Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ignacy Sachs
The merits of growth are today being questioned and, curiously enough, both the Left and the Right
are dividing up mlo the opponents and champions of growth. The owr-simplifications of the debate notwith-
standing, we should not fail to observe the emerging political practice which has several claims upon our
interest.
The long-term future is becoming operational, the notion of organising possible futures and choosing
a desired future is gaining acceptance, an approach to planning which is both global and normative at the
same time is beginning to take the place of extrapolation, and the systems approach is replacing the sectoral
method legitimised by Cartesianism.
The hope of achieving continuous economic and social development hand in hand with rational
management of the environment presupposes a redefinitio,: of all objeccices and all methods of action. The
environment is a dimensio,: of development, and must there/ore be internalised at et-ery dedsfon-making
leuel. Problems of resources, energy, environment, populaJ.ion and development cannot, in fact, b.e correctly
understood unless they are examined in relation to one another; and this implies planning within a unified
conceptuar framework.
AFTER the unti-novel ant.I counter- within so &bort a time, despite the !act The new awareness of environment
culture, i:ero growth. These are tbtee that i t rcpr~ a complete reversal problems 11ppcnrs to be both one of
srmpt-0ms, though \'efY different from of the Ideological outlook of the last the causes and one of the symptoms of
one a111Jthcr, of the rc-e.umination oE two ccoluries and, still more, of the this new outloolc. True, the degrada-
values b~· a society in seaich of ne-w past fifty yeal'$. The fren1.y of the tion of the environment is reac:hI:ng un-
ideolog!c,al responses to problem, whjch mass media, the abuse of the computer pleasant if not dangerous proportions
ba"e relllaiDcd insoluble despite the to give crediblUt y to this or that ide11 here and there. But would this in itself
Sptttacular progress o f material growth, by im•csting it v.ith sc:ic:nti.Sc trapplng:., have bt;.en sufficient cause for challeng-
or which have arisen as a result of that explain part of this phenomenon but ing the very objecth<es of society?
progress : the gencraUsed malaise of not all. In a world traumatised by the Whatever the coul'Ses may be, the de-
the young. the persistence of poverty, c-risis of the 1930s, the appearance of bate Is now open.
the aggressian against the environment, tlie socialist camp and the emergence Hs over-simplifications, not ta say
the frust:ratfon of the Third World of the Third World, growth was in my5tifie3tfoni;, tend to be tiresome. Man
wbi<.'h today i.s •V0ndcrin11 whether the good stoodiog with capitalists and re- is presented, oow as the arrogant lord
very concept of develol)llloot:, founded volutionaril:$. profit-makers and lovsrs of creation :ind demiuriic, now a_s the
npon efficiency, should not be replaced of justice alike, and the only ditl"erm- prlsoner of a machine on a world sc:ale
hy that or liberation,' centred on social oe-S of opinion related to the methods in which production and pollution arc
justice and the creation of a new man. and uses of growth. Today, however, con.o;piring to cmsh him and In which
Onl), a profound sense of uneasiness the merits of growth are being ques- the only kind of hlstory is natural his-
can t>.xpla in why the theme of zero tioned ancl - c:u.iously enough - tory, in the sense that the degradation
growth should ba\re so captured the both the Left and the Right are divid- of energy introduces an clement of ir-
public Imagination and why it should ing up into oppon,enrs :ind champiDns reversibility. For 5ome, the quality or
have been taken up by public opinion of growth. life is obtained at the prico of limiting
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEn.Y May 25, 1974
material production; for others It is, live international resources regarded as Let Ull now eo~der the mviron-
on the contrary, proportional to the the common heritage of manlcind (e g, 1ment proper. A more ambiguous con-
aa.uidanoe of products. the s~-bed), the fmpact on poor coun- ,cept has rarely beep known. Of the
Beyond these clumsy elforts we bics of policies initiated by the rich imultitude of proposed definitions, we
should not fail to observe an emerging countries, and the creation of an inter- :shall set aside two which are largely
political practice which has sever.ii national order capable of helpin& both ,t:emplt'l:ntntary.
claim, upon our Interest : the lonit· to redc6no their styles of life.S F'or tbe systems approach a;peru,
term future is becoming operatioaal, the There is enough hem to ocrupy a the environment Is made up of every-
ootian of organising possible futures who!c generation of social scientists. l n thing that does not form pa.rt of the
and choos.i ng o desired future is gain• fact, a n ew connection will have to be purposive system under oonJ!derttion,
Jng :ncccptoncc, nn approach to plann- cstabHsbed btllwcen the humlln aod though rt does affect the I)e?formance
ing which is both g)oool and fl()m}lltive the natural sciences in order to achiiwe of that system.' As the system endows
at the same time is heginnin~ to take a bette: understanding of the interac- itself with cnvfl"Onment PQlicles, so the
the place of e~trapolation, and the tion between natural aod social proces- environment is less in evidence, and
~te:ms npproach is replacCng the sect• ses of which man is both the subject 1tJJe suc_cess of these policies wilt eonse·
toral method legitimised hy Cartcsian- and the object: a subject, let us add, quently be measured by the disappear-
ism. Tho hope of achieving continuous cooscious of bdonging to nature and .ance of the very conrept of ~vlrun-
e<l(JnomJc 11nd social development hand of bis own sradual growth. Beyond an ment, whtch will in tl,c end he iritcr-
in hand with rational management of excesslvely posslbilJstic bum11n geogra- ·nali~d by the system
the environment pre.~upposes a redefi- Ph>· and an excessively determini&tic Let us now abandon the game of
nition of all objectives and al l methods ecology, there is n new synthesis to ·par;idoxe1, and draw attention to one
of action. The l"flVimnment is a dimen- be made in which the contradiction:; opcratiolllll advent.age of the above di;,•
sion of development, and must there- between anthrowlogy lllld history will :flnftlon. lt invites to better ide-111:ify the
fore be intttnalised at every decisi.on- be abolished,.i and models of ene,xy ,ecological and societal impacts of the
making level. .Problem) of rewurces, circulation will be link"4l wi th model~ acttons undertaken fn order to aehleve
energy, envizonment, populatiOn and of the production and clrculatfon or the explicit objectives of the purposive
development cannot, in f:ict, be oor- matter and commerc!a.l goods. In the :s~tem ainstiruted by development poli-
rt'ctly understood uni- they are exn- meanwhile, the charting of the future •cic.s. Such an analYSis should lead to
nlinw in relation to one 11nother; and must be ba:te<l on the p1actice of ope- 111 rede1lo1Uoo of development objectives
th.is implies planning within a unified ratlooal history in the Braudellan with n view to more eKec:ti~·e control
conc-eptual framework. sense.• In order to learn to define pos- r0f the eoologfcal :ind social impacts of
For ~ poor countries (he alterna- sible Futures we must start by dismantl- proposed action.
