DESD INDIA

India , like any other developing country is spread across in vast subcontinent and enveloped in diverse colours of community, culture and religion. We live in a rapidly changing developing world and nowhere is it more evident than in India . It is a country experiencing both an accelerating growth rates alongside unequal socio-economic development with new concerns of environmental conservation and protection emerging as vital issue. These issues are of immediate concerns as it has inevitable consequences in terms of environmental degradation felt particularly on socio-economically marginalized community.

It is amidst such a situation that India adopted a new paradigm of thinking and experience of development post-Stockholm Conference of 1972 called Sustainable Development (SD). Following which, India became a part of 187 countries agreeing on carrying out an important commitment towards SD by signing the Rio Declaration during 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development. Since then the concept of sustainable development is adopted such that the country and society can meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and the level of growth rates is commensurate with social, economic and environment development.

India has integrated sustainable development into its planning process and has several programmes directed towards this goal. It's initiatives in addressing development and sustainability issues touch upon the social, economic and environmental dimensions. The Government of India's sensitivity and commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth is reflected in the major policies of various ministries and also specific initiatives and programmes adopted through its Five Year Plans so as to achieve sustainability and MDG's (Millenium Development Goals). The Eleventh Five Year Plan reiterates this commitment of inclusive growth and reducing disparity through monitorable indicators of human development.

In order to achieve the goals of sustainable development, one of the first steps taken was in the direction of environment conservation and protection by promoting Environment education. This strategy was adopted post Stockholm conference by setting up Centres of Excellence for Environment Education under Ministry of Environment in the early 1980s. Though till sometime, most of these activities were restricted to this Ministry. However, gradually with the realization of the role that Education can play for ensuing sustainable development, Government of India recomended Ministry of Human Resource Development to integrate environmental concerns into all aspects and levels of education. ESD aims to go beyond and achieve status of well being in line with sustainable development by empowering people through various forms of educational processes and practices to assume responsibility for creating sustainable future. This goal became finer when India became part of UN General Assembly resolution for establishing UN DESD (2005-2014) in the year 2005, in recognition of the need to enhance efforts in education and learning to address issues of sustainable development.

Various alternative approaches have been adopted by countries to reduce their footprints with respect to ESD. However, scholars and development practioners have raised concerns that India currently needs to move forward directly on its own endogenous sustainable model of development rather than imitating the models of the western countries. Veterans like K. Sarabhai puts it as challenge of ‘leapfrogging' and blending both traditional – modern elements for ESD in all realms of society. Alongside, having the confidence to make critical choices and walk on its own well defined path is crucial for India so as to define the goals of ESD. As we move forward to redefine the notion of ‘development' to be more sustainable from all quarters it also becomes important to develop the paradigm of ‘education' i.e. the way it is practiced and conceptualized. In India , ESD has brought about a shift in emphasis from teaching to learning in myriad forms. The new National Curriculum Framework 2005 has as one of its key guiding principles: Connecting knowledge to life outside the school.

In this regard, India is the only country to have passed one of the landmark judgments passed by the Supreme Court of India directing all education boards to include environmental education (EE) as part of the formal education system at all levels. EE in India has always been seen in the development context. Therefore, much of the aspects of EE can be seen as ESD. For instance, issues such as water/housing/health can be seen from a variety of perspectives including access, equity, distribution and traditional use. Thus, the perspective of ESD needs to be built on the foundations of sector specific development already laid out and then integrating it as part with to achieve wider development agenda. It is in this respect that India is progressively marked different from other countries.

The Indian vision for the DESD /ESD is hence, based on a commitment towards sustainability rooted in a centuries old tradition of living in equilibrium with nature and all its elements. The 4th International conference on EE at CEE recognized and gave a shape to this vision by bringing together the expertise across the world to build the partnership. India recognizes ESD as a major drive of change and its commitment to sustainable development is reflected in it's polices, programmes and other Government and NGO led activities. However, challenges are still to be met in terms of creating awareness and ensuing ESD based development perspective. This is because concerns for environment conservation/protection cannot be put into place without addressing/taking into account the other/larger socio-economic and cultural reality of society in which concerns of environment are inbuilt.