GS Paper: GS3-18.Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Central Idea

• The burgeoning problem of managing e-waste is a cross cutting and persisting challenge in an era of rapid urbanisation, digitalisation and population growth. In November 2022, the Ministry of Environment and Forests notified a new set of e-waste rules, which will come into force from April 1, 2023. These rules address some of the critical issues but are silent on others.

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What is e-Waste?

• e-waste refers to electronic waste, which includes any discarded electronic or electrical device, such as computers, mobile phones, televisions, and refrigerators.
• These devices contain hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that can pose significant environmental and health risks if not disposed of properly.

Key components of e-waste Rules in India

• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): The first set of e-waste Rules was notified in 2011 and came into effect in 2012. An important component of the Rules (2011) was the introduction of EPR. Under EPR compliance, producers are responsible for the safe disposal of electronic and electric products once the consumer discards them.
• Authorization and product stewardship: E-waste rules 2016, which were amended in 2018, were comprehensive and included provisions to promote authorisation and product stewardship. Other categories of stakeholders such Producer Responsibility Organisations (PRO) were also introduced in these rules.
• A digitalized systems approach, introduced in the new rules (2022): Standardizing the e-waste value chain through a common digital portal may ensure transparency and is crucial to reduce the frequency of paper trading or false trail i.e., a practice of falsely revealing 100% collection on paper while collecting and/or weighing scrap to meet targets

e-waste recycling: Analysis

• Two important stages of efficient e-waste recycling:
• 1. Component recovery (adequate and efficient recoveries of rare earth metals in order to reduce dependence on virgin resources) and
• 2. Residual disposal (safe disposal of the leftover residual during e-waste recycling).
• Concern: The rules briefly touch upon the two aspects, but do not clearly state the requirement for ensuring the recovery tangent.
• The new notification does away with PRO and dismantlers: All the responsibility of recycling vests on authorised recyclers; they will have to collect a quantity of waste, recycle them and generate digital certificates through the portal.
• Concern: Fresh challenges might emerge as companies are no longer required to engage with PROs and dismantlers, who partially ensured double verification in terms of quantity and quality of recycling.
• Lack of recognition to informal sector: The new rules for e-waste management in India do not recognize the crucial role played by the informal sector, which handles 95% of e-waste in the country. This lack of recognition may be due to the sector’s “illegality
• Concern: This move could further push e-waste handling into the shadows and make it more difficult to monitor and regulate. This could lead to environmental pollution, health hazards for workers, and inefficient e-waste management.

Impact on Health

• Incineration and leaching: Open incineration and acid leeching often used by informal workers are directly impacting the environment and posing serious health risks, especially to child and maternal health, fertility, lungs, kidney and overall well-being.
• Occupational health hazards: In India, many of these unskilled workers who come from vulnerable and marginalised are oblivious to the fact that that what they know as ‘black plastics’ have far reached occupational health hazards especially when incinerated to extract copper and other precious metals for their market value.
• Exposures to children: This ‘tsunami of e-waste rolling out of the world’, as described in an international forum on chemical treaties, poses several health hazards for women in this sector as they are left exposed to residual toxics elements mostly in their own households and often the presence of children.
• Constant contact with organic pollutants: According to a recent WHO report, a staggering 18 million children, some as young as five, often work alongside their families at e-waste dumpsites every year in low- and middle-income countries. Heavy metals such as lead, as well as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), like dioxins, and flame retardants (PBDEs) released into the environment, have also added to air, soil, and water pollution

Way ahead

• In order to ensure maximum efficiency, the activities of the recyclers must be recorded in the system.
• The authorities should periodically trace the quantity of e-waste that went for recycling vis-à-vis the recovery towards the end.
• Recognising the potential of informal sector in e- waste handling.
• For instance, ‘Karo Sambhav’, a Delhi-based PRO, has integrated informal aggregators in its collection mechanism. Through this initiative, e-waste is entered in a safe and structured system and the informal sector also has an advantage in terms of financial and legal security.
• In order to ensure the efficient implementation of the law, stakeholders must have the right information and intent to safely dispose of e-waste.
• There is need of strengthening reverse logistics, building capacity of stakeholders, improving existing infrastructure, enhancing product designing, rationalising input control and adopting green procurement practices.
• Provide doorstep collection to consumers.

Conclusion

• e-waste recycling and management have become a major environmental challenge in the modern world, as the volume of e-waste generated continues to grow rapidly. Simultaneous efforts needed to increase awareness and improve infrastructure for effective e-waste management. Moreover, robust collection and recycling system and required to meet legislative requirements.

