environment (Thomas 1974: 1 ). Peter

Dickens, in 1992, dismissed about society and nature and build his analysis upon

Marx's dialectical method for an understanding of environmental issues. He asserted ~s~> f'-0 \\'.; .. ;:_:.,~/1

that, "nature is integral to people's bodies. There is therefore, no logical way in which //_!i")( ~ ~ nature can be as separate from people ... ". !( m \ .. ~:

\\$" .. ; /c Nature is socially constructed. It is always modified by people. And, in the \_(.~~·"-:· ·-:-· .... ·§

~-~:~:~~;; process of changing nature, people change themselves ... (quoted in Irwin 2001: 19).

More so, Radhakamal Mukheijee has developed the significance of man and

region inter-relationship in his work ' Regional Sociology' by drawing the conception

that man and the region are not separate but mutually inter-dependent entities (see

Guha 1994: 230). The human-nature or man and the environment interactions, in more

impressive way, has been vited in Mukheijee's emphasis that the relationship between

nature and culture is both interactive and dynamic, with humans trying to mould the

environment to their own ends, but always having to work within the limits set by

nature. Another illustration of ecological approach to culture and human beings have

been illustrated in Rappaport's writing. He says people see nature through 'a screen

composed of beliefs, knowledge and purposes', and they act ' in terms of their cultural

images of nature' (see Rappaport 1971, 246-47). These images are always simpler

than the complex and subtle structure of nature ... These connotations of people, nature

and culture interactions have been carried over in the sociological literature, especially

21

THESIS 338.95413 P276 De

Ill II II/IIIII II Ill 111111/llll/l TH13304

m 'Environmental Sociology' as very much implicit and interrelated. Especially in

Asia, this relationship has been found to be deep rooted. In most of the traditional

Asian cultures, we find diverse characteristics like self-imposed restrictions on

resource use, demarcation of sanctuaries (forests, rivers and sea territories),

classification of certain animals as sacred (said to be parts of environmentally

conscious religion) and a lifestyle void of wasteful exploitation of the environment -

these serve as examples of an alleged symbiotic relation between man and nature in

oriental cultures (Kalland and Persoon 1998).

India being one of the distinguished countries m the line of having vast

ccologil:al and cultural diversity, there lies a number of studies on the reciprocal

relations of the natural environment and human, economic, social and religious life.

Studies have shown that people in India are typically portrayed as living in harmony

with nature. Respect for nature has undoubtedly been part of many Indian cultures, an

attitude that is frequently expressed in religious idiom. Beliefs and taboos put

restrictions on resource exploitation when certain species of animals and plants, as

well as localities, are regarded as sacred and singled out for special protection.

Vandana Shiva (1991) uses Tagore's statement while narrating about the symbiotic

relationship between forest-dwellers and their· environment by saying that forests have

nurtured India's mind and civilization', she goes on to argue that Indian civilization

has evolved in the forests and not in the cities, and that the intellectual achievements

of the forest ashrams (hermitages) were recognized as the 'highest form of cultural

evolution', becoming the foundation of 'forest conservation as a social ethic' (also

quoted in Krishna 1996: 93). Thus, some of the ascetic ways oflife based on elaborate

religious system with traditional ways of life are found in Indian societies and they are

allegedly closely connected with the high degree of sensitivity towards nature (for

example Buddhism, Hinduism).

Among various studies on nature, culture. interaction Gadgil and Malhotra in

their essay "the ecological significance of caste" have proposed an alternate,

ecological explanation for the stability of the caste system. Their studies are based

upon field data from peninsular India, in that they have tried to show how different

endogamous groups or jatis living in the same region had so organized about their use

22

of natural resources that they were able to minimize intercaste competition (see Guha

1994: 27-41). The interpretation of nature, culture and community are also best

illustrated in Michael Dove's essay where he clarifies the meanings of the terms '

jangal' and 'jangala' with reference to his own fieldwork in Pakistan. His essay nicely

blends anthropological and historical in studying the dynamics of human interactions

with nature over the long term.

However, inspite of the intricate relationship between nature culture and

human beings, the natural environment of the post-industrial era is treated as if

consisted of separate parts to be exploited by different interest groups. In today's,

metropolitan cities, it appears that human kind is the only species of 'The Species'

(Doria 1990:6). It's his world and his environment. Capra has rightly indicated the

reasons for modem ecological and cultural crises and man's alienation from nature. He

attributes this crisis flowing out of treatment in parts to the global environments, to the

exploitation of interest's groups of the parts of environments without realizing the

impact on the rest of the environment, the existence of separate nations, races,

religious groups each having its own interest for the exploitation of environment

(Bhatt 2004:22). The new policies of economic grow1h, liberalization and privatization

of global economy, further have made the situation more serious by shakening the

global environments and the world society. The following discussions, therefore,

widens the focus of the problems of current liberalization policy in Indian state and its

environmental impact upon the region under study.

