The term “cradle of speciation” describes an area where several new species have evolved over the years. High levels of biodiversity and a wide variety of ecosystems, such as mountains, islands, and rainforests, are frequent characteristics of these areas.
India is known for its remarkable biodiversity, making it a cradle of speciation. The country has a unique geographical location, lying at the crossroads of three biogeographical regions: the Palearctic, the Oriental, and the Ethiopian regions. This unique position, coupled with diverse climatic conditions, has contributed to the evolution and diversification of several endemic species in India.
Source: Teachoo
One of the most prominent regions of speciation in India is the Western Ghats, a 1,600 km long mountain range that runs along the western coast of the country.
The Western Ghats are recognized as a biodiversity hotspot and are home to an estimated 5,000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, and over 200 reptile species. The Western Ghats have a long history of isolation and have been isolated from other regions of India for over 150 million years. This has allowed for the evolution of a large number of endemic species, with several new species being discovered every year. The high level of endemism in the Western Ghats is due to the diverse topography, unique microclimates, and geological history of the region.
Another region of speciation in India is the Eastern Himalayas, which cover the north-eastern states of India. The Eastern Himalayas are home to a large number of endemic species, including the red panda, clouded leopard, and the Himalayan musk deer. The region is also home to several new species of birds and reptiles that have been discovered in recent years. The Eastern Himalayas are known for their rugged terrain, high altitude, and extreme weather conditions, which have contributed to the evolution of unique species in the region. The region also has a rich cultural heritage and is home to several indigenous communities that have coexisted with nature for centuries.
Source: World Atlas
Therefore, India is a cradle of speciation, with several regions contributing to the evolution and diversification of endemic species. The Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas are two prominent regions that have played a significant role in the evolution of unique species in the country. Protecting these regions and their biodiversity is crucial for the conservation of India’s unique flora and fauna.
References
Duane D. McKenna & Brian D. Farrell, “Tropical forests are both evolutionary cradles and museums of leaf beetle diversity”. PNAS, May 26, 2006.
Suresh K. Rana & Trevor D, “Plant species richness across the Himalaya driven by evolutionary history and current climate”. ESA Journals, 21 November, 2019.
Salt is ubiquitous, a commodity we cannot live without. But you will be fascinated to know that ancient history has several stories of sowing salt on the lands of enemies as an act of revenge. Jewish, Roman, and Assyrian texts dating back to more than 1000 years contain references to leaders and armies who sowed the lands of their enemies with salt. Salting the land was seen as a symbolic act, a curse, intended to make the land infertile and that nobody would be able to return to the land ever again.
Fast forward to now, as sea-levels rise, we have a bigger threat – SALT INTRUSION.
Soaring temperatures cause greater evaporation, longer dry seasons, progressive loss of surface water and low-lying coastal areas are increasingly being inundated with salt water. Both ground water as well as surface water sources of drinking water have become ‘saltier’.
With population and economic growth higher than ever and atmospheric concentrations of carbon-dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gases on the rise, our oceans keep absorbing around 30% of these gases causing warmer oceans that rise and intrude into river estuaries .
Heavily impacted deltas:
Salt-water intrusion threatens livelihood of the world’s largest deltas such as Ganges Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong, Mississippi, Ayeyarwady, Nile, Red, and Pearl River Deltas.
Coastal zones contain more than 40% of the global population and these densely populated areas have an ever-increasing demand for fresh ground water. Over exploitation of ground water resources is accelerating sea water intrusion into freshwater systems mainly due to density. Saltwater is denser than freshwater and as more and more freshwater is pumped out, saltwater begins to take its place.
Our freshwater aquifers are becoming increasingly salinized due to large-scale groundwater usage for agriculture, land reclamation, unplanned shrimp culture and inadequate water management systems and the table below highlights how the coastal states in India are struggling with ground water becoming increasing saline.
Innovative ways of growing crops in saline water
Only 2% of water in the world is fresh water of which 70% is used for agriculture. Saline agriculture is a practical solution of growing salt tolerant crops in salt (or brackish) water. Brackish water is found when sea water meets fresh water and increasingly used for fish breeding, irrigation of crops like cotton and barley that have high tolerance for salt levels.
Kuttanad farming:
Coastal Kerala has been long experiencing floods every year and its Kuttanad region spanning three districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta has paddy cultivated below mean sea-levels. The Kuttanad farming method is a complex mosaic of fragmented agricultural landscapes divided in three structures: wetlands used for paddy activities and fish catching, garden lands used for coconut, tubers and food crops plantation and brackish water areas used for inland fishing and aquaculture. Kuttanad paddy fields have bio-bunds made of coir, banana waste, bamboo and clay to keep away the salty sea water making its way into the Vembanad lake, the longest and largest lake of Kerala and the lifeline of the paddy fields.
Jabal wheat farming:
Coming to wheat, a new drought and salt tolerant variety of durum wheat called ‘Jabal’ (means “mountain” in Arabic ) has been developed by farmers and crop scientists by crossing a commercial durum wheat with a wild relative from an arid region of Syria, to create a new durum variety that can withstand drought. Jabal can cope with erratic and extreme conditions caused by climate breakdown and has evolved in nature to survive extreme heat, flooding and poor soils. With wheat prices soaring due to heatwaves and widespread drought, Jabal variety has stood strong among other varieties destroyed by drought and its distinctive black spikes also produced high yields of plump grains that made tasty bread, scientists said.
In conclusion:
Our fresh-water aquifers, drainage river basins and water supplies are becoming increasingly saline, and this continues to be one of the most important global challenges for agriculture, industries and coastal water-resource managers as contamination and degradation of natural ecosystems is a climate change driven onslaught.
Reducing human-induced environmental degradation by keeping our natural ecosystems intact and empowering people to be active participants in ecological protection is key.
A few ways for common citizens to lessen this risk is to lower food consumption of water-intensive grains such as rice and wheat and include other grains like millets (sorghum, ragi, pearl millets etc.) into their diet. These ancient grains are making a comeback and are the most farmer friendly of crops considered as the lazy farmer’s crop! They are nutritious and high in protein and fiber as shown in table below and check out these interesting recipes that make millets a must-have in your kitchen. Foxtail millets in particular have less carbohydrates than rice (see chart below) with several health benefits and inspires us to be master chefs in our own kitchens.
When we think of Indian deserts, we only think of the Thar. The Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan and Rajasthan both contain portions of the Thar or Great Indian Desert. The majority of us might not be familiar with the small desert found in Tamil Nadu called Theri. It only exists in the Tiruchendur, Thoothukudi district, and is made up of red sand dunes. They are composed of marine sediments that date back at least to the Quaternary Period.
They have a relatively limited capacity for water and nutrient retention. The possibility of aerodynamic lift exists in the dunes. This is the force that causes things to go upward. The force that opposes weight is this one.
Source: Civilsdaily
The current Theri could have been produced by the local limitation of beach sand following sea regression. Sand grains moved and dunes accumulated as a result of the Western Ghats’ strong winds blowing east. The southwest monsoon winds that blow from May to September transport the red sand over the surface of a vast strip of red soil in the plains of the Nanguneri region, which is about 57 kilometers away in the Tirunelveli district. Wind erosion is said to be mostly caused by deforestation and a lack of vegetation in the Aralvaimozhi gap as well as the Nanguneri plains.
Source: Inmathi
The settlements of Nalumavadi, Pudhukudi, Sonaganvilai, Kayamozhi, and Paramankurichi are located on the southern bank of Thamirabarani, the state’s shortest river. The Bay of Bengal borders Theri Kaadu, which is a location sandwiched between these villages, on one side. About 12,000 acres, or 50 square kilometers, make up Theri Kaadu. Although cultivation is not feasible in Theri Kaadu, palm trees, and cashew nut trees are widespread. But if there is a drought, these could perish. In order to support themselves, the peasants worked incredibly hard to establish cashew and palm trees.
Water pockets that form after rainstorms become temporary lakes and ponds. These areas develop agricultural grounds around these water features. They are known as Tharuvai Kaadu by locals. In these spots, the villagers are currently growing plants like drumstick trees.
Source: Roaming Owls
The Fan-Throated Lizard is a significant member of the unique fauna that can be discovered. The lizard is a special animal that can endure even the worst climates. It possesses what appears to be an umbrella-like neck. Another common snake is the saw-scaled viper.
Source: Encyclopedia of Life
Among the species found here are the Black Rumped Woodpecker, Common Lora, Spotted Owl, Green Bea Eater, and White Breasted Water Hen. Some varieties of butterflies are the Crimson Tip, Blue Tiger, and Plain Tiger.
The environment has been damaged by widespread sand mining. The habitat for living things is in jeopardy. Theri Kaadu should be made a protected area so that the conservation department can take better care of it in order to stop this from happening.
References
V Sundararaju, “There is a desert in Tamil Nadu and the dunes are red”. DownToEarth, June 16, 2022.
India is one of the world’s 12 major biodiversity countries. Ten biogeographic regions make up the nation. Diverse physical characteristics and climatic conditions have created biological habitats such as forests, grasslands, marshes, coastal and marine ecosystems, and desert ecosystems, which house and support enormous biodiversity.
Additionally, this nation is one of the 12 major hubs for the development of domesticated animals and plants. It is regarded as the native habitat of 114 domesticated animal breeds, as well as 167 key plant species, including cereals, millets, fruits, sauces, vegetables, pulses, and oilseeds. The number of indigenous flowering plant species in the nation is about 4,900. These are spread over 47 families and 141 genera.
Source: Bored Panda
The preservation of biodiversity is essential for India not just because it provides many essential goods and services for humanity, but also because it is closely linked to the provision of livelihoods and the improvement of economic factors for millions of locals, supporting sustainable development and the reduction of poverty. The forest sector in India, which is widely regarded as a key performer in programs to reduce poverty, is an example of an advantage obtained from biodiversity. Nearly 11% of India’s greenhouse gas emissions are offset by its trees. In India, the forests provide a living for close to 200 million people.
Source: The Logical Indian
The majority of the many plant, animal, and aquatic species in the environment are concentrated in four regions of India, which are referred to as mega diversity hotspots. India’s four diversity hotspots are the Himalayas, Western Ghats, North-East, and Nicobar Islands.
The primary threats to biodiversity are habitat fragmentation, degradation, and loss; excessive resource use; dwindling genetic variety; invasive alien species; a declining base of forest resources; climate change and drought; the effects of development projects; and the effects of pollution. The demand to intensify and accelerate efforts for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, as well as for the equitable and just sharing of benefits resulting from the use of genetic resources, is urgent given the diverse sociocultural context and frequently competing priorities of various stakeholders.
Source: Atlas & Boots
By learning more about environmental concerns, being more conscious of the effects of biodiversity loss, and strengthening our support for governmental policies and initiatives that protect our priceless ecosystems, we can contribute to biodiversity conservation. By assisting in the recovery of endangered species and preventing the extinction of other species, we can serve as environmental educators and role models.
Enhancing the quality of the soil, water, air, and other natural resources as well as maintaining and preserving endangered animals and their habitat by giving the land to a land trust are all examples of habitat stewardship activities. Determine the hazards to these places as well as the locations of vital wildlife habitats for endangered species. Remove hazards where you can, while maintaining natural regions and protecting vital wildlife habitats by not disturbing them, especially nesting and resting areas, and creating bird and bat habitations to encourage animal use.
References
“India – Main Details”, Convention on Biological Diversity.
Trees, from the massive redwoods to the delicate dogwoods, cannot exist without their microbial companions. A large, linked network of organisms called fungi and bacteria, numbering in the millions, exchange nourishment between soil and tree roots throughout the forest. Currently, using data of much more than 28,000 species of trees found in more than 70 nations, scientists have for the first time defined this “wood wide network” on a worldwide scale.
Source: One Earth
This global map of the fungi living beneath the soil reveals how the world’s ecosystems function, just like an MRI scan of the brain reveals how the brain functions. What we discover is that particular kinds of microbes inhabit particular regions of the globe, and by comprehending this, we can determine how to repair various ecosystems and understand how the climate is changing.
As trees undergo photosynthesis, they transfer carbohydrates into the earth, giving the structure underneath energy. To ensure that nutrients are supplied fairly throughout the area, the subterranean microbes link each plant in exchange. Key information on all species on our planet is provided by this finding, which gave rise to the term “world wide web”.
Source: GoldBio
Arbuscular mycorrhizal networks and ectomycorrhizal networks are two different kinds of networks that connect various kinds of plants and fungi. The ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi, which create extensive underground networks, are found around the roots of oak and pine trees, for instance. The arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM), on the other hand, burrow directly into the cells of trees’ roots and are preferred by maple and cedar trees. The cooler areas (North America, Europe, and portions of Asia), where organic matter decomposes slowly, are dominated by network-building EM fungus. However, AM fungi, which typically construct smaller webs and engage in less inter-tree trade, are dominant in the warmer tropical woods.
Source: European Scientist
Due to trees’ ability to warn nearby neighbors of impending risks, the wood wide web is essential for preserving tree health under adverse situations. A network of trees can communicate with one another to alert one another to potential danger before releasing hormones and substances to defend themselves against environmental tensions like predators, pollutants, or pathogenic bacteria. The survival of life on Earth depends heavily on trees. By absorbing carbon dioxide, which warms the globe, they create clean oxygen that we can breathe.
With the assistance of the wood wide network, trees can cooperate to withstand droughts, deforestation, and increasing temperatures.
References
Gabriel Popkin, ‘Wood wide web’—the underground network of microbes that connects trees—mapped for first time. Science, May 19, 2019.
എന്നെ നിങ്ങൾക്ക് നന്നായി അറിയാമായിരിക്കും, ഞാൻ മീനച്ചിലാർ സഹ്യനിൽ നിന്നും ഒഴുകിയെത്തുന്ന പാലായുടെ സ്വന്തം മീനച്ചിലാർ. ഒഴുകിയെത്തുമ്പോൾ പല പേരുകൾ കേൾക്കുമെങ്കിലും മീനച്ചില്ലെന്ന് കേൾക്കാനാ എനിക്ക് ഇഷ്ടം. വരുന്ന വഴിയെല്ലാം ചാടിക്കളിച്ചും, ചെറിയ കുറുമ്പുകൾ കാട്ടിയും ഞാൻ ഇങ്ങനെ ഒഴുകികൊണ്ടേ ഇരിക്കുന്നു. ജനിച്ചപ്പോൾ എന്റെ ഏക ജോലി സഹ്യനിലേ മഴവെള്ളം അങ്ങ് വേമ്പനാട് കായലിൽ കൊണ്ടേൽപ്പിക്കുന്നതായിരുന്നു. പക്ഷേ ഞാനിന്ന് ഒരു വലിയ സമൂഹത്തിനെ ഭാഗമാണ്.
ഇക്കണ്ട മനുഷ്യർക്കും സസ്യ ജന്തു ജീവജാലങ്ങൾക്കുമെല്ലാം ജീവജലം നൽകുന്നു, 20 ഓളം മീൻ താരങ്ങളും കൊഞ്ചും കണവയും എല്ലാം എന്നിലൂടെ ജീവിക്കുന്നു. എന്നിൽ ജീവിതം തുടങ്ങി എന്നിൽ ജീവിച്ചു എന്നിൽ അവസാനിക്കുന്ന ഒരായിരം ജീവജാലങ്ങൾ. എന്തോ എന്നെ എല്ലാവര്ക്കും ഇഷ്ടമാണ് .
എന്റെ കുസൃതികള്ക് അപ്പുറം ഈ സമൂഹം എന്നെ എത്രമേൽ സ്നേഹിക്കുന്നു എന്നു ഞാൻ മനസിലാക്കുന്നത് പാലായിൽ എത്തുമ്പോളാ..! പാലാക്കാർ പറയും ഞാൻ പാലായുടെ ആണെന്ന്. അല്ലേലും പാലാ ജൂബിലി തിരുനാളും കടപ്പാട്ടൂർ ഉത്സവവും രാക്കുളി പെരുന്നാളും പിന്നെ നമ്മുടെ മാനിച്ചായനും എല്ലാം പാലക്കാരെന്റെ സ്വകാര്യ അഹങ്കാരമല്ലേ!! അക്കൂട്ടത്തിൽ അവർ എന്നെക്കൂടെ കൂട്ടി.
ഇക്കണ്ട ദൂരമെല്ലാം ഞാൻ പോയിട്ടും പാലാ ടൗണിലോ നമ്മുടെ സെന്റ് തോമസ് കോളേജിലോ പാലാ പള്ളിയിലോ എനിക്കൊന്ന് കേറാൻ പറ്റാറില്ല. ഞാൻ കാത്തിരിക്കും… എന്നും… മഴ പെയ്യാൻ. അല്ലേലും ഇതൊക്കെ ആരാടാ ആഗ്രഹിക്കാത്തേ.. മഴ പെയ്താൽ ഞാൻ നിറഞ്ഞങ്ങനെ ഒഴുകും.. എന്റെ ഒരു വർഷത്തേ കാത്തിരിപ്പാ.. പാലാ ടൗണിൽ കേറി എല്ലാരേം കാണും, കുരിശു പള്ളിയിൽ ഒന്ന് കേറും.. പിന്നെ എന്റെ കോളേജിലും.. മറ്റെങ്ങും പോലെയല്ല ഞാൻ ടൗണിൽ കേറിവന്നാൽ എല്ലാരും ഓടിയെത്തും എന്നെ കാണാൻ. പിന്നെ ഫുട്ബോളും വോളി ബോളും റോഡിലൂടെ വള്ളം കളിയും അങ്ങനെ എന്റെ വരവ് ഒരു ആഘോഷമാക്കും പാലായിലെ പിള്ളേർ.
വെള്ളം ഇറങ്ങുമ്പോൾ ഞാൻ നൽകിയ മണ്ണിൽ അവർ കൃഷി ചെയ്തു. ഞാൻ നൽകുന്ന വെള്ളത്തിൽ അവർ ജീവിതം നയിച്ചു.. ഞാൻ സന്തോഷിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു ഇത്രയും നാൾ.. പക്ഷേഎന്തിനോ നിങ്ങളുടെ സ്വാർഥ താല്പര്യങ്ങൾ എന്റെ കണ്ണിനെ ഈറനണിയിക്കുന്നു. നഞ്ചു കലക്കി മീനിനെ കൊന്നു മതിയാകാതെ വന്നപ്പോൾ നിങ്ങൾ സ്ഫോടക വസ്തുക്കൾ ഉപയോഗിച്ചു. ഞാൻ പരന്നു ഒഴുകാതിരിക്കാൻ വശങ്ങൾ നിങ്ങൾ കയ്യേറി. എന്നെ നിങ്ങൾ ഒരു കുപ്പ തൊട്ടിയാക്കി. വർഷങ്ങളോളം മാലിന്യം പേറി ഞാൻ ഇന്നിപ്പോ മടുത്തു തുടങ്ങി.
ദയവായി നിങ്ങൾ ഇത് കേൾക്കണം. എനിക്ക് ഒന്നേ പറയാനൊള്ളൂ മക്കളെ. എനിക്ക് ഒരു ജീവിതമേയുള്ളൂ നിങ്ങൾ എന്നെ സംരക്ഷിക്കണം, ഞാൻ നിങ്ങളെ പൊന്നുപോലെ നോക്കാം.. നിങ്ങളുടെ പൂർവികരെ സംരിക്ഷിച്ചപോലെ
Luni River is the only saline river in India. The word “Luni” is taken from the Sanskrit word “lavanavari,” which signifies salt water. The high salinity of the river is the reason behind its name. For the initial hundred kilometres, the freshwater in Luni is fresh, but as it gets closer to Balotra in Barmer, it starts to get salty from the high amount of salt of the land it flows on.
Source: Zee News
The Luni River rises 772 metres above sea level in Rajasthan’s Ajmer district from the Naga hills of the Aravalli Range. The river Luni, locally known as Sagarmati, flows through the Rajasthani districts of Nagaur, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, and Jalore as it travels 495 kilometres in a south-western direction towards Gujarat. The river gradually runs out in Gujarat’s Barine, close to the Rann of Kutch. The astounding feature is that the river’s stream sinks across a shallow bank before coming to an end and not entering any other bodies of water.
The river Luni, while being saline, is a major irrigation supplier for Rajasthan’s parched regions, and as a result, the residents consider it to be sacred. Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur constructed the Jaswant Sagar Dam close to Pichiyak hamlet in the Jodhpur area in 1892 to harness the water from Luni.
Source: RajRas
The Luni basin is bordered to the east by the Aravalli range and Gujarat plains, on the north by the Rajasthan sand, and on the south and west by the Arabian Sea. The Luni basin has a total area of 32,879 square kilometres and contains a number of locations in the Ajmer region, from Nagaur to Pali, then proceeding on to Jodhpur and Barmer and finally entering the Jalore district.
The major rivers that flow into Luni include the Jawai, Sukri, Guhiya, Bandi (Hemawas), and Jojari rivers. Jojari serves as the only tributary on the right bank; there are eight on the left side. Additionally, it is the only branch of the Luni River which does not come from the Aravalli Mountains.
Source: Hindustan Times
Wild creatures including the wolf, Indian fox, desert fox, and Indian porcupine are significant species in the area, in addition to large mammals like the Indian gazelle, blackbuck, and nilgai or blue bull.
