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Energy consumption declining In the past 20 years, structural changes in the economy together with a rise in energy prices has resulted in energy consumption dropping by one fifth. 12 The economy has shown an overall decrease in energy demand with energy consumption per unit of GDP declining significantly. 13 The proportion of consumption by productive sectors specifically has decreased but there has been a concurrent increase in the proportion of household and communal consumers. 14 Compared to 1989, the domestic output of energy sources has decreased by 35% with a modest increase in energy imports. Energy imports historically have represented 50% of energy consumption. By 2009, consumption of energy imports, however, had increased to 62% though electricity imports haddeclined significantly. 15 The proportion of domestic natural gas output showed a significant increase while coal experienced a sharp decrease. 16 The past 20 years also have seen more use of solar and wind energy along with that of traditional renewables such as firewood and geothermal energy. The use of renewable energy sources both in extraction and use has increased though they represented only 3.6% of energy use in 2003 and 5.2% in 2005. 17 Despite these positive trends, predatory privatization in certain sectors has increased the risk of environmental catastrophe. Such a calamity took place in October 2010 when a rupture in a wall of a privately owned waste sludge resevoir resulted in three settlements in Veszprém County being flooded by about 1 million cubic meters of toxic red sludge, burying 500 houses, killing nine people and injuring 150. 18 The health consequences of the catastrophe were serious and still have not been made fully public. Food security is a challenge Hungary only completed its National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) in 2007. 19 Integrating all 12 The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin, Hungary: total primary energy consumption, (2010), . 13 The Titi Tudorance Bulletin, Hungary: Energy intensity – Total primary energy consumption per dollar GDP, (2010), . 14 Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Hungary 1989-2009, (Budapest: 2010), p. 49, . 15 Trading Economics, Energy Imports; (% of energy use) in Hungary, (2009), . 16 Index Mundi, Hungary Dry Natural Gas Production by Year, (2009), . 17 Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Hungary 1989-2009, (Budapest: 2010), p. 49, . 18 Ministry of Rural Development, Current Status Report about the Red Sludge Catastrophe, (Budapest: 9 November 2010), . 19 Government of the Hungarian Republic, National Sustainable Developmen Strategy, (Budapest: June 2007), ; see also: Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Sustainable Developmen Indicators in Hungary, (Budapest: 2008), . THE ROMA, STILL AT THE VERy BOTTOM Modern genetic studies state that the origin of the Romanis traces back to the Indian subcontinent, possibly to the present territory of Rajasthan and that they migrated later to the Punjab region. A 2004 study concluded that all Romani share descendants of a group of people living approximately 40 generations ago. 1 Romani people were reported in Europe in the 14th century, living in Crete. They were called atsiganoi in Greek, which means “untouchable.” Within the next two centuries they had reached Germany, Sweden and the Iberian Peninsula. Among the diverse subgroups of the Romani people in Europe are the Roma, concentrated in central and eastern Europe and central Italy; the Iberian Kale; the Finnish Kale; the Romanichal in the United Kingdom; the German Sinti and the French Manush. During World War II, the Nazis and the Croatian Ustaše fascist group embarked on a systematic attempt to eliminate the Romanis, in a genocidal process called Porajmos in the Romani language. Romani people were defined as “enemies of the race-based state” by the Nuremberg Laws. 2 The total number of victims has been estimated as between 220,000 and 1,500,000. 3 Some people were killed on sight and others sentenced to forced labour and imprisonment in concentration camps; in Hungary 28,000 Romanies were killed. 4 According to the 2001 Census, 190,000 people identify as Roma in Hungary, although some estimates give much higher numbers, near 10% of the total population. 5 The Hungarian Romani face multiple challenges compared to the rest of the population, including poverty, discrimination, lack of access to the educational system and higher unemployment rates. Currently, out of the 22 members of the European Parliament, only one is a Romani. However, there are a number of Roma organizations in Hungary, including the Roma Social Coalition and the Independent Interest Association of Roma. 1 D.Angelicheva et al., Mutation History of theRoma/Gypsies (Perth, Australia: University of Western Australia, 2004), . 2 J.Barsony, “Facts and Debates: The Roma Holocaust,” in J.Barsony and A.Daroczi (eds), Pharrajimos: The Fate of the Roma During the Holocaust (New York: International Debate Education Association, 2008), p.1. 3 I.Hancock, “Romanies and the Holocaust: A Reevaluation and an Overview”, in D. Stone (ed), The historiography of the Holocaust, (New York: Palgrave-Macmilan, 2004), 4 M.Verdofer, Unbekanntes Volk Sinti und Roma (Südtirol: Kennenlernen Informationsheft für Jugendische Gesellschaft für bedrohte1 Völker, 1995), . 5 Romani World, Economics, (European Committee on Romani Emancipatio [ECRE], 2003), . domestic sectors, the NSDS is a coherent plan with sector strategies and programmes. Despite its coherence, however, the implementation of the social goals of sustainability raises serious concerns about its agriculture planning and food security. Since 1990, Hungarian agriculture has experienced enormous changes as a result of fundamental alterations in the structure of ownership and production, the conditions of livestock production and the structure of food consumption and foreign trade. Consequently, a substantial part of farmed land (about 300,000 has.) has been taken out of production. 