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Subject: Environment

  • Places in news: Khangkhui Mangsor

    khangkui

    A colony of bats was evicted from a Khangkhui Mangsor cave system in Manipur with a Palaeolithic past to make it tourist-friendly.

    Khangkhui Mangsor

    • The Khangkhui, locally called Khangkhui Mangsor, is a natural limestone cave about 15 km from Ukhrul, the headquarters of Ukhrul district.
    • Excavations carried out by Manipur’s archaeologists had revealed the cave was home to Stone Age communities.
    • The cave was also used as a shelter by the local people during the Second World War after the Japanese forces advanced to Manipur and the adjoining Nagaland.

    Why in news?

    • The cave housed large roosting populations of bats belonging to the Rhinolophidae and Hipposideridae families.
    • They were however killed and evicted from the Khangkhui cave after 2016-17 purportedly to make it more tourist-friendly.

    Do you know?

    The longest is Krem Liat Prah in the Jaintia Hills, which is 30.957 km long. The word “Krem” means cave in the local Khasi language

     

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  • CBG: Renewable energy revolution

    cbg

    Context

    • The beginnings of a renewable energy revolution rooted in agriculture are taking shape in India with the first bio-energy plant of a private company in Sangrur district of Punjab having commenced commercial operations on October 18. It will produce Compressed Biogas (CBG) from paddy straw, thus converting agricultural waste into wealth.

    Background

    • Stubble burning every year in north and northwest: It has become common practice among farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh to dispose of paddy stubble and the biomass by setting it on fire to prepare fields for the next crop, which has to be sown in a window of three to four weeks. This is spread over millions of hectares.
    • Resultant smog polluting environment: The resultant clouds of smoke engulf the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi and neighbouring States for several weeks between October to December. This plays havoc with the environment and affects human and livestock health.
    • Stubble burning practice spreading rapidly across the country: Though paddy stubble burning in northwest India has received a lot of attention because of its severity of pollution, the reality is that crop residue burning is spreading even to rabi crops and the rest of the country. Unless these practices are stopped, the problem will assume catastrophic proportions.

     What is Stubble Burning?

    • Stubble (parali) burning is a method of removing paddy crop residues from the field to sow wheat from the last week of September to November.
    • It is usually required in areas that use the combined harvesting method which leaves crop residue behind.
    • This practice mostly carried out in Punjab, Haryana and UP contributes solely to the grave winter pollution in the national capital.

    cbg

    How stubble burning impacts environment and Human health?

    • Deteriorates air quality: The process of burning farm residue is one of the major causes of air pollution in parts of north India, deteriorating the air quality.
    • Source of various harmful gases: Stubble burning is a significant source of carbon dioxide (CO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC).
    • Air Pollution: Stubble burning emits toxic pollutants in the atmosphere containing harmful gases like Carbon Monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOC). These pollutants disperse in the surroundings and eventually affect air quality and people’s health by forming a thick blanket of smog. Along with vehicular emissions, it affects the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital and NCR.
    • Soil degradation: Soil becomes less fertile and its nutrients are destroyed when the husk is burned on the ground. Organic content of soil is completely destroyed. Stubble burning generates heat that penetrates into the soil, causing an increase in erosion, loss of useful microbes and moisture.

    cbg

    Some of the measures taken by Government for the effective prevention and control of stubble burning