The Policy of Liberalization, the Indian State and the Environmental

Problems of Lake Chilika

The post-independence agranan as well as fishery policies of India are

embedded in resource management patterns in the primary sector, introduced during

colonial era. which was marked by the abolition of land rights of the traditional users,

introduction of private property and integration with the capitalist market of the west.

Thos was reflected in greater degree of commercialization of agriculture and greater

penetration of commodity money relations in the Indian agrarian system on the one

hand and increasing poverty, hunger and loss of livelihood security of millions of

23

traditional resource users on the other (Halim, unpublished paper). Thus, a structure of

exploitation was imposed on Iridian traditional primary resource users, which

continues even today though in a changed form, in independent India.

After independence, a few measures had been taken to reduce the extreme

economic disparities in Rural India albeit only with limited success. The basic

exploitative structure has remained the same and the new policies of the government

introduced strong capitalist trend in primary sector resource use and production.

As one five year plan followed another, industries and mines were opened,

dams were constructed and 'Green Revolution' in the field of agriculture took place in

the 1960s and I 970s, which though initially increased food production but in the long

run led to centralized control of the trade in food grains and made farmers dependent

on corporate sectors for various inputs. Green Revolution thus paved the way for

introducing similar packages of technocentric solution of production and food security

problems in other fields of primary resources, i.e., forest, live stock and water

management which are well known as Social Forestry., White Revolution and Blue

Revolution, in Indian economy. The resource-intensive development model and the

associated technologies have given rise to a consumerist economy whose ethic of

'limit less maximization' has depleted the natural base of the country. Since the

modern economy and subsistence economy compete for the same resources, the

f01mer is powerful enough to monopolize its hold over the limited resources. Thus,

without realizing the undesirable side effects of the industiialization, such as pollution

of air, water etc., the state has followed this resource-intensive model of development.

Moreover, the recent policy of liberalization or globalization has accelerated the

intervention of markets often in collaboration with foreign capital. It is claimed that

the process of economic liberalization, inviting capital investment for commercial

profit, will strengthen India's economic standing, especially its balance of payments.

HoweYer these processes of development have raised a set of through rapid

industrialization and urbanization affect the condition of the large poor mass of India?

Has dc\·elopment provided higher, more secure livelihood of their choice to these poor

people? Is development aimed at empowering the poor or abolishing them? These

24

questions need to be analysed by examining the pattern of state intervention in the

allocation of resources as well as the state's style of functioning.

The Indian state has been primarily moved by the desire to safeguard and

further its own interest and those of its allies; industrialists, rich farmers and the

salaries professional class (Bardhan 1984). The desire to safeguard the national

interest can be understood if we look towards the policies of the government which are

aimed at maximizing immediate profits with complete disregard for the future.

Whether it is the government's forest policy or water policy or even the industrial

policy, the desire is the same. For example, the new liberal policy of India introduced

in the early 80s is well-known for opening up the Indian market for foreign

investment. On the one hand, subsidies and several other incentives were introduced to

lure private entrepreneurs into investing in export oriented production and on the other

hand huge reduction of subsidies were announced in traditional agriculture and fishery

sectors. This policy of liberalization in the 80 was followed up by the new economic

policy of the 90s, the aim of which was to generate growth, relying on market force, or

in other words depending on resource mobilization and investment. Extreme focus has

been given to expansion of export oriented production during this phase as the

government had to accept huge .loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

with certain conditions of 'Structural Adjustment' of India's economy in order to deal

with the Balance of Payment Crisis of nation (Halim, unpublished paper).special

schemes, therefore, have been announced for EOU (Export Oriented Units) and

Aquaculture/Shrimp culture has been identified as a major thrust area.

Ironically the bulk of development policies of India, justified in the name of

"national interests", actually diminish poor people's ability to control and gainfully

usc natural resources. Every 'national project' is presented as beneficial for the masses

even though it requires some poor people to surrender their land or their livelihood.

While the "greater good of the nation" appears to be a laudable cause, it must appear

suspicious to the rural poor who are consistently chosen, time and again, to make all

the scarifies, while those more powerful reap the benefits (Baviskar 1995: 32). Thus it

is evident that the development policies of the states are meant to develop the interest

of the state, industrial elite etc. In the name of development, national elites, through

25

the institutions of the state and market, and often in collaboration with foreign capital

have appropriated natural resources. In the name of development, people have been

pushed off the land; their forest and water have been taken over by the state and the

market, so that they have been deprived everything except their labour power9•

It should be highlighted here that the question of national development IS

defined in terms of economic growth. The desire for economic growth is linked to the

question of global capital in an international sphere. The desire for a growth-led model

of development has caused the inflow of foreign capital into the national economy.

While enmeshing the economy even further into global circuits of production and

consumption, national development severely undermined food security for the poor. In

many ways, this consequences was an intrinsic part of the strategy adopted.