tive presents itself n>ore than ever in ing the (Danifold models of tho pa.st, in
At II different level. the Unlred Na-
terms of original projocts of civilisetiori whlcb population, resources, energy, tions Eovlrcnment P rogramme (UNEP)
or of non-development, since to follow technology, environment and social in• speaks of tho total habitat of m3ll, This
the path travelled b)' the industtia!ise<l stitutions are 6tted together lo n viuiety ~cological defliiitlon of the human en-
coun trid n.ppears neither possible nor, of fashions. In this context, La Terrrt vironment has the disadvantage of be·
indeed, desirable. The rich countries et l'E1:olullon Jlumafoe by Lucien ing too oomp:reben.slve. But ft can be
will in fn ture have! to limit their waste- Febvre$ remains astoundingly toplcill interpreted more restrlctlvely.
ful use of resources which a.re in pro- 11fter th e passage of flfty years. Let us distinguish three subsyJtcm,
C('fl of relative exhaustion; prke fluc-
tuations wiU enfor.:e this to some ex-
•
Hnw is the new awareness of environ-
within tb.e environment:
-the natural environment
tent, but ft would l,e dangerous to ment ptoblems affecting the planner'11• --the man-made technostrucrures
leave such matters to the haz.:trch of tidd of vislon? ·--the social environment,~
the market. The elimfnatlon of wa.ste Let u5 begin with a lew ne<:e$Sa.ry and let u, endeavour to study tho
11nd the con6nement, wlthin ac<.'el)tnble d!stinctfons and definitions. effects of each of these on the living
liml~, of the pollution caused by the The term "environment"' a,vers, on .and worlciog conditions oI the diferent
production or consumption of certain the one hand, the sum total of identi- social agents' and on tbc operation of
~oods will also raise the problem of fied and i<lentifiable natural resources enterprises (this corresponds, .in an ex-
lim[tfog 1be growth of material oon- cxisting in Gnlte quantities on Earth, panded form, to the problem o[ posi-
sumptioo, and at the same time ex- and, on the other httnd, the quo.lity ol tive and negative externalities). The
tending the range of social servici!$ in the e-nvironment or, if one prefers, c1f quality of the environment will be des-
the broadest .sense of the word in or- the m/Ueu, which c.'Onst!tutes :in impor. cribed by means of "objective- indica-
der to arrive Bt a form of devdopment tant clement of the quality of life and tors 0 od will, at the same time, be ap--
which malccs Jes.~ intensive use of re- which also determines the available prehcncled at the level of its perceptJon
sources and Is, at the same time, Jes.s amounts and qua\Jty of renewable re, hy tho dilfcrent social agm~. Hence
h.lmiful to the environment. Such res- saurcc5. In fact, the dividing line bct- the need for a scl of indicato~ r11n11-
triction of consumption cannot he we~n the renewable and non-ren~- ing fn.xn physical o.nd chem.real mea-
achieved without irutltutfonal changes hle resources is not drawn once and smemeots of the quality of water or
more radical than is at pres,ent realised, tor all. Rene"""'llble resoUTces may In &Ir to ~ycbo-.sociologicnl 5Ul'Veys ;ind
st.arting with the red.lstrlbution of in- the end be desuoyed by pollution, and including analyses of the availability
COtne$ and the reducdon of social in- recycling makes possible the repeated and accesslblllty of collective facilities.
equalities. l o addition, there are a ll'le of oon-renew'llhle resources. Q>.ne- housing and social services, whi ch will
number of l_otematlonal problems: as- raily weaking. however, the distinction entail simultanoous reomme to statis•
rumption of .r'C$pom:i.bUlty for the glo- between these two groups of m.svurces tics and to the time-budgets of the
~I environment, development of collec• remains valid and useful. va.rlous agents.
As already stated. the two above de- Ficuu l
finitions are not mutua!Jy exclusive.
Toe former .stimulares the planner'~
awimencss of the inter-relations between
nntuml and social processes. The l11tter
conc:m trntcs on a more limited problem
whkh is nevet theless or fu:od:unenlnl
importance in the choice of develop-
ment objectives - 1bat of the quali ty
of the environment properly speaking.