References
“Luni, the Indian river with saline water that doesn’t drain into any sea or ocean: Facts you need to know”. India Today, November 1, 2018.
A substantial portion of India’s floral and faunal richness can be found in sacred groves, which are lengths of forest or other natural habitats of varied sizes that are typically safeguarded by the local populations. They are regarded as sacred and are frequently connected to temples, monks, or shrines. Since the spaces beneath these trees are commonly devoted to a regional divinity, the local populations take charge of and are responsible for maintaining these locations. On the basis of the idea that all natural creatures must be conserved, several groups in India practice nature worship. Endangered and rare species can be found in sacred forests. These groves also stand for an ancient heritage of environmental conservation, serving as natural biodiversity gem homes, and are home to numerous rare and endangered species.
The sacred groves have been sustainably preserved by surrounding communities and act as significant receptacles for various plants and animals. They frequently serve as the final remaining habitat for exotic species in a given area. The woods frequently have ponds, streams, or springs nearby, meeting the locals’ needs for water. Aquifers are recharged with the help of the vegetative cover. The sacred groves’ greenery helps the town’s soil health and reduces soil erosion.
Source: The Hindu
Even though the sacred groves are spread across India, they are majorly found in forested areas such as the Western Ghats, the Himalayas, and the northeastern and central hill tracts. Different species of medical plants, animals, birds, lizards, snakes, frogs, and many other endangered living creatures are found in these sacred groves.
Ramsar Sites constitute wetlands of worldwide significance that have been recognised according to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands for their significance in preserving biodiversity or for possessing important, uncommon, or unusual wetland varieties.
Source: UPSC Colorfull notes
The total of Ramsar sites across India has now increased to a total of 75 owing to the addition of 11 additional wetlands to the database recently. Tamil Nadu has four locations, Odisha has three, Jammu & Kashmir has two, Madhya Pradesh has one, and Maharashtra has one. The classification of these areas would aid in the administration, conservation, and efficient use of wetlands.
To survive the brutal winters in their nesting sites, dozens of bird species from Central Asia and Russia relocate to warmer tropical territories, especially India and the tropical regions. In accordance with the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the Central Asian Flyway (CAF), which spans 30 nations, protects at least 279 populations of 182 migratory waterbird species, which include 29 species that are attacked or near danger to extinction worldwide and that breed, relocate, and spend the winter in the area. During the wintertime, these migratory birds use the wetlands of India as feeding and resting areas.
Source: The Indian Express
The Chitrangudi Bird Sanctuary, Suchindram Theroor Wetland Complex, Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary, and Kanjirankulam Bird Sanctuary are the latest Indian wetlands in Tamil Nadu that are of worldwide importance. The combined amount of these wetlands of worldwide importance in Tamil Nadu has become 14, surpassing Uttar Pradesh’s aggregate of ten such regions.
Source: The New Indian Express
Winter migrating birds thrive in the Chitrangudi Bird Sanctuary. A total of 50 birds from 30 different families have been recorded at the location.
The Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary is a huge irrigation tank that was constructed by humans to serve as a refuge for migratory birds since this offers a good habitat for nutrition, housing, and nesting grounds. The majority of the tanks studied contained Indian Pond Heron Ardeola grayii. In tanks, there were high densities of wintering waterfowl such Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope, Northern Pintail Anas acuta, and Garganey Anas querquedula.
The Kanjirankulam Bird Sanctuary is well-known for being a place where a variety of migratory heron species lay their eggs. These herons nest in the tall babul trees that are prevalent there. Between October and February, migrating waterbirds that nest in this area include the painted stork, white ibis, black ibis, tiny egret, and great egret. Since the endangered Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis breeds there, the region serves as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA).
Source: Global Green News
References
FE Science, “Four Tamil Nadu sites added to Ramsar list of wetlands, India’s tally climbs to 75”. Financial Express, August 14, 2022.
Trade winds sweep west along the equator in the Pacific Ocean under typical conditions, carrying hot water from Latin America towards Asia. Upwelling is the process by which cool water flows from the deep to substitute that warm water. These typical conditions are disrupted by the opposing climate patterns known as La Nina and El Nino. The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle is the term used to describe this phenomenon. La Nina that lasts longer than a year are rather typical. It’s more likely that an El Nino will only occur once per year.
The term “El Nino” refers to the extensive ocean-atmosphere climate interaction associated with cyclical increases in sea surface temperatures throughout the central and eastern Equatorial Pacific.
The air rises and the surface air pressure over the Eastern Pacific decreases as a result of this warm water. On the other side, the temperatures cool off Asia and the western Pacific. Increased surface pressure results from this over the Indian Ocean, Australia and Indonesia. Therefore, as high pressure accumulates over the cool ocean waters, the drought begins to spread throughout Asia while it is raining in the Eastern Pacific. Pressure difference in the western Pacific is connected to it. El Nino has a negative effect on India’s agriculture and, consequently, its monsoon season. Seabirds and marine mammals struggle to survive or breed during El Nino.
Source: Galapagos Conservation Trust
Contrary to El Nino, La Nina occurs. The weather patterns are stronger than what drives ocean temperatures into Asia as during La Nina phenomena.
Source: The Hindu
Warmer water builds up in the western Pacific Ocean as a result, and cold water in the central and eastern Pacific Oceans. The eastern and central Pacific Ocean tides are colder than usual because of the strong easterly trade winds, which direct warm water into the western Pacific Ocean. Drought in Peru and Ecuador, severe flooding in Australia, high temperatures in the West Pacific, Indian Ocean, off the coast of Somalia, and abundant monsoon rains in India are all effects of La Nina. The Indian monsoon really benefits from a La Nina.
Source: CNN
In the Indian continent, warm weather emerges in the winter while dry conditions and insufficient monsoons develop in the summer. In India, El Nino typically results in a weaker monsoon. However, this isn’t always the case. A study claims that an El Nino is to responsible for 60% of India’s droughts during the previous 130 years. These were years with below-average rainfall of more than 10%. But not every El Nino has been followed by a disastrous monsoon or a catastrophic drought. 70% of farmers rely on rainfall, while the remaining 30% rely on irrigation. As a result, the monsoon is essential for India, where agriculture accounts for over 18% of the country’s GDP (GDP). Demand declines in rural areas as a result of bad rainfall and the ensuing decline in agricultural revenue. Additionally, the government might be compelled to set a minimum support price for crops. Inflation will rise as a result of consumers having to pay more for staples like rice, sugar, and other food goods like cereals and pulses.
Source: Bigstock
References
“What are El Niño and La Niña?”. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Imagine a world with zero waste where every single product and component that is discarded is either reused, recycled or refurbished and no contaminated residue reaches our waterways ensuring clean and clear water. At the core of this futuristic world is the concept of ‘hyper-circularity’. A hyper circular product is one that can be infinitely recyclable and need not be disposed. Plastics are most widely used for packaging and one good example of a circular product is using biodegradable packaging products from seaweed and plants as an alternative to plastics that do not end up as garbage.
This brings us to an important question, how is the world treating all our garbage and trash today? Majority of the trash finds its way into landfills and by 2050 it is estimated our waterways will have more plastic than fish. In India, majority of municipal solid waste ends up in landfills and municipal landfills are the third-largest source of human-made toxic methane gas in the country.
Leachate into water:
Contamination of both surface as well as ground water due to human activities is a global challenge and landfill liquid discharge (called leachate) that percolates through disposal sites causes significant damage. Majority of the municipal landfills have been garbage dumps without any waste segregation methods and un-monitored leachate from landfills have contaminated ground aquifers degrading groundwater with high chemical compositions of sodium, chloride, sulphates, nitrates, heavy metals and ammonia to name a few.
In the news recently was the beautiful bio-diversity of the Aravallis range of North India polluted by leachate from the landfills of Gurugram and Faridabad. The landfill was setup on an abandoned mining pit in 2009, but today is bigger than the 38-foot-tall statue of Christ the Redeemer that towers over Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
Is Incineration a better solution? Burn or Recycle?
Let us take the example of Singapore handling its waste over the years that is sent to the Semakau Landfill ( 8 kilometers south of the main island of Singapore) popularly called as the ‘Garbage of Eden’ . In 2019 Singapore incinerated more than 2.8 million tons of waste, an increase from 2.4 million tons in 2000. This landfill is filling up very quickly than previously anticipated with ash, mixed materials and very bulky objects that cannot be incinerated. The ash contains arsenic which is carcinogenic and also exposes the marine ecosystem around it to irreparable damage. Singapore is now looking at more efficient recycling methods that will discourage waste upfront.
Alappuzha, Kerala’s coastal town is a model for a zero-waste community that has no landfills. Waste is segregated at source and the municipality ran several campaigns for years to change the mindset of people on how to manage waste. Alleppey’s canals that connect the local villages and communities are now getting cleaner and sustainable thanks to a de-centralized waste management system with a lot of people’s participation to handle waste.
Recycle advocates claim that recycling most materials from municipal solid waste saves on average three to five times more energy than does burning them for electricity. Incinerators burn waste but destroys the resources for good.
Solar projects on landfills:
How do we adapt our landfills to be more useful and not just serve as dumping grounds that pollute land and water? By installing solar on closed and inactive landfills around the country, municipalities have been successful in re-purposing large vacant sites. The clean electricity potential and jobs created due to solar projects can be a great incentive for individual states and local governments to achieve ambitious sustainability and environmental goals.
But a bigger problem arising is how to recycle the solar panel waste and not to dump them back onto other open landfills. Read this report, that states that the volume of photovoltaic (PV) panel waste in the country is estimated to grow to 2,00,000 tonnes by 2030 and to around 1.8 million tonnes by 2050. India needs stringent policies to handle this waste as the heavy metals in solar panels (mainly lead and cadmium) can contaminate groundwater, affect plant life and harm human health.
In conclusion:
Education begins at home. Waste segregation begins at home. If we have to stop all the waste reaching our precious waterways, the onus is on each one of us to reduce our single use plastics and products usage, explore natural methods of kitchen waste composting, recycle and repurpose what we no longer may need and promote more public awareness every day.
We have only one earth to live in and let us take care of it as responsible humans.
by Shanmugam Ganesan and Byeongchan Kang, American International School Chennai (AISC)
Abstract
This study aims to identify and discover water bodies of high nitrate levels across Chennai. Doing so is important because in excess, nitrate has been shown to be toxic to aquatic organisms and humans. Using an Arduino Uno Wifi Rev 2 connected to a Vernier Nitrate Ion-Selective Electrode, nitrate levels from seven samples of freshwater in Chennai were retrieved. These data points were compared to a reference point of 50 ppm to deduce whether their condition was toxic or acceptable. All lakes and rivers proved to have a nitrate concentration greater than the reference point, indicating that freshwater in Chennai is likely dangerous to aqualife and low-income families, who may rely upon these sources of water
Many countries face issues with nitrate contaminated freshwater. Primarily, this is a result of fertilizer and mistreated sewage contamination in water sources.
Since the Green Revolution between the 1950s and 1960s, farmers have increasingly relied upon fertilizers to boost crop yields. In addition to other few types of fertilizers, nitrogen-based ones have been popular. When used appropriately and with a limit, nitrate does not pose a great threat to the environment. However, when used excessively, to a point beyond which soils can withstand, nitrogen chemicals permeate through soil to groundwater. Soil erosion and runoff also cause nitrate contamination of nearby fresh and salt waters (“Nitrogen and Water Completed”, 2018).
In regards to sewage systems, when communities dispose of foods high in nitrate and certain kinds of waste like urine, the nitrate level of sewage water increases. If mistreated, or if a leakage is present, this water may spread to and contaminate groundwater. Often, this is an issue found in urban areas. For instance, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) states that in March of 2018, 82% of the urban city of Chennai was covered under the sewage system (CMWSSB: Sewerage System, 2018). However, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report of India, “[a]s of March 2019, only 52% of the sewage in the [Chennai Metropolitan Area] was being collected through the sewage system, leaving 48% uncollected.” Of the collected sewage, only 88% was being treated before being let out (Indian Audit and Accounts Department, 2020). These statistics demonstrate the relevance and importance of managing functional sewage systems in Chennai.
Other causes of high levels of nitrate in freshwater include mistreatment of animal waste—those produced by cows or dogs in the city, for example—and poorly designed septic systems. Although, it is to be noted that septic systems are not common in Chennai (TNN, 2016).
Consequences
Excess amounts of nutrients in aquatic ecosystems, like nitrate in combination with phosphorus, result in a biological process called eutrophication. Sufficient levels of nitrate in aquatic ecosystems are not harmful: algae and other aquatic plants rely on nitrates as a source of nutrients. However, excess levels of nitrate drastically increase the size and population of algae and other aquatic plants.
Growth may exceed to a point where algae covers the surface of the water, restricting sunlight and by consequence, inhibits the process of photosynthesis. In turn, underwater plants, as well as algae, die. When this occurs, bacteria consume the decaying organisms; such a process invokes aerobic respiration—in which bacteria use oxygen in addition to food for energy—releasing carbon dioxide inside the water. Ultimately, the activities of these bacteria deplete the level of dissolved oxygen in the aquatic ecosystem, creating an anoxic “dead” zone in the water. If fishes fail to migrate out of this zone, they die (“5.7 Nitrates,” 2012).
The accelerated process of eutrophication as a result of nitrate may damage the economic livelihood of fishermen. As fishes migrate and die, fishermen’s supply reduces and with that, so does their income. Beyond this, firms in the secondary sector that process fish will also have less fish to process, resulting in less revenue.
As it relates to human health, nitrate, when consumed in high concentrations in water, can produce adverse effects, primarily on infants. Moreover, excessive nitrate restricts the degree to which red blood cells carry oxygen, potentially creating a lack of oxygen, causing methemoglobinemia or “blue baby syndrome” (“Nitrate in Drinking,” 2021). As the name suggests, one of the main symptoms of this condition is the presence of a blue-ish skin tone on the infant. But in addition to this, methemoglobinemia has been shown to cause seizures, lethargy, difficulties in breathing, and in rare cases, death. Other consequences of high-nitrate consumption include an increased risk of cancer and thyroid disease (“Blue Baby,” 2018).
STUDY AREA
Limitations of Past Reports
Although researchers have published several reports on the issue of nitrate contamination in freshwater, the ones we identified each featured some limitations.
First, the Department of Chemistry at Anna University conducted a study on wells using a spectrophotometer where they found that approximately 50% of the samples they tested possessed a high concentration of nitrate (Selvaraj, Rengaraj & Murugesan, Velayutham & Lakshmanan, Elango & T, Elampooranan, 1996). Our study differs from this as it tests water from lakes and rivers, not necessarily wells; additionally, this study may have outdated data, as it was published in 1996.
Second, in 2014, the State of Environment and Related Issues in Tamil Nadu uploaded their findings on the water quality of various bodies of water across the state. It revealed that a number of samples featured high levels of nitrate (“Pollution Database,” 2014). While this report was relatively comprehensive, not all samples were tested for nitrate. Our study places more emphasis on this data point specifically.
Third, in the November of 2021, Sajil Kumar published his report on nitrate where his team explored the quality of water in the districts of Coimbatore and Tirupur. It found that 37% of the collected samples had an unhealthy concentration of nitrate (Sajil Kumar, P.J. & Kuriachan, Lemoon, 2021). While this study is up to date, ours differs from it as we focus on an entirely different city of Tamil Nadu state: Chennai.
Fourth, the “Impact of Solid Waste Effect on Groundwater and Soil Quality” written by N.Raman and D.Sathiya Narayanan, measured the groundwater and soil qualities without the parameter of nitrate level (Raman, Nishant & Narayanan, 2008). It also focused its research on the areas around the Solid Waste Landfill Site in Pallavaram, a district in Chennai, while our study tested samples from bodies of water throughout the city.
From all of this data, it is clear that nitrate pollution, at the time of data collection, was an issue across Tamil Nadu and likely Chennai.
Our Motivation
With this study, we sought to identify points of danger across bodies of water in Chennai. Nitrate has its effects on society, aqualife, and the economy, and so, it is all the more important to have current and relevant findings to not only spread awareness, but bring such an issue to the attention of local authorities. Thus, we researched the nitrate levels of different fresh water bodies around the Chennai city, as indicated in figure 2.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Water Sample Collection
A total of 9 water bodies throughout the north, east, south, and west of Chennai, inclusive of areas in the outskirts, were selected. Using bottles, a sufficient amount of water was collected from each. In response to less accessible locations, a bucket pulley system—where a rope was tied on to
the end of a half-cut bottle—was used to reach the body of water. Here, after the bucket was launched into the water over any walls or obstacles, the rope was used to pull back the samples, which were then transferred into test-tubes prior to data collection.
Technology and Set-up
An Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2, a microcontroller board capable of connecting to motors, sensors, and various external systems with a wifi unit, was used to extract the data collected by a Vernier Nitrate Ion-Selective Electrode. This nitrate sensor is a membrane-based electrode, which when submerged in a solution, measures the voltage of nitrate ions. These voltage values are dependent on the concentration of nitrate ions in solution, and so, can be used to deduce nitrate level with the Nernst equation. This report will delve more into this subject in the next section.
The Vernier sensor is compatible with both the Arduino integrated development environment (IDE)—the programming software used for Arduino—and LoggerPro 3, a data analysis software linked with Vernier. The LoggerPro 3 is capable of reporting data from Vernier’s Electrode. So, to verify the reliability of our Arduino, we corroborated its data with those retrieved by the LoggerPro 3.
The Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2 was programmed to analyze the nitrate content detected by the Vernier sensor and transmit the collected data to our real time, online Firebase database, a platform capable of storing data points.
Data Collection
V=E0+m(ln C)
the Nernst Equation*, where V is the measured voltage, E0is the standard potential for the combination of the two half cells, m is the slope, and C is the concentration of the measured species
The Nernst equation* was used to determine the mathematical relationship between the voltage value collected by the Vernier sensor and the concentration of nitrate in the aqueous solution.
We used the values collected by the Logger Pro from 1 ppm and 100 ppm solutions as our two known points when developing this mathematical equation. According to the data, the voltage value from 1 ppm was 2.260 V and the value from 100 ppm was 1.786 V. Using the straight line slope formula, it was deduced that for voltage, the slope is -0.103 and E0was provided as 2.260 by the Vernier user manual.
This formula required concentration as an input and determined the voltage as an output. For the purposes of this experiment, the opposite was required. Thus, we found the inverse of the equation as follows.
As the Vernier sensor retrieved V, the voltage level of the sample, the above equation was used to determine C, concentration of nitrate.
Challenges and Our Methods
Our sensor, being a membrane-based one, is recommended to be used within 12 months of manufacture. The sensor was borrowed from our school and considering that it was purchased in 2018, the values the sensor collected were not always accurate, reliable or precise. Moreover, when trying to find a systematic difference between reported values and known concentration, there were no consistent precise factors. For example, on some days, the reported value was 2.7 times greater than the tested, whereas on others, it may have been 3.5 times greater. For this reason, a singular systematic error could not be identified, and the certainty of our data reduced.
*The Nernst equation was first introduced by a German chemist named Walther Hermann Nernst in 1888. It is often used to calculate the cell potential of electrochemical cells (“Nernst Equation, 2022). Cell potential refers to the potential difference—the difference between electric potential in voltage— between two half cells.
Consistently, however, when we tested highly concentrated samples, the program returned higher values than when relatively less concentrated samples were tested. Similarly, when we tested less concentrated samples, the program returned lower values than when relatively more concentrated samples were tested. As a result, it was still possible to deduce relative nitrate levels—the program consistently differentiated samples with more or less nitrate concentration given that testing occurred in a similar time frame—through setting a binary constant with which to compare other samples against. This binary constant was our reference point of 50 ppm (according to our research, this concentration is most certainly dangerous for human consumption, and most probably dangerous for an array of aquatic life). That is, we created and measured a 50 ppm sample of nitrate with the sensor, and compared that reported value with all of the reported nitrate values of the water samples. Through this, we determined whether a water sample had a nitrate concentration greater than or less than 50 ppm.
Another challenge was that as the sensor was submerged in a solution, the values continually became more and more accurate: this created variation within a sample in itself. To reduce inconsistencies within our findings, the time each sample was tested for was kept at five minutes as a controlled variable. After five minutes of submerging the sensor in each water sample, data was collected for one minute. The table below showcases an average of these detected values
Water Samples*
Averaged Data (ppm)
50 ppm Reference Point (ppm)
Percent Difference from the 50 ppm Reference Point (ppm)
Perungudi Lake
93.45
13.93
+ 570.85%
Velachery Lake
37.26
13.93
+ 167.48%
Buckingham Canal
36.51
13.93
+ 162.10%
Madipakkam Lake
38.51
13.93
+ 176.45%
Porur Lake
22.53
13.93
+ 61.74%
Adyar River at Wellness Walking Track
13.25
7.33
+ 80.76%
Retteri Lake
7.45
7.33
+ 1.64%
*Although 9 samples were collected, only 7 were tested due to the sensor malfunctioning overtime.
DATA EVALUATION
Sensor Error
Our Vernier sensor is old and potentially damaged. Unfortunately, due to resource constraints, we were unable to purchase a new sensor. This caused fluctuations in our findings, where on different days, the sensor reported different values for the same sample.
This indicates that no data point can be taken with absolute certainty: as the time frame of testing increases, the sensor becomes increasingly inconsistent across samples. This is even true for our binary point. For example, while we may have found that the sensor translates a 50 ppm sample to approximately 14 ppm, the binary point may have changed to 13 ppm if we tested for it a day later.