The Role of Global Capital

The pursuit of national economic growth strategies by countries across the

globe required international supports. These supports were .deemed to be an essential

part of development. Foreign aid, technology imports, stable currency exchange,

robust international trade - all were deemed necessary to sustain national development

policies (McMichael 1996: 45). In the 1970s, development was redefined by the

World Bank as successful "participation in the world market" (McMichael 1996: 1 09).

This participation meant that Third World countries should pursue a strategy of export

oriented industrialization. Specialization in the world economy, rather than self

sufficiency in economic activities within a national framework, emerged as the

criterion of successful "development". This ideology, together with the desire for

foreign exchange, lay behind the promotion of extractive development such as the

pawn industry by the Indian state. The state of Kerala introduced this modernization I

growth oriented model in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The single most important

factor responsible for this was the rising demand for prawns in the international

market (Kurien and Achary 1994: 219). Financially strapped national governments

with the assistance of international donor agencies frequently became significant

promoters of export oriented aqua-cultural development within the framework of

ibid:36

26

compliance. The most immediate form of global governance is the leverages gained

through debt. Debt became a powerful form of political leverage under the debt

regime when the multilateral financial agencies strengthened their control over

national policy making by assuming the lending role. These multilateral financial

agencies extracted major political concessions from those states, which are trapped in

the debt crisis. It amounted to an informal practice of global governance by these

multilateral agencies. What is clear is that these multilateral agencies which are

dominated by the capital few (Western countries) have used these agencies to

dominate and influence the real development paths of the Third World countries.

· Blue Revolution and its Impact on Environment in India

In the 1970s, development was redefined by the World Bank as successful

'participation in the world market' (McMichael 1996: 109). This participation meant

that Third World countries should pursue a strategy of export oriented

industrialization. Specialization in the world economy, rather than self sufficiency in

economic activities within a national framework, emerged as the criterion of

successful development. This ideology, together with the desire for foreign exchange,

lay behind the promotion of extractive development such as the prawn industry by the

Indian State. The state of Kerala introduced this modernization/ growth oriented

model in late 1960s and early 1970s. The single most important factor responsible for

this was the rising demand for prawns in the international market (Kurien and Achary

1994: 219). Financially strapped national governments with the assistance of

international doner agencies frequently became significant promoters of export

oriented aquacultural development within the framework of national development

regardless of its social and environmental consequences. Goals of broadening the

economic base of rural areas, generating local employment and enhancing food

security were suppressed by the overarching objectives of shrimp farming (see Bailey

1997). The export of prawns thus removes a highly nutritious food source out of the

reach of the poor (Stanich 1998: 3-4). The introduction of prawn farming or

aquaculture project is called as the "Blue Revolution"- a critical source of high

quality animal protein, essential to feed growing human populations in light of

28

1980s. prawns are being produced from the sea, estuaries, brackish water Lakes and

fresh water areas both by capture and culture methods. It should be noted here that the

major share of the export basket of India is increasingly constituted by shrimps (or

prawns).the national government justifies its efforts on the ground that shrimp

production and farming in brackish water can contribute to the country's food supply

by compensating for the decline in capture fisheries, generating significant foreign

exchange earnings for the nation and enhancing employment opportunities and

incomes in poor, coastal communities.

As many as 70% of the foreign exchange derived from marine exports has

been obtained in recent years from the exports of prawns from India (Dogra 1992: 4).

It is reported that world shrimp production has been stabilized at 2.6 million metric

tones (2,600,000) annually and there is no prospect for further growth. Shrimp farming

has thus been promoted to cater the increasing international demand and to earn

foreign exchange. The world shrimp farming produce of 6,90.000 metric tons comes

mainly from the developing countries especially China (1,45,000 m.t.), Indonesia

(4,40,000 m.t.), Thailand (1,10,000 m.t.), Ecuador (1,00,000), India (35,000 m.t.),

Bangladesh (25,000 m.t.) (Dogra 1992: 5).During 1990s, total production of farmed

shrimp has grown at a faster rate than any other aquaculture product worldwide. In

1997, world production of cultured shrimp was an estimated 6,60,200 m.t., which

constituted about 30% of the total amount of shrimp produce globally through both

capture fisheries and culture (quoted in Stonich 1998:3). Approximately, 70% of

culture shrimps are raised in Asia while the rest come primarily from Latin America.

Production in 1997 was 5 % lower than in 1996 (6,93,000 m.t.) due to a decline in

Asian production brought about by serious disease problems. While 99% of cultured

shrimps are raised in Third World, virtually all are exposed to industrial countries

principally to the U.S.A., Europe and Japan raising serious doubts about its capacity to

improve nutritional status among the poor (Stonich 1998: 3-4). The primary motives

arc profits for producers and input suppliers and export earnings for national

treasuries. India is thus following the export policy of prawns basically for its interest

in earning foreign exchange.

