CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT

Carbon divestment is a shining example

The recent extreme flooding in the United Kingdom and Ireland has highlighted the devastating effect our changing climate can have; but if we do not take action fast, future generations will experience weather shocks on a far greater scale. Our planet is warming to a catastrophic extent, and the human race must step up.

The divestment campaign — which originated in the United States and is now making its way across the Atlantic — is one shining example of what is needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Transforming our economic system to one based on low-carbon production and consumption can create inclusive sustainable development and reduce inequality. To achieve a just transition to a low-carbon economy, it is crucial that we invest in social protection, enhance workers’ skills for redeployment in a low-carbon economy, and promote access to sustainable development for all.

The premise of the divestment campaign is simple: non-profit organisations must move their investments away from fossil fuels, reducing the power and influence this industry has on society.

The reality of climate change may be the catalyst for even more ambitious action.

Role of young people

We already have the scientific knowledge available to us. Among members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations climate panel, there is a 97 per cent consensus that humans are causing global warming. They know that the majority of the world’s fossil fuel reserves must be left in the ground.

The active role of young people is worth noting. As with the anti-apartheid campaign in the 1980s, students today are taking action that can determine their futures — and the futures of generations to come — for the better. They are showing the world that, once again, a transformation in how we grow our economies is essential. This is how intergenerational equity can be achieved: promoting a new investment model that responds to the risks posed by climate change. By avoiding investment in high-carbon assets that become obsolete, and by prioritising sustainable alternatives, we build capacity and resilience, particularly for more vulnerable people — while lowering carbon emissions.

We do not have much time.

Global investment in clean technologies is now at about $300bn a year, but according to the International Energy Agency, this would need to reach $1tn by 2030 to keep within a 2ºC warmer world, the threshold above which climate change would become catastrophic.

Meanwhile, the temptation to invest in coal, oil and gas is heightened by countries’ fossil fuel subsidies that, worldwide, amount to $1.9tn a year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Such subsidies enable the fossil fuel industry to perpetuate the notion that renewable energy is more expensive. Of course, in withdrawing any fossil fuel subsidies, absolute consideration has to be given to accessing energy for the poorest, therefore investment has to be made in sustainable energy alternatives.

Government leaders have an important role to play, and with their electorate behind them, they will be far more willing to act .

Mission to raise forest cover by 50 million ha

The Union government has launched an ambitious project titled ‘Green Mission’ to increase forest cover by 50 million hectares in the next 10 years.

Announcing this at the inaugural session of the two-day ‘International Bamboo Conclave and Expo-2014’ organised by the Bamboo Society of India along with the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (UAS-B), and the Forest Department, Union Minister for Environment and Forests M. Veerappa Moily said the mission was being taken up at a cost of Rs. 36,000 crore.

Delhi’s dream of clean air goes up in smoke-DTE

Delhi lags behind Beijing in controlling air pollution, shows an assessment of air quality data and pollution control measures in the two capital cities by non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). These cities need to clean up their air, but Delhi seems to lack Beijing’s scale, stringency and pace of action. CSE reviewed the official winter air quality data of Delhi (from October 1, 2013, to January 31, 2014) and found that the level of particulate matter less than 2.5 micron (PM2.5), the tiny particles that go deep inside the lungs, is dangerous. On two occasions during smog episodes (December 18 and January 5), PM2.5 levels had exceeded 10 and 8 times the permissible limits. Delhi could meet the standard on only three days during this period. But on 33 per cent of the days monitored this winter, daily levels were between 240 and 360 µg per cubic metre. On 14 per cent of the days, PM2.5 levels were higher than 350 µg per cubic metre. This is in sharp contrast to the official position of IITM-SAFAR, one of government’s monitoring agencies in Delhi, that claimed on February 1, 2014, that levels “hardly ever touched 350 µg per cubic metre”. In January 2014 alone, the levels had crossed 350 µg per cubic metre on nine days, shows Delhi Pollution Control Committee data. In the past four months, only one day would qualify as excellent and four days as good if Beijing’s health alert system is applied to Delhi’s winter pollution

Steps taken by Beijing First generation action plan, until Beijing Olympics (2000- 2008) Implements Euro IV emissions standards Bans registration of diesel cars in 2003 Advanced inspection regime for vehicles Restricts Euro III heavy duty vehicles; restricts and scraps movement of Euro I cars Introduces 20,000 buses, metro and light railway Introduces a system under which different days were fixed for allowing cars with odd or even number plates on roads Implements stringent checks on industries Second generation action plan (2008-2014) Caps the number of cars to be sold in a year Introduces Euro V emissions standards and fuel with 10 ppm sulphur for buses and municipal fleet in February 2013 Introduces vehicle inspection using remote sensing technology Increases parking fee in February 2011 Improves subway and light railway network Hikes subsidy on scrapping vehicles Promotes CNG and electric vehicles

Steps taken by Delhi First generation action (1998-2008) Enforces Euro II emission standards in 2000 and Euro III in 2005 Mandates pre-mix petrol to two- and three-wheelers; introduces unleaded petrol Implements largest ever CNG programme for city buses and three-wheelers Caps the number of three-wheelers Phases out 15-year-old commercial vehicles Strengthens vehicle inspection programme Efforts made to reduce traffic congestion Relocates polluting industries; sets up two natural gas plants; bans open burning Second generation action (2008 - 2014) Expands the metro rail network, introduces 6,000 new buses Introduces Euro IV standards in 2010; upgrades tests for pollution certificates Starts Air Ambience Fund in 2009 for promoting clean air policies Constructs 40 km of cycle tracks with new footpaths in 2010 Nominal increase in parking rates in New Delhi Municipal Council areas

* Delhi’s air levels for the period between October 1, 2013 and January 31, 2014 ** considered unhealthy for people with lung disease, older adults and children ***in μg per cubic metre

Source: Centre for Science and Environment

Double trouble-DTE

BLACK CARBON, a pollutant emitted due to incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel and biomass, is blanketing the atmosphere above the Brahmaputra Valley in two layers. Usually there is just one layer of the pollutant. The valley has been experiencing change in local climate, ostensibly because of the double layers of black carbon. Surface temperature increased at the rate of 0.03 kelvin per year (1 kelvin equals -272ºC) from 1980 to 2005, and precipitation has been increasing at the rate of 4 mm per year.

Black carbon is an aerosol pollutant which does two very different things in the earth’s atmosphere. It reduces the amount of sunlight that reaches the earth’s surface by absorbing and scattering light. But it also absorbs heat and radiates it back to the earth, causing atmospheric warming.

Climate change may lead India to war: UN report

Asia is facing the brunt of climate change and will see severe stress on water resources and food-grain production in the future, increasing the risk of armed conflict among India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China, the latest report of a UN panel has warned.

UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its report assessing impacts of climate change on human health, settlements and natural resources released on Monday, carried a dire warning. "The worst is yet to come," it said, if no measures are taken to curb the ill-effects of global warming.

India, like other developing economies, may lose up to 1.7% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) if the annual mean temperature rises by 1 degree Celsius compared to pre-industrialization level, hitting the poor the most.

The report also predicts an increase in extreme weather events such as last year's flash floods in Uttarakhand and cyclone Phailin in Odisha if steps are not taken to control the rise in temperature.

The report says rise in temperatures would also affect 'beach tourism' in many countries. India surprisingly stands out as the most vulnerable among 51 countries where beach tourism is an important sector.

Climate change is not just about the future. The report said people around the world were already getting hit as it directly affects livelihoods, reduces food-grain production, destroys homes and raises food prices. These trends will accelerate if climate change is left unchecked.

Among other things, the report warns that climate change increases the risk of armed conflict around the world because it worsens poverty and economic shocks.

"Climate change is already becoming a determining factor in the national security policies of states", said a statement issued by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which has been working to arrive at a global climate deal by 2015 to fight the menace effectively through combined efforts of nations.

Though the report doesn't have country-specific predictions, its region-wise findings brought out many eye-opening conclusions for India.

Aromar Revi, lead author of one of the chapters of this report, said the impacts of climate change would be felt severely in Indo-Gangetic plains, affecting poor people in the entire region. "The areas which are facing frequent floods these days may face drought like situation in the distant or near future. We cannot ignore the changes which are taking place either in the Indus river basin or in Brahmputra river system over the longer period," said Revi, explaining the implications of the report in Delhi.

Another lead author, Surender Kumar, explained how climate change would affect the poorer nations. He said if mean temperatures increased beyond 1 degree C, it would knock 3% off the GDP of developing economies.

The quiet IPCC warning

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has given its starkest warning of the likely impact of climate change. 

The IPCC’s March 31 report, the most comprehensive yet, states that the evidence of global warming is now overwhelming, and warns that all countries and all social classes of people will be affected by changes which are likely to be “severe, pervasive and irreversible.” All animal species face an increased risk of extinction, and vegetation patterns are likely to change substantially, with low-latitude species appearing in higher latitudes and lower latitudes becoming more arid, even if rainfall patterns there are becoming less predictable.

 If temperatures rise to 2 ˚ C or more above 20th century levels, yields of major food crops will probably fall; the likely yield increase in colder climates as those grow warmer may not offset declining yields elsewhere. 

Water resources, already under stress in Asia, are likely to come under even greater stress, and ocean acidification — caused by the absorption of rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide — is likely to compound the problems. The poor in all countries are likely to suffer more than the rich, but all humanity may well be unable to adapt to temperature rises of above 2 degrees.

While the report is not apocalyptic in tone, and specifies the level of confidence with which it states its main findings, one major question arising thence is whether we can adapt to survive, or whether far more drastic measures are required. This is especially important in South Asia, where almost one and a half billion people live. Spreading aridity, or increasingly severe individual events like storms or droughts, not to mention the disappearance of land as sea levels rise, could well lead to large-scale migration, which in turn could cause resource-driven conflict not between countries but between rural and urban populations or between crop farmers and animal farmers. Existing inequalities are likely to worsen, which will make it harder for people to climb out of poverty. Yet, on the evidence the report has received only the briefest of responses, for example from United States Secretary of State John Kerry, and from the environment ministers of various European Union countries; moreover, the very possibility that gradual adaptation may not avert climate catastrophe appears not to figure, particularly in regions which would be the worst affected, such as South Asia. That countries — states — are the only bodies even remotely capable of action on the scale required hardly needs saying, but the regions at greatest risk have some of the world’s most dysfunctional states. We cannot say we have not been warned.

Menu cards for vultures, clean environment on the table

Conservationists stand by “Vulture Restaurants”, a new concept that aims to augment the population of the scavenging birds, which help keep the environment clean by feeding on carrion.

According to noted conservationist T.K. Roy, the vultures are provided safe supplementary food.

“Though this concept has not been efficacious at two places in Northern India, it has been successfully running in a small place in Punjab. This concept has attracted four vulture species, including the Griffon Vulture and the Himalayan Vulture, in large numbers at Dhar Kalan in Punjab. These vultures have been sighted more than 300 times by the Pathankote Wildlife Division, which has provided medically tested safe carcass.”

Over the past year, Mr. Roy has been visiting Dhar Kalan to provide his expertise for raising vulture numbers. “The Vulture Restaurant at Dhar Kalan is indirectly helping in increasing the vulture population in neighbouring States of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir,” maintains Mr. Roy.

Explaining how the restaurants are run, the conservationist said dead cattle that have died a natural death are collected from a village and fed to vultures. “A veterinary conducts a post-mortem to unearth whether it died naturally or due to poison. Only if the cattle died naturally then it is fed to vultures.”

Emphasising the significance of giving a fillip to the population of these big birds, Mr. Roy said it has been proved beyond doubt that the vulture is a useful scavenger.

Though people generally treat vultures as large ugly birds that feed on dead creatures, its relevance in keeping our planet clean has to be acknowledged.

“For centuries, vultures have been playing a key role in keeping our cities clean by getting rid of carcasses. In fact, I would describe the vulture as an ecosystem service-provider as it feeds on carrion and keeps the natural environment clean.”

The Vulture Restaurant concept comes amid a decline in the Indian sub-continent since the mid 1990s.

Population of White-Rumped Vulture ( Gyps bengalensis ) declined rapidly between 2000 and 2007. “The decline took place because vultures fed on carcasses of domestic animals, which had been administered anti-inflammatory toxic veterinary drug Diclofenac.”

The bird’s population has stabilised as South Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) — a consortium of regional and international organisations to save threatened vultures in South Asia in collaboration with Bombay Natural History Society — has been running captive breeding centres.

Killer heatwaves ahead, city gears up to survive

Ahmedabad Action Plan To Be Launched Here After Polls

Jayashree Nandi TNN 

New Delhi: Summer is now clearly upon us in all its blazing glory. Meanwhile, the world over, heat is beginning to be recognized as a major public health issue with more and more scientific evidence that heatwaves in India are all set to increase in intensity and frequency. 
    Public Health Foundation of India is developing ‘Heat Action Plans’ for cities, starting with Delhi. Highlights of the plan include setting up cooling centres in mosques, temples and other public spaces; training employees at local hospitals and urban health centres to deal with heat-related emergencies, and teaching people how to stay cool. 
    PHFI had developed a heat action plan for Ahmedabad being implemented by the municipal corporation there since last year. To launch it in Delhi, PHFI is working with National Disaster Management Authority. “We have had meetings with them but have been told that things can be finalized only after the elections,” said Dr Gulrez Shah Azhar who is leading the project. 
    Dr Azhar explained why extreme heat events need more attention citing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent report that highlighted how “frequent and intense heat waves in Asia will increase mortality and morbidity”. “IPCC, which is considered to have a conservative assessment of impacts, has suggested that even normal physiological activities will be difficult by the middle of the century because of extreme heat events. We need to gear up. We are thinking of implementing the Heat Action Plan first in Delhi because then it will be adopted by all other major cities,” he said. 
    The action plan involves several things including forecasts and surveillance of temperature data. Thresholds can be determined by the municipal body and communicated to the public using a colour signal system in which a ‘red alert’ would stand for an ‘extreme heat alert day’ and an ‘orange alert’ for a ‘heat alert day’. PHFI also has action checklists for various authorities including urban health centres, medical colleges and hospitals like stocking up on ice packs. The checklist for the labour department recommends extended afternoon breaks or alternate working hours. A nodal officer for the Plan coordinates with various agencies to implement it. The 108 emergency service, for instance, can ensure adequate supply of ice packs and IV fluids and send SMS heat alerts to locals. 
    In Ahmedabad, the Plan was developed after 310 people died on May 21, 2010, due to heat stroke. The temperature peaked at 46.5°C. PHFI will start a vulnerability analysis and study heat-related mortality trends in Delhi. Other international organizations like Emroy University School of Medicine and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are also part of the project. 
HIGHLIGHTS OF HEAT ACTION PLAN 
    Appoint a nodal officer from the municipality to head the heat action plan 
    Form a steering committee of agency leaders to respond to extreme heat events 
    Organize preventative training for health workers, link workers, schoolchildren and community 
    Activate cooling centres such as temples, public buildings, malls, during a heat alert 
    Activate temporary night shelters for those without access to water and electricity
    Identify and set up public displays of temperature and forecasts 
    Begin surveillance of temperature data and forecasts 
    Provide information on prevention of health impacts to public on regular basis

BOOST TO GREEN COVER

Govt drafts policy on cutting emission from deforestation

Its Rollout Will Entitle India To Global Aid

Vishwa Mohan TNN 

New Delhi: Taking forward an agreed framework of the 2013 Warsaw climate conference, India has come out with a draft national policy on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (popularly known as the REDD+ initiative), which will enable local communities in getting financial incentives for increasing forest cover. 
    The REDD+ initiative is a global mitigation mechanism under a UN body, linking deforestation, degradation, conservation of forest carbon stocks and sustainable management of forests with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. 
    It has provision for compensating developing countries for their efforts to increase forest cover through a result-based payment system. The money for this is being collected through contributions from rich nations. Although only three countries — the UK, Norway and the US — have so far pledged $280 million for the initiative, the move is a step in the right direction as deforestation accounts for nearly 20% of global carbon dioxide emissions. 
    In order to tap this source to boost its forest cover, India now intends to make the country REDD+-ready by creating a “national-level authority” and setting up “supportive institutions” in three years. Keeping this deadline in mind, the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) on Monday came out with a draft national policy and sought suggestions from stakeholders and experts within a month (till May 27). “Based on the comments of the stakeholders, the draft document will be finalized,” an MoEF note said. 
    It said the objective of this policy was to develop forest areas, safeguard rights and interests of local communities and to strengthen coordination among sectors and stakeholders having direct and indirect impact on land use and forestry. “The objective is also to develop an appropriate mechanism for channelizing REDD+ funding and transferring the accrued financial benefits to the communities in a fair, equitable and transparent manner,” said the ministry. 
    The MoEF said the present level of forest cover in India (69.20 million hectares) neutralizes 11% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Global Forest Resource Assessment, India is at the 10^th position in terms of forest area in the world. As per the India State of Forest Report, the country’s forest cover is around 21.05% of its geographical area. The country however, added merely three million hectares of forest between 1997 and 2007. 
    Setting up a national forest monitoring system, a national REDD+ architecture/ governance and information system and building a critical mass of technical/institutional capacities of stakeholders are some of the features of the draft policy.

Delhi air stinks, govt sniffs at WHO data

Instead Of Addressing Problem, Gets Into Futile Argument About Data For Beijing

Jayashree Nandi TNN 

New Delhi: A day after World Health Organization’s latest urban air quality database showed that Delhi has the worst air quality among 1,600 cities in 91 countries, government officials chose to split hairs over the published numbers while environmentalists stressed that 
the country should get on with addressing air quality concerns urgently. 
    Getting into an unavailing comparison with Beijing, the ministry of earth sciences said in its statement: “World Health Organization (WHO) has overestimated India’s data and underestimated Beijing’s”. 
    It said the air quality records with Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) differ from the WHO database released in Geneva on Wednesday. 
    “If we compare yearly averages for each year from 2011 to 2014, both cities (Delhi and Beijing) are almost comparable. Delhi’s air quality is better than Beijing’s in summer and much better in monsoon. Delhi’s annual average ranges from 110 to 120 microgram per cubic metre but WHO has overestimated it as 153 µg/m³ and Beijing’s average has been underestimated,” said Gufran Beig, chief project scientist, System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research at IITM. 
    “It is Delhi’s winter pollution and sudden spikes triggered by meteorology that push up the annual average. There are implications from climate change as well,” he added. 
    The WHO database provides 2010 figures for Beijing versus 2013 figures for Delhi. 
“I think India has been sharing its data openly but that’s not the case with China. Why 
would they not share 2012 and 2013 data?” said an official from Delhi Pollution 
Control Committee (DPCC). 
    Environmentalists, however, said it doesn’t matter whether Beijing or Delhi has the dirtier air as both have very high levels of pollution. IITM’s own data suggests that Delhi’s annual mean PM2.5 (fine, respirable particles) has been marginally higher than that of Beijing’s in 2011, 2012 and 2013. 
    “Why are they so hung up over Beijing’s air quality? Is Beijing the only benchmark for us? We are not just breaching our own standard but are several times higher than WHO’s standards,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, head of Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) Clean Air programme. 
    “Isn’t that a good enough reason to take aggressive action? Why can’t we accept the problem? If they want to emulate Beijing, they should have aggressive policies on capping the number of cars and implementing Euro 5 emission standards,” she added. 
    jayashree.nandi@timesgroup.com 

HEALTH IMPACT

Respiratory ailments double, cost 23 lives daily

Durgesh Nandan Jha TNN 

New Delhi: World Health Organization’s data that indicates Delhi has the most polluted air in the world has confirmed what they have anecdotally known all along, say doctors in the city. They claim the deterioration in air quality has clearly been reflected in the number of patients with respiratory ailments and poor lung function, which has gone up several times over the past few years. 
    In 2012, the statistical handbook released by the state government said that an average of 23 people die every day due to respiratory diseases in the capital. The number of cases, data showed, had doubled in the past four years. Doctors say worsening air quality, a major trigger for respiratory conditions such as chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and infections, may cause more fatalities in the coming years if appropriate measures are not taken. 
    “The response to medicines has changed. Inhalers and nebulisers are proving ineffective in controlling symptoms of respiratory ailments. The number of emergency admissions, particularly among the elderly, has gone up too,” says Dr Arup Basu, vice-chairman of pulmonology department at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. He says illnesses such as chronic bronchitis, cough and aggravation of asthma symptoms seen during change of season –onset of winter and summer season– are now observed throughout the year. 
    “Usually, these infections go away in a week or two but due to environmental changes we are seeing a lot of patients complaining about these symptoms continuing for over 
amonth despite medications ,” adds the doctor. Dr A B Dey, professor and head of geriatric medicine at AIIMS, says exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or pneumonia infections are reported throughout the year. 
    It’s not just respiratory diseases, but the decline in air quality is causing increasein the incidence of other health ailments, including rheumatic arthritis, heart failure and depression. 
    “Incidence of autoimmune diseases, for example rheumatoid arthritis, has increased significantly which cannot be explained merely by citing genetic changes. The role of ambient air pollution, which is a known cause of aberration in the immune status of genetically predisposed individuals and even healthy ones, is being investigated,” says Dr Uma Kumar, head of clinical immunology and rheumatology department at AIIMS. She says that more than 200 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis visit the hospital every week.

GREEN STEPS

Beijing battles crisis, Delhi fiddles

Jayashree Nandi TNN 

New Delhi: Delhi has the dirtiest air in the world but it hasn’t done anything about it in years. The benefits of CNG have dwindled with increasing vehicular population but the city’s second-generation action plan that recommends a move to Euro V and VI emission standards and rapid expansion of public transport is stuck between departments. 
    An analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) shows PM10 (coarse particles) concentration in Delhi’s air increased by about 75% from 2007 to 2011 on the back of a 37% increase in vehicular population—from 54 lakh to about 74 lakh. Further, from 2011 to 2014, vehicular emissions in the city increased by another 15-20%, a study by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune shows. 
    While it did nothing to check the increase in vehicles, the city government also did not implement better emission standards. Beijing attacked air pollution by capping the number of new car 
licences at 1.5 lakh annually, implementing Euro V standards and continuing the ban on diesel cars inside cities. 
    CSE’s analysis shows Delhi government has been unequal to the crisis. Its response has been limited to extending the Metro, increasing the number of buses to 6,000 and introducing Euro IV standards in 2010, besides upgrading PUC tests and building 40km of cycle tracks. 
    Scientists say the meteorological conditions in Delhi also play a role in intensifying air pollution. “In winter, we have been noticing extremely severe smog episodes. It’s not a natural phenomenon as there are sudden peaks in pollution levels,” said Gufran Beig, chief project scientist, System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research at IITM. “It could be an early sign of climate change. In 2012 and 2013, there were episodes when the (atmospheric) boundary layer came down dramatically,” he added. 
    But that’s no excuse for not acting on poor air quality, said Anumita Roychowdhury, head of CSE’s Clean Air programme. “Weather is a factor in all cities. In winter, pollution levels go up because the calm air and low temperatures trap pollutants. The London smog of 1952 killed many people, but London has dealt with these extreme events. Why is action against air pollution missing in Delhi?” 
    WHO data shows 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India, and CSE has recommended an overhaul of vehicle emission norms along with the framing of an air pollution policy in Delhi. 
    CSE on Thursday said India expects “a significant decision” on emissions standards and fuel quality from the Auto Fuel Policy Committee, which must “respond effectively” to the mounting evidence on worsening air quality.

Climate change making food crops less nutritious

Rising carbon dioxide emissions are set to make the world’s staple food crops less nutritious, according to new scientific research, worsening the serious ill health already suffered by billions of malnourished people.

The surprise consequence of fossil fuel burning is linked directly to the rise in CO{-2}levels which, unlike some of the predicted impacts of climate change, are undisputed. The field trials of wheat, rice, maize and soybeans showed that higher CO{-2}levels significantly reduced the levels of the essential nutrients iron and zinc, as well as cutting protein levels.

