At an individual level the initiative lies with the people, where the focus is on protecting the ecology and not relying on political or governmental intervention. The effort should begin from home in earnest
For any environmental initiative to become effective, citizen participation and awareness are absolutely essential. Environmental citizenship originally dates back to the 1960s, but is assuming greater meaning and relevance in today’s scenario of increasing environmental activism, in the face of daunting challenges and threats to nature.
As an evolving concept, environmental citizenship is increasingly being seen as the role of democracy in promoting environmental protection and sustainability. The concept assumes far more importance in India — the world’s largest democracy. In the Indian context, clear connections between democracy, sustainability and individual rights and responsibilities in terms of ‘environmental citizenship’ still need to be clearly defined.
As part of the efforts to establish ‘environmental citizenship’, certain questions need to be addressed. For instance, the rights and responsibilities of an environmental citizen need to be defined, and the extent of environmental citizenship participation also needs clarity. Does it include involvement in decision-making and contribution in community projects or private participation at an individual level, pertaining to reducing, reusing and recyclingIJ
In a diverse country such as India, the value of clarity on a number of issues is invaluable, and the definition of an ideal environmental citizen is one of them. In addition, the Government can play a vital role in ensuring that the concept of environmental citizenship does not carry any implications for the overall idea of citizenship.
Globally, the routes taken towards environmental citizenship have been varying. For instance, in the United States, the United Kingdom and other developed nations, the movement for ensuring environmental justice is rapidly making progress towards environmental citizenship. The movement has argued for over 20 years that poor and minority communities suffer a disproportionate and unjust burden of environmental hazards. These countries are actively contemplating adding environmental rights to the traditional (political, civil and social) rights of citizens.
The activists of environmental justice have been very aware of the political and cultural inequalities that underpin distributive injustice. Their response has been to insist that public participation in environmental decision-making is an essential dimension of environmental justice. This resonates with the fundamental principles of democracy. The environmental duties of citizens come before rights. As environmental citizens the mandate of duties should cover everyday aspects of protecting the environment. Small steps such as saying no to polythene usage, promoting car pooling among others can be the building blocks towards an effective environmental citizenship.
Being in a country that places superlative importance on the freedom of speech as an integral part of democracy, environmental citizenship duties and activism can take a very potent form and act as a catalyst for transformation of societal awareness towards environment.
The Government should play a larger role to ensure attitude change in the citizens towards their environmental obligations rather than adhere to policies that are incentive-based, like subsidies, or disincentive-based policies such as price, punishment or prohibition. Rather than external motivation green-consciousness should be nurtured to develop newer forms of environmental and ecological citizenship. This would eventually help in preventing the involvement of selfish and narrow interests over the larger environmental good.
The Government can further refine and adapt environmental citizenship in a globalised economy, and this can be possible by enlisting the support of environmental NGOs and finding ways of how best practices can be inculcated into the system. Efforts can also be made to ensure that individuals are empowered so as to enable them to make ‘green’ choices in daily life.
One of the key factors that the Government can focus on is the role of education and learning, including formal and informal education, in promoting environmental citizenship and spreading the message on how environmental citizenship can be a part of the school curriculum as well.
For an effective and long-term implementation of environmental citizenship, a robust institutional framework is a must. This should address the role institutions should play in the promotion of the same.
At the individual level, the initiative lies with the citizen, where the focus is on protecting the environment and not relying on political or governmental intervention. The effort should begin from home. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “There is enough for everyone’s need but not greed”.
Resources need to be used judiciously, and we should strive to create a positive ecosystem so that we clean up the waste which we generate. This will ensure that environmental citizenship can be a stepping-stone for a growing and sustainable economy.