30

It has been pointed out that, India, after introducing the new liberal policy in

late 1980s and early nineties, launched its shrimp mono- culture officially in the

country in several states through the Coastal Aquaculture Projects of 1986 in its sixth

five year plan (implemented during 1988-93) and offered special infrastructure

facilities to Multinational Corporations (MNCs), Transnational Corporations (TNCs)

and the national corporate sectors to invest in shrimp culture (Halim, Unpublished

paper). The Brackish Water Fishery Development Authority (BFDA) and Marine

Product Export Development Authority (MPEDA) have, thereafter, started to establish

in the country to ensure smooth development of shrimp cuiture. Government of India

also received multinational assistance from the World Bank and development aid for

aquaculture projects from consumer countries like Britain. Thus, shrimp mono-culture,

species specific commercial culture of brackish water shrimp gained momentum in

India in mid 1990s and total potential area for brackish water shrimp culture was

estimated to be 1,190,800 hectares among which 13,816 hectares are under cultivation

in 2000. India, with an annual production of 70,000 of metric tons Shrimp, became

fifth in shrimp production in the world in 1998-9910• The contribution of shrimp to

India's export reveals why the government has taken such a promotional role to

develop the industry. By 199?:-98 India had registered the export turnover ofRs. 4,120

crores of which shrimp alone contributed 2, 700 crores.

Thus, within a decade commercial shrimp mono-culture has replaced the

traditional brackish water shrimp culture system in India which were practiced by

coastal communities for generations.

The following tables give a brief idea about the share of cultured shrimps

among the total shrimps exported to foreign countries and give the value in rupees of

the amount of shrimp exported by India.

10 ibid

31

Table 1.1: Contribution of Cultured Shrimps (Quantity) to the total Shrimp Exports from India

Year Total Quantity of shrimp Quantity of cultured % contribution to exports (mt) shrimp exports (mt) shrimp exports

1987-88 55,736 -- --1988-89 56,835 18,300 33.00 1989-90 57,819 19,500 33.72 1990-91 62,395 23,075 36.98 1991-92 76,107 26,000 34.16 1992-93 74,393 30,550 41.06 1993-94 86,541 40,300 47.14 1994-95 1,01,751 53,853 52.92 1995-96 95,724 47,922 50.96 1996-97 1,05,426 45,945 43.58 1997-98 1,10,318 43,712 42.90 1998-99 1,02,484 53,712 52.41 1999-00 1,10,275 54,000 48.96 2000-01 1,11,874 65,894 58.90 2001-02 1,27,709 1,02,940 58.80 2002-03 1,34,815 115,320 60.08 Source: Ganpathy. and Vtswakumar, 2001; NGK Ptllat and Pradeep K. Kathta, 2004, quoted m Mohan Joseph

Modayil, R. Sathiadhas & G. Gopakumar, "Marine Farming: country analysis-India"., Central Marine Fisheries Institute, Cochin, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, 2006, pp.6-7.

Table 1.2:

Year

1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03

· Contribution of Cultured Shrimps (value) to the total shrimp export Earnings from India

Total Value of Shrimp Value of Cultured % Contribution to exports (INR. Crores) Shrimp Exports Exports Value

(INR. Crores) 425.78 -- --470.33 229,30 48.78 463.31 259.74 59.57 663,32 376.40 56.77 966.16 544.76 55.81

1,180.26 766.25 64.93 1,770.73 1,288.93 72.79 2,510.27 1,866.23 74.35 2,356.00 1,531.69 64.09 2,701.78 1,642.56 60.80 3,140.56 2,086.00 66.42 3,344.97 2,511.00 75.07 3,645.22 2,782.00 76.32 4,481.51 3,870.00 86.35 4,139.92 3845.00 85.63 4,608.31 3793.86 82.33

Source: Ganpathy and Ytswakumar, 2001; NGK P!llat and Pradeep K. Kathta, 2004, quoted m Mohan Joseph Modayil, R. Sathiadhas & G. Gopakumar, "Marine Farming: country analysis-India"., Central Marine Fishcrit.'S Institute, Cochin. Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, 2006, pp.6-7

32

The case of Chilika Lake thus became important and the role of the state in the

context ofChilika's shrimp culture must be viewed from these angles.

The Model of Development and Environmental Resistances in India

The process of development has not been easy or smooth for the Indian

government because of the opposition to its policies by the large section of the

population. The very attempts of the administrative mechanism through the elites to

exploit the resources have been challenged and collectively resisted by the very people

whom India had 'sought to marginalise' (Bhaviskar 1995: 38). Popular resistances

have occurred at various places, various levels and against various schemes of the

government. However, among many forms of resistances against national

development, increasing attention has been given to environmental movements in

recent years. These environmental movements are more or less a voice against the

model of "development". The overuse of natural resources by the national

governments in the name of national growth has not been an overlooked phenomenon.

