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Subject: Environment

  • Species in news: Great Indian Bustard

    Since June last year, nine GIB eggs collected from the Desert National Park in Jaisalmer where a conservation centre has been set up, have hatched, and the chicks are reported to be doing well.

    Great Indian Bustard

    • The Great Indian Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds, can weigh up to 15 kg and grow up to one metre in height.
    • It is considered the flagship grassland species, representing the health of the grassland ecology.
    • For long, conservationists have been demanding to secure this population, warning that the bird might get extinct in the coming decades.
    • It would become the first mega species to disappear from India after Cheetah in recent times.
    • Till 1980s, about 1,500-2,000 Great Indian Bustards were spread throughout the western half of India, spanning eleven states.
    • However, with rampant hunting and declining grasslands, their population dwindled.
    • In July 2011, the bird was categorised as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

    Various threats to GIBs

    I. General threats to GIB

    • Habitat loss & fragmentation, change of land use pattern, desertification, ill-thought plantation of exotic & invasive species in grassland ecosystems are some of the generic causes.
    • Neglect of state institutions due to classification of ‘grasslands’ as ‘wastelands’, conversion of grasslands to agriculture lands due to increasing irrigation potential and decline of nature/GIB-friendly agrarian practices, are all commonly and correctly blamed for the steady decline in India’s GIB population.

    II. Role of Noise Pollution

    • Noise pollution affects the mating and courtship practices of the GIB.
    • The male GIB inflates his ‘gular’ pouch (near the neck) which almost touches the ground, in order to produce a large booming sound which reverberates across the grassland.
    • The male GIB does this to attract GIB females and to inform them of his exact location in the vast expanse of the grassland.
    • Thus, the sound of the male GIB should be loud enough to transcend the walls of the sanctuary and be audible to female GIBs in the fields nearby.
    • The noise generated by human activities, whether be it by vehicles, tractors, music during processions, firecrackers, may interfere with the GIB’s mating call and drown it out.

    III. Other threats

    • The rate of reproduction amongst GIBs is very low; the female GIB lays only one egg per year.
    • This solitary egg is under threat from natural predators of the grasslands such as jackals, hyenas or foxes or invasive species such as crows or feral dogs.
    • In such a scenario, every opportunity the GIBs lose to mate pushes the species closer to extinction.

    Protection Measures

    • Birdlife International uplisted this species from Endangered to Critically Endangered (2011)
    • Protection under CITES Appendix I
    • Protection under Schedule I Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2002
    • Project Great Indian Bustard (Rajasthan):  aims at identifying and fencing off bustard breeding grounds in existing protected areas as well as provide secure breeding enclosures in areas outside protected areas.

  • Blaze down under

    Context

    In Australia, forest fires, among the worst in the country’s history, have been raging since September and show no signs of abating.

     Unabated fire in Australia

    • The fire, worst in Australia’s history, has been raging since September and shows no signs of abating.
    • At least 24 people lost their lives, 500 million animal have perished, and more than 12bn acres of land has turned to cinders.
    • New South Wales, the country’s worst-affected state, declared an emergency last week in its southeastern region.

    Climate change and the fire

    • Australians have vented their anger at Prime Minister for playing down the blaze’s association with climate change.
    • Bushfires are actually a part of Australia’s ecosystem. Many plants depend on them to cycle nutrients and clear vegetation.
    • Eucalyptus trees in Australia depend on fire to release their seeds.
    • The prolonged blaze this year has coincided with Australia’s harshest summer.
    • Parts of the country recorded their highest recorded temperature in December.
    • Much of Australia is facing a drought that is a result of three consecutive summers with very little precipitation.
    • This, according to climate scientists, is unprecedented.
    • Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s 2018 State of the Climate report had given a hint of the change.
    • It said “Australia’s climate has warmed by just over 1 degree Celsius since 1910, leading to an increase in the frequency of extreme heat events.’’
    • This has led to more rainfall in northern Australia but created drought-like conditions in the more densely populated southeast.

