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Subject: Environment

  • Hyderabad wins Global ‘Tree City’ Status

    Hyderabad city has received another feather in its cap by being chosen as one among the ‘Tree Cities of the World’.

    Tree Cities of the World

    • The Tree Cities of the World programme is an international effort to recognize cities and towns committed to ensuring that their urban forests and trees are properly maintained, sustainably managed, and duly celebrated.
    • This status is accorded by the Arbor Day Foundation jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN.
    • To receive recognition, a town or city must meet five core standards:
    1. Establish Responsibility
    2. Set the Rules
    3. Know What You Have
    4. Allocate the Resources and
    5. Celebrate the Achievements

    Try this question:

    Q.The Miyawaki Forests technique has to potential to revolutionize the concept of urban afforestation in India. Discuss.

    Why it is a great achievement?

    • Hyderabad is the only city in the country to have been selected for this recognition in response to its commitment to growing and maintaining urban forestry.
    • The recognition stands Hyderabad alongside 120 cities from 23 countries, including developed nations such as USA, UK, Canada, Australia and others.

  • India and Australia were evolutionary neighbours

    Bhimbetka, which has yielded a fossil of Dickinsonia dating back about 550 million years, is the first time the particular fossilized organism has been recorded in India.

    Why does this fossil matter?

    • It dates back to an era regarded as the precursor to the explosion of life on earth during the Cambrian period.
    • Thus it puts India firmly on the map for studies of the Ediacaran era along with Australia and Russia.

    Here’s what makes the discovery a global milestone:

    (a) Ediacaran Period

    • The finding gives lead about the earliest living species during a period of the earth’s history known as the Ediacaran, named after the Ediacara Hills in South Australia.
    • This is the period in Earth’s history when Dickinsonia and several multicellular organisms existed.
    • It was approximately 635 million years ago (Ma) and 541 Ma, with the living creatures of the era, called vendobionts.

    Now take this opportunity to revise the Geological time scale from your NCERTs. Try differentiating between different era, periods and epoch.

    (b) India’s Proximity to Australia

    • Studies of the rock characteristics in and around Bhimbetka show that they share several characteristics with rocks in Australia.
    • Dickinsonia fossils from India were found by the scientists to be identical to the Rawnsley Quartzite in South Australia.
    • This provides evidence of their age and the proximity of the two landmasses in Gondwanaland in that era.
    • The evidence however did not support reconstructions adjusted for the polar wander phenomenon [which involves motion of continents over geologic time and its impacts].

     Use of Zircon dating

    • The age of fossil rock is determined using Zircon isotopes.
    • Zircon dating of the youngest Maihar sandstone in Madhya Pradesh puts its age at 548 Ma.
    • The lower Bhander group in the Son and Chambal valleys yielded an isotope-derived age for limestones ranging from 978 Ma to 1073 Ma, situating it in the older Tonian period.
    • The Ediacaran period was the precursor to the Cambrian (about 541 Ma to 485.4 Ma) when the earth witnessed an explosion of life forms and much of which makes up modern animal life today.

  • Species in news: Giant Leatherback Turtle

    Proposals for tourism and port development in the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands has left conservationists worried over the fate of some of the most important nesting populations of the Giant Leatherback turtle.

    What is the news?

    • There is concern that at least three key nesting beaches — two on Little Andaman Island and one on Great Nicobar Island — are under threat due to mega “development” plans announced in recent months.
    • These include NITI Aayog’s ambitious tourism vision for Little Andaman and the proposal for a mega-shipment port at Galathea Bay on Great Nicobar Island.

    Giant Leatherback Turtle

    IUCN status: Vulnerable

    • The largest of the seven species of sea turtles on the planet and also the most long-ranging, Leatherbacks are found in all oceans except the Arctic and the Antarctic.
    • Within the Indian Ocean, they nest only in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the A&N Islands.
    • They are also listed in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, according it the highest legal protection.
    • The population in A&N Islands is among the most important colonies of the Leatherback globally.

    About Galathea Bay

    • The Galathea Bay is adjacent to Galathea National Park in Great Nicobar Island.
    • It was earlier proposed as a wildlife sanctuary in 1997 for the protection of turtles and was also the site of a long-term monitoring programme.
    • The monitoring was stopped after the tsunami devastation of 2004, but it provided the first systematic evidence of numbers and importance of these beaches.