The overuse ofnatural resources has not only posed threats to nature but also posed

serious challenges to the livelihood of the poor. Moreover killing people by murdering

nature, as Vandana Shiva states, is no longer an invisible form of violence (Quoted in

Gupta 1999: 293). The environmental movements in India have been basically protest

and resistance movements against the exploitation of natural resources. The protest is

against overuse of natural resources and it revolves on the question of production and

extraction. Development is also seen as antithetical to the nature-culture relationship .

as understood in the framework of sustainable development. In this context,ownership

and control over natural resources by the developmentalist state have been challenged

by local communities in the context of their relationship with nature. Development has

been resisted on a large scale when India has attempted to monopolize natural

resources in terms of both ownership and control. During the last few years the India

has banned the access of local people to the natural resources in the name of

conservation simply by designating these resources as national property. While the

preservation of parks and wildlife sanctuaries have been justified by the government

on the grounds of national interest, the local people's traditional rights to these natural

33

of the forest ashrams (hermitages) were recognized as the 'highest form of cultural

evolution', becoming the foundation of 'forest conservation as a social ethic' (Shiva

1991: 74-77, also quoted in Krishna 1996: 93). Thus, some of the ascetic ways of life

based on elaborate religious systems with traditional ways of life are found in Indian

societies and they are allegedly closely connected with the high degree of sensitivity

towards nature (for example Buddhism, Hinduism).

Ramachandra Guha, similarly, terms environmental movements m India or

'Indian environmentalism' as ' environmentalism of the poor'. He notes that, ' Indian

environmental movement is an umbrella term that covers a multitude of local

conflicts, initiatives and struggles where the poor confront the rich in order to protect

the scarce, diminishing natural resources that are needed for survival' ( Guha and

Martinez-Alier 1998: 4). Beginning with the Chipko movement in the Garhwal

Himalayas in the 1970s and reaching global prominence with the movement against

the Narmada dams in the next two decades, India has witnessed a series of popular

movements in defence of community rights to natural resources ( Baviskar

unpublished). Here one party (e.g. loggers and trawler) seeks to step up the pace of

resource exploitation to service an expanding commercial-industrial economy, a

process which often involves the partial on total dispossession of those communities

who earlier have control over the resource in question, and whose pattern of utilization

were (and are) less destructive of the environment (Guha and Martinez-Alier 1998:5,

also sec Guha 2000: 99-124 ). It is seen in many cases of Indian environmentalism that

since the agents of more intensive resource exploitation are supported by the state,

local communities have no recourse except direct action in protest against the

injustice. Guha argues that these movements address a new form of class conflict, one

rooted in a "lopsided, iniquitous and environmentally destructive process of

development in independent India" (Guha and Martinez-Alier 1998: 17). Further,

Guha has contrastingly set the ' Indian Environmentalism of tJ- e poor' against First

World environmentalism, especially as seen in the United States. In the US,

environmental movements have emerged in a post-materialist or post-industrialist

society where questions about the 'quality of life' are not rooted in the politics of

production but in the forms of consumption. Thus nature is not primarily valued as the

35

source of material subsistence but in terms of its aesthetic, spiritual and moral

qualities, which have been promoted through the wilderness movement. The variety of

environmentalism shaping the wilderness movement does not question the social and

ecological basis of American affluence, its dependence on a global network of social

exploitation and resource extraction. In contrast, Indian environmentalism links issues

of ecology with questions of human rights, ethnicity and distributive justice (Baviskar,

unpublished). In case of Indian environmental movements, therefore, the issues are

mainly rooted in subsistence and survival upon natural resources. This rootedness in

issues of subsistence and survival has 'also promoted a thorough going critique of

consumerism and of uncontrolled economic development'. Guha acknowledges that

his broad-brush comparison needs to be qualified by taking into account the

environmentalism justice movements in the U.S. and versions of the wilderness

movement among wild iife const:rvation in India. Thus, on the whole, there remains a

clear distinction in terms of origin and forms of articulation, between how

environmental action characteristically express itself, in the North and in the South

(Guha and Martinez-Alier, 1998: 17-19).

The arguments about the Indian 'environmentalism of the poor', can be

directly attributed to a few social movements which are discussed below:

The ecological movements of Chipko focuses on the opposition and resistance

to commercial tree felling on both ecological and social grounds in the Garhwal

Himalayas in 1970s. The movement's slogan- 'ecology is permanent economy' -

epitomizes its chief concern to save forest resources from commercial exploitation by

outside contractors for international markets (Haynes 1999: 227). In the hilly

Kumayun areas, forests and social institutions are deep rooted in the indigenous

system of the local villagers. The dependence of the hill peasant on forest resources

has been institutionalised through a variety of social and cultural mechanisms.

Through religion, folklore and tradition the village communities have drawn a

protective ring around the forests (See Guha 1989: 29). But, when the erosion of the

social bonds which had regulated the customary use of the forests, led to the alienation

of human beings from nature (in Marxian concept of alienation, Marx: 1975) through

the process of transition from collective mechanism of the forests use to individual

36

use, - there waged a relentless battle against injustice in the name of Chipko. The

movement's name was derived from a local word meaning 'embrace'. People -

usually women, were the bedrock of the movement who had stopped the felling of

hornbeam trees by standing between them and the loggers, literally embracing them.