L<.'t u.. now trY to establish a rela-
tionship hctwcen the enviroo ment (M )
and the populatiou (P). tecliniqucs ('T1,
natural resOurces (R} and the prod uct
(Y).
concrete cue. Likewise It would be [m- ooncept aims at deBnlng a style of guidelines cannot in most cases be ap.
poSslble to Indfoattr once and for all the developmeot p:irttcularly 1u.ited to the plied without the development ol
operational wriables for such a st.ra- rural regions of the Third World, appropt'iate techniques. There are two
teizy. On the other hand, it is .P()$liblc though th t, does not mean that it can- comments to be made here.
to identify the critical levels at which not be extended to Include toWti:S, as The clcvrlopmc:nt c-1 cco-techniques
action will l'lllce place. We dlstl.ogulsh we shall sec In the case of New Bom- will pl:iy a very Import:int place in
she such levels, a brief dettription of bay. ero-de\'elop,r.ent strategies fOJ' the ol>-
which is givm below: Its mah, featl.tre:S or guidelines are v!ou.s reason that it is at this level thnt
l l ) The consumption structure, whJch, as follows : compatibility can be achieved between
In tum, depends on tho distribution (1) lo each eoo-rcg!on, efforts a1 e various objedives - ec.-onomk, 50cial
of incomes and on th., totality of Vll.luet m11de lo cfovelop th-Ose of its resources and 'l()Ological - sin(;e technlc-'ll cha.nse
rerognised by the sodety in question; which a.re specifically needed for thr. wotald 11ppear to be the prlnciplll multi•
(2) The socio-political regime and, ~atlsfaction of the basic needs of the dimeruional variable in planning,
mom particu_larh·, its mamcr of dcaJ- population in regard to food, hou.,ing, 13ut it would be wrong to aS:S!milate
ing with social changc-s; In market eco- health and educatlon, the5e needs be- ccu-development merely to a teclmo-
nomi<.-s, the rule is to let enterprises in!? dcliuc..J realistically IJJld iudCJ)(.'O· logical style. It call, for certain social
internalise profits and externalise C06t~, dcntly so as to avoid the u~ir\lhle organisation procedlJles and a new
while ln sociali>t or mixed economies, dtecu of COJ))'ing the consumption ed\Jcation system.
the State may, ro theory, change this style of the ric:b c0unlries.» (7) The institutional framewoi* for
rule of the game; (2) A~ man himself is the most valu- ,·c.-o-development cannot be defined in
(3) The ted1niqucs employed, where a able resource, eco-development must Ihe abS-lrat-t without regard 10 the
dis1inctioo bas to be drawn between, ahove all contribute to h is ful6bTu:nt. ~pccific featuTes of each case, any more
on the one hand, the adding of antl~ J::mplo) ment, security, the quality of thari c-11n the new forms of rural i:n.rtitu-
pollution mensures to the escalation of human relations, respect for the diver- tions prot>()$ed by the World Bank for
p roduction and of the resulting nuisw- 5lty of cultures - or, 1£ one pt"efers, achieving soine success at last in tho
ces and, on t hi, other htwid, the tn- the development oJ a sati.sfoctory social attack on absolute poverty in rural
ttoduction of techniques which are not cco•systcm - arc all part of this oon- art'as and for ei't)lofting the potential
destructive of tho cn~iro:nmcnt,10 i c, ccpt. A certain symmetry ls discernible of the impoverished masses of the
wht"rc the environment factor ha.s been betwt:t:n the potential t.-011trihuti0n of Third World by providing the sm:ill
internalised; crology and S()cial anthropology to peasant with pruductJon equipment and
(4) The methods or utilisation of na. planning. techniques suited to his economic and
tunl resources and energy, analysed (3) The !dm tiBcation, exploitation aod ecoloidcal oonditions.•a
from the viewpoint of wastage of rare management of natural resources'' is We ca.a how(•ver state three basic
r~uurc:es, po:5sible recyding of w;ute conducted from the standpoint or a pri nci.PJes.
products, and even of rontrolllng the forward-looking soHdarity with future Eco-dt:velopmwt c.11lls for the esta-
olisoksoence rates o! certain durable ~enemlion.s. Depredation is strictly pro- b lishment of a horiiX>nW authority
goods and equipment wlth a view to hlbltcd and the exhaustion of certain which ts ropable ol looking beyond the
reducing the utilisation or rare n:sour- non-renewable resources - which is in- intCI't"sts uf p articular · secto~. is con-
~ incorporated i_n thet11; 11 evitable in the long term - is mill- ttmt'd hy all the facets of develop·
(5) Land ooc:upatlon systems, Mnoe a:ated by tho <lual approach of avojd. ment and ls able constantly to control
the same lyt>Cs of production and acti- ing wastage and malting the grcatc.5t the oomplemcntarity of tho di.lfel'lint
vltit:s le11d to very di:ffcrcnt effecl:$ de- pmsi"ble use of reoewoble resoUTCeS activiti~ undertaken.
pendfag on their localisat[on; which, if they are corrcc.-tly used, should Such an authority cannot be efficient
(6) Lastly, the size, rate of growth not be exhausted ev-er. without the clfective participation of
and distrrhution of the population, it (4) The negative lmoact of human the DOJ)ulations concerned In the rea-·
heing midersioo<l that population size activities on the human environment is liutloo of eco-dcwelopmmt stutegies.
