2:08 p.m., Nov. 26, 2008----Ashish Kothari, a founding member of Kalpavriksh, a leading Indian environmental non-governmental organization, discussed economic globalization and its impact on the environment in India during a presentation Tuesday afternoon in the Trabant University Center as part of a University of Delaware Energy and Policy Colloquium.

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Kothari spoke on the topic “Globalization and the Crisis of Environmental Governance in India,” looking at recent economic globalization and what that has meant for the environment and for people's livelihoods and welfare.

Industrial activity, mining and dams have had serious consequences, he said, adding that the current situation in India is weighted toward unsustainability. He said there are signs that India might be preparing to take a different path but added the nation cannot do it alone and must have the support of the world as a whole.

No nation in the world is moving quickly toward sustainability, Kothari said, but some at least are moving. He said he would like to see a “greening” of budgets and planning processes, as well as real thought about human welfare and how humans treat the Earth.

Kothari has served on various government committees in India, including those working on environmental aspects of river valley projects, formulating the Biological Diversity Act and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

He has worked across the spectrum, from community based ecological struggles and initiatives in India to issues of environmental governance and justice at the global level.

Kothari leads an initiative on biodiversity conservation, equity and livelihoods issues at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He is presently chairperson of the board of Greenpeace India.

Kothari is the author or editor of 25 books, and over 150 articles on environment, development and conservation issues. He is currently visiting Bowdoin College as the Mellon Global Fellow in Environmental and Asian Studies.

The presentation was sponsored by the University of Delaware Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, the Graduate Program in Energy and Environmental Policy and the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy.

Photo by Kathy Atkinson