Integrating safeguards in development

Development is a broader concept of continuous growth and advancement in multiple dimensions. It rotates around the perpetual evolution of physical, biological, sociocultural and economic spheres. The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as the process in which someone or something grows or changes and becomes more advanced. Supporting this definition, the UN Agenda for Development states it as a multidimensional undertaking to achieve a higher quality of life for all people.

In addition to that, economic development, social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development. It justifies that all development cannot be considered sustainable unless it addresses the needs of the present generations without endangering, compromising or disrupting the capabilities and access of future generations to meet their own needs. It advocates for the suitable balance of the use of resources. Thus, nations with the same economic status and average incomes are not in the same developmental stages. They differ widely in terms of the distribution of resources among societies, which directly and indirectly affects the quality of life, employment opportunities, education and healthcare, safety and security, availability of clean air and safe drinking water, crime and justice, and many more. This explains that not all developed nations are sustainably developed. Though each country has its unique set of priorities in setting their development policies, guidelines and implementing procedures for their developmental activities, it is a must to abide by them sustainably.

In today’s world, development orchestrates the transformation of societies and nations with environment-friendly practices. This can be achieved by acknowledging and integrating the safeguard activities in all the developmental undertakings. Safeguard should not only be understood as the current “buzzword” in the international aid sector but also as a prerequisite for eco-friendly and sustainable development. It refers to a set of framework, policies, procedures and practices implemented to prevent, protect and mitigate against any potential risk of undesirable, unforeseeable and inevitable happenings. Social and environmental safety is a crucial component of sustainable development, and safeguarding ensures the safety of the vulnerable in every activity. It aids in promoting active and meaningful local engagement, gaining public consent, protecting social values and norms, assuring equity and inclusion, guarding occupational health and safety and guaranteeing environmental safety. 

The notion of safeguard encompasses both the environmental and social dimensions. Environmental safeguard refers to the process of minimizing the adverse impacts of developmental activities on the natural environment and maintaining its long-term balance. It controls and mitigates the potential impacts on flora, fauna, habitats, biodiversity, ecosystem, air, water and soil resources and other environmental components. Likewise, social safeguard refers to the process of managing and mitigating the adverse impacts on the livelihood and well-being of local communities, socio-cultural values and norms, cultural and social assets, and other socio-cultural and economic components. Safeguarding is thus a fundamental principle for fortifying well-being, equity and social justice, personal and professional safety, and environmental equilibrium.

Safeguard has a pivotal role in protecting and promoting the well-being of physical, biological and sociocultural communities and environments; i.e, environmental protection, social equity, community well-being, compliance and accountability, risk management, quality and sustainability, community engagement and enhancement of developmental outcomes. It is essential for building resilience, fostering transparency and trust, enduring balanced economic growth, and promoting sustainability, equity and human rights. It should thus be an integral part of the planning, operation and monitoring stages of any developmental maneuver.

Being a developing nation, Nepal has a lot of potential for physical, social and industrial development. Human development and infrastructure development are the substantial elements. They have a momentous role in a nation’s prosperity, living conditions and well-being. Safeguard assists in defining and identifying their potential actions, surmounting risks, enhancing positive effects and achieving responsible, equitable and sustainable development. Environmental and social sustainability is the basis for economic growth and poverty reduction. The management of infrastructure development and resource needs imposes several challenges on policymakers and governments, and environmental and social safeguard plans guide them to overcome those challenges. Environmental safeguard allows policies and measures to conserve biodiversity, natural resources and ecosystems from degradation, while social safeguard allows the protection of the rights, health and well-being of the people. It helps to promote social inclusion, gender equity and Indigenous people’s rights and tackles major problems like Trafficking in person (TIP), child labor, harassment and discrimination. It also ensures fair compensation and adequate rehabilitation for the displaced people due to developmental activities. Safeguarding is important because of its role in the maintenance of environmental balance, prosperous community livelihood, active participation of local communities, resource conservation for future generations, legal and policy obligations, protection of international cooperation and investment, reduction of legal and financial risks, enhancement of project sustainability and sustainable development.