“We found rising levels of CO{-2}are affecting human nutrition by reducing levels of very important nutrients in important food crops,” said Prof Samuel Myers, an environmental health expert at Harvard University, Boston, and lead author of the study. “From a health viewpoint, iron and zinc are hugely important.”

Iron and zinc deficiencies

Myers said two billion people already suffer iron and zinc deficiencies around the world. This causes serious harm, in particular to developing babies and pregnant women, and currently causes the loss of 63m years of life annually. “Fundamentally the concern is that there is already an enormous public health problem and rising CO{-2}in the atmosphere will exacerbate that problem further.” While wheat, rice, maize and soybeans are relatively low in iron and zinc, in poorer societies where meat is rarely eaten they are a major source of the nutrients. About 2.4 billion people currently get at least 60 per cent of their zinc and iron from these staples and it is over 75 per cent in Bangladesh, Iraq and Algeria.

“This is yet another example of the impact climate change is already having on people’s ability to grow and access the nutritious food they need,” said Hannah Stoddart, Oxfam’s head of policy for food and climate. “With 25 million more children under five at risk of malnutrition by 2050 because of climate change, action to cut emissions and support communities to adapt is crucial.”

The research, published in the journal Nature , represents a major advance in the understanding of how rising CO{-2}levels affect food nutrition. The scientists compared nutrient levels in field crops grown in ambient CO{-2}levels, about 380-390 parts per million (ppm) at the time of the work, with those grown in the elevated CO{-2}levels expected by 2050. The latter level, 545-585ppm, is expected even if substantial curbs on emissions are put in place by the world’s governments. In order to take account of variable growing conditions, the researchers analysed 41 different strains grown in seven locations on three different continents.

Wheat grown in high CO{-2}levels had nine per cent less zinc and five per cent less iron, as well as six per cent less protein, while rice had three per cent less iron, five per cent less iron and eight per cent less protein. Maize saw similar falls while soybeans lost similar levels of zinc and iron but, being a legume not a grass, did not see lower protein.

The precise biological mechanism that causes nutrient levels to fall is not well understood as yet. But Professor Brian Thomas, a plant development expert at the University of Warwick and not involved in the research said: “The work is convincing and consistent with what we do know about the plant physiology.” The impact on human health resulting from the drop in the level of protein is less clear than for the zinc and iron loss.

U.S. aims for 30% carbon emissions cut

The United States on Monday proposed ordering cuts of up to 30 per cent in carbon emissions from power plants in President Barack Obama’s most ambitious action yet on climate change.

The Environmental Protection Agency gave states the leeway to choose their own plans but said that they must include enforceable restrictions to curb emissions by a national average of 30 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels.

Power plants account for some 40 per cent of U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Cuts are politically sensitive as coal, among the dirtiest energy sources, remains a major U.S. industry.

The move comes amid mounting signs of climate change. A U.N. panel of scientists warned in April that polluters needed to act urgently to avoid worst-case scenarios, which could include increased droughts, storms and coastline destruction.

“For the sake of our families’ health and our kids’ future, we have a moral obligation to act on climate,” said Gina McCarthy, the agency’s administrator.

The environmental regulator said that the cuts would prevent up to 6,600 premature deaths and up to 150,000 asthma attacks in children.

Boosting the message that the plan is good for public health, Mr. Obama was scheduled to speak later Monday on a conference call of the American Lung Association.

Mr. Obama has turned to executive action on climate change as he sees little prospect of action in Congress. A proposal to mandate greenhouse gas cuts died in the Senate in 2010.

The plan was swiftly denounced by lawmakers of the rival Republican Party, which is friendly with the energy industry.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate who represents the coal state of Kentucky, said that the plan amounted to a “unilateral dismantling of our own economic supremacy and the self-imposed destruction of one of our nation's main competitive advantages in the global economy.” — AFP

Rain can't restore water table, experts worried

Jayashree Nandi

New Delhi: TNN





ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, EXPERTS SOUND ALARM ON CITY'S LOOMING WATER CRISIS AND OFFER SOLUTIONS

Experts are worried that many parts of the capital have reached a point of no return in terms of losing groundwater. At several places in south Delhi, it may take years to replenish this water but if and only if there is an immediate end to further extraction.For the last few years, Central Ground Water Board has been seeing no improvement in water level in the wells under its watch even after the monsoon. TOI has accessed post-monsoon and pre-monsoon data of the wells. CGWB officials say it is a sign of how critical groundwater levels are in the city.
CGWB has just completed recording the water levels (pre-monsoon) in its 120 wells and found these to be between three and 75 metres below ground level (mbgl). The levels were similar in November 2013 and January 2014, which shows that the post-monsoon levels are no better. When com
pared to 2007 data, water levels in most south Delhi wells have fallen by more than a metre.“We are not seeing much change in depth of water postmonsoon. We are also noticing a steady decline in depth of wells in south Delhi and Ridge area which can be clearly attributed to unsustainable extraction,“ says a CGWB official.
Wells located near Yamuna floodplains are in the safe zone because of the river in their vicinity but those in south and southwest Delhi are in critical condition with groundwater levels at 4072mbgl. “ As soon as we start digging below 40 metres, we are entering a danger zone. If we go below 50 metres it's an emergency situation. Because after that we have very little exploitable water left and replenishing the aquifer is going to take years. It's like a disease.
If not controlled now will lead to severe complications,“ says Shashank Shekhar, assistant professor, department of earth sciences, DU.
In his recent study on `groundwater management in Delhi', Shekhar found the rate of decline in water levels is as high as 1.7-2m/year in some areas of south and southwest Delhi. In fact, CGWB's groundwater year book of 2012-13 stated that a fall of more than 2m had been noticed in some areas between August 2011 and August 2012. A comparison of pre-monsoon water lev els in 2012 with August 2012 revealed there is rise in the water level in almost the entire country except in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Pace of recharge is far slower than the pace of depletion. Vikram Soni, water expert and professor at Jamia Millia University, said, “The water table can be recharged by a metre every year if there is no withdrawal. As soon as we go beyond 30 metres we have to harvest water. It is important that we stop withdrawing when we are about to reach half the depth of the aquifer.” He added, “We are running out of time. Delhi needs to act now to deal with this crisis”.
The Delhi environment department has directed people and establishments to voluntarily disclose if they have borewells or tubewells. About 500 people have submitted data on their borewells, but the total number of users could be more than 4.5 lakhs.

The Need for Environmental Governance

As told to Nilakshi Sharma





Kartikeya V. Sarabhai was awarded the Padma Shri in 2012 for his exceptional and distinguished service in the field of Environmental Education. He is also the Founder Director of the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), established in 1984 as a centre of excellence of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India. He takes the time today to discuss the environmental future of India India has been able to protect its bio-diversity to a large extent due to the deeply entrenched belief system and practices. But these are rapidly changing...The proposed national nature camping program wherein every child who goes to school will attend at least one certified Nature Education Camp is a step in that direction

WHAT ARE THE THREATS TO THE INDIAN ENVIRONMENT?
The main threat to the Indian environment comes from the rapid change in lifestyles and the increase in urbanization, industrial growth and consequent need for power, minerals, ports and transportation. A major concern is that global models of development that are at times inappropriate for India are being brought in. A good example would be the Bt technology for food and the rapid replacement of Indian seed varieties and farmers' independence. The loss of wild bio-diversity is also a major threat.
Protected areas are a good strategy but by no means sufficient. Many species are intricately connected with what happens outside protected areas and strategies to conserve this need to be rapidly put in place.Land, which is a critical resource is perhaps the most neglected and taken for granted. In some of our most fertile regions we build factories and try to improve farm productivity in land which is otherwise poor. The threat is the loss of fertile land. The loss of green cover especially on the hill sides further adds to soil erosion which will be very difficult to replace. Similarly, water is the lifeline of our country.
Climate change threatens the monsoon pattern. Any change in the water cycle would be quite disastrous. Water, both on surface and ground water is being polluted and aquifers are rapidly deteriorating.
WHAT ARE IMMEDIATE STEPS THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN FOR BIO-DIVERSITY CONSERVATION?
Protection of indigenous crop varieties is important. India is the home to several of plants and animals that it has domesticated and preserved over thousands of years. Special characteristics appropriate for India and the particular environment have led to many varieties such as over 20 breeds of cows or the 2000 plus varieties of brinjals. Use of Bt technologies in varieties which are indigenous to India is very dangerous and the precautionary principal needs to be followed.
Without adequate regulatory mechanisms in place or clarity as to whose liability it is, allowing field trials is not a wise step.
Urgent and new strategies are required for the protection of bio-diversity outside of protected areas. In many cases traditional corridors where animals moved have been blocked not only causing human-animal conflict but also major accidents. Birds like the Harriers, which migrate to grasslands in India but feed in cotton fields around the protected area, are under threat. One needs a multi stakeholder collaboration to develop a conservation strategy. There are good examples of this and the government needs to support such efforts.
Traditionally much of India's biodiversity was also linked with livelihood and craft traditions. With the erosion of bio-diversity the impact has been on both these. Crafts person have often switched to chemicals or other substitutes. Such non-agricultural plant material needs to be carefully put into a system of sustainable use and consumption. The same is true of other areas such as traditional fishing. The threat of industrialized operations not only destroys the fish stock but also kills local traditions and destroys local livelihoods.
An initiative on sustainable use of biodiversity has been taken and needs to be made into a full fledged program.
● Key species which are under threat need individual strategies as the threat or reason for decline in each case is different. In many cases such as protecting the Tiger, Elephant or Rhino, an effective conservation strategy might suddenly collapse as a result of new threats and new technologies. These need to be monitored and new solutions found. In many other cases such as the Gangetic Dolphin, the success of the specie is also the success of the efforts to clean the Ganga. This requires careful strategy and public support.
● Ultimately in a democracy it is only as a result of wide public support and awareness that conservation will be possible. India has been able to protect its bio-diversity to a large extent due to the deeply entrenched belief system and practices. But these are rapidly changing.
We need to bring more understanding
and reach out to the young. The proposed national nature camping program wherein every child who goes to school will attend at least one certified Nature Education Camp is a step in that direction. Programmes such as these will need the necessary resource to make them possible. The Science Express Biodiversity Special which took a biodiversity exhibition around the country on a train is another example.
WHAT, ACCORDING TO YOU, WILL BE THE NEW GOVERNMENT'S ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY?
What is the policy of the government of India? In the past I have often been asked this question at international forums.
Unfortunately, there was never a single answer to such a question but multiple ones. Each ministry would have its own policy often contradicting another. The key to success lies in being able to blend environmental concerns with development, and to develop a sustainable development pathway for this country. The new government, with its clear and strong leadership, will be better able to bring a common vision on sustainable development to all the ministries and end what often looked like a set of disjointed policies made by individual ministries. Key areas which need to be addressed include agriculture, energy, urbanization, mining, water supply and the use of schemes such as the MGNREGA. While it is too early to say what the precise view of the new government will be on individual environmental issues, the pronouncement and the actions and new initiatives at co-ordination have been positive signs.India's legislation has shown a lot of foresight in many areas. However, there has been a major gap between legislation and implementation. The current government's emphasis on better delivery, more transparency and speed will go a long way in ensuring that the environmental initiatives taken actually lead to protection of the environment. The current government seems likely to improve the quality of implementation in the field.

City not equipped to tap rainwater

New Delhi TIMES NEWS NETWORK





Most Harvesting Pits With Govt Agencies Unused; New Designs Floated It was found that many people were seeking permission for storing rainwater but would dig up borewells. Agencies are looking at a robust design to curb misuse

All indications are that this monsoon, Delhi will again fail to tap the rainwater needed for its parched areas. This is when the capital has the potential to store a quantity equal to Delhi Jal Board’s entire supply for a fortnight.Things have not moved since last year. In fact, the scenario seems even bleaker after a recent Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s inspection report to National Green Tribunal revealed that most rainwater harvesting structures under government agencies like DJB, the Metro, public works department and prominent hospitals are defunct. Either they are not designed well or have silt; some had garbage dumped in the harvesting pits.
The environment department recently asked Central Ground Water Board to submit a new set of simple harvesting structure designs for houses and other properties. It was found that many people were seeking permission for storing rainwater but would actually dig up borewells to extract groundwater. Agencies are concerned that an effort to conserve water may lead to the reverse. They are now looking at a robust design that can be used only for harvesting rainwater.
“We have received new designs meant to prevent misuse of the rainwater collection pits. But, they have to be implemented on a large scale,” said a senior environment official.
There is no official record of the quantity of rainwater harvested so far, nor is there any clarity on the agency monitoring these structures. The environment department had recently informed NGT that it doesn’t have the “technical expertise” to monitor such structures. “The responsibility lies
with the corporations if installing such structures is part of the building bylaws. We clearly don't have the expertise or the manpower to monitor so many structures. We inspected some government structures this year because of an NGT order,” he added.Delhi has no policy for rainwater harvesting. The urban development ministry had in its 2001 notification made an addition to the building bylaws of 1983, making rainwater harvesting manda
tory for any structure occupying 100 sq m and above. But there is a catch. The current master plan allows 90% ground coverage for such plots, which leaves hardly any space to set up the structures.“UD ministry is thinking of
raising the limit to over 200 sq m. People often get their plans sanctioned with such a provision but never use it. I think Delhi needs a well-thought-out policy,” said a South Corporation official.He clarified that the corporation doesn’t monitor RWH structures once the plan is sanctioned. “More than 40,000 new buildings with RWH structures may have been sanctioned in the past 13 years.
We don’t know if they are conserving water,” he added.
Meanwhile, private RWH agencies have been getting many queries and requests with the approach of monsoon. Between April and May, Centre for Science and Envi
ronment's RWH cell has received 18 queries. The Gurgaon municipality has sought suggestions for rejuvenating wetlands, said Sushmita Sengupta of CSE.Intach has a different approach. Manu Bhatnagar of the natural heritage division doesn't believe in pushing for micro structures as they are costlier and difficult to maintain. He advocates a mix of individual efforts; colony-level exercises; macro RWH projects on irrigation canals, storm-water drains, 200 ponds, and rejuvenating depressions which used to be wetlands. He has proposed such a system for northwest and southwest Delhi, where Yamuna monsoon flood water and tertiary treated sewage will be used to replenish the aquifer for regular use and for drought years.

Forest clearances for projects to go online

Starting July 1, all forest clearances for industry and infrastructure projects will go online, to be followed by online environmental approvals from September 1.

Inaugurating the Karnataka Government’s e-portal to track public and private sector projects above Rs. 100 crore that have got delayed, Mr. Swarup, who heads the Project Monitoring Group (PMG) of the Cabinet Committee on Investment under the Prime Minister, said various Ministries were being gradually brought into a transparent, digitised system of fast-tracking large projects of over Rs. 1,000 crore.

About Karnataka’s new ePMS (electronic Project Management System), he said this was planned to be the first State-level portal but five States had already adopted it. He urged industries, “If you have a problem go to the portal and upload the issue. We are there to look into it.”

Mr. Swarup said, “We are now digitising the entire process [of project clearances.] We are making one Ministry after the other to understand the process. From July 1, forest clearances will be moved on the web. On September 1, environment clearances will go live on the web The Ministry of Mines has agreed and so has the Ministry of Coal.”

All States must soon follow the pattern which enables industry to track project in real time and in an open way, Mr. Swarup said, describing it as a “huge, revolutionary exercise.”

At the Central level, where the PMG handles projects exceeding investments of Rs. 1,000 crore, he said, “Till date, issues related to about 150 project proposals worth investments of Rs. 5.5 lakh crore have been resolved.”

