Significance of environmental stewardship for sustainable development of

South Asia

Environmental stewardship is the key to sustainable development of South Asia Being the host to
around 1.9 billion people or one fourth of the world’s population, South Asian region is one of
the world’s most populous yet economically least developed regions. Among the many reasons
of its poor economic development, the most important one is the absence of sustainable
development practices on the part of its constituent economies. If a careful analysis of the
situation of our region is carried out, we will come to know that it is the environmental
stewardship which is the key to its sustainable development. Mitigation of climate change related
risks, improved quality of life and efficient usage of scarce resources are some of the undeniable
proofs of the key role of environmental stewardship in promoting sustainable development. As
far as South Asian region is concerned, there are many factors responsible behind the lack of
sustainable development in the region. Considering the severity of the issue, it is high time that
some meticulously designed policies are implemented to mitigate the multi-faceted challenges in
the way of sustainable development of South Asia.

Environmental stewardship in simple words, can be defined as the responsible use of

environment by individuals, groups, organizations and states. The core focus of this concept is
the protection of environment during the course of its usage by humans. Applied in the context
of South Asia, this concept means that individuals and states need to adopt those policies and
practices that are sustainable for a long period of time and provide for the socio economic needs
of maximum number of people. The incorporation of this concept into the economic policies of
the states is highly critical for the sustainable development of the entire region.

In the backdrop of the increasing threats of environmental degradation and that of climate
change in the region, the significance of environmental stewardship cannot be overstated. It is a
proven fact that responsible use of environment directly contributes to the improvement in the
quality of life by providing people cleaner water, food, energy etc. Also, it mitigates the impacts
of climate change because it involves massive changes like conversion to renewable sources of
energy and increased use of public transport, thus building resilience from natural disasters like
massive floods, glacier melting etc. Furthermore, the transformation in energy sources and
industrial practices creates new job opportunities leading to more inclusive economic growth.
These factors speak volumes of the why the environmental stewardship holds the key to
sustainable development of the region.

Despite of being home to enormous resources in terms of biodiversity, water reservoirs, glaciers
etc, South Asian region is unable to effectively utilize them for the purpose of sustainable
development. There are a number of challenges in the way of incorporation of environmental
protection practices by South Asian states. The first on the list is the rapid industrialization being
carried out to meet the needs of the fast growing population. This leads to deforestation,
establishment of factories, and houses etc, thus exposing people to the risks of climate change.
Precisely due to this reason, South Asia is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions from the
impacts of climate change. Similarly, there is a lack of economic integration due to which each
state tries to protect its own interests at the expense of environmental stewardship. This attitude,
coupled with other factors, has severely endangered the prospects of sustainable development in
the region.

Sensing the seriousness of the issue of environmental degradation and its significance for the
sustainable growth of the region, a revisit of the existing policies by all the regional actors is a
prerequisite to any approach to overcome this challenge. The first step in this regards can be the
convergence of all South Asian states on the fact that since it impacts them all, so its solution
must have the consensus of all. Unless this pertinent consensus is established, any policy
regarding the resolution of the issue of environmental degradation in the region is bound to fail.