Even though we limited testing time to an hour or less per day, variations may have still occurred.
Personal Error
Personal errors may have also skewed the results, albeit only marginally. This is because the Vernier sensor was supposed to be submerged in each and every sample for 5 minutes. Due to imperfect reaction time, though, samples may have been tested for a slightly longer or shorter duration.
Sample error
Water samples from the Buckingham Canal, Madipakkam Lake, Porur Lake, and Wellness Walking Track were all collected one day after rainstorms. Since nitrate concentration in rainwater most likely differs from that of our freshwater samples, this may slightly skew our results. This suggests that the collected data might not accurately reveal nitrate levels of Chennai freshwater bodies for an entire year, especially when there is little to no rainfall.
Additionally, the data of this report would be more comprehensive in evaluating the severity of nitrate level in Chennai if more fresh water samples had been collected and recorded in the northern and southern part of Chennai.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
From viewing this data, all tested samples contained a higher concentration of nitrate than the reference point, 50 ppm. This firmly suggests that these sources of freshwater, and most probably others in Chennai as well, are unsafe to drink: the World Health Organization puts the maximum limit of nitrate on safe drinking water as 10 ppm (World Health Organization, 2011). The point of toxicity for fish, however, is much more contested. While some aquariums find that chronic exposure to nitrate levels above 30 ppm is harmful (PetMD, 2019), other organizations argue 44 ppm (Camargo JA, Alonso A, Salamanca A, 2005), and others 80 (“Water Treatment, 2022). Results are uncertain.
Regardless, it is clear that the conditions of water sources in Chennai are not ideal, especially for lakes and rivers that are significantly greater than the binary point. Moreover, 5 out of 7 of the data points report an increase of over 80% in ppm from the binary point, indicating that the majority of our samples have a high likelihood of being unsafe for aquatic life.
While the nitrate level from the Retteri Lake is relatively less, it seems like it is an outlier among the freshwater samples in Chennai that were tested. In fact, excluding outliers (Perungudi and Retteri Lake), our samples averaged a 129.71% positive difference in reported value from the binary point. The same argument can be applied to Perungudi Lake, which had an increase of 570.85%.
Despite some outliers, statistics from these water samples demonstrate that in Chennai, nitrate level is a prevalent issue. Most likely, the root of the problem can be traced back to factors such as sewage disposal, mistreatment of animal waste, and poorly designed septic systems.
CONCLUSION
While there are numerous aspects that determine water quality for humans and aquatic organisms, this lab report focuses on the nitrate levels of seven different fresh water bodies around Chennai. Vernier’s nitrate sensor and the Arduino microcontroller helped acquire the nitrate concentrations from these samples. With this data, it is evident that nitrate levels are excessive in many bodies of freshwater in Chennai, and it is likely many other cities face a similar issue. While finding nitrate concentrations can be an expensive process, the technology used in this investigation is more affordable. In future, the Arduino can be used in experiments in other locations as a relatively low-cost method of identifying dangerous water bodies.
Ultimately, the lab report highlights the severity of nitrate contamination in Chennai, and indicates its possible causes and consequences. Thus, authorities like the CMWSSB should take more
steps to ensure sewage is treated properly and fully as feasible. Doing so reduces nitrate levels, benefiting not only the aquatic ecosystems but also society at large.
REFERENCES
“5.7 Nitrates.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 6 Mar. 2012, archive.epa.gov/water/archive/web/html/vms57.html.
A & Camargo JA & Alonso A & Salamanca. “Nitrate Toxicity to Aquatic Animals: a Review with New Data for Freshwater Invertebrates.” Chemosphere, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15667845/.
Davidson, John, et al. “Comparing the Effects of High vs. Low Nitrate on the Health, Performance, and Welfare of Juvenile Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss within Water Recirculating Aquaculture Systems.” Aquacultural Engineering, Elsevier, 11 Feb. 2014, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0144860914000041.
N.Raman & D.Sathiya Narayanan. (2008) “Impact of Solid Waste Effect on Ground Water and Soil Quality Nearer to Pallavaram Solid Waste Landfill Site in Chennai”.
Odorico, Nikoleta. “Nitrate Water Pollution.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, Esri, 31 Aug. 2020, storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/206b2dc33a9f4e168666686911ef6bfe.
Raman, Nishant & Narayanan, D. (2008). Impact of solid waste effect on ground water and soil quality nearer to pallavaram solid waste landfill site in Chennai. 1. 828-836.
Sajil Kumar, P.J. & Kuriachan, Lemoon. (2021). Exposure and health risk assessment of nitrate contamination in groundwater in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts in Tamil Nadu, South India. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 28. 1-14. 10.1007/s11356-020-11552-y.
Nitrate in groundwater of suburban regions of Madras (Chennai) city. Indian Journal Environmental Protection.
“Sewerage System.” CMWSSB: Sewerage System, chennaimetrowater.tn.gov.in/seweragesystem.html. Shubham Singh. 19 Jul, and Shubham Singh. “What’s in Your Drinking Water?” India Water Portal, 19
The State of Environment and Related Issues in Tamil Nadu. (2014). “Pollution Database for Tamil Nadu”.
TNN / Updated: Dec 20, 2016. “Survey Finds Many Septic Tanks Not Built as per Norms: Coimbatore News – Times of India.” The Times of India, TOI, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/survey-finds-many-septic-tanks-not-built-as-per-norm s/articleshow/56082558.cms.
Washington State Department of Environmental Public Health Office of Drinking Water. (2016). “Nitrate in Drinking Water”.
Diamonds are forever… This phrase may bring the famous James Bond spy movie to our minds, but the reality is, our Earth’s crust and deep-water ecosystems that gave birth to these magnificent stones are under severe threat of destruction.
Diamonds are made from carbon placed under high pressure, but that carbon can come from different sources: either organic carbon, from once-living matter, or inorganic carbon – like carbonate minerals, which are commonly found in rocks. Diamonds are mined in several ways: Open-pit and underground mining where layers of sand and rock are removed, and diamonds mined from the earth’s crust; Alluvial mining occurs in riverbeds and beaches from diamond deposits or Marine mining where diamonds are extracted from the deep seabed.
It is not just diamonds, but the ocean floor and several riverbeds contain millions of polymetallic nuggets (black lumps looking like coal) that are rich in minerals such as manganese, cobalt, nickel and copper.
Marine mining of these metallic morsels is in exponential demand as large amounts of these minerals are required to build electric cars, produce high-tech applications such as in smartphones and green technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels and electric storage batteries.
Alluvial mining in Orange river in Namibia
The Orange river, South Africa’s longest waterway has been called ‘The River of Diamonds’, as over the millennia, stones from the heart of Africa have been carried its length, passing through the delta and into the ocean, where strong currents carry them northwards and cast them up onto the beaches.
Crawler ships are custom built mining vessels that dredge material from the riverbeds and this rich sediment containing precious gems, minerals are dumped overboard and scoured for diamonds by machines with the left-over gravel returned to the ocean. Marine species such as whales, dolphins and seals , entire habitats of aquatic animals are heavily impacted as it takes anywhere between two to ten years for the seabed to recover due to heavy machinery disturbance. The Ramsar convention is an international treaty to conserve wetlands and the ‘Orange River Mouth’ on the border of South Africa and Namibia off the Atlantic coast is a protected site with mining prohibited . But despite all these environmental guardrails, mining operations continue downstream across the Atlantic coast with Namibia coast generating around a million carats annually.
The largest diamond producing countries are Russia, Canada, Botswana, South Africa with Australia leaving this list as their largest mine (Argyle mine) is closed due to depletion of its reserves.
India’s deep ocean mining:
India has embarked on deep ocean missions in the central Indian Ocean for its mineral and energy security. Experiments would focus on exploring and identifying potential sites of “multi-metal hydrothermal sulphides mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges.” Technologies for deep-sea mining and a manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6,000 meters in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools.
While collecting the metallic nodules from the deep-sea , marine organisms at the top layer would die, habitats altered and destroyed, and scientists are working on a design that can incorporate a balance between conservation of marine areas and development of mining technology.
Environmental costs of Electric Vehicles (EV):
All eyes are now on deep-water mining as the transition to clean energy has been complex with a purposeful shift from ‘dirty’ coal /gas to mining exclusive metals from the deep ocean needed for electric vehicles.
Minerals especially cobalt, lithium and nickel are the core ingredients of electric vehicle batteries. Electric vehicles (EV) do consume far less minerals when compared to diesel/petrol vehicles and this study highlights that over its lifetime, any car that runs on traditional engines burns around 300-400 times more than the total quantity of battery cell minerals in EVs.
The good news is that technology has evolved so much that less raw material is needed to produce each kWh of an electric battery. Also recycling of battery materials ensure that primary demand for virgin materials (mined underground or from waterways) will reduce pressure on mining the environment. The table below shows top producers of raw materials for EV’s, and cobalt production is expected to zoom 50% by 2050 to meet turbines and battery requirements.
In conclusion:
Be it diamonds, precious metals or minerals from land or water, the demand for such raw materials will continue to see an exponential growth due to the sheer size of the world’s population that require latest technologies in electronics, solar panels, wind turbines, and electric cars to name a few. And it is quite impossible to stop mining or fossil fuel extraction as the world runs on this energy and transition to cleaner fuel is a long-drawn journey.
Development and conservation of the environment to run hand-in-hand as countries race for strategic supremacy to secure international waters that make deep-water mining commercially viable. Another interesting observation is that countries that are ‘resource and mineral’ wealthy often have weaker institutions and spend less on education and are more corrupt. So, it is critical that revenue earned from raw materials are ploughed back into health, education and infrastructure.
Land resources are running out and soon deep-water resources will also be depleted if we do not strike that environmental balance.
So, you thought that smoke spewing from vehicle exhaust pipes are the worst polluters making air thick with smog and smoke dust dirtying the environment? Guess again, tyres are the leading highest polluter of water resources and leaching of chemical compounds from tyre wear and tear are found in air, water, and soil samples posing a huge threat to marine life.
Microplastics is a term commonly used to describe extremely small pieces of plastic debris in the environment resulting from the disposal and breakdown of products and waste materials. The EU-Commissioned research paper‘Plastics in the Marine Environment’ found that tyres were the main single cause of marine microplastics, amounting to 270 million tonnes per annum and as an analogy if we melt enough Arctic snow to get about 3 liters of water, “it might contain as many as 53,000 pieces of microplastic.”
Tyres on vehicles are made from a complex blend of different materials and chemicals including several types of plastic in addition to their rubber base. Every time we brake, accelerate our vehicle, or turn a corner, tyres spew microplastics with the average car tyre losing a total of 4kg of plastic throughout its lifetime due to wear. These particles become airborne affecting our lungs and ending up in our waterways and oceans eventually entering our food chain. It’s estimated that we eat about a credit card’s worth of plastic every week .
Wear and tear of tyres by country:
Calculating wear and tear can be approached in a few ways, by using emission factors per vehicle-km multiplied by the total mileage or by gauging the number of tyres multiplied by the weight loss of these tyres during use.
Looking at data from countries such as China, India, Australia, the USA and Brazil on the amount of wear and tear emitted into the environment, data on mileage and number of vehicles, below are some findings:
India has the lowest wear and tear estimate, i.e., 0.23 kg/capita/year, while the USA has the highest, i.e., 4.7 kg/capita/year. The 20-fold difference can partly be explained by the fact that USA has 0.82 cars per capita, while in India there are 0.13 cars per capita. Car density in India is only 16% of that in the USA. The amount of wear and tear per vehicle in the USA is 6.8 kg/year compared to 1.8 kg/year for India, a 3.8-fold difference. Americans are leading in wear and tear emissions because they have more vehicles while they also travel longer distances per vehicle, especially with their trucks(lorries). China at 0.55 kg/capita/year, Australia at 0.87 kg/capita/year and Brazil at 1.4 kg/capita/year are comparable estimates. Other countries data can be found here in this paper.
In India and China, the number of vehicles per capita are lower which explains the lower emission per capita per year.
Do new Electric Vehicles (EV) make this better?
Electric vehicles are 24% heavier than their conventional counterparts and so tyre wear and tear would be higher. But new technologies in braking such as regenerative braking in electric vehicles reduces usage of brakes and pads and the big tyre brands and companies are specifically working towards reducing pollution from tyres.
Natural solutions:
We can use nature’s tools to clean up urban rivers and other waterways and estuaries that bear the brunt of the micro plastic pollution and improve water quality by restoring fragile ecosystems.
Scientists are focusing on organisms like bivalves (such as oysters and mussels) and aquatic plants (such as celery grass, eel grass beds) to cleanse the water. Bivalves and aquatic vegetation improve water clarity by arresting suspended particles, allowing more light to penetrate deeper. They also have an exceptional capacity to cycle nutrients — both by absorbing them as food and by making them more available to other organisms. Thriving underwater plant meadows act as carbon sinks absorbing heat and provide food and habitat for small fish, crabs, and other bottom-dwellers.
Riparian buffers are strips of vegetation (trees, shrubs, or grass) planted next to streams or other waterbodies. These spaces are planted with native species of water tolerant trees and large shrubs and filter pollutants such as microplastics before entering the water.
In Conclusion: As individuals, we can reduce tyre footprint by choosing to walk, cycle or share vehicles, buy smaller cars, driving carefully, avoiding high-speed braking, and using public transport systems, but with a growing population and expanding infrastructure there needs to be a broader approach to microplastic pollution problems.
Tyre materials contain natural rubber tree latex as well as synthetic rubber polymers and switching to natural latex would lead to expansion of rubber trees and further deforestation. Rubber plantations need huge volumes of water to grow, with Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and India the top rubber producing countries in the world grappling with natural plantation degradation. It is a consumption-based problem that needs responsible consumers and sellers who consciously switch to ‘sustainable’ rubber. And our community has to come together and implement nature-based solutions to proactively protect our water bodies across ecosystems and build climate resilience.
This piece narrates the story of a transient fishing community and their vast knowledge base in dry fish production. However, when the state intervenes, these fisherfolk are subjected to loss of livelihoods.
Jambudwip is an uninhabited fishing island in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The island is located at the southwestern tip of the Sundarbans delta, on the Bay of Bengal. The island remains uninhabited throughout the year, except for the four months when fishermen travel to the island. These four months is the prime fishing season, from October to February. About 10,000 fishermen travel 28 miles from their native villages in and around Kakdwip to Jambudwip for the fishing season.
The main factor that made Jambudwip an ideal spot for dry fish production was the availability of vast, empty spaces on the island for drying fish. The island’s natural topography proved advantageous for the fisherfolk as the presence of mangroves and other plantations provided them safety from cyclones. Next, the presence of a natural creek on the island enabled the fishermen to use either side of the creek as drying grounds. They steer their boats through the creek and deposit the catches on the drying grounds on either side. Finally, the community used the ample open area with grass as drying beds and cut the grass to spread fishing nets to dry the catches.
These traditional fisherfolk practice antique methods of fishing which are highly non-mechanized and sustainable in nature. The island is demarcated based on the different needs and uses of fishing production and processing. The makeshift camps comprise living areas, kitchens, and storage areas. These temporary residential camps are constructed in Jambudwip during the fishing season and are made of Hogla, a type of grass found in Kakdwip. The fishermen also leave some temporary implements back at Jambudwip to reduce recurring costs every season. Traditional skills and thorough knowledge of the island help the fishermen locate the perfect fishing ground. Following this, the nets made of bamboo are pitched in deep sea beds and left undisturbed for acquiring a good catch. The fishing nets characteristic of this fishing community is known as bindi jal, funnel-shaped bag nets that decrease in size from mouth to tip to balance the flow of water. The tip of the net was made of fine mesh is the most significant part of the net as they help trap the fish. The fishermen constantly monitor the pitched nets awaiting the tide to change from high to low or vice versa. In such a situation, the net moves to a sleeping position signaling a haul of catches; 3 to 4 hauls are expected in every 24-hour cycle. While the fishing boats stay in the deep seas to monitor the nets, the carrier boats transport the catches for drying. As mentioned earlier, the boats enter the island through the creek. The boats are anchored beside the camp so the catches can be washed fresh before it is dried. The drying area is covered with dry grass over which nets are spread to keep the catches free from sand dust. Afterward, the fresh catch is laid in single rows to dry under the sun in the drying area.
Image 1: A representative image of fishes Pic: fish coop.PNG
These tools, methods, and practices have given rise to a sustainable fishing culture practiced by a distinctive fishing community. The fish are cleaned, dried, packed, and sold sustainably without the addition of any preservatives. Therefore, it is evident that the dry fish production process is environment-friendly in nature. Nonetheless, after 50 years of sustainable fish harvest at Jambudwip, the community’s livelihoods were in jeopardy.
On 3rd May 2002, the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) issued a directive that by 30th September 2002, all illegal encroachments on forest lands across the country were to be evicted. Following the order, the West Bengal Forest Department, which had been issuing passes to the fishermen since the 1950s, stopped issuing entry passes in 2002. The forest department asserted that the fishermen destroyed the mangrove forest, and their unsustainable actions affected the biodiversity. Furthermore, the department argued that the fishermen had settled in the islands while their visit was only transient during the fishing seasons. Hence, to prevent the fishermen’s visit to the island, the forest department burnt down all the temporary hutments claiming the fishermen to be illegal encroachers attempting to cut down the mangrove reserves. In addition, the department blocked the creek with RCC pillars, probating fishermen’s entry into the island. With these checkpoints in place, boats found it difficult to entire the creek during the cyclone resulting in the death of 10 fishermen. In this intermittent period, the socio-economic conditions of fisherfolk declined massively, their income levels halved, and their livelihoods were threatened.
Though the dry fish market in India is considerably tiny, its existence is vital. The industry generated Rs.10 crores per annum at the time; it supplied rich protein food to poor masses and employed numerous ancillary sectors. Therefore, the eviction of fishermen from Jambudwip directly impacts the livelihoods of the transient fishing community and indirectly impacts the other livelihoods supported by the fishing industry. Thus, the Supreme Court stepped in and delegated the Central Empowerment Committee (CEC) in December 2002 to advise on the issue. CEC, alongside the state forest department, stated that the fishing community destroyed the mangrove reserves and should be strictly prohibited from entering the island. Regardless, there was no substantial evidence of what they destroyed. The report also suggested that Haribhanaga can be used as an alternative fishing site. However, it is not as huge as Jambudwip and does not have the space to incorporate the 40+ fishing units of the Jambudwip fishers. Additionally, what made Jambudwip attractive was the creek and its tree cover, which helped dry fish and protected the fishermen. But Haribhanga’s reality was much different – it was full of sand, with no creeks or tree cover. Also, as the island had a high tide level, fishing was often done near the shore. Thus, the quality of dry fish produced at Haribhanga is only suitable for poultry feed, not human consumption. Proving that, in reality, alternative sites are never appropriately selected.
Jambudwip was classified as a reserve forest area protected under the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, which restricts the use of forest land by any entity settled in the region post-1981. Now comes the question: why didn’t the Namkhana forest office issue pass to the fishermen even post the enforcement of the Forest Conservation Act? In addition, Indian anthropologist Bikash Raychaudhuri studied the fishing community across an entire season from 1967-68 and recorded his observation in his 1980 book The Moon And Net. This proves that fishing activity had been happening in the area even before the enforcement of the Forest Conservation Act. This makes one ponder why the fishermen are evicted now and not before. The answer to these questions became apparent when the West Bengal Forest Department signed an MoU with a leading real estate company in the state to convert 750 hectares of the Virgin Islands from the Sundarbans reserve into a global ecotourism hotspot, and Jambudwip – was a part of this expanse. But isn’t it true that tourism could also be detrimental to the mangrove reserves and affect the ecological balance? But that did not matter to the forest department, they declared that ecotourism initiatives without disturbing the area’s ecological balance would always be welcome.
In conclusion, the final issue of Community Conservancy discusses a case of artisanal fishing in Bengal and their plight when decisions are made based on vested interests by a handful of people with no regard for nature and people. It is time that all actors must realize that nature is common to everyone and that all elements of nature must coexist. Moreover, none of the actors involved wanted to understand how the fishing community and the use of their indigenous wisdom helped preserve sea biodiversity. Practices such as fishing during the non-breeding seasons and using simple fishing techniques that are not as destructive as mechanized fishing are examples of how the fisherfolk are users and not violators.
The current issue of Community Conservancy analyses a classic example from Bharatpur, Rajasthan. The case shows how the application of the universal conservation model in the region may not be as effective and attempts to understand the significance of local community presence.