  • Species in news: Mandarin Duck

    A rare Mandarin duck was observed floating in the Maguri-Motapung beel (or wetland) in Assam’s Tinsukia district for over a week is spectacular.

    Mandarin duck

    IUCN status: Least Concerned

    • Considered the most beautiful duck in the world, the Mandarin duck, or the (Aix galericulata) was first identified by Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
    • The eBird website, a platform that documents birds world over, describes it as a “small-exotic looking bird” native to East Asia.
    • It’s very beautiful, with majestic colours and can be spotted from a distance.

    Its habitat and breeding

    • The migratory duck breeds in Russia, Korea, Japan and northeastern parts of China. It now has established populations in Western Europe and America too.
    • In 2018, when a Mandarin duck was spotted in a pond in New York City’s Central Park, it created a flutter among local residents.
    • It was recorded in 1902 in Dibru River in the Rongagora area in Tinsukia.

    About Maguri beel

    • The Maguri Motapung wetland is an Important Bird Area as declared by the Bombay Natural History Society.
    • It is located close to the Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Upper Assam.
    • The entire ecosystem is very important as it is home to at least 304 bird species, including a number of endemic ones like Black-breasted parrotbill and Marsh babbler.
    • In May 2020, the beel was adversely affected by a blowout and fire at an Oil India Limited-owned gas well.

  • Cost of development in the fragile mountains

    The article explains the relationship between development activities in Uttarakhand and the devastating floods.

    Cause of recent flash flood in Uttarakhand

    • According to Planet Labs, ice along with frozen mud and rocks fell down from a high mountain inside the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, from a height of 5,600 m to 3,300 m.
    • This created an artificial lake within the sanctuary in Rontigad, a tributary of Rishi Ganga.
    • Within eight hours, this lake burst open and its water, laden with mud and stones, rushed through the Rishi Ganga gorge which opens near Reni.
    • Studies say that the current winter season has seen little rain and snow, with temperatures being highest in the last six decades.
    •  So, the effects of chemical weathering were much more active in the higher Himalayas.
    •  There is a possibility of more such events this year.

    Factors responsible

    1) Development with no regard for the environment

    • As a mountain system, the Himalayas have had earthquakes, avalanches, landslides, soil erosion, forest fires and floods, and these are its natural expressions, parts of its being.
    • Except for earthquakes, humans have directly contributed towards aggravating all the other phenomena.
    • The Ravi Chopra committee formed by the SC recommended closure of all the 24 hydro projects in question by Wildlife Institute of India.
    • The SC also formed another committee to look at the impact of the Chaardham road project.
    • Road and hydro projects are being operated in the Himalayas with practically no rigorous research on the ecological history of the area, cost-benefit analysis and many other aspects including displacement of communities, destruction of biodiversity, agricultural land, pastures as well as the cultural heritage of the area.

    Dilution of Environmental Impact Assessment rules

    • Earlier, while independent experts carried out the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), today it is assigned to a government agency, which does the work for other government departments.
    • Furthermore, during the lockdown, the government changed the EIA rules and diluted labour laws (most of the workers in both the affected projects belong to unorganised sector) in the name of pandemic measures.

    2) Climate change

    • Another factor which cannot be overlooked is that of climate change.
    • Studies have suggested that the pace of this change is faster in mountains and fastest in the Himalayas.
    • While earthquakes and weathering work at their own pace, climate change can contribute towards altering their natural speed.

    Need for studying the 2013 calamity

    •  We can look back at the terrible calamity of 2013, and see how it washed away the encroachments in river areas-dams, barrages, tunnels, buildings, roads.
    • The communities paid a much heavier price than what they received in compensation.
    • Further, the 2013 calamity has to be studied and understood in all the other regions and river valleys of Uttarakhand, Western Nepal and Himachal.
    • It was not specific to Kedarnath, although much of the focus was directed there.
    • Till date, we don’t have any white paper on this calamity.
    • The India Meteorological Department failed in its prediction and wrongly announced at the end of the first week of June that the monsoon will reach Uttarakhand by June 27-28.
    • It reached on June 16-17 with 300-400 per cent more rain, a record never heard of before.
    •  24 big and small hydro projects were destroyed.
    • The muck created by these projects was also the cause of their destruction.
    • The road debris, always dumped in rivers, was another cause.
    • The smaller rivers were more aggressive in 2013.

