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

The Uttarakhand government recently announced it will initiate valuation of its natural resources in the form of ‘Gross Environment Product’ (GEP), said to be along the lines of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Why such a move?

• The idea of the valuation of the components of the environment is not new.
• But it got impetus following rapid degradation of ecosystems, which led to adverse impacts on more than 60 percent of services we get from the ecosystems.

What is Gross Environment Product (GEP)?

• GEP is the measure of ecosystem services of any area.
• It reflects the aggregated annual value of goods and services provided by ecosystems (forests, water bodies, oceans, etc.) to people in a given region, such as at district levels, state, and country.
• It entails the establishment of a natural capital accounting framework by integrating ecological benefits into common measures of economic growth such as GDP.
• It summarizes the value of ecosystem services in a single monetary metric.

Evolution of GEP

• The term “ecosystem services” was coined in 1981 to attract academics towards this aspect.
• Ecosystem services represent the benefits humans get: Forests, lakes, and grasslands; timber and dyed; carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling; soil formation and productivity; and tourism.
• The definition is still in the process of evolution. The concept received attention and now is part of global knowledge.

Advantages offered

• GEP can be applied as a scientific basis for Eco-Compensation and public financial transfers.
• For example, Finance Commission’s revenue-sharing formula between the Union and the states including forest cover as a determining factor in a state’s share.
• GEP can be applied to measure the status of ecosystem services, which is an important indicator of sustainable development.
• It is also a critical indicator for measuring the progress of Eco-civilization.
• Its implementation can help assess the impact of anthropological pressure on our ecosystem and natural resources- air, water, soil, forests.

The Himalayan context

• The Himalayas contribute substantially to the sustainability of the Gangetic Plains where 500 million people live.
• The Union government incorporated the value of ecosystem services of its states in national accounting.
• According to the recommendation of the 12^th and 13^th Finance Commissions, grants were transferred to forest-rich states in amounts corresponding to their forest covers.
• However, considering only the forest cover in transferring funds to states is inadequate.

The Union government’s target of producing 40 gigawatts of rooftop solar power by 2022 is unrealistic: The country could produce only 4.4 GW rooftop solar energy till March 31, 2021, according to the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

What is Solar Rooftop?

• A solar photovoltaic (PV) system mounted on a rooftop of a building is a mini-power requirement or feed into the grid.
• The size of the installation varies significantly depending on the availability of space, amount of electricity consumed by the property and the ability or willingness of the owner to invest the capital required.

Why rooftop?

• Rooftop solar with a storage system is a benefit for both, end consumers as well as discoms (power distribution companies).
• A one-kilowatt (kW) rooftop system can produce three to five units of electricity a day.
• The combination increasingly becomes cost-effective for electricity generation compared to the traditional grid supply and diesel generators.
• In 2021, solar and storage will be cheaper than grid supply for most commercial and industrial (C&I) customers.
• The increase in penetration of rooftop solar in the distribution grid will have a significant impact on the stability of the grid.

A viable alternative

• Most housing societies in urban India rely on diesel generators for power backup. However, as power availability improves in the country, diesel generators will become redundant.
• The operational cost of diesel generators is quite high— R16-18 per unit against Rs 5-6 a unit for solar rooftop systems. So rooftop solar power makes financial sense.Solar rooftop is also a perfect solution for commercial and institutional buildings that operate mostly during the day.
• Their rooftops can be utilized to generate electricity, and they can, partially or completely, replace diesel generators. This would also help them reduce their electricity bills.

Question of energy storage

• In order to integrate rooftop solar and electric vehicles, the grid needs to be flexible and smart.
• Energy storage systems will play a key role in providing this flexibility by acting as a load when there is a surplus generation, as well as generating sources when there is a supply shortage.
• There are two major methods of integrating battery storage into the electric grid:

1. Front-of-the-meter (FTM): It is implemented at the utility-scale, wherein the battery system is connected to the transmission or distribution network that ensures grid reliability. This happens on a considerably large scale (~MWh scale).
2. Behind-the-meter (BTM): The other method is implemented at the residential and commercial/industrial level, mainly to provide backup during a power failure or to store excess locally generated energy from solar rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems.