    • The Commission for Air Quality Management: The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had developed a framework and action plan for the effective prevention and control of stubble burning,
    • In-situ management: The framework/action plan includes in-situ management, i.e., incorporation of paddy straw and stubble in the soil using heavily subsidized machinery (supported by crop residue management (CRM) Scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare).
    • Ex-situ management: Ex-situ CRM efforts include the use of paddy straw for biomass power projects and co-firing in thermal power plants, and as feedstock for 2G ethanol plants, feed stock in CBG plants, fuel in industrial boilers, waste-to-energy (WTE) plants, and in packaging materials, etc.
    • Awareness generation programme: Additionally, measures are in place to ban stubble burning, to monitor and enforce this, and initiating awareness generation.
    • Project by NITI Aayog along with FAO: NITI Aayog approached FAO India in 2019 to explore converting paddy straw and stubble into energy and identify possible ex-situ uses of rice straw to complement the in-situ programme.
    • Rice straw for producing CBG: A techno-economic assessment of energy technologies suggested that rice straw can be cost-effective for producing CBG and pellets. Pellets can be used in thermal power plants as a substitute of coal and CBG as a transport fuel.
    • SATAT initiative: With 30% of the rice straw produced in Punjab, a 5% CBG production target set by the Government of India scheme, “Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT)” can be met. It could also increase local entrepreneurship, increase farmers’ income and reduce open burning of rice straw.
    • Encouraging private players to produce CBG more and reduce CO2 emissions: Verbio India Private Limited, a 100% subsidiary of the German Verbio AG, got approval from the Punjab government in April 2018 to set up a bio-CNG project that will utilise about 2.1 lakh tonnes of a total of 18.32 million tonnes of paddy straw annually. The plant will use one lakh tonnes of paddy straw produced from approximately 16,000 hectares of paddy fields. Paddy residue will be collected from this year to produce 33 tons of CBG and 600-650 tonnes of fermented organic manure/slurry per day this will reduce up to 1.5 lakh tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

    FAO Study on developing crop residue supply chain

    • Use of Rice straw: In technical consultations with the public and private sectors, the FAO published its study on developing a crop residue supply chain in Punjab that can allow the collection, storage and final use of rice straw for other productive services, specifically for the production of renewable energy.
    • Required Investment and benefits farmers: The results suggest that to mobilise 30% of the rice straw produced in Punjab, an investment of around ₹2,201 crore ($309 million) would be needed to collect, transport and store it within a 20-day period. This would reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about 9.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent and around 66,000 tonnes of PM2.5. Further, depending on market conditions, farmers can expect to earn between ₹550 and ₹1,500 per ton of rice straw sold, depending on market conditions.

    cbg

    Interesting to read: Compressed Bio Gas (CBG)

    • Biogas is produced naturally through a process of anaerobic decomposition from waste / bio-mass sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, sewage treatment plant waste, etc.
    • After purification, it is compressed and called CBG, which has a pure methane content of over 95%.
    • CBG is exactly similar to the commercially available natural gas in its composition and energy potential.
    • With calorific value (~52,000 KJ/kg) and other properties similar to CNG, CBG can be used as an alternative, renewable automotive fuel.
    • Given the abundance of biomass in the country, CBG has the potential to replace CNG in automotive, industrial and commercial uses in the coming years.

    Conclusion

    • Encouraging private players for producing CBG appears to be a first win-win initiative in the form of environmental benefits, renewable energy, value addition to the economy, farmers’ income and sustainability. This initiative is replicable and scalable across the country and can be a game changer for the rural economy.

    Mains Question

    Q. What is Stubble burning? Discuss the measures taken by Government for the effective prevention and control of stubble burning and producing CBG could be a win-win situation.

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  • What is Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA)?

    pdna

    Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) is now being done simultaneously in Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Meghalaya.

    Why in news?

    • PDNA is now being used to evaluate the financial and social cost of local disasters in eight states in India.
    • These states all experienced severe flooding in the last few months.
    • The results of these assessments are likely to come out next month.

    What is PDNA?

    • PDNA is an internationally accepted methodology for determining the physical damages, economic losses, and costs of meeting recovery needs after a natural disaster through a government-led process.
    • It is an international framework for assessing losses and damages in the aftermath of a disaster.
    • The framework helps get recovery and reconstruction efforts right following a disaster.
    • Globally, of the 55 PDNAs conducted worldwide since 2008, only two droughts — one in Malawi and the other Marshall Islands in 2016 — were of slow-onset disasters.

    Components of PDNA

    • PDNA includes a calculation of the disaster’s impact on Gross Domestic Product, the balance of payment and fiscal budget.
    • Secondly, how this affects the flow of revenue to multiple sectors is evaluated.
    • For example, the number of farmers’ income affected per damaged acre of land and the livelihoods lost.
    • Overall, a quantitative assessment is additionally done on the social and environmental impact of the disaster.