Mains Question

Q. What is e- waste? Discuss the set of e-waste rules in India and suggest what needs to be done for effective e- waste management?

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Central Idea

• The sum and variation of our biological wealth, known as biodiversity, is essential to the future of this planet. India currently hosts 17% of the planet’s human population and 17% of the global area in biodiversity hotspots, placing it at the helm to guide the planet in becoming biodiversity champions.

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What is 30×30 pledge?

• The importance of our planet’s biodiversity was strongly articulated at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Canada.
• On December 19, 2022, 188 country representatives adopted an agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by conserving 30% of the world’s land and 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, known as the 30×30 pledge.

Government’s efforts, Programs with potential

• Green Growth push in Budget: The Union Budget 2023 mentioned Green Growth as one of the seven priorities or Saptarishis. The emphasis on green growth is welcome news for India’s biological wealth as the country is facing serious losses of natural assets such as soils, land, water, and biodiversity.
• Green India Mission: The National Mission for a Green India aims to increase forest cover on degraded lands and protect existing forested lands.
• Green Credit Programme: The Green Credit Programme has the objective to incentivize environmentally sustainable and responsive actions by companies, individuals and local bodies.
• The MISHTI Program: The Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) is particularly significant because of the extraordinary importance of mangroves and coastal ecosystems in mitigating climate change.
• PM-PRANAM: The Prime Minister Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM) for reducing inputs of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides is critical for sustaining our agriculture.
• Amrit Dharohar scheme: The Amrit Dharohar scheme is expected to encourage optimal use of wetlands, and enhance biodiversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities. If implemented in letter and spirit, Amrit Dharohar, with its emphasis on sustainability by balancing competing demands, will benefit aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• For instance: The recent intervention by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to stop the draining of Haiderpur, a Ramsar wetland in Uttar Pradesh, to safeguard migratory waterfowl is encouraging.

Programs must be science-based

• Evidence-based implementation: It is critical that these programs respond to the current state of the country’s biodiversity with evidence-based implementation.
• A science-based and inclusive monitoring programme: A science-based and inclusive monitoring programme is critical not only for the success of these efforts but also for documentation and distillation of lessons learnt for replication, nationally as well as globally.
• Employing modern concepts of sustainability: New missions and programmes should effectively use modern concepts of sustainability and valuation of ecosystems that consider ecological, cultural, and sociological aspects of our biological wealth.
• Setting clear boundaries and priorities: With clear system boundaries, prioritisation of the benefits to resource people, and fund-services (rather than stock-flows) as the economic foundation for generating value has enormous potential for multiple sustainable bio-economies.
• Efficient water use patterns: The future of our wetland ecosystems will depend on how we are able to sustain ecological flows through reduction in water use in key sectors such as agriculture by encouraging changes to less-water intensive crops such as millets as well as investments in water recycling in urban areas using a combination of grey and blue-green infrastructure.
• Focus must be on ecological restoration: As far as the Green India Mission is concerned, implementation should focus on ecological restoration rather than tree plantation and choose sites where it can contribute to ecological connectivity in landscapes fragmented by linear infrastructure.
• Choices should be made on evidences of resilience: Choice of species and density should be informed by available knowledge and evidence on resilience under emerging climate change and synergies and trade-offs with respect to hydrologic services.
• Careful site selection for mangrove initiative: Site selection should also be carefully considered for the mangrove initiative with a greater emphasis on diversity of mangrove species with retention of the integrity of coastal mud-flats and salt pans themselves, as they too are important for biodiversity.
• Effort in response: In response to these needs, we hope that the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing (Mission to green India’s economy, restore natural capital, and make India a global leader in applied biodiversity science) already approved by PM-STIAC, will be immediately launched by the government.

Did you know?