Guha describes this movement more as a 'peasant resistance' than environmental

movement (Guha: 1989) and Vandana Shiva (1988) tries to relate the movement to the

'feminist' principle of conservation as against the 'masculine' principle of destruction

(See also Bandyopadhyaya 1992). Chipko protests in U.P. achieved a major victory in

1980 with a I 5-year ban on green felling in the Himalayan forests of the state. During

the I 980s, the movement spread to different parts of India such as Himachal Pradesh

in the North, Karnataka in the South, Rajashthan in the West and Bihar in the East. In

addition, the movement stopped felling of trees in the Western Ghats and the

Vindhyas and generated pressure for a natural resource policy more sensitive to

people's needs and ecological requirements.

Similarly, the struggles against big dams i.e., the large multi-purpose dams and

river valley schemes, have today become the focus of widespread agitation in various

parts of India. The Tehri and Pong Dams in the North, the Kosi, Gondhak, Bodhghat

and Koel-Karo Schemes in the East, the Narmada valley project in Central India,

Bedhi, Bhopalpatnam and Ichampalli in the West, the Tunghabhadra, Nalaprabha of

Ghatprabha schemes in the South - are all facing resistances from the local people.

Each one of these schemes has raised issues of location, design, destruction of natural

resources (mainly forests, arable land and wildlife), displacement of local people in

the catchment areas and inadequate compensation to and rehabilitation of those ousted

from their homes. The question has also been raised off whether these schemes

actually deliver what they promise - namely increased irrigation in the command

areas. better flood control and generation of electric power (Sethi 1993: 132).

Among all these struggles against big dams, Ekins describes the 'Save

Nannada Movement' in Narmada valley in Gujarat and Maharashtra as one of most

powerful social movements ever to emerge in post-independent India. (quoted in

Rootes 1999:227). This movement brought poor hill tribals together with prosperous

caste Hindu fanners of the plain. Baviskar in her work writes ''the faulty model of

37

development that has systematically impoverished the natural resource base upon

which the poor tribals depend. In the name of development, these poor tribal people

have been pushed off the land. Their forests and water have been taken over by the

state and the market, so that they have been deprived of everything except their labour

power" (Baviskar, 1995: 36-37). Therefore, the local tribal communities had no other

alternatives except the recourse to direct action of protest against injustice of the state.

During the 1980s 11, there emerged a large scale protest movement against

over-exploitation of marine resources in the Western coast, opposing the opening up

of the traditional fishing places of small fisherfolk to mechanized trawlers. Because of

this new mode of fishing a widespread and intense conflict arose between the trawler

industries and traditional fisherfolk (Sethi 1993: 135-136).

For the fisherfolk of the locality, the issue was not simply one of unequal

competition or of destruction of the resources on which their livelihood depends, but it

was concerned more with the recklessness over fishing which was leading to a

decimation of young fish and breeding and spawning zones. At this rate, there would

be no fish left to be harvested. Therefore, the struggles of the traditional fisherfolk

primarily under the leadership of the National Fishermen's Union, demanded a

complete ban on trawling in shallow water, regulation of the marketing operations of

large-companies which threatened the livelihoods of women fish sellers - an economic

assistance programme both to meet the consumption requirements of fisherfolk during

lean seasons and to upgrade the technology of their fishercraft and gear and a

comprehensive policy to regulate fishing in coastal waters. Distinct endogamous

groups of specialist fisherfolk both along the seacoast and along rivers have been a

feature of the Indian landscape. These communities which depend more or less

exclusively on the capture and sail of fish have recently been threatened by

encroachments on their territory. The problems of ocean-going fisherfolk have been

dealt by a number of people. The clash between artisanal fisherfolk and modem

trawlers at its most intense in the southern state of Kerala provides an excellent

example of what can happen when one group's exclusive control over its resources for

II Sec Kocherry (1988) and Mathews ( 1988) for an overview of both the problems of traditional fisheries and fisherfolk and the struggles led by their union.

38

living is abruptly challenged by a more powerful, economic and political process. For

centuries the coastal fish economy was controlled by artisanal fisherfolk operating

small, unmechanised craft, who supplied fish to inland markets. But fisheries as an

economic sector gained importance with the initiation of economic planning in India.

However, in 1960s an era of modernisation, the growth oriented model of

development had already been introduced in Kerala. The single most important factor

responsible for this was the rising demand for prawn in the international market (Guha

1994: 219). Thus big businessmen began to enter the fisheries sector. The advent of

large trawlers catching fish primarily for exports, led to major changes in the ecology

and economy of fisheries in Kerala with its larger impact on other parts of India.

