CDM for Sustainable Development? Money for Nothing!!! A People’s Perspective
by Ajita Tiwari and Nafisa Goga D’Souza, Laya Resource Center
This crucial study shares full descriptions and critical on-the-ground insights from seven CDM projects in India that shed light on the most disastrous consequences to local communities and local workers. The authors report on the project descriptions, moral grievances, dirty politics, environmental calamities, and most importantly local disappointment in a clear, comprehensive way that may leave many CDM supporters shaken.
Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong: sustainable development goals have been neglected, stakeholder meetings overlook community participation, the companies involved do not hire locals as permanent employees, communities do not understand what DOEs write to them, CDM projects threaten the security of local livelihoods, massively unfair compensation to locals for land acquisitions, locals’ uninsured access to electricity grids for lighting, essential biomass for survival is deprived from locals, uneven distribution of projects among Indian regions…these are just some dilemmas from a cornucopia of flaws and problems with CDM projects in India addressed in this report. This study definitely merits a read.