Grey and Blue-Green Infrastructure

• Grey infrastructure: It refers to traditional man-made infrastructure, such as buildings, roads, and bridges, that are designed to provide human-made services like transportation, water supply, and waste management.
• Blue-green infrastructure: It is designed to mimic the functions of natural ecosystems, such as wetlands, rivers, and forests, to provide services like stormwater management, water purification, and carbon sequestration.
• Example: It includes, Rainwater harvesting systems that capture rainwater and recharge groundwater, green roofs that provide insulation and absorb rainwater, Urban parks and green spaces that improve air quality and provide habitat for wildlife, Wetlands and retention ponds that filter pollutants and store excess water during floods
• Sustainable and resilient: Blue-green infrastructure is often seen as a more sustainable and resilient alternative to traditional grey infrastructure, as it can help to mitigate the impacts of climate change, reduce urban heat island effects, and enhance the quality of life for urban residents

Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC):

• PM-STIAC is a high-level advisory body that provides strategic guidance on science, technology, and innovation to the Prime Minister of India.
• Advises the Indian Prime Minister on science and technology policy, identifying emerging areas, recommending missions and projects, and enhancing the effectiveness of science and technology to tackle national challenges.
• The council comprises eminent scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, and policymakers who are appointed by the Prime Minister.
• PM-STIAC also serves as a forum for stakeholders from academia, industry, and government to interact and collaborate on science and technology initiatives.

Local community involvement

• Efforts must be inclusive: Each of these efforts must be inclusive of local and nomadic communities where these initiatives will be implemented.
• Traditional practices should be integrated: Traditional knowledge and practices of these communities should be integrated into the implementation plans.

Conclusion

• Each of the above-mentioned programs has the potential to greatly improve the state of our nation’s biodiversity if their implementation is based on the latest scientific and ecological knowledge.

Mains Question

Q. What is 30×30 pledge? Discuss some of the key programs taken by the government to promote green growth and biodiversity conservation.

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Central Idea

• The Supreme Court of India has allowed purse seine fishing gear to be used for fishing beyond territorial waters (12 nautical miles) and within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (200 nautical miles) of Tamil Nadu, subject to certain restrictions. However, the interim order is primarily concerned with regulating fishing through administrative and transparency measures rather than addressing conservation measures and obligations mandated by the UNCLOS. The use of purse seine fishing gear poses a threat to traditional fishermen and endangers the livelihoods of these fishermen.

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What is Seine fishing gear?

• Seine fishing gear is a type of fishing equipment used to catch fish in large quantities.
• It consists of a long net that is suspended vertically in the water with the help of floats and weights. The net is then hauled through the water by two boats, which are called seine boats. The boats move towards each other, pulling the net between them and trapping fish in the process.
• Seine fishing can be done in various ways, including purse seining, beach seining, and boat seining, among others.
• The type of seine fishing gear used depends on the size of the fish being targeted and the location of the fishing activity.

About United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

• Law of the Sea treaty: UNCLOS is sometimes referred to as the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty. It came into operation and became effective from 16th November 1982.
• Defines rights and responsibilities with respect to oceans: It defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.
• It has created three new institutions on the international scene: International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, 2. International Seabed Authority, 3. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf

Conservation and conventions

• Sovereign rights of coastal states: Under Articles 56.1(a) and 56.1(b)(iii) of UNCLOS, coastal states have sovereign rights to ensure that the living and non-living resources of the EEZ are used, conserved and managed, and not subject to overexploitation.
• Coastal states discretion: Access to the zone by foreign fleets is also solely within the coastal state’s discretion and subject to its laws and regulations.
• Total allowable catch in EEZ: In order to prevent overexploitation, coastal States must determine the total allowable catch (TAC) in the EEZ (Articles 61(1) and (2) of UNCLOS) in light of the best scientific evidence available.
• Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) 1993: The crux of the SBT is TAC and distribution of allocations among the parties to the SBT, which are very relevant from the angle of conservation of general fishery.

Did you know?

• The rise in occurrence of jellyfish indicates rising ocean water temperature.
• Presence of jellyfish in the area indicates the reduction in the fish population.

What are the concerns over the move?

• Regulation is not sufficient: Merely restricting the purse seiner to fish on two days Monday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (in the Court order) is not sufficient without regulating the fishing methods used.
• Insufficient catch for traditional fishermen: International legal efforts are gradually moving in the direction of abandoning the use of large-scale pelagic nets. The huge size of the purse seine nets (2,000 metres in length and 200 m in depth) allows maximum catch for the purse seiners, in turn leaving behind insufficient catch for traditional fishermen.
• Efforts under TAC might face scientific uncertainty: TAC and the catch quotas are aimed at putting sustainable use into practice among fishermen and maintaining maximum sustainable yield (MSY). The efforts to implement TAC and catch quota might face scientific uncertainty relating to safe limits to ensure MSY.