Environment Protection under Constitutional Framework of India

Feature on ‘WED’** Pooja P. Vardhan*             The constitution of India is not an inert but a living document which evolves and grows with time. The specific provisions on environment protection in the constitution are also result of this evolving nature and growth potential of the fundamental law of the land. The preamble to our constitution ensures socialist pattern of the society and dignity of the individual. Decent standard of living and pollution free environment is inherent in this. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 defines environment as “environment includes water, air and land and the interrelationship which exists among and between air, water and land and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism and property”.             The chapter on fundamental duties of the Indian Constitution clearly imposes duty on every citizen to protect environment. Article 51-A (g), says that “It shall be duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and to have compassion for living creatures.”             The Directive principles under the Indian constitution directed towards ideals of building welfare state. Healthy environment is also one of the elements of welfare state.  Article 47 provides that the State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties. The improvement of public health also includes the protection and improvement of environment without which public health cannot be assured. Article 48 deals with organization of agriculture and animal husbandry. It directs the State to take steps to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines. In particular, it should take steps for preserving and improving the breeds and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle. Article 48 -A of the constitution says that “the state shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country”.             The Constitution of India under part III guarantees fundamental rights which are essential for the development of every individual and to which a person is inherently entitled by virtue of being human alone. Right to environment is also a right without which development of individual and realisation of his or her full potential shall not be possible. Articles 21, 14 and 19 of this part have been used for environmental protection.             According to Article 21 of the constitution, “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”. Article 21 has received liberal interpretation from time to time after the decision of the Supreme Court in Maneka Gandhi vs. Union of India, (AIR 1978 SC 597). Article 21 guarantees fundamental right to life. Right to environment, free of danger of disease and infection is inherent in it. Right to healthy environment is important attribute of right to live with human dignity. The right to live in a healthy environment as part of Article 21 of the Constitution was first recognized in the case of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra vs. State, AIR 1988 SC 2187 (Popularly known as Dehradun Quarrying Case). It is the first case of this kind in India, involving issues relating to environment and ecological balance in which Supreme Court directed to stop the excavation (illegal mining) under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. In M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India, AIR 1987 SC 1086 the Supreme Court treated the right to live in pollution free environment as a part of fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.            Excessive noise creates pollution in the society. The constitution of India under Article 19 (1) (a) read with Article 21 of the constitution guarantees right to decent environment and right to live peacefully. In PA Jacob vs. The Superintendent of Police Kottayam, AIR 1993 Ker 1, the Kerala High Court held that freedom of speech under article 19 (1)(a)  does not include freedom to use loud speakers or sound amplifiers.  Thus, noise pollution caused by the loud speakers can be controlled under article 19 (1) (a) of the constitution.           Article 19 (1) (g) of the Indian constitution confers fundamental right on every citizen to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.  This is subject to reasonable restrictions. A citizen cannot carry on business activity, if it is health hazards to the society or general public. Thus safeguards for environment protection are inherent in this.  The Supreme Court, while deciding the matter relating to carrying on trade of liquor in Cooverjee B. Bharucha  Vs Excise commissioner, Ajmer (1954, SC 220) observed that, if there is clash between  environmental protection and right to freedom of trade and occupation, the courts have to balance environmental interests with the fundamental rights to carry on any occupations.             Public Interest Litigation under Article 32 and 226 of the constitution of India resulted in a wave of environmental litigation. The leading environmental cases decided by the Supreme Court includes case of closure of limestone quarries in the Dehradun region (Dehradun Quarrying case, AIR 1985 SC 652), the installation of safeguard at a chlorine plant in Delhi (M.C. Mehta V. Union of India, AIR 1988 SC 1037) etc.  In Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum vs. Union of India (1996) 5 SCC 647, the Court observed that “the Precautionary Principle” and “the Polluter Pays Principle” are essential features of “Sustainable Development.”             At local and village level also, Panchayats have been empowered under the constitution to take measures such as soil conservation, water management, forestry and protection of the environment and promotion of ecological aspect.             Environment protection is part of our cultural values and traditions. In Atharvaveda, it has been said that “Man’s paradise is on earth; this living world is the beloved place of all; It has the blessings of nature’s bounties; live in a lovely spirit”. Earth is our paradise and it is our duty to protect our paradise. The constitution of India embodies the framework of protection and preservation of nature without which life cannot be enjoyed. The knowledge of constitutional provisions regarding environment protection is need of the day to bring greater public participation, environmental awareness, environmental education and sensitize the people to preserve ecology and environment. Conservation of Biodiversity                FEATURE Biodiversity Dr. P.J. Sudhakar, Addl. Director General, PIB, Bhopal Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity have been an integral part of Indian ethos. The varied eco-climatic conditions coupled with unique geological and cultural features have contributed to an astounding diversity of habitats, which harbor and sustain immense biological diversity at all levels. With only 2.4% of world's land area, India accounts for 7-8% of recorded species of the world. In terms of species richness, India ranks seventh in mammals, ninth in birds and fifth in reptiles. In terms of endemism of vertebrate groups, India's position is tenth in birds with 69 species, fifth in reptiles with 156 species and seventh in amphibians with 110 species. India's share of crops is 44% as compared to the world average of 11%. India also has 23.39% of its geographical area under forest and tree cover. Of the 34 globally identified biodiversity hotspots, India harbor 3 hotspots, i.e., Himalaya, Indo Burma, Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. Western Ghats are recently included in World Heritage list. It is very rich in flora and fauna and serves as cradle of biodiversity. One of the most pressing environmental issues today is the conservation of biodiversity. Many factors threaten the world's biological heritage. The challenge is for nations, government agencies, organisations and individuals to protect and enhance biological diversity, while continuing to meet people's needs for natural resources. Efforts have been initiated to save biodiversity both by ex-situ and in-situ conservation. International Biodiversity day is celebrated across the globe on 22nd May every year. BIODIVERSITY ACT 2002 The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is a federal legislation enacted by the Parliament of India for preservation of biological diversity in India, and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of use of traditional biological resources and knowledge. The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which India is a party. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established in 2003 to implement India’s Biological Diversity Act (2002). The NBA is a Statutory, Autonomous Body and it performs facilitative, regulatory and advisory function for the Government of India on issues of conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources. LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY Marine Biodiversity refers to 'Life in the Seas and Oceans. The marine environment has a very high biodiversity because 32 out of the 33 described animal phyla are represented in there. Marine organisms contribute to many critical processes that have direct and indirect effects on the health of the oceans and humans. Forest biological diversity is a broad term that refers to all life forms found within forested areas and the ecological roles they perform. As such, forest biological diversity encompasses not just trees, but the multitude of plants, animals and micro-organisms that inhabit forest areas and their associated genetic diversity. Genetic diversity, refers to the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. Genetic diversity serves as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments. With more variation, it is more likely that some individuals in a population will possess variations of alleles that are suited for the environment. The population will continue for more generations because of the success of these individuals. Species Diversity is the effective number of different species that are represented in a collection of individuals (a dataset). Species diversity consists of two components: species richness and species evenness. Ecosystem Diversity refers to the combination of communities of living things with the physical environment in which they live. There are many different kinds of ecosystems like deserts, mountain slopes, the ocean floor, Antarctic etc,. Each ecosystem provides many different kinds of habitats or living places. Agriculture Biodiversity includes all forms of life directly relevant to agriculture: rare seed varieties and animal breeds (farm biodiversity), but also many other organisms such as soil fauna, weeds, pests, predators, and all of the native plants and animals (wild biodiversity) existing on and flowing through the farm. BIOSPHERES AND BIODIVERSITY RESERVES The Indian government has established 18 Biosphere Reserves in India, which protect larger areas of natural habitat and often include one or more National Parks and Reserves, along buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna of the protected region, but also to the human communities who inhabit these regions, and their ways of life. Animals are protected and saved here. HOTSPOTS             A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans. Around the world, 25 areas qualify under definition of hotspots. These sites support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a very high share of endemic species. The biodiversity hotspots hold especially high numbers of endemic species, yet their combined area of remaining habitat covers only 2.3 percent of the Earth's land surface. Each hotspot faces extreme threats and has already lost at least 70 percent of its original natural vegetation. Over 50 percent of the world’s plant species and 42 percent of all terrestrial vertebrate species are endemic to the 34 biodiversity hotspots. UNO EFFORTS FOR CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY             Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in Washington, DC, on 3 March 1973. In August 2000, 152 States were parties to this Convention. The aim of CITES is to put a ban on international trade in wildlife. The World Conservation Union IUCN brings together States, government agencies and a diverse range of non-governmental organizations in a unique world partnership. IUCN seeks to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and sustainable use of natural resources. International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was adopted in Rome in November 2001 to create a legally binding framework for the protection and sustainable use of all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992 known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals like conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); sustainable use of its components; and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. The most significant feature of 1972 World heritage Convention is that it links together in a single document the concepts of nature conservation and preservation of cultural properties. The Convention recognises the way in which people interact with nature and fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two. The law of sea 1982, envisaged by UNO aims at protecting marine biodiversity and to control marine pollution. DESERT NATIONAL PARK Desert National Park is a unique biosphere reserve for conservation and development of biodiversity in India. It is situated in the West Indian state of Rajasthan near the town of Jaisalmer. This is one of the largest national parks, covering an area of 3162 km². The Desert National Park is an excellent example of the ecosystem of the Thar Desert. Sand dunes form around 20% of the Park. ROLE OF WILDLIFE CORRIDORS IN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION             A habitat corridor, wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities such as roads, development, or logging. This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within isolated populations. WETLANDS REPOSITORIES OF BIODIVERSITY    Wetlands are complex ecosystems and encompass a wide range of inland, coastal and marine habitats. They include flood plains, swamps, marshes, fishponds, tidal marshes natural and man-made wetlands. The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. BENEFITS OF BIODIVERSITY             Biodiversity provides food from crops, livestock, forestry and fish. Biodiversity is of use to modern agriculture as a source of new crops, as a source material for breeding improved varieties and as a source of new biodegradable pesticides. Biodiversity is a rich source of substances with therapeutic properties. Several important pharmaceuticals have originated as plant-based substances, which are of incalculable value to human health. The industrial products like timber, oils, lubricants, food flavours, industrial enzymes, cosmetics, perfumes, fragrances, dyes, paper, waxes, rubber, latexes, resins, poisons and cork can all be derived from various plant species. Biodiversity is a source of economical wealth for many areas, such as many parks and forests, where wild nature and animals are a source of beauty and joy, attract many visitors. Ecotourism in particular, is a growing outdoor recreational activity. Biodiversity has also great aesthetic value. Examples of aesthetic rewards include ecotourism, bird watching, wildlife, pet keeping, gardening, etc. Biodiversity is also essential for the maintenance and sustainable utilization of goods and services from ecological systems as well as from the individual species. These services include maintenance of gaseous composition of the atmosphere, climate control by forests and oceanic systems, natural pest control, pollination of plants by insects and birds, formation and protection of soil. THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY             The destruction of habitats is the primary reason for the loss of biodiversity in terrestrial and coastal ecosystems. Habitat loss could be attributed to conversion, habitat degradation and fragmentation. When people cut down trees, fill a wetland, plough grassland or burn a forest, the natural habitat of a species is changed or destroyed. Introduction of invasive species may cause disappearance of native species through biotic interactions. Invasive species are considered second only to habitat destruction as a major cause of extinction of species. Communities are affected by natural disturbances, such as fire, tree fall, and defoliation by insects. Man-made disturbances differ from natural disturbances in intensity, rate and spatial extent. For example, man by using fire more frequently may change species richness of a community. Exploitation, including hunting, collecting, fisheries and fisheries by-catch, and the impacts of trade in species and species’ parts, constitute a major threat for globally threatened birds (30% of all), mammals (33% of all), amphibians (6% of those assessed), reptiles and marine fishes (Baillie et al. 2004). Trade affects 13% of both threatened birds and mammals. Extinction is a natural process. Species have disappeared and new ones have evolved to take their place over the long geological history of the earth. It is useful to distinguish three types of extinction processes.   Over-fishing, habitat destruction, widespread marine pollution and human induced climate change threaten the survival of marine biodiversity. Pollution, oil and gas drilling and oil spills may increase the risks of extinction by increasing mortality of marine organisms. The Silent Valley Project in Kerala was abandoned because it was considered as a threat to biodiversity in the region. BIODIVERSITY AND FOOD SECURITY             In a recent estimate it was speculated that over 25 per cent of the world’s plant species might be lost by the year 2025 AD, if the current rate of plant genetic erosion continues. Preserving this germ pool is an integral part of food security. It is evident that preservation of wide range of germ pool is an integral part of breeding programme. If we are unable to combat the problems of genetic erosion, it may lead to losing sources of resistance to pests, diseases and climatic stress and, finally, leading to crop failure in future. It is well-known that out of over 20,000 edible species only a few dozen of plants are domesticated and now feed most of the people. All types of protected area constitute over 12% of the total forest area of the country. This network of protected areas covers most of the representative habitat types in the country and affords protection both to the wild flora and fauna. International Biodiversity day is celebrated across the globe on 22nd May every year. Protection oF Wetlands FEATURE Environment Dr. P. J. Sudhakar* Wetlands are complex ecosystems and encompass a wide range of inland, coastal and marine habitats. They share the characteristics of both wet and dry environments and show immense diversity based on their genesis, geographical location, hydrological regimes and substrate factors. They include flood plains, swamps, marshes, fishponds, tidal marshes natural and man-made wetlands. Among the most productive life support, wetlands have immense socio-economic and ecological importance for mankind. They are crucial to the survival of natural biodiversity. They provide suitable habitats for endangered and rare species of birds and animals, endemic plants, insects besides sustaining migratory birds. India has a wealth of wetland ecosystems distributed in different geographical regions. Most of the wetlands in India are directly or indirectly linked with major river systems such as the Ganges, Cauvery, Krishna, Godavari and Tapti. India has totally 27, 403 wetlands, of which 23,444 are inland wetlands and 3,959 are coastal wetlands. According to the Directory of Asian Wetlands (1989), wetlands occupy 18.4% of the country area (excluding rivers), of which 70 % are under paddy cultivation. In India, out of an estimated 4.1 mha (excluding irrigated agricultural lands, rivers, and streams) of wetlands, 1.5 mha are natural, while 2.6 mha are manmade. The coastal wetlands occupy an estimated 6,750 sq km, and are largely dominated by mangrove vegetation. Ramsar Convention on Wetlands India is also a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Convention of Biological Diversity. The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 158 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1758 wetland sites, totaling 161 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Ramsar Convention is the only global environment treaty dealing with a particular ecosystem. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was developed as a means to call international attention to the rate at which wetland habitats were disappearing, due to lack of understanding of their important functions, values, goods and services. Governments which have joined the Convention are expressing their willingness to make a commitment for helping to reverse that history of wetland loss and degradation. In addition, many wetlands are international systems lying across the boundaries of two or more countries, or are part of river basins that include more than one country. The health of these and other wetlands is dependent upon the quality and quantity of the transboundary water supply from rivers, streams, lakes, or underground aquifers. This requires framework for international discussion and cooperation toward mutual benefits. The salient features of Ramsar Convention includes recommendations for monitoring of biodiversity and anthropogenic impact; improvement of the legislation for protection of the wetlands; elaboration of economic mechanisms for the biodiversity protection while in nature management; organisation of new protected areas (Ramsar sites) in Kamchatka region; organisation of work with local population and search for sources of funding. Conservation of Natural Resources Nature has provided bountiful resources surrounding us for sustenance of a better life. Thus, any part of our natural environment such as land, water, air, minerals, forest, grassland, wildlife, fish or even human population that man can utilize to promote his welfare, may be considered as Natural Resources. These resources, along with human resources and capital, play a crucial role for expansion to national output which ultimately drives towards economic development. Hence for sustainable development, careful use of the exhaustible resources and maintenance of the quality of renewable resources are needed. For that, certain objectives should be followed. Ecological balance has been defined as "a state of dynamic equilibrium within a community of organisms in which genetic, species and ecosystem diversity remain relatively stable, subject to gradual changes through natural succession." and "a stable balance in the numbers of each species in an ecosystem." The most important point being that the natural balance in an ecosystem is maintained. This balance may be disturbed due to the introduction of new species, the sudden death of some species, natural hazards or man-made causes. Common property resources (CPRs) constitute all such resources which are meant for common use of the villagers. In the pre-British India, a very large part of the country’s natural resources was freely available to the rural population. These resources were largely under the control of the local communities. Gradually, with the extension of state control over these resources, resulting in decay of the community management system, CPRs available to the villagers declined substantially over the years. Nevertheless, it is widely held that CPRs still play an important role in the life and economy of the rural population. The beginning of the studies of the CPRs in India can be traced back to early 1980’s. Some of these studies covered fairly a large number of villages scattered over the vast area of the country but majority of those was of the nature of case studies. Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is a term coined to describe the immense variety and richness of life on this planet. Biodiversity includes not only the many species that exist, but also the diversity of populations that make up a species, the genetic diversity among individual life forms, and the many different habitats and ecosystems around the globe. "Biodiversity is the variety of the world's organisms, including their genetic diversity and the assemblage they form." Biodiversity" is most commonly used as species diversity and species richness and as the "totality of genes, species, and ecosystems of a region". Biological variety has been identified as species diversity, ecosystem diversity and genetic diversity. List of Wetlands In India The wetlands in India are classified as  Himalayan wetlands which includes Ladakh and Zanskar Pangong Tso, Tso Morad, Chantau, Noorichan, Chushul and Hanlay marshes, Kashmir Valley including Dal, Anchar, Wular, Haigam, Malgam, Haukersar and Kranchu lakes, Central Himalayas including Nainital, Bhimtal and Naukuchital and Eastern Himalayas having numerous wetlands in Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur, Beels in the Brahmaputra and Barak valley. Indo-Gangetic wetlands are the largest wetland system in India, extending from the river Indus in the west to Brahmaputra in the east. This includes the wetlands of the Himalayan terai and the Indo-Gangetic plains. Coastal wetlands contains the vast intertidal areas, mangroves and lagoons along the 7500 km long coastline in West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra. and Gujarat. Mangrove forests of Sunderbans, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Offshore coral reefs of Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar, Lakshwadeep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Deccan Wetland  includes a few natural wetlands, but innumerable small and large reservoirs and several water storage tanks in almost every village in the region. National Wetland Policy National wetland strategy should encompass (i) Conservation and collaborative management, (ii) Prevention of loss and promotion of restoration and (iii) Sustainable management. These include Protection of the existing wetlands. Of the many wetlands in India, only around 68 wetlands are protected. But there are thousands of other wetlands that are biologically and economically important but have no legal status. Planning, Managing and Monitoring of Wetlands comes under the Protected Area Network have management plans but others do not. It is important for various stakeholders along with the local community and the corporate sector to come together for an effective management plan. Active monitoring of these wetland systems over a period of time is essential. Although several laws protect wetlands there is no special legislation pertaining specially to these ecosystems. Environment Impact Assessment is needed for major development projects and highlighting threats to wetlands need must be included and appropriate measures to be formulated. Coordinated Approach is required because Wetlands are common property with multi-purpose utility; their protection and management also need to be a common responsibility. An appropriate forum for resolving the conflict on wetland issues has to be set up. It is important for all the relevant ministries to allocate sufficient funds towards the conservation of these ecosystems. There is a necessity for research in the formulation of a national strategy to understand the dynamics of these ecosystems. This could be useful for the planners to formulate strategies for the mitigation of pollution. The scientific knowledge will help the planners in understanding the economic values and benefits, which in turn will help in setting priorities and focusing the planning process. Building Awareness is needed. Awareness among the general public, educational and corporate institutions must be created for achieving any sustainable success in the protection of these wetlands. The policy makers at various levels, along with site managers, need to be educated. The bi-lateral cooperation in the resource management needs to be enhanced if country's wetlands are shared. National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP)  The Government opertionalized National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP) in closed collaboration with concerned State Government during the year 1986. Under the programme 115 wetlands have been identified till now by the Ministry of Environment and Forests which requires urgent conservation and management initiatives. The aim of this Scheme is Conservation and wise use of wetlands in the country so as to prevent their further degradation. The scheme was initiated to lay down policy guidelines for conservation and management of wetlands in the country; to undertake intensive conservation measures in priority wetlands; to monitor implementation of the programme and to prepare an inventory of Indian wetlands.   Legislations Wetlands conservation in India is indirectly influenced by an array of policy and legislative measures. Some of the key legislations are the Indian Fisheries Act, 1857, the Indian Forest Act, 1927, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Water (Prevention and Control of Pol1ution) Act, 1974, Territorial Water, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other, Marine Zones Act, 1976, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1977, Maritime Zone of India.(Regulation and fishing by foreign vessels) Act 1980, Forest (Conservation Act), 1980, Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986, Coastal Zone Regulation Notification, 1991, Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 1991, based on UN Convention on Biological diversity 1992, Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was enacted. National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and Development, 1992, National Policy and Macro level Action Strategy on Biodiversity, 1999 are also formulated by Government. Wetland Management and Sustainable Development Wetlands are not delineated under any specific administrative jurisdiction. The primary responsibility for the management of these ecosystems is in the hands of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Although some wetlands are protected after the formulation of the Wildlife Protection Act, effective coordination between the different ministries, energy, industry, fisheries, revenue, agriculture, transport and water resources, is essential for the protection of these ecosystems. Environmental management for sustainable utilization is the prime need of the hour. Industrial development with respect to automobiles, chemicals, fertilizers, insecticides, etc., are coming up very fast in India and due to various reasons these are often held responsible for environmental damage. Lack of environmentally educated society, inefficient management, weak law enforcement, corporate greed to earn more profit with less investment can also lead to chemical accidents and causing imbalance in sustainable development. ECO Sensitive Zones needs Special Care  India is endowed with diverse topographical zones and rich variety of flora and fauna. During the course of industrialisation, urbanisation and other developmental initiatives, lot of changes occur in the landscape which may sometimes become the cause of natural disasters like earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, cloud burst etc. In order to preserve certain regions/areas bestowed with unique plants, animals, terrains Government has declared them as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, etc,. Further, to minimise the impact of urbanisation and other developmental activities, areas adjacent to such protected areas have been declared as Eco-Sensitive Zones. The National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) 2002-2016 endeavours to protect areas outside the protected area network to prevent isolation/destruction of fragments of bio-diversity.  