    Damage caused to the flora and fauna of Australia

    • Australia is home to nearly 250 animal species.
    • Some of them like the koalas and kangaroos are not found elsewhere.
    • The region also has the highest rate of native animals going extinct over the past 200 years.
    • Experts, for example, reckon that more than a quarter of the koala habitat has been consumed by the blaze.
    • The fires have also caused a drop in the bird, rodent and insect populations.

    Conclusion

    • These creatures perished are the building blocks of the ecosystem and the fall in their population is bound to have long-term impacts. In Australia’s bushfires lies a warning about the complex ways in which climate variables interact.

  • Miyawaki Method

    Kerala Forest Dept. has adopted Miyawaki afforestation concept to be used in govt. offices, schools and puramboke land.

    Miyawaki Method

    • Miyawaki method is a method of urban afforestation by turning backyards into mini-forests.
    • It includes planting trees as close as possible in the same area which not only saves space, but the planted saplings also support each other in growth and block sunlight reaching the ground, thereby preventing the growth of weed.
    • Thus the saplings become maintenance-free (self sustainable) after the first three years.
    • It helps to create a forest in just 20 to 30 years while through conventional methods it takes anywhere between 200 to 300 years.

    The technique

    • The native trees of the region are identified and divided into four layers — shrub, sub-tree, tree, and canopy.
    • The quality of soil is analysed and biomass which would help enhance the perforation capacity, water retention capacity, and nutrients in it, is mixed with it.
    • A mound is built with the soil and the seeds are planted at a very high density — three to five sapling per square meter.
    • The ground is covered with a thick layer of mulch.

  • Smog Tower

    Recently New Delhi got its first smog tower (a prototype air purifier). In November, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre and the Delhi government to prepare a plan to install ‘smog towers’ across the capital to deal with air pollution.

    What is a ‘Smog Tower’?

    • Smog towers are structures designed to work as large-scale air purifiers.
    • They are usually fitted with multiple layers of air filters, which clean the air of pollutants as it passes through them.
    • The smog tower installed at Lajpat Nagar is capable of treating 6,00,000 cubic metres of air per day and can collect more than 75 per cent of particulate matters (PM) 2.5 and 10.
    • After the cleaning, the tower releases clean air.
    • The project is collaboration between the IIT Bombay, IIT-Delhi and the University of Minnesota, the latter having helped design a similar tower of over 100 metres in China’s Xi’an city.
    • The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will also be involved with the project.

    How it works?

    • The 20-metre (65 feet) high tower will trap particulate matter of all sizes suspended in the air.
    • Large-scale air filters shall draw in the air through fans installed at the top before passing it through the filters and releasing it near the ground.
    • The filters installed in the tower will use carbon nanofibres as a major component and will be fitted along its peripheries. The tower will focus on reducing particulate matter load.

    Other examples in the world

    • China, which has been battling air pollution for years, has two smog towers — in its capital Beijing and in the northern city of Xi’an.
    • The Xi’an tower is dubbed the world’s largest, and has reportedly brought down PM 2.5 by 19% in an area of around 6 sq km in its vicinity.
    • The 100-metre (328 feet) high tower has produced 10 million cubic metres of clean air every day since its launch.
    • On severely polluted days the tower is able to bring down smog close to moderate levels.

  • Carbon Stock in Indian forests

    • The State of Forest Report (SFR) 2019 has shown an increase in the carbon stock trapped in Indian forests in the last two years.
    • However it shows why it is going to be an uphill task for India in meeting one of its international obligations on climate change.

    India’s carbon commitment

    • India, as part of its contribution to the global fight against climate change, has committed itself to creating an “additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent” by 2030.
    • That is one of the three targets India has set for itself in its climate action plan, called Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, that every country has to submit under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
    • The other two relate to an improvement in emissions intensity and an increase in renewable energy deployment.
    • India has said it would reduce its emissions intensity (emissions per unit of GDP) by 33% to 35% by 2030 compared to 2005.
    • It has also promised to ensure that at least 40% of its cumulative electricity generation in 2030 would be done through renewable energy.

    What is the relationship between forests and carbon?

