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Subject: Environment

  • [pib] Regulation of Bio-Medical Waste

     

    The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) / Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) have recently published the details of State/UT-wise quantum of bio-medical waste generation (during 2016-18) in the country.

    Bio-Medical Waste

    Biomedical waste/hospital waste is any kind of waste containing infectious materials.  It may also include waste associated with the generation of biomedical waste that visually appears to be of medical.

    • Hospital waste refers to all waste, biological or non‐ biological that is discarded and not intended for further use.
    • Bio-medical waste means any waste, which is generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities pertaining thereto or in the production or testing of biological and including categories mentioned in Schedule I, of the BMW rules, 2016.

    Who deals with Bio-medical wastes in India?

    • Central Pollution Control Board has been following up with all SPCBs/PCCs to ensure effective management of biomedical waste in States/UTs.

    Collection and disposal

    • The collection and disposal is treated and disposed as per the specified methods of disposal prescribed under Schedule I of the Rules.
    • Bio-medical waste generated from the hospitals shall be treated and disposed by Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility.
    • In case there is no common facility in the reach of a healthcare facility, then such healthcare facility should install captive treatment and disposal facility.
    • There are 200 authorized Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facilities (CBWTFs) in 28 States for environmentally safe disposal of biomedical waste.
    • Remaining 7 States namely Goa, Andaman Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim do not have CBWTFs.

    Categorization

    As informed by CPCB and as per Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, Bio-medical waste is required to be segregated in 4 color coded waste categories.

    • Common methods of treatment and disposal of bio-medical waste are by incineration/plasma pyrolysis/deep-burial for Yellow Category waste;
    • Autoclaving/microwaving/chemical disinfection for Red Category waste;
    • Sterilization and shredding, disinfection followed by burial in concrete pit/recycling through foundry/encapsulation for White Category sharps waste; and
    • Washing, disinfection followed by recycling for Blue Category glass waste.

  • Energy stored in wastewater

    The world generates about 380 trillion litres (tl) wastewater every year. These stores vast amounts of energy, nutrients for fertilizers besides, of course, water, according to recent study by the UN Institute for Water Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).

    Energy in wastewater

    • In principle, nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium recovered from wastewater produced annually can offset 13.4 per cent of global demand to produce fertilizers.
    • Assuming full-energy recovery, the study estimated, current wastewater volume could provide enough methane fuel to power 196 million households by 2030 and 239 million households by 2050.
    • Usable water reclaimed from wastewater can irrigate up to 31 million hectares (mha) of land, the study claimed.
    • The volume of wastewater being generated is projected to rise roughly 24 per cent by 2030 to 470 tl and 51 per cent by 2050 to 574 tl.
    • Treating wastewater efficiently can go a long way in achieving the UN-mandated sustainable development goals (SDG).

    About UNU-INWEH

    • UNU-INWEH acts as the “UN Think Tank on Water” and contributes to the resolution of the global water challenge through a unique programme of applied research and education.
    • It conceives, develops, and manages water initiatives that help developing countries build their capacity for lasting improvements in human and ecosystem health, and overall reduction in poverty.
    • The  University is not a traditional university in the sense of having a faculty, campus, or students.
    • They respond directly to the regional and global water crisis and facilitate efforts to meet UN Development goals by providing a scientific evidence base.
    • UNU-INWEH carries out its work in cooperation with other research institutions, international organizations, individual scholars, and scientists throughout the world.

  • Forest Fire: Its Prevention and Management

    The Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has informed that area covering 93,273 hectares was affected by forest fires in 2019. Most of the fires have been “ground fires” burning ground vegetation.

    Measures to curb Forest fires:

    1) National Action Plan on Forest Fires

    • The MoEFCC has prepared a National Action Plan on Forest Fires in 2018 after several rounds of consultation with all states and UTs.
    • The objective of this plan is to minimize forest fires by informing, enabling and empowering forest fringe communities and incentivizing them to work in tandem with the State Forest Departments.
    • The plan also intends to substantially reduce the vulnerability of forests across diverse forest ecosystems in the country against fire hazards, enhance capabilities of forest personnel and institutions in fighting fires and swift recovery subsequent to fire incidents.

    2) Forest Fire Prevention and Management scheme

    • The MoEFCC provides forest fire prevention and management measures under the Centrally Sponsored Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FPM) scheme.
    • The FPM is the only centrally funded program specifically dedicated to assist the states in dealing with forest fires.
    • The FPM replaced the Intensification of Forest Management Scheme (IFMS) in 2017. By revamping the IFMS, the FPM has increased the amount dedicated for forest fire work.
    • Funds allocated under the FPM are according to the 90:10 ratio of central to state funding in the Northeast and Western Himalayan regions and 60:40 ratio for all other states.
    • Nodal officers for forest fire prevention and control have been appointed in each state.

  • Ujh Multi-purpose Project

     

    The Union government has approved a nearly ₹6,000-crore multi-purpose project for the Ujh multi-purpose project.