Way ahead

• The Court’s final judgment needs to look into non-selective fishing methods by purse seiners resulting in the by-catch of other marine living species (which could include, many a times, endangered species) a potential ground for trade embargo.
• The top court should seek guidance from the obligations arising from the multilateral and regional conventions which are meant to bring in sustainable fishing practices over a certain period of time, thereby allowing a common resource such as fish to be naturally replenished.

Conclusion

• Despite the best conservation measures and regulation of fishing methods adopted by the authorities, it will be a challenge in dealing with the limitless character of the seas which renders a common resource such as fish available for exploitation by all. The theory of Garrett Hardin, ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’, which says ‘Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all’ should convince all “fishermen, especially the purse seiners of Tamil Nadu, that they must cooperate in complying with conservation measures.

Mains question

Q. The Supreme Court of India has allowed purse seine fishing gear to be used for fishing beyond territorial waters. In this backdrop Discuss what is purse seine fishing gear its advantages and the concerns.

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Context

• A significant portion of single-use plastic gets piled up on coastlines and contributes to the growing burden of marine litter, endangering aquatic biodiversity. In India, anthropogenic activities add approximately eight million tonnes of plastic waste to the marine environment.

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Plastic pollution menace

• The demand for plastic products has grown drastically in the last few decades: The possible reasons for this dramatic surge can be attributed to its durability, flexibility, lightness and affordability.
• Plastic production and generation: Globally, the annual production of plastic reached 460 million tonnes in 2019 and 353 million tonnes of plastic waste were also generated in the same year.
• Approximately 50% is dumped in landfills: Approximately 50 per cent of plastic waste generated in the same year was dumped in landfills, according to the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development.
• First use plastic: In 2021-22, India’s plastic demand was 20.89 million tonnes. About 40 per cent of this gets added to plastic waste after the first use, a Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment had found.

Key sources of Marine pollution

• Land based sources: Land-based sources such as dumpsites located near the coastlines or banks of a river, flood waters, industrial outfalls, discharge from storm water drains, untreated municipal sewerage, beach litter, tourism, fishing, ship breaking yards, defence-related facilities, automobiles, industrial wastes, natural events, etc are the main factors contributing to the menace of marine litter.
• Sea based sources: In addition to this, sea-based sources such as waste from ships, fishing vessels and other public transport and research facilities; offshore mining and extraction; legal and illegal waste dumping; ghost nets, natural events, etc add to it.

Alarming situation

• There may be more plastic than fish in oceans by 2050: Tributaries of major Indian rivers also carry around 15-20 per cent of plastic waste into the marine environment. If this trend continues, there may be more plastic than fish in oceans by 2050, warned many recent researchers on this front.
• Microplastics in food chain: Marine debris can transcend international borders and disperse to faraway locations from its place of origin. Since marine species consume microplastics, they can eventually sweep into our food chain.
• Bioaccumulation of chemicals endangers Human health: Additionally, leached chemicals may also bioaccumulate in these species and endanger human health.

Government efforts so far

• Banned single use plastic: From July 1, 2022, the Union government banned the manufacturing, selling, use and storage of 19 identified single-use plastic items. Still, the ban is not effective as prohibited items have been found in use in almost every Indian city.
• Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM): The central and state governments have already allocated a SBM and disbursed more than Rs 3,000 crore on public awareness campaigns and coastal area cleaning drives.
• Coastal cleaning programme: The National Centre for Coastal Research, a body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, led a coastal cleaning programme covering 7,500 kilometres.

Did you know?

• Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar, a 75-day citizen-led campaign for improving ocean health through collective action, was launched on July 5, 2022.
• It has three strategic underlying goals that target transformation and environmental protection through behaviour change.
• The three underlying goals of the campaign are, consume responsibly, segregate waste at home and dispose of it responsibly.

Way forward

• Enlisting multi-layered plastic packaging in banned list: The government needs to enlist multi-layered plastic packaging items in the list of banned items; only 19 plastic items have been considered as of now.
• Effective enforcement: Effective enforcement and penalty against defaulters is required as the government has already spent a lot on public awareness campaigns in the last six year.
• Strict monitoring of CRZ: There should be strict implementation and monitoring of Coastal Regulation Zone and Special Area Planning guidelines in order to curb haphazard constructions along the coastlines. A National Marine Litter Policy needs to be formulated as early as possible.

Conclusion

• A long-term vision plan should be developed for promoting partnerships among coastal towns, cities and urban administration for the reduction of marine litter and the creation of sustainable waste management ecosystems. Marine litter is complicated and a multi-layered problem has to be arrested at the earliest to safeguard the health of humans as well as the environment.