India’s rich geographical and cultural diversity is the primary reason for various human-nature conflicts. For example, people residing near forests and wetlands have constantly used the reserve’s natural resources for livelihood purposes. These intricate links between culture, local groups, and their dogmatic beliefs, coupled with politics and scientific knowledge, lead to complex socio-ecological issues. This case discusses an exciting story of the conservation of an artificially built wetland in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. The Keoladeo Ghana National Park (KGNP), also known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, is located in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. The national park, which is almost 250 years old, hosts innumerable residents and migratory birds during the winter. According to a report by the Wildlife Institute of India, “KGNP’s flora consists of over 375 species of angiosperms, of which 90 species are wetland species. The fauna includes more than 350 species of birds which include 42 species of raptors and nine species of owls, 27 species of mammals, 13 species of reptiles, seven species of amphibians, 58 species of fishes and 71 species of butterflies, and more than 30 species of dragonflies and more than 30 species of spiders inhabit the park. Owing to the abundance of birds, KGNP is often referred to as Birders Paradise”.[1]
Managing wetland ecosystems is seldom done due to their rugged terrain making them one of the least protected natural ecosystems worldwide. However, they can be highly productive agricultural fields; most of the Ganges wetlands have been converted into agricultural land in the post-independence era. Thus, there are only a few wetlands left in the country. Nevertheless, the wetlands in Bharatpur are a result of dam construction in the 1890s by the Maharaja of Bharatpur. Due to the scarcity of wetlands in the region, an exceptionally high number of birds flock their way into Bharatpur. The human-made characteristic makes KGNP unique from the other wetlands, it was created by the Maharaja of Bharatpur in the 1890s to be used as a waterfowl hunting ground for the royals and their acquaintances. A pre-existing marsh was carefully chosen and expanded to attract birds. Canals were also built to regulate the water level. The wetland turned out to be hugely successful in attracting wintering birds. Unexpectedly, Bharatpur wetlands were helpful to many poor villagers by providing them with firewood, thatch grass, fodder, berries, etc., for their survival and livelihood needs. Furthermore, the villagers also used a portion of the wetland for grazing their cattle. Initially, the Maharaja allowed the villagers to use the wetland as grazing grounds. When India attained independence, a large portion of the princely assets was transferred to the Union Government; however, Bharatpur Maharaja managed to retain exclusive ownership and shooting rights for his pleasure. The Maharaja’s pact with the government led to massive opposition from localities residing in the nearby areas.
As mentioned earlier, owing to its resource and use value, Bharatpur was saved from being converted into agricultural lands, despite the local political pressure. Nevertheless, the farmers’ happiness did not last long enough. Despite putting hundreds of livelihoods at stake, the head of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Ali, was determined to protect one of the only existing wetlands in north India. Therefore, he approached Prime Minister Nehru to make him aware of the current situation of KGNP. Following his move in 1956, Rajasthan Forest Department took over the authority over the wetlands for management and maintenance purposes. As Bharatpur was receiving huge attention, Maharaja’s deal also suffered; though he managed to retain shooting rights, it was restricted only to non-breeding seasons.
Until being declared a sanctuary, the wetland supported most of the livelihoods in the area. However, in 1981, the site was designated as a National Park, and according to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, all national parks are necessitated to be a no-human zone. While villagers continued grazing in the wetlands, the Indian Board for Wildlife issued an order for a complete ban on grazing in the park. The Indira Gandhi government enforced the ban and built a stone wall to keep the cattle away from the park. The action resulted in riots killing nine people. Though the ban on cattle hit the villagers’ incomes terribly, many ecologists and environmentalists from across India and the world supported the move. According to them, cattle grazing was the main reason for the degradation of natural resources at Bharatpur or in any other national park or wildlife sanctuary. Several international experts from academia and the world of practice claimed that eliminating domesticated animals would be the best solution to manage natural resources. Hence, the park managers were instructed to remove livestock if found within the park premises. They viewed domesticated livestock as a disease that spread and believed in protecting pristine areas by making them free of human and livestock activities. Many also treated the local population from these areas like cattle, and it is obvious that these people were not politically or monetarily influential. Therefore, their stories and struggles were muted.
Simultaneously, in 1980, a ten-year ecological study of the KGNP was initiated to understand Bharatpur’s resource value, hydrology, vegetation, fish, mammals, and bird population dynamics. Scientists assumed that cattle grazing was the problem fueling the declining bird count as they destroyed the bunds which were essential in bringing water to the wetlands. The ban was enforced, resulting in a bloody clash between local people and the government. Post the ban; the study wanted to analyze the before and after cattle ban situation in the park. But to their shock, a mid-study report indicated that the bird count was reduced rapidly since the cattle ban. The investigation revealed that Bharatpur was being attacked by the growth and spread of a few invasive weed species, which affected the vegetation, bird, and fish populations. The weeds had invaded the marshes to a dangerously great extent that canals were clogged, which decreased water levels. Soon after, the BNHS realized cattle was necessary to improve Bharatpur’s bird population and encouraged the reintroduction of cattle, especially buffaloes, to rectify the situation. Thus, proving that an artificially made wetland necessarily needed human intervention and the support of livestock to mitigate and re-establish the loss of resources at Bharatpur.
Bharatpur’s fortress conservation model is a definitive example of how Indian policymakers are convinced of the American conservation model. The Yellowstone National Park in the US was convinced that fortress conservation was the best management practice to preserve national parks — hoping the removal of human interference would undo the negative actions and strike a balance. The model was followed like the gospel for the natural restoration of ecosystems. Yellowstone’s model of conservation was hailed and practiced across the globe, including Indian policymakers with a colonial mindset. Yellowstone, too, was confronted with a similar problem when it witnessed uncontrollable growth of the elk population in the absence of traditional predators like wolves. But, the reintroduction of these animals did not change the impact its absence had caused. The idea that domesticated animals are mundane creatures that would not go extinct and can survive in non-wild, common, unprotected areas makes them less exciting for ecologists to invest their time. Subsequently, scientists decided that no discussion was required on understanding their significance in the ecosystem. The common notion of conservation is often based on the assumptions of the fortress or universal model of conservation. Experts in favour of community conserved areas claim that the findings from KGNP may be true to all national parks in terms of grazing and fodder collection. Natural ecosystems have adapted and evolved with the existence of humans as a core element of their system – just like Bharatpur’s habitat was heavily dependent on livestock grazing and fodder collection for supporting its avian population. This piece elaborates on how imposing an international model of conservation based on one ecological context and its experiences when applied to other ecosystems could go wrong. Bharatpur case exhibits the lack of deep understanding of local practices and how the application of such assumed models is accompanied by elitist decision-making, ignoring local truths
The piece talks about collective action by various community in Andhra Pradesh for sustainable groundwater management and its impact.
Globally, groundwater is treated as a CPR (Common Property Resource), with exceptionally high use value. Countries like the United States, Indonesia, Peru, and Australia have legalized groundwater as a public good, unlike India, where it is regarded as private property. Additionally, groundwater as a resource in India is linked with land ownership rights, leading to overexploitation and degradation of the resource. It is well known that groundwater is India’s single largest source of fresh water, and in a country like ours, it is used for irrigation and all other domestic and essential needs. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the dynamics of groundwater resources, the implementation and enforcement of groundwater development, and its sustainable management in the country. As the resource is privately managed, there is often huge inequity and injustice in gaining access to groundwater. It is usual to study groundwater through the lens of hydrogeology and the socio-economic status of the communities involved. Nevertheless, looking at the sustainability aspect of groundwater management is extremely significant. This piece attempts to compile the sustainable community practices involved in groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh.
Andhra Pradesh Farmer-Managed Groundwater Systems (APFAMGS) The first case of participatory groundwater management is based on the Andhra Pradesh Farmer-Managed Groundwater Systems (APFAMGS) project. It is one of the longest-running community-driven groundwater resource development and management program. Over the years, it has successfully engaged the community and made them aware of sustainable groundwater management practices to avoid droughts. The impact of its achievement was felt when it spread to over 650 villages from 7 drought-prone districts across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The origin of APFAMGS was from APWELL, which was started in 1987. The Government of India initiated the APWELL (Andhra Pradesh Groundwater Bore-well) project in collaboration with the Netherlands Government. APWELL was implemented in 7 districts across AP, namely Chittoor, Cuddapah, Kurnool, Nalgonda, Anantapur, Prakasam, and Mahbubnagar. One of APWELL’s essential objectives was to improve the socio-economic status and the quality of life for small and marginal farmers in the specified locations. However, APFAMGS aimed at improving groundwater capacity for agriculture and crop production through community practices.
Image: Participatory groundwater practices in Andhra Pradesh Pic: 32_1(2).jpg
The project was designed and operated through a participatory approach called participatory hydrological monitoring (PHM). APFAMGS, through its PHM strategy, attempts to change the behaviour of farmers towards the development and management of the resource. The project focused on equipping the farmers with the required awareness, skills, and knowledge through training to manage groundwater resources sustainably. Providing the farmers with an understanding of the local groundwater situation in their region and demarcating the hydrological units in use helped convince them that practices like pumping out groundwater and digging new wells would worsen the situation. Furthermore, this was also useful in changing their perspective about groundwater as a public resource rather than someone’s private property. These measures were worthwhile in enhancing farmers’ cooperation in making them aware of water-saving techniques and other sustainable practices. The awareness about water-saving techniques promotes a voluntary behavioural change in the farmers wherein they come to a consensus to use water efficiently, thereby analyzing and managing their own demand and building resilience for dry seasons. One of the other noteworthy activities of the APFAMGS is crop water budgeting (CWB), a joint exercise for farmers to plan crop production based on water availability in the region. This incredible community practice encourages collective decision-making. CWB, as an activity, displays the importance of community knowledge, increasing the responsibility of managing groundwater as a common good. Skills provided during training help make informed decisions about groundwater, and CWB offers an opportunity for the farmers to change their behaviour towards the resource. A village groundwater committee was formed to promote crop diversification, incorporate other changing production practices, and for governing purposes. Thus, APFAMGS demonstrates the need for equity in using shared resources such as groundwater with complex land-water interlinkages. The initiative has established the need for adopting location-specific participatory methods to increase community awareness and knowledge about groundwater management.
Social Regulations in Water Management (SRWM)
The current case is based on the Social Regulations in Water Management (SRWM), an action project at the Community Level in AP. In the project’s initial phase, it was implemented in 4 villages, and as the project progressed, its scope expanded across 15 more villages in AP. The project transformed the livelihoods of these village communities and has reduced migration in the area to a tremendous extent. Though regular rainwater irrigation is the most common method used to irrigate agricultural fields, groundwater plays a substantial role in irrigating the fields during dry periods. Subsequently, numerous borewells were dug out across these villages, and the groundwater level reached a point where further extraction was restricted owing to the rapidly declining groundwater level. This dependency on groundwater affected the socio-economic status and livelihoods of farmers from these villages as they started taking loans to dig new wells. As the condition of these villages was becoming uncontrollable, a series of meetings were set up by the Center for World Solidarity (CWS) in partnership with local civil society organizations, thus, initiating SRWM in 2004. SRWM focuses on building community resilience against droughts and promoting efficient water management for all with the support of the local government and NGOs. The project incorporated Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods to analyze the groundwater situation and its various uses. The primary objective of SRWM is to manage groundwater so that everyone has equal or at least minimum access to water for essential purposes. The project aims to engage the community and Panchayat Raj Institutions to decentralize decision-making and vouch for policy-driven community practices. As a result, the community has agreed upon the “social regulation,” wherein there is equitable access to groundwater for all. Hence, the project has successfully increased groundwater levels by educating the community about groundwater resource knowledge and changing their perception that it is a common property resource.
Image 2: Groundwater pits in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh Pic:RECL-watershed.jpg
Now, the community members share the common benefit from the resource. This has also led to conserving the resources keeping in mind the community’s best interest. Farmers believe that the help of scientific knowledge has enhanced their practices, which is vital in changing the groundwater situation in their area. As a result, this has increased the expanse of agricultural land in the area, and the communities are slowly moving towards producing less water-intensive crops to save water. Some key takeaways from this case are: prioritizing water usage for essential purposes, stocktaking of water resources, water-saving cropping patterns, and participatory groundwater monitoring mechanisms that set norms for water regulation. These achievements have positively impacted the lives of people from these villages by bringing an elevation to their socio-economic conditions.
The final case is based on the Andhra Pradesh Drought Adaptation Initiative (APDAI), again a program to address the situation of frequent droughts in the state. The origin of the project was established in 2005 when the World Bank wanted to study the cause and consequences of the state’s drought problem. The study recommended that locally based solutions be adopted to mitigate droughts and improve climate resilience. Consequently, the government of AP launched the APDAI as a pilot project in the subsequent year in the most drought-prone districts of the state – Anantpur, and Mahbubnagar. The World Bank financed the project’ in 6 villages in the Mahbubnagar district. The second phase absorbed nine more villages from the same district alongside ten villages from the Anantpur district. Another reason for implementing the pilot in these districts was that they heavily relied on groundwater and grew water-intensive crops such as rice. Therefore, there was a crucial need to create alternative livelihoods for these communities by helping them create better production systems and judicious use of common pool resources.
APDAI’s challenges in these districts were similar to that of APFAMGS and SWRM in terms of equal access to water for all households, crop diversification, and the need for other livelihood opportunities. In order to resolve these issues, an integrated participatory approach was required to include all stakeholders, village institutions, and the local government. Furthermore, APDAI wanted to install the idea of sharing groundwater as a CPR through solid local leadership from all levels of government, namely, the Mandals, districts, and the state government. A portion of the project’s success can be attributed to the local grassroots-level organizations that facilitated the planning, implementing, and monitoring processes. Besides, they also played a significant role in mobilizing the community through Self Help Groups that provided representation and support on behalf of the communities. This sign of inclusion of even the poorest of people from these drought-prone villages was a critical factor in managing the natural resources in the region.
Farmers, marginalized people, community representatives, village institution representatives, and government representatives come together for a dialogue to adopt efficient solutions for managing groundwater water resources. Soon after, the villages adopted micro-irrigation techniques that expanded the agricultural area and the crop yield. Likewise, the community enforced a complete ban on digging new wells and discouraged groundwater pumping, reducing it by 25 to 30%, saving groundwater and electricity. Additionally, technical and financial support was offered to the communities for livelihood diversification resulting in the adaptation of resilient climate measures, which focuses on conserving and regenerating natural resources. Hence, the APDAI strategy is an excellent example of good governance in drylands that engages with the local communities for sustainable development of natural resources and agricultural management.
In this issue of Community Conservancy, we discuss the impact of Community-Based Groundwater Management across different geographical locations in Andhra Pradesh. All the cases describe groundwater beyond its capacity. It was becoming difficult for the community to cope as water availability decreased by the day, and the status of groundwater in these areas was pathetic. The programs mentioned above are designed to mitigate droughts and fight dry spells in arid and semi-arid regions like these villages in AP. The strategies of the programs have brought awareness to the farmers in managing groundwater. These programs have united the community to a large extent and have made them realize that ‘groundwater’ is a shared resource. Moreover, these participatory models of groundwater management have helped the communities access groundwater and conserve it for future use. Therefore, community practices for groundwater management in Andhra Pradesh have efficiently provided sustainable, equal, and equitable access to groundwater resources.
This case talks about the role of rural communities in sustainable and equitable water resource conservation and management in the Alwar district of Rajasthan.
In 2019 after being monsoon deficient for two consecutive years, the city officials of the Chennai Municipal Corporation declared “Day Zero,” or the day that there is no water left in the city’s reservoirs for its consumption. However, in the Alwar district of Rajasthan, which is considered the driest part of the country, Day Zero was once an everyday reality. With water being the most vital resource for human existence, this piece talks about how people who live in this region of India manage to have access to water.
It is well known that Rajasthan is the driest state in India, and in most parts of this water-scarce state, annual rainfall is the only source of water. Located in Northwest India, about 150 km south of Delhi, Alwar also depends on yearly rainfall as the primary water source. As the five rivers flowing through this region do not start from snow peaks, they are left out and dry if the southwest monsoon fails to provide enough water. Therefore, the five rivers flowing in this region are often dry. Though there has been no significant change in the rainfall in the last few decades, rainfall in the area is mostly less. However, according to the Pre-Monsoon water level data for the district, records claim that there is a 25cm decline rate in groundwater level annually across various blocks.[1] Hence, the usage of groundwater and its gradual decline posed a massive concern to the villagers of the area.
Generationally, agriculture is the local livelihood of the villagers of Alwar. In such a water-scanty area, extracting groundwater via borewells is the primary water source for irrigation. Regardless, the agricultural practices at Alwar showed a growing dependence on groundwater, which resulted in unsustainable over-extraction of the resource. The water crisis has persuaded the agriculturalists in the area to cultivate only a certain kind of crop owing to the lack of water. This has resulted in villagers comprising a diverse nutritional basket. Consequently, in the last few decades, the youth from these villages have been moving to explore other livelihood opportunities. The reason behind this shift is the lack of water for irrigation purposes, pushing people away from pursuing agriculture in the region. Therefore, this leaves the villagers with the urgent necessity to devise workable water harvesting techniques to save the day. Alwar is an ancient Indian city with a great history of water conservation through traditional water harvesting processes. For example, Kui, to minimize water runoff; Tanki and Bawari (step wells) for rainwater storage; and so on. Of these, Johads are pond-like structures prominently found in water-stressed districts like Alwar and are dug-out pits primarily used to collect rainwater and recharge groundwater. Johads are useful in replenishing groundwater by allowing rainwater to percolate directly into the soil.
As mentioned earlier, the region of Alwar is known for its rich water conservation systems. Along with it, the neighbouring forest lands of the Aravalli range have helped replenish the underground aquifers. In ancient times, the rulers of the region funded the building of johads while holding a portion of the harvest as tax. Local kings slowly gambled away the forest lands to British invaders leading to deforestation and soil erosion. Thus, rainfall runs off through the area along with the eroded topsoil, which is observed to be washed down into these old johads. Post-independence, the government of India ventured into technologically advancing agriculture and irrigation techniques. Modern technologies were used to fetch groundwater via bore wells and tube wells for agricultural activities and other essential needs in such arid parts of the country. These modern initiatives seemed to ease the water-stressed situation of villages like Alwar. However, a repeated cycle of this resulted in groundwater depletion in the district. The condition worsened further in 1985-86 when Alwar faced a severe drought. The period was arid, and water levels dropped drastically, so the villagers could not dig deeper.
This was when Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS), a not-for-profit organization that seeks to restore socio-ecological welfare via community governance and community-driven sustainable management of natural resources, came into play. TBS is headquartered in the Bheekampura block of the Alwar district and has been working in the region since the late 1980s. The founder of TBS, Rajendra Singh, popularly referred to as the Waterman of India, started rejuvenating the johads across the villages of Alwar. Soon after, in 1986, their efforts began paying off when the region’s wells started filling with water. TBS also facilitated in creation of the Arawari River Parliament in 1999, a non-legal governing body for community water management. The function of this parliament is to regulate water across the villages and conserve the resource. In addition, the body has regular meetings to resolve issues of conflict between villages or people regarding the resource.
One such area of Alwar that has flourished due to this successful johad management is — Gopalpura. In 1986, the village, with the help of villagers, renovated the damaged silted johads. Ten years later, more earthen dams or johads were constructed, and the water level had risen to 162 million gallons. The agricultural capacity of the region also increased manifold from 33 hectares to 108 hectares, leading to double cropping. Moreover, as part of the social forestry initiative, the villagers revived forest resources around Gopalpura, and compensation was also enforced as a penalty for anyone found cutting trees. Currently, johad-based conservation has spread across Rajasthan and has been proven effective in groundwater management. Construction of numerous johads by the community all over the state has been contributing to providing groundwater to the people in the area during the dry seasons and improving water quality. Today, there are 8,600 johads across 1086 villages in the Alwar district. In addition, the community has also tasked social forestry to increase the area’s green cover.
The impact of this success is felt across such arid regions in the country. In 2014, Kohar village in Alwar, too, faced the wrath of water. A check dam was built to reduce water flow velocity by engaging the community in dam construction. Hence, the renovation of johads through rural communities was successful, and additionally, it also left a positive impact on the community and ecology. Now that agriculture seems possible, migration has reduced, and the villagers’ socio-economical status has also improved drastically. This piece illustrates the success of community practices in conserving the precious resource, which is the elixir of human life.
An introduction to the series and community-based conservation and the recent trends in Indian conservationism
Ecology and people complement each other, and their constant interconnection is what makes the earth a fascinating place for humans to live on. However, today human developmental activities are carried out at the expense of the environment, and it is often poor and marginalized communities that pay the price for it. Hence, the Community Conservancy series aims to illustrate how conservation, biodiversity, and local livelihoods are mutually affected due to these complex socio-ecological conflicts.
The Community Conservancy series will shed light on the current Indian environmentalist and conservationist trends. However, this series mainly focuses on bringing on accounts of specific community-based conservation (CBC) approaches that have proved effective in preserving natural resources and views the same through the lens of sustainability. Finally, the series will also point out some of the sufferings and failures of such models.
Humans have generally turned their backs on the environment, and often their willing blindness prevents them from seeing how their actions towards the environment turn out to be destructive in nature. Although India has always been known for its rich geographical diversity since time immemorial, the urge to preserve its natural resources started only during the 1970s. The Chipko movement in 1973 was the stepping stone for igniting the environmental movement in India. Simultaneously, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, owing to her love for nature and wildlife, introduced the Project Tiger, a tiger conservation program that gained momentum and helped strengthen the environmental movement in India. So now comes a critical question, how is India planning to conserve its environment and natural resources?
The Government of India plays the predominant role in governing and regulating natural resources resulting in public neglect of these resources. For a long time, India has adapted most of its ideas and approaches to conservation from the West, and – Western Environmentalism strongly believes in preserving and conserving natural resources for the sake of maintaining environmental aesthetics (it isn’t surprising that fortress conservation strategies are dominant globally). Therefore, conservation in India also meant creating inviolate spaces to protect natural resources and biodiversity. Consequently, even today, colonial attitudes of Indian policymakers play a significant role in influencing environmentalism in the country. But, in recent times, community-based conservation is receiving increasing attention. But to understand the same, one must know how the creation of protected fortresses affects socio-ecological systems.
