She has shaken the very foundation of the cola giants in India, compelled the Indian government to set up a panel to look into the issue of ‘extremely' high levels of pesticides in their soft drinks and has forced the health ministry to commit to submitting its report on standards to be enforced for pesticide residues in soft drinks by year end.
Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, seemingly a wisp of a woman, has stirred quite a storm in the world of corporate accountability in terms of the environment.
If that is not enough, featuring on her to-do list is cleaning up Delhi's polluted air, adopting rainwater-harvesting systems and forest-related resource management and water-related issues. But it is her war against the soft drinks that has brought her and her department in the public eye.
Born in Delhi on August 23, 1961 to Usha and Raj Narain, Sunita is the eldest of four sisters. Her father, a freedom fighter, started his handicrafts export business after India's Independence in 1947. He died when Sunita was eight. Her mother, who took over the business, brought up her children.
“I had quite a cushy background and today, when I look back, I marvel at my mother's courage more than mine, as it must have been phenomenal on her part to let me travel to places on my own. It wasn't just exciting but also tremendously benefiting to be able to do what I wanted,'' she says.
While doing her graduation by correspondence from Delhi University in 1980-1983, Narain started working simultaneously in the field of environment. “I somehow ended up meeting a number of people who had similar interests and developed a tremendous fascination for environment-related issues.
“During the late 1970s when the Chipko Movement started in the Himalayas where women were protesting to save forests, I realised that environment conservation was my calling,'' she informs.
“Environment was not taught as a subject in any college in India at that time. In the 1980s, I happened to meet Kartikeya Sarabhai, son of renowned scientist Vikram Sarabhai and director of [the] Vikram Sarabhai Institute for Development and Research, Ahmedabad, who offered me a position as research assistant in the institute and there was no looking back. This was followed by a short stint at the Natural History Society, Mumbai, doing audio-visuals on environmental issues.
Tryst with CSE
While on a holiday in Delhi in 1982, Sunita met Anil Aggarwal, an eminent and committed environmentalist who gave environmental concerns a direction, and was working towards setting up CSE. She joined Aggarwal as a co-researcher. She worked with him on the State of India's Environment Reports. “I believe what I am today is because of what Anil taught me. A core group of 4-5 people in CSE today has been highly influenced by Anil's values and insights into the subject. He never had complaints, but would rather come up with solutions,'' Narain says of her mentor.
“He instilled in us the need to have full scientific facts, information and rationality to get to the bottom of the issue. With that kind of legacy, it would be shameful for us not to do the work we are doing,'' she says.
Appointed deputy director in 1993, Sunita took over as director of the Centre in 2000. She has worked on various programme units of the Centre involved in research communication and advocacy on environmental issues. Currently she is also publisher and editor of the Delhi-based fortnightly newsmagazine, Down To Earth.
Talking of the struggle to set up a process to test the quality of ground water, Narain explains, “Initially, for several years at CSE we continued being concerned about the growing toxification and contamination in water and every time we took samples to the government laboratories they would refuse to test saying we would later go to the court and create hassles. Finally, it was decided that CSE would set up its own state-of-the-art laboratory to analyse contaminants in water and food.
Asked which has been the most difficult issue to fight, Narain replied, “Every battle is very difficult when you begin the issue. I have found that the resistance initially is very high but as people begin to understand the reason why we are fighting and the kind of impact it has, we find the resistance breaking down gradually. For instance, when we tried to clean up Delhi's air, we faced huge resistance from the diesel lobby. But as the impacts of clean air became clear to people, resistance came down.''
Also, the Supreme Court had set up a committee called the Environment Pollution Committee, headed by a former bureaucrat, Bhure Lal. Narain is a member of that committee, which monitors the level of pollution in the city and asks the Court for further directions on a regular basis.
The successful implementation of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) in buses in the city has led to substantial reduction in air contaminants and now the project has become a model for the rest of the world.
As a member of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority for the National Capital Region, Narain continues to monitor and implement strategies for reducing pollution in Delhi and other cities across the country. “The biggest problem with Delhi was a very high level of particle emission due to the growing number of diesel vehicles.