20 Multinational food processors and retailers now dominate the Hungarian market while small-scale, traditional family farmers are struggling with fragmented land ownership, lack of capital and few marketing skills. The price squeeze of food processors and big supermarket chains have provoked farmer mobilizations all over the country and have raised serious concerns about the origins and security of food. 20 G. Nagy, Country /Pasture Resource Profile-Hungary, (Rome: FAO Website 2001 & 2006), . Social Watch 123 Hungary Hungarians’ poor health By international standards, Hungarians’ health is extremely poor, the result of historical, social, economic, and cultural factors, including people’s habits and general way of life. Alcoholism is widespread, and the number of drug users is growing fast. Life expectancy at birth is low though it has increased both among men and women. In 1990, it was 65.1 years for men and 73.1 for women. In 2008, it was 69.8 years among men and 77.8 years among women. 21 The Hungarian population has had the third highest mortality rate in the EU, averaging 13.1 per thousand between 2005 and 2009. Hungary is second after the Baltic States with the highest rate of mortality caused by heart and cerebral blood-vessel diseases, malignant tumours and diseases of the digestive system. The lung cancer mortality rate is almost twice the EU average. n 21 Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Hungary 1989-2009, (Budapest: 2010), p.94, .
india Ill-founded growth leads to environmental disaster Social Watch India Himanshu Jha The country faces several social challenges, such as inequitable economic growth, poor natural resource management, the exclusion of the majority of the population from decision making and from access to basic services, unabated environmental degradation and failure of institutions to sufficiently integrate environmental and social development considerations into economic policy objectives. Over the last decade it has been hit by a series of natural disasters that have severely damaged the economy and depleted natural resources, threatening the livelihoods of millions. Currently, 77% of the population lives below the poverty line. The country is especially vulnerable to natural disasters, including cyclones and annual monsoon floods. If we add poor resource management, inadequate infrastructure and unsustainable practices, the country’s future looks bleak. Global warming has already had an impact: increasing cyclonic activity, rising sea levels and ambient temperature and precipitation changes are being reported and will worsen in the near future. Rising temperatures in particular will change the ice and snow patterns of the Himalayas, which will have a huge impact on the region’s ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as on the livelihoods of millions of people. It is estimated that the country’s population will increase to about 1.2 billion by 2016, 1 putting enormous pressure on natural resources, so water shortages, soil exhaustion and erosion, deforestation and water and air pollution are expected. The missions Climate change is due largely to the unsustainable consumption patterns of rich industrialized nations, which are responsible for more than 70% of total global CO 2 emissions and consume 75- 80% of the world’s resources, while containing only 25% of the global population. Whereas an Indian citizen emits an equivalent of less than 2 tons of carbon per year, a citizen of the USA emits 1 Wikipedia, Environmental issues in india . The lack of long-term planning that has characterized India’s governments is seen clearly in its demographic growth and increasing CO 2 emissions. The recently proposed “missions” (or sustainable development initiatives) are not only insufficient but their effectiveness, however minimal, remains uncertain. Recent amendments to the heavily criticized 1894 Land Acquisition Act are unclear and fail to address the problems in the legislation. The Government must fully support renewable energy sources and integrate climate risk management in development planning. If it does not, all future scenarios for the country will be murky. Basic Capabilities Index (BCI) BCI = 76 Births attended 47 100 0 62 Children reaching 5th grade 100 100 National reports 124 Social Watch Surviving under-5 an equivalent of more than 20 tons. 2 Yet despite its relative poverty, India’s economy is already affecting the climate. In 2008 India was the world’s fourth-largest emitter of CO 2 . 3 The Government has proposed a National Action Plan to curb CO 2 emissions, and is also outlining the ‘Missions’ programme, a set of sustainable development strategies to serve as the country’s domestic climate legislation in the immediate future. Yet, these policies are driven more by adaptation imperatives and unsustainable development models than by a realistic and appropriate approach to environmental sustainability. In fact, India, along with the G77 and China, expects the developed world to agree to a 40% reduction in CO 2 emissions for 2020, so that developing countries get the appropriate “atmospheric space” required to develop. 4 The projected missions include a National Solar Mission (to generate 20,000 MW of solar power in 2020), a National Mission for Sustainable Habitat (focused on energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings, and on improved solid waste management), a National Water Mission (to improve water management and river conservation), a National Mission for a Green India (focused on reforestation), and a National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. 2 See: Citizens Report on Governance and Development 2010, (Sage Publications, 2010), . 3 Wikipedia, List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions, . 