Protected areas (PAs) strictly prohibit the inclusion of humans, particularly local people, in planning for creating these spaces. They are often not allowed to enter these zones and are usually evicted from these places if necessary. Due to its exclusionary nature, this type of conservation approach is referred to as fortress conservation. Fortress conservation is based on the notion that resources and biodiversity are gradually diminishing in sites of active human intervention. According to fortress conservationists, human intervention creates fragmentation inducing the loss of resources and species. It is believed that when left undisturbed, nature tends to thrive, and the entire ecosystem will organically go back to its natural state. Thus, these conservationists justify their claim to eliminate poor rural indigenous people to protect the environment. On the other hand, fortress conservation can disastrously impact the local communities that depend on natural resources from the protected area. The lack of access to these resources has left numerous such communities in a state of dismay costing their livelihoods and, in the worst case, even their shelter. Nevertheless, experts in favour of community-based conservation practices argue that over the years, human activity around these critically protected zones has been a catalyst in improving the biodiversity in the region. Though localities use some of the resources for survival or livelihood purposes, their actions do not tend to harm them. Yet, it is essential to understand the threshold of this partnership and draw clear boundaries that do not harm either of the entities.
This form of exclusionary conservation cuts humans from the scene of protecting resources and biodiversity. Furthermore, the idea is supported by various stakeholders like the government, environment foundations, think tanks, NGOs, industrial leaders, and civilians, whose stance is sometimes considered more valuable than that of people living in the region generationally. Such a case fuels the need for a much-needed development debate that poses a moral dilemma — whether to leave natural spaces untouched for conserving them or evict the local people who depend on this resource. Should the world follow the Western model of fortress conservation or community-based conservation? The answer to this question is not simple. In a country like ours with ten diversely unique biogeographic zones, thrusting a single universal conservation model does not help preserve natural resources. The public must take an informed stand on the issue because we also fundamentally depend on nature, and neither entity can exist without the other. Moreover, it is crucial to realize the presence of a complex nexus between resources, biodiversity, poverty, and local livelihoods. Therefore, it becomes tough for actors like the state to design an intervention that serves the combined needs of both community and conservation. It is time that policy stakeholders realize the same and chart out conservation models specific to each region based on local realities. This piece tries to bring out the reality of Indian environmentalism. It attempts to point out that merely the idea of exclusionary and inclusive conservation is not enough to address the problem of conservation in today’s era.
Where have the sparrows gone? That’s something people living in cities are quick to notice. House sparrow populations have been declining worldwide due to modern buildings, disappearing home gardens and air pollution wreaking havoc on the bird’s habitat and food sources. House sparrows have been considered the most adaptable of birds capable of thriving in cities, farms, and suburbs. Though it is an aggressive little bird that pushes out native birds, its world-wide decline has listed it as a species very important as part of urban conservation. As record heatwaves dry up India’s water sources, dehydrated birds are falling from the sky with animal rescuers treating thousands of birds in animal hospitals.
Need for biodiversity and green spaces management:
Biodiversity loss has serious implications beyond just species loss and the deteriorating health of our ecosystems are eroding the foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.
Covid-19 resulted in empty streets and made city life quieter. The acoustic quality of bird songs improved as birds did not have to sing louder to compete with the noise of traffic. The lockdowns had a positive impact on migratory birds using cities as ‘rest stops’ as they made long journeys across continents.
Birds are messengers and teachers of our environment and are indicators of wealth and prosperity. Where there are birds, you have insects, vegetation, grass, and plants to sustain the earth that we humans live off. Bird sounds have deeply influenced our societies and increased exposure to bird sounds have shown to improve physical and mental health.
Birds make us appreciate nature and are a natural alarm to wake-up each morning and the onus is on each one of us to make our homes and surroundings greener and more diverse. Our cities need to be ’restorative environments’ that facilitate recovery from everyday fatigue, negative mood and stress and exposure to sounds of nature specifically bird songs have shown to be very effective. Read this interesting study that shows participants who experienced a virtual reality forest environment with birds and water sounds showed significantly reduced pulse rate, muscle tension, whereas those who listened to classical music or silence showed lesser stress recovery.
India’s water bodies for birds:
There are thousands of bird species with India having almost 12% of the bird species found on the planet. Over 60 species are unique to the Indian sub-continent. Though wild-life experiences in India brings tigers and elephants to our minds, the foothills of the Himalayas, flood plains of the Ganges, and the off-beaten track of the tropical paradise of the Andaman Islands are bird paradises.
The eastern most state of India, Arunachal Pradesh is one of its kind because of the abundance of birds and some of the most important bird species found in the Namdapaha national park, Mishmi hills and Eaglenest Bird Sanctuary. With over 500 recorded species, these are declared as Important Bird Area (IBA). IBAs are an important indicator of bio-diversity richness holding threatened bird species.
Assam, the land of mystique blue hills and valleys serve as a rare refuge for as many as 109 species of birds as part of the Dehing Patkai, Maguri Beel wetlands and Kaziranga national park.
The rivers of Sunderbans and the Santrgachi Jheel in Howrah and the Kulik Bird Sanctuary are few of the well-known spots where thousands of migratory birds visit every year in winter.
Laughing Thrush (Local name: Bugun Liochicla) threatened with extinction in the Eaglenest bird sanctuary – Arunachal Pradesh, India
In conclusion:
We are biologically connected to bird songs. Researchers point to a ‘universal grammar’ that indicate common acoustic patterns between bird sounds and human speech giving us a better grasp on the communication patterns of other species and may even help us perfect natural speech for future robots and Artificial Intelligence (A.I).
Our lessons learnt from Covid-19 among others is how reduced human disturbances have been a positive story around linkages between bird songs, mental health, and alignment with nature. We must do our bit to increase bird diversity and its abundance in urban areas.
More varied bird songs are needed and how do we keep up that momentum? By educating ourselves, inspiring our younger generation to forge that connection with nature, visiting those precious waterbodies that sustain these birds, creating an emotional connection with them, listening to them, treating them like our loved ones and experiencing the calmness that comes with the sense of freedom and playfulness that birds exhibit.
Eastern Ghats, an ancient orogenic belt formed by the collision of crustal rocks during the Archean Eon and became a part of the Indian sub continent during the Gondwana period because of continental drift which makes it way older than the Western Ghats. It contains rocks aging 2.9 billion years to 900 million years old. The Eastern Ghats holds a rich, complicated and interesting geological history may be because they evolved through long processes of magmatism, metamorphism and deformation.
This discontinuous mountain range passes through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu sharing 25%, 40%, 5%, 5% and 25% of the Ghats respectively with a highest peak of 1822 m called Kattahi Betta in BR hills, Karnataka. These Ghats are made up of charnockites, granite gneisses, khondalites, metamorphic gneisses and quartzite rock formations with rich limestone, bauxite and iron ores.
The Eastern Ghats have a very unique mix of forest types like–
Dry evergreen forests,
Semi-evergreen forests,
Southern tropical dry mixed deciduous forests,
Dry savannah forests,
Southern tropical dry scrub forests,
Southern tropical thorn forests,
Carnatic umbrella thorn forests,
Southern subtropical hill forests,
Southern thorn scrub, and
Mangrove forests.
The rivers originating from the Eastern Ghats are–
Baitarani,
Budhabalanga,
Rushikulya,
Vamsadhara,
Palar,
Nagavali,
Champavathi,
Gosthani,
Sarada,
Sabari,
Sileru,
Tammileru,
Gundlakamma,
Pennai Yaru,
Swarnamukhi,
Kundu,
Vellar and,
Penna.
Brahmani, Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna, Mahanadi, Subarnarekha, Tungabhadra rivers flow through these Ghats.
Eastern Ghats is rich in biodiversity with 97 species of mammals, 490 species of birds, 119 species of reptiles, 34 species of amphibians, xx species of invertebrates and 2500 species of flowering plants.
These Ghats harbors many endemic species like the–
In this 1131kms stretch of Ghats, lies 3 National parks, 24 Sanctuaries and 4 Reserves which are –
Bhitarkanika National Park, Odisha,
Simlipal National Park, Odisha,
Sri Venkateswara National Park, Andhra Pradesh,
Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Balimela Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Baisipalli Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, Odisha,
Hadagarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Kapilash Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Kondakameru Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Kotagarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Lakhari Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Saptasajya Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha,
Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh,
Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh,
Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh,
Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh,
Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh,
Rollapadu Bird Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh,
Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh,
Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka,
Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu,
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu,
Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,
Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Odisha,
Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, and
Sunabeda Tiger Reserve, Odisha.
Such rich in biodiversity and endemism forest regions are facing a major threat because of fragmentation of forests, encroachment of lands, agricultural practices, invasive species, climate crisis, poaching, mining, tourism, negligence and the list goes on. From the way of formation, geology to the diversity of species Eastern Ghats is filled with treasures of the natural world and should not be looked down upon and should never be called the “poor” sister of the Western Ghats.
Agumbe- a small village with an area of 3 sq kms with an elevation of 2,700 ft also called the Cherrapunji of southern India because of its rainfall. Surrounded by waterfalls, hills of the Western Ghats and with a population of 600, Agumbe is a hotspot for biodiversity and haven for wildlife enthusiasts from all the taxonomic groups. Fungi species like Meliola agumbensis, Tarenna agumbensis, Hygroaster agumbensis and Dactylaria agumbensis are discovered here and named after Agumbe. Agumbe is home for many endemic species of Western Ghats like Malabar Gliding Frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus), Malabar Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus), Malabar pit viper (Craspedocephalus malabaricus) and many more. It is also a territory of a melanistic Leopard and a tusker Elephant. The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the flagship species. The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station was started by Padmashree Romulus Whitaker in Agumbe where the radio telemetry project on King Cobras started.
As a herpetofauna enthusiast, I was elated to find Snakes and Frogs in every 2 steps. The day in Agumbe starts with the singing of Whistling Thrushes, sightings of Mabuyas, basking of diurnal snakes when the sun is out, innumerable invertebrates and the clouds floating through our body. My favorite time in Agumbe is at night where I feel the jungle comes alive with croaking of frogs, crepitation of cicadas and the pitvipers everywhere! The Malabar Pitvipers in green, orange, brown, yellow and orange morphs come out slithering, looking for prey. The pretty Humpnosed Pitvipers camouflaging in the leaf litter, Molluscs and glow worms crawling all over and never forget the leeches of rainforests. Agumbe looks like a different world itself with extremely tall trees and life everywhere.
The most beautiful sight is a female King Cobra making her nest with the leaf litter. She chooses a slope so that water doesn’t get stagnant, using her long body to collect the leaf litter by pulling her mid body towards the tail, dragging the litter and piling it up to 2 feet. After the 2 feet litter is collected like a heap she enters into it and constantly moves in circles to compress the litter making it like a bowl to lay her eggs. She lays the eggs and comes out but it is still not done yet! She patches the opening she came out from with some more leaves, waits there for less than a week and leaves. She bears her eggs, builds the nest and consumes nothing but water during this. Unlucky females get eaten up by passing by males during her construction work. Sad? But that’s how the population of species with almost no predators is kept in check. Alas! The King Cobras are not only the longest venomous snake in the world but also amazing nest builders where the temperature inside the nest is always constant and not a water drop can enter inside. Me, who could never imagine reptiles can be loving and caring was dumbfounded with this behavior displayed by these snake eaters and will be my forever favorite sight.
Agumbe also has a success story of educating the locals not to kill the wildlife. It was hopeful to see the locals protecting the nests of King Cobras in their backyards calling it “Namma Kaalinga” (our King Cobras).
But increasing population is always a threat to wildlife and places like these attract a lot of tourism killing hundreds of individuals of various species because of roadkills. Few years ago the whole stretch of Western Ghats was rich with diverse species but now because of fragmentation of habitat only few pockets of wilderness are left which have to be protected from extinction.
कबूतर (रॉक पिजन), जिसे वैज्ञानिक भाषा में कोलम्बा लिविआ के नाम से जाना जाता है, पक्षी की ऐसी प्रजाति है जो सहारा मरुस्थल व ध्रुवो के अलावा पूरे विश्व में पाई जाती है। यूँ तो इंसानो का कबूतरों के साथ संबंध काफी पुराना है जहां इसे सबसे समझदार पक्षियों में से एक माना गया तथा संदेशो के आदान प्रदान के लिए उपयोग में लिया गया। परन्तु पिछले कुछ दशकों में कबूतरों की अनियंत्रित बढ़ती आबादी एक चिंता का विषय है। इससे न सिर्फ अन्य छोटे पक्षियों की संख्या पर प्रतिकूल प्रभाव पड़ा है तथा स्थानीय जैव विविधता में भारी कमी आई है बल्कि कबूतर कई प्रकार के वायरस का भी संवहन करते है जो अस्थमा व साँस की बीमारियों से प्रभावित लोगो, बच्चो व बुजर्गो के स्वास्थ्य के लिए काफी खतरनाक है।
जंगलो में कबूतर चट्टानों, दरारों तथा विभिन्न वृक्षों पर अपना घोंसला बनाते है जो कि मौसम तथा अन्य भक्षी जानवरो के चलते नियंत्रण में रहता है। जबकि शहरों की ऊँची इमारतों, पुराने भवनों तथा पर्यटनो स्मारकों में बनाये गए घोंसलों में ये वर्ष भर अंडे दे पाते है तथा दाने की पर्याप्त मात्रा के चलते इनकी जनसँख्या त्वरित रूप से बढ़ती है। धार्मिक रुझानों के चलते लोगो की दाना डालने की प्रवृति से इन्हे वर्ष भर समुचित मात्रा में भोजन मिलता है। साथ ही झुण्ड में रहने के कारण ये अन्य भक्षी पक्षियों व जानवरो से अपनी सुरक्षा आसानी से कर पाते है तथा छोटे पक्षिओ जैसे गोरैया, तोते व अन्य के भोजन भी चट कर जाते हैं। जिससे इन अन्य पक्षिओ की संख्या में बेहद कमी आई है, कुछ वर्षो पहले तक सुनाई देने वाली चिडियो की चहचहाहट आज कम ही सुनने को मिलती है। जबकि कबूतरों को की बढ़ी तादाद भवनों, पुराने किलो, स्मारकों में आसानी से देखी जा सकती है। चुग्गा डालने के सभी निर्धारित स्थानों पर मुख्य रूप से सिर्फ कबूतर ही देखे जाते है न कि अन्य पक्षी।
छोटी चिड़िया जो कीटो का भक्षण करके कृषि में सहायक होती थी आज विलुप्त प्राय है तथा कबूतरों के बचे दाने से आकर्षित होकर चूहों की संख्या में वृद्धि भी कृषि के लिए हानिकारक है। इस प्रकार विभिन्न प्रजातियों का यह संतुलन आज कबूतरों की तीव्र जनसँख्या वृद्धि के चलते गड़बड़ाया हुआ है।
एक मादा कबूतर वर्ष भर में 48 बच्चो को जन्म दे सकती है तथा इनका जीवनकाल लगभग 20 से 25 वर्ष होता है। औसतन एक कबूतर एक वर्ष में 12 किलोग्राम बीट उत्सर्जित करता है जो की अत्यधिक अम्लीय तथा जहरीली होती है। सूखने के बाद यह हवा में धूल के साथ मिलकर आसानी से प्रसारित होती है। मुख्यतया यह शरीर में एक्यूट हाइपर सेंसिटिविटी न्यूमोनाइटिस नामक स्थिति का निर्माण करती है जो गंभीर मामलो में जानलेवा तक साबित हो सकती है। इस बीमारी के बारे में बहुत कम जानकारी उपलब्ध होना इसे अत्यधिक दुष्प्रभावी बनाती है, यहाँ तक की चिकित्सको में भी इसके बारे में बहुत अधिक जागरूकता नहीं है तथा सीटी स्कैन के अतिरिक्त अन्य सामान्य जांचो से इसका पता लगाना संभव नहीं है। कबूतरों के निकट रहने वाले, नियमित दाना डालने वाले लोगो में यह काफी खतरनाक स्थिति पैदा कर सकता है तथा तेजी से फ़ैल कर फेफड़ो को नुकसान पहुंचाता है। कबूतर न सिर्फ इंसानो में बल्कि अन्य पक्षिओ तथा जानवरो में भी इसका संचरण कर सकते हैं।
इनकी अम्लीय बीट ऐतिहासिक भवनों तथा स्मारकों को नुकसान पहुँचाती है तथा उनके मूल सौंदर्य, पत्थरो व रंग पर प्रतिकूल प्रभाव डालती है। जलाशयों के निकट इनकी उपस्थिति, पंखो से गंदगी, बीट निष्कासन छोटी मछलियों व अन्य जलीय जीवो के लिए जहरीली साबित होती है। कबूतरों के विशाल झुण्ड न सिर्फ ऐतिहासिक स्मारको को कुरूप बना रहे है बल्कि जानवर जैसे कुत्ते, बिल्लियाँ इनके शिकार के लालच में कई बार पानी में गिरकर अपनी जान से हाथ धो बैठते है। पुलों के नीचे व चौराहो पर रहने वाले कबूतरों के झुंडो का अचानक से सड़क से गुजरना दुर्घटना का कारण भी बनता है। राजस्थान के जयपुर स्थित अल्बर्ट हॉल, अलवर स्थित पौराणिक त्रिपोलिया मंदिर, बाला किला, होप सर्कस तथा देशभर के असंख्य ऐसे ही विरासत से परिपूर्ण धरोहर आज कबूतरों की बढ़ती आबादी के कारण जर्जर हालत में रहने को मजबूर है।
वैश्विक स्तर पर भी इस परेशानी से बचने के लिए कई उपाय अपनाये गए है। ऑस्ट्रिया के वियना में कुछ वर्षो पहले कबूतरों को दाना डालने पर 36 यूरो का जुर्माना निर्धारित किया गया है। स्पेन के कई शहरों में ओविस्टोप नामक ड्रग का प्रयोग इनके दाने में मिलाकर किया जाता है जो एक प्रकार का गर्भ निरोधक है। लन्दन के मशहूर ट्राफलगर स्क्वायर पर कबूतरों को दाना डालने पर 2001 से पूर्णतया प्रतिबन्ध लगा दिया गया है। इसी प्रकार इटली के वेनिस शहर में सेंट मार्क स्क्वायर पर दाना बेचने वालो पर कठोर जुर्माने का नियम 2008 में लाया गया।
भारत में भी इस प्रकार के नियमो की सख्त आवश्यकता है ताकि समय रहते इनकी अनियंत्रित आबादी पर काबू पाया जा सके तथा अन्य पक्षियों की संख्या में आ रही भारी गिरावट को रोककर जैव विविधता का संतुलन पुनः स्थापित किया जा सके।
Our water situation is getting worse by the day with a sad reality that conventional water sources are not enough to meet growing freshwater demands of our population. Rainfall, snowfall, river run-offs, accessible ground water are falling short of providing equal distribution of water across the world with climate change adding to the complexity of rainfall uncertainty and extended drought periods.
But more importantly, the quality of water is deteriorating and here are some hard hitting facts:
Agriculture uses high amount of chemicals (herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides) and the run-off of excess nutrients such as reactive nitrogen and phosphorus and other contaminants have worsened in almost all rivers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (UNEP, 2016a) with detrimental effects on people’s health. Adverse impact on human health has been found in people living within a 5 km radius of lakes with extreme turbidity levels that indicates high water pollution such as metals and bacteria.
Aquifers are key water reserves, and most groundwater comes from aquifers but due to pumping out of ground water at greater rates than it can be naturally replenished, countries like India are digging deeper wells and paying greater energy costs to pump and treat the lower-quality water that is often found deeper within the aquifers. Since 2012 the number of groundwater pumps has more than quadrupled to over 20 million.
Need to look for unconventional water sources:
For sustainable food production and our livelihood’s overall needs, unconventional water sources are being evaluated as a critical response to deteriorating water quality/scarcity and the good news is that such water resources exist ranging from the Earth’s seabed to its upper atmosphere.
Some of the time-tested methods of generating water are listed here:
Rain enhancement through cloud seeding: Several countries have attempted rainmaking by injecting salt/silver iodide crystals into the base of clouds that has shown an increased precipitation of around 15% of the annual norm, but complex physical process and technology limitations are slowing down experiments and more scientific research is needed.
Fog harvesting: Capturing atmospheric water vapor for domestic and agricultural use is an ancient practice. The low-impact technology uses material such as mesh nets to capture water droplets from the air, relying on weather systems and physics to collect water rather than requiring energy or other inputs.
Rainwater harvesting: Runoff water from rainfall can be captured and stored at household and farm levels. Rooftops in households and small bunds, runoff basins in farm and landscape systems catch the water to be harvested for later use.
Iceberg towing:
Imagine towing an iceberg that measures 3000 feet long, 1500 feet wide and 750 feet deep, weighing around 100 million tons and convert the iceberg to municipal water that can feed 20% of a city’s water needs for one year. Sounds impossible, but climate change has fast tracked the breaking of huge chunks of icebergs in the polar regions with these icebergs drifting across the ocean. In today’s world where we are desperate to look for alternate sources of freshwater, the concept of harnessing icebergs from polar ice caps to drought regions in Africa and Middle East is generating a lot of interest.