alone ca.nnot serve as an indicator oJ reduced by resorting to procedures and Thi, p(lrticipation is essentL'II for the
its pressure on natuntl resources; by forms of organising prod\Lction which doBnition and ba.rmonlsatian of actual
rea.,on of their hig.h per caplw wn- make it ~blc to take advantage of n<.<t."<ls, for the identification of the
.sumpt:ion, the few hu11dred mUlion Jn. oomplementaritles orall kinds and to productive poteotial of the eco-mtern
habi tants of the rich cow1tries exer- use waste for productive purposes. and for the organisation of the c:ollec•
cise much more pressure th.an the (5) lo tropical and sub-tropical regions tive clfort to <lt!vdop it.
thousands of millions of inhabitants of in particular, but everywhere else as Lastly, it is essential to eusure that
I.bl! Third World. well, eco-<levdopment relics on the the u.•suhs of eco-developme.ot are not
In view of the complcxi~y of the natural capacity of the region for pboto- impaired by any pluntlcring of the
subject .and of the Ol!lllY ways in syntnesls In all Its forms. Since guide- PQ-p11latfons concerned, by intennedl-
which the relevant opcrntional variables line no l , as applied to energy, tends ariei1 acting as contacts between the
can be fitted together, tbere cau, of to attach great iinportancc to the use local communities and the national ot
00\ll'Se, be tto question of proposing
of local energy sources and to alve lntematlonal market.
a single development strategy, And so preference to means of transport other ~ principles am be app)jed with-
we i;omo b ac:-lc once more to the search than the pr[vntc car, one result should out too much dJIBculty in aJeas of the
for :iltem:iUve futures. be a rtduction in the consumption of Thlrd World where agrarian reform
• t-nergy f ram commercial sources (and ha$ bt.'ffl undertaken, :and 11lso in every
The forer,oing g1meral considerations in particular hydrocarbons). cue where the community structures
ruwe led to the formulatfo11 of tha (6) Eco-development implies a l)GJ'ti- have remained in hcing.
con cept of ero-devclopment.11 This culo.r tcchnic,1 style, sirico the above ., (8) One necessary complement for the
838 ~
May 25, 1974 E CONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY
m;wh lnery o r participatory planning price which has to be pa.Id for inahi· eurac.-y are oons~ntlY surprismg anth-
and manllgcmcmt is preparatory educa- lity to org:mi.sc the relationships bet- ropologists and ethuobotanists.19
tion. This argument applies " p0,wiori we..n man and n ature. The s triking diversity of cypes or
in the case of cco-devclopmeot, where • agriculture And cultural habits in the
it Is em:nllal also to mafrc people With the assistance of some ex.wn- world may be analyst-cl from tho sland -
aware of the dlmension of the environ- plcs takc:tn from the llelru of production, poiut either of tht-ir adaptation to
ment an<l the ecological aspects of (uod, housing, e nergy, indusbfalisation natural cco-.systcim o.r of the tnuufor-
development Lastly. as we have already of renewshle n.uw-al resou.rces, oon- mation nf thc.,e systems. A classic study
sa[d, it is essential to Internalise this scrvatioo of resources and orgoniffition hy Clifford Geerl7. draws a co1np:iriSOll
dimension and thus to change the of sodal services, we now pro(.)<»e to bet...,-eeo the irrigated terraces of Java
Aystem of value.~ and predominant at- illustrate th-e srope of application vi - veritable aquaria fash ioned by m an
titudes to nature or, on the contrary, e<.'o-devc:lopmen,t strategies, with speclol for rice cult!vaoon - and nomadic
to preserve and strengthen the reSpt:ct rcferesice to eco•lechnic,ues. agriculture practised on patches of
for nature which is still a <.'haracterlstlc (1) Food bnm t M>il which ~;,n$ti tutes au imltatloo
of certain cult1.m:s.u This res-ult may The ''gn,en revolution", at least in of the tropical forc5t. ~• These are t"'o
be obta ined eith er by formal or cn- its first phase, is baSt.-d on a unlversa• e~hl'ffle cases in many respects - tllc
VU'Oflll'letltal education. The Chloese H~t and dilfusionist p hilosophy o( degree of artfficial[ty, and suppurtable
cxperie.-nce is vciy instructive in this Jevelopmcnt which places too much population densities (that of the Ti~
connection. The t.'00-techoiqucs devdop. <·mphllSis on the virtue~ of transl't-rs of fields is a.s muc-h :i.~ 2,000 inhabitants
ed Jn China do not dJ.ITer 11ppreciably te<·hnology and the widespread me of pe r xm 1 }; they arc also two CUC$ of
from thoso which other peasant certain "m!racle" varieties of wheat and felicitous .idaptation to vr,ry different
socletlt'.s h ave known and practi~; rice. ·w e arc u nable here to exarruue sets or ecological conditions. They re-
but what is o t--w Is the education which the comple!f and controvcrsfal subject of flect two v~ry dilfcrcnt orientations for
))rQCCf:ds and accompan ies their 11pplie3- its results, and )\'e sh11ll therefore mt.'Tely agronomic research, the one relating to
tion,11 and cleterm ioes their s oope. mention that many critical analyse11 highl y lahour-inten!>ivc methods of
111 brid, eco-developmcnt is a style insist that I.hero arc limits to its ap- productio11 inV()lving massive popola·
of deve!opment which, in each ew- plic.1bility, since It assumes that the tlons llviog in a small area, the otht-r
resion, calls for spedflc solutions to the problem of irrigatiC1n is solved and it pointing to the development of mixed
particular p roblems of tht1 region in the also call~ fo~ extensive Industrial inputs. fanning bllsed on the "chacr,u.. of the
light of cultural as well as ecologtc.il In addition, it has ClOlltributcd to 11n Amaw11ia11 Indians and the gardens of
data and long- tenn as well a s lrn111e• rncreiling ~oclal l)Olarisation a.nd an the indigcnow population of Polynesia.