    Ujh Multi-purpose Project

    • The project will store around 781 million cubic meters of water of river Ujh, a tributary of river Ravi.
    • It aims to provide uninterrupted water for irrigation to farmers in J&K’s Kathua district and to produce power.
    • After completion of the project, utilization of waters of eastern rivers allotted to India as per the Indus Water Treaty would be enhanced by utilising the flow that presently goes across the border to Pakistan.

    Back2Basics

    Indus Waters Treaty, 1960

    • The IWT is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank signed in Karachi in 1960.
    • According to this agreement, control over the water flowing in three “eastern” rivers of India — the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej was given to India
    • The control over the water flowing in three “western” rivers of India — the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum was given to Pakistan
    • The treaty allowed India to use western rivers water for limited irrigation use and unrestricted use for power generation, domestic, industrial and non-consumptive uses such as navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc. while laying down precise regulations for India to build projects
    • India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run of the river (RoR) projects on the Western Rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation is unrestricted.

    Present Status of Development

    • To utilize the waters of the Eastern rivers which have been allocated to India for exclusive use, India has constructed Bhakra Dam on Satluj, Pong and Pandoh Dam on Beas and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on Ravi.
    • These storage works, together with other works like Beas-Sutlej Link, Madhopur-Beas Link, Indira Gandhi Nahar Project etc has helped India utilize nearly entire share (95 %) of waters of Eastern rivers.
    • However, about 2 MAF of water annually from Ravi is reported to be still flowing unutilized to Pakistan below Madhopur.
    • The three projects will help India to utilize its entire share of waters given under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960:

    I. Resumption of Construction of Shahpurkandi project

    • It is a dam project under construction on Ravi River.

    II. Construction of Ujh multipurpose project

    • It is a dam project under construction on Ujh, a tributary of Ravi River.

    III. 2nd Ravi Beas link below Ujh

    • This project is being planned to tap excess water flowing down to Pakistan through river Ravi, even after construction of Thein Dam.
    • It aims constructing a barrage across river Ravi for diverting water through a  tunnel link to Beas basin.

  • Species in news: Flame-throated Bulbul

    The flame-throated bulbul, also called the Rubigula, was chosen as the mascot of the 36th National Games to be held in Goa. It is the State bird of Goa.

    Flame-throated Bulbul

    IUCN status: Least Concern

    • The Flame-throated Bulbul is endemic to southern peninsular India where it is locally distributed in southern Andhra Pradesh, eastern Karnataka, Goa, Orissa, eastern Kerala and northern Tamil Nadu.
    • It prefer habitats like rocky, scrub-covered hills mostly in the Eastern Ghats and central peninsular India but also in some places in the Western Ghats.
    • It is a Schedule – IV bird under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

  • [op-ed snap]Partners in action

    Context

    Both India and the UK are exploring how best to develop the technology and investment needed to spur the transition from fossil to renewable fuels and make this a beneficial trajectory for everyone.

    Areas of collaboration with the UK

    • Resilience to climate change: To build resilience to climate risks, the U.K. is working with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act to build flood defences and river structures to encourage aquifer replenishment.
    • Monsoon forecasting: Together with India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences, we are gathering land, sea and atmospheric data to help deliver a decisive step forward in monsoon forecasting.
    • Electric mobility: On electric mobility, a major joint venture between UK’s EO Charging and India’s Yahhvi Enterprises will deliver world-class smart charging infrastructure for electric vehicles across India.
    • Finance of Green Growth Equity Fund: On finance, the U.K. government committed 240 million pounds of anchor capital in the Green Growth Equity Fund.
      • Its first investment going to Ayana Renewable Power, which is developing 800MW of solar generation capacity.

    India’s efforts to tackle climate change

    • India’s size and ecological diversity have placed it on the frontlines of global warming.
    • India walking the talk on climate change: It is on course to deliver the target of 40 per cent electricity generation from non-fossil fuels by 2030.
    • ISA: India has already demonstrated this personal commitment on the world stage with the India-led International Solar Alliance.
    • CDRI: India also announced the global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, both of which the UK a part of.
    • India and the UK can also work together on–
      • Resilience and adaption.
      • Clean energy.
      • Green finance and nature-based solutions.
      • Infrastructure development.
      • Sustainable energy and smart cities.

    Conclusion

    India and the UK need to make sure that the present partnership on climate and the environment go from strength to strength in the future.

  • IMO Sulphur regulations for Shipping

    The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the shipping agency of the United Nations issued new rules aiming to reduce sulphur emissions, due to which ships are opting for newer blends of fuels.

    What do the new IMO rules say?

    • The IMO has banned ships from using fuels with sulphur content above 0.5 per cent, compared with 3.5 per cent previously.
    • Sulphur oxides (SOx), which are formed after combustion in engines, are known to cause respiratory symptoms and lung disease, while also leading to acid rain.
    • The new regulations, called IMO 2020, have been regarded as the biggest shake up for the oil and shipping industries in decades. It affects more than 50,000 merchant ships worldwide.
    • The new limits are monitored and enforced by national authorities of countries that are members of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI.

