India tops world list of environment conflicts

Exploitation of natural resources to fuel economy to blame

MUMBAI: Massive exploitation of natural resources and mineral ores to fuel the economy has put India on top of the world list of environment conflicts. India has the maximum number of environment conflicts, according to a global atlas, which has mapped ecological struggles over the years and was released in Brussels last month.

In the list of environment conflicts, India (123) is closely f ollowed by Nigeria ( 122), Colombia (75), Brazil (61) and other countries.

Of the total 924 cases of agitations against extraction of natural resources across the world, 123 are from India. They are against mineral extraction; land acquisition for nuclear, thermal and hydroelectric plants, airports, dams and others carried out by both government and private players.

Most of these projects have come up after 1991’s economic l iberalisation. “A majority of people in India, unlike in developed and middle-income countries, depend on natural resources such as forest, land and water. In the name of socalled development, the government first lays its hands on these resources and those directly affected are the weakest,” said Himanshu Thakkar of Delhibased South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers and People.

Since 2011, more than 100 scientists and activists all over the world have been mapping spaces of resistance spanning 35 years, as part of the Environment Justice Org anisations, Liabilities and Trade (EJOLT), a European Union (EU) project that will conclude in 2015 with a target of covering 2,000 conflicts.

The global atlas reveals that majority of the conflicts are related to land (226), arising out of mineral ore exploration and land acquisition. Water, electricity, crude oil, gold, coal dominate the list of commodities responsible for such struggles.

“Most people hear about major disasters. But the map shows t hat environmental impacts are part of the normal workings of the economy, and that extraction of resources carries ecological costs paid for by the most marginalised populations,” said Leah Temper, an EJOLT project manager, via email.

India has witnessed several protests in different parts with locals opposing projects with environment conflicts. “The regard for environment laws, forest rights, social justice have deteriorated rapidly and all projects are being sanctioned,” said ecologist Madhav Gadgil, who had chaired the Western Ghats ecology expert panel. “As a result, people are getting desperate because the government is flouting both people’s righ ts and environment rules.”

India has a history of environment movements and conflicts – the Chipko movement against deforestation in the 1970s, the Nar mada Bachao Andolan against the construction of large dams across the Narmada in the 1980s, and the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984.

“In over 30 years of mobilisations, activists have managed to create networks and have been able to counter the mantra of modernisation and development,” stated the contents of the atlas for India.

According to the EJOLT team, 17% of the reported cases have been successes with regard to “environment justice”, where due compensation was paid, the project was cancelled, the investors pulled out or the movement or community was strengthened.

Source::: Hindustan Times, 06-04-2014, p.07, http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

State lost more than 2,100 sq km of forest area in past 2 decades

Madhavi Rajadhyaksha TNN 

Mumbai: Maharashtra has lost a staggering 2,116 sq km of forest area or an equivalent of three Tadoba forest reserves in the span of two decades, reveals a report tracking climate change in India released recently by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation. 
    The state has also gained 5,030 sq km of forest cover in the period covered by the report (1987-2011). However, forest cover is not the same as forest area; mapped by satellite imaging, it includes zones such as rubber and teak plantations which do not deliver the ecological benefits that natural forests do. 
    The Centre’s report warns that forest loss tilts the ecological balance, contributes to climate change and man-made carbon-dioxide emissions and reduces carbon stock. 
GREEN ALERT Loss in forest area in Maharashtra (1987-2011) is 2,116 sq km The state has lost an equivalent of three Tadoba forests since ’87 It has gained 5,030 sq km of forest cover between 1987-2011 National policy says one-third of India’s geographical area should be forest. Currently it is about 17% Loss of forests hits water reserves and air quality 
Experts Say Green Cover Converted Into Agri Land 
    Maharashtra 
has lost a mind-boggling 2,116 sq km of forest area in the last 20 years. D Stalin of voluntary organization Vanashakti said much of the forest loss in the state is owing to sustained conversion of forests into agricultural land such as sugarcane plantations. “Developers have taken over environmental issues. The loss of forests compromises the state’s water security,” he said. 
    Maharashtra already has the highest number of polluted rivers in the country—28—and such deforestation further affects the 
capacity of the groundwater to absorb and store water, Stalin pointed out, adding that denuding natural green reserves also results in rising temperatures or global warming. 
    Environmentalist Debi Goenka believes the depleting forest area is a cause for worry especially in the context of the increasing population. 
    “Forests are the most efficient converters of carbon dioxide into oxygen. It is time we start acknowledging that they are not a luxury but a necessity. The loss of forest area only reiterates there is no political will to protect forests or wildlife,” Goenka said, citing how similar apathy was shown in the planning of the Navi Mumbai airport. 
    The rapid takeover of forest lands for development, be it roads, power plants or airports, comes despite the existence of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, that imposes strict restrictions on dereservation of forests. States are also given funding for regeneration of forests under the National Afforestation Programme. 
    Stalin said the government must rethink its forest compensatory policy and emphasized the need to regenerate forests and not merely compensate the loss of natural reserves with plantations. 
    Chief forest conservator NVasudevan said the national policy has underlined the need for one-third of the total geographic area to be forest. 
    “Forests currently make up about 17% of total area in the country, which we need to take up to 33%. The solution may not necessarily be to declare more land as forest areas but to encourage citizens to plant trees or take measures such as greening of wastelands,” he said. 
HOW DIMINISHING FORESTS AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT 
    Forests are considered ‘lungs’ of the earth as they absorb carbondioxide and replenish oxygen in the environment. Forest loss aggravates pollution 
    Denuding of forests leads to a rise in temperatures and global warming 
    Forest areas act as a check on soil erosion, regulating rainfall and helping to conserve ground water 
    They are also reserves of raw materials such as wood, lumber and paper, the absence of which has effects on human and animal life 
WHY FOREST COVER MAY NOT HELP Forest cover mapped by the Forest Survey of India doesn’t distinguish between the origin of tree crops, whether natural or man-made. Forest cover could thus include rubber or sugarcane plantations which do not provide the oxygen-replenishing benefits of natural tree cover 
TIMES VIEW : Constantly diminishing forest area is a ticking time bomb and it’s imperative the government realises this. Denudation of forest cover cannot be blamed on the irresponsibility of a few; it’s rather the work of an organised, well-networked mafia, which only concerted effort and monitoring by government agencies can thwart. The sooner they get their act together, the better it will be for Maharashtra.