    • Forests, by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for the process of photosynthesis, act as a natural sink of carbon.
    • Together with oceans, forests absorb nearly half of global annual carbon dioxide emissions.
    • In fact, the carbon currently stored in the forests exceeds all the carbon emitted in the atmosphere since the start of the industrial age.
    • An increase in the forest area is thus one of the most effective ways of reducing the emissions that accumulate in the atmosphere every year.

    How do the latest forest data translate into carbon equivalent?

    • The latest forest survey shows that the carbon stock in India’s forests (not including tree cover outside of forest areas) have increased from 7.08 billion tonnes in 2017.
    • This translates into 26.14 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent as of now.
    • It is estimated that India’s tree cover outside of forests would contribute another couple of billion of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

    How challenging does this make it for India in meeting its target?

    • An assessment by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) last year had projected that, by 2030, the carbon stock in forests as well as tree cover was likely to reach 31.87 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
    • An additional 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of sink, as India has promised to do, would mean taking the size of the sink close to 35 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
    • Considering the rate of growth of the carbon sink in the last few years, that is quite a stiff target India has set for itself.
    • In the last two years, the carbon sink has grown by just about 0.6%%. Even compared to 2005, the size of carbon sink has increased by barely 7.5%.
    • To meet its NDC target, even with most optimistic estimates of carbon stock trapped in trees outside of forest areas, the sink has to grow by at least 15% to 20% over the next ten-year period.

    Way Forward

    • There are two key decisions to be made in this regard — selection of the baseline year, and addition of the contribution of the agriculture sector to carbon sink.
    • When India announced its NDC in 2015, it did not mention the baseline year.
    • India’s emissions intensity target uses a 2005 baseline, so there is an argument that the forest target should also have the same baseline.
    • But there is a strong demand for a 2015 baseline as well, so that it results in some concrete progress in adding new forest cover.
    • The NDC specifically mentions that and “additional” 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon sink would be created through additional forest and tree cover by 2030 MoEFCC insist that tree cover outside forest areas must include agriculture as well.
    • India would also have to specify whether it wants to count the carbon sink in the agriculture sector in its target.

  • India’s policies for ‘Urban Lakes’

    Context

    • Historically, cities were built along waterways or lakes.
    • Over time, human settlements near water bodies and lakes have transformed the natural environment into the towns and cities we see today.
    • Urban lakes are an important part of city ecosystems as they play a major role in providing environmental, social and economic services.

    Famous Urban Lakes in India

    Carambolim (Goa), Chilika (Odisha), Dal (Jammu and Kashmir), Deepor Beel (Assam), Khabartal (Bihar), Kolleru (Andhra Pradesh), Loktak (Manipur), Naini (Uttrakhand), Nalsarovar (Gujarat), and Vembanad (Kerala)

    Threats to these Lakes

    These lake ecosystems are presently endangered due to anthropogenic disturbances caused by Urbanisation as they have been heavily degraded due to pollution from disposal of untreated local sewage or due to encroachment, resulting in shrunken lakes.

    Why conserve them?

    • Lakes in urban areas provide us with prime opportunities for recreation, tourism and domestic purposes.
    • They hold historical and traditional values and at places are a source of water supply for a municipality.
    • Appropriate lake function can ease the impact of floods and droughts by storing large amounts of water and releasing it during shortages.
    • Lakes also help in replenishing groundwater level as they are essential receptors for groundwater recharge, positively influencing water quality of downstream watercourses and preserving the biodiversity and habitat of the surrounding area.
    • Lakes in urban areas are also used as a source of water for industries, irrigation and agriculture.

    Defining Urban Lakes

    • There is no specific definition for ‘urban lakes’ in India.
    • According to the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP), a water body having a minimum depth of three metres, spread over more than 10 hectares, and having no or very little aquatic vegetation, is considered as a lake.

    The definition provided by NLCP is based on broad hydrological and morphometry criteria of a lake:

    • The apparent definition of urban lakes seems to those located entirely within city limits (census town) and directly surrounded by urban developments, with some recreation facilities limited to the shoreline area (parks, playgrounds).

    OR

    • The lakes which are predominantly affected by urban human populations and their drainage basin is dominated by urbanisation, rather than geology, soils or agriculture. Such lakes are situated only partially within city limits, or attached but not necessarily surrounded, entirely by city development.

