Well-being of any country consists of different aspects of economic, political and social situations. Well-being of the country is connected with the happiness of its citizens. Measures of well-being include GDP, economic well-being, individual living conditions and happiness of the citizens (Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi). GDP is the level and market value of goods produced on the territory of the country within a certain period of time. Although, GDP is considered to be one of the most important factors influencing the prosperity of the country, there are some factors which do not increase well-being such as depreciation, the belonging of most incomes to foreigners and security expenditure. Economic well-being is considered to be a broad concept including different aspects of material life. Non-market activity, GDP, wealth and leisure influence the level of economic well-being. Individual living conditions depend not only on the level of income per citizen but also non-material aspects such as health, education, life expectancy and the state of environment. One of the main aims of any country is the happiness of its citizens. The happiness depends on life and work satisfactions, family and friends. Despite the increase of economy in many countries, the level of happiness does not change during a long period of time (Deutsche Bank Research).
The level of well-being differs in many countries. There is the highest level of well-being in European and American developed countries and the lowest one in the countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Politicians of different countries look for the means of increasing the level of well-being. Let us have a closer look at the Indian state of Goa where the level of well-being is not very high. This state is known for picturesque beaches which attract tourists from around the whole world on the one hand and for iron ore industry on the other hand. This state produces 60 percent of iron ore exports of the country. There is an abyss between beautiful beaches and pockmarked territory inside the state.
The development of mining has influenced the environment of this state. Deforestation and air pollution are the main problems of the state of Goa. Nevertheless, the development of mining has increased the level of economic well-being. New jobs have been created and the level of unemployment has become lower, the standards of health and education have been improved and much money has spent on the improvement of the state of Goa. This state is one of the brightest examples when the development of mining put the problems with environment protection aside. As has been highlighted above the level of well-being of any country depends not only on economic factors but on non-material aspects of people’s life. Environment protection should also be taken into account as far as it influences the health of citizens and as the result makes the level of well-being quite lower. Many politicians think that closing the mines is the best decision of this problem but it is not the best one for the state of Goa where the mining is the main source of income.
Dr Ligia Noronha, one of the scientists of Tata Energy Research Institute points out: “Closing the mines because of their environmental impact is not an option for Goa, but there is a need to bring about some balance between the economic gains and the environmental losses to ensure greater sustainability for the region and local communities” (Noronha). Perhaps closing the mines will be a good decision if the country is well-developed in other economic spheres. The politicians of the state of Goa cannot permit to close mines for the sake of the environment protection. More than that, many politicians close their eyes on this problem, as Dr Noronha emphasizes: “Mining is one of those activities that really connects issues relating to people, development, and the environment, but its contribution – negative and positive – to health and well-being is poorly understood. More important, it’s not well communicated.” It is quite a difficult decision for local communities, mining companies and governments and they avoid touching upon this subject. Nevertheless, if this problem is not taken into account, the level of well-being of the state of Goa will be always behind the level of the developed countries.
The main issues which have been put on the agenda of the state of Goa are firstly, the problem of land mainly its availability for mining and compensations for this use to the local farmers; secondly, the environment pollution caused by the development of mining; thirdly, the consequences of closing mines such as unemployment, alcoholism, migration rates and poor life; fourthly, investments in education, health-care facilities, basic amenities and training opportunities provided by mines; fifthly, social and community relations and effective administration (Noronha). Many researches consider the measures of well-being to be the main problem. There are different points of view concerning the measures of well-being of local communities and the environment. What is the most important for people? Are they ready to donate the surrounding environment to the economic profits?
There are people who do not imagine their life without mining and those who are fierce environmentalists. The researchers of Tata Energy Research Institute provide the tools of measuring of the influence of mining development on the well-being: a set of social and environmental factors to measure environmental, social and economic costs of mining; the level of life and the level of incomes (Noronha). The balance between costs and incomes is the best decision for the state of Goa. The main purpose of the tools of measuring the level of well-being is to look after positive and negative changes caused by the development of mining and their control (Boarini, Johansson and d’Ercole). If the balance between positive and negative changes is violated politicians should take measures. If the positive changes exceed the negative ones, the country is on the way of development. If the negative changes exceed the positive ones, the development is hampered.
It should be pointed out, that these decisions of searching the balance and strict control are not the solving of the problem which is a burning issue for the state of Goa. Mining is the main source of income for this state and people involved in its business have a power in the country and they are not concerned with the environmental problems as far as their basic aim is the income. Nevertheless, if the officials continue to ignore this problem, there will be an abyss between the state of Goa and the developed countries as far as the level of well-being consists not only material and economic factors but also non-material ones. That is why the government of the state of Goa should take into account the alternative measures of well-being providing by Tata Energy Research Institute and practice them. It will improve the level of well-being of this Indian state.
Works Cited
Boarini, Romina, Asa Johansson and Marco d’Ercole, 2006, Alternative Measures of Well-being. Web.
Deutsche Bank Research. Measures of Well-being 2006. Web.
Noronha, Ligia, n.d., Case Study: India. Tracking Health and Well-Being in Goa’s Mining Belt. Web.
Stiglitz, Joseph, Amartya Sen and Jean-Paul Fitoussi, n.d., Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. Web.