    Consider the question “What are the factors responsible for the devastating floods in the Uttarakhand? Suggest the measures for disaster mitigation.”

    Conclusion

    The Himalayas have been giving us life through water, fertile soil, biodiversity, wilderness and a feel of spirituality. We cannot and should not try to control or dictate the Himalayas.

  • Farakka ‘lock’ and Hilsa Fish

    It has been reported that an old project to facilitate the movement of Hilsa upstream along the Ganga to its spawning grounds of yore may come to fruition this year.

    What is the news?

    • Back in February 2019, the government had unveiled a project to redesign the navigation lock at the Farakka Barrage at a cost of Rs 360 crore to create a “fish pass” for the Hilsa.

    Hilsa Fish

    • In scientific parlance, the Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) is an anadromous fish.
    • It lives most of its life in the ocean, but during the rainy season, the Hilsa moves towards the estuary, where the rivers of India and Bangladesh meet the Bay of Bengal.
    • A large part of the shoal travels upstream in the Padma and the Ganga — some are known to move towards the Godavari, and there are records of Hilsa migration to the Cauvery.
    • Culinary lore has it that the fish that travel the farthest upstream have the best combination of the flavours of the sea and the river.

    Try this question from CSP 2019:

    Q. Consider the following pairs:

    Wildlife Naturally found in
    1. Blue-finned Mahseer Cauvery River
    2. Irrawaddy Dolphin Chambal River
    3. Rusty-spotted Cat Eastern Ghats

    Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

    a) 1 and 2 only

    b) 2 and 3 only

    c) 1 and 3 only

    d) 1, 2 and 3

    Obstructions created by Farakka Barrage

    • Historical records also show that until the 1970s, the Hilsa would swim the Ganga upstream to Allahabad — and even to Agra.
    • But the Farakka Barrage, which became operational on the Ganga in 1975, disrupted the westward movement of the Hilsa.
    • The barrage had a navigation lock that stopped the fish from swimming upstream beyond Farakka.
    • In Buxar on the border of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the last recorded catch of the Hilsa was made 32 years ago.
    • The role of the Farakka Barrage in disrupting the Hilsa’s journey is well documented and has been discussed in Parliament as well.
    • On August 4, 2016, then Union Water Resources Minister told Lok Sabha about plans to create “fish ladders” to help the fish navigate the obstacle posed by the barrage.

    Fish ladders/fishways/fish passes

    • Fish passes — also known as fish ladders or fishways — aim to assist fish in crossing obstacles presented by dams and barrages.
    • They usually consist of small steps that allow the fish to climb over the obstacles and enable them to reach the open waters on the other side.

  • [pib] Seaweeds Mission

    TIFAC has unveiled a Seaweed Mission for commercial farming of seaweeds and its processing for value addition.

    Note the species of edible seaweeds mentioned in the newscard.

    Seaweed Mission

     

    The Mission envisages the following activities:

    • establishing model demonstration farms over one hectare for the cultivation of economically important seaweeds in nearshore and onshore along the Indian coast
    • Kappaphycus all over Indian coast
    • Gracilaria dura in Gujarat
    • Gracilariaverrucosa in Chilika Lake (Odisha)
    • Ulva Linza or Ulva prolife rain Chilika Lake (Odisha)
    • Ulva Lactuca or Ulva fasciata or Ulva indica all over India coast

    Proposed Sites: Gujarat / Tamil Nadu / Andhra Pradesh / Odisha / Karnataka

    Seaweed production in India

    • Out of the global seaweed production of ~ 32 million tons fresh weight valued around 12 billion US dollars. China produces ~57 %, Indonesia ~28% followed by South Korea.
    • India is having a mere share of ~0.01-0.02%.
    • Despite several advantages, commercial seaweeds cultivation has not been taken place in the country at an appropriate scale, as being practised in South-East Asian countries.
    • By an estimate, if cultivation is done in ≈10 million hectares or 5% of the EEZ area of India, it can provide employment to ~ 50 million people.
    • Seaweed cultivation also enhances ocean productivity, abates algal blooms and sequesters millions of tons CO2.