However, eco-sensitive zones are delineated to regulate specific activities on site specific basis. The Environment (protection) Rules, 1986 states that the Central Government can prohibit and restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of considerations like biological diversity of an area, maximum allowable limits of concentration of pollutants in an area, environmentally compatible land use and proximity to protected areas. The purpose of declaring eco-sensitive zones around protected areas is for creating some kind of ‘Shock Absorber’ to the protected area. They would also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection. The width of eco-sensitive zone and type of regulation vary from one area to another. However, as a general principle width of eco-sensitive zone could go up to 10 kms around a protected area. In case of places with sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscape linkage, even area beyond 10 kms width can also be included in the eco-sensitive zone. The State Governments should emphasise the fact to the public that eco-sensitive zones are not meant to hamper their day-to-day activities, but instead, is meant to protect the precious forests/areas in their locality from any negative impact and also to refine the environment around such protected areas. While some of the activities could be allowed in all the eco-sensitive areas, others will be regulated or prohibited. However, which activity can be regulated or prohibited and to what extent will have to be area specific. For instance, activities which fall under the prohibited category include commercial mining, setting up of saw mills, setting up of industries causing pollution, establishment of major hydro electric projects, discharge of effluent and solid waste into natural water bodies or areas, use or production of any hazardous substances,etc.Similarly, activities like felling of tress, establishment of hotels and resorts, widening of roads, protection of river banks and hill slopes,etc comes under regulated category. A  Zonal Master Plan for the eco-sensitive zone has to be prepared by the State Government within a period of one year from the date of approval by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The zonal master plan should provide for restoration of denuded areas, conservation of existing water bodies, management of catchment areas, soil and moisture conservation, needs of local community, etc,. which needs attention. It should also demarcate  all the existing and proposed urban settlements, village settlements, types and kinds of forest, agricultural areas, green areas, horticultural areas, lakes, etc,. No change of land use from green uses shall be permitted in thezonal master plan except limited conversion of agricultural lands to meet the residential needs of the existing local residents, improvement of roads and bridges, community buildings, without the prior approval of the state government. Pending preparation of the master plan and approval thereof by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, all new constructions can be allowed only after it is approved by the Monitoring Committee constituted by the Central Government. Protection of eco-sensitive zones has assumed importance in view of the overzealous developmental initiatives in fragile eco systems. A balanced, rational developmental approach is the need of the hour. On green track Do not wrinkle up your nose in disgust. Railway tracks littered with human excreta may soon be a thing of the past. On September 1, the Indian Railways proudly flagged off the Uzhavan Express, which is fitted with bio-toilets. The bio-toilets, which have been developed by the railways and the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), have a colony of anaerobic bacteria, kept in a container under the lavatories that convert human waste into water and small amounts of gases. The gases are released into the atmosphere and the water is discharged after chlorination on to the track. The railways currently uses flush toilets in trains, in which human waste is dumped directly on the track. This makes the environment unhygienic and railway stations an eyesore, apart from the fact that the faecal matter corrodes the tracks. Southern Railways officials say that except for the first- and two-tier AC coaches of Uzhavan Express, the remaining 34 coaches have been fitted with bio-toilets. “These toilets aim at zero defecation on the ground,” says Vinay Srivastava, former director-in-charge of the bio-toilet project who is currently working as director, Ministry of Environment and Forests. More bio-toilets have been fitted into coaches this year than the total bio-toilets fitted in the last three years. According to an IR source, the number of bio-toilets fitted in passenger train coaches from April to July this year was 2,285, against 1,337 bio-toilets fitted during 2012-13, 169 during 2011-12, and 57 during 2010-11. “The IR has been trying out various technologies and designs for a long time to avoid corrosion of tracks due to faecal matter,” says Nitin Chowdhary, executive director, Mechanical Engineering (Development), Railway Board. Chowdhury explains that the first effort towards proper disposal of human waste on passenger trains was made in 1975. “Subsequently, we experimented with technologies using aerobic bacteria, imported from a firm in the US, solid-liquid waste separation, controlled discharge systems. During the course of these developments, the IR held meetings with DRDO to understand how they managed the sanitation of Indian troops deployed at Siachen Glacier. With this meeting started our association with the DRDO that culminated in the development of the bio-toilet,” says Chowdhury. A special lid allows non-biodegradable objects like plastic bottles to be flushed out. The excreta enters through a separate opening into the digester tank The first bio-toilet-fitted train, Gwalior-Varanasi Bundelkhand Express, has been running since January 2011. The bio-toilets in the Gwalior express ensure that the undercarriage is clean and without any faecal depositions. The other advantage is that single bacteria recharge works for nearly a year. The anaerobic bacteria used in the green toilets can withstand extreme climates and common disinfectants. They are resistant to normal cleaning solutions used by the railways. The bacteria used in the bio-toilet have been collected and analysed by DRDO from Antarctica and the efficiency of this system has been tested in extreme climates and conditions. The bacterial inoculum used by the IR for initiating the bio-degradation process is a combination of different groups of bacteria involved in the decomposition of cow dung and human excreta. “Typical composition of biogas is 55–75 per cent methane and 25–50 per cent carbon dioxide. The pH value of the final discharge is near-neutral (approximately 6.5-7.5) in most of the cases; it may vary depending upon the number of passengers using the bio-toilet,” says Indrajit Singh, executive director, Research Designs and Standard Organisations of IR, which is responsible for the maintenance of bio-toilets. According to DRDO, microbial inoculum contains anaerobic bacteria belonging to four different clusters namely hydrolytic, acidogenic, acetogenic and methanogenic groups. Chowdhury says the cost of a single module of bio-toilet is between Rs 75,000 and Rs 80,000. He says retro-fitting bio-toilets is a challenge and can be expensive. “The welding required to fix these tanks and brackets is of exacting standards. The old parts on which this assembly has to be welded also need to be removed if they are corroded, which is a labour-intensive job and can be done only in specialised workshops.” “Hence the cost of retrofitment goes up substantially depending on the quantum of work involved and quantity of parts needing removal and replacement. However, the decision to adopt bio-toilets is not cost based, but to make our stations and tracks clean,” says he. The bio-toilet tanks or digesters are made of stainless steel and have a dimension of 1,150 mm x 720 mm x 540 mm. The weight of empty tank is 110 kg and that of full tank is 410 kg. The digester tank has multiple chambers that enable efficient biological degradation by providing maximum pathway to anaerobic bacteria. The digester has a provision for bacteria colonisation to cope with sudden washouts by accidental pouring of large amounts of water in the toilet. It also takes care of the occasional adverse conditions created by the accidental use of excessive detergents and antiseptics. DRDO thinks the design is simple and the system, once installed, can be in operation for years. The maintenance of bio-toilets includes visual inspection of the toilets, clearing of the toilet chute in case of chocking and charging of chlorine tablets in the chlorinator. The bio-toilets, which are welded to the passenger coaches, have an inlet for human excreta and an outlet for biogas. According to Srivastava, the inspections and field reports have confirmed that there is no odour due to faecal matter as the design prevents odour if any, from rising up. However, the odour of urine may remain if passengers do not flush the toilets after urination. Railways officials say that the success of the model rests on the cooperation of passengers, who are expected not to use the toilet pan as a garbage bin. Bio-toilets get easily clogged by plastic bottles, tea cups, cloths, sanitary napkin, nappies, plastic bags and gutkha pouches. Srivastava says that the IR is working on designs for flushing to keep the area around the toilet seat clean. Apart from this, the toilets are frequently cleaned by air-water jets at Clean Train Stations, he says. Chowdhury says currently over 4,000 bio-toilets are in use in trains. With a view to completely switch over to environment-friendly toilets by 2021-22, all new coaches are being fitted with either bio-toilet systems or brackets which can hold bio-toilets. Bio-toilets had faced a lot of criticism during the trial phase on the system’s inability to treat the waste fast enough, but railway officials say that the problem has been fixed. They say bio-toilets, in the long-run, will be cleaner and economical. 2013 set to be one of 10 warmest years: global Met agency 2013 might become one of the top 10 warmest years since 1850 when modern records of temperatures began to be maintained. January-September 2013 was warmer than the same period in both 2011 and 2012. However, the good news is that the amount of ice at the Arctic and Antarctica showed slight improvement since last year. The observations were made in the provisional annual statement on the Status of Global Climate 2013 by the World Meteorological Organization. It also includes details on precipitation, floods, droughts, and tropical cyclones. The statement was released this week to inform negotiators at the United Nations climate change conference in Warsaw, Poland. The report said that January-September months were warmer despite absence of El Nino or La Nina events, major drivers of global climate. The hottest years on record, 1998 and 2010, had El Nino events. “Temperatures so far this year are about the same as the average during2001-2010, which was the warmest decade on record,” said WMO secretary general Michel Jarraud. “All of the warmest years have been since 1998 and this year once again continues the underlying, long-term trend. The coldest years now are warmer than the hottest years before 1998,” he said. Ice extent improves a little near poles After an unprecedented melt in 2012, the Arctic sea recovered slightly. But 2013 still saw one of the lowest ice extent on record. Since the beginning of satellite measurements in 1979, the decade 2001-2010 has seen the greatest average annual melting of Arctic sea ice and all seven of the lowest Arctic sea ice extents have occurred since 2007. Arctic sea ice extent reached its annual maximum for this year on March 15 at 15.13 million square kilometre (sq km), according to the US National Snow and Ice Data Center. This was approximately 0.5 million sq km below the 1981–2010 average. According to the University of Colorado-Boulder (USA), ice that is more than four years old has decreased from 18 per cent of the March peak ice cover in 1984 to three per cent in 2013 – evidence of a faster melt rate. The Arctic reached its lowest sea ice extent in its annual cycle on September 13 at 5.10 million sq km, the sixth smallest on record. However, it was higher than the record low of 3.41 million sq km of September 2012. The ice cover increased in Antarctica, too. For the second year in a row, Antarctic sea ice extent in September reached a record maximum of 19.47 million sq km. This is approximately 30,000 km more than the previous record set in 2012, and is 2.6 per cent higher than the 1981−2010 average. September Antarctic sea ice extent is increasing at an average rate of 1.1 per cent per decade. The changes in the atmospheric circulation observed in the past three decades are considered by scientists as factors related to this increase. These changes resulted in altered prevailing winds around Antarctica. However, it is possible that this increase is because of a combination of factors that also include effects of changing ocean circulation. Australia faces extreme heat While in 2012 the United States observed record high annual temperatures, in 2013 warming was highest in Australia During January-September 2013, most of the world’s land areas had above-average temperatures, most notably in Australia, northern North America, north-eastern South America, northern Africa, and much of Eurasia Cooler-than-average temperatures were observed in North America, central South America and the eastern Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of Ecuador, part of northern Russia, and parts of northeastern Asia In the south-west Pacific, Australia reported its hottest month ever observed in January 2013, leading to the hottest summer (December−February) on record On January 7, a new national area-averaged daily maximum temperature of 40.3°C was set, and Moomba in south Australia reached 49.6°C In Asia, Japan had its hottest summer on record. China recorded its warmest August on record (tied with 2006). South Korea observed its 4th warmest July and warmest August, contributing to a record-high summer temperature UN climate talks: Brazil proposes discussions on historical responsibility for emissions As delegates at the climate change conference in Warsaw prepare for the arrival of their ministers next week for the next phase of negotiations, focused discussions are taking place on several subjects. These include loss and damage arising from impacts of climate change, a new market mechanism and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). As parties (countries) try to ensure negotiation space for subjects most important to them when their ministers start the high-level discussions, the principle of “equity” remains a big question. Brazil has put forward a proposal that says historical greenhouse gas emissions of countries should be the indicator to determine who will do how much to reduce emissions and contain temperature rise. For this, it is asking the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to undertake a study on how the increase in temperature corresponding to historical emissions can be used as a metric. With a recent announcement from the largest developing country negotiation bloc—G77 and China—supporting it, the proposal is gathering more prominence at the talks. According to the statement given by Jennifer Morgan, head of the climate change programme at the World Resources Institute (a global research organisation), to Bloomberg news, the proposal to use the historical emissions as a guide is here to stay and not going away. However, there are concerns about how much influence the current proposal could have on shaping the debate on the future deal taking place under ADP, the working body set up to discuss elements of a future deal to be agreed to in Paris in 2015. This proposal has currently been made under a more technical working body called SBSTA. While in some senses, this takes away the political tension that surrounds the issue of equity, this could turn into a potentially lengthy process under the SBSTA, limiting the influence it can have under the ADP discussions. US, EU oppose move Developed countries that include the EU and the US have, not surprisingly, registered their reservations over such an approach. For the US, the country with the largest chunk of historical emissions, this approach spells doom. For the EU that has for long been arguing that current realities need to be taken into account in any emerging agreement, such an approach falls short. Another limitation would be its focus only on responsibility—the contribution of countries to climatic crisis—and not taking into account the capability of countries to address climate change. These are known to be to the two sides of the infamous “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” (CBDR/RC) principle in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), agreed to by all countries in 1992. This principle is usually considered a cornerstone principle, particularly by developing countries, as it differentiates between developed and developing countries; this found emphasis in the interventions made by several parties at the opening plenary of ADP. But while the principle itself remains sacrosanct to developing countries, several experts and civil society actors working outside the convention want to see the principles captured in quantified terms that would guide party commitments. According to Tom Athanasiou from the Ecoequity group that has been working on one such formulation, “without a framework in place that guides and assesses that countries are doing their fair share, it becomes a free-for-all in which each country chooses what it wants to do.” Countries are being asked to nationally formulate what their commitments would be for a deal in 2015. But whether all national efforts would collectively add up to ensuring that the world stays on track to contain global average temperature rise to 2°C is a question that remains to be answered. While frameworks such as the one that Athanasiou and others are talking about would provide the yardsticks to assess if countries’ efforts are actually fair and in line with their responsibility as well as capability, they currently do not enjoy formal negotiation space. The Brazilian proposal, limited as it maybe, could provide the window of opportunity to discuss such proposals to ensure that equity principle may finally find expression in a future agreement. Eco-sensitive zones subverted STATES have put a spanner in the Centre’s move to regulate industrialisation around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries by notifying eco-sensitive zones. Worried about how the process would hit development and apparently under pressure from mining and industry lobbies, the states have excluded several ecologically important areas around wildlife parks and sanctuaries from being protected. To make matters worse, the communities around eco-sensitive areas are also in uproar because they have been excluded from the process of identifying and governing the eco-sensitive zones (ESZs). On December 31, 2012, the Ministry of Environment and Forests had issued an order giving February 14 as the deadline to states to send proposals for declaring site-specific ESZs around protected areas (national parks and wildlife sanctuaries). The ministry said if the proposals were not sent for a particular national park or sanctuary by the deadline, restrictions on industrial development will be imposed within 10 kilometres around that protected areas (PA). ESZs are ecologically important areas notified under the Environment Protection Act to be protected from industrial pollution and unregulated development. Of the total 102 national parks and 526 wildlife sanctuaries in the country, so far, only seven have ESZs around them. The Centre extended its deadline till June 15 after receiving proposals from only a handful of states. Till June 30, the environment ministry received proposals of only 361 PAs out of 621 PAs. While 105 PAs in Andaman and Nicobar have been exempted from this process, several states sent the proposals after the deadline. The Centre now plans to notify ESZs on the basis of the proposals, but the arbitrary manner in which ESZs have been identified might defeat the very purpose of notifying them. Documents on internal communications between various state departments show that despite forest departments identifying ESZs in time, state governments delayed the submission of the proposals to tweak them to please the mining and industry lobbies. As a result, the state proposals exclude several ecologically important areas where mining and industrial works are happening or can take place in the future. Reserved for exploitation Ministry of Environment and Forests’ guidelines, issued in February 2011, say that a field-level committee will identify ESZs within 10 kilometres of the PA boundary. The committee will comprise field staff of the forest, revenue and Panchayati Raj departments and an ecologist. The chief wildlife warden of the state, after scrutinising the committee proposals, will send them to the environment ministry. In Odisha, the forest department had prepared the proposal by February. The state government then conducted meetings with the mining, industry and revenue departments and tweaked the proposal. In a meeting held on May 21, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, on the recommendation of the state revenue minister, asked the forest department to reduce the extent of an ESZ at Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary in Balasore district to exclude stone quarries and crushers operating in the area. The decision to have a five-kilometre eco-sensitive zone around Dalma wildlife sanctuary has irked Tata Steel (Photo: Agnimirh Basu) It was decided in the meeting that “the eco-sensitive zone boundary will be about five kilometres in the south-western direction so that 80-90 per cent of the quarries are kept outside the ambit of ESZ regulations. Likewise, in the north-eastern side, the ESZ limit will be delineated in a way that quarries in Mitrapur area are not adversely affected”. The chief minister decided to exclude the quarries despite the chief wildlife warden of the state arguing that the area included in the proposed ESZ was the frequent migratory route for elephants, and quarries could not be legally allowed adjacent to the boundary of the sanctuary. The chief minister also gave instructions to expedite the disposal of pending quarrying proposals. In another case, the proposal for Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary in Kalahandi was revised to limit the ESZ extent to one kilometre on one side of the sanctuary because of the presence of bauxite deposits. Mining company Vedanta is reported to have plans to mine bauxite from this region for its refinery in Lanjhigarh. At the Chandaka-Dampada Sanctuary too, the steel and mines departments forced the forest department to reduce the extent of ESZ from five kilometres to 500 metres on the western side of the sanctuary because “some of the best quality fire clay mines” are present there. In the case of Kapilas Wildlife Sanctuary in Dhenkanal, the extent of ESZ was reduced from 10 kilometres to 500 metres. J D Sharma, chief wildlife warden of Odisha, admits high stakes in the land around PAs in the state has complicated the process. “Northern Odisha has the maximum PAs. It also has maximum mineral reserves. The mining industry, township developers and transporters fear that if ESZs are notified, their projects may shut down in these regions. Several committees were formed right from the district level to the state Cabinet level to scrutinise the proposals. This took time,” he says. Biswajit Mohanty of the non-profit Wildlife Society of Orissa thinks the state government, under pressure from the mining and industry lobbies, sabotaged the process of identifying ESZs. “Ecological integrity of the PAs and wildlife presence have to be the most important criteria for identifying ESZs. Most of the original proposals of the forest department were based on these criteria. But the state government altered the proposals to exploit these areas,” he says. The presence of minerals and resources near PAs has disrupted the identification of ESZs in other states too. Sources in the Uttarakhand forest department say about 27,000 hectares of land was deleted by the state government from the original ESZ proposal of the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary to accommodate hydel projects. The deleted area has rivulets that make the watershed system of the sanctuary. “Sand mining and hydel projects are very close to the PA boundaries. The pressure from above to exclude these areas was so much that the local staff had no clue on how to make the proposals. Many of the proposals were made by copying others,” says a forest official posted in Dehradun. In Jharkhand, the notification of ESZ around Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary issued in March 2012 had irked TATA Steel Limited. While the environment ministry capped the extent of ESZs to five kilometres from the boundary of the sanctuary, TATA wanted it to be limited to one kilometre. The company argued that that expansion of Jamshedpur town will be adversely affected by the ESZ notification. It again wrote to the ministry in January this year to reduce the ESZ to 500 metres, which was rejected on state’s recommendation. Goa has been opposing ESZs because most of its iron ore mines are concentrated near wildlife sanctuaries. As per a report by the Central Empowered Committee, an adviser to the Supreme Court on forest-related issues, at least 162 mining leases in the state were granted within 10 kilometers of PAs. While at least 19 mines operated illegally inside the sanctuaries, most of the other mines were operating in violation of environmental norms. As a result, the Supreme Court imposed an indefinite ban on mining in Goa last year and slammed the state for not notifying ESZs around PAs. Goa finally formulated the ESZ proposals, but made them in such a way that mining activities are not affected in the future.In a bid to bring the least area under ESZs, the Goa government said that “natural boundaries” of PAs, which are defined by the hills, rivers or plateaus, should be considered for defining ESZs. In most of the cases, the natural boundary of a PA is nearly the same as the actual boundary of the PA. An expert committee of the environment ministry, however, found wildlife presence in up to three kilometres from the actual boundary of most PAs, and recommended that the ESZ should be at least 1 km from the PA. In Madhya Pradesh, the state government has conveniently fixed ESZ boundaries in most PAs at two kilometres. For Satpura national park in Hoshangabad district, the forest department had proposed that five kilometres around the boundary be notified as ESZ, but it was reduced to two kilometres on state Cabinet’s instructions. “The environment ministry had asked for identifying site-specific ESZs. It seems the Madhya Pradesh government had arbitrarily decided that no ESZ will be more than two kilometers. Where are the ecological criteria in this?” asks Ajay Dubey of Bhopal-based non-profit Prayatna. A high-ranking official in the environment ministry admits that most ESZ proposals sent by states are flawed. “States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa kept the mining areas out of ESZs, irrespective of their ecological value. Besides, no ground investigation has been done in most proposals. The areas are randomly marked on topographic sheets,” says he. In an internal meeting of the environment ministry in May this year, its wildlife division had expressed concerns over the quality of the state ESZ proposals. “Most proposals do not follow ecological aspects of the objective of this exercise,” says the division’s note sent to the director general of forests before the meeting. The note points out that in most of the proposals, distance from the PA boundary was made the only criterion for defining ESZ and factors such as habitat connectivity and ecological integrity of the region were rarely considered for identifying the zones. Unclear guidelines The Supreme Court had ordered in 2006 that till states do not notify ESZs, all projects within 10 km of a PA will require an approval from the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL). Under ESZ, commercial mining, polluting industries and large hydro-power projects are prohibited as per the ministry guidelines. States might, therefore, be reluctant to notify ESZs and prefer NBWL clearances for projects near PAs. Wildlife activists are worried. “With the increasing pressure on land, ESZs are imperative to maintain the integrity of our already fragmented PAs. ESZs must be identified judiciously after taking into account crucial wildlife corridors. The worry is that considerations other than ecological are dictating ESZs,” says Prerna Bindra, former member of the standing committee of NBWL. The environment ministry guidelines for identifying ESZs are also being blamed. “There were no criteria defined for including or excluding an area in the ESZ, leaving it to the forest officials to arbitrarily take decisions,” says a forest official in Uttarakhand. With tremendous shortage of manpower, the environment ministry may not be able to crosscheck the proposals on the ground and rectify their flaws. “The Wildlife Institute of India is scrutinising the proposals. If they have an issue with any of the proposals, we send it back to the states with comments. After the states respond, we forward them for draft notification,” says S S Garbyal, Additional Director General of Forests (Wildlife). Environment lawyer Sanjay Upadhyay says, “We have already messed up with the PAs by clearing project after project despite having enough regulations in place. How is ESZ going to help? Besides, PAs are long-term conservation goals under the wildlife Protection Act and ESZs are short-term conservation entities under the Environment Protection Act. The two are not supposed to be clubbed together. We do not have the operational capacity to manage it.” Communities to bear the brunt Communities living around PAs in several states have protested against ESZs in the past 10 months. Though ESZ does not affect the ownership rights of people on land resources, it restricts land-use change. Activities such as widening of roads, construction or expansion of buildings, change of the agriculture system and erection of electric cables will also be regulated by a monitoring committee, mostly comprising of government officials, as per the master plan of the ESZ. Tribal rights activists demand local participation and incentives to the community for implementing ESZ. “The monitoring committee in the ESZ is not democratic. Only a handful of officials will take all the decisions. People will be at their mercy for every permission,” says C R Bijoy of forest rights forum Campaign for Survival and Dignity. He argues gram sabha should be the monitoring authority in ESZ. “Most ESZ areas fall on revenue land. If people can’t use their land according to their will, they will protest. The Centre should come up with a plan to incentivise farmers for sticking to green practices in ESZs,” M D Madhusudan of Nature Conservation Foundation says. Diplomacy deficit IT was the opening plenary of the Montreal Protocol Meeting of the Parties in Bangkok. There was complete silence when A Duraiswamy, head of the Indian delegation, took the floor. He was loud and clear: Montreal Protocol is not the right forum to discuss hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); it is a greenhouse gas and not an ozone-depleting substance. For those following these negotiations, this should not have come as a surprise. This has been India’s stand all along. Yet, several parties expressed dismay, even shock. Duraiswamy was contradicting high-level political decisions taken not long ago. Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to discuss HFCs under the Montreal Protocol with US President Barack Obama. This was followed by a G-20 communique, and finally came Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s agreement with Obama on the subject. Surprisingly, Duraiswamy, in his opening remarks, told the US that India was bilaterally discussing HFC with it and once a decision was taken, the matter would be moved to Montreal Protocol. Such a position, favouring bilateral talks at a multilateral forum, did not go down well with others. Duraiswamy’s statement not only made the differences within India clear, but among countries as well. The ensuing back-and-forth volley of questions clearly showed which side of the HFC battle each country was on. Not surprisingly, the US, Micronesia and Canada, who, along with the European Bloc, want to bring HFCs under the purview of the Montreal Protocol, opposed the Indian stand at the meeting. Several developing countries wanted HFCs to remain under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, when India articulated its stance most vocally, only Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and later Cuba backed it at the plenary. India’s friends from the BASIC grouping—Brazil, South Africa and China—did not. Incidentally, while Duraiswamy stressed there was no alternative to HFCs, a Godrej board advertised the company’s hydrocarbon air-conditioner and refrigerator just outside. Eventually, taking note of India’s reservations, a less formal discussion group was set up. Given the limited legal bearing such a group would have on the meeting’s decisions, parties were more open in discussing their real concerns about the harmful greenhouse gas. But here too, the Indian delegate did not fail to remind all present that HFCs did not simply belong here. For countries from warmer regions, a major concern was how the alternatives to HFCs, tested only in northern temperate climes, would work under higher temperatures. Some countries pointed the need to set standards to address safety concerns, while others spoke about the MultiLateral Fund, the financial mechanism of Montreal Protocol. China accused the developed world of not stepping forth when funding was discussed. Argentina also gave constructive suggestions. India said the current model of financing was not suited for phasing out HFCs. While India’s concerns were not vastly different from those of many developing nations, Duraiswamy’s aggressive statements served only to club him with oil-exporting countries which are not looked upon favourably at environmental negotiations. India’s stand comes with past political baggage. Earlier, it had an ally in China but with the recent developments, Beijing preferred to withdraw the alliance. The US’ longstanding reluctance to take on CO2 emission cuts does not help; clearly, it is almost tit-for-tat now. The US has long blocked negotiations under the UNFCCC by pushing its agenda. Now the Indian delegation appears not very different. India needs to take a stand where it leads and sets examples, not follow them. Climatic Vulnerable of India’s Coastal Regions by Goodpal India is highly vulnerable to various natural hazards such as droughts, floods, heat-waves and cyclones.  --Around 76 percent of India’s coastline is prone to cyclones and tsunamis,  ---while 59 percent of the country is vulnerable to earthquakes,  ---10 percent to floods and river erosion, and  ---68 percent to droughts. The effects of climate change are adding a new and more intractable dimension to the existing risk profile of vulnerable areas. It is believed that climate change will alter the number, severity, frequency and complexity of climate-induced hazards.  With this uncertainty, and more importantly, with new areas experiencing extreme events, it becomes critical to adopt an integrated climate risk management approach Vulnerability to climate change is determined, in large part, by people’s adaptive capacity Integration of disaster risk reduction into national and local development policies and plans is considered one of the key processes to promote a sustainable and climate resilient development paradigm.  Communities, especially poor women and men, need to be supported in adopting and incorporating risk reduction concerns into their day-to-day lives, livelihoods and occupational patterns. Climatic Vulnerability of Coastal Regions ---Thirteen coastal states and Union Territories (UTs) in the country are affected by tropical cyclones. --- Four states (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal) and one UT (Puducherry) on the east coast and one state (Gujarat) on the west coast are rather highly vulnerable to cyclone hazards. India has a coastline of about 7,516 km of which 5,400 km is along the mainland. The entire coast is affected by cyclones with varying frequency and intensity.  ---Although the North Indian Ocean (the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea) generates only about 7% of the world’s cyclones (5 to 6 TC’s per year) their impact is comparatively high and devastating, especially when they strike the coasts bordering the North Bay of Bengal. The Bay of Bengal is world’s most cyclone prone region. In recent time, it saw the deadliest Bhola storm in Bangladesh in 1970 killing about half a million people. A year later in 1971, Odisha was hammered by another cyclone taking away around 10,000 lives. Then the 1999 super cyclone also took about 10,000 human lives apart from numerous cattle deaths and nearly 9 crore trees. In 1999, the damage price tag was about $2.5 billion. ---26 out of 35 deadliest tropical cyclones in the world history have been the Bay of Bengal storms.  ---In the past two centuries, 42% of Earth’s tropical cyclone-associated deaths have occurred in Bangladesh and 27% in India. ---At least 200 million people were estimated to live in the coastal floodplain in 1990 and it is likely that their number increases to 600 million by the year 2100.  ---Global climate change and the threat of accelerated sea-level rise exacerbate the already existing high risks of storm surges, severe waves and tsunamis. Climate change may not only enhance the most threatening extreme events (e.g., through increasing storminess) but also aggravate long-term biogeophysical effects, such as sea-level rise, shoreline erosion, sediment deficits, saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers and the loss of coastal wetlands. ---Unlike many other anticipated consequences of climate change, global sea-level rise is already taking place. Over the last 100 years, global sea level rose by 1.0-2.5 mm/year. Present estimates of future sea-level rise induced by climate change, as presented in the IPCC Second Assessment Report, range from 20 to 86 cm for the year 2100, with a best estimate of 49 cm (including the cooling effect of aerosols). 6 Ways Coastal Regions are Affected Irrespective of the primary causes of sea-level rise (climate change, natural or human-induced subsidence, dynamic ocean effects), natural coastal systems can be affected in a variety of ways. From a societal perspective, following are the six most important biogeophysical effects and it must be clear that these effects would usually not occur in isolation: 1. Increasing flood-frequency probabilities and enhancement of extreme flood-level risks; 2. Erosion and sediment deficits;3. Gradual inundation of low-lying areas and wetlands;4. Rising water tables;5. Saltwater intrusion;6. Biological effects. Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) 2014 According to the latest report Climate Change and Environmental Risk Atlas by risk analysts Maplecroft, neighboring Bangladesh is the most vulnerable country to climate change impacts in the world. According to the report, rising sea levels, severe storms and other extreme climate-related events will also threaten the future of Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital. Mumbai, Manila, Kolkata and Bangkok will have the same experience. Top 10 economically most severely impacted countries are: Bangladesh (1st and most at risk), Guinea-Bissau (2nd), Sierra Leone (3rd), Haiti (4th), South Sudan (5th), Nigeria (6th), DR Congo (7th), Cambodia (8th), Philippines (9th) and Ethiopia (10th), out of the 193 rated by the CCVI. Other important emerging markets at risk include: India (20th), Pakistan (24th) and Viet Nam (26th) in the ‘extreme risk’ category, in addition to Indonesia (38th), Thailand (45th), Kenya (56th) and, most significantly, China (61st), all classified at ‘high risk.’ The climate-related risks on the CCVI are evaluated three factors: Exposure to extreme climate-related events, including sea level rise and future changes in temperature, precipitation and specific humidity; The sensitivity of populations, in terms of health, education, agricultural dependence and available infrastructure; and The adaptive capacity of countries to combat the impacts of climate change, which encompasses, R&D, economic factors, resource security and the effectiveness of government. India’s economic exposure to the impacts of extreme climate related events was recently highlighted by Cyclone Phailin. The cyclone caused around US$4 billion worth damage to the agriculture and power sectors alone in the state of Odisha, which is also India’s most important mining region. Up to 1 million tons of rice were destroyed, while key infrastructure, including roads, ports, railway and telecommunications were severely damaged, causing major disruption to company operations and the supply chains of industrial users of minerals. Do International Instruments Recognize Gender – Climate Change Link? Posted on August 23, 2011by Goodpal If gender has not become an important issue in the context of climate change most of the fault lies with international policies that did not consider gender dimension of the climatic hardships. In this section we explore how gender issues have evolved so far; it is only representative and not exhaustive. It may be instructive first understand the difference between a declaration, a convention, and a pact at international platforms. 1.  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979, The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the first international treaty expressly recognizing women’s human rights. CEDAW’s Optional Protocol establishes procedures that allow women to make complaints about violations of their human rights; it was adopted by the General Assembly in 1999 and has been in effect since 22 December 2000. CEDAW defines discrimination against women as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.” CEDAW establishes that discrimination against women violates the principles of equal rights and respect for human dignity and obstructs them from participating in political, social, economic and cultural life on the same level as men. It also recognizes that gender discrimination is an obstruction to improving the well-being of society and the family, and that it interferes with the full development of women’s possibilities to contribute to society. Countries that have ratified CEDAW are committed to adopting measures necessary to eradicate all forms of discrimination against women, particularly in rural areas. It also recognizes that women should have equal rights to enter contracts and administer property. 2.  Global Climatic and Environmental Instruments Rio Earth Summit In 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the “Earth Summit,” was held inRio de Janeiro,Brazil. This was an important event that set forth a series of activities – like Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration, or the Conventions on Biodiversity and on Desertification and Drought, and of course the UNFCCC – that would shape the future international debates for years to come. Except for the UNFCCC, all other outcomes included a strong focus on women’s concerns and issues. This is the core reason why climate change discussions have remained almost oblivious to gender concerns. Later efforts remained at best sporadic and on the sidelines of the mainstream discussions but did raise the awareness among COP participants and negotiators; however, the gender issue found some visibility in the COP 11 in Montreal 2005 and then a strong impetus at Bali two years later, as the following outline suggests. It is safe to assume that that this gap is linked to the lack of participation by gender experts in the negotiations: women are not one of the ‘constituencies’ included as observers in the UNFCCC process. This might be one reason why experts on equal opportunities and women’s rights kept away from the negotiations for a long time. It is well-known that if women’s organizations and gender experts are not involved, gender issues are not addressed. Thanks to the initiatives taken mainly by non-governmental organizations, the Summitadopted a gender perspective in all development and environment policies and programs, leading to the promotion of women’s effective participation in the proper use of natural resources. This provided the first international precedent for including the gender perspective in promoting sustainable development. Gender at the Rio Earth Summit Agenda 21, the main outcome document of the Rio Summit, contains nine chapters on so-called ‘Major Groups’, the first one being ‘Women’ (the others are Children and Youth; Trade Unions; Business; Farmers; Indigenous People; Science and Research; NGOs; Local Government). Agenda 21 recognizes the importance of women’s traditional knowledge and practices, stresses the contributions women have made to biodiversity conservation and asks that specific measures be adopted to transform objectives into strategies. Chapter 24 is specifically dedicated to considering women. It focuses on the crucial role they play in changing the consumption and production model and expects that they will need to play a part in politico-economic decisions. At the same time, there are proposed actions to end present discrimination against women. These include: ●The implementation of measures that strengthen and stimulate women’s institutions, non-governmental organizations and groups that provide training on using and managing resources. ●The promotion of a reduction of women’s very heavy workload by establishing child care centers, evenly dividing household tasks between men and women and using environmentally healthy technologies. ●The implementation of programs that establish and strengthen preventive health and health care services directed and managed by women and that include safe, cheap and voluntary family planning services. Two legally binding agreements of great environmental importance were signed at the “Earth Summit”: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the latter being the first global agreement focused on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. A. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992 and came into force on 21 March 1994. The objective of the UNFCCC is to stabilize concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere, to prevent anthropogenic interferences in the climate system, and to allow for enough time to permit ecosystems to naturally adapt to the change. This will help ensure that food production is not threatened and allow for sustainable economic development. One of its other purposes is to raise worldwide public awareness about problems related to climate change. In 1997, governments agreed to incorporate an addition to the UNFCCC, known as the Kyoto Protocol, with the objective of reducing emissions of GHGs by 5% between 2008 and 2012 by taking legally binding measures. The Kyoto Protocol includes three flexible mechanisms designed to reduce the costs of compliance with emission reduction targets: the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM); the Joint Implementation (JI); and Emissions Trading. The Protocol, though, does not include a gender perspective in its operation or in its mechanisms. Overall, the UNFCCC makes no mention of gender or of women and men as specific stakeholders. Its implementation has thus failed to recognize the gender aspects of climate change and has omitted any mention of gender equality and women’s participation. However, the Women’s Caucuses that have been held since COP-11 (2005) have vigorously negotiated for the inclusion of the gender approach in all areas of the Convention. Members of the Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA), which was launched in 2007 at COP-13 inBali, have also been active in promoting gender equality concerns in global efforts to address climate change. 7th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (Marrakech, 2001) The first (and only) official mention of women is contained in the text of a resolution agreed at COP7 in Marrakech in 2001. the decision FCCC/ CP/2001/13/ calls for more nominations of women to UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol bodies. It also tasks the Secretariat with determining the gender composition of these bodies, and with bringing the results to the attention of the Parties. 13th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (Bali, 2007) COP-13, held in Bali, Indonesiain December 2007, clearly underlined the commitments of Member States concerning climate change and formulated the Bali Action Plan. This led toward the promotion of gender equality. Within the UNFCCC COP-13 framework, and in an unprecedented effort, UNDP, UNEP, IUCN and WEDO launched the Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA). The principal objective of thisAllianceis to ensure that policies, initiatives and decision-making processes on climate change include the gender approach at global, regional and national levels. The fundamental principle is to guarantee the inclusion of women’s voices in decision-making and in policy-making. Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA) The GGCA’s objectives and strategies aim to: ●Integrate the gender approach in world policies and decision-making to ensure full compliance with United Nations mandates on gender equality; ●Ensure that mitigation and adaptation financing mechanisms take equal account of the needs of poor men and women; ●Build capacities at global, regional and local levels to design policies, strategies and programs on climate change that recognize gender equity. TheAlliancewould work with UNFCCC to incorporate gender perspective and develop training module to propagate this issue. 14th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (Poznan, 2008) Gender and climate change advocates had a high profile at COP-14. The Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA) led various events, including a High-Level Panel advocating for the inclusion of Gender in the climate change dialogue. Further, the GGCA, led by IUCN, compiled a training manual on gender and climate change and trained 17 regional trainers from Africa,ArabStates, Asia, Latin America and theCaribbean, and oriented over 50 national delegates to the UNFCCC. This created a supportive atmosphere in favor gender inclusion. Although the next two COPs atCopenhagen(2009) andCancun(2010) have not produced any significant break through, the gender concerns have begun to be recognized. National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPA) In the UNFCCC documents, the only reference to gender is in the guide on how to prepare National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPA). Gender equality is one of the principles included when designing the NAPA and it advises that experts – both women and men – be included on the teams working on gender questions. Many of the national reports submitted by the signatory nations to the UNFCCC Secretariat thus far stress, in very general terms, the vulnerability of women and the importance of equality. Specifically, manyNAPAhave recognized that women are mainly responsible for domestic chores such as collecting water, firewood (or other fuels) and producing and preparing meals. They also mention that, in general, vulnerable women are found in the poorest populations. B. Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), adopted in 1992, is the international framework for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the fair distribution of its benefits. The objective of the CBD is to promote the sustainable use of biodiversity. This convention recognizes that biodiversity includes not only plants, animals, micro-organisms and their ecosystems, but also human beings and their needs (e.g., food, clean air, medicines and a clean and healthy environment). Over 190 states have ratified it to date. Women’s participation has been explicitly addressed within the CBD. Since 2007, the CBD Secretariat has made specific efforts to mainstream gender and developed a Gender Plan of Action for this purpose. 3.  United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (1994) Adopted in 1994, The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the only internationally recognized legally binding instrument dealing with the problem of land degradation in terra firma rural areas. The objective of this Convention is to demonstrate that the risks of desertification are substantial and clear. Calculations show that the means of subsistence of more than 1 billion people could be at risk because of desertification and could be in danger of being driven from their lands. Especially vulnerable are poor people living in rural zones, particularly those in less developed countries. The UNCCD goes beyond mainstreaming gender. It not only recognizes the role women play in rural sustenance, but also promotes equal participation of women and men. The prologue of the convention stresses “the important role played by women in regions affected by desertification and/or drought, particularly in rural areas of developing countries, and the importance of ensuring the full participation of both men and women at all levels in programs to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought.”62 Likewise, Article 4 of the General Obligations requires the affected country to “promote awareness and facilitate the participation of local populations, particularly women, with the support of non-governmental organizations, in efforts to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought.” 4.  World Conference on Women, Beijing (1995) At the Fourth World Conference on Women, held inBeijingin 1995, the link between gender, the environment and sustainable development was clearly defined. Chapter K of the Platform for Action makes specific reference to the environment with strategic objectives and action as central themes, including the poverty that affects many women; the need for women to participate vigorously in making decisions about the environment at all levels; and integration of the gender perspective in sustainable development policies and programs. In the follow-up meeting to the Beijing Platform for Action (2005), the General Assembly stressed the need “to actively involve women in environmental decision-making at all levels; integrate their concerns and the gender perspective in sustainable development policies and programs and consolidate or establish mechanisms at the national, regional, and international levels to assess the impact of development and environmental policies on women.” 5.  World Conference on Disaster Reduction (Hyogo, 2005) The World Conference on Disaster Reduction (Hyogo, 2005) is the most recent international advance in efforts to integrate gender equity into all decision-making and planning processes related to disaster risk management. The Framework for Action of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction states: “A gender perspective should be integrated into all disaster risk management policies, plans and decision-making processes, including those related to risk assessment, early warning, information management, and education and training (Gender consideration of action priorities). “Develop early warning systems that are people centred, in particular systems whose warnings are timely and understandable to those at risk, which take into account the demographic, gender, cultural and livelihood characteristics of the target audiences, including guidance on how to act upon warnings, and that support effective operations by disaster managers and other decision makers (Essential priority activity to take early warning action). “Ensure equal access to appropriate training and educational opportunities for women and vulnerable constituencies, promote gender and cultural sensitivity training as integral components of education and training for disaster risk reduction (Essential priority activity for action for teaching and training).” 6.  High-level roundtable on “Gender and Climate Change” (New York, 2007) In 2007, the Women’s Environment and Development Organization WEDO along with other groups organized a high-level roundtable on “Gender and Climate Change.” This meeting was attended by representatives of the United Nations, NGOs and officials from 60 countries. The roundtable included extensive discussions on the connection between climate change and gender; presentations from various countries demonstrating that relationship; importance of including the gender approach in all policies about climate change, especially in adaptation policies; and suggestions for specific steps to ensure that gender equity is included in decision-making processes. 7.  Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) From 2002 until the present, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has continued to promote awareness of the links between gender, disaster and climate change. In accordance with resolution 2006/9 of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the CSW identifies emerging global themes that require global and regional actions in each of its annual sessions. Specifically, Resolution (jj) on Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment requests governments to “integrate a gender perspective in the design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of national environmental policies, strengthen mechanisms and provide adequate resources to ensure women’s full and equal participation in decision-making at all levels on environmental issues, in particular on strategies related to the impact of climate change on the lives of women and girls.” At its 46th session in 2002, the CSW broached themes related to climate change when it focused on disaster management and mitigation. In its conclusions, the Commission called for the integration of a gender perspective in ongoing research that the academic and other sectors are conducting on the impact of climate change and its deep-rooted causes. At its 52nd session in March 2008, the CSW considered the “Gender perspective on climate change” as an emerging theme. To identify gender perspectives and women’s participation in actions concerning climate change, the participants in the interactive dialogue shared experiences on good practices at the national, regional and international levels. 8.  United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII) At its Sixth Session in 2007, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues requested that a document be prepared to investigate and report on “the impacts of mitigation measures on indigenous peoples.” In compliance with that request, the impact of mitigation on indigenous people was taken up as a special theme at the seventh session of the Forum (2008), entitled “Climate change, bio-cultural diversity and livelihoods: the role of indigenous peoples and new challenges.” The result was a report compiled by the Support Group members at the Forum on indigenous peoples and climate change (E/C.19/2008/10), in which recommendation No. 79 recognized women’s important role, stating: “The principles of shared but differentiated responsibilities, equity, social justice and sustainable development, must remain as key principles that sustain climate change negotiations, policies and programs. The approach to development and the ecosystem, based on human rights, should guide the design and implementation, at national, regional and global levels, of policies and projects on climate. The crucial role of women and indigenous girls in developing mitigation and adaptation measures must also be ensured.” Present Status At present, global negotiations on climate change are still mainly focused on reducing GHGs by means of the UNFCCC, the IPCC, the Kyoto Protocol, and other related mechanisms. The gender dimension has not been significantly broached in considering adaptation and mitigation, and therefore they provide neither a legal framework nor a rights-based approach needed to implement responses to climate change that are equitable for both men and women. Specific Issues Why Climate Change is a Gender Issue? What is a Gender-Sensitive Response to Climate Change? Why Poor Women should Worry about Climate Change? Posted in Climate Change, Gender | Tagged CEDAW, Gender and UNFCCC, gender in climate talks, gender in global negotiations, gender in international talks, UNFCCC, why no gender in UNFCCC, why UNFCCC has no gender focus | Leave a comment Why Climate Change Debates have no Gender Focus? Posted on August 16, 2011by Goodpal Climate Change Debate – In the Wrong Direction The number of natural disasters is expected to rise by 320 percent worldwide in the coming 20 years. - UN Report Cars or Ships? Climate change debate continues to be afflicted with global disagreements and political maneuvering. But it is neither a mere political issue as politicians want us to believe, nor only a carbon emission issue as environmental scientists and some NGOs appear convinced about, and nor a money making opportunity as some carbon traders want us to bet our lives on. It is also not about performing the annual ritual of organizing international debates on United Nation’s platform in one corner of the world or another and allowing states to quarrel and blame one another. It is also not about creating innovative strategies such as REDD or REDD+ – impressive acronyms for Reduced Emission from Deforestation and forest Degradation, which will allow rich countries in future to treat forests of poor countries as carbon warehouses and trade them as stocks, without solving the climate change problem. Above all, climate change is a global issue with a human dimension. It is mostly about suffering and survival of people living in the developing world, particularly of the poorest who are the most vulnerable. Climate Change – Risks and Vulnerabilities The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, (2007) notes: “Climate change impacts will be differently distributed among different regions, generations, age classes, income group, occupations and genders. The impacts of climate change will fall disproportionately upon developing countries and the poor persons within all countries, and thereby exacerbate inequities in health status and access to adequate food, clean water, and other resources.” It is amply clear that the weakest nations and the poorest groups will have to now face the erratic and unpredictably mood of the climate. It is a problem they did not create and can’t solve on their own. They are also too weak to challenge the so called “developed nations” and demand an explanation, apology, and compensation for their blind industrialization that precipitated the climate change phenomenon which is putting their lives on danger. Rich countries are better equipped to handle climatic perturbations – their lifestyle is more technology based and most people don’t directly depend on natural resources or agriculture for subsistence or employment. By virtue of their money power they are also in a position to influence international debates. Therefore, the international response to climate change issues closely reflects the priorities and interests of wealthier countries. It is mostly focused on mitigation efforts, particularly of greenhouse gas emission through large-scale technological initiatives and the enhancement of natural carbon sinks – particularly forests. On the other hand, people in poor countries mostly live connected to land, water or forests. The truth is: their very survival depends on the physical environment for their food and livelihood security and hence, they are highly vulnerable to climate change disturbances. Therefore, they require solutions to reduce their vulnerability. Any disorderly behavior of the climate suddenly puts them in life threatening situations. Their issues are basicallyadaptation related and more local in nature. They primarily need social and political solution – technology can only play specific, subordinate or supportive role depending upon the nature of vulnerability. Adaptation is also the area where gender differences are most stark. It is widely accepted that women in developing countries constitute one of the poorest and hence, are the most vulnerable groups in the world. Therefore, women living there will be the worst sufferer of climatic hardships. It is their misfortune that they live in poor countries with very limited choices which is further aggravated by their weaker gender. It badly limits their capacity to fight out hard times. Read Complete PDF Report: GENDER_CLIMATE_CHANGE Posted in Climate Change, Gender | Tagged climate change debate, climate change impacts, climate change problem, climate change risks, gender dimension of climate change, gender in climate change, Global warming,intergovernmental panel on climate change, MDGs and climate change, women and climate change | Leave a comment Gender Focused Recommendations to UNFCCC Adaptation Fund Posted on August 11, 2011by Goodpal Various women’s groups have offered the following recommendations to the international community working on climate change problems: The UNFCCC International Adaptation Fund must include gender considerations. National and international adaptation plans, strategies, and budgets should mainstream gender. Global and national studies should produce gender-differentiated data on the impacts of climate change and emphasize the capacities of men and women to adapt and mitigate climate changes. Studies should also determine the advantages of implementing gender-sensitive adaptation projects. Governments should understand and use the knowledge and specialized skills of women in natural disaster survival and management strategies. Women must be recognized as powerful agents of change and that their leadership is critical. Women should be included in all levels of strategies to adapt to climate change. Women’s access to, and control over, natural resources need to be improved in order to reduce poverty and vulnerability and to ensure that women have resources to adapt properly. Training and educational programs for women and girls (especially in vulnerable communities) that provide general information about disasters, and strategies to cope with them should be developed. Read a Detailed Report Posted in Gender, Uncategorized | Tagged climate change adaptation, international adaptation plans, international adaptation strategies, UNFCCC fund | Leave a comment Why Climate Change in not Gender Neutral Posted on August 11, 2011by Goodpal The 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that greenhouse gases and aerosols will alter the energy balance of the climate system. Over the next two decades it is projected that there will be a warming of 0.2°C (IPCC, 2007). Climate changes are expected to have unprecedented effects on people worldwide, particularly through the increase in natural disasters. Social, economic and geographical characteristics will determine the vulnerability of people to climate change. Many studies have determined that poor women are more vulnerable to natural disasters given socially constructed gender roles and behavior. A study of disasters in 141 countries provided decisive evidence that gender differences in deaths from natural disasters are directly linked to women’s economic and social rights. In inequitable societies, women are more vulnerable to disasters; for example, boys are likely to receive preferential treatment in rescue efforts and both women and girls suffer more from shortages of food and economic resources in the aftermath of disasters. Women and children are 14 times more likely to die than men during a disaster. In the 1991 cyclone disasters which killed 140,000 inBangladesh, for example, 90 percent of victims were women. Similarly, in industrialized countries, more women than men died during the 2003 European heat wave. During Hurricane Katrina in theUnited States, African-American women, who were the poorest population in that part of the country, faced the greatest obstacles to survival. During the 2006 Indian Ocean tsunami, more women died than men – for example in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, male survivors outnumber female survivors by three or four to one. Although women are disproportionately impacted by disasters and swift environmental changes, women have also contributed to curbing the impacts of climate change. Women’s knowledge and responsibilities related to natural resource management have proven to be critical to community survival. Read in Detail Impact of Climate Change: Indexing Vulnerability to Disasters Posted on August 2, 2011by Goodpal The impact of climate change will be felt most acutely by those who are the most vulnerable – poor, women, elderly, and children. Their adaptation needs crucially depend on their vulnerability which is not the same as poverty as many policy makers assume. Vulnerability is better defined as a “set of conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards,” (adopted by the UN at the World Conference on Disasters in 2005). This emphasizes the need to look at vulnerability not simply as a result of, or response to, environmental extremes. Rather, vulnerability is rooted in the construction of everyday social space or social existence; that is, vulnerability needs to be seen as context (for example, unequal access to opportunities) rather than outcome. Analyzing vulnerability requires us to recognize how different factors – physical, social, and attitudinal – are interconnected. These factors combine to affect the degree to which hazards affect individuals or communities, and also define their ability to adapt. InIndia, given its huge population and the fact that more than 75 per cent of it lives on less than $2 per day (UNDP 2007) women, children, and elderly people carry disproportionately high “burden of vulnerability”. It puts them in the high risk category. The Vulnerability Capacity Index (VCI) is a simple quantitative vulnerability index based on about a dozen ‘drivers of vulnerability’. Scores are attached to the different indicators, and the three dimensions of vulnerability are then weighed to come up with a composite score. A composite Vulnerabilities and Capacities Index (VCI) for the rural households Material Vulnerability (Weightage: 35%) • Income source – local/ non-local, and or non- land based • Educational attainment, particularly for women • Assets – fungibles • Exposure to risk – distance from river, coast, landslide zone Institutional Vulnerability (Weightage: 50%) • Social networks • Extra-local kinship ties – response at times of adversity • Infrastructure – access to roads, water, sanitation, electricity, health services, communication • Proportion of dependants in household • Reliability of early warning systems • Belonging to the disadvantaged – caste, religious or ethnic minority Attitudinal Vulnerability (Weightage: 15%) • Sense of empowerment, derived from: (a) Proximity or access to leaderships at different levels – community, regional, national (b) Lack of knowledge about potential hazards Adopted From Risk to Resilience: Working paper 2, Mustafa and Ahmed (2008) Posted in Climate Change, Global Warming | Tagged climate change index, climate change vulnerability index,climate vulnerability, climate vulnerability index, extreme climate, vulnerability capacity index, vulnerability index,vulnerable countries | Leave a comment Gender and Climate Change – a Forgotten Issue? Posted on July 27, 2011by Goodpal Until very recently, gender issues have not played a major role in climate protection discussions. This is surprising given the situation that equity in general, especially between South and North, is regularly on the agenda and is a key issue in the climate change negotiations. Only in the past couple of years have discussions about gender during Conference of the Parties meetings to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) been raised. At the Ninth Conference of the Parties, held in December 2003 in Milan, Italy, a network of people interested in gender issues was established. The network organized two workshops on gender and climate change at the Tenth Conference of the Parties, held in December 2004 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Activities and discussions on gender are already planned for the Eleventh Conference of the Parties to be held in November and December this year in Montreal, Canada. Thus, at the international level of climate change negotiations, gender issues are on the rise. Moreover, many projects in developing countries are now addressing the different situation of women and men respective to their different vulnerabilities to climate change. In the industrialized countries of the North, after an absence of activities on gender and climate change, it would seem that this issue is about to be discovered. There are a number of activities already underway… Read Full Article Posted in Climate Change, Gender, Global Warming | Tagged gender and climate change, gender and global warming, poor women climate change, women and climate change | Leave a comment Gender and Climate Change Posted on July 27, 2011by Goodpal Human activities are having an impact on the composition of the atmosphere. The natural background greenhouse effect is gradually becoming the greenhouse problem. It has been estimated that if current trends continue unabated, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will reach double the pre-industrial level by the year 2050. Physical impacts such as rising sea levels will dramatically alter the natural balance of local and global ecosystems and will infringe on human settlements. Consequently, vulnerable groups such as poor women and men will be faced with problems such as food insecurity, loss of livelihood and hardship due to environmental degradation, all of which leads to displacement and a whole host of potentially devastating economic and social consequences. Most developing countries, especially the small island states and those in Africa and South Asia, have few resources to contend with these impacts. Agriculture, as a particular example, will be seriously affected as these nations, largely characterized by their vulnerability, often weak institutional capacity and precarious financial situations, attempt to grapple with the increasing problems of climate change. As an illustration of limited capacity, one can review the recent experience of Mozambique in which extensive floods left hundreds of thousands of citizens homeless and destroyed much of the local infrastructure. How can we ensure that the most vulnerable groups, and poor women fall well within this category, develop the capacity to respond effectively to the threat of climate change? Read Full Article Posted in Climate Change, Gender, Global Warming | Tagged gender and climate change, gender and global warming, gender dimension, women and climate change, women and global warming | Leave a comment South Asia most Vulnerable to Climate Change Posted on July 26, 2011by Goodpal Climate Change Vulnerability Index Floods in Pakistan. Who is responsible? India is world’s most vulnerable country to climate change, next only to its neighbor, Bangladesh– according to the 2010 Maplecroft Climate Change Vulnerability Index. With climatic zones ranging from the Himalayas to the humid sub-tropics of South India, along with 5,700 km of mainland coastline and 400 million people living in conditions of extreme poverty, India is fully exposed to the hazards of global warming. Almost the whole of India has a high or extreme degree of sensitivity to climate change, due to acute population pressure and a consequential strain on natural resources. This is compounded by a high degree of poverty, poor general health and the agricultural dependency of much of the populace. 