    History of PDNA in India

    • This is not the first time PDNA has been conducted in India.
    • It was first adopted during the Kerala floods of 2018 and again during the cyclone in Odisha in 2019, both unprecedented disasters.
    • Until now, the assessment was only limited to massive disasters that required international funding from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations.

    15th Finance Commission provision

    • The 15th finance commission report of 2021, for the first time, made a provision for recovery and reconstruction in the national disaster management budget, which is at the core of the PDNA.
    • The states did not receive international funding to do the current ongoing PDNAs, as they are expected to take the money from the budget.

     

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  • What are Eclipses?

    eclipse

    India recently witnessed a partial solar eclipse. Let’s take a look over all dynamics of Eclipses.

    What are Eclipses?

    • An eclipse takes place when one heavenly body such as a moon or planet moves into the shadow of another heavenly body.
    • There are two types of eclipses on Earth: an eclipse of the Moon and an eclipse of the Sun.

    [I] A Lunar Eclipse

    eclipse

    • The moon moves in an orbit around Earth, and at the same time, Earth orbits the sun. Sometimes Earth moves between the sun and the moon.
    • When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight that normally is reflected by the moon. (This sunlight is what causes the moon to shine.)
    • Instead of light hitting the moon’s surface, Earth’s shadow falls on it. This is an eclipse of the moon — a lunar eclipse.
    • A lunar eclipse can occur only when the moon is full. (But not every full moon is also a lunar eclipse. Can you guess why?)

    Observing a Lunar Eclipse

    • A lunar eclipse can be seen from Earth at night.
    • A lunar eclipse usually lasts for a few hours.
    • At least two partial lunar eclipses happen every year, but total lunar eclipses are rare.

    There are two types of lunar eclipses: total lunar eclipses and partial lunar eclipses.

    • A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon and the sun are on exact opposite sides of Earth. Although the moon is in Earth’s shadow, some sunlight reaches the moon.  The sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere, which causes Earth’s atmosphere to filter out most of the blue light. This makes the moon appear red to people on Earth.
    • A partial lunar eclipse happens when only a part of the moon enters Earth’s shadow. In a partial eclipse, Earth’s shadow appears very dark on the side of the moon facing Earth. What people see from Earth during a partial lunar eclipse depends on how the sun, Earth and moon are lined up.
    • In a penumbral lunar eclipse, only the more diffuse outer shadow of Earth – the penumbra – falls on the moon’s face. This third kind of lunar eclipse is much more subtle, and much more difficult to observe than either a total or partial eclipse of the moon.

    [II] A Solar Eclipse

    eclipse

    • Sometimes when the moon orbits Earth, it moves between the sun and Earth.
    • When this happens, the moon blocks the light of the sun from reaching Earth.
    • This causes an eclipse of the sun or solar eclipse.
    • During a solar eclipse, the moon casts a shadow onto Earth.

    There are three types of solar eclipses.

    The first is a Total Solar Eclipse

    • A total solar eclipse is only visible from a small area on Earth.
    • The people who see the total eclipse are in the centre of the moon’s shadow when it hits Earth.
    • The sky becomes very dark as if it were night. For a total eclipse to take place, the sun, moon and Earth must be in a direct line.

    The second type is a Partial Solar Eclipse

    • This happens when the sun, moon and Earth are not exactly lined up.
    • The sun appears to have a dark shadow on only a small part of its surface.

    The third type is an Annular Solar Eclipse

    • An annular eclipse happens when the moon is farthest from Earth. Because the moon is farther away from Earth, it seems smaller. It does not block the entire view of the sun. The moon in front of the sun looks like a dark disk on top of a larger sun-coloured disk. This creates what looks like a ring around the moon.
    • During a solar eclipse, the moon casts two shadows on Earth. The first shadow is called the Umbra. This shadow gets smaller as it reaches Earth. It is the dark centre of the moon’s shadow.
    • The second shadow is called the Penumbra. The penumbra gets larger as it reaches Earth. People standing in the penumbra will see a partial eclipse. People standing in the umbra will see a total eclipse.