“We also knew that the options were limited in terms of alternatives because our country does not have the resources to go for the cleanest diesel, which Europe and the US are introducing. So, by introducing CNG, we managed to bring in the cleanest diesel at a lesser cost.
“It has brought down the pollution levels in Delhi remarkably,'' she says.
Rainwater harvesting
Narain began working in this area with Aggarwal more than two decades ago, as they discovered the fascinating ingenuity of communities to harvest rainwater across the country. Their research lead to their books, Dying Wisdom and Making Water Everybody's Business.
Narain says that rainwater harvesting is a traditional knowledge and people across the country have been harvesting rainwater to suit their needs. There are traditional water harvesting systems like johars, kuin's and kunds in Rajasthan.
In Meghalaya people use bamboo pipes to harvest water.
In Nagaland the zaboo system, used combines forest conservation, water harvesting and agriculture. In ancient times, many kings were known to build harvesting structures in their forts. The CSE compiled the information on traditional water harvesting systems and took up the issue.
The successful practice of rainwater harvesting by villages in the Jaisalmer and Churu in Rajasthan regions showed the potential. In Delhi, CSE designed 20 models that monitor water levels and its quality. Its success proved that the concept could be adopted in urban areas also. In fact, now it is providing technical guidance to government departments.
Of all the issues undertaken, to Narain, water harvesting has been the most satisfying till date. CSE ran a campaign to change the paradigm of water management and build a water harvesting movement. Narain explains, “Since water is a crucial issue for a country like India, it is very satisfying to see that our ideas are now taking shape.''
She admits, though, that progress is slow. And the crisis is growing much faster than the solutions that can be found. “We have to manage to get ahead of the problem because the scale of the problem is huge. Moreover, water harvesting is not a technical solution. It is one in which every village needs to have institutions to manage its land and water and entails greater community involvement. Also, we need to soon understand the need to recycle and reuse water,'' she suggests.
Wildlife conservation
But even before Delhi could solve its numerous woes, in 2004, the country was stunned by reports of tigers vanishing from one of its premier tiger reserves, Sariska in Rajasthan. Preliminary investigations by agencies pointed to intensive poaching as the reason.
A year later, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office set up a national task force to study the problems in tiger conservation policy and suggest solutions.
Narain was chosen to head the task force, which included forest and wildlife experts. She says, “We recommended a complete change in [tiger] conservation management, which was accepted by the Prime Minister. In India, where we have a large population living in the vicinity where animals live, there is a need to practise another form of conservation, which is called co-existence. We have already tried exclusive conservation for the last 30 years and it has not worked. Now we need to try more inclusive conservation methods.''
Although not happy with the pace with which things are happening, she finds that things are moving. First, because the government passed a Bill to set up an authority for tiger conservation and, second, for the setting up of the Wildlife Crime Bureau.
Her dreams
Content with having created awareness among masses on various environment-related issues, she says, “A lot of people tell me that studies done by us have helped bring awareness among their children. And if the anecdotal data adds up, there is surely a difference.''
Asked if the CSE remains connected to the issues it has raised, Narain replies, “Yes, the issues stay with us. For example, in the case of air pollution, we managed to reduce pollution by introducing CNG. But with the huge number of cars coming to Delhi every day, the pollution level will go up again. So we have to stay engaged.
It is now called the second-generation reform and we are constantly creating awareness about the issue.'' Vocalising her concerns, Narain says, “I get scared as to where we are headed. This year we had floods in Rajasthan and drought in Assam. Every year we are getting knocked down by natural disasters, which are not really natural, but man-made disasters that have people living on the edge of survival. My dream is to see not just the CSE but several such centres bring about a change in the country, which has amazing resilience and the power to change for the better.''
Receiving accolades
Sunita has received several awards including the civilian honour, the Padma Shree in 2005, by the Government of India for her tireless efforts in the field of environment.
On behalf of CSE she received the 2005 Stockholm Water Prize, which is given by the Stockholm Water Foundation, Sweden.
Time magazine recently featured her among the six Climate Crusaders in the world for her pioneering efforts. She says, “Being chosen thus is very rewarding. It is definitely a global recognition for the work we have done. But then there's a long way to go on the issue of climate change and work towards making a difference.'' And she is not giving up.