170 countries were ranked for vulnerability to the impacts of climate change over the next 30 years. The evaluation was based on 42 social, economic and environmental factors to assess national vulnerabilities across three core areas. These include: exposure to climate-related natural disasters and sea-level rise; human sensitivity, in terms of population patterns, development, natural resources, agricultural dependency and conflicts; thirdly, the index assesses future vulnerability by considering the adaptive capacity of a country’s government and infrastructure to combat climate change. Countries at Extreme Risk The index rates 16 countries as ‘extreme risk’, including nations that represent new Asian economic power and possess significant forecasted growth. According to Maplecroft, these countries are characterized by high levels of poverty, dense populations, exposure to climate-related events; and their reliance on flood and drought prone agricultural land. South Asia features strongly in this group. Countries at Extreme Risk: 1.Bangladesh;  2.India;  3.Madagascar;  4.Nepal; 5.Mozambique;  6.Philippines;  7.Haiti;  8.Afghanistan;  9.Zimbabwe;  10.Myanmar;  11.Ethiopia;  12.Cambodia;  13.Vietnam;  14.Thailand;  15.Malawi; 16.Pakistan Bangladesh, India, Philippines, Vietnam, and Pakistan all feature in the highest risk category and are of particular importance as they are major contributors to the ongoing global economic recovery and the West considers them vital to their future business expansion. Maplecroft rates Bangladeshas the most vulnerable country due to extreme levels of poverty and a high dependency on agriculture, whilst its government has the lowest capacity of all countries to adapt to predicted changes in the climate. In addition, Bangladesh has a high risk of drought and the highest risk of flooding. This was illustrated during October 2010, when 500,000 people were driven from their homes by flood waters created by storms. Throughout 2010, climatic perturbations resulted in a series of devastating natural disasters in South Asia, where heavy floods in Pakistan affected over 10% of it population (more than 20 million people) killing more than 1,700 people. According to Maplecroft, there is growing evidence that climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of climatic events. Very minor changes to temperature can have major impacts on the human environment, including changes to water availability and crop productivity, the loss of land due to sea level rise and the spread of disease. Other Prominent Countries High Risk: China,  Brazil,  Japan Medium Risk: Russia, USA, Germany, France, UK Low Risk: Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden,  Denmark Global Warming: A REDD Solution to the GREEN Problem? Posted in Climate Change, Global Warming | Tagged climate change, climate change in India, Global warming, India vulnerable, Maplecroft Climate Change Vulnerability Index, south asia | Leave a comment Gender in National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) of India Posted on July 25, 2011by Goodpal There are two references of gender (vulnerable sections) in the climate change policy of India. 1. One of the guiding principles of national Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) reads “Protecting the poor and vulnerable sections of society through an inclusive and sustainable development strategy, sensitive to climate change.” 2. The other very specific mention of gender is in the section 1.1 of the technical document. It says: “The impacts of climate change could prove particularly severe for women.  With climate change, there would be an increasing scarcity of water, reduction of yields in forest biomass, and increased risks to human health for children, women and the elderly in a household becoming the most vulnerable.  With the possibility of decline in the availability of foodgrains, the threat of malnutrition may also increase.  All these would add to deprivations that many women already encounter and so in each of the Adaptation programs, special attention should be paid to the aspect of gender.” You might like to read: Climate Change: How Vulnerable are the Poor and Why Climate Change is a Gender Issue? Climate Change means Human Suffering My Home is Gone Climate change debate continues to be afflicted with global disagreements and political maneuvering. But it is neither a mere political issue as politicians want us to believe, nor only a carbon emission issue as environmental scientists and some NGOs appear convinced about, and nor a money making opportunity as some carbon traders want us to bet our lives on. It is also not about performing the annual ritual of organizing international debates on United Nation’s platform in one corner of the world or another and allowing states to quarrel and blame one another. It is also not about creating innovative strategies such as REDD or REDD+ – impressive acronyms for Reduced Emission from Deforestation and forest Degradation, which will allow rich countries in future to treat forests of poor countries as carbon warehouses and trade them as stocks, without solving the climate change problem. Above all, climate change is a global issue with a human dimension. It is all about suffering and survival of people, particularly of the poor, weak and vulnerable groups such as women. Sociologists might have proved to their satisfaction that men and women are equal and the gender issue does not exist wherever they live or go. But the problem is, nature’s brain behind climate change does not understand their language. Climate Change Vulnerability: Poor Nations and Poor Women My Fuel, My Life It is amply clear that the weakest nations and the poorest groups will have to now face the erratic and unpredictably mood of the climate. It is a problem they are too poor to create or solve on their own. They are also too weak to challenge the so called “developed nations” and demand an explanation, apology, and compensation for their blind industrialization that precipitated the climate change phenomenon which is putting their lives on danger. Well, justice and responsibility are not things you can expect in a world run by unjust principles. Rich countries know that since they are better equipped to handle climatic perturbations they have not much to worry about. By virtue of their money power they are also in a position to influence international debates. Therefore, the international response to climate change issues closely reflects the priorities and interests of wealthier countries. It is mostly focused on mitigation of greenhouse gas emission through large-scale technological initiatives and the enhancement of natural carbon sinks – particularly forests. Thus, it ignores the importance of social and political initiatives in finding other appropriate responses more suitable to those who would suffer the most – poor nations. The poorer a nation is the more susceptible it will be to climatic mood swings. Most concerns of poor countries, however, demand attention on ‘adaptation’ mechanisms, in part due to their dependence on the physical environment for their food and livelihood security. Adaptation is also the area where gender differences are most stark. It is widely accepted that women in developing countries constitute one of the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the world. Therefore, women living there will be the worst sufferer of climatic hardships. It is their misfortune that they live in a country that has limited choices and their male counterparts further deprive them of capacity to fight out hard times. Need for More Gender Focused Studies Experts estimate that 70 percent of the poor, who are more vulnerable to environmental damage, are women. Women die in greater numbers in disasters than men, and they tend to die at younger ages, but there are few reliable studies to document this phenomena, largely because there has so far been little focus by the international community on the gender impact of natural disasters. Localized case studies associated with a devastating 1991 cyclone in Bangladesh, the 2003 European heat wave, and the 2004 Asian tsunami nonetheless affirm the greater vulnerability of women. Through sampling data from natural disasters in 141 countries between 1981 and 2002, economists Eric Neumayer and Thomas Plümper confirmed that natural disasters and their subsequent impact on average kill more women than men. What makes Women More Vulnerable Water of Life The gender inequality originating from socio-cultural traditions has always gone in favor of men; of course, at the cost of women. In poor societies women have considerably less power to influence or control events and outcomes that affect them. This power differential is the key to understanding the relative vulnerability of men and women, their coping capability, and their ability to recover from the shocks. Limited freedom and home confinement: Women’s limited freedom and low involvement in decision-making increases their vulnerability to climate change disasters, such as draughts, hurricanes and flooding. For example, in the 1991 cyclone in Bangladesh, disproportionate number of women died because of the cultural norm of keeping the women folks confined in homes; they hesitated to leave their homes until it was too late and were less likely than men to know how to swim. Women’s lower nutritional status gets worse during crisis. In the Indonesian tsunami, women constituted 55 – 70% of deaths; in the worst affected village Kuala Cangkoy in the North Aceh district, the percentage was as high as 80%. Burdened with household responsibilities: Women in rural areas in developing countries have the major responsibility for household water supply and collecting firewood for cooking. Their hardship is aggravated by drought, uncertain rainfall and deforestation because they must trek longer distances. This shows up in their diminishing physical wellbeing. For example, during the dry season in parts of rural India and Africa, 30 percent or more of women’s daily caloric intake is spent on fetching water alone. This also jeopardizes their reproductive health. Furthermore, at the time of crisis, girls are often kept at home to help with household duties; this is another reason of their low education with lifelong consequences. Insecure employment: A disproportionately large number of women find work in the informal sector which is the first hit when disasters strike and the slowest to recover. Therefore, their employment is most precarious. When poor women lose their livelihoods, they slip deeper into poverty and their inequality and marginalization further increases. Sudden crisis also increase women’s domestic and health-care responsibilities when children and elderly fall sick. Therefore, practically any hardship in the family coming from climatic conditions will automatically adversely affect the women folks as the primary caretaker of the household. Champions of men-women equality from the rich countries should go to the poor countries and help empower the women folks so that they can survive the onslaught of climate change, something they are not responsible for. And the Way Out? It is clear that gender differentiated strategies for response and capacity – building are needed. This should also percolate into national and international debates so that suitable adaptation responses can be devised to minimize the potential hardship to poor women at the hands of severe and unpredictable climatic crisis. More specifically the following actions are required: The first step is to acknowledge that due to gender differences climate change will have disproportionately severe impact on women, particularly of poor countries. Then gender specific protective measures should be devised for floods, droughts, diseases, and other environmental changes and disasters. The next step is to increase women’s participation in decision – making talks at all levels. Their input will always be more appropriate and more pragmatic than the theoretical idea of those who are not in their shoes. Why Poor Women should Worry about Climate Change? Climate Change or Climate Mess-up? The worldwide climate change and global warming may be the dirty work of countries who proudly call themselves “developed”, but its consequences will be mainly borne by people of the poor nations, considered “undeveloped”. In simple language, the poor of the world will pay the price for the sins of rich. Come to think of it, nothing surprising about it! This is the modern world-order, in plain English. The insatiable desire to exploit global natural resources by a few industrialized countries for last hundred years has brilliantly messed up nature’s orderly control on seasons and yearly climate. Labeling it “global warming” or “climate change” certainly makes them look smarter, but solves no problem. What is so smart about creating a problem then struggling to find a suitable label for it? Climate Change, Poor Countries, Poor People Me and My Poor World Climate change is no longer a devil that will visit the planet in the future; it has already arrived in the form of more severe and frequent storms, floods and droughts that are already disrupting the lives of people. Rains have begun to fall at wrong times and in wrong quantities damaging agricultural production. Added to other environmental degradations, such as deforestation, erosion, and desertification, these changes are significantly impacting the life, health and livelihood of people around the world. However, most severely hit are the poor souls living in the developing countries, who never knew what a greenhouse gas was and of course, too ignorant to create it by any means other than breathing out. (Thankfully, no rich country has yet blamed them for that!) For example, the average Ethiopian emits about 200 times less carbon each year than the average American. Yet Ethiopians must find means to battle out the resulting famine, food shortage, water scarcity, malnutrition, and diseases. Isn’t it a sick comedy? The poor are often more dependent on the environment for their livelihood in the form of subsistence agriculture and herding, which are severely influenced by drought, flooding, and erratic rains. Since poor families have few resources to fall back on at the time of crisis, the climate change induced natural events drive them into deeper poverty. Poor Women: The Biggest Victim of Climate Change Our Life is Too Harsh Just as the impact of climate change is unequal on wealthy and poor nations and on the rich and poor within countries, it is also unequal in terms of gender. It is already known that in recent disasters women suffered disproportionately more severely; for example, elderly women died at higher rates than older men in the European heat wave in 2003, women vastly outnumbered men in tsunami deaths in 2004, women outnumbered men in cyclone deaths in Bangladesh. So, it seems that not just the society, nature also holds grudge against the women! Life is already tough for women in low income countries. For instance, a study in rural Cameroon found that women work more than 64 hours a week, compared with 31 hours of men. According to United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) women are responsible for 60-80 percent of food grown in the developing world – often small scale crops critical to their family's sustenance. Women and girls are responsible for fetching water which is a time consuming and physically demanding task in places where wells or ponds are too far. In some places, this task alone consumes hours each day. As the climatic conditions become harsher, women's workload and responsibilities increase. Then, young girls are also drawn into the web of misery; they are often taken out of school to help in the household chores. And the cycle of poverty continues… Why are Women so Vulnerable to Climate Change? Women’s historic disadvantages – their restricted access to resources and information and their limited power in decision-making – make them most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. – Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) Deforestation or contamination (due to flooding) increased the time women spent looking for fuel wood or safe, clean water and also women’s risk of water-borne disease. – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Report, 2001 Women’s vulnerability to climate change comes from two sources: first, in many poor countries they are traditionally involved in agricultural and related activities that heavily depend upon orderly climatic behavior and two, the gender inequality gives them less access to income-earning opportunities than men which denies them freedom to make decisions and choices. Women are also primarily busy with household work and care for family members; it also limits their mobility. Their health or education is never given priority. Such a cycle of deprivation, inequality and lack of freedom undermines the social capital needed to deal effectively with climate change, making them highly vulnerable to sudden climatic crises. After analyzing data of natural disasters in 141 countries between 1981 and 2002, economists Eric Neumayer and Thomas Plümper found that natural disasters and their subsequent impact on average kill more women than men. How Women can Counter Climate Change My Craft work It is a healthy sign that women from wealthy and poor countries alike are increasingly coming forward to discuss ways to mitigate the impact of climate change. They are struggling and strategizing to prevail amid deteriorating environmental conditions. Since women are usually responsible for household work, women in affluent countries have substantial power to reduce their families’ carbon footprint and environmental degradation. In fact, they can substantially curtail wasteful practices and apply brake to the unrestrained consumerism, which is at the root of the global environmental mess. Similarly, women in developing countries have the power to reject the consumption pattern modeled on the lifestyle of affluent countries and to craft their own healthy alternatives. Just imagine what will happen to the environment if all people of the poor countries pick up the extravagant lifestyle of a few rich nations. And women everywhere have the power to teach the next generation about the importance of sustainability and responsible use of natural resources. It is a power men don’t have, for all their exploitative ingenuity. What is the Message to the World? Climate Change Discussions Climate change and global warming are the “proofs” of men’s skill in running the world in their own way. Calling it silly or stupid is just stating the obvious and serves no useful purpose. However, now the time has come for the rest of the fifty percent population to come forward and restore the environmental order on the planet. Societies and governments must do something to remove gender disadvantage of women and provide them platforms to raise their voices and then, listen to what they have to say. Allowing women to manage local resources by providing technical and financial assistance is another good idea. Women should be included not only because they are most vulnerable but also because they have different perspectives and expertise to contribute. Finally, more women-centered research and strategies for climate change adaptation is urgently needed. This will provide proper focus and direction to global efforts to minimize impact of climate change on the most vulnerable group – poor women. Global Warming and Deforestation: How Green is REDD? What is REDD? Forest Lost to Greed The United Nation's REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) program is a collaboration between the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Environmental (UNEP) and Development (UNDP) programs. It aims to reduce loss of forest areas in developing countries because the destruction of the world's rainforests is estimated to contribute 15 – 20 percent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In theory REDD is a system to provide incentives for countries not to cut their forests. The incentive system is meant to reward poor nations for not cutting their trees. It means recognizing the functions of rain forests – capturing carbon, water storage, weather regulation and preserving biodiversity. Back in 1997 when the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, the part rainforests play in carbon storage wasn't recognized. Proposals to reduce emissions from deforestation were first introduced by the governments of Papua New Guinea in December 2005 at the COP11 talks in Canada. Since then promoters and enthusiasts of the REDD concept have come up with more than 30 models of how the program should work have. For a more detailed discussion on the role of forests and the REDD program, you may click here. Is REDD Really Green? The REDD programs being implemented are largely donor driven. Although the REDD concept is yet to be formally adopted in a treaty by parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), some rich countries such as Norway are pursuing it with full zeal at exploratory level. They hope that in the post Kyoto scenario after 2012, they will be able to formally introduce market mechanism into the REDD initiatives. While the whole idea of rich countries helping poor countries to preserve their forests sounds good and benevolent, it does not address the basic issue – GHG emission by burning fossil fuel by the biggest polluters, mainly the US. At the same time, people well familiar with global warming issues and the format of REDD proposals stress that the REDD projects can easily degenerate into land grabs, displacement, conflict, corruption, impoverishment and cultural degradation. Following are some typical objections to the REDD initiative as voiced across the world. Six Common Objections to REDD REDD is not GREEN !! 1. Forest carbon is not equivalent to fossil fuel carbon Conserving forests can never be climatically equivalent to keeping fossil fuels under the ground, since carbon dioxide emitted from burning fossil fuels adds to the overall burden of carbon perpetually circulating among the atmosphere, vegetation, soils and oceans, whereas carbon dioxide from deforestation does not. This non equivalence, among many other complexities, makes REDD carbon accounting impossible, allowing carbon traders to inflate the value of REDD carbon credits. Interpol has also warned against the vulnerability of REDD to international fraud and corruption. 2. When used as a carbon offset strategy, REDD does not reduce GHG emission Scientists point out that the total amount of CO2 emissions is crucial in terms of how much the earth warms up. Every ton of CO2 counts, regardless of where it is emitted. Preventing GHG emission through REDD in developing countries and emitting an equivalent amount in a rich country simply confuses the issue. Developed countries should actually cut their own per capita GHG emission, rather than continuing to pollute by paying small amount for forest preservation somewhere else. 3. Problematic definition of “forest” The definition of forests as adopted by the parties to the Kyoto Protocol in 2001 is another troublesome area. This definition includes not only a forest as we commonly know it, but also any kind of tree mono-culture, and even areas that are clear-cut but waiting to be planted again at an unspecified future moment. Adopting this flawed definition mean that companies could replace forests with monoculture tree plantations and still qualify for subsidies under REDD. Many experts feel that without a definition of forests that differentiates between forests and industrial tree plantations, REDD will spell disaster. Likewise, while the term “deforestation” has been defined as the direct human-induced conversion of forested land to non-forested land, there is no universally agreed-upon definition of “forest degradation”. This will cause complications when REDD projects are implemented. 4. Dangers of trading carbon as commodity Many people are not comfortable with the idea of carbon trading as the way of funding REDD. The vast majority of carbon trading on the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme is in futures, not in spot trading of carbon credits. The available derivatives are too complicated to be regulated. Therefore, as it happens with other commodities, the price often gets dictated by speculators and not the normal law of demand and supply. 5. Displacement of Indigenous people Whoever pays for the REDD project is actually only interested in the carbon; biodiversity and forest dwellers who survive on the forest are unlikely to be his concern. Given the level of corruption and lack of clear land rights in most poor countries, the native people in developing countries who have lived and sustained on the forest products may suddenly find themselves landless and without means to survive. This is a really IMPORTANT issue.  Many human rights and environmental groups feel that REDD will inevitably take away control of forests from the Indigenous People and will go in the hands of state forest departments, loggers, miners, plantation companies, traders, lawyers, and speculators; resulting in violations of rights, loss of livelihood – and, ultimately, more forest loss. 6. Conserving one forest may shift degradation elsewhere Putting one forest under REDD and conserving it may simply shift the deforestation and forest degradation activities at another location which will defeat the purpose. Expert Quotes I don't Like REDD “Carbon offsetting makes sense if you are seeking a global cut of 5% between now and forever. It is the cheapest and quickest way of achieving an insignificant reduction. But as soon as you seek substantial cuts, it becomes an unfair, impossible nonsense, the equivalent of pulling yourself off the ground by your whiskers. Yes, let us help poorer nations to reduce deforestation and clean up pollution. But let us not pretend that it lets us off the hook.” — George Monbiot, The Guardian, July 2009 “Carbon trading may have been the answer once but not any more… It will just take too long to achieve anything, and we no longer have the luxury of time.” — Professor Kevin Anderson, Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research, October 2008 Conclusion The whole idea of rich donors being philanthropic and helping developing countries preserve forests must be seen through the dynamics of world politics. The track record of industrialized nations, who polluted the world, is not very bright when it comes to justice for poor or weak nations. The chances are quite high that if REDD schemes are used for carbon trading, market distortions will overshadow the basic needs of the poor societies implementing the scheme and at the same time the polluters will continue to pollute under carbon offset schemes. Global Warming Spatial pattern of trend in mean annual temperature anomalies, for the period 1902-2012, suggests significant positive (increasing) trend (0.50C in general with few pockets of 1.00C) over most parts of the country except some parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bihar, where significant negative (decreasing) trend was observed.  No significant long-term trends are reported in the frequencies of large-scale droughts or floods in the summer monsoon season. The Government has undertaken the following steps in the area of Climate Change: i)        Launched a high-priority Programme to address the Science issues of Global and Regional Climate Change (GRCC) with a well-equipped state-of-the-art Center for Climate Change Research (CCCR) at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune for inter-disciplinary research and training in the area of science of climate change.       Development of Earth System Model (ESM) has been taken up by building additional marine biogeochemistry module to the coupled ocean-atmospheric model and numerical experimentation is carried out for ESM utilization for generating projections of global climate. Regional scale climate downscaling is carried out using variable grid (zoom) general circulation model, WRF and REGCM models.       Currently, CCCR is leading “Co-ordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX)” for the South Asian region under the aegis of the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The CORDEX program provides an important framework for a co-ordinated set of downscaled regional climate simulations for both the historical past and future decades. Training workshops are conducted for end-users, stakeholders in the South Asian region. ii)      Under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, it is proposed to establish a permanent institutional mechanism that will play a development and coordination role. iii)    The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) was released by the Prime Minister on 30th June 2008. iv)    The National Action plan outlines eight missions in specific areas of Solar Energy, Enhanced Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Habitat, Water, Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, Green India, Sustainable Agriculture and Strategic knowledge for Climate Change. Eight National Missions form the core of the National Action Plan, representing multipronged, long term and integrated strategies for achieving key goals in the context of climate change. Implementation of High Performance Computing system for improved weather and climate predictions The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the implementation of the High Performance Computing (HPC) system during the XII plan period at a total estimated cost of Rs.567.16 crore (Rs. 500 crore non-recurring and Rs. 67.16 crore recurring). The establishment of the HPC system and the enhanced computing infrastructure will enable simulations for improved weather, climate and ocean forecast and will help in providing reliable weather and climate services to the end users such as farmers, fishermen and other stakeholders in the government and neighbouring countries. The salient features of the HPC system are: (i) Setting up of petaflops-scale HPC facility along with sustained supporting infrastructure such as UPS, cooling system, power and generator backup at the Earth System Science Organisation-Ministry of Earth Sciences (ESSO-MoES) units, to enable simulations for improved weather and climate predictions. (ii) The HPC facility will be available to the academic and research community of the country to undertake developmental work for improving the skill of forecasting. (iii) The facility will also be set up at the Indo-Africa Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, Mauritius as part of India`s commitment for running an end-to-end medium range weather forecasting system for the African Union and extend support to the neighbouring Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries and the African Union. The HPC system will be implemented in two phases during the XII Plan. The entire computational facility will be maintained at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (ESSO-IITM) and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ESSO-NCMRWF) with access to other ESSO units through the dedicated National Knowledge Network (NKN) linkage. Background: ESSO-MoES is constantly undertaking new flag ship programs with an aim to improve weather, climate and ocean services for the nation. To do this, high resolution dynamical models along with advanced data assimilation techniques are required to be developed which are highly computational intensive. The National Mission on Monsoons is being undertaken by ESSO-MoES. It also involves national and international organizations to improve the monsoon forecast. ESSO-MoES is also providing real-time weather and climate related information and services for societal benefit to South-East Asian countries. ESSO-MoES has also been entrusted with the responsibility of establishing a joint Indo Africa Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting in Mauritius; hosting and establishing the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate. The state-of-the-art National Tsunami Early Warning Centre, established by MoES in 2007, is regularly providing early warnings to India and Indian Ocean Rim countries. Ecologically Sensitive Area             The Ministry has not issued any draft notification for the declaration of Ecologically Sensitive Area in Western Ghats as identified by the High Level Working Group under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. This was stated by Dr. M.Veerappa Moily, Union Minister for Environment and Forests, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.                         