diate ,i~ds. Aeccm:liog]y H ope.rates cvffl mor~ ine<Juitahlc d istribution or In the view of several experts, the ap•
with criteria of pmgress wbjch are re• in come in the countryside. Lastly, it f).lrcnt d isorder of the latter conceal~
laced to each particular case, ond atlap- involves ecologlt.,al risk both because of a profo1S1d rationality.21
tatl<>n to tht: environment, u postulat- the reduction of gt'nclfc variety and lo g(:'ntlral, we have insufficient
ed by the arithropologists, plays an fm• because of the exlttufon of single-crop lmowlt..Jge about agriculture in humid
()(lrtant part. Without d enying the im· farming '"hkh is more vu!J1erable to tropical areas; and ptiority should there-
portance or exchooges - and we shall epidemic disease than mixed formin11:. fore be given to. ec.-o-techniques ap-
r(!vert to this matter later - It tries Is it nece-s:sary to conclude from this plkohle in this area, on which a rea-
to react against the pre<lominant (15}1ion tha t cultural borrowings and '·modem"' sonable deve loprmmt pattern for
of allc:ge<lly uoi-versalist solut ions and agriculture sho\ll d be ruled out ? Though Amaz.oola will to a large cxtoot depend.
panacea-type fommlns. l.ruteod of pl11c· certain c-hampion, of co-called biologl~I ThJs in itself is a h i,ghly controversml
ing too much em phasis on ell~mal alJ, a,irriculture may not agrl\e with us, we theme. Should Amazonia be J eveloJ)e(]
it relies on the.- capabilities of human r\:jcc:t this conclus:ion, The mere list or or should it , on the contrary, be lcc:pt
SOcietit:s to identify their l)roblems 1uid the plants originating from America as a Mreserve", as ceTtsln peop le
devise their ow-o or{gfnal solutions to which are now being cultiv~ted by tbe advocate?
them, though drawing on the cxpcril!llce n'St of the world is enough to demon· Jn view of the programmes alrndy
of others. ft rejects passive lT~nsfors stmtc the nbsunlity of such ao approa<.'h, unclcrtalfen an<l the existence of
and the spirit of imitation, and gives q nite apart from the fact that the mine ral wealth in this re~ lon, th is
pride of place to self-niliance. 11 It ahMdoomCllt of chemical fertilisers and qu<.'stion is rhetorical, particularly since
avoids the p itfalls of e ~treme ec-o!o- lnsccticid<.'S would le~ immediately to the argum.:nt that the Amawnlan forest
,-:i~, and suu ests on the contrary that a decline in production with very seri- is one of the "luni;;s of the world" pm-
a creative elJort to benefit from the ous consequences. Nl.-vr.rtht'less, it Is dudng oxygen is sdcnti6cally unsoun<l.
margin of frc:edom offered by th e t!l°I• possible to take a stllnd agninst the Th•· only real problem is how thi~ deve-
vironmcnt is always possJble, however views incorporatt-d !n the ''green re- lopment will he effected (and what is
great the climatic and natural con - volut ion··, and to strei-s the specific PO· to be done with the last of the Indians).
straints ma,y be. This is aDl1)ly home tentialiti~ o f each ec.'O-region In regard Will the d~clopment be clfccted by
out by the dl.ll'erenres between cul tures to food production. tmdirlonal technfquc:s which inYOlve
:ind human achievements in comparable T h is le-ads us to draw attention. culling down the forestn in an attempt
n atural environments. But success de- Jl~t of all, to the importance of to transfonn it into artificial p-.impas and
pcndi1 on II knowledge of the enViron~ c thnob!oh1dcal rese11rch in order to ope n field~ - which is quJte impoS:.Cible
ment aod On the ">\'ill to create II last· take adv8int.:ige - ff only as a ))Oint oJ - or, on the contrary, will it be effect-
io g ~ance betwt.-cn man and nature. dcputurc - of local people's bow- ed by eoo-technlques wbicb respect the
The, sethnclcs and disasters 111 whkh ladge of their m1tural c.-nvironment, that forest hut tun_) It to greater profit? The
certain societies have fowidered olfer uprac:tkal science" of p1im[tive peoples results will dcpm d on this basic chok't::
equally eloquent evidence of the high and peasant$ wh05e rfohne~s and .ic- and the ability to create in Amazonia a
ECO'.'IOM!C AND POLITJCAL WEEKLY May 25, 1974
new "1>lant life'' civilisation. Can lt be revolution") in all its upccts : the research project which was originally
that the pessimism of Betty Meggers21 cultivation of aquallc plants and the undertaken with a view t.o desulphurlng
is ~ ue perhaJ)'J to the fact that she does hmeding of fish and animals in fresh the petroleum of the Persian Guff
not believe In tbe second posslbUity, water, lagoons Md the sea, instead of point.\ to the ll.k of asphalt injected
while the optimism t."Vident in the last a continuous 6sl1-kill. Tilere are beneath tht: surface of tho desert to
\vtitin gs or Gourou reflects p recisely " abundant c:,campfes of this. startfnit prepare certain areas for the bydropinic
gooutne act of faith in hwnan creatM ty with the famJliar case of fish breeding cultivation of pbnts wbfch are genetic-
in planning, in Jl()Ols, wht:re a judicious combination Qlly suited to the brat•kish-wat:crs exist-
WhJchcver be the C11$C, it will of o f cultiv:itlon practices and fertili$ation Ing in the region. It is essential to
ccmrst: be necessnry, here as everywhere produces \ "L'TY high yields with eco- mention also the political importance of
else, to make use 0£ method.~ which arc technlque:s wbk b require practically no st11dies of this kind, as a pos.\ihle con-