Thus, in all the above discussed environmental movements, it is experienced

that the conflicts are mainly between centre and the periphery: between the majority

population and minorities; between the authorities in gain of profit and local people

fighting for their physical as well as for their cultural survival. It is the conflict

between people who look upon the environment as a resource to be exploited for profit

and those who define themselves essentially as being part of the nature. According to

Guha, "our resources are being transformed from the poor to the rich" (Guha 2000:

98-99). Therefore, most of the conflicts have pitted the rich against the poor; dam

builders against forest tribal community; logging companies against hill villagers etc.

Notably, one party seeks to step up the pace of resource exploitation to service an

expanding commercial-industrial economy, a process which often involves the partial

or total dispossession of those communities who earlier had control over the resource

in question, and whose own pattern of utilization were (and are) less destructive of the

environment (quoted in Baviskar unpublished, Guha and Martinez Alier 1998: 5, Guha

2000: 99-124).

Contextualizing Chilika's Movement to Development: Some Concluding

Observations

The ongoing struggle of the fisherfolk of Lake Chi1ika in recent years in Orissa

1s an example of environmental protests of India by the local traditional, cultural,

39

fishing communities against the development policy of the state. Chilika, spread over

eleven hundred square kilometers in the state of Orissa, is a huge Lake and is

connected by a narrow channel to the Bay of Bengal. An estimated one lakh fisherfolk

depend on the Chilika Lake ecosystem for their livelihood. But they are feeling

threatened by the development policy of the state. Recently, the large industrial house

of the Tatas, in partnership with the state government started to build up "an integrated

shrimp farming project" 12 to augment the state's productivity and exports. J...,()cal

fisherfolk anticipated a host of problems with the starting of the project. Aside from

the declining availability of fish for them, they argued that the construction of large

embankments, which the project demanded, would increase threats from floods and

water logging and displacement. The project would also pollute the ecosystem with its

artificial protein feed, and keep away the great flocks of migratory birds that now visit

the Lake. Thus, a social movement, in which the students also joined hands with local

traditional fisherfolk, raised its head strongly to stop the project. Besides numerous

petitions and a press campaign, the movement mobilized eight thousand supporters in

a demonstration in the state capital Bhubaneswar, in September 1991 (Gadgil and

Guha 1993: 84). The project, due to hue and cry by the people, failed to be

implemented. But it started a process that created many others Tatas in. the area and

prawn aquaculture is being . pursued insensitively by a group elites illegally. The

fishing community is feeling a dual threat: the threat from illegal prawn culturists and

also the state that has adopted the development model through the policy of

globalization/liberalization. Hence, the movement has grown to a huge proportion.

Recently, on 09 August 2005 about three thousand traditional fishermen have staged

demonstrations in Bhubaneswar, during the monsoon session of Orissa Legislative

Assembly as they fear that their rights will now be snatched if the controversial

Chilika Bill 200 I is passed without amendments.

ln the recent years along with other fishing areas of coastal Orissa, Chilika has

seen intensive prawn aquaculture destined mainly for export. Different prawn culture

12 I have used here the tem1 'shrimp' for the prawn of Chilika since it grows in brackish water, because in commercial jargon, prawn growing in salt/ sweet water, i.e., brackish water is called 'shrimp' and those grown in sweet water as prawn. So, product of Chilika is termed as 'shrimp' also.

40

fmms which are established there are exporting prawns and earning handsome foreign

exchanges. The tables below give an idea of Chilika's contribution towards such as

export oriented commodity like prawn. While prawn aquaculture acquires immense

importance for its economic nature it is equally notorious for its ecological destruction

to the Lake Chilika. The local people dependent on the Lake not only been victimized

but also been threatened by such a practice prawn culture. It is noticed that prawn

aquaculture has a very adverse impact on the livelihood of people, especially the

weaker sections and the environment. It has not only caused several ecological

problems like siltation but also made the life of the poor local people untenable. Their

life support system is being destroyed and they are facing the threat of displacement.'

Therefore, Chilika does not merely spell social problems but also eventual ecological

disaster. The local people are caught between two grinding stones: the Lake's

deterioration on the one hand; the arrival of entrepreneurs and commercial interests on

the other (Bogaert 1992: 1 ).

This factor refers to another important aspect of the study- the recent boom in

shrimp aquaculture and exports which is also called non-traditional agricultural

exports (Stonich 1991) 13 in the coastal areas of Orissa, in Chilika Lake area, has

resulted in the associated patterns of capital accumulation, the growing rural

impoverishment and the serious problems of environmental degradation in the coastal

areas of Lake Chilika. It illustrates how national, corporate forces have evolved and

affected both people and the natural environment and how, in tum, local people are

attempting to such powerful systems through these environmental protests.

Stonich has referred the production of industrial shrimp farming as one of the non-traditional agricultuml exports as a means of revitalizing economic growth and increasing income among the region's small producers.

41

Table 1.3: Export of Shrimps outside the State of Orissa and Abroad (Quantity expressed in metrics tonnes and value in lakhs of Indian Rs.)

