UNDP’s Human Development Report 2020 says, Work with Nature not against
Q. Why is this in news?
United Nations’ Human Development Index was released recently.Published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it is a statistical tool which is used to measure a country’s overall achievement in its social and economic dimensions. The social and economic dimensions of a country are based on the health of people, their level of education attainment and their standard of living.
Q. What’s unique about this year’s index?
For the first time, the United Nations Development Programme introduced a new metric to reflect the impact caused by each country’s per-capita carbon emissions and its material footprint, which measures the amount of fossil fuels, metals and other resources used to make the goods and services it consumes.
Q. What does it says about anthropogenic pressures?
Human development without anthropogenic pressures on Earth was the next frontier for humanity, the recently released 30th anniversary edition of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Human Development Report has said.
Humanity must redefine what it meant by progress in the light of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic by working with nature, rather than against it, the report said.
Report Says , Since humans wielded more power over the planet than ever before, they should use it to redefine ‘progress’, where their carbon and consumption footprints were no longer hidden.
Q. What does report highlights about Human displacement and its link to anthropogenic pressures on the environment?
The report highlighted human displacement and its link with anthropogenic pressures on the environment and social inequity. Many people born in areas with low carbon footprints per capita were more likely to migrate to areas with higher carbon footprints, it said.
While migration was an adaptation strategy, social inequalities often persisted even after people moved.
It also placed emphasis on the gender dimension of human displacement, which it said could differ by gender. Disasters killed more women than men on average in 141 countries from 1981 to 2002, the report noted.
Even if women managed to survive disasters, they were at greater risk of displacement, it said.
Female migration intentions increased with the severity of food insecurity, the document said. Changes in rainfall affected how women allocated time to paid work, unpaid care work and education. Girls could be forced to drop out of school to engage in household duties.
Evidence from Colombia to India indicated that financial security and ownership of land improved women’s security and reduce the risk of gender-based violence, the report said.
In India, different responses in parent behaviour as well as some disinvestment in girls’ health and education had led to higher malnutrition among girls than among boys as a consequence of shocks likely linked to climate change, it added.
Q. What is India’s performance in Human development report?
India dropped two ranks, standing at 131 out of 189 countries.
If the Index were adjusted to assess the planetary pressures caused by each nation’s development, India would move up eight places in the ranking, according to the report.
Q. What is Global scenario?
Norway tops the Index . It, however, falls 15 places if the new metric (The Planetary Pressures-adjusted HDI, or PHDI) is used, leaving Ireland at the top of the table.
In fact, 50 countries would drop entirely out of the “very high human development group” category, using this new metric.
Australia falls 72 places in the ranking, while the United States and Canada would fall 45 and 40 places respectively, reflecting their disproportionate impact on natural resources.
China would drop 16 places from its current ranking of 85.
Q. What are the parameters used in Human development Index?
Calculation of the index combines three major indicators: life expectancy for health, expected years of schooling, mean of years of schooling for education and Gross National Income per capita for standard of living.
Q. What does it highlights about Learning from locals?
Many approaches to reducing planetary imbalances often missed poverty, environmental justice and governance, the report said.
However, it noted that many local initiatives, several led by women, had been successful. For example, Kerala’s Kudumbashree projectempowered women farmers, fishers and grazers to assume leadership in public decision-making, it pointed out.
Cases in India and Nepal showed that environmental decision-making could be democratised when control over the means of production was transferred to local communities, which could lead to more sustainable outcomes, the report said.
Participation was key for strengthening transparency and accountability — among politicians but also among scientists and engineers, who needed to consider socio-environmental challenges in their work.
