1. Defining a Public Good
A public good is characterized by non-excludability (no one can be barred from using it) and non-rivalry (one person’s use doesn’t reduce its availability for others). Classic examples include clean air, national defense, and public parks. The environment fits this definition: everyone benefits from clean air, usable water, and stable ecosystems, yet no individual or institution fully “owns” or bears the cost of protecting them.
2. Features of a Public Good in the Environmental Context
Key features that make the environment a public good include
- Accessibility for all: Clean air and ecosystems benefit everyone, regardless of contribution.
- Collective responsibility needed: Individual actions, whether polluting or conserving, aggregate into societal impact.
- Free-rider problem: If protection depends on voluntary action, many may benefit without contributing.
- Diffuse accountability: Policies can fall through because no single actor takes full responsibility.
3. Causes of Environmental Degradation: Political Environment
Politics often fails the environment due to
- Short-term electoral cycles: Leaders prioritize visible infrastructure over less tangible environmental investments.
- Electoral trade-offs: Environmental regulation is sometimes seen as limiting growth or costing jobs.
- Regulatory capture: Industries with political links can dilute enforcement.
- Fragmentation: Different ministries and federal/state powers lead to unclear environmental mandates.
4. Political Parties’ Role
Political parties often treat environmental issues opportunistically
- Major parties have vague green platforms, often sidelined as non-essential.
- Some launches of tree-planting or clean-up drives happen pre-election with limited follow-through.
- Opposition parties often critique environmental decisions but push little alternative.
- Grassroots or ecological parties exist, but remain minor due to limited electoral popularity.
5. Pollution vs. Growth
The tension between pollution and growth is acute
- In 2023, India’s GDP grew by ~7%, but PM2.5 pollution levels in many cities remained 5–10 times WHO limits. Rapid construction, transport, and energy expansion drive smog, water stress, and ecosystem strain.
- Developing economies often rationalize environmental neglect as a necessary trade-off for jobs and infrastructure.
- Global experience shows that lasting economic growth depends on environmental health—deteriorating air quality, for instance, raises healthcare costs and cuts workforce productivity.
6. Recent Incidents of Landslides
Environmental disasters bring local tragedies into focus
- In December 2024, in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, sudden landslides following heavy rainfall caused over 30 deaths and disrupted transport for days—illustrating how unregulated construction, deforestation, and monsoon intensification combine dangerously. (Source: NDMA, local media)
- In 2025’s Uttarakhand flash floods, heavy rainfall and poorly planned roads triggered landslides killing dozens and destroying roads and bridges. Expanded Himalayan highway networks without geologic study exacerbated risk. (Source: local government reports)
Landslides underscore that when an environment is treated as “nobody’s” property, infrastructure ignores ecological limits.
7. International Efforts
Global institutions recognize environment as a public good
- The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stress clean energy, water conservation, climate action (SDG 6–13).
- The IPCC calls for carbon neutrality and ecosystem restoration to tackle climate change collaboratively.
- Agreements like the Paris Accord commit nations to collective duties, though enforcement remains voluntary.
- India, as part of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), showcases how shared resources (sunlight potential) can be developed through collaboration.
8. Poverty as a Blockade
Poverty compounds environmental neglect
- Low-income communities prioritize livelihoods—often dependent on resource extraction or pollution-intensive employment—over conservation.
- Governments may hesitate to restrict cheap fuels or relocate informal settlements despite environmental risks.
- Without poverty alleviation, environmental measures can appear elitist or unjust, reducing policy acceptance.
9. Suggestions for Pollution-Free Environment
To treat environment not as “nobody’s baby” but a shared asset, we need
a) Legal Accountability
- Stronger enforcement of environment legislation, with citizen litigation (e.g., Public Interest Litigation) empowered.
- Clearer mandates among ministries and between federal/state levels.
b) Economic Instruments
- Pollution taxes, tradable permits for carbon or water use, and subsidies for green technologies.
- Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes to reward habitat protection.
c) Community Empowerment
- Local democracy: Encourage village councils and local bodies to co-manage forests and water.
- Education and awareness, especially in vulnerable regions, so communities are co-stewards.
d) Transparent Data and Monitoring
- Real-time public dashboards on air quality, water stress, deforestation, and disaster risk (like NDMA’s portal).
- Citizen science—e.g., community air monitors or report apps.
e) Integrated Planning
- Municipal, state, and central planning must integrate environment into urban design, infrastructure, and disaster preparedness.
- Environmental Impact Assessments should be mandatory and enforceable with penalties.
f) International and Regional Cooperation
- Cross-border river conservation (e.g., Indus, Ganga-Brahmaputra) as shared public goods.
- Transnational forest corridors and migratory bird sanctuaries require regional collaboration.
10. Concluding Remarks
The environment is a public good par excellence—vital for health, prosperity, and security, yet vulnerable because it has no single custodian. Left unattended, it invites degradation and disaster—from smog-choked cities to monsoon-weakening hillside communities.
India must move beyond slogans and episodic green gestures to systemic governance where environment is treated with ownership and urgency. That means aligning politics, poverty alleviation, economic incentives, local governance, legal scaffolding, and global cooperation.
In short: the environment must become everybody’s baby, nurtured by policies, civic stewardship, and institutional accountability—if India hopes to grow sustainably and equitably into 2047 and beyond.
Abbreviations
- GDP – Gross Domestic Product
- IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- NDMA – National Disaster Management Authority
- UN – United Nations