Source::: The Times of India, 26-12-2013, p.08,   http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/26&PageLabel=8&EntityId=Ar00306&DataChunk=Ar00800&ViewMode=HTML

Green tag to keep 40% W Ghats pristine

Mumbai: Almost 40% of the Western Ghats or 60,000 sq km of the green belt that runs across six states is set to become an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), a tag that will keep mining, quarrying, thermal power plants or any polluting industries out of the zone. 
    But hydro-electricity projects will be allowed there though consent from gram sabhas will have to be taken. 
    The decision for the new tag is taken following recommendations from the Dr K Kasturirangan Committee that was set up to review the Madhav Gadgil Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel Report, which had suggested that the entire Western Ghats be declared an ESA for its bio-diversity. But after a review, the Kasturirangan Committee divided the Western Ghats into natural (no development) and cultural (agriculture, plantations etc) landscapes. It said development activities can be carried out in nearly 60% of the Ghats. 
    Happy that the Centre has accepted the new report, Sunita Narain of the Dr K Kasturirangan High Level Working Group, said, “It’s time we moved ahead.” The group had suggested that all mines in the ESA be phased out over five years and constructions on areas of 2lakh sq-m and above be banned.


Source:::: The Times of India, 17-10-2013, p.10,  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/10/17&PageLabel=10&EntityId=Ar01002&ViewMode=HTML

1 out of 5 sewage treatment plants non-operational

Vishwa Mohan TNN 

New Delhi: Almost one-fifth of the centrally-funded sewage treatment plants in the country are “non-operational”, leading to millions of litres of untreated water either seeping into the ground as a potential pollutant of ground water or being discharged into natural drainage systems and rivers everyday. 
    Besides, performance of another nearly one-fifth of the 152 sewage treatment plants (STPs) was found to be unsatisfactory. 
    The findings are part of a report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) which, after monitoring the STPs over a period of time, conducted performance evaluation of sewage treatments plants. 
    The report said, “Out of the 152 STPs, nine plants are under construction, 30 are non-operational and performance of 28 plants are not satisfactory.” 
    The board, which made its report public on Tuesday, evaluated only those plants which were funded under the national river conservation plan of the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF). These plants are, however, being operated by local civic bodies. 
    Against the collective sewage treatment capacity of 4,716 million litres per day (MLD) of 152 STPs, these plants treat only 3,126 MLD of sewage with capacity utilization of 66%. The board found that the plants located in different states worked at different levels of efficiency. 
    “Close examination of the data indicates that the per cent ‘capacity utilization’ is maximum in the states of Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and Goa,” the report said. 
    Noting that 80% of the water supplied for domestic use came back as waste water, the report said, “A significant volume of waste water is not subjected to any treatment and is ultimately discharged into surface water bodies leading to deterioration of water quality.” 
    In order to protect water quality of rivers, the central government had established National River Conservation Directorate in the MoEF to provide technical and financial support to state governments for development of sewage treatment capacities of those municipalities which were discharging their waste water into natural water bodies. 
    Though the recent performance evaluation was restricted to only 152 STPs having capacity to treat merely 4,716 MLD of sewage, the CPCB’s previous reports may be recalled to show how Indian cities face huge shortage of sewage treatment capacity. The CPCB’s report in 2005-06 (the last one which carried this study on status of municipal waste water generated in 35 metropolitan cities) showed that these cities generated 15,644 MLD of sewage. But these cities had sewage treatment capacity of only 8,040 MLD (51% of the total sewage). 
    The board had subsequently come out with a report in 2009-10 evaluating sewage treatment capacities of 498 Class-I cities (including metropolitan cities) having population more than one lakh as per 2001 census. This report had also presented a grim picture of sewage treatment capacity in the country.

CLEANING THE MESS 
    Discharge of untreated sewage is the most important water polluting source in India 
    Out of 38,000 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage generated in cities and towns, treatment capacity exists for only 12,000 MLD 

Status of municipal waste water generation and treatment capacity of metropolitan cities 
    Among the metropolitan cities, Delhi has the highest capacity of sewage treatment (2,330 MLD) – 29% of total treatment capacity in metropolitan cities 
    Delhi and Mumbai together have 55% of treatment capacity of metropolitan cities 
    Treatment capacity meets the volume of sewage generation only in five cities—Hyderabad, Vadodara, Chennai, Ludhiana and Ahmedabad 
    27 cities have their treatment capacity less than 50% 
of sewage generation

Source:::: The Times of India, 26-04-2013, p. 10,  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW