Born in socialist times, a generation of Indians lived the ideas and values of middle class for a lifetime. Middle class was an aspirational place to be for this generation, at a time when a large majority of people were still struggling to get a permanent roof over their heads and jobs that could assure them of some level of security. Many Indians took pride in belonging to this group and class. It provided stability, a basic means of life and living, and guaranteed return on hard work. Education, a doctor, lawyer or engineer’s degree or a government job, were passports to this class and respect among the tribe. Wealth and consumption were scorned, looked at with suspicion. It was often assumed that wealth had been gained through corrupt means or at the cost of the masses.
The middle class represented not just a socioeconomic group but also a mindset. A much celebrated mindset, where the present was lived in the memories of the past and with efforts to conserve for the future. Celebrating constraints and restraining aspirations marked the middle class. Consumption, then, was largely centred on festivities and occasions such as childbirth and marriage. Indian society celebrated this mindset; predictability and stability were rewarded. So the middle class was an aspirational place to be both in mindset and as an economic force.
Gradually, however, India changed. Liberalization opened up the country and brought in a degree of ease and comfort in accessing goods and services. Economic policies and the opening up of the private sector provided better prospects. Mobile phones revolutionized the country and their penetration can be understood perhaps as the beginning of un-middle-classing in India. The nation got connected in an uninhibited way; the individual began to develop an identity outside of the family and community. The idea of private space emerged. A democratic force, a mobile phone was aspirational, irrespective of class.
Modern retail created new consumption festivals, unveiled many new categories and created aspirations. The new meccas created by modern retailers helped millennial Indians converge, spend weekends, celebrate their achievements and discover the small joys of life. Malls became the new public spaces and community centres. Here, India discovered modernity, new categories and newer reasons to consume. Smaller towns and cities emerged and demographically India became one of the youngest nations in the world. This young India possessed confidence and a fresh perspective to conquer the world. The romance of constraints did not appeal to this generation.
This un-middle-classing mindset is at the forefront today. Our aspirations have grown. Time is a valuable currency. Convenience and access are essential pillars of these times. Owning white goods, cars and homes on equated monthly instalments, the mushrooming of beauty parlours and gyms in big and large towns, the increasing dependence on household help in urban centres, the emergence of new categories—from diapers for infants to jeans for women, from packaged rice to men’s grooming products—overall attitudes towards saving and spending have much to suggest. The rate of savings in India today is around 31%.
The middle class has a new view of itself. We no longer struggle with life stages and roles, we embrace them and shape them. Everyday lives are not engulfed in the chores of living, we view life as a spectacle. With Indians taking selfies at every chance possible, pouting and posing at the camera, life is lived in the now. Adoption of new festivals and amplification of existing ones makes consumption a part of everyday life.
Shifts are visible. Inter-caste marriages are more acceptable, wearing high heels is an aspiration for women across socioeconomic classes. We no longer scorn the wealthy, the Hindi speakers or business owners. Fluency in English, education or wealth is not seen as the only marker of success. Enough role models have proven that despite all the odds, success is possible. Parenting too is not a one-way stream; often, reverse parenting is at play. Here, the young induct parents into the fold of technology and ensure that they remain relevant.
For modern retail to thrive, a healthy middle-class force is a prerequisite. Today guilt has been replaced by aspirations and society is leaping towards a new future.
With the onset of the un-middle-classing mindset and behaviour, the best years for a consumption-led economy in India are yet to come.
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- Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund.
- LEAF is supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon.com, Inc, Nestle, Airbnb, Inc as well as Emergent, a US-based non-profit.
- The world lost more than 10 million hectares of primary tropical forest cover last year, an area roughly the size of Switzerland.
- Ending tropical and subtropical forest loss by 2030 is a crucial part of meeting global climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals. Protecting tropical forests offers one of the biggest opportunities for climate action in the coming decade.
- Tropical forests are massive carbon sinks and by investing in their protection, public and private players are likely to stock up on their carbon credits.
- The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.
- REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It monetised the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.
- It is a unique initiative as it seeks to help developing countries in battling the double-edged sword of development versus ecological commitment.