already kn-0wn and belong within the l:3Pital iuwstma:it.u Mention may also tribution to solvfng the MlddJe East
range of ''clas.~ical'" solutions, even be made or the l)OSSlbilitJes of breedini;: eonllict by develop ing the resources of
though they may 11ot have been milk-ll,h In brackish-water lagoons, the dewrt. The national aspirations of
adequ:ttely used hitht".Tto. By way of From certain lagoons fertilised h. the Palesllniam and Israelis CQu]d he
examph:, we may mention the use o f sowers in Indoot$io it is pos!iiblt> ll'atislicd more easily if tbu ,eo;,logy of
cassava or stripped Argnrcaoe as fod- to ol,~ln a yidd of 5,000 kg/ the region w«>re changed ; and the '' Great
d~r. But the hul k of the effort must be h:i/)'cilr. In T aiwan, fish breeding with Petroleum Scare" and the consequent
based on new approaches, of wh ich we fe1tillscrs produces yjdds of 2,000 kg/ shlll'J) rises in priel!s havc m ade ft p os•
shaU mention ol\lY a few. ha/yeat; and It has bt:1t:n calculated siblc to envisage n machinery for rmanc-
First of all, forest-forming. which the that in South-E1ut Asia 350,000 Jant of ing such .in enterpri$e through a small
Anglo<Saxons de~ibe as three-dimen- wat<'r are suitable ror breeclini,i milk- surtax oo petroleum, long-term Joans
sional forestJ"')', using the forest a, a Bsh. If they were put to use, they advanct..-d by the petroleum producing
St>u1cc or industri11I materials and also could produce 70 millroo tons of Rsh countries and th P. conversion of the
llt the Taiw:in productivity rnte, or the n,ililill)• aid provided to the two
of animal fodder and human foodstulTs. 21
A glance back tu the Eurorean Middle the t.'quiva ll'nl of the world flsh catch.1 1 opposing camps into a desert deve-
One more difficult but also p romising lopment fund,
Asres will show that forests were long
use<l as "a ~-:ittle foddl'.r yard of un- field ls the ramiog of certain species (2) H0t1oStng
t."<Jttalld qualit)·' ', lo tho words of a of aquatic mammllls which Feed on Every year, the housing shortage o n
Burgundy chronicler of the fourteenth plaats. 11,e most l'IC)ql ble example Uia world scale increases by some 4.5
centltry, quite apart from the role which might he the se.i-row, which unfortun- miJlion ooits in uruan areas alone, 3 •
they have lotlg played as a source or ately is almost entirely ex tlnct. Io The tltuatlon in the countryside is rar
energy. For a loag time past, Germans tropical re)lions where the soil ls ill- from being satisfactory. And yet, pua-
lmve sJ>Qk c11 o f tfM: Nr;,hrwald - tho suited for the the crtmtioo of meadows, <loxical!y, this is a Jidd in w h ich over
forcht as n ~owc:e of fodder - whose aquatic p lan ts offer i,,,-eat poosihilitics as the centucie.~ human societies have
value is calculatt:-d in tenns of thr. foddcT for bulfaloes anJ other anim.als. ve.ited dwellings of varying types
number of 1>igs II c~,n feed, u The Goin,g on a step further, we come to accordi ng to the locality and culture,
same evidence ls provided by the study the producttoo of proteins from )eaves and well adapted to the eoo-syste:m and
nf certain primitive !IOcicties. One of variou$ kinds,12 lncluding weed.,. :m the climate," but ln which mlsunder-
example ii the a~tonishinit case of the Under t-ertain conditions, the plant$ fo- stoo<l modem[ty has led to such raw~
lnhab,taots of Ukara Island ou Lak~ f L'Still JC l.-ertain lam rould lilcewise that it has b<?come necessary over
Victcrria in Ta,-,mnia, wLieh has a dense become a raw matel'lal for the extrac- recent years to re-invent "eco-dWt>11-
population of livc.~todc brced eri; whose tion of proteins, and eutrophication lngs" reffecting a high degree of
a nimals arc kept in yards an<l fed on could be pn-veoted in thls way.~" ingenuity in the choice of materials, the
a mi.-.:lwe of leaves from specially planted It goes without .saying that biological ti.st!' of solar and wf nd energy, water re-
trees and from aq uatic plan ts. 2 • Th[,i pest eontrol methods, a,-,d alsa genetic cycling, etc.a Housing com~ within
opens up prospem of rese.ircb on trees research on loc-a! species wh ich might the f r.1mc,vork or eco-development under
which can produce human foodstu ffs, he exploited, both naturally come with in three closely linked a:q:,ects :
either d irectiy or indirectly th.rough pro- the framewon: or an eco-<leveloprnent -the use of building materials of
ducing fodder. This n:.search is regard- strategy. focal origin, which are abundan t and
ed as e.sscntiaJ for the future of agri- Most of out cxamplt"S have been take n cheap, rangi.ng from bamboo to mud;
culture in humid tropictd are:u;. since from the humid tropical :wnt.-s. The this is a p roblem which has been
tree cover seems to be the be:st cover problem is quite clilferent for the arid studied in .some detail, but much re-
for the soil in these ri,gions.2 ' We may incl scmi-aTiJ zones, though it ts pos- maf ns to he done in practiOP~ s tarting
M te in passing that forest rehabilit:1- ~ible to imaginf' ecio-development strate• with the rejection of an alim &)'Stem
tlun will call for a c.--hange in some i;ie~ for these areas as well, Recent of values acrording to which an alumi-
ideas profoundly root~-d in E urope.an ~-t uclit.'s have point.e<I to the possibi- nium roof or a steel and cement h ouse
civiUsation, which has wov.TI accustomed lity of dc,-veloping plants which are Imported at great e ~ is regarded
to regard forest-clearing as S)'tlonymous particularly sulta.blo for photo-synthesis as a symbol of modemity even in the