     

  • A resilient future for Uttarakhand

    The article discusses the factors that could explain the cause of the recent flash floods in Uttarakhand and suggest the immediate steps to deal with such disasters.

    What makes Uttarakhand vulnerable

    • Days after a glacier burst in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand caused flash floods, the scientific community is still struggling to understand what triggered the disaster.
    • Uttarakhand is located in the midst of young and unstable mountains and is subject to intense rainfall.
    • For years experts have voiced their fears about an impending disaster due to climate change, rapid and indiscriminate construction activities, and the subsequent ecological destruction in the region.
    • Studies have shown that widespread settlements, farming, cattle grazing and other anthropogenic activities could destroy the natural barriers that control avalanches and floods, thereby enhancing the possibilities of a glacial lake outburst flood.
    • The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment Report (2019) had pointed out that one-third of the Hindu Kush Himalaya’s glaciers would melt by 2100 and potentially destabilise the river regime in Asia, even if all the countries in the region fulfilled their commitments under the Paris Agreement.

    Possible causes of the current glacial outburst

    • The current glacier burst was loosely attributed to erosion, a build-up of water pressure, an avalanche of snow or rocks, landslides or an earthquake under the ice.
    • A rock mass, weakened from years of freezing and thawing of snow, may have led to the creation of a weak zone and fractures leading to a collapse that resulted in flash floods.

    Issue of construction activity

    • Experts and activists have incessantly asked for scrutiny into the construction of hydroelectric power projects in Uttarakhand.
    • There have also been allegations about the use of explosives in the construction of dams and other infrastructure.
    • In 2014, an expert committee led by Dr Ravi Chopra, instituted to assess the role of dams in exacerbating floods, provided hard evidence on how haphazard construction of dams was causing irreversible damage to the region.

    7 Immediate steps

    • 1) Investing in resilience planning, especially in flood prevention and rapid response.
    • 2) Climate proofing the infrastructure such as by applying road stabilisation technologies for fragile road networks and strengthening existing structures like bridges, culverts and tunnels.
    • 3) Strengthening embankments with adequate scientific know-how
    • 4) Reassessing development of hydropower and other public infrastructure.
    • 5) Investing in robust monitoring and early warning system.
    • 6) Establishing implementable policies and regulatory guidelines to restrict detrimental human activities, including responsible eco- and religious tourism policies.
    • 7) Investing in training and capacity building to educate and empower local communities to prevent and manage risks effectively.

    Consider the question “What are the factors that make Uttarakhand vulnerable to natural disasters? Suggest the measures to prevent and deal with the disasters” 

    Conclusion

    India needs to urgently rise up to the challenge by applying innovative and inclusive solutions that support nature and marginalised communities, to restore and rebuild a resilient future for Uttarakhand.

  • Role of dams in Uttarakhand floods

    The article explains the link between the disasters in the Uttarakhand and the construction of dams.

    How dams exacerbate disasters

    • The use of explosives has repeatedly been questioned for dam construction, and the construction of other infrastructure projects, such as roads, in the fragile Himalayan State.
    • Other than this, deforestation takes place when dams are constructed.
    • The construction material that is supposed to be dumped on separate land is often dumped into the rivers.

    The Chopra Committee report after Kedarnath flood

    • The Chopra Committee report of 2014 brings more clarity on how dams exacerbate a disaster such as floods.
    • Its report mentions how dams exacerbated the 2013 deluge, mainly as riverbeds were already raised from the disposed muck at the dam construction sites.
    • The report presents evidence to prove that dams are not only damaged in floods, they also cause immense damage in downstream areas.
    • This is because as floodwaters damage a barrage, they increase the destructive capacity of the water that flows downstream of the barrage.
    • In an affidavit submitted on December 5, 2014 in the Supreme Court, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change acknowledged the adverse impact of dams in the 2013 floods.