The world’s development strategy was focused more on economic growth rather than human development and environmental protection before the 1950s. However, the development strategies then shifted toward environmental balance, human well-being, quality of social assets and project sustainability. This has enforced several laws, guidelines and procedures to harmonize safeguards in developmental stratagems. In comparison to the development paradigm of the developed nation, Nepal’s development history is very young. This might be the case, despite having enough legal provisions, signatory guidelines, protocols and procedures, the development ingenuities in Nepal are emphasizing more economic aspects rather than preventing, minimizing, or mitigating environmental and social impacts. The current development practices exhibit that the safeguard implementation is focused only on multi or bilateral donor funding or international aid projects and almost zero implementations on local or government funding activities. The Environmental Protection Act and Environmental Protection Regulation are strict only for conducting Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) of the projects, instead of administering many other safeguarding policies and rules. These EIA or IEE studies are also just mandatory for project approval, while their recommendations and mitigation measures are hardly implemented.

Nepal has efficient and effective laws, acts, policies and guidelines for resource distribution, environmental protection and social harmony. However, the implementation of these acts and policies are fragile; they are often violated and infringed. The Constitution of Nepal has provisions for protecting and promoting social and cultural solidarity, economic equality, prosperity and social justice. The rights to a clean environment and social justice are enshrined as “Fundamental Rights and Duties”. Rights to equality and inclusion, rights of laborers and workers ensuring fair wages, safety and welfare are primarily spelled out. The country also has the Environmental Protection Act, regulations ensuring citizens' right to clean and healthy environments, compensating polluters, maintaining a balance between development and environment and mitigating climate change. Besides, the country has other well-prepared acts and regulations, like the Forest Act and Regulation, National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act and Regulation, Labor Act, Land Acquisition Act, Aquatic Animal Protection Act, Biodiversity Conservation Act and Electricity Act to ensure that the development projects and other activities do not adversely impact the environment and society. Additionally, we have various standards and guidelines related to environmental and social safeguards aligned with international norms and practices. Not to forget that we have also ratified and are committed to several treaties, agreements and conventions related to biodiversity, climate change, Indigenous people’s rights, elimination of child labor, slavery and trafficking, among others.

The foundation of today’s safeguard policies led back to its initial promulgation in the late 1980s, which gained more prominence after the Morse Commission’s 1992 report on the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The safeguard has been a worldwide norm since the 1990s. They were then emulated by multilateral development banks and other international donor agencies. This enforces the domestic legal system of the borrowing nations either to follow and comply with the safeguard policies or abjure the loans and grants. By the 2000s though most borrowers have accepted the loans grudgingly under those safeguarding conditions, safeguarding has remarkably established its regime. The history of international aid in Nepal dates back to the 1950s with the first foreign assistance in the form of grants and loans from the United States government. With the hegemony of safeguard policies in global donor communities, Nepal is also complying with safeguard policies, guidelines and directives. Each donor-funded infrastructure development projects obey the Environment and Social Management Frameworks as well as comply with all the safeguard covenants. They are utterly executing grievances redressal mechanism (GRM), occupational health and safety (OHS), iteratively conducting free prior informed consent (FPIC), addressing vulnerable communities and many other safeguarding activities. Nevertheless, these are practiced and implemented only on donor-funded projects and are not administered in government-funded schemes.

The weak institutionalization of safeguards in Nepal is not because of its fledgling developmental initiatives or lack of policies and acts but because of numerous barriers and challenges. Poverty and disparities in the distribution of the economy or resources contribute to the overuse and exploitation of natural resources, which degrades the environment. The improper and insufficient environmental assessment leads to abuse of natural resources resulting in long-term impacts. Furthermore, lack of capacity and weak adaptation to climate change, deforestation and encroachment, political instability and institutional weakness, ineffective legal frameworks, and corruption create hindrances to implementing safeguard activities. The lack of education, absence of basic infrastructure, disorganized population, rapid and unmanaged urbanization, uncontrolled industrialization, unemployment and labor migration are some other factors that often pose severe challenges to strengthening safeguards.

Following these challenges, there are even greater opportunities and advantages. Having a diverse ecological zone, Nepal has great prospects for environmental conservation, leading to sustainable ecotourism and socioeconomic prosperity. We even have a humongous source of renewable energy, which we can easily trade between two gigantic energy-consuming neighbors. Complying strictly with safeguard policies, we are capable of attracting green funds and investments for hydropower and other climate adaptation measures. Apart from this, it provides multiple possibilities for investing, exploring and adapting new technologies as well as fostering entrepreneurship.

Overall, integrating safeguards in development and planning projects acts as a decisive factor for stimulating sustainable and inclusive phenomena, fortifying benefits for present and future generations. It could be the assurance of achieving the goal of a prosperous Nepal and contented Nepali. Therefore, safeguards should be contemplated in every government project and should be properly analyzed as well as mastered before concreting any development plans and activities.