    Issues with the definition

    • One of the obstacles for effective protection of these interlinked lakes in cities is the lack of a clear definition of an ‘urban lake’ in the Indian context.
    • The definition provided under the guideline of NLCP acknowledges only broad hydrological criteria to define a water body as a lake.
    • This definition ignores the fact that the water depth and spread keep changing every year, depending on various environmental factors.
    • In fact, there are very few urban lakes that fit into this definition since most of them occupy a small area (<10 ha), are seasonal and shallow.

    Various policy measures

    Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act in 1974

    • Planning interventions for water bodies started as early as 1927.
    • In the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act in 1974, directions were given to control the flow of sewage and industrial effluents into water bodies.

    Ramsar Convention

    • The need for lake conservation was felt when India became a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 1982.
    • The Convention called for the conservation and wise use of wetlands (including water bodies).
    • Twenty-six Ramsar sites, covering an area of 689,000 ha, were identified in India.

    National Wetland Conservation Programme

    • The Indian government operationalised the Programme in closed collaboration with concerned state governments during 1985-86 under the MoEFCC notification.
    • Recognising the importance of lakes, the Ministry launched NLCP, a centrally sponsored scheme exclusively aimed at restoring the water quality and ecology of lakes in different parts of the country.
    • Under the programme, 115 wetlands were identified, which required urgent conservation and management initiatives.
    • The selection of lakes was on hydrological (Lake size over 10 acres or 3 acres if of religious and cultural importance and lake depth more than three metres), scientific and administrative criteria.
    • The scheme was approved by the Union government during the Ninth Plan (June 2001) as 100 per cent central grant.
    • From 100 per cent central funding, the costs are now shared according to a ratio of 70:30 between the Union and the concerned state government.

    Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Waterbodies’ Scheme

    • In continuation with the NLCP, the Centre had launched this Scheme in 2005,
    • The objectives of the scheme were comprehensive improvement and restoration of traditional waterbodies, including increasing tank storage capacity, ground water recharge, etc.

    National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA)

    • Later, in 2016, the National Lake Conservation Plan was merged with National Wetlands Conservation Programme to form NPCA.
    • The principal objectives of NPCA are holistic conservation and the restoration of lakes and wetlands through an integrated and multidisciplinary approach with a common regulatory framework.
    • All lakes that were a part of NLCP, were brought under this scheme, and are being restored till date.

    Why Urban Lakes still needs more attention?

    • Even after 26 years of pollution abatement works, only ten per cent of waste water generated in the country is treated.
    • The rest collects as cess pools or is discharged into the 14 major, 55 minor and several hundred other rivers.
    • It is quite clear that the overall status of quality of water in rivers, lakes and its links to groundwater has not been adequately addressed.
    • Out of the 43 Indian guidelines passed by the central and state government, 41 per cent of those talk about conservation and restoration of waterbodies but only 10 per cent exactly describe the conservative measure.
    • Only 22 per cent of the guidelines are on subjects related to policies to be adopted by state government, urban local bodies etc.
    • This clearly identifies the missing links and marks the future prospects that India should adopt for the preparation of better and sustainable lake management plans.

    Need for a comprehensive Lake Management Plan

    • ‘Lake management planning’ is an approach for different stakeholders to come together with a common interest in improving and protecting their lake.
    • Focusing on planning process rather than quick-fix solutions makes lake rejuvenation a manageable process.
    • Moreover, it guides how time and resources are utilised, keeping future sustainability of the lake in account.  It includes:
    1. Encourages partnerships between concerned citizens, special interest groups, government body and water resources management practitioners
    2. Identifies the concerns regarding the catchment/watershed of the lake
    3. Sets realistic goals, objectives, and (short, medium and long-term) actions, and identifies needed funds and personnel.

    Conclusion

    • Under the Jal Shakti mission and AMRUT, the revival /rejuvenation of water bodies is in piecemeal approach, with short-term measures like beautification, enhancing recreational activities, addressing immediate solid waste dumping into waterbody etc.
    • Although cities have initiated to work towards water bodies’ rejuvenation, the long-term approach is still missing.