Let us look at the impact of icebergs calving away from its parent ice shelves mainly due to earth warming. More than 100,000 Antarctic icebergs melt into the ocean each year. As they drift and its base melts, they release cold fresh melt water altering local ocean properties in several ways. They could block access of penguin colonies to feeding grounds, carry debris , may have several bacteria and viruses that could be infectious to humans, leave plough marks on the sea floor or impact the marine habitat by colossal releases of fresh water. Read this interesting article on a giant iceberg named A-68 that travelled 3 years and drifted close to the Scotia sea(edge of South Atlantic ocean) and released 152 billion tons of fresh water.
Rather than waste this water, if we could get water from Antarctic icebergs to drought-stricken areas with minimal environmental impact, that would be a huge win-win. Tabular icebergs are good candidates for towing rather than icebergs that look like a typical mountain with a peak as those could be dangerous and unstable for sea transportation.
In Germany, a company called Polewater locates table icebergs in Antarctica via satellite imagery, uses tugboats to maneuver icebergs and bring the icebergs closer to suitable coastal regions such as South America, South Africa and Australia , extracts freshwater by using the cold energy of the sea , pumps out the water into huge waterbags and organizes distributing fresh water to people.
In Conclusion:
Antarctica is covered by ice and is the largest reservoir of drinking water on Earth. As you read this article, billions of liters of pure drinking water are flowing just like that into the open sea. We, and our next generations need clean fresh water and forcing ourselves to treat our existing water over and over or drilling deeper into the ground for new water is not sustainable. India and other water starved nations with its steadily growing population need to look at such unconventional water sources as reliable sources of water in times of climate uncertainty and towing that ‘Titanic’ iceberg may just be a matter of time …Only time will tell …
A sustainable and environment-friendly approach is quickly taking hold as an efficient and long-lasting remedy for the rising pollution in urban water bodies. The man-made islands called Floating Treatment Wetlands (FTW) are the ones that float on water bodies. They are man-made islands covered with plants that floats to purify the water body, creating a cleaner and better water body for organisms that depend on it.
Selected filter plants are attached to a wooden structure that floats. Presence of hydroponic mat supports the water flow beneath and through the plants, and the roots serve as a natural filter.
Floating islands
Water quality is improved by floating treatment wetlands in a number of ways. They begin by consuming nutrients from the water’s upper layers, which mainly come from surface runoff. Such runoffs remove a lot of anthropogenic pollutants from reservoirs and from agriculture. Studies have suggested that the effects of this type of pollution are less where the islands are deployed. The filter islands draw heavy metals from the water that have accumulated in plant tissues.
These plant structures are also a great place for microorganisms that are beneficial to the aquatic ecosystem, which also contribute to water treatment.
While the primary goal of FTW is to purify water by removing extra minerals and contaminants, there are other benefits too. Furthermore, the reservoir is shaded by the filter islands, which is quite helpful if the water heats up too much due to increase in temperature. This, in turn, directly and indirectly threatens aquatic organisms. They also aid in the oxygenation of the water body as they release and transport oxygen.
Plants’ roots in the island start to grow extensively and densely like forests. It makes a great home for young animals and serves as an insect sanctuary by attracting them. The rhizome zone of the root of the plants of wetland may expand to the point where support in the form of a frame and buoyancy components would be no longer required over time. Additionally, the vegetation on the island can prove to be beneficial to a variety of native species, thereby enhancing the local biodiversity. Reports suggest that a few birds are already residing in some of the floating treatment islands.
The FTW is a bamboo rafts with thermocol or plastic water bottles on the sides to add to buoyancy. These materials are chemically inert when it is in contact for a long duration of time. A layer of gunny bags that stretch can be attached to the bottom of the raft to create a tray that holds 2 cm layer of gravel. Saplings have to be planted such that its roots reach into water. Saplings can be planted with a distance of 3-4 feet. The saplings that can be planted include:
Mosquito repellent and ornamental plants such as Marigold
Hibiscus
Canna
Tulsi
Ashwagandha
Flowering herbs
Marigold
Canna
Ashwagandha
These plants absorb high levels of Phosphorous and Nitrogen in the sewage water that is present in the water body. In addition, the FTW is significantly less expensive than a conventional sewage treatment facility.
Several studies have concluded that, for an FTW to be effective, it must take up at least 0.37% of the area of the water body. For a lake having area of 1 acre, FTW of 15m2 must suffice.
There are reports that the FTWs are already successfully implemented in Hauz Khas Lake in Delhi and Neknampur lake in Hyderabad. In addition to the clean water bodies by the use of FTWs, it can contribute to the biodiversity, beautification and also the locals. It is a no secret that water pollution is one of the greatest threats to the biodiversity. Hence FTW can be considered as a simple, natural and effective solution.
The ambitious collaboration between the Hinduja Group and E.F.I to conserve and protect India’s water bodies
The Sundaleri Lake is located in the North-Eastern part of the Kanchipuram District in the village of Vallakotai. The Kanchipuram District is well-known for its traditional clothing industry and historical significance.
Rapid urbanization and industrialization, and no maintenance led to the Lake being polluted with solid waste and invasive weeds. This severely affected the ecosystem and biodiversity of the surrounding area.
With the support of the government of Tamil Nadu and the Hinduja Foundation under the Jal Jeevan initiative, the Environmental Foundation of India took on the task of restoring the Sundaleri Lake.
The Lake underwent a rigorous transformation in 2021, which included the removal of weeds, desilting of the Lake, bund strengthening and dual embankment and the construction of islands and recharge pits. A C-shaped bund was also constructed to strengthen the structure of the Lake.
The lake is now all set to become a biodiversity hotspot for indigenous flora and fauna.
The ambitious collaboration between the Hinduja Group and E.F.I to conserve and protect India’s water bodies
The Sathangadu Lake is located in Manali, Chennai. It is surrounded by industries, and was found to be deteriorating due to pollutants like sewage and weeds. Lack of maintenance also contributed to its deterioration. The lake is integral to our ecosystem as it hosts several species of endemic and migratory birds. These birds can be spotted nesting along the bunds of the lake.
The Government of India, along with the Hinduja Foundation under the Jal Jeevan initiative and the Environmentalist Foundation of India took on the task of restoring this lake.
The restoration process consisted of de-weeding, de-silting, and regulation of the sewage in-flow through the construction of a sedimentary pit. Five islands have been roosted in this lake and about 245 native species have been planted across it. The restored lake is now more beneficial to the ecosystem than it was prior to the restoration.
The ambitious collaboration between the Hinduja Group and E.F.I to conserve and protect India’s water bodies
Located in the east of the village of Kattampatti is the Senguttai Pond. It is a natural spring-based pond, surrounded by windmills and agricultural land. This pond plays a major role in recharging the groundwater table of the surrounding area. Over the years, the pond fell into disuse, and was soon forgotten by the people, which led to growth of invasive weeds and an accumulation of excess silt.
The restoration was undertaken by the Environmentalist Foundation of India along with the Hinduja Foundation and IndusInd Bank.
The restoration of the pond included the removal of invasive weeds, de-silting and deepening of the water body, constructing and strengthening of the earthen bunds, inlet and outlet regulation in the pond area, construction of recharge pits, fencing of the water body and native tree plantation along the bunds.
With all of its new features, the Senguttai pond is now ready to support of life forms. The pond id well protected and has an increased water holding capacity.
The ambitious collaboration between the Hinduja Group and E.F.I to conserve and protect India’s water bodies
In the town of Minjur, located in the outskirts of North Chennai is the Nandiambakkam Pond. This pond is vital in sustaining the lives of the community and controlling floods. Hence, it can be classified as a community pond. Community ponds are just as important as lakes and reservoirs as a source of water. This pond was polluted with solid and liquid waste. There were multiple invasive species that lived there along with algae. The accumulation of a lot of the waste was due to the urbanization and industrialization over the years. The quality of water in the pond impacts the nearby citizens, which are nearly 5,000 in number. Under the Jal Jeevan initiative, the task of restoring this pond has been undertaken. This has been done by E.F.I in association with the Government of India, and Ashok Leyland, part of the Hinduja foundation. The restoration has led to a cleaner, safer pond for its residents instead of the health hazard that it was.
The ambitious collaboration between the Hinduja Group and E.F.I to conserve and protect India’s water bodies
Nagachery Kulam is located in the town of Chidambaram. The town is between the Vellar river in the North and the Kollidam river in the South. The town uses water from the water bodies around it. Nagachery Kulam is one of these water bodies which support the town. Before restoration, the lake was polluted, filled with silt and weeds. It was not properly maintained.
Chidambaram Sub Col. Thiru L. Madhu Balan IAS, IndusInd Bank and the Hinduja Foundation funded this initiative to restore Nagachery Lake which was undertaken by the Environmentalist Foundation of India.
During restoration, the silt removed was used to strengthen the lake and construct dual embankments. The strengthening of the bund has improved resilience of the lake against floods. Recharge pits were made to help restore ground water. A sluice gate and regulator shutters were constructed to prevent erosion and control the velocity of the water.
Chidambaram town still depends on water bodies like this lake for water and the restoration of the Nagachery Kulam has helped the community realize its importance.
A mini series that brings to light the stories of India’s dams
📍Tehri Dam, Uttarakhand
टिहरी डैम
टिहरी बांध भारत का सबसे ऊंचा बांध है और उत्तराखंड में स्थित है।
India’s highest dam, the Tehri Dam is a 260.5m tall earth and rock fill dam built over Bhagirathi river with an installed capacity of 1,000 MW. Power generated by this project benefits the states of Uttarkhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. It also supplies Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi with about 250 million gallons of water.
The design of Tehri dam was completed in 1972 but construction after feasibility studies began only in 1978. It was completed only in 2006 due to various financial, social and environmental impacts. There were numerous protests relating to construction of this dam as it would obstruct the natural flow of Bhagirathi river. The reservoir thus created would lead to complete submergence of 24 villages while affecting 88 others, including the town of Tehri.
हमें बांध नहीं चाहिए। बांध पहाड़ का विनाश है। – सुन्दरलाल बहुगुणा
Total cost of building this dam was approximately 1 billion USD. India National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) conducted a cost-benefit analysis which stated that the cost of constructing the dam is about twice the benefits reaped from the project.
Another interesting point to note is that such a huge structure is built on the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap, which is considered to be a vulnerable segment prone to earthquakes. It also implies that impoundment of water in its reservoir is likely to create more pressure and trigger landslides. If an earthquake of very high magnitude breaks the dam, it would lead to submergence of highly productive and populated valleys of Uttarakhand(including Rishikesh and Haridwar),destroying lives, forests and agricultural resources. If a catastrophic event like this occurred, over a million people could lose their lives.
Did you know?
SOURCE: kafaltree.com
The Ghantaghar, which was a symbol of the splendor of the princely state of Tehri during the reign of the monarchy, was submerged as a result of the Tehri dam. It stands proud even after 11 years of drowning in the Tehri Lake.
The ambitious collaboration between the Hinduja Group and E.F.I to conserve and protect India’s water bodies
The Morai village is located in the district of Tiruvallur. It is surrounded by many bodies of water. Due to the presence of the Krishna canal, the region is agriculture rich. A large lake provides water to the farmers for irrigation. This is the Morai lake. It also provides a habitat for the local flora and fauna. Over the years, due to no maintenance, the lake deteriorated rapidly. Invasive weeds and excess siltation were some of the major problems faced by the lake.
The Tamil Nadu Government, the Hinduja Foundation under the Jal Jeevan Initiative and the Environmentalist Foundation of India together took up the effort to restore the Morai lake.
The restoration consisted of removal of invasive weeds, desilting of the lake, bund strengthening and dual embankment, construction of a check dam and breaking bunds, construction of nesting islands and recharge pits, percolation trenches, protective fencing and plantation of native saplings. After restoration, the Morai lake is now once again a viable source of water to nearby farms and villages as it used to be.
The ambitious collaboration between the Hinduja Group and E.F.I to conserve and protect India’s water bodies
The Moosi Rani Sagar, an ancient stepwell is located in the city of Alwar, Rajasthan. A stepwell is a well or pond which is reached by descending a set of stairs. The Sagar has been a major provider of water to the city for thousands of years. The sandstone-marble memorial, Moosi Rani ki Chhatri was built in 1815 by Raja Vinay Singh in memory of Maharaja Bakhtawar Singh and Rani Moosi. This site, along with the City Palace has great historical significance.
The stepwell is part of a water system, which includes water collection, a sedimentation tank and a canal that links both. Over the years, the Sagar has deteriorated due to lack of maintenance. Solid waste and contaminated water found its way into the stepwell.
The restoration of this body of water was carried out by Ashok Leyland, the Environmentalist Foundation of India, the Hinduja Foundation (under the Jal Jeevan initiative) and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
On the 22nd of March, 2022, on World Water Day, Moosi Rani Sagar, newly restored, was revealed to the public.
The ambitious collaboration between the Hinduja Group and E.F.I to conserve and protect India’s water bodies
The Kinhi-Gadegaon Reservoir is located in Vidharbha, Maharashtra. It is an important source of water for nearby farmers for their fields and the animals of the adjacent forest.
The Environmentalist Foundation of India in association with the Bhandara District Administration and Ashok Leyland decided to take on the task of reviving this lake.
Prior to the beginning of the revival, the level of the lake was quite uneven. Through the process of scrape silting, it was levelled and an embankment was made between the two water bodies this reservoir comprises of. The soil dug out from the lake to deepen it was used for the embankment to prevent floods. The reservoir is filled by a freshwater stream flowing from the forest behind.
After the project, the reservoir’s water holding capacity has increased by almost sixty percent. This is a unique restoration project that has focused on providing water for all life forms. This deepened water body is once again earning its name as the life line if the surrounding region.
A mini series that brings to light the stories of India’s dams
📍Teesta Dams-West Bengal, Sikkim
तीस्ता बांध – बंगाल, सिक्किम
The Teesta river originates in the Eastern Himalayas and flows through the states of Sikkim, West Bengal and through Bangladesh before it enters the Bay of Bengal. It has a beautiful blue-green tinge owing to the presence of dolomite and limestone in this river. There are 6 hydroelectric projects being developed on the Teesta River, spread over the states of West Bengal and Sikkim.
SOURCE: indiawaterportal.org
तीस्ता नदी 414 किमी लंबी है।
There are five parts to the Teesta Hydro power project. The Teesta-VI hydroelectric power project is expected to be commissioned in 2024.This project is to be situated in Sirwani village of Sikkim and is undertaken by Lanco Teesta Hydro Power (LTHPL),which is a subsidiary of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).With a capacity of 500MW,the Teesta-VI hydroelectric power project is expected to utilise the potential of this river basin to produce a lot of electricity for Sikkim and it neighbouring states.
What are the consequences that come along?
There are numerous dams on this mighty river. They have already tampered with the natural flow of this river, causing erratic and extreme bursts of rainfall in those areas. The soil has also become less fertile over a period of time. Not only this, Teesta has lost over 15 species of fish that used to inhabit this river.
Constructing more dams will increase the pressure on the Darjeeling-Sikkim sensitive seismic zone triggering earthquakes.Teesta carries high sediment load and rise in water-table will also make the towns and cities on the lower reaches more vulnerable and prone to disasters.
A survey published by the International Mountain Development Society reveals that most participants belonging to the Teesta river basin had a negative perception of such projects. They stated that it lead to loss of jobs and quality of life, decreased their feeling of security as they would be more prone to floods and landslides.
A mini series that brings to light the stories of India’s dams
ஐந்து ரத்தினங்கள், தமிழ்நாடு
📍 Adavinainar Dam,Tenkasi district
அடவி நயினார் அணை, தென்காசி
Built over Hanumantha river,this dam is 670m long.There is a specific reason for its construction: in 1992 there was exceptionally high rainfall in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi.This resulted in flooding,landslides and huge damage to life and property.Following this the Government of Tamilnadu decided to build the Adavinainar to regulate floods and supply water for agricultural purposes.
Construction of the dam was completed in 2002.Currently the dam benefits several agricultural villages of Tenakasi and Tirunelveli districts.
Did you know?
In 2019, one of the sluices of the dam was damaged which resulted in water from the dam flowing onto the road and causing partial damage. This was followed by backlash from farmers who said that the damage caused more water to be released from the dam than inflow to the dam, which could result in the dam drying faster.
SOURCE: timesofindia
📍 Manimuthar Dam,Tirunelveli district
மணிமுத்தாறு அணை, திருநெல்வேலி
Built in 1958 over Thamirabarani river, Manimuthar dam has the biggest reservoir of the district of Tirunelveli.
The purpose of building this dam was to prevent rainwater from mixing with Bay of Bengal during monsoon. It can hold upto 118 feet of water.
This dam stretches over 3km and has helped in irrigation of over 65,000 acres of land including villages of Viravikulam, Therku Paapankulam, Ayan Singampatti and Therku Kallidaikurichi.
📍 Rama Nathi Dam,Tirunelveli district
ராமநதி அணை, திருநெல்வேலி
Constructed in 1974 in Melakadayam village across the Ramanadhi river, the Ramanadhi dam has a storage capacity of 152 Mcft. Located at the foothills of the Western Ghats, this dam is built out of earth and stone masonry structures.
SOURCE: maalaimalar.com
முழு கொள்ளளவை எட்டி கடல் போல் காட்சியளிக்கும் ராமநதி அணை.
This dam is a tourist attraction and picnic spot due to its scenic beauty.
📍 Kadana Nathi Dam,Tirunelveli district
கடனா நதி அணை, திருநெல்வேலி
Located between Agasthiya Hill and Kuravanchi Hill, the Kadana nadhi dam receives water through two waterfalls namely Thoniyar and Kallaru.
The 85-foot embankment has now been renovated and expanded by the Public Works Department, with seven sluices. This dam is the main water support for the surrounding farmlands. It was inaugurated in 1969 by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Mr. M. Karunanidhi.
📍 Motai Dam,Tirunelveli district
மோட்டை அணை, திருநெல்வேலி
மேற்கு தொடர்ச்சி மலை அடிவார பகுதியில் பெய்த தொடர் மழையால் மோட்டை அணைக்கு நீர்வரத்து அதிகரிக்க தொடங்கியது.
Motai Dam is situated at the foothills of the Western Ghats, about 5 km from Sengottai.This dam has a catchment area of about 1.35 square miles. It has a capacity of about 27 feet. Through this dam, 366.15 acres of land is directly irrigated through 22 ponds. Also, 100 acres of land in Motai, Thavanai, Kaduvetti, Urapatu district areas are indirectly being used for irrigation.
A mini series that brings to light the stories of India’s dams
📍Idamalayar Dam, Ernakulam district, Kerala
ഇടമലയാർ അണക്കെട്ട്
നിർമ്മിച്ച ഈ അണക്കെട്ടിനു 373 മീറ്റർ നീളവും 102 മീറ്റർ ഉയരവുമുണ്ട്.
The Idamalayar Dam is built on Idamalayar river, one of the major tributaries of the Periyar river which originates from the Anaimalai Hills. It is a 102.4m high concrete gravity dam managed by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
Construction began in 1970 and was completed after 17 years in 1987, the delay caused due to unorganized labour. The construction of this dam cost Rs. 539.50 crores to the Kerala Government.
Idamalayar is a multi-purpose dam. However, the main motive behind its construction was to meet the state’s power generation requirements. The Idamalayar Hydroelectric Power Station generates about 380 million units of power every year. Idamalayar is the source of water for the Idamalayar Irrigation Development Project which aims at improving agriculture of the surrounding regions. It also enhances industrial and domestic water supply while also providing recreational benefits like boating, trekking and bird watching.
With the Thattekkadu Bird Sanctuary located closeby, one can find the areas surrounding the dam inhabited by Plum Headed Parakeets, Asian Openbills, Belied Eagle, Little Heron, Chestnut Tailed Starling etc.
SOURCE: ebird.org
The structure of this Very High Dam consists of 22 blocks and has 4 gates. Idamalayar dam has a storage capacity of 1032.2 million cubic metres and the spillway is capable of releasing 3012.8 metre cube of water per second.
RED ALERT was issued when the water level rose above 166.8 m.When rains cause havoc in Kerala, the dam has been opened on several occasions with the motive of controlling water levels.
SOURCE:indiatvnews.in
ഇടമലയാർ ഡാമിന്റെ ഷട്ടറുകൾ തുറന്നു
After 2013,all shutters of the dam were opened during the 2018 Kerala floods as water reached dangerous levels.Water gushed out of the spillways in great force leaving surrounding areas submerged.This was coupled with landslides in a number of locations in the state leading to loss of life and property.
Did you know?
The Bhoothathankettu dam is only a 14 km drive from Idamalayar. It has an interesting story-its name literally translates to ghost dam. Very close to the man-made dam is an old dam which seems to have been created naturally through settling of huge rocks. Legends say that demons tried to build this dam in order to submerge the Thrikkariyoor Temple of Shiva. Lord Shiva, being witty, faked the appearance of dawn and caused the demons to run away.
India is poised to become the world’s most populous nation in a few years, surpassing China (which is witnessing a steady drop in birth rates recently). The agricultural sector in India only accounts for 14% of its GDP but employs close to 50% of the country’s workforce and hence from a view of national income generation via employment, agriculture is very important. Currently, around 38% of total land surface is used for crop production and with degrading soil health and water scarcity, how do we ensure that we continue to feed and employ our burgeoning population?
