As the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda for 2030 approaches, the contemporary world continues to witness a Global North–Global South divide not just in terms of economic growth but also in terms of capacities to build resilience towards the changing climate and its adverse impacts. Countries from the developing Third World and Global South grapple with multiple challenges of livelihoods, natural resources and extreme weather events in a capitalist-driven world, existing in a vicious cycle of informality, precarity and uncertainty with insufficient policy support or ownership rights. This paper brings forward the dual – economic and environmental – benefits of India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA, 2005) by locating labour within the larger context of rights to life, livelihood and sustainability. It analyses the intensity and distribution of works pertaining to environmental conservation and rejuvenation under this programme, as strengthening the natural resource base would enhance livelihoods. This study attempts to bring forth patterns of synergy between labour and environment through the promotion of best practices even in the face of developmental challenges and political prerogatives, as documentation for further research and policy recommendations in the developing world.
Kumar et al. (Thu,) studied this question.