The Minister further stated that the Ministry has accepted the High Level Working Group (HLWG) Report “in principle” subject to certain stipulations vide Office Memorandum (OM) of the Ministry dated 20th December 2013 after completion of the consultation process with the stakeholders. The OM brings out the salient recommendations of the HLWG which have been accepted “in-principle” by the Ministry and also provides clarifications on issues relating to land use, agriculture, plantations and continued occupation of land in possession of local people as also on the status of ongoing projects/activities. The Ministry had also issued Directions under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 dated 13th November 2013, wherein, the following five categories of new and/or expansion projects/activities which have maximum interventionist and damaging impacts on ecosystems would not be considered for granting Environmental Clearance in the Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), as identified by the HLWG, in the Western Ghats from 17th April 2013: (a)    Mining, quarrying and sand mining (b)   Thermal Power Plants (c)    Building and construction projects of 20,000 sq. m. area and above (d)   Township and area development projects with an area of 50 ha and above and /or with built up area of 1,50,000 sq. m. and above        (e)    Red category of industries       The Minister further stated that cases received before 17th April 2013 and which are pending with the concerned Expert Appraisal Committees and/or the Ministry of Environment and Forests or the State Level Expert Appraisal Committees and/or State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authorities  will be dealt under the guidelines and rules applicable at the time of application, the Minister added. Conservation of Lakes In order to identify polluted and degraded lakes across the country, a study was carried out at the instance of Planning Commission in the year 2003 and 62 lakes were identified requiring conservation. Based on this, the State Governments and Union Territories were requested to prioritize the lakes in their jurisdiction for financial assistance. This was stated by Dr. M.Veerappa Moily, Union Minister for Environment and Forests, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. The Minister further stated that for conservation and management of polluted and degraded lakes in urban and semi-urban areas of the country, the Ministry has been implementing the scheme of National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) on 70:30 cost sharing basis between the Central Government and the State Governments. So far, 61 lakes conforming to the NLCP guidelines have been taken up for conservation and an amount of Rs.1031.18 crore have been sanctioned for this purpose. Out of the projects sanctioned under the scheme, conservation works have been completed for 27 lakes so far, the Minister added.  Power games at UN climate talks The 19th Conference of Parties (COP) on climate change began in Warsaw’s imposing National Stadium on an emotional note: on the first day of the talks Yeb Sano, lead negotiator of the Philippines, made an impassioned speech about the typhoon Haiyan that had wreaked havoc in his country. Negotiators observed silence and some delegates joined their Filipino counterpart in shedding tears. That done, it was business as usual. As negotiations progressed it became clear that developed countries would win hands down. The key expectations from the Warsaw climate talks were three fold. One, prepare for a global agreement by 2015 on efforts to keep temperature rise below 2°C and a draft negotiating text to that effect; two, institute a mechanism on loss and damage as agreed to in the 2012 climate talks in Doha; and three, gain clarity on climate finance to be given by developed countries. But developing countries lost on all fronts. Developed-developing distinction diluted The climate talks are held under the aegis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Its premise is differentiation between developed and developing countries. Under the principles of the Convention, developed countries are tasked with assisting developing countries with finance and technology so that they can grow in a manner that is sustainable. In 2011, countries had agreed at the Durban climate talks that this would remain the premise of the new deal, which is to be drawn up in 2015 and implemented by 2020. The Ad hoc Working group on Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP), a working group under UNFCCC, has the responsibility of drawing up this deal, popularly known as the post-2020 deal. It was agreed that the new deal, “protocol, another legal instrument or outcome with legal force”, would be applicable to all parties under UNFCCC. But the difference in the interpretation of “applicable to all” among developed and developing countries is the root of the problem. Developing countries say applicability should adhere to the differentiation principle of the Convention, whereas developed countries say that differentiation is a thing of the past and that all countries should come on board and take commitments. War of words Developing countries wanted the word “actions” in the text, with reference to what all countries should submit towards the 2015 deal. Developed countries wanted to use the word “commitments” for all parties. This also brings out the difference in the interpretation of the developed and developing countries about the principle of differentiation. Negotiators huddle to resolve issues over differentiation between developed and developing countries (Photo: Indrajit Bose ) China, on behalf of BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) group, argued that there was no point in repeating old fights. Developing countries should enhance actions, while commitments should apply to developed countries, China said. The country reminded the delegates of the compromise they had struck during the Doha climate talks in 2012. Parties had agreed on the words “enhanced actions” instead of “commitments” or “actions”. The US said it was astonished to hear China’s views that commitments are for the developed countries and said it was in the “Bali time warp”. Bali climate talks in 2007 had upheld the differentiation between developed and developing countries. US chief negotiator Todd Stern told the floor that ADP was different from the Bali Action Plan because of the words “applicable to all”. He said that China’s response indicated that it would not assume new commitments in the 2015 agreement. The European Union (EU), too, said that China’s proposal “would not fly”. The EU was of the view that the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and respective capability (CBDR-RC) would continue to apply, but the 2015 agreement had to take into account new and evolving realities. A binary approach—of developed and developing countries—was non-negotiable and unfair. The gulf grew to the extent that there were five different versions of the text. A sixth version was amended and adopted on November 23. Negotiations continued with the negotiators hardly getting any sleep since the second week of talks, which started on November 18. Jokes were abound in the corridors referring to each ADP draft as the latest version of I-phone model. But developing countries had little to cheer about the adopted decision. Parties eventually settled on the word “contributions” and agreed that they would submit nationally determined “contributions” towards the 2015 deal. These could be targets for emissions reduction, but also other efforts to keep their emissions down. CBDR did not find mention here. These contributions of developed and developing countries were made comparable and, thus, the differentiation between them diluted. To add to the injury, developed countries reneged on their commitments on other issues such as finance and loss and damage. A work programme on REDD, though, was drawn up (see ‘REDD+: will market call the shots?’). Redd+: Will market call the shots? A work programme on how payments can be made to those who preserve carbon stored in trees and other elements of the forest ecosystem—called Warsaw Framework for REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests in developing countries)—was adopted at Warsaw. The programme promises finance for projects that can show they avoided deforestation, and thereby reduce carbon emissions. Besides deciding how emissions will be measured and how their baselines will be set, the Warsaw Framework also agreed that payment for such projects would be result based. It is a funding approach where payments are only made after specified outcomes can be proven to have taken place and the source of the fund could be bilateral, multilateral, private and alternative such as the Green Climate Fund. The results-based approach will include both carbon and non-carbon benefits, such as biodiversity and its protection, and benefit to the local community. But concerns are being raised that the results based aspect will be converted into carbon trading mechanism. For protection of forests, billions of dollars would be required. So much money may not be possible through public sources. So the carbon benefit aspect in the results-based approach will be used to develop a trading mechanism. BioCarbon Fund, a public-private programme within the World Bank that mobilises finance for activities that conserve carbon emissions in forest and agricultural systems, is one of the funds that will manage the initiative. The UK, US and Norway have made an initial payment of US $280 million to the BioCarbon Fund. Where’s the money? The institutions created to focus on finance remain an empty shell. The money offered to developing countries is meagre. Wording on financial support in the final text of ADP is ambiguous. It “requests” as well as “urges” developed countries to provide support. The fact remains that developed countries are mandated to provide financial support to the developing countries under UNFCCC. This does not get reflected in the final text. Civil society organisations boycott Warsaw talks (Photo: Arnab Pratim Dutta)The Green Climate Fund has little money in it. Developed countries’ promise of delivering US $100 billion per year by 2020 remains unfulfilled. No timeline was agreed to at Warsaw on how developed countries would achieve this target except urging developed countries to maintain continuity in mobilising public climate finance. The call from developing countries to ensure that this continuity was actually realised in the form of $70 billion by 2016 was ignored. Instead, a trivial sum of $100 million for the Adaptation Fund, created in 2001, was all that the developed countries could pledge at Warsaw. Loss and damage: hollow mechanism As agreed at the Doha climate talks in 2012, an international mechanism on loss and damage has been set up. But this has been instituted under the Adaptation Framework, which deals with how communities would adapt to climate change. Hosting it under the Adaptation Framework fails to establish the clear signal that loss and damage is beyond adaptation. There is little clarity on the scope of this mechanism. It is also not clear where the money will come from for the establishment that is now being called the Warsaw International Mechanism. Early in the Warsaw talks, it had become clear that developed countries would not allow any reference to compensation and liability in the agreement. They would also not accept attributing historical responsibility to the rich countries for the impacts being faced by the poorer sections of the world. Equity: India suffers a blow It was clear that the fight on equity would be tough, especially for India, one of its strongest advocates. In the last 20 years of climate negotiations, India has steadfastly promoted the concept of equity and CBDR. In Durban in 2011, it was due to India that equity was brought back as an important principle in climate negotiations. But in Warsaw, India was unable to defend its position. In fact, in many quarters it was seen as being anti-equity. This was largely because India opposed a process to make equity and CBDR operational. At COP-19, there was talk about the possibility of a number of indicators being used to define equity. Swaziland, for instance, on behalf of the African group, proposed an equity reference framework, with indicators such as capability and development need to decide what each country will do. But India refused to even allow mention of equity reference framework. For India, historical responsibility is the only indicator of equity. In the early days of COP-19, Brazil proposed that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN body, study the historical responsibility of countries and on the basis of that, future emission reduction targets could be set for countries. But developed countries outrightly shot down this proposal. India tried to clarify its stand. “We championed equity. I don’t need the press, the NGOs, or anyone else to give me a certificate on my stand on equity. In Durban when we were fighting for equity, where were all of you?” an Indian negotiator asked other countries during an ADP session. But India’s explanation did not go a long way in clearing the air (see ‘Equity fight in the open’). Such positions have made India appear defensive at climate talks. To reverse this, the country will have to go back to the drawing board and reassess how it wants to play a strong role in these talks. The next issue of Down To Earth will carry a detailed analysis of the Warsaw climate talks EQUITY FIGHT IN THE OPEN ON the last day of Warsaw climate talks, the European Union (EU) climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard, while addressing the media, accused the group of Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), including India, of being against equity. Venezuela, on behalf of LMDC, reacted sharply to the allegation. Referring to the Copenhagen disaster, which was marked by distrust among parties, Claudia Salerno, vice-minister and head of the Venezuelan delegation, said, “She (Hedegaard) has done it once. We will not let her damage the negotiations again. It is incredible that she has accused LMDC of being against equity. This group has been championing equity in the face of an onslaught by many of the developed countries.” Indian and European negotiators after the huddle (Photo: Indrajit Bose) The rebuttal did not stop there. Salerno added, “We may have differences of opinion in these negotiations, but it is totally unacceptable that the head of EU tries to conduct negotiations by starting a blame game through media and pointing fingers at our group. If you have differences, bring it up at the negotiations. By going to the media and attacking a negotiating partner, the EU chief is responsible for seriously damaging the atmosphere of confidence and trust in this process. We are forced to answer her accusation to the media because of the serious allegations she has made. If this process is damaged on this last day because of this incredible outburst by Mrs Connie, she has to take the responsibility.” India’s twin environmental challenges In the past 10 years, India’s environmental movement has had a rebirth. It was first born in the 1970s, when the industrialised world was seeing the impact of growth on its environment. In that decade the air and rivers of London, Tokyo and New York were full of toxins. The world was learning the pain of pollution. The first major global conference on the environment, the Stockholm meet, was held to find ways to deal with this growing scourge. India’s key pieces of environmental legislation were enacted in this period—the water pollution Act of 1974 and the air pollution Act of 1981. But we were innocents in the world of pollution. We had not yet witnessed the intensification of growth that would, in turn, destroy our environment. Illustration:Ajit BajajIt was also in the 1970s that the second environmental challenge—issues of access and sustainable management of natural resources—emerged. In the remote Himalayas, the women had prevented the timber merchants from cutting their forest. But their fight was not to protect the forest. Their fight was to assert their right to the resources of the forest. It was an environmental movement because the women of this village in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand knew they had to protect the forest to protect their livelihood. It was a call to redefine development and growth. But it is only now that these two sides of the environmental challenge have truly come home to India. Importantly, this is a time when environmental issues have taken centre stage in the country. Yet matters are going from bad to worse. The pollution in our rivers is worse today than it was three decades ago. The garbage in cities is growing by the day, even as governments scramble to find ways of reducing plastic and hiding the rest in landfills in far-off places. Air pollution in cities is worse, and toxins are damaging our lungs. This, in spite of efforts to contain the problem. We have invested in building sewage treatment plants to deal with water pollution. We have improved the quality of fuel that runs our vehicles; changed emission standards and set up institutions to regulate industrial emissions. But still we find we cannot catch up in this game of growth and its toxic fallout. In this decade as well, the struggles for the control over resources have intensified. In every nook and corner of the country where land is acquired, or water sourced for industry, people are fighting even to death. There are a million pollution mutinies happening. The fact is in India a large number of people—and it is indeed a large number—depend on the land, the forests and the water around them for their livelihood. They know that once these resources are gone or degraded their survival will be at stake. We must recognise that across the world, the environmental movement is based on the idea that people do not want anything bad in their vicinity: not in my backyard or NIMBY. Ordinary people, but with power because they are part of the voting middle-class, take up these issues because they affect their lives. The fight is personal. It is another matter that their fight has national policy ramifications, often for the better. But there is also a downside to NIMBY: if it is not in my backyard, then in whose backyard should it be? This is not an issue that is asked or answered. But it must be. When the urban and middle-class India—as across the world—faces an environmental threat it does not stop to ask in whose backyard it should be allowed. The fact is garbage is produced because of our consumption. The richer we get, the more waste we generate and the more we pollute. This consumption is necessary because it is linked to the economic growth model we have decided to adopt. But we forget that the more we consume, the higher the cost of collection and disposal of waste which we cannot afford. So, we look for band-aid solutions. In middle-class environmentalism there is no appetite for changing lifestyles that will minimise waste and pollution. The Western environmental movement began after societies there had acquired wealth. The movement was a response to the mounting garbage, toxic air and polluted water resulting from the growth of their economies. They had the money to invest in cleaning and they did. But because they never looked for big solutions, they always stayed behind the problem—local air pollution is still a problem in most Western cities, even if the air is not as black as ours. It is just that the toxins are smaller, more difficult to detect or smell. In India, we want to emulate the disastrous ways of the already rich, with much lesser resources and much more inequity and poverty. The fact is we cannot find answers in the same half-solutions they invested in. This is the biggest challenge of India’s environmental movement. We can do things differently to reinvent growth without pollution. But only if we have the courage to think differently. I hope we will. The climate and trade tango India has emerged as a “voice” in climate change and trade negotiations. At the recently concluded trade talks in Bali, the Indian government was insistent that the rights of poor farmers should not be compromised; in climate change it has raised the matter of equity in sharing global atmospheric space. The already industrialised countries say India is obstinate, strident and unnecessarily obstructionist in crucial global debates. The problem is not that India is loud—that it must be. There is a fundamental weakness in the rules that govern ecological and economic globalisation. In other words, the political globalisation is weak and compromised because of powerful self-interest of powerful countries. The problem, in my view, is that India is loud but not clear. It, therefore, makes noise but does not achieve its stated goal: protect the interest of the poorest in the world. Illustration: Anirban BoraBut first let us understand the two processes. It was in the early 1990s that the world first finalised the climate agreement. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed in 1992 at the Rio Conference. The climate agreement was needed because economic growth had outstripped the ecological boundaries of the planet. The stock of greenhouse gas emissions was more than what the earth’s natural cleaning system—sinks in the form of oceans, atmosphere, forests and soil—could absorb. The world needed an agreement to reduce emissions, which were the result of economic growth. But most importantly, these emissions were no longer the problem of any one country. In fact, it was clear that the levels of production and consumption had reached such a point that the actions of one country within its boundaries were going to have major and devastating impacts on other countries. Just consider this: by then the world had learnt that a simple home refrigerator, which used a chemical called chlorofluorocarbon could literally blow a hole in the ozone layer and lead to skin cancer. Then traces of persistent organic compounds like DDT—a pesticide used for virtually everything at that time—were found in the breast milk of women living in faraway Arctic region. Ocean currents and air streams knew no national barriers and carried these chemicals across the globe. The world was interconnected, brought together by the excesses of economic growth. So it was not good enough to set rules in individual countries to mitigate environmental damage. It was time to create new rules for a global system of environmental governance. Since then the world has stitched up many agreements, from the ones on the protection of the ozone layer and climate change to those on the management of hazardous waste, elimination of persistent organic pollutants like DDT and in 2013 on mercury use. These agreements together form the architecture for ecological globalisation. In the 1990s another global process was under way—the setting up of the multilateral trading system under WTO. This economic globalisation would take production and consumption to new places and new levels. It would no longer be possible to live within the planetary boundaries. Instead the trading system enjoined all countries to the same pattern of growth and its toxic fallout. This is where the world is today. It has changed and yet not changed. On the one hand, manufacturing has moved to new countries and so have greenhouse gas emissions. In 1990, industrialised countries together accounted for 70 per cent of the annual global emissions. In 2010, they accounted for 43 per cent. In 1990, China, with over a quarter of the world’s population, accounted for only 10 per cent of annual emissions. By 2012, it contributed 27 per cent. On the other hand, there has been no change in the way the world does business. The West has not reduced its obscene subsidies to its farmers. In global trade negotiations it has simply played games to move them from one box to another; renamed and reworked them. The farmers of the developing world continue to be at a huge disadvantage. Similarly, in climate negotiations, the West has not reduced its emissions, so countries like China occupied the little ecological space that was available for emissions. Now the world has run out of atmospheric space and certainly of time. The fight is now even more contested and nasty. In climate change negotiations, the industrialised West wants to dump the 1992 agreement that required them to reduce emissions and share the atmospheric space with growing countries. They say the world has changed—emerging countries are now their competitors in trade and pollution, and they cannot make any concessions. In agriculture they want restrictions on the subsidy bill of developing countries. The just-concluded WTO meet in Bali is an indicator of the stakes involved. At this meet, the support price paid to poor farmers was considered a distortion of global trade. India was vociferous in its opposition to this. But the final Bali deal on agriculture is ambiguous and could hit the support to poor farmers. So the question is: has India been successful in fighting for the rights of the poor or has it only made loud noise? And why? Let’s discuss this next fortnight. One step forward, two steps back Expectations were minimal from the UN climate talks that wrapped up in Warsaw on November 23. The talks in the Polish capital did not betray expectations. The takeaways from the Conference of the Parties, or COP19, included mechanisms to address crucial—and contentious—issues related to climate change such as loss and damage and forest-related emissions. But with no financial commitments from industrialised countries, these mechanisms offer only sops. Such decisions serve as a warning—inaction will cost the world. But at the Warsaw climate talks, it appeared that countries want to do little to keep global average temperature rise to under 2°C, beyond which the effects of climate change become irreversible. The difference between developed and developing countries is also close to being erased. Both developed and developing countries agreed on the bare minimum to keep the 2015 deal in sight. Bumpy road to climate deal During the climate talks in Durban in 2011, it was decided that the world would work out a new deal by 2015 to avoid a 2°C rise in temperature above the pre-industrial level, and would implement it in 2020. The deal would be “applicable to all”, and would be under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The responsibility to work out this deal was accorded to a working group called ADP, acronym for Ad hoc Working Group on Durban Platform for Enhanced Action. At Warsaw, ADP was tasked to set up a basic framework for the 2015 deal. But the outcome was a far cry from it. Central to the disagreement was the question whether major developing countries like India and China should undertake voluntary “action” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or come on board with rich countries and take up binding “commitments” to do so. Both developed and developing countries eventually agreed on the word “contributions”. Three cyclones hit India’s eastern coast in two months in 2013. The Warsaw climate talks offered no respite to the affected communities It is now left to the countries to begin their homework and return in 2015 to tell the world, what they will “contribute” to limit the temperature rise. This, some analysts say, removes the longstanding division between developed and developing countries over emissions reduction targets. But herein lies the problem. The word “contribution” signals the voluntary nature of the agreement, meaning every country will now have an option to propose whatever emissions reduction target it wants. Worse, there is no clarity on how these contributions will be reviewed to assess whether they are adequate to keep global temperature rise below the critical 2°C threshold. Besides, there was no consensus on when these contributions should be submitted. While the EU wanted countries to finalise their contributions by September 2014, the US postponed this to early 2015. The timeline of contributions is, therefore, vague and the question of whether these subscribe to equity and fairness has been left open. This leaves too many questions for countries to answer in the forthcoming climate talks—in Lima in 2014 and in Paris in 2015—and casts doubt over a timely deal. Developed countries attempt to erase the difference between them and developing countries in the 2015 climate deal Developing countries’ “contributions” to reduce emissions made comparable to that of developed countries The “contributions” do not subscribe to the principles of equity Developed countries ignore calls to increase pre-2020 emisson reduction targets Loss and damage not granted separate identity; still under Adaptation framework Mechanism instituted to address the issue, without clarity on financing These mechanism will get guidance from institutions under UNFCCC No mention of tackling slow-onset events, like sea level rise and ocean acidification Another important agenda of the ADP discussion at Warsaw was to revise the pre-2020 emissions reduction targets of rich countries. The UNEP Gap Report, released in November this year ahead of the climate talks, shows that there is a gap between the amount of emissions countries had pledged to reduce in Cancun in 2010 and the amount they need to reduce to stay within the 2oC threshold. The report pegs the gap at 8-12 giga tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions. India, China and other developing countries, who have pledged to reduce more emissions than their industrialised counterparts by 2020, have been repeatedly saying that it is up to the rich countries to close this gap by increasing their emissions reduction targets for 2020. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), rich countries should reduce 25-40 per cent below 1990 levels for the world to stay under the 2°C threshold. But none of the rich countries pay heed to this. Their current targets for 2020 add up to 10-15 per cent below 1990 levels. Worse, Australia and Japan announced at Warsaw that they would reduce their pre-2020 targets (see ‘World Gets A Yellow Card’, Down To Earth, December 1-15, 2013). “Lack of initiative by developed countries in the pre-2020 period will be the biggest impediment to get an ambitious deal for post-2020,” says Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general of Delhi non-profit Centre for Science and Environment. Another UNEP report, Bridging the Emissions Gap, which was released in 2011, has influenced much of the debate on pre-2020 ambition. It has identified options that have maximum potential to close the “giga tonne gap”. These include curbing emissions from hydrofluorocarbons, commonly used as refrigerants, and from the aviation sector. Many of these options are covered under UNFCCC, but are increasingly being discussed in fora outside it. Such initiatives have been seen as a burden shifting tactic employed by developed countries. So, countries like India have long argued that such complementary initiatives should be voluntary and be above and beyond what is being done under UNFCCC. But it is yet to be decided how and where such measures will be accounted. Activists protest inaction by world leaders at the climate talks in Warsaw, Poland (Photo: Indrajit Bose) Sops for loss and damage A mechanism for loss and damage—assistance for countries hit by global warming impacts such as frequent cyclones and rise in sea levels—was a key agenda of the Warsaw climate talks. The concept holds rich countries liable for their historical share of emissions, responsible for a warmer world. It also highlights the irony that poor countries have emitted the least amount of greenhouse gases but suffer the worst impacts of global warming. This is the reason, since climate negotiations began some two decades ago, developing and poor countries have been demanding financial aid and technology transfer from rich countries to develop in a sustainable manner. But rich countries have showed poor willingness for such assistance. Lack of sufficient and timely reduction in emissions pushed the world to talk about adapting to climate change. Now, the world has moved “beyond adaptation”. This forced the small island nations and least developed countries, who bear the maximum brunt of exteme weather events, to reintroduce the concept of “loss and damage” into international climate negotiations in Cancun in 2010. But the issue managed to elude a concrete decision all along. During the climate talks in Doha last year, in a last minute surprise, developing countries convinced developed countries to take a decision on “loss and damage” at the Warsaw climate talks. The countries discussed the issue at Warsaw and agreed on the “Warsaw mechanism on loss and damage”. It was dubbed as a political victory for developing countries. But the text fell short of what is needed to address the urgency of the situation. Evolution of REDD+ 2005: COP 11, Montreal A coalition of nine rainforest nations, headed by Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica, calls for attention to the growing threat of deforestation, which was contributing to a fifth of emissions. This paves the way for a two-year consultation process, reducing emissions from deforestation 2007: COP 13, Bali Countries decide that forest degradation should be given equal importance. The second ‘D’ in the REDD refers to this. It set timelines for developing the design for a post-2012 REDD mechanism before CoP15 at Copenhagen 2008: COP 14, Poznan The idea of REDD graduates to REDD+ because of pressure from countries such as India to give equal importance to other issues like sustainable management, conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks 2009: COP 15, Copenhagen Safeguards for exploitation of indigenous communities emerge as contentious issues. In the Copenhagen Accord there is no provision for indigenous rights 2010: COP 16, Cancun It marks the official entry of REDD as UNFCCC-enabled mitigation mechanism. This means deforestation, degradation, conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks and sustainable management of forests are now officially linked with reduction of GHG emissions. The sticking point is ensuring environmental and social safeguards. Financing of REDD another gray area 2011: COP 17, Durban A joint work programme under the subsidiary bodies of the UNFCCC is initiated for the coordination of support for the implementation of REDD+ projects. Countries discuss the need to establish new institutions under UNFCCC 2013: COP 19, Warsaw Agrees on a REDD+ framework The text makes note of the fact that climate change impacts in some cases “cannot be reduced by adaptation”, yet it places the mechanism on loss and damage under the Adaptation Framework. This is against the demand of developing countries who wanted loss and damage as a separate pillar, alongside mitigation and adaptation. The text also fails to link the issue of loss and damage to the low ambition levels of developed countries. Earlier, it was believed that the “loss and damage” mechanism could be used as a stick to get rich countries serious about their climate actions and show more ambition. After all, the fifth assessment report of the IPCC states that a warmer world will play host to not just extreme events but also slow-onset events such as sea level rise and ocean acidification, leading to loss of fish catch, crops and livelihoods. This will fuel distress migration. But none of these issues finds a mention in the text. A delegate takes a nap on the last day of negotiationsWhen countries began deliberating “loss and damage”, the G-77 and China, a group of 133 developing countries, came to the table with clear demands of what the mechanism should entail. They proposed two windows under the mechanism, one was technical and the other, financial. The role of the technical window was to assess issues such as data gaps, non economic losses, slow-onset events and long-term impact assessment. Based on these assessments, the affected countries would receive financial assistance from developed countries. But the final agreement focuses more on the technical aspect. During the negotiation, developed countries such as the US and Norway made it clear that the issue of compensation or liability in any form was a red line for them. This was despite the fact that typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines just ahead of the talks and provided the context for the loss and damage issue at the Warsaw climate talks. Not many analysts are disappointed with the outcome. Some say the mechanism will help further the understanding of best practices, challenges and data gaps, and coordinate the work of other organisations addressing rehabilitation, migration, disaster risk and reduction. “Such understanding of issues is a real concern and needs to be addressed,” says Harjeet Singh of Action Aid, who has been following the issue. Yet another reassuring aspect is that an executive committee has been set up with membership from trans-disciplinary bodies under UNFCCC such as the adaptation, finance and technology committees to oversee and guide the work of the mechanism. This ensures that the mechanism has a steering committee to take things forward and does not remain an empty institution. The mechanism will also be reviwed in 2016. A lot remains unanswered nevertheless. For example, it is not clear how much money will figure in the new mechanism or how developing countries will access the money. It is now up to the developing countries to ensure that the developed countries provide financial and technical support so that communities are able to cope with their loss and damage. The battle has just begun. Green signal for REDD The only saving grace of the COP19 was ways to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation, popularly called REDD+. The mechanism aims to provide monetary incentives to forest communities for protecting forests, which are major carbon sinks. Eight years after it was first put on the negotiation table, countries at Warsaw decided on seven of its key areas (see ‘Evolution of REDD+’). The decisions, titled the Warsaw Framework for REDD-plus, form the bases on which REDD+ projects would be carried out in future (see ‘REDD+ holds out hope’). But the decisions came after long and fierce debates between developed and developing countries. Central to these debates were issues of safeguarding the rights of indigenous and forest-dependent communities, finacial mechanism for REDD+ projects and adopting a market (for instance, forestry credits) or non-market (funds established by countries) route to finance them. REDD+ holds out hope The Warsaw Framework for REDD plus encompasses seven decisions on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation as well as forest conservation and sustainable management. A snapshot of the decisions Results-based finance This is an approach where payments are made after communities establish that they have reduced emissions by protecting forests. The funds, provided to developing countries, should be new, additional and predictable, emerging from a variety of sources such as public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources. It also calls for the Green Climate Fund to play a key role to collectively channel adequate and predictable funds, and lays down rules for developing countries seeking to obtain and receive results-based payments Monitoring, Reporting, Verification rules  Under the MRV rules, any project would be measured against the forest reference emission levels expressed in tonnes of CO2-equivalent a year. Countries must report this in their biennial updates to UNFCCC. Verification would be done by a team of technical experts with representation from developed and developing countries Coordination The decision on coordination requires countries to set up a national entity or a focal point to coordinate with the UNFCCC Secretariat and the Subsidiary Body on Implementation, a technical body under the UNFCCC, and support the implementation of project activities National monitoring The decision also outlines, among other things, that development of national forest monitoring systems for the biennial monitoring and reporting requirements should be guided by the most recent IPCC guidelines Safeguards  Developing countries are required to provide a summary of information on how all the safeguards—knowledge and rights of indigenous people and local communities, their full and effective participation, conservation of natural forests and biodiversity and no conversion of natural forests, for instance—are addressed throughout the implementation of the activities Reference emission levels The decision says that developing countries can voluntarily submit reference emission levels, and gives out the scope and procedure for technical assessment of the emission levels after they are submitted, including the composition of the assessment team Drivers of deforestation  The decision recognises the importance of non-carbon benefits for the long-term sustainability of the implementation of activities and encourages developing countries to take note of existing information on addressing the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation One of the contentious issues was the decision on institutional arrangements, which hit a roadblock over the question whether a new REDD+ institution should be established at the global level, or a national-level institution, also called the focal point, would be in charge of REDD+ projects. The Coalition for Rainforest Nations wanted an international-level institution because that would ease access to funding and help reduce administrative costs. But other countries did not agree to this; they favoured maintaining flexibility and diversity in the channelling of donor funds. It was finally decided that Parties would establish a national entity or focal point for REDD-plus; these focal points would meet annually with UNFCCC subsidiary bodies. The decision on result-based finance (payments to communities after they establish emissions reduction through REDD+ projects) too saw heated arguments among countries, central to which was the issue of sources of finance. Brazil and Bolivia wanted a provision of predictable sources of finance from developed countries. They also wanted exclusive mention of UNFCCC’s Green Climate Fund, meant to assist developing countries with climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. But Australia took a contrary stand and said that the objective of the Convention was not welfare transfer, but to achieve a safe climate. Australian negotiators said obligations for new, predictable and reliable finance are not realistic, because it is not the responsibility of only developed countries to provide finance. The final text, though, finds mention of the Green Climate Fund as well as “predictable sources”. Countries were also divided over market and non-market references in the negotiating text. China did not want any reference to new market mechanism in the text. Brazil made it clear that to ensure environmental integrity, forestry credits (emissions reduced through REDD+ projects) must not be used as offsets towards mitigation commitments by developed countries. For the Philippines, the issue of safeguarding communities was non-negotiable. But for Indonesia, the aim was to scale up finance, including market mechanisms. “In Warsaw we were taken by surprise with Brazil’s position. Brazil said (carbon) credits could not be used as offsets in mitigation targets of Annex I (developed) countries. Our position has been a mix of market and non-market approaches,” said an Indian negotiator. Civil society has been against any market initiative with respect to REDD+ projects and has been demanding that the co-benefits approach to REDD+ are duly acknowledged. The reason is forests not only play a crucial role in storing carbon, but also provide ecological and community benefits. According to John Lanchberry, principal adviser on climate change to the Royal Society for Protection of Birds in the UK, the contentious issue of market versus fund debate has largely gone away for the time being because there is no market at present and there will not be one before 2020. “In the meantime, countries agree that funds could be both bilateral, as most are at present, or come from the Green Climate Fund when it gets going. Views on markets, however, remain much as before, with Papua New Guinea and the Coalition for Rainforest Nations in favour, and Bolivia against,” says Lanchberry, also with the Climate Action Network’s REDD working group. Similarly, the issue of indigenous people’s rights has been a bone of contention since the land and resources of indigenous people and other forest-dependent communities constitute a large proportion of forested areas likely to be targeted by REDD+. Indigenous peoples’ groups have protested against the refusal of some UNFCCC parties to recognise their rights. “The decision at Warsaw is good because now we have adequate safeguards for forest-dependent communities,” the Indian negotiator said. But will there be enough money to finance REDD+ projects? Analysts say the magnitude of funds to implement REDD+ projects successfully would be to the tune of billions of dollars a year. To expect all of it to come from developed countries is not a realistic proposition. However, whether it will be market or non-market approach is left open. There is mention, though, that recognising non-market approaches would incentivise sustainability of long-term activities under REDD+. Essentially, the framework agreed to at Warsaw puts in place a rulebook for REDD+ projects being carried out under different jurisdictional levels in countries. How forest communities will grapple with the ground realities is, however, not yet clear. One of the major issues has been the high cost of technological equipment for showing that deforestation has been avoided. This typically involves satellite imagery or high-quality images to capture the ground results. Predictable and sufficient funds will be key to overcoming these barriers. For this, the US, UK and Norway have promised US $280 million. For the first time, says Lanchberry, the money moves away from projects towards results based finance. “It’s interesting. India to play proactive role in evolving climate consensus Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday assured a French delegation that India would play a proactive role in the next climate change conference in evolving a consensus. Mr. Javadekar met a six-member delegation led by Foreign Affairs and International Development Minister Laurent Fabius. An official statement said he also assured them that a part of the Green Climate Fund could be utilised to finance the differential cost of IPRs which would help developing countries adopt cutting-edge technologies. Mr. Javadekar highlighted the initiatives taken by Narendra Modi in Gujarat by setting up a separate Department of Climate Change at the State level and other initiatives on solar and renewable energy resources. The new government had changed the nomenclature of the Environment Ministry by adding “Climate Change” to it signifying the focus on the issue, he said. The government’s focus on poverty eradication and providing energy access to all would ensure “sustainable balanced development.” Integrating ecology and economy “One of the hardest things in politics,” U.S. President Barack Obama said in a recent interview, “is getting a democracy to deal with something now where the pay-off is long term or the price of inaction is decades away.” Obama’s words are pertinent not only to the U.S.; they are also relevant to the other great democracy and its spanking new government on the other side of the planet: India. The science whose central concern is the long term and leaving a healthy environment for future generations is ecology. And within ecology, on a planetary scale, it is the science of climate change. So when India’s new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi renamed the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) appending ‘and Climate Change’, it was a timely move. It signalled that even as the government pursues its stated policy of industrial and infrastructural expansion for economic growth, it would place tackling climate change firmly on its agenda, along with the protection of environment, forests, and wildlife. But a series of media reports belie this interpretation. According to these reports, the MoEF, in its new avatar, plans to redefine what an inviolate forest is so that more forests can be opened for mining. It proposes to dilute environmental norms and procedures to bypass existing legal requirements for large infrastructure and defence projects. The government announced plans to increase the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam, raising concerns over the rehabilitation of 2,50,000 people, even as a ‘leaked’ Intelligence Bureau report attacked NGOs for working on ‘people-centric’ issues. Meanwhile, the MoEF has been silent on other pressing needs: releasing the long overdue India State of Forest Report 2013, acting to save critically endangered species such as the Great Indian Bustard (now down to less than 300 individual birds in the wild), or implementing proactive measures to combat climate change. Within hours of taking charge as Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar said with unsettling brevity in a TV interview: “... India needs a window for growth and emissions and other things.” To his credit, Mr. Javadekar has promised to ensure that environmental protection and developmental activities will go together. While it is too early to assess promise against practice, this is as good a time as any to recount five lessons from ecology on why environmental protection should concern India’s new government and people. Thinking long term Obama’s words point to lesson one: ecology takes the long view. Development projects promoted for short-term gains may have unaccounted long-term costs. The previous United Progressive Alliance government allowed the conversion or loss of over 7,00,000 hectares of forest — an area the size of Sikkim — for development projects and non-forest uses. Natural forests of diverse native tree species function as watersheds, wildlife habitats, and sources of livelihood for tribal, farming, and fishing communities, contributing to long-term human well-being in ways not captured by indices such as annual GDP growth. The science of restoration ecology attests that such diverse natural forests and the living soils they spring from, once destroyed, are difficult and costly or infeasible to bring back, and appreciable recovery may still take decades to centuries. This is not adequately factored into the estimation of net present value (NPV) of forests that tries to approximate economic losses over a 20-year period, by which time the losses are ‘recovered’ in compensatory afforestation sites. A project developer pays out the NPV — at current rates, a maximum of Rs 10.43 lakh per hectare for very dense forests in the most biologically rich regions such as the Western Ghats — and flattens football fields of forests for the price of a mid-range SUV. Furthermore, compensatory afforestation, if carried out at all, frequently involves raising plantations of one or few alien tree species such as eucalyptus and wattles. Such artificial forests are no substitute for the more diverse natural forests of mixed native species, including centuries-old trees. This is why, as the Modi government worries over its 100-day report card, ecologists will be concerned about its 100-year fallout. Lesson two is that ecology is a science of connections. Pluck the hornbills out of their forest home, and forest trees whose seeds the birds disperse begin to decline. Strip the oceans of sharks and predatory fish with industrial fishing and entire ecosystems and livelihoods of artisanal fishers unravel in what ecologists call a trophic cascade. So, the wholesale construction of 300 large dams in the Himalaya as proposed by the government would not just generate power, but have other negative consequences radiating down the chains and webs of life, including to people downstream. When these are taken into account, implementing fewer and smaller projects or alternatives appears more attractive. The third lesson, the mandala of ecology, is that ecology closes the loop. Nature recycles, without externalities, wasting little. If the government applied this to everything from recycling municipal waste to curtailing pollution by industries, it could generate jobs and induce growth without leaving behind irredeemable wastes. Fourth, ecological processes transcend political boundaries. We pump CO{-2}and other greenhouse gases into the common pool of our atmosphere anywhere and affect people and the earth’s fabric of life everywhere. To conserve tigers and elephants in protected reserves, we need to retain connecting corridors and forests, some spanning state or international boundaries. Development and infrastructure projects can be designed and implemented such that they do not further disrupt fragmented landscapes, but instead help retain remnant forests or reconnect vital linkages. The science of home Finally, ecology teaches us that humans are not external to nature. Land and nature are not commodities that can be bought or sold recklessly or reduced to a packaged spectacle for tourists to gawk at. They form the community we belong to: we are part of nature, it is home. In the debate over ecology versus economy, we must remind ourselves that both words originate from the greek word oikos, meaning home. The science of our home environment (ecology) must inform the management of our home resources (economy). What is often forgotten in the debate falsely caricatured as environment versus development is that for almost every destructive project, there are often alternatives and means of implementation that cause less harm to environment and local communities, and can provide overall long-term benefits. For instance, roads can be routed to avoid wildlife sanctuaries and provide better connection to peripheral villages, thus helping both people and wildlife. Decentralised village power generation systems that use biomass, solar power, and other renewable sources can help reduce reliance on mega power projects plagued by corruption and requiring long power lines that suffer transmission losses and cause forest fragmentation. There are already many promising examples of ecologically sensitive development. If ecologists, engineers, and economists synergise their efforts, and the government chooses to exercise its electoral mandate to take the long view, there can be many more. The integration of ecological considerations into economic development is vital and valuable if, in the pursuit of profit, we are to ensure the long-term well-being of people and planet. (T. R. Shankar Raman is a scientist with the Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore.) Pluck the hornbills out of their forest home, and forest trees whose seeds the birds disperse begin to decline Five-point plan to clean the Ganga Cleaning the Ganga will require high-level political will that is sustained over many years, or even decades Photo: Mint The recent flurry of attention and elevated commitment to rejuvenation of the Ganga is most welcome. Nowhere in the world has the cleaning and conservation of a major river, lake, or bay occurred without high-level political will that is sustained over many years, often decades. This will be particularly crucial considering the staggering scale of the Ganga: a river that is 2,500km long, binds five states together along its main stem and eleven in its entire basin, and channels the domestic, industrial, and agricultural waste generated by more than 500 million people. But what else is needed to clean this iconic river and its mighty basin? Based on global experience, here are five things the government may consider in preparation of its new plans: Preparing a basin plan, that guides investment and choices, will be an important first step. Apart from an obvious focus on the critically polluted stretch from Kanpur to Varanasi, a clear plan would prioritize the pollution hot spots and the investments with the greatest impact. Cleaning is expensive and no country has attempted clean-up at India’s level of GDP (gross domestic product) per capita. From 1970 to 1990, the five countries that share the Rhine spent about $50 billion on communal and industrial waste-water treatment plants. In 2007, China vowed to spend more than $14 billion on Lake Tai, its third-largest freshwater lake. Scarce resources must be allocated to investments with the highest returns. The government of India has already taken the important first step of adopting a river-basin approach. A consortium of seven IITs has just submitted a draft Ganga River Basin Management Plan which contains many excellent background papers. Second, measurement will be critical. One cannot manage what one does not know. The paucity of credible and reliable water quality data on the Ganga must be rectified. The global experience shows that we need good data, including, for example, on the share of point source versus non-point source pollution and on the share of the pollution-load generated by cities versus industries. The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, for example, has prioritized measurement and assessment, and constituted several expert groups to advise it in this regard. In the Ganga, real-time water quality monitoring would provide a baseline from which to measure improvements and inject transparency in reporting. Third, getting the institutions right. Leadership, autonomy, and professional management are needed. The global experience shows that, as an implementation task, river-cleaning should be de-linked from line ministries charged with policymaking and regulation and given, instead, to smaller, professionally managed river basin organizations. Cities need to be strengthened as ultimately they will be the custodians of the assets being created: sewerage networks, treatment plants, riverfront development schemes, and solid waste management systems. Many cities in the Ganga basin are particularly weak, with limited financial powers, weak revenue generation, and poorly managed utilities. In addition to current strategies, such as the piloting of 10-year Design Build Operate contracts to improve sustainability, one way forward is to partner a Ganga rejuvenation programme with a smart cities programme, and to pick a few iconic cities in which to pilot reforms, cluster investments, and show results. Fourth, engaging and mobilizing all stakeholders. The Ganga’s constituents are its inhabitants, its champions, its religious leaders, its elected representatives, and all the people who value it as a cleaner river. People must be part of development and every successful clean-up programme has tapped this crucial resource. This is worth investing in. In Australia, the Murray Darling Basin Authority estimates that almost 20% of its annual resources have been committed to this kind of work. Regular reporting on goals and on progress, reaching out to youth and schools, encouraging participation in water quality testing and social audits, and promoting behaviour change are all examples of how far reaching this can be. Riverfront development—including ghats, parks, and other public spaces—is also critical, bringing people closer to water and increasing their affiliation and respect for its cleanliness and flow. Fifth, rejuvenation requires equal attention to quality and quantity. The old adage that “the solution to pollution is dilution” is partly true. In 2013, the visible improvement in water quality in Allahabad during the Maha Kumbh Mela was, in part, the result of additional releases from the barrage upstream. This begs a basin-scale plan in which inter-sectoral trade-offs are analysed and water is allocated according to greatest need and societal values. Today, 90% of the water in the basin is used for irrigation at some of the lowest productivity levels in the world. Much could be achieved by improving agricultural efficiency and reallocating water to higher value uses, including river health. This is particularly important for a large and complex water system that is highly seasonal with 90% of rainfall generated in three months and with a long lean season of slow run-off and marginal glacier melt. Since 2011, the World Bank has been providing financial and technical assistance to the government of India through the National Ganga River Basin Project. The recent groundswell of support for rejuvenation of this great river and the global experience fill us with hope that a rejuvenated Ganga programme can achieve real results. Don’t just clean the Ganga, save it Governments have been focusing on the symptom rather than the disease Illustration: Jayachandran/Mint It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. A ready example of this is the manner in which India has gone about cleaning its biggest river, the Ganga, over the past 28 years. What started out as the Ganga Action Plan (GAP), a focused programme to arrest the falling quality of Ganga water in 1986, is now an example of how to kill a river. Pick any list of the world’s dirtiest rivers and chances are both the Ganga and Yamuna, its main tributary, will be among the condemned. On the face of it though, it is a surprising result. GAP and its later avatars received adequate money—reportedly, a sum of `20,000 crore has already been spent. They also received political patronage from the highest offices of the land—starting with Rajiv Gandhi’s involvement in setting up the GAP to Manmohan Singh’s push in 2008 that declared the Ganga the national river. What went wrong? It was the misdiagnoses of the real ailment. For nearly three decades successive governments have been focusing on the symptom rather than the disease, the symptom being the growing pollution of the river. However, the real problem has been the declining flow of water downstream and steady destruction of the ecosystem that nourishes the river but this has rarely found any attention. That is not to say that the GAP could cure at least the symptom. Far from it. Stuck in the typical bureaucratic quagmire, the implementation of GAP, which was expanded to include the Ganga’s tributaries as well in 1993, has been neither adequate nor successful. As a result, a city such as Varanasi only has the capacity to treat one-third of the total sewage it dumps into the Ganga. To make it worse, the efficacy of the installed sewage treatment plants has been hampered by lack of electricity and accountability. The responsibility to make things work at the ground level is spread over seven to nine departments at the state level including tourism, water resources, urban development, irrigation, the pollution control board and industries—the list goes on. If one wanted to fix responsibility for a lackadaisical approach, it would be near impossible. It is another matter that rarely, if at all, were such questions asked. The story is repeated, with minor changes, in every big polluting city along the Ganga—such as Kanpur, which drains the most deadly pollutants known to man in less than modest quantities. While on the one hand, the absolute amount of untreated sewage and industrial contaminants drained into the Ganga has risen, on the other, the actual flow of water in the river has come down. This has compounded the problem to a scale where merely cleaning will not suffice. The time has come for India to distinguish between pollution abatement and rejuvenating the river. Controlling pollution is a small part of the whole problem. What is urgently needed is a holistic approach to revive the Ganga. This will require catchment restoration and enrichment to ensure ecological flows and make the river perennial. It is here that the new government seems to be unclear about the task ahead. Reclaiming the Ganga’s glorious past will not be possible without the active collaboration of the four key states (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal) through which it flows. What makes this task more difficult is the fact that none of these states has a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. Going by the statements of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who reportedly said that he’d like to see how much the Ganga can be cleaned in the next five years, convincing other stakeholders will not be easy. But to begin with, the BJP-led government at the centre must understand the real issue at hand. Exhortations about building waterways are like putting the cart before the horse. The Ganga needs to be revived in full. Nor should the so-called success of the Sabarmati riverfront in Gujarat be held up as a model for the Ganga. By most accounts, the brief stretch of the Sabarmati which is being lauded is preceded by a dry patch upstream, and a very dirty river downstream, not to mention the fact that the water in the Sabarmati is not its own—an element which will surely not work in the Ganga’s case. Scientist cautions against riverfront plan Jayashree Nandi & Neha Lalchandani New Delhi   Even while bureaucrats prepare reports on Yamuna riverfront development amid raging debate on the suitability of the Sabarmati model, a scientist from Jamia Millia Islamia has come out with a plan to use the river's floodplains for solving the capital's water crisis. Contrary to proposals of building on them and channelizing or confining the Yamuna, Vikram Soni has espoused conserving the floodplains as water reservoirs for Delhi.Yamuna's floodplains are a valuable water resource for the capital, Soni, who decided to submit his research to PMO, has said. Soni is suggesting a `preserve and use' scheme in which about 12% of the total volume of the aquifer can be drawn without disturbing riparian ecology . A 50km length can generate close to 200 million cubic metres a year--enough water for 1.3 million, according to the study . Indeed, this project was set to be taken up by Delhi Jal Board in 2009 after then prime minister Manmohan Singh expressed interest in the idea. But the project was delayed indefinitely by DJB. Now, Soni is worried that Delhi may lose this vast water reservoir. “It's ironic how history repeats itself. In 2009, the Sheila Dikshit administration had the idea of channelizing the Yamuna and putting up a wa terfront a la Paris and London. India's monsoon river s--which get 80% of their flow in three months and come from such a great height--are different from European riv ers which receive rain throughout the year, and do not have such deep and wide floodplain aquifers. Besides, Europe does not have a water shortage,“ Soni said. “The non-channelized river rises by four metres during peak mon soon flooding. Can you imag ine the peak flood rise in the channelized river?,“ he added. Only recently has DJB shown some interest in Soni's proposal. It's currently setting up a system through which it will be able to extract 10-15 mil lion gallons per day from the Palla region. “The report submitted by Soni was largely non-imple mentable. It suggested that we extract 60MGD from the flood plain while its potential is no more than 30MGD. However, there is some promise and we have asked WAPCOS (Water and Power Consultancy Ser vices) to prepare a report,“ said an official. A similar re port by Central Ground Water Authority had been junked by DJB.