‘Smart’ agriculture has an answer as we see a lot of technologies that are transforming industrial agriculture across the world. These new technologies leverage how human brain thinks, how humans learn, make decisions, and work while solving a problem, with intelligent software and systems that are fed with training data and these intelligent devices provide us with desired output for every valid input, just like the human brain. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the science behind making intelligent machines and its use in industrial farming has transformed today’s agriculture systems to a new level all together.
How do these robots work and where?
Agriculture uses more than 70% of all global fresh water supplies, and yet 4 billion people live in global regions with water scarcity. By 2050, majority of world’s population will live in urban areas, and hence there is a need to lessen the burden on farmers, automate several agri-processes and provide farmers with comparatively easy and efficient farming methods. In India, weather plays a key role in agriculture, with short periods of drought and flooding combined with its unpredictability making it extremely hard to optimize water usage for irrigation.
This is where the robots come in.
Field robots are already being deployed to help farmers measure, map, and optimize water and irrigation use. Likewise, robots that use precision technologies to apply fertilizers and pesticides, automatic crop monitoring via drones, smart agricultural equipment are here to help that are backed by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Weeding Operations:
Weeds are the strongest competitors for water, they grow tall and block light for regular plants and it is estimated that India loses agricultural produce that is more than the government’s annual budgetary allocation for agriculture due to weeds . So, to remove weeds from fields is the greatest priority in farming. The table below shows a summary of agri-applications that benefit from robots, use AI algorithms for crops such as Rice, Sugarcane, Cotton etc.
Drones in agriculture:
In precision agriculture, drones are a boon to farmers to see things that are not in the noticeable range. Drones are being implemented for irrigation equipment and crop health monitoring, weed identification, herd and wildlife monitoring, and disaster management to name a few. Equipped with sensors and micro-controllers, these un-manned vehicles have been extremely popular as substance sprayers with high precision. Read this scenario where manual spraying of fertilizers and pesticides in an acre of land takes 150 liters of water and when farmers use drones, the same job can be done with just with 10 liters of water.
Vertical farming:
Vertical farms can be installed in densely populated areas with minimal water consumption (up to 95% less water than traditional farming) providing year-long fresh and healthy food to millions of people. These farms are setup in a closed environment and use smart sensors to monitor temperature, CO2,oxygen,lighting, humidity, pest control etc. utilizing cameras, thermal imaging and AI technologies and have been highly effective in growing leafy greens, herbs, vegetables such as tomatoes, melons, sweet corn, peppers, cucumbers to name a few.
India is one of the most promising markets for vertical farming with a 29% growth rate and an increasing demand for organic products resulting in more companies and startups entering the vertical farming market each year.
Vertical Indoor Farming
Feasibility in Indian environment:
India has embraced robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as solutions to several practical problems that are facing farmers today. Given the acute water shortage, risks associated with climate change and the good reason that new technologies would also help attract skilled workers and graduates to the sector, agriculture in India is being re-vamped.
But precision agriculture and robot-aided operations are happening in smaller farms. Prohibitive costs and limited real-world data that prove these methods work in large scale agriculture are main challenges. When farmers realize they can make more profit through more sustainable techniques and leveraging AI based tools would help reduce fertilizer and herbicide costs while improving the quality of land, keeping yield up, then adoption of these methods will increase exponentially. Government policies will boost adoption of AI technologies, but an increased demand from consumers like us for more sustainably produced agricultural products will drive farmers to embed latest technology in their daily work.
The ambitious collaboration between the Hinduja Group and E.F.I to conserve and protect India’s water bodies
Ennore is a region in Chennai located in the Kosathalaiyar basin area. This basin houses several bodies of water close to each other that are the primary sources of water for the region. The area consists of many factories and ports. This urbanisation led to the deterioration of many of these water bodies. The water became polluted with domestic waste and untreated sewage.
The Thamarai Kulam is one among these water bodies. Dumping of large amount of solid waste along its bunds and the inflow of untreated sewage contaminated it, making it unfit for local aquatic fauna to survive.
The Government of India, along with the Hinduja Foundation under the Jal Jeevan initiative and the Environmentalist Foundation of India worked together to restore this water body.
The restoration process consisted of the removal of invasive weeds and garbage, dredging and de-silting along the periphery of the lake, construction and strengthening of the bund and plantation along the bund.
After restoration, the lake is now once again becoming a beautiful water body.
A mini series that brings to light the stories of India’s dams
📍 Cheruthoni Dam, Idukki District, Kerala
ചെറുതോണി അണക്കെട്ട്
ഇടുക്കിയും കുളവും അണക്കെട്ടും ഉൾപ്പെടുന്ന പദ്ധതിയുടെ ഭാഗമാണ് ചെറുതോണി അണക്കെട്ട്
Built over river Periyar, Cheruthoni Dam is a concrete gravity dam just 1km to the west of Idukki Arch Dam.Constructed in 1976 with aid from Government of Canada, it was built along with the Idukki and Kulamavu Dam as a part of the Idukki Hydroelectric Project.
Idukki Dam,which is the tallest arch dam of India does not have any shutters. It is Cheruthoni Dam which helps to regulate the water level of the common reservoir.
Water from the artificial lake created by these dams is spread over an area of 60 sq.km and is used for producing hydroelectricity in the Moolamattom Power House which is one of India’s largest power house.The dams provide electrivity and enhance agriculture in the surrounding villages by supplying water for irrigation.
During the 2018 Kerala floods several dams including Cheruthoni were opened as water in reservoirs reached dangerous levels due to heavy rainfall.In order to avoid the disaster of the dam breaking, all 5 floodgates of this dam were opened for the first time in history.This left water gushing at high speed in regions near the dam-the Cheruthoni private bus stand and small shops nearby were completely submerged.There were also landslides resulting in the loss of land,lives and displacement of people living in low-lying areas.
SOURCE: hindustantimes
ചെറുതോണി അണക്കെട്ട് തുറന്നതിനാൽ ഇടുക്കി, പത്തനംതിട്ട ജില്ലകളിൽ അതീവ ജാഗ്രതാ നിർദേശം.
There was a similar situation in 2021 when 3 shutters of the Cheruthoni dam were opened letting out about 100 cubic metre of water per second in the wake of heavy rains in the district.
The ambitious collaboration between the Hinduja Group and E.F.I to conserve and protect India’s water bodies
To the east of the city of Hosur is the Alasanatham Lake. Hosur was ruled by several revered kings in the Sangam age. It is on the banks of the Thenpenniyar river and is today bustling with industrial activity. This lake receives and shares water in every direction. Over the years, it became polluted with solid waste. In 2019, the Environmentalist Foundation of India along with the Krishnagiri District administration and Ashok Leyland took on the task of restoring this body of water. Over the course of nearly a year the lake was ecologically restored and transformed into a suitable habitat for various forms of life. The lake was dug up, bunds were made, native plants were planted to strengthen the bunds. Sedimentation tanks and a recharge pit were made as a part of the natural filtration system. Protective fencing was built around the lake and efforts were made to clean the land surrounding the lake. The restoration of this lake is now complete.
A lot is talked about the effects on marine wildlife, formation of microplastics, toxic containments due to prolonged exposure to sea water and damaging the aesthetic value of tourist destination caused by the careless disposal of plastic waste in the oceans, but what is less known is that this same plastic serves as carrier for harmful land-based pathogens.
According to a study published in 2014, gelatinous polymers such as extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) or other aquatic polymers bring forth their own mechanisms for carrying and transmission of pathogens into the food webs of these ecosystems (with particle aggregates and biofilms), more specifically EPS biofilms on macroalgae such as kelp capture Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite that infects animals and humans worldwide which is transported to the coastal waters through fresh water runoff. These are obtained, concentrated and retained by kelp-grazing snails which are then transmitted through consumption to California Sea otters.
Toxoplasma gondii
As a result of this research, it is logical to be concerned whether synthetic polymers have similar capabilities of ‘trapping’ pathogens due to the ubiquitous nature of microplastic and protozoan pathogen pollution in sea water. These concerns were raised in a recent study conducted in 2022 whose main purpose was to investigate the association of zoonotic protozoa with microplastic surfaces in contaminated sea water. Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia enterica and Toxoplasma gondii (similar protozoan parasite examined in the 2014 study) were the pathogens selected for this experiment due to their recognition by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an underestimated cause of illness due to shellfish, and due to their persistence in the marine environment, and the synthetic plastics taken into consideration for the bench experiment were two types: polyethylene microbeads and polyester microfibers.
The results demonstrated that over a 7-day period, in the case of microbeads the parasite count increased for all three of the test pathogens while in the surrounding seawater the parasite count decreased with the exception of Cryptosporidium parvum that remained relatively the same. Similar findings were found in the microfibers with parasite count associated with it, generally increasing over time but Cryptosporidium parvum remained the same till the third day, and this variation by Cryptosporidium parvum was also observed in the seawater count where it decreased significantly on the third day. Another set observations were noted in this experiment in regards to size of plastic, where it was overall observed that more protozoan oocysts tended to adhere to larger microfibers than the other microplastics.
Upon looking at available research, the implications of this readily occurring phenomenon’s severity cannot be understated. Microplastics have a pandemic ability to be consumed by a bulk of the living organisms in an ecosystem and that combined with the deadly symptoms brought about by these aforementioned pathogens create an alarming cycle that effect both aquatic organisms and the humans that consume them, that minimal effort has been done to combat
Deep sea monsters or the Deep sea creatures are the animals that live below the photic zone of the ocean.
What is the photic zone of the ocean?
Photic zone also known as sunlight zone or limnetic zone is the uppermost layer of the ocean receiving sunlight and allowing photosynthesis to happen, forming the basis of food chain in the upper water column. The zone is 80m(260 feet) in depth and is home to majority of aquatic life.
What is deep sea? How deep is the deep sea?
Deep sea is the lower most layer of the ocean existing below thermocline and above the seabed. It is the darkest region of the ocean. The water is between 3-10 degree Celsius and has low or no oxygen. About three-fourths of the area covered by ocean is deep, cold, and permanently dark. Pressure of upto 1,000 atmosphere can be experienced in this zone.
The ocean is divided into three vertical zones of the water column based on the amount of light and pressure it experiences and these are: Sunlight zone, Twilight zone, Midnight zone.
Twilight zone – only faint light reaches this zone. Due to lack of sunlight, bioluminescence can be observed in creatures. No plants grow in this layer, one can find some strangest sea animals such as octopus, crab, krill, swordfish, wolf eel, and catshark.
Midnight zone or the deep sea consists of two zones abyssal or hadal zone.
Abyssal zone is 4,000-6,000 metres in depth with perpetual darkness with very little oxygen. Has higher concentration of nutrient salts, like nitrogen, phosphorus, and silica, due to the large amount of dead organic material that drifts down from the above ocean zones and decomposes.
Abyssal zone is above Hadal zone. Hadal zone is lying within oceanic trenches. Found at the depth of around 6,000-11,000 metres, making it a deepest region of the ocean. Most hadal habitat is found in the Pacific Ocean.
How do the deep sea creatures survive without light?
As there is no sunlight, the microbes depend on chemicals that come out of the vents. The process is termed as chemosynthesis and the microbes capable of this process are called chemoautotrophs. The chemoautotrophs oxidizes hydrogen sulphide, hydrogen and methane, readily available from the hydrothermal fluids and creates an energy surplus In the form of sugar which the bacteria then utilizes to produce organic matter. The bacterial mats formed in this process serve as sole food source for the crustaceans, that then in turn are eaten by larger organisms, which then are also eaten by even larger organisms.
What is bioluminescence which the creatures in deep sea exhibit? What is its relevance?
Bioluminescence is the ability of living organisms to produce light. The light is produced by bacteria within light-emitting cells called photophores. It is the same phenomenon which is observed in fireflies and mushrooms. In the deep sea ocean it is commonly observed in squids, siphonophores, jellyfish, and comb jellies.
Bioluminescence helps organisms to deter or hide from predators, helps them to find food by luring the prey and to find a mate for reproduction.
Deep Sea Creatures exhibiting bioluminescence
What is deep sea gigantism observed in deep sea creatures?
Deep sea gigantism refers to the large body size of the creatures. There are multiple factors causing gigantism in deep sea creatures.
The drastic fall in temperatures leads to increased cell size which results in continual growth of the organisms through out their life.
Lack of oxygen at greater depths leads to a slower metabolism rate, helping them to conserve energy which is another factor behind their increased body sizes.
Colossal squid – weighs 750kg
Lion’s Mane Jellyfish – 120 feet
Giant spider
How have deep sea creatures adopted to such high pressures?
The pressure at Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of all the world’s oceans is around 1,000 bars or more. Deep sea creatures here have adapted to such pressure and this is because deep sea creatures are largely made of water having minimal or no air gaps in the body. Water, being in-compressible, leaves their bodies unaffected by such great underwater pressure.
Example: Hadal snailfish, the deepest dwelling species of fish which can be found at about 8,200m depth.
How are creatures in the deep sea living at such lower temperature?
According to researchers, an antifreeze protein is observed in fish’s blood which affects the water molecules in its vicinity such that they cannot freeze, and everything remains fluid.
Are deep sea creatures immune to threats?
Despite living at such greater depths, deep sea creatures are not immune to anthropogenic threats.
Deep sea mining is scooping away the sea beds damaging the deep sea ecosystem.
Global warming is making the ocean temperatures warm and it’s affect has been felt at the deep sea as well. Deep sea creatures have adapted to cold waters since centuries, sudden rise in temperature will disrupt their biological cycle leading to their death.
Fertilizers, pesticides, oil spills are other issues which badly damages the deep sea ecosystem killing the marine life instantly.
Microplastic is another menace to deep sea creatures.
Given the vast size, only 4% of the ocean is explored.
Introducing some of the deep sea creatures:
Frilled shark
Prefer to remain in the depths up to 5,000 feet (1,500 meters). They are considered living fossils, who swam the seas in the time of the dinosaurs. It’s a 5.3-foot species.
Fangtooth
The fangtooth is the deepest-living fish ever living at a depth of 6,500 feet-16,500 feet. It’s about 6 inches long.
Six-Gill Shark
Six-gill sharks is found at 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) depth and surface at nights to feed. These are of 16 feet(4.8 meters) long.
Pacific Viper fish
Pacific Viper fish has jagged, needlelike teeth so outsized it can’t close its mouth. These are only about 8 inches (25 centimeters) long. They troll the depths up to 13,000 feet (4,400 meters) below.
Our world’s soil is facing an existential crisis, its health has declined sharply and ruptured the fragile skin of the Earth. Land degradation has affected over 33% of top-soil and 90% could become degraded by 2050. An astonishing fact: It can take up to 1000 years to naturally form just two to three centimeters of top-soil.
Soil health decline can be due to a variety of causes: Soil erosion, excessive usage of chemical fertilizers without organic manure and an imbalance in fertilizer nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) to name a few. Widespread soil erosion due to water, wind induced erosion and chemical degradation affects both arable and open forest lands with estimates that suggest annual loss of 5.3 billion tons of top-soil and 8.0 metric tons of plant nutrients through water erosion in India.
Sponge cities as solutions: Green + Blue + Grey Infrastructure:
Our future is moving more towards urbanization and the proportion of world’s population living in cities is projected to grow two-thirds. Increased opportunities in cities, the flight from conflict, poverty and climate change events are driving more people to live or move to urban areas.
Is there an answer to livable cities that are sustainable despite frequent flood disasters, environment deterioration, water resource shortage and water ecological destruction? There is good potential in the concept of ‘Sponge’ cities.
Sponginess of a city is determined by its natural ability to absorb rainwater and have least water run-off. A city’s assets can be classified as green and blue assets: its grass, trees, bushes, lakes, ponds, water bodies and grey assets: buildings, hard paved surfaces, concrete pipes etc. By calculating the % of green, blue, grey infrastructure, soil type and water runoff potential, a city’s natural absorbency from its green and blue spaces gives a higher sponginess ranking.
India faces extreme climates and Mumbai has a history of flooding during the monsoons with the heaviest-ever recorded 24-hour rainfall figures in the world. But the city benefits from a large quantity of green infrastructure, particularly tree cover. This is driven by large areas of woodland to the northeast and a large quantity of trees interspersed around buildings. The integration of green infrastructure across the urban areas helps give Mumbai city some resilience to storms but also urban heat island effects. Let us look at the sponginess score of Mumbai when compared to Auckland, Singapore, and few others.
Sponginess of Top Cities
Agricultural run-offs:
India has very high arable land (land that has a lot of crop rotation and is ploughed or tilled regularly) and hence the topic of soil erosion due to water, wind, deforestation, overgrazing and faulty methods of agriculture is critical to address.
Soil is eroded at an average annual rate of 16.35 tons per hectare which means around 5 billion tons per year for the country. Out of this, about 29 per cent is permanently lost to the sea, nearly 10 per cent is deposited in reservoirs (which means the storage capacity in lakes/rivers and waterbodies is reduced by 1-2 per cent annually) and the remaining 61 per cent of the eroded soil is merely shifted from one site to another.
Conservation or regenerative agriculture:
Conservation agriculture as a strategy to invert the soil degradation spiral is the preferred method adopted by most countries today. No-tillage systems which eliminates intensive tillage, maintaining crop residue cover to ensure water does not run-off with the soil, and proper crop rotation using native and perennial crops have reported to improve soil organic matter (SOM) levels with carbon accumulation in diverse soils that are resilient to climate change. The recent heat wave in India resulted in an abrupt decline in wheat outputs (The average temperature in April was consistently above the 40°C mark across Punjab) and all exports of wheat was prohibited. Sustainable residue management options where crop residues were not burnt making the land bare and exposed to soil erosion, but rather keeping the soil surfaces covered with crop residue during heavy rainfall/erratic heat conditions, nutrients in the soil would make the crops more resilient to such heat waves.
Parched land due to water runoff
Natural solutions for sustainable water resilience:
Our cities are not equipped to cope with the amount of water that needs to be treated in a short period of time during extreme rainfall. Our sewer systems cannot be stretched as in most cases it is financially unfeasible, and so what is the solution?
Stone wool usage in water management of urban areas:
Stone wool is a natural product made from rock basalt and sourced directly from our earth. It is sustainable and almost inexhaustible as basalt is produced naturally and 100% recyclable. Stone wool elements have been used in largescale water storage facilities in public areas and as infiltration systems in wadis and under large, paved surfaces. Stone wool has a remarkable insulation capacity that it does not absorb water but provides resistance that delays the water to be pushed down to sewer systems in a delayed manner.
Due to the delayed discharge, water slowly permeates below the ground and thanks to its high load bearing capacity even small spaces can be designed with stone wool filtration elements in urban areas to prevent flash flooding. Instead of dealing with water by trying to get rid of it quickly, sponge cities slow water, absorb rain and halt runoff, a major source of pollution in urban waterways.
Bio-diversity parks in cities, restoring our water bodies, installing rain gardens, green roofs , green infrastructure combined with strict urban planning that prevent encroachments can help save our ever-expanding cities.
In Conclusion: Moving away from traditional hard infrastructure methods of flood barriers, concrete walls, old sewer systems, traditional methods of farming and over application of chemical fertilizers , we need to bring in solutions that mimic nature as a sustainable way of securing our soil future. Natural disasters when they happen are overwhelmingly destructive and mother nature has shown us the right path and we just need to follow it.
From the air we breathe to the water we drink, pollution has pervaded every activity essential for human beings. With the current state of water pollution and climate-change-induced drought, the world may be heading towards a water crisis. Certain pockets of the world have already confronted severe water shortages, leading up to Day Zero. Day Zero refers to the “day when a city’s taps run completely dry, forcing people to stand in queues to collect their daily quota of water.” Several cities such as Cape Town in Africa and Chennai in India have been the closest victim of the crisis. Day Zero has been prominently occurring in multiple cities such as Cape Town and Chennai, India.
The first crisis
In 2018, South Africa’s Cape Town suffered from severe water shortages and received worldwide attention. It was at this point that Cape Town was heading towards Day Zero. The city has a high demand for water and inadequate supply which is the major cause of the water shortage.
The pertinent question as to how Cape Town tackled the water shortage is of utmost relevance. If there had been in action, 4 million inhabitants could have been left without water (Harding, 2021). One of the foremost and the most logical measures taken by the city was to ration water at 50 liters per person per day, with punitive tariffs for those who exceeded the rationed amount, which proved to be effective in keeping Day Zero at bay (Khan, 2019). The rationed quote of water was far less than the global average of 185 liters per day per person. Additionally, water consumption was also drastically reduced by 40 percent for agricultural activities. Collectively, these efforts helped the city overcome Day Zero.
As per predictions for January 2020, some rain has been recorded across Southern Africa which has filled up reservoirs. But, the forecast is for dry weather which does make several cities in the African subcontinent vulnerable to the water crisis making them face Day Zero. Some cities have even taken to cutting down trees – deforestation – so as to divert the water from these plants towards human consumption. Sadly, these are not effective long-term measures. The key issue to be targeted is the gap between the supply and demand of water. Second, the management of water within the city through effective policies and taking preventive action to conserve water.
Thus, Day Zero is any city’s worst nightmare. With climate change getting worse, it is important to raise more awareness about the situation. The city of Chennai is also in no better position to tackle water shortages.
Chennai’s crisis
It was not too long ago when Chennai invited Hollywood’s Oscar-winning actor Leonardo di Caprio’s attention owing to its water crisis. Di Caprio’s tweet, “’Only rain can save Chennai from this situation” (‘Only Rain Can Save Chennai From This Situation’: Leonardo DiCaprio, n.d.) in 2019 was probably the talk of the country back then until Covid-19 took over.
Chennai as a city has been confronted with water shortages ever since the colonial days and it has become more pronounced with climate change. Due to its geographical location, it is highly dependent on external support to procure water from neighboring states like Kerala and Karnataka. In 2019, the city officials on June 19th declared Day Zero when almost no water was left for the inhabitants. The primary cause of the water crisis was the shortage of rainfall during the preceding two monsoon seasons which was further made worse by the heat waves that summer. That very year Chennai witnessed good rainfall, but getting past the summer drought was an arduous task on the city’s part. The entire situation was further aggravated by the mismanagement on the government’s part.
Regardless of the area under consideration, water shortages are a concern worldwide and these two cases of Cape Town and Chennai are a lesson to be learned by cities. Day Zero is almost a reality for several countries owing to the present demand for water, climate change, pollution, and other allied environmental concerns.
References
Avoid another “Day Zero” water crisis by Saving Water. (2021, March 21). EarthFokus. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://earthfokus.com/blog/day-zero/
The concept of Tragedy of Commons revolves around an individual’s motives to act according to benefit oneself without taking into account the interest of the whole community or society. The theory of Tragedy of Commons was first developed by the American ecologist, Garret Hardin who defined it as “a situation where shared environmental resources are overused and exploited, and eventually depleted, posing risks to everyone involved.” (Earth.org, 2020)
Background
The model developed by Hardin can be understood with the following example. Let us take a piece of land, a common good that every individual has access to. If the common resource, in this case, the land, is devoid of regulations to monitor the usage of the land by the people, then it will be exploited by one and all in the pursuit of short-term benefits in the short run. This action, in the long run, will result in the destruction of the resource (Boston University, n.d.). This is the basic idea of the tragedy of commons, wherein the common good faces destruction due to the over-exploitation by individuals which reflects on the society in a negative way.
The theory of commons may have its roots in the Classicists. The Classical Economics believed that if every individual worked in the self-interest of his own well-being, then collectively the society would be benefited. The tragedy of commons is a model, which defies the ideology of the Classical Economists.
The theory is well-established in the field of environmental Economics and Science and lays out a strong foundation for the most-pivotal concern of the 21st century – Climate Change. If you would take a country, every country acts in its own self-interest to have a strong economy, thriving industry, and the cheapest energy possible. But, chasing the goal with a parochial outlook results in a disastrous result for the only planet we know life exists. It is indeed crucial to understand the importance of an international community collaborating to solve burning issues like Climate Change.
According to Ashurian, a research scientist, “issues of global climate change have to do with the people that are in charge of different countries, the decisions that they make and the moral outlooks of people. Philosophy is just the understanding of the ethical viewpoint, and political science is about looking at this modern issue from an international and political standpoint.”, thus emphasizing the need to combine the knowledge of philosophy and political economy to make sense of the environment and our world.
The Tragedy of Commons is typically individuals acting in their self-interest without collectively looking at the resource and population as a whole. The COVID-19 pandemic is in itself a suitable example of the tragedy of commons. During the initial days of the health crisis, people were scared to step out of the comfort of home as they were suspicious of everyone. Although this was the scenario on one hand, parallelly, the pandemic was also the time when individuals started stocking up on essentials. Every person thought that everybody will stock and possibly tried to solve the problem by overstocking. People thought logically, from an individualistic point of view, rather than collectively. Hence, the relevance to the tragedy of commons. Individuals took their own benefit into account at the cost of consumption in society.
Chennai’s groundwater
As mentioned earlier, the primary cause of the tragedy of commons is the lack of clear property rights over the resource. The tragedy of commons can also be understood with an example of Chennai’s groundwater resource. A person owning a piece of land in Chennai, claims ownership over the groundwater below that piece of land. Though ownership over the groundwater is not legally established, he/she digs a bore and consumes the groundwater on the assumption that he/she has a right over the water flowing below the land he/she owns. The primary reason why such a scenario occurs is due to the fact that the property rights over a public good/ common pool resource like that groundwater are not clearly defined. As a result, every individual goes on consuming without paying any cost for it, as the good is non-excludable. Ultimately as every individual keeps consuming for his/her benefit, it leads to the depletion of the groundwater resource and the entire society suffers.
Tackling the issue of Tragedy of Commons
The possible solutions to counter the issue of the tragedy of commons include the enforcement of laws and regulations that give property rights to private individuals in such a way that the private parties take ownership of the environmental resource. Secondly, legal institutions should be strengthened in order to ensure that anybody exploiting an environmental resource (in the present case, illegal construction of borewells in Chennai) without prior approval from the Government, or the respective regulatory authority faces legal sanctions in terms of penalty or imprisonment.
Depletion of the ozone layer began in the 1960s and there was an immediate need to draw the world’s attention to it. Some of the primary warnings on the threats to the ozone layer came from the Nobel laureates Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina in 1974 in their publication “Stratospheric sink for chlorofluoromethanes: chlorine atom catalyzed destruction of ozone” (Rowland & Molina, 1974). Post their findings, there was a universal cry to bring forth legislation to regulate the usage of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting substances (ODS). Emanating in this backdrop was one of the earliest global conventions on environmental protection – the Montreal Protocol (1987).
The Montreal Protocol falls under the ambit of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, 1985 (Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer – DAWE, 2021). The Vienna Convention initiated the academic discussions and scientific discoveries in the province of human activities and their impact on the stratosphere. Ensuing the Convention, the Protocol came into force.
Purpose
The Montreal Protocol, the only treaty to have been ratified by all the 198 United Nations member countries, is an environmental global treaty that aims toward the gradual elimination of substances that lead to the depletion of the ozone layer (About Montreal Protocol, n.d.). The ozone (O3) is the atmospheric layer that protects the Earth and the life on it from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. Many chemical substances including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) have the potential to break down the ozone layer.
Essentially, these ODS were largely used in the manufacturing of refrigerators, foams, and aerosol sprays, and the supply chain was congested with them in the 1950s and 60s (History of the Ozone Layer, n.d.). To offset this growth and break the chain of causation in the damage to the ozone layer, the Montreal Protocol came into existence and identified close to 100 such man-made ODS. Under the treaty, each member was bestowed with a specific duty with the goal of phasing out the usage of ODS.
Historical Significance
One of the first nations to identify the threat to the ozone layer was the United States of America who was largely influenced by Rowland and Molina’s study (International Regime Formation: The Politics of Ozone Layer Depletion and Global Warming – LSE Theses Online, n.d.). While the European countries were still working on the uncertainties that revolved around the ozone layer and the impact of CFCs on them, the US had already begun ozone protection policy regulations. Likewise, the Japanese joined the negotiations only in 1986 because certain compounds of CFCs were used in the electronic industry, a vital source of income for the Japanese economy.
In 1977, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) addressed the first international meeting on ODS in Washington DC. Subsequently, the US industry started working towards alternatives for CFCs and initiated several restrictions, especially the aerosol ban. The ban alone cost the US economy over USD 3 billion.
In light of this, more studies were being conducted across the world. In 1986, there was a report submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency of the US highlighted the prevalence of skin cancer among people due to the use of consumer products made of CFCs. Several companies were afraid that lawsuits would be filed against them on the grounds that their products caused lung and skin care diseases. This also persuaded the American industries to look for alternatives. Additionally, scientist Susan Solomon’s expeditions in Antarctica reiterated the threats of ODS in 1986 and ‘87 (Waxman, 2019). Thus, the push from the US played a major role in executing the Montreal Protocol.
Citizen Activism
Both prior to and post the Montreal Protocol, citizen activism played an active role in environmental policy-making (Cook, 1990). Consumers of the day as a mark of protest, even before the government introduced the ban, had boycotted the spray cans.
April 22, 1970, marks the day when millions of US citizens demonstrated on the streets to voice out against corporations and organizations that harmed the Earth. It was a milestone in the drive toward environmental protection which led to the enactment of the Clean Air Act, of 1970 in the US. Similarly, when the US decided to build supersonic transport planes (SSTs) during the same period, environmentalists refused to fund the project for the sole reason that SSTs flown into the stratosphere can damage the ozone layer. These actions culminated and reflected the mission of the Montreal Protocol.
Targets and Funding
The targets set by the Protocol are of several stages (Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer – DAWE, 2021) . The first target was to get rid of CFCs. The developing countries achieved it by 1995 while the developing countries by 2010. Every year, the members met and set their goals towards gradually phasing out a particular percentage of ODS from the system. One of the ongoing targets among developed and developing countries includes the phasing out of hydrofluorocarbons (HCFs) by 2036 and 2045, respectively. Thus all countries, both developing and developed, have equal and diversified commitments which are “binding, time-targeted and measurable” in nature (About Montreal Protocol, n.d.).
To smoothen the transition towards an ozone-friendly production and consumption methods, in 1991 the Protocol established a Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol to provide technical and monetary aid to developing countries. Ever since it came into being, it has funded over USD 3.9 billion in more than 8,600 projects across the world (About Montreal Protocol, n.d.).
The way-forward
The success of the Montreal Protocol is evident from its long-standing impact in the field of environmental protection. It has lived through three decades and it continues in its purpose with the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030. Not only has it paved the way for the protection of the ozone layer, but the Protocol has also indirectly helped in fighting global warming and climate crisis (Velders et al., 2007).
With the Protocol, it is expected that the ozone layer will replenish by the middle of the 21st century. The coronavirus pandemic has also catalyzed the process. With the lockdown across the world, man-made emissions into the atmosphere were halted, including ODS. Consequently, a small hole spotted in the ozone above Antarctica in 1982 closed last year (Coronavirus Lockdown Helped the Environment to Bounce Back, 2020). These developments are proof that the Montreal Protocol is a commendable environmental initiative for a sustainable future.
International regime formation: the politics of ozone layer depletion and global warming – LSE Theses Online. (n.d.). LSE Theses Online. Retrieved May 31, 2022, from http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/122/
NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory – Halocarbons and other Atmospheric Trace Species. (n.d.). NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory – Halocarbons and other Atmospheric Trace Species. Retrieved May 31, 2022, from https://gml.noaa.gov/hats/publictn/elkins/cfcs.html
Velders, G. J. M., Andersen, S. O., Daniel, J. S., Fahey, D. W., & McFarland, M. (2007). The importance of the Montreal Protocol in protecting climate. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.0610328104 Waxman, O. B. (2019, September 23). In the 1980s, the World Acted to Save the Ozone Layer. Here’s Why the Fight Against Climate Change Is Different. TIME. Retrieved May 31, 2022, from https://time.com/5681661/climate-change-ozone-history/
Among the several principles of environmental studies, preventive action is an important principle that focuses on the oft-quotes proverb, “Prevention is better than cure.”
Historical significance
The approach to Preventive Action can be traced back to the London Convention, named ‘Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in their Natural State’, of the year 1933 (Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in Their Natural State, n.d.). This multilateral treaty was signed by 11 countries, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, South Africa, Italy, and India, among others. The basic aim of the treaty was to preserve the natural fauna and flora from exploitation and extinction across various parts of the world, particularly Africa. This was to be achieved through the establishment of National Parks and Natural Reserves, and by regulating hunting practices and collection of species for commercial purposes. All these activities point toward a Preventive Approach as flora and fauna protection is beginning early and is aimed to mitigate future concerns of extinction and irreversible damage.
Preventive Action in Conventions
The Principle of Prevention laid the foundation for the “Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal” (1989) which addressed the issue of hazardous waste and its disposal (Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, n.d.). The discharge of toxic substances into the environment needs to be reduced to an environmentally sound level, to prevent serious or irreversible damage to the ecosystem. The Convention suggests that action should be taken at an early stage before any actual harm has ensued rather than waiting to restore the damaged resources. This principle plays an important role in “laws regarding generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste and laws regulating the use of pesticides.” Additionally, the concept of Transboundary Effects was also introduced to the Principle of Prevention via the Basel Convention; this concept states that a state may be under the obligation to prevent damage within its own jurisdiction’ (General Principles Of International Environmental Law, n.d.).
Preventive Action also featured in The Stockholm Declaration on Environment (1972) where
Principle 6 and 7 of the Declaration address the actions to be undertaken by the citizens and the state towards halting the dumping of harmful substances and also necessary steps to be adopted to reduce the pollution levels (More, 2019).
The Indian context
As far as India is concerned, the Preventive Action principle has been adopted in many contexts. One such scenario is the case of Ajeet Mehta v State of Rajasthan (Mathur, n.d.). In this case, the defendant lived in a residential part of Rajasthan and was involved in the provender business. Due to his employment, he was responsible for creating pollution from the transportation and stoking of his fodder. A petition was filed against the defendant on the grounds that the inhalation of dry and burnt fodder particles was a hazard to the health of the residents living in the surrounding area. The City Magistrate acknowledged the same and ordered the defendant to stop stoking fodder and the business to be shut down. In response, the defendant filed a revision petition before the Sessions Court and the Additional Sessions Judge reversed the order thus ruling in favor of the Defendants. Thereafter another revision petition was the complainant’s wife and that judgment was in favor of the complainant. Followingly, the High Court of Rajasthan also ruled against the defendant, showing how the principle of preventive action was upheld by the state in order to prevent more damage.
In essence, preventive action as a principle lays down an important foundational pillar to the study of the environment and its conservation. It has the potential to catalyze the fight against the climate crisis as it is primarily based on the idea of acting before the damage is caused. Preventive action is crucial in addressing environmental concerns, as it wholly is intended to prevent risks of acts that may have an impact on the environment, rather than reacting after the environmentally unfriendly act has been done.
As of 31st May 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised concern over the impact of the Tobacco Industry on the environment and human health. Annually, “the tobacco industry costs the world more than 8 million human lives, 600 million trees, 200 000 hectares of land, 22 billion tonnes of water, and 84 million tonnes of CO2 (WHO Raises Alarm on Tobacco Industry Environmental Impact, 2022).” They have raised an alarm calling out for the industry to become more environmentally conscious. In this light, it makes it necessary to bring attention to this industry and the issues emanating from the operation of the industry.
Environmental impacts of the tobacco industry
Most of the tobacco units are set up in developing countries and the industry is highly carbon-intensive. Many forest areas are cut down to provide space for tobacco harvesting which inevitably impacts the environment. Approximately, 200,000 hectares of land are cleared for tobacco agriculture which is equivalent to almost half the entire land area of Cabo Verde, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean.
Most of these tobacco plants are deadly in the sense that it harms the domestic indigenous biodiversity of a region. Secondly, the entire industry, both production, and consumption of tobacco emit large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere amounting to 80 million tonnes per year.
Thirdly, tobacco agriculture is also highly dependent on water. According to the WHO, a single cigarette consumes close to 3.7 liters of water during its entire life cycle from growing to disposal after usage (Tobacco: Poisoning Our Planet, 2022). Roughly, every year 22 billion tonnes of water are used globally for the production of tobacco. Sadly, as mentioned earlier, since most of these tobacco units are set up in developing countries, it is these countries that are the most vulnerable. With the global targets of climate change, these countries are under the burden of meeting the climate targets with limited resources and maximum vulnerability.
Tobacco’s negative externalities
Tobacco as an industry has several environmental hazards that can also affect human health. At the outset, tobacco whether it is smoked or smokeless can cause cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, diabetes, hypertension and other allied health issues. But, the larger issue with tobacco is that it also affects passive smokers who may constitute a good number of the population. These are also called negative consumption externalities in economics. These externalities arise when the consumption of good results in the social cost outweighing the private benefit. Consumption of a cigarette causes damage to the environment and also to passive smokers, which collectively constitute the societal impact. These social costs outweigh the benefits procured from the industry in terms of economic profits. Tobacco may generate good income for private parties, but in the long run, it will completely destroy the environment and the society within it.
However, despite their negative impact on the environment and human health, tobacco companies engage in greenwashing tactics to put out to the world they are eco-friendly.
Greenwashing strategies
Tobacco companies engage in greenwashing tactics to cover up the detrimental effects of tobacco on the environment and human health by the usage of words like “organic” and “natural” in advertisements which misleads smokers and the general public that these are relatively harmless. ‘Greenwashing’ in simple words refers to the advertising strategy adopted by industries and organizations and companies to better market their goods as environmentally friendly, by diverting the public’s attention from their environmentally damaging acts.
These tobacco companies often as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund schools, health systems, environmental and disaster relief organizations, and clean-up programs for tobacco product waste. The irony is, that it is these very tobacco companies that are one of the root causes for issues faced in these institutions and other environmental concerns arising from it. They are part of both the problem and the solution which inevitably nullifies the efforts taken toward resolving the issue.
In this backdrop, it is an alarm raised by the WHO towards targeting this tobacco industry in the larger public interest and for the world to hasten the process of climate mitigation by cutting down on carbon footprints, concerning water, and overall building a more sustainable world for the future.
Annual e-waste production is estimated to exceed 74,000,000 tonnes in 2030 and is expected to weigh more than 203 Empire State buildings (Graham, 2020). It is alarming and there is a dire need to address the global menace of e-waste in light of the growing advancements in the field of science and technology.
What is e-waste?
E-waste includes the waste materials from any product with a power source such as a cable or battery which has reached its end of life. According to the International Labour Organisation’s report of 2012 (The Global Impact of E-Waste: Addressing the Challenge, n.d.), it was recorded as the largest growing waste stream that is harmful to the planet as well as those who call it home.
Eventhough there is not a standard definition for the term e-waste, the well-established one is “electrical or electronic equipment, which is waste … including all components, subassemblies, and consumables, which are part of the product at the time of discarding” (The Global Impact of E-Waste: Addressing the Challenge, n.d.) given by the European Commission. The lack of a universal definition leads to challenges around quantification, identification, and categorization of waste under electronic waste. This raises the need for a common definition at the international level. Nevertheless, e-waste in its ordinary sense needs attention in terms of management with the exponential rate of growth in the electrical and technical industry in the past few decades.
Problem statement
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or e-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). E-waste is made up of more than 1000 diverse materials of which some are hazardous and others non-hazardous. Materials like plastic, glass, wood, circuit boards, and rubber among others are used in building an electronic product, of which 50 percent is made of iron and steel, 21 percent from plastic, and 13 percent from other non-ferrous materials (copper, gold, palladium, tantalum, etc.) (ELWASTE VOLUME I, n.d.). These are extremely toxic and can impact both human health and the environment if improper management and recycling of e-waste are adopted. However, recycling is a profitable business and there are trade associations that work in the industry to recycle e-waste.
E-waste generated is often traded to developing countries as they are easy and cheap to recycle (Electronic Waste Facts, n.d.). Unfortunately, they are not recycled due to lack of infrastructure, financial constraints, and ineffective anti-dumping policies. They either end up in landfills or are burnt down which degrade the quality of the soil and the ecology.
The world over
China is the largest producer of e-waste worldwide with over 10,000 metric tonnes followed by countries including the United States, India, Japan, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France (Tiseo, 2021). However, countries like China and India have a huge population and the per-capita generation is not as worrisome as the rest (Which Countries Produce the Most E-Waste? 2018). The per capita generation of e-waste is the highest in Europe with 16 kilograms per person while Africa has the lowest with 1.7 kilograms per person (Electronic Waste Facts, n.d.). With the expected increase in population, the distribution of e-waste will only increase further.
Regardless of the per-capita production of e-waste, safe recycling of e-waste is imperative to protect the environment and those dependent on the natural environment. As mentioned earlier, e-waste is a global problem and there is a strong linkage between the developed and developing worlds. According to the ILO, the transboundary mobilization of e-waste places the burden on developing countries with a lack of infrastructure to recycle the waste. This is primarily due to the cost of recycling being cheaper in developing countries. Meanwhile, the developed countries use the opportunity to avoid disposal responsibilities on the domestic front. This further raises the issue of equity and questions the disproportionate burden placed on developing countries to recycle as against each country taking account of their production of e-waste and the subsequent management of the same.
The United Nation’s Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste was one of the significant international initiatives to protect human health and the environment from the production, transboundary movement, and management of hazardous and toxic waste (Electronic Waste: A Growing Concern in Today’s Environment, n.d.). In addition, several national legislations also aim to address the same, the most well-known being the European Union’s directive on the use of certain substances in electrical equipment (RoHS) (Electronic Waste: A Growing Concern in Today’s Environment, n.d.), which provides the guidelines on the management of a few chemical substances used in the electrical devices. Despite these regulations, the supply chain does not fully come under the purview of the legislation and there is still a high flow of e-waste from countries like the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and Korea to developing countries such as China, India, Pakistan, and several African countries.
Figure 1 gives a brief illustrative framework that countries can adopt to address the recycling of e-waste (Electronic Waste: A Growing Concern in Today’s Environment, n.d.).
Source: M. Khurrum S. Bhutta et. al. (2011)
References
Bhutta, M. S., Omar, A., & Yang, X. (2011). Electronic Waste: A Growing Concern in Today’s Environment. Economics Research International. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/474230
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