    Cleaner options

    • Under the new policy, only ships fitted with sulphur-cleaning devices, known as scrubbers, are allowed to continue burning high-sulphur fuel.
    • Alternatively, Ships can opt for cleaner fuels, such as marine gasoil (MGO) and very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO).
    • Of the two cleaner fuels, ship-owners were expected to opt for MGO, which is made exclusively from distillates, and has low sulphur content.
    • However, many are reportedly choosing VLSFO, which has better calorific properties and other technical advantages.

    Issues with the rule

    • There are complaints against VLSFO as well, as testing companies have claimed that high sediment formation due to the fuel’s use could damage vessel engines.
    • VLSFO, with 0.5 per cent sulphur content, can contain a large percentage of aromatic compounds, thus having a direct impact on black carbon emissions.
    • Black carbon, which is produced due to the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels, contributes to climate change.

  • Plantation Corporation of India

    The Union government is likely to announce the setting up of a Plantation Corporation of India in the upcoming budget.

    Plantation Corporation of India

    • The PCI will subsume all afforestation-related schemes currently underway in India including the Green India Mission, National Afforestation Programme and compensatory afforestation.
    • The corporation will use Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) money to undertake the plantations and investment will also come from the global pension fund.
    • CAF is a huge corpus of money collected from projects proponents for diverting forest land to be used for non-forestry activity.

    Issues with PCI

    • Critics have raised concerns over the move’s impact on the federal structure of forest governance in the country.
    • While forests are a concurrent subject, land-related issues are the responsibility of the states.

  • Reintroduction of African Cheetahs in Indian forests

     

    The Supreme Court lifted its seven-year stay on a proposal to introduce African cheetahs from Namibia into the Indian habitat on an experimental basis. The plan was to revive the Indian cheetah population.

    Asiatic cheetahs in India

    • In 1947, Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh of Deoghar of Koriya, Chhattisgarh — who was infamous for shooting over 1,150 tigers — reportedly killed the last known Asiatic cheetah in India.
    • In that year, a few miles from Ramgarh village in the state, the Maharaja killed three of the animals — brothers — during a night drive.
    • After that, the Maharaja’s kin continued to report the presence of a few stragglers in the forests of Surguja district, including a pregnant female, up until the late 1960s.
    • Some more unconfirmed sightings were reported in 1951 and 1952, from the Orissa-Andhra Pradesh border and Chittoor district.
    • The latter sighting is generally accepted to be the final credible sighting of a cheetah in India. In 1952, the cheetah was officially declared extinct from India.

    African cheetah and Asiatic cheetah

    • Before Namibia, India had approached Iran for Asiatic cheetahs, but had been refused.
    • The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List, and is believed to survive only in Iran.
    • From 400 in the 1990s, their numbers are estimated to have plummetted to 50-70 today, because of poaching, hunting of their main prey (gazelles) and encroachment on their habitat.
    • ‘Critically endangered’ means that the species faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

    Why does NTCA want to reintroduce cheetahs?

    • A section of conservationists has long advocated the reintroduction of the species in the country.
    • Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognised as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions.
    • The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been extirpated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times.
    • India now has the economic ability to consider restoring its lost natural heritage for ethical as well as ecological reasons.

    Why was the project halted?

    • The court was also worried whether the African cheetahs would find the sanctuary a favourable clime as far as abundance of prey is concerned.
    • Those who challenged the plan argued that the habitat of cheetahs needed to support a genetically viable population.

    What did court say?

    • The Supreme Court made it clear that a proper survey should be done to identify the best possible habitat for the cheetahs.
    • Every effort should be taken to ensure that they adapt to the Indian conditions.
    • The committee would help, advice and monitor the NTCA on these issues. The action of the introduction of the animal would be left to the NTCA’s discretion.

  • 10 more wetlands from India get the Ramsar site tag

    Ramsar has declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international importance.

    News Ramsar Wetlands

    With this, the numbers of Ramsar sites in India are now 37 and the surface area covered by these sites is now 1,067,939 hectares.

    1. Maharashtra gets its first Ramsar site (Nandur Madhameshwar) ,
    2. Punjab which already had 3 Ramsar sites adds 3 more (Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve, Nangal) and
    3. UP with 1 Ramsar site has added 6 more (Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and Sarsai Nawar).

    Why conserve wetlands?

    • Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control and climate regulation.
    • They are, in fact, are a major source of water and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands which help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater.

    Back2Basics

    Ramsar Convention

    • The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (better known as the Ramsar Convention) is an international agreement promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
    • It is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem.
    • The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
    • Traditionally viewed as a wasteland or breeding ground of disease, wetlands actually provide freshwater and food, and serve as nature’s shock absorber.
    • Wetlands, critical for biodiversity, are disappearing rapidly, with recent estimates showing that 64% or more of the world’s wetlands have vanished since 1900.
    • Major changes in land use for agriculture and grazing, water diversion for dams and canals and infrastructure development are considered to be some of the main causes of loss and degradation of wetlands.