Mains question

Q. Marine litter is complicated and a multi-layered problem has to be arrested at the earliest to safeguard the health of humans as well as the environment. Discuss.

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Context

• Anthropogenic emissions are central to environmental issues, whether climate change or air quality. During the peak winter months of November to January in 2022-23, air quality in India’s financial hub, Mumbai, noticeably deteriorated, a taste of what Delhi encounters frequently.

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Mumbai’s deteriorated air quality

• Out of the past 92 winter days, Mumbai observed 66 poor and very poor air quality days in 2022-23 as compared to just 28 in the past three years’ average. More so, it had just one day in the permissible limit (NAAQS) this year as against the average of 15 days in the recent past.
• Good days declined, but foul days have increased by a whopping 135 per cent, leaving residents more choked and breathless than they have been in years.
• On many days during these months, the air quality in Mumbai sank lower than in Delhi.
• These findings are from India’s first indigenously-developed forecasting framework, SAFAR.

What caused this unusual development in Mumbai?

• Mainly due to emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources: Air quality deteriorates mainly due to emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources, and weather manoeuvres.
• La Nina, attributed to climate change, has played an unusual role: The reason for the sudden spike in the current pollution cycle in Mumbai is part of a larger meteorological phenomenon that needs to be studied further. Research suggests that the unprecedented triple dip in La Nina, attributed to climate change, has played an unusual role.
• Extreme weathers due to climate change but linkage with air quality remains elusive: Scientists have discovered that climate change is leading to extreme weather, changes in the ecosystem, and human displacements, but linkages with air quality remain elusive.

Value addition

• The weather or climate cannot generate emissions.
• Some cities like Delhi have a disadvantage due to their geographical location, being landlocked.
• But coastal cities like Mumbai enjoys a natural cleansing advantage.
• Stronger surface winds favour faster dispersion and wind reversal cycles of strong sea breezes that sweep away air pollutants from the land.

How this phenomenon has played an unusual role?

• Change in wind patterns: This phenomenon has led to the change in wind patterns affecting Mumbai, with frequent calmer wind spells, and delayed cleaner sea wind reversal around the region.
• Reducing dispersal rate of pollutants: This, in turn, affects the natural cleansing mechanism of the city by reducing the dispersal rate of pollutants and trapping the newly generated high-flying dust emissions.
• Import of transboundary pollution: The import of transboundary pollution from more polluted regions due to wind pattern changes is also adding to the misery. An increase in all sizes of particles (coarser and finer) has been observed.
• Dust emission is the major reason: It is scientifically prudent to conclude that the major share in the current worsening of air quality is from dust emissions. Many redevelopment and construction projects are operational across the city. So, the increase is due to intensifying emissions at the source, which usually consist of PM 2.5 made up of transport (31 per cent), industries (20 per cent), and resuspended dust (15 per cent), besides other smaller sources.

All you need to know about  “SAFAR”

• SAFAR stands for System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research.
• It is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences for greater metropolitan cities of India to provide location-specific information on air quality in near real time and its forecast 1-3 days in advance.
• It was started under the plan scheme Metropolitan Advisories for Cities for Sports, Tourism (Metropolitan Air Quality and Weather Services)
• The SAFAR system is developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, along with ESSO partner institutions namely India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF)
• The implementation of SAFAR is done with an active collaboration with local municipal corporations and various local educational institutions and governmental agencies in that Metro city.
• It was started on a Pilot basis in the cities of Pune, Ahmadabad, New Delhi and Mumbai.

Way ahead

• The battle against air pollution is long and difficult, but success is achievable beyond doubt.
• Putting green curtains around construction sites, regularly sprinkling water on truck tyres and debris before loading and unloading material, and ensuring smooth traffic flow to overcome snarls are some of the immediate remedies.
• In the medium term, transitioning to electric vehicles, addressing solid waste management, dumping grounds, and industrial toxin management are some actions that will help us achieve better air quality.

Conclusion

• Before we start to address the problem, we need to recognise it. Acting together and strengthening the fight against air pollution should be the order of the day. The situation is not currently urgent, but it is a clear early sign of the impact climate change can have. Hence, we must address the root cause of the problem anthropogenic emissions instead of looking for shortcuts.

Mains question

Q. Anthropogenic emissions are central to environmental issues, whether climate change or air quality. Give examples to support your arguments.

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