Total Foreign Export outside Value Of The Shrimp (INR Year shrimp Export the State (mt) Crore)

production Foreign Export outside in Orissa Export the State

1985-86 6,253 4737 516 2,112.30 154.80

1986-87 6,956 4988 968 2,554.95 290.40

1987-88 5,567 4168 730 2,226.23 219.00

1988-89 6,178 4552 662 3,156.11 198.60

1989-90 8,634 4494 864 3,644.54 259.17

1990-91 7,713 6750 541 5,352.80 189.35 .

1991-92 8,905 7354 971 6,747.81 339.85

1992-93 10,177 9,644 967 8,949.45 386.80

1993-94 9,945 7,082 505 11,131.99 202.00

1994-95 12,790 10,867 841 15,865.21 420.50

1995-96 14,740 10008 1,344 17,120.77 506.40

1996-97 14,892 11,249 1,420 22,360.26 1,065.00

Source: Government of Onssa, 1996-97, Directorate of Fisheries, Handbook on Fisheries Statistics, Orissa, Cuttack. P-14, Handbook on Fisheries Statistics 2000 pp-98-99, and Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Annexure-V, Government of India, Bhubaneswar, pp-98-99,.

Note: Production includes only capture sources. Since the production also comes from culture (which is not known or data is not available officially because of varied reasons), the export exceeds the production sometimes

42

Table 1.4: Foreign Export of Shrimps from Chilika Lake Area (Quantity in Metric Tonnes), {Value in Million Indian Rs.)

Year

1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000

. 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004

Source:

Note:

N.A.:

Capture Culture Total Percentage to total Total

sources sources Quantity export from the Value

State(%) 1021.4 528 1549.4 25.87 66.10 816.3 724.4 1540.7 29.81 66.30 610.0 953.4 1563.4 23.86 75.32 870.7 1595.9 2421.6 25.98 94.74 356.9 1498.6 1855.6 20.21 120.00 586.4 1190.5 1776.9 19.39 140.00 615.6 1679.7 2295.3 19.22 174.04 597.3 1871.1 2468.4 22.00 248.40 181.5 2037.7 2219.2 14.50 233.26 228.0 2105.4 2333.4 13.00 229.39 170.0 533.1 703.1 12.88 81.16

- - N.A - -- - N.A - -- N.A - -

575.0 - N.A - -1177.0 - N.A - -1240.0 - N.A - -1589.0 - N.A - -

Government of Onssa, 1996-97 Dzrectorate of Fzshenes, Handbook on Fzshenes Statistics, Orissa, Cuttack. p. 55.

Data from 2001-2004 is not published by Government of Orissa, but only calculated informally which are based upon some random figures also.

Not Available.

It should be noted here that development is a model that is aim at alienting the

economic status of a country. In that sense, export of prawns can provided good

economic benefits for the state treasury. But it should be equally noted that these

benefits should not be accrued at the cost of either the environment or the people.

Moreover, the higher export prices of shrimps are temporary and uncertain, but the

losses in te1ms of the damage to environment and livelihood are of much more

penn anent in nature. Thus, the justification of promotion of prawn farming especially

the more intensive forms of prawn farming, regardless of adverse social and

environmental impact shows the class bias of the state promoting this strategy. We

have to look behind the apparently impressive looking figures of foreign exchange

43

· earnings to recognize the reality, which actually looks quite tragic if we also keep in

mind the adverse impact on livelihood and environment. The environment of Chilika

is unique and its environmental impact tends to be felt far beyond the immediate

circle. While for the local people it is primarily a question of livelihood, at the national

and international level it has become an issue of ecosystem of unparallel importance.

Thus its local, national and international importance shouid be realized. Due to its

uniqueness the lake should be given special importance. However, the process of

national development by India has undermined the ecological importance of Lake

Chilika. Moreover, it has followed a policy of benefiting one section by suppressing

another. The increased need for food, energy, water, timber and other products for

urban population as well as for export purposes infringes upon the local autonomy and

upon traditional rights. As rightly suggested by Kalland and Persoon, there is a

problem if supra-local interests are being integrated into modes of exploitation of local

natural resources (Kalland and Persoon 1998: 11 ).

Environmental problems associated with societal and economic maladies have

been the main thrust of recent ecological movements. Hence, concerns for social and

economic justice form the core features of such movements. The hazards in Chilika

not only pose a direct threat io the Lake's environment but also pose serious

challenges to the rural fisher-folk who rely upon the fish resources for their survival.

Not surprisingly the social consequences of shrimp aquaculture have become

increasingly contentious, and encompass issues of social equity, loss of goods from

coastal ecosystems, property and land rights, etc. posing a serious challenge to poor

fisher people near the lake. Globalization has been satanic in playing havoc in the

guise of development. This is particularly expressive through the shrimp farming in

Lake Chilika in recent years. It will be highlighted in the next chapters when we

discuss the movement in detail.

44