    Way Forward

    • Since a lake is a reflection of its catchment area, it is essential to first understand the significant changes or trends concerning the primary land uses within the catchment area / watershed draining into the lake.
    • There is no approach which defines the planning process for preparation of short, medium and long-term action plans for lake rejuvenation, considering its watershed area.
    • It is essential to have a document with clear understanding of the lake’s watershed area, with specific goals, objectives, producing time-bound action plans.
    • Conservation of Lakes and wetlands through an integrated and multidisciplinary approach with a common regulatory framework should be carried out.

  • Turtle rehab centre in Bhagalpur, Bihar

    A first-of-its-kind rehabilitation centre for freshwater turtles will be inaugurated in Bihar’s Bhagalpur forest division in January 2020.

    About the rehab centre

    • The centre, spread over half a hectare, will be able to shelter 500 turtles at a time.
    • Earlier, rescued turtles were released into rivers without much treatment in the absence of any facility.
    • In the rehab centre they will be properly monitored before being released in their natural habitat.

    Why need such centre?

    • The need to build such a centre was felt after several turtles were found severely wounded and sick when rescued from smuggles by rescue teams.
    • This centre will play a significant role in treating these animals and their proper upkeep before being returned to their natural habitat.

    Why Bhagalpur?

    • Eastern Bihar has been an ideal breeding ground for turtles.
    • In Bhagalpur, the flow of water in the Ganga is ample. Also, there are many sandbanks in the middle of the river, which are ideal breeding ground for turtles.

    Significance of turtles

    • According to environmentalists, the turtles play a significant role in the river by scavenging dead organic materials and diseased fish.
    • They control fish population by their predation and control aquatic plants and weeds.
    • They are also described as indicators of healthy aquatic ecosystems.

    Various threats

    • According to a recent study conducted by Traffic India, around 11,000 turtles are being smuggled in India every year. In the past 10 years, as many as 110,000 turtles have been traded.
    • These species are now under severe threats due to habitat fragmentation and loss through dams and barrages, pollution, illegal poaching, accidental drowning through fishing nets and threats to their nesting habitats etc.
    • The turtles have come under serious threat primarily for two reasons — food and the flourishing pet trade.
    • Turtles are being frequently targeted for meat due to the prevailing belief that it gives an energy boost and keeps various diseases away.

    Back2Basics

    Operation Save Kurma

    • It is a periodic species specific operation on turtles conducted by Wildlife Crimes Control Bureau since 2017.
    • Under this, a total of 15,739 live turtles were recovered from 45 suspects, having inter-state linkages.
    • It helped the enforcement agencies to focus on the existing trade routes and major trade hubs in the country, which will be continued in future.

  • Species in news: Senna spectabilis


    The Kerala Forest Department is planning to adopt steps to arrest the rampant growth of invasive plants, especially Senna spectabilis, in the forest areas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR).

    Senna spectabilis

    • The Senna spectabilis species was planted as avenue trees in Wayanad. The vayal ecosystem (marshy land) of the forest area now has this plant in large numbers.
    • The spread is posing a major threat to the forest areas of the reserve, owing to its quick growth and coppicing character.
    • The tree species was found in nearly 10 sq km area of the 344.44 sq km sanctuary around five years ago.
    • The plant has started to invade the adjacent Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves in Karnataka and the Mudumalai tiger reserve in Tamil Nadu.
    • Now, it had invaded to more than 50 sq km of the sanctuary Wayanad WLS.
    • A recent study of the Ferns Nature Conservation Society recorded the presence of the plant in 78.91 sq km area of the sanctuary.

    Impact

    • An adult tree grows up to 15 to 20 metres in a short period of time and every year distributes thousands of seeds after gregarious flowering.
    • The thick foliage arrests the growth of other indigenous tree and grass species and causes food shortage for the wildlife population, especially herbivores.
    • Moreover, wildlife will not feed on the leaf of the treeas it is not palatable for them.
    • The allelochemicals produced by this plant adversely affect the germination and growth of the native species.

  • Global Geological And Climatic Events

  • New Species of Plants and Animals Discovered