    Observing a Solar Eclipse

    • Solar eclipses happen once every 18 months.
    • Unlike lunar eclipses, solar eclipses only last for a few minutes.

    Why don’t solar eclipses happen at every New Moon?

    • The reason is that the Moon’s orbit tilts 5° to Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
    • Astronomers call the two intersections of these paths nodes.
    • Eclipses only occur when the Sun lies at one node and the Moon is at its New (for solar eclipses) or Full (for lunar eclipses) phase.
    • During most (lunar) months, the Sun lies either above or below one of the nodes, and no eclipse happens.

    [III] Planet Transits

    • When a planet comes between Earth and the Sun, it is called a transit.
    • The only 2 planets that can be seen transiting the Sun from Earth are Venus and Mercury because they are the only planets that orbit inside Earth’s orbit.
    • From 2000–2199, there will be 14 transits of Mercury.
    • However, Venus transits are even rarer with only 2 this century, in 2004 and 2012.

     

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  • In news: Sukapaika River

    sukapaika

    Sukapaika, a small river that stopped flowing 70 years ago in Odisha’s Cuttack district is set to be rejuvenated.

    Sukapaika River

    • The Suka-paika (the dead) River originated from another river, the Mahanadi, near Ayatpur village.
    • It flowed 27.5 km before meeting the Mahanadi again at Bankala.
    • In the 1950s, the State’s water resource engineers had in their wisdom closed the Sukapaika river mouth enabling development of the Taladanda Canal System, a major canal of the State.
    • This led to the river mostly drying up.
    • The process was aggravated by agricultural encroachments that had sprung up on the riverbanks.

     

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  • Species in news: Great Indian Bustards

    bustard

    The recent sighting of three Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) deep in Pakistan’s Cholistan desert has given rise to speculation that the endangered birds might have flown across the international border from India.

    Great Indian Bustards

    • GIBs are the largest among the four bustard species found in India, the other three being MacQueen’s bustard, lesser florican, and the Bengal florican.
    • GIBs’ historic range included much of the Indian sub-continent but it has now shrunken to just 10 percent of it. Among the heaviest birds with flight, GIBs prefer grasslands as their habitats.
    • GIBs are considered the flagship bird species of grassland.

    Protection accorded

    • Birdlife International: uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered (2011)
    • Protection under CITES: Appendix I
    • IUCN status: Critically Endangered
    • Protection under Wildlife (Protection) Act: Schedule I

    Threats

    • Overhead power transmission: This has resulted in the electrocution of the bustards.
    • Poor vision: Due to their poor frontal vision, can’t detect powerlines in time and their weight makes in-flight quick maneuvers difficult.
    • Windmills: Coincidentally, Kutch and Thar desert are the places that have witnessed the creation of huge renewable energy infrastructure.
    • Noise pollution: Noise affects the mating and courtship practices of the GIB.
    • Changes in the landscape: by way of farmers cultivating their land, which otherwise used to remain fallow due to frequent droughts in Kutch.
    • Cultivation changes: Cultivation of cotton and wheat instead of pulses and fodder are also cited as reasons for falling GIB numbers.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following pairs:

    Protected Area: Well-known for

    1. Bhitarkanika, Odisha — Salt Water Crocodile
    2. Desert National Park, Rajasthan — Great Indian Bustard
    3. Eravikulam, Kerala — Hoolock Gibbon

    Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched? (CSP 2014)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 1 and 2

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”zlw3ng0hyj” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Efforts for Vulture Conservation

    Vulture

    Context

    • The Tamil Nadu government formed a committee to set up an institutional framework for the effective conservation of vultures. The State is home to four species of vultures the white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis), long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus), the Asian king vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) and the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus).

    Are the vulture population decreasing?