wi th eoonomic prngtt'ss,21 The rational in areas where there i.s a lot of sun- bush;
management of the fauna and the t~- shine, high tempcrah1re, o.nd little - the adaptation of the dwcllfng itself
ing of cert.tin species m.w, in <.-ertain wntcr. u h is true that tl,e develop,, to ecological COl'lditions; as we hove
conditions., 00nstltute a counterpart and ment or deserts ma)• call for eco-techni- olrcady stated, this is the Reld f}Or ax-
a valuablr extension of fnrest-fannin_g." ttucs with a high capital-intensiveness, cdlente for the 4."Ultural creativity or
Next - aquaculture or the ''olue re- but capital is not la<.'king in the pctro. tnim, in which It is necessary to take
volution" (as opl)OSed to the ''greffl lPum producillg countries. A Japanese a deliberate step backwards to re-
May 25, 1974 ECOl'\OMIC AND POLITICAL \\>"EEJ..'LY
ex.amine traditional homing and possibly (4) Tridwtrialisatlon of renewable services wh ich are adapted to the specl6e
d,aw some inspiration from it. A rigid rBSQW'Ce., c0n<litions existing In the rural areas
attitude of a re ve1ence for traditiOn is, Ono way of combating the ~sible of the Third World a.nd also ~I for
or course, undesirable; but architects 5hortagc of certain non-renewable re- as little capital as possible. Ma-ny
should pay more attcnti(m to ar1lhro- so~s might be to restore pride of recent i ludie,s and the exp,ariooce of a;
pology and move beyond the falso place to the "plant life civilisations ' numb~r o! eountriPs prnve that such
univen:alisatioo with which their disci- which iue ~ well described by P Lcchniques already exist :it the level
p)f ne is at present tainted; n Gourou and whose importanre ts so of para-medicine and rural education.
evident in Far Eastern cultutts.•s We JI\ these conditions, TI1ird World COWl·
- lastly, the integration of ecology an<l
<lo not odvooatc a pure and simple re- tries bhould he encou raged to ltttach
anthropology with utbani,tie thJnldnR
lwn lo the past as do lhe partisans of much more lmportauoe lo thete activities
and with the elahMatfoo of structural
the so-called intertMd iary and ''soft" tha n they are g iven in the civilisation
plans for towns and all other human
tl!C'h n irn1es, hut would rather propose projects of the industrialised countries,
settlements; thi~ is hy far tho most diffi -
some d etailed res~rct, on the PQSslble since the possibilities for developing
e:ult task swd the one whfcb has so far
use of plaot lffe as an industTlal raw these ierYkes are best at the time when
been le11st studied. Jlent-e the importance
materia l, both for hu0dlng mattmals social worker·~ salaries - like all other,
of the pioneering effort~ m:ide by Lhe
creators of the New .Bombay plan. :md for chemical products. The rise - are still low. In othf'r worch, the
in petroleum pr[oes makes this au the poor countric. have a comparative ad-
This clty of two mUlion inhabihmts is
more necessary, and ii Increases the v.in tai;e ill creating m.vty social serviCC!I
to be built with a minimal allocation
of resources for hou~ing proper, since urgency or devising techolqucs for the which also offer cmployroeot possiblUtles
rational 1nanagcment and exploitali0n of tbat arc more valuable to society than
tho housing is to be p rovided by self-
tropical forests and water bodies. We the trad itional t1>rtiary sector (domestic
construt'tion on very small plots; but a
l,clieve that a special place should b-0 services and small business). Paradoxic,.
very elaborate plan for the occupation
r~erved to "'mixed techn iques·• - i c, ally, it is tha countries of the Third
of the ground (which has heM made
lranrlonning the qu,alitie.s of a product World IVhlch. have the best ch.'lnoe of
~~lble by prior purchase of land by
hy h if{l11ly l:!cbni~I p.roces.sing, as the cn:albig genuine welfare States. n
the authorities) and rnpid colle ctive
transPort hy rall\\ray will togcthar pro• tenn(nal sta~e rn an otherwise tradi-
tional p mdoctlon procedure wbicb offers
•
T he concept uf eco-d.evelovmeJJ t Is
vide the inl111bitants with living and
working conditions whfch will be very plenl}· of em_ployment. All forms of mleudeJ to be opc111tlonal. It conirti-
reasonable compare d with those in Pl'Oce5$illg and impregna ting timl>f'r and tu tl's a b'Uiddine for action (or, if one
other towns in India.'° plan t 6bres, based on the latest ad- prefers, a ph ilosophy of deve.lopmcnt)
vantt.'S in modem chemistry an.d whose vallte can be judged only in the
t3) Energy nfforing fl ew outlets for certain products h-sht of practice. Is rt merely a rctum
The dchate on the importance of of tropical forests and agl"iculture, p ro- l o the n:usions of oommunity develop-
non-cl3ssical ~ou:rc:es of energy is highl y vide a 1,'00d illustrati0n of this c.-on~pt. men t? Nol necess!lrily so since, by
charged and we have no intention here
(5) Conscreolion Qf rioturol -reaourc& cu111p.uisun with the commwiity deve-
ol talcing a positlon o n this controvemal lopment schemes for the rural areas of
i-ubject. It is eDOugh merely to $late As we have already indicated in re-
gard to the d e 6uition of eoo-develop- the Third W orld , i i is richer in two
that the re<X!flt Increase in petroleurll
m1>nt, the maintcna:n()(: of natural aspects : /mt, die re is the critical rdlec-
prices hos II lready up$Ct many hard-and-
l't'.SOurc,es ir1 the nalll e o f a forward. lion on the failutts 0£ those scht'1Jles
fa.~t £de.is. Wu sha ll not say anythinl!