India’s storage capacity

• About 34 GW / 136 GWh of battery storage is expected to be installed by 2030, according to the Central Electricity Authority of India.
• This capacity would be used for RE integration, demand-side and peak load management services.

Storage challenges

• The solar segment offers a huge market opportunity for advanced battery technologies.
• However, manufacturers have some ground to cover in addressing technical limitations of batteries, such as charging characteristics, thermal performance and requirement of boost current to charge deep cycle batteries.
• Since solar companies may directly procure batteries from manufacturers and require after-sale services and technical support, battery companies should have wider a presence to address these expectations.

Other key challenges

• Rooftop solar source doesn’t match the rise in renewable energy in India.
• While industrial and commercial consumers account for 70% of total installed capacity residential consumers remain a big untapped potential to give the boost
• Solar rooftops also face several challenges such as little consumer awareness, lack of innovative government policies or attention, bureaucratic hassles, and limited support from discoms.

Way forward

• Supportive policies and innovative technological approaches are needed for the sector to achieve its potential.
• Indian policymakers need to plan for rooftop solar plus storage, rather than rooftop solar alone with the grid as storage (net / gross metering).
• The declining cost of storage solutions, along with that of rooftop solar solutions, is likely to change the future of the Indian power sector.
• Several countries such as Australia, the United States, Germany, among others have already endorsed solar power with battery storage.
• Energy storage, therefore, represents a huge economic opportunity for India.
• The creation of a conducive battery manufacturing ecosystem on a fast track could cement India’s opportunity for radical economic and industrial transformation in a critical and fast-growing global market.

The recent attempt of Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) to reintroduce into the wild tiger cub named Mangala after rearing it in ‘captivity’ has once again brought the controversial concept of ‘re-wilding’ of abandoned or injured animals under the lens.

What is the intervention known as ‘re-wilding’?

• As per the Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, there are three ways to deal with orphaned or abandoned tiger cubs.

1. The first is to make an effort to reunite the abandoned cubs with their mother.
2. Second, if a reunion of the cub with its mother is not possible, then shift the cub to a suitable zoo.
3. Third, reintroduction of the cub into the wild after a certain time when it appears that the cub is capable of surviving in the wild independently.

• This is what is known as ‘re-wilding.

NTCA guidelines

• NTCA stresses that the tiger cub should be reared in an in situ enclosure for a minimum of two years, and during this time, each cub should have a successful record of at least 50 ‘kills’.
• Within the enclosure, the persons responsible for handling cubs must approach them by putting a tiger mask along with workday clothes of a tiger stripe pattern smeared with tiger urine and faeces.
• Various conditions must be complied with at the time of releasing the cub in the wild.
• The tiger cubs should be in prime health, and of dispersing age (three/four years).
• There should be no abnormality/incapacitation.

How have attempts at re-wilding of carnivores gone in India?

• The tiger conservationist Billy Arjan Singh was credited with the re-introduction of re-welding the Dudhwa forest area in the 1970s.
• The attempt, however, ran into controversy after several incidents of the killing of humans were reported.
• The re-wilding in Panna Tiger Reserve of two abandoned tigress cubs that were brought up at Kanha Tiger Reserve is considered to be a success in tiger conservation.

Re-wilding as a concept

• There are 50-50 chances of success and failure of re-wilding of hand-reared carnivores in the wild.
• Conservationists, however, maintain that the chances of success are far less than that — less than even 1 per cent.
• Tigers in India are already occurring at naturally attainable densities.
• Almost all translocations of captive-raised tigers have failed so far, with only rare successes such as in Panna after a tiger extinction, and some re-introductions in Russia into empty habitats with plenty of prey.

Way forward

• The real need is to protect more habitat strictly so that the prey densities rise and more tigers can thrive.
• Putting individual hand-reared tigers into the wild cannot certainly be called re-wilding says some wildlife activists.