4 Citizens Report on Governance and Development, op.cit. 93 Gender Equity Index (GEI) GEI = 37 Education 100 0 12 Empowerment 33 100 66 100 Economic activity The first to be launched was the solar mission; the others have been approved but not yet implemented, and draft mission documents are prepared for all of them. However, it is still not clear if the Government will propose these as its main strategy for reducing the country’s CO 2 emissions. The Minister of Environment and Forests has already claimed that India will enact a mandatory fuel efficiency standard by 2011 and aspires to have 20% of its electricity supplied by renewable energy by 2020. The Government also aims to reduce the country’s energy intensity by 15-20% within the next 20 years and increase the area under forest or tree cover by 15%, for carbon sequestration. This will result in more than a 9% deviation compare to the business-as-usual scenario, as calculated by local NGOs. 5 The impact of large-scale infrastructure projects There is dire need to reconceptualize large-scale infrastructure projects within a sustainable development framework, and to look at the existing policy and regulatory framework for such projects. “From the standpoint of defining a sustainable low carbon trajectory of economic development, it is important not to see large scale infrastructure projects restrictively as something to be contained for the benefit of the environment and the society.” 6 Among the current policy initiatives are the National Action Plan on Climate Change and National Appropria- 5 Ibid. 6 V. Upadhyay, Infrastructure Regulation For the Low Carbon Economy: Survey of Key Issues and Concerns, India Infrastructure Report, .
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SOCIAL WATCH R E P O R T 2 0 1 2 SU
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SOCIAL WATCH REPORT 2012 The right
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Social Watch in the world SW Nation
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• GUATEMALA: CONGCOOP - Coordinac
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Española de la Educación; Movimie
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Social Watch: promoting accountabil
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Global Assembly The Global Assembly
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Table of contents The right to a fu
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The right to a future An overview o
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has similarly led to population dis
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In the current international trade
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Rio+20 and beyond: no future withou
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ated into many other international
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• Emphasizing progressive taxatio
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A compensation scheme to pay off cl
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Rio+20: implementation is the key A
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Sustainable development and a renew
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policies that have only exacerbated
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neoliberal model, it gained even mo
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Thus, the advances of the sustainab
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Networking cities that use new indi
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Green and equal: financing for sust
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fROM AID EffECTIvENESS TO TAx jUSTI
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casions, often reaching agreement.
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The indignados are asking the right
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Green jobs but no justice From the
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Human right to adequate housing and
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have its most negative impacts and
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BASIC CAPABILITIES INDEx 2011 The b
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TeChnICal noTes 1 The following are
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surviving under-5 Birth atended Chi
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education malawi 89 57 32 59 malays
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Achievement Possibility Frontiers (
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promoTIng eConomIC and soCIal rIghT
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Core Country serf Index Country Cor
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From the grassroots: NATIONAL REPOR
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Education and gender equality Accor
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- have gradually put sustainable de
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FIGURE 1 GDP - Real growth rate (%)
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diversified manner and underscored
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was re-opened shortly afterwards wi
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waste water is often polluted by hu
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eflected in Parliament by the progr
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ASIA’S LONGEST CIVIL WAR The Sri
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TABLE 1 Summary of general educatio
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Agriculture and food security Chall
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damage and destruction to the fishi
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FIGURE 1 Increase in after-tax inco
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which unemployment decreased, since
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emissions. It is important that emi
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3%, is due not only to its small si
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The national biomass (above and bel
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