Air Pollution Delhi

Nous ne pouvons pas respirer: Histoire d'un migrant de la pollution

Nous avons perdu le droit de respirer de l’air propre. Nous devons transformer toutes les étapes du schéma "extraction-fabrication-déchet" (de l’expression anglo-saxonne take-make-waste) pour construire des villes florissantes.
India, Southern Asia

Story by Piyush Dhawan. Translated by Stefania Ledda
Published on May 9, 2021.

This story is also available in GB it kr



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Respire profondément et retiens ton souffle pour les sept prochains mois parce qu’avec l’arrivée de Septembre, nous tous à New Delhi devrons affronter le même calvaire que nous avons subi les cinq dernières années.

Ton nez coule, tes yeux et ta gorge te grattent, et tes poumons sont oppressés: l’air est tellement suffocant et toxique que nous nous efforçons de respirer!

Il y aura des gouvernements qui se renverront la balle, comme chaque année. Des rapports seront publiés avec des données effrayantes sur la manière dont nous mourrons prématurément de dix ans. Nous verrons de la publicité pour des purificateurs d’air et des Airs Canadiens. Imagine : les deux seules choses dont les êtres humains ont besoin pour survivre - l’air et l’eau - sont maintenant vendues dans des récipients.

Je suis né dans cette ville et ça me tue de la voir mourir ! Peu à peu, chaque jour ! Nous avons récemment vu des vagues d’habitants de New Delhi, brillants et hautement qualifiés quitter la ville à la recherche d’une meilleure qualité de l’air.

Ils nous appellent "migrants de la pollution"! Nous n’avons pas d’autre choix que de partir.

10 des 15 villes les plus polluées au monde se trouvent en Inde et les 10 villes qui se développent le plus rapidement au monde sont toutes en Inde !

L’économiste qui est en moi pense que c’est une chose fantastique - nous serions le moteur économique du monde - mais l’écologiste en moi est sceptique.

Les villes, occupant seulement 1% de la surface terrestre de la planète, sont le foyer de plus de la moitié de la population humaine et produisent 85% du PIB mondial. Pour soutenir leur population et ainsi générer ce PIB, ces villes ont un appétit énorme. Elles représentent 75% de la consommation des ressources naturelles, 50% de la production globale de déchets et 70% des émissions de gaz à effet de serre.

J’ai été inspiré par un TED Talk de Dame Ellen MacArthur qui, après avoir vécu seule sur son yacht pendant plus de deux mois, était tourmentée par cette question: comment est-il possible que notre planète continue à fonctionner en utilisant le même modèle économique des deux derniers siècles ? MacArthur se demande: et si non seulement nous protégions la nature, mais aussi nous l'améliorions activement? Après avoir écouté son discours, j’ai réfléchi pendant plusieurs semaines: qu’est-ce qu’il se passerait si nous étions à bout de ressources ? Puis j’ai eu une illumination ! Je commençais à regarder les villes comme des trésors cachés pleins de ressources ! Des bâtiments aux déchets électroniques, nous sommes entourés de produits de valeur.

J’imagine des villes autosuffisantes, capables de satisfaire leurs besoins matériels, en réduisant la consommation des ressources naturelles et la production des déchets. Je vois des villes pleines d’espaces verts qui fournissent des sanctuaires aux humains et aux autres espèces. J’imagine des villes socialement inclusives qui utilisent les atouts de millions de migrants qui viennent à elles.

Je crois fermement que le schéma actuel ne peut fonctionner ni pour les entreprises ni pour les gens ou pour l’environnement. Depuis des décennies, l’Inde est en compétition avec la Chine dans une course à la croissance économique ! Le problème de cette compétition c’est qu’il y a plus de perdants que de gagnants. Nous avons perdu le droit de respirer de l’air propre et de boire de l’eau propre. Nous avons perdu notre biodiversité locale. La disparité entre les riches et les pauvres est à son paroxysme. Dans ce moment critique, nous avons besoin de décider si nous continuons à suivre aveuglément la fable de la croissance ou si nous embrassons une vision qui soit équitable et inclusive !

70% des infrastructures prévues en Inde pour 2030 sont encore à construire. Imagine si nous modifiions la manière dont ces énormes quantités de ressources sont gérées et utilisées pour les besoins des futurs citoyens. Nous pouvons intégrer le climat et les migrations de population dans la planification du développement et affronter les causes de la pauvreté et de l'insécurité alimentaire. La migration devrait être un choix. Ensuite, nous pouvons créer une économie prospère dont tous peuvent bénéficier selon les capacités de notre planète. Nous avons le droit de respirer de l’air pur. Bâtissons des villes qui reconnaissent ce droit humain fondamental.


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Piyush Dhawan

Piyush Dhawan

Piyush Dhawan is the Cofounder of the Circular Collective, an open-source knowledge platform that facilitates, activates and enables discussions on Circular Economy in India. He has previously worked with the German Technical Cooperation as National Advisor on Business and Biodiversity and at UNDP India as Resource Mobilization and Partnership Lead for SDGs for a decade. He is a TEDx speaker, German Chancellor Fellow and Alexander von Humboldt Fellow. He has represented India at many international conferences including the European Forum Alpbach (Austria), Global Environment Academy (Oxford), DAAD in Mongolia, Germany and Thailand and G20 Summit (Korea).

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