looking soHdarity with future gene:ra- and accordingly the desire to do b<!tttir.
or the possible solu tions to the p ro- particularly at 1he instltuUonal level,
blem of large-scale energy production tiOl1$ is an integral part of this s trategy.
II seem s tha t it is al~u an exccllenl and St.-.roncll>' there ls the linlc with
but, in the eontext of eco-devclopment
6elcl fur "human investme:nt",c.s sillL'e natural nnd social ecology which is re-
~ tegies, we rnust refer to the impor- \'Olutionisiog the hahits of tho ught of
tance which might ho atta<:'ht'd to the mal\Y soil and water oonservatioo acti-
vities, fi'Jorestatlon, e tc, are suJtal,le for rhe devt'lopers.
climin~Uun of tho energy wastage
wh ich occnr~ so oftm in the ronsump.- thl' u~e of highly labour-intensive techni- The application of the concept docs.
tion style of th e indusWaliscd societies, flues. Also, as spa re labour is often however, requi,e a ,ustained reseuch
and to the possible c0n tn1)11tion which availabDc, l\t least outside the season o f effort acrompanietl hy pilot activities
m lgbt he mad e - in the ca~ of major ag'Ticultliral activity, it is possible imbjcct to critical review, so that per-
to envisage natural resources conse.rva- m~nent feed.bocks are C$1ahlisbf:d bcl-
domestic eoergy uses :m<l SJn~l produc-
tion units - by solitr energy (fo r tjon programmes whicli would not to ween practice a,id nction-or!ented
example for pumps, ldtchen s tove.~ :ind a ny large e1ttent diminish the Cllpaclty research.
water ht'llte.rs). wind 1>11etgy (for the of a ooun!fy to undertah, othe r <levL~ In particular, it is essential to promote
local l)toduction of clectricil)'), small lopmen t enterprises. This is one the gath1>ring and circulation of info~ -
dams and evPn the J)roductfon or opportWllly whicli should not be mused, tion on eco-dcve lopment experiments as
methane from organic souroes.ci Th~e as the ClrilJUI)le or China eloquently idenUfled and described by anthropo-
various p rocedures are justifiable in the demonstrate.,;." logists, hjstorfan.s and hwna.11 geograph-
conditions of isolation which e:liii.t ia (6) SQcitlL S1Jrou;es ers, and also on eco-techniquL-s devdap-
many rural regions; and they a]5o have If, as bas been imgg~ted, the social ed and applied by d.Hici-cnt indigenous
the ad, 'll.nt.-ige that they can be applied cnviromnent ls lo be considered ll$ ~rt [)ea.sant cultures and, to an increasing
on an eveo more reduced scale, for uf the glohal environment coocept, as ~~tc-nt, by certain research laboratories.
eirnmple o n a sin.i;le fom1 . The possibili- mcanfns the total habitat of mati, an T he p urpose of this wiU ~ three-fold ;
ties of using geothermic energy should, t.'CO·dcvclopment strategy must naturally lo inspire the imagination of re,earch
of course, also 11<' carefully aisessocl includ e forms and techniques for p ro- workers and persons respomible for
where they exil.t. Yid fng soci;il. educational arid cultural regional planning, to ai.sist in the trafn-
8.34
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY May 25, 1974
835
May 25., 1974 ECONOMIC AND POLm CAL WEEKLY
Fluw 11f E11ctgy in atl Agricultur;il techni<111e which would tlcpcnd iu,tify the culliui down of the
Society", Sci,mJi(ic Amerlcct,1, Sep,- cssenfi ally on his Jabour and Otl forest by pseudo-sdentillo argu-
tembei- 1971. knowledl{e of the environment and ments. H as n<lt 1[enrique Amenta
'11le Iutematio11al Rice Rcs<:arcb wo11Jd :ilford him II possibility of Veloso, adviser to the Brazilian
Jn5tituto has just begun a re.search lncre::ising and divcl"$ifying his Government, just c:tplaincd that
prog.ran,mo on "multiple croppin1;'' pmduction. (See C Conway, J the Ama20nian forest is in the pro-
conceived as a carry-on from the Romm, " 11,cologv and ncsomce cess of growing dangerously old
"Green Revolu tion", keyed to the l>cv,•lopmcnt in South-East Asia'', and of degcneratin~ beneath the
humble peasa11t \vho Jach capital T he Ford FouMlalion Office for wdghl of the liaoa and that 30
and aooess to irrigated lan<ls, but South-E11st ;\~;a, 1973). per cent ol it must be Qll t down
could IJTUP perfec.1.1)• well a new 22 NaturalMs can be found who before H is too !atei' (0 E.rtad-0 de