    Impact of climate change and threat of earthquakes

    • Himalayan glaciers are receding and disintegrating as a result of climate change, and the snow cover in the Himalayas is also thinning.
    • Research shows an increase in number and volume of glacial lakes as a result of of increased temperatures.
    • For dams, this means rapid increase or decrease in the reservoir water level.
    • It also means that the projections on the life of a dam reservoir may not stand due to erratic events, such as floods, that could rapidly fill a reservoir with muck and boulders brought along with the floods.
    • In terms of earthquake risk, Uttarakhand lies in Seismic Zone-IV (severe intensity) and Seismic Zone-V (very severe intensity).
    • Ignoring this, many dams have been constructed in zones that are under high risk of witnessing severe earthquakes.

    Consider the question “Examine the role played by the dams in exacerbating the disasters in the Himalayan states”

    Conclusion

    It is clear that dams worsen disasters, and for this to be ignored by the State authorities is unfortunate.

  • Flash floods and their mitigation

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the Indian Express.

    What are Flash floods?

    • A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions.
    • It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, tropical storm, or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields.

    Take a glimpse of the series of disasters in Uttarakhand

    Chamoli example

    • Flash flood incident in Uttarakhand is another warning of the dangers that a Himalayan state like Uttarakhand faces from natural processes like landslides, snow avalanches cloudbursts or lake bursts.
    • As we saw in 2013 in the same state, such processes can trigger much bigger disasters and cause massive destruction.
    • But it is possible to work towards minimising the threat of such incidents and reduce their impact.

    Role of glacial lakes

    • There are over 1,000 glaciers in Uttarakhand. Almost all of them are receding. Most of the glaciers also have debris cover.
    • When glaciers retreat due to rising temperatures, the snow melts but the debris remains. This debris aids in the formation of lakes.

    Cause: Retreat of glaciers

    • Glaciers have reduced considerably in mass and surface area since the little ice age period.
    • This has led to the formation of a large number of glacial lakes all across the Himalayas.
    • Many of these high-altitude lakes are potentially dangerous, because of their potential to cause flash floods in the event of a breach.

    How big is the threat?

    • Over the years, the frequency of formation of these lakes has increased.
    • But despite that, there are not many GLOF (glacial lake outburst flood) events happening in Uttarakhand.
    • Not as many as in Sikkim, for example. This is because Uttarakhand has very steep slopes, and the water manages to find a way out.

    What should be done?

    (a) Coherent research

    • There are a lot more glaciologists and others who are working in the area and generating data.
    • Multiple scientific groups and institutions are involved. But there is no coherent output. Lots of data are being generated but not being put to good use.
    • There has to be one agency dedicated to the job.

    (b) Monitoring

    • The first step in tackling the threat from these glacial lakes is to start monitoring them and the glaciers more actively and regularly.
    • There is a need to monitor every glacier. Glaciers in one basin do not have remarkably different properties.
    • Relying only on satellites and remote sensing is not going to be enough.
    • What is required is a consolidated state of glaciers in India, with the ability to zoom in on any of them and track the changes happening year by year.

    (c) Planning

    • Construction-related activities in the state might not have a direct link to Chamoli incident, but these are not entirely benign.
    • The Himalayas are very young mountain systems, and extremely fragile and a minor change in orientation of the rocks can be enough to trigger landslides.
    • It is important to include glaciers in any environment impact assessment for major projects such as the construction of dams.
    • The entire catchment areas should be made part of the impact assessment.

    (d) Mitigation

    • If we monitor the glaciers regularly, it would enable us to identify the lakes that need mitigation solutions.
    • Several structural and geotechnical measures can be applied, and there are successful examples where the threat from these lakes has been reduced.
    • It is possible to construct channels for the gradual and regulated discharge of water from these lakes, which will reduce the pressure on them, and minimise the chances of a breach.
    • At the same time, it also reduces the volume of water that goes into the flash flood. Also, alarm systems can be set up at the lakes that will warn the community downstream whenever an overflow happens.

    Way forward

    • It is not possible to completely prevent these kinds of incidents. But their potential to cause destruction can certainly be minimized.
    • Scientists can find a way to let the lake waters slowly drain at the nearby river at a regulated rate so that there is no flooding, and the pressure on the lake does not become unbearable.
    • Such solutions can be applied in Uttarakhand, and some work is being done.