    • Absolute numbers are low: While the population of the vultures in the Nilgiris, Erode and Coimbatore districts has remained largely stable, experts state that the numbers are still extremely low, and that even a single poisoning event could lead to several of the species going locally extinct, especially the long-billed and Asian king vulture.
    • Fewer hatchings of vultures: Over the last few years, breeding seasons have also seen fewer hatchings than is the norm, with experts attributing the cause to lesser availability of prey as well as erratic weather.

    Vulture

    The status of Vultures in Tamilnadu

    • Sighting of vultures in Nilgiris, erode and Coimbatore: While there have been reported sightings of vultures in other districts including Dharmapuri; essentially the Nilgiris, Erode and Coimbatore districts are believed to form one of the largest contiguous expanses where vultures are spotted.
    • In the Tiger reserves and forest areas: Home to the nesting sites of three of the four species of vultures seen in the State, the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, parts of the Nilgiris forest division and the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve are crucial strongholds for the vultures in southern India.
    • Sighting of Himalayan griffon vulture: Occasional migrants such as the Himalayan griffon vulture and the Cinerous vulture are also spotted each year.
    • Larger population of vultures in the South of Vindhiya mountain range: Tamil Nadu boasts the largest population of vultures south of the Vindhiya Mountain Range. In the Nilgiris, researchers and forest department officials estimate that there are between 100 and 120 white-rumped vultures, 10 and 15 long-billed vultures and less than 10 Asian king vultures.
    • Spotted at Sigur plateau: Though Egyptian vultures are spotted in the Sigur plateau, encompassing the Nilgiris and Erode districts, they are not believed to use the landscape to breed, while researchers still remain unsuccessful in tracing the breeding sites of the critically endangered Asian king vulture.

    Vulture

    Role of vultures in the Ecosystem

    • As scavengers: vultures help prevent the spread of many diseases and can remove toxins from entering the environment by consuming carcasses of dead cattle/wildlife before they decompose.

    What are the Threats to the Vulture population?

    • Temple Tourism and increased activities around the temple: There are multiple. For one, temple tourism in the Sigur plateau is centered primarily around vulture habitats, such as Siriyur, Anaikatty and Bokkapuram. Over the last few years, there have been recorded instances of vultures abandoning nesting sites located too close to temples inside these reserves, with activists calling for strict controls on the amount of people allowed to attend these festivals.
    • Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): Experts also agree that the use of some Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) to treat cattle, such as diclofenac, nimesulide, ketoprofen among others, has led to the crash in vulture populations across India.
    • Spread of invasive weeds: Another threat is the spread of invasive weeds such as the Lantana camara in vulture landscapes, which hinder the birds from scavenging as their large wingspans require plenty of open area to safely land and to take to the skies in case of any major threats.
    • Vulnerable to even natural drugs: Unfortunately, their tolerance for harmful substances does not extend to manmade drugs.
    • Climate change and forest fires: Finally, due to the illegal tapping of water along the streams running through these areas, possible climate change, and forest fires, the Terminalia arjuna trees, that many vultures use as nesting sites are disappearing.

    Vulture

    Steps taken to protect the vultures

    • Banning the harmful drugs: The State government has banned the use of diclofenac, a drug, to treat cattle, while there are strict restrictions for the sale of other NSAIDs in the Nilgiris, Erode and Coimbatore districts.
    • Vulture census: Additionally, as the vultures in the Sigur plateau utilize landscapes in neighboring Karnataka and Kerala, experts have called for a synchronous vulture census to accurately identify vulture populations and nesting sites.

    Conclusion

    • Only through a multipronged approach of increasing the amount of food available to the birds and managing invasive species can vulture numbers start rebounding.

    Mains Question

    Q. What important role does vulture plays in ecosystem? What are the efforts taken by central government for conservation of vultures in India?

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  • PM launches Mission LiFE

    Prime Minister, in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, launched ‘Mission LiFE’ (Lifestyle For Environment).

    What is Mission LiFE?