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Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

Q.Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under “Critical Tiger Habitat”? (CSP 2020)

(a) Corbett

(b) Ranthambore

(c) Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam

(d) Sunderbans

The problem of marine plastic pollution has reached a new peak. Hence it must be tackled from various perspectives. This article discusses some of them.

Plastic use in India

• The Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Annual Report on Implementing the Plastic Garbage Rules, 2016, is the only regular estimate of the quantum of plastic waste generated in India.
• According to it, the waste generated in 2018-19 was 3,360,043 tonnes per year (roughly 9,200 tonnes per day).
• Given that total municipal solid waste generation is between 55 and 65 million tonnes per day, plastic waste contributes about 5-6 per cent of total solid waste generated in India.

What happens to Plastic Waste?

• Only nine per cent of all plastic waste has ever been recycled.
• Approximately 12 per cent has been burnt, while the remaining 79 per cent has accumulated in landfills.
• Plastic waste is blocking our sewers, threatening marine life and generating health risks for residents in landfills or the natural environment.

Marine plastic pollution

• Incredibly vast and deep, the ocean acts as a huge sink for global pollution. Some of the plastic in the ocean originates from ships that lose cargo at sea.
• Abandoned plastic fishing nets and longlines – known as ghost gear – is also a large source, making up about 10% of plastic waste at sea.
• Marine aquaculture contributes to the problem, too, mainly when the polystyrene foam that’s used to make the floating frames of fish cages makes its way into the sea.
• The financial costs of marine plastic pollution are significant as well.
• According to conservative forecasts made in March 2020, the direct harm to the blue economy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be $2.1 billion per year.

Threats posed to coastal areas

• Enormous social costs accompany these economic costs.
• Residents of coastal regions suffer from the harmful health impacts of plastic pollution and waste brought in by the tides and are inextricably linked to the fishing and tourism industry for their livelihoods.
• Therefore, we must begin finding solutions to prevent plastics and other waste from polluting our oceans and clean them up.

Tackling the issue

The problem of marine plastic pollution can — and must — be tackled from a range of perspectives. Some of the solutions are as follows:

1.Designing a product: Identifying plastic items that can be replaced with non-plastic, recyclable, or biodegradable materials is the first step. Find alternatives to single-use plastics and reusable design goods by working with product designers.

2.Pricing: Plastics are inexpensive because they are made with substantially subsidized oil and may be produced at a lower cost, with fewer economic incentives to employ recycled plastics.

3.Technologies and Innovation: Developing tools and technology to assist governments and organizations in measuring and monitoring plastic garbage in cities. ‘Closing the loop’ project of the UN assists cities in developing more inventive policy solutions to tackle the problem. A similar approach can be adopted in India. 

4.Promoting a plastic-free workplace: All catering operations should be prohibited from using single-use plastics. To encourage workers and clients to improve their habits, all single-use goods can be replaced with reusable items or more sustainable alternatives.

5.Producer responsibility: Extended responsibility can be applied in the retail (packaging) sector, where producers are responsible for collecting and recycling products that they launch into the market.

6.Municipal and community actions: Beach and river clean-ups, public awareness campaigns explaining how people’s actions contribute to marine plastic pollution (or how they may solve it) and disposable plastic bag bans and levies.

7.Multi-stakeholder collaboration: Government ministries at the national and local levels must collaborate in the development, implementation and oversight of policies, which includes participation from industrial firms, non-governmental organisations and volunteer organisations. Instead of acting in silos, all these stakeholders must collaborate and synchronise with one another.

Way forward

• Solving the problem of marine plastic involves a change in production and consumption habits, which would help meet the SDGs.
• Apart from the solutions mentioned above, the government can take several steps to combat plastic pollution.
• Identifying hotspots for plastic leakage can assist governments in developing effective policies that address the plastic problem directly.

Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

Q.Why is there a great concern about the ‘microbeads’ that are released into environment? (CSP 2019)

(a) They are considered harmful to marine ecosystems.

(b) They are considered to cause skin cancer in children.

(c) They are small enough to be absorbed by crop plants in irrigated fi elds.

(d) They are often found to be used as food adulterants.