- The initiative comes at a crucial time. The tropics have lost close to 12.2 million hectares (mha) of tree cover last year according to global estimates released by Global Forest Watch.
- Of this, a loss of 4.2 mha occurred within humid tropical primary forests alone. It should come as no surprise that most of these lost forests were located in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
- Brazil has fared dismally on the parameter of ‘annual primary forest loss’ among all countries. It has lost 1.7 mha of primary forests that are rich storehouse of carbon. India’s estimated loss in 2020 stands at 20.8 kilo hectares.
- Between 2002-2020, Brazil’s total area of humid primary forest reduced by 7.7 per cent while India’s reduced by 3.4 per cent.
- Although the loss in India is not as drastic as in Brazil, its position is nevertheless precarious. For India, this loss is equivalent to 951 metric tonnes worth carbon dioxide emissions released in the atmosphere.
- It is important to draw comparisons between Brazil and India as both countries have adopted a rather lackadaisical attitude towards deforestation-induced climate change. The Brazilian government hardly did anything to control the massive fires that gutted the Amazon rainforest in 2019.
- It is mostly around May that forest fires peak in India. However, this year India, witnessed massive forest fires in early March in states like Odisha, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram among others.
- The European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service claimed that 0.2 metric tonnes of carbon was emitted in the Uttarakhand forest fires.
- Implementation of the LEAF Coalition plan will help pump in fresh rigour among developing countries like India, that are reluctant to recognise the contributions of their forest dwelling populations in mitigating climate change.
- With the deadline for proposal submission fast approaching, India needs to act swiftly on a revised strategy.
- Although India has pledged to carry out its REDD+ commitments, it is impossible to do so without seeking knowledge from its forest dwelling population.
Context:-
At the recently concluded Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021, Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arrest the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]What is LEAF Coalition?
Why LEAF Coalition?
Brazil & India
According to the UN-REDD programme, after the energy sector, deforestation accounts for massive carbon emissions — close to 11 per cent — in the atmosphere. Rapid urbanisation and commercialisation of forest produce are the main causes behind rampant deforestation across tropical forests.
Tribes, Forests and Government
Disregarding climate change as a valid excuse for the fires, Indian government officials were quick to lay the blame for deforestation on activities of forest dwellers and even labelled them “mischievous elements” and “unwanted elements”.
Policy makers around the world have emphasised the role of indigenous tribes and local communities in checking deforestation. These communities depend on forests for their survival as well as livelihood. Hence, they understand the need to protect forests. However, by posing legitimate environmental concerns as obstacles to real development, governments of developing countries swiftly avoid protection of forests and rights of forest dwellers.
For instance, the Government of India has not been forthcoming in recognising the socio-economic, civil, political or even cultural rights of forest dwellers. According to data from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in December, 2020 over 55 per cent of this population has still not been granted either individual or community ownership of their lands.
To make matters worse, the government has undertaken systematic and sustained measures to render the landmark Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 ineffective in its implementation. The Act had sought to legitimise claims of forest dwellers on occupied forest land.
Various government decisions have seriously undermined the position of indigenous people within India. These include proposing amendments to the obsolete Indian Forest Act, 1927 that give forest officials the power to take away forest dwellers’ rights and to even use firearms with impunity.
There is also the Supreme Court’s order of February, 2019 directing state governments to evict illegal encroachers of forest land or millions of forest dwellers inhabiting forests since generations as a measure to conserve wildlife. Finally, there is the lack of data on novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths among the forest dwelling population;
Tardy administration, insufficient supervision, apathetic attitude and a lack of political intent defeat the cause of forest dwelling populations in India, thereby directly affecting efforts at arresting deforestation.
Way Forward
Tuntiak Katan, a global indigenous leader from Ecuador and general coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, aptly indicated the next steps at the Climate Summit:
“The first step is recognition of land rights. The second step is the recognition of the contributions of local communities and indigenous communities, meaning the contributions of indigenous peoples.We also need recognition of traditional knowledge practices in order to fight climate change”
Perhaps India can begin by taking the first step.