    • NITI Aayog has conceptualized the idea of mission LiFE.
    • It states that the aim of the mission is to follow a three-pronged strategy for changing our collective approach toward sustainability.
    • PM elaborated that Mission LiFE emboldens the spirit of the P3 model i.e. Pro Planet People.
    • The approach of LiFe campaign includes:
    1. Focus on individual behaviours: To make life a mass movement (Jan Andolan).
    2. Co-create globally: Crowdsourcing empirical and scalable ideas
    3. Leverage Local Cultures: Leverage climate-friendly social norms and beliefs of different cultures worldwide to drive the campaign

    Understanding Sustainable living

    • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the global authority that sets environmental agenda and promotes the implementation of environmental dimension of sustainable development.
    • UNEP says that as the population of the world is increasing the demand for food, fashion, travel, housing, etc also increases.
    • Hence, a sustainable living approach is necessary to make a balance between the needs of the present generation with that of the future.
    • Sustainable living means acknowledging day-to-day life choices and reflecting if there can be alternatives that may impact the environment less.

     

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  • Forest Conservation Rules infringe upon Land Rights of Tribals: NCST

    The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has asked the Centre to put the new Forest Conservation Rules, 2022, on hold.

    What are the Forest Conservation Rules?

    • The Forest Conservation Rules deal with the implementation of the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980.
    • They prescribe the procedure to be followed for forest land to be diverted for non-forestry uses such as road construction, highway development, railway lines, and mining.
    • The broad aims of the FCA are:
    1. To protect forest and wildlife
    2. Put brakes on State governments’ attempts to hive off forest land for commercial projects and
    3. Striving to increase the area under forests

    How does it work?

    • For forest land beyond five hectares, approval for diverting land must be given by the Central government.
    • This is via a specially constituted committee, called the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC).
    • The FAC approval also means that the future users of the land must provide compensatory land for afforestation as well as pay the net present value (ranging between ₹10-15 lakh per hectare.)

    What do the updated rules say?

    • The new rules aims to streamline the process of approvals.
    • The rules make a provision for private parties to cultivate plantations and sell them as land to companies who need to meet compensatory forestation targets.
    • This aims to help increase forest cover as well as solve the problems of the States of not finding land within their jurisdiction for compensatory purposes.

    Why in news now?

    • The point of contention flagged by NCST is- the new rules has no word for what happens to tribals and forest-dwelling communities whose land would be hived off for developmental work.
    • Prior to the updated rules, state bodies would forward documents to the FAC that would also include information on the status of whether the forest rights of locals in the area were settled.

    Back2Basics: National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST)

    • National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) is an Indian constitutional body that was established through Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003.
    • It functions under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
    • The original constitution provided for the appointment of a Special Officer under Article 338.
    • The special officer was designated as the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
    • The 65th Constitutional Amendment Act 1990, amended Article 338 of the Constitution to introduce a joint NC for SCs and STs.
    • Later by 89th Amendment, NC for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and NC for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) were separated by creating a new Article 338-A.

     

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  • PM launches Mission LiFE

    World

    Context

    • Our world today is in turmoil, facing multiple, mutually reinforcing crises. for the first time since it began over 30 years ago, the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report has warned that global human development measures have declined across most countries in the past two years.

    Background

    • Ever increasing Existential threat: The greatest existential threat of all, the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.
    • Climate change and extreme forms of weather events associated with it: Nine of the warmest years on record have come in the past decade alone. This year’s record-breaking heat waves, floods, droughts, and other extreme forms of weather have forced us to face these increasingly devastating impacts.
    • Window for action is closing fast: Climate change is a disruption multiplier in a disrupted world, rolling back progress across the global Sustainable Development Goals. Commitments we have now will not keep warming below the 1.5°C target that gives us the best chance of averting catastrophe.
    • LIFE, a fresh perspective: LIFE, or Lifestyle for Environment, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 in November 2021, brings a fresh and much-needed perspective.

    World

    What is “LIFE” called by PM Narendra Modi?

    • LIFE: “LIFE – Lifestyle for the Environment”, PM Modi had proposed the one-word mass movement “LIFE” at the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change at Glasgow last November.
    • A theme for COP27: “LIFE”, a global initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be the theme of the India pavilion at the upcoming COP27 at Sharm-El-Sheikh in Egypt.
    • LIFE Movement: Subsequently, PM Modi launched ‘Lifestyle for the Environment – LIFE Movement’ on 5 June on the occasion of world environment day.
    • What is the vision of LIFE: The vision of ‘LIFE’ is to live a lifestyle that is in tune with our planet and does not harm it The people who live such a lifestyle can be called “Pro-Planet people.”

    What is LiFE-Movement?

    • Objective of LiFE: The idea promotes an environmentally conscious lifestyle that focuses on ‘mindful and deliberate utilisation’ instead of ‘mindless and wasteful consumption’.
    • Aim of LiFE: The LiFE Movement aims to utilise the power of collective action and nudge individuals across the world to undertake simple climate-friendly actions in their daily lives. The LiFE movement, additionally, also seeks to leverage the strength of social networks to influence social norms surrounding climate.
    • Creating Pro-planet people: The Mission plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3), who will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles.
    • Seeks to behavioural change and individual actions: Through the P3 community, the Mission seeks to create an ecosystem that will reinforce and enable environmentally friendly behaviours to be self-sustainable. LIFE recognizes that small individual actions can tip the balance in the planet’s favour.
    • Mission liFE for India: Mission LiFE borrows from the past, operates in the present and focuses on the future. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are the concepts woven into our life. The Circular Economy has been an integral part of our culture and lifestyle.

    World

    What can be done to fulfil the vision of LiFE?

    • Cultivating the attitude of individual responsibility starting from the home: Mindful choices cultivated by LIFE animate this spirit actions such as saving energy at home; cycling and using public transport instead of driving; eating more plant-based foods and wasting less; and leveraging our position as customers and employees to demand climate-friendly choices.
    • Applying the nudging techniques to encourage positive behaviour: Many of the goals of LIFE can be achieved by deploying ‘nudges’, gentle persuasion techniques to encourage positive behaviour. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) employs proven nudging techniques such as discouraging food waste by offering smaller plates in cafeterias; encouraging recycling by making bin lids eye-catching; and encouraging cycling by creating cycle paths.
    • Adopting greener consumption habits: According to the UNEP, more than two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to household consumption and lifestyles the urgent cuts to global emissions we need can only be achieved through widespread adoption of greener consumption habits.

    World

    How India could be the torch bearer?

    • Historical wisdom: “Vasudhaiv kutumbakam” which means the world is one family, India insists on this philosophy. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “the world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.” Even The Prime Minister recalled that Mahatma Gandhi talked about a zero-carbon lifestyle.
    • India’s proven track record of mass movements: India has a proven track record translating the aspirations of national missions into whole-of-society efforts. The success of the Swachh Bharat Mission, which mobilised individuals and communities across socio-economic strata to become drivers of collective good health and sanitation is an example.
    • India is strong to uphold Climate Justice: LIFE resonates with the global climate justice India has rightfully called for highlighting enhanced obligations those in developed countries bear, to support climate adaptation and mitigation for those most affected, yet least responsible. The average carbon footprint of a person in high income country is more than 80 times higher than that of a person in a least developed country. It is common sense and only fair to call on the developed world to shoulder a proportionate share of this transition.
    • Indi’s leadership on climate action at the international stage: From the Panchamrit targets announced by Mr. Modi at COP26, to support for the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and South-South cooperation platforms, from the world’s fifth largest economy with vibrant businesses making enormous investments in renewables and electric mobility, to a world class public digital tech stack, India brings scale, expertise and legitimacy; a well-positioned founding UN Member State bridging the G20 and G77.
    • India’s COP pavilions setting up an example: India has been setting up its pavilions at COPs since 2015 to showcase its achievements in climate actions. Several think tanks, civil society organizations, industry bodies and private sector organise side events at the India pavilion.

    Conclusion

    • While governments and industry carry the lion’s share of responsibility for responding to the crisis of climate change, we as consumers play a large role in driving unsustainable production methods. With COP27 next month, we should commit to be an active partner of a global network of ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3), to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles.

    Mains Question

    Q. In the time of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, India shows a path for mitigating the climate crisis through LiFE movement. Discuss.

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