Ecological Health of the Himalayas
Context:
- The destruction of the environment in the Himalayan States of Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Himachal Pradesh has rekindled the discussion of the “carrying capacity” of the area.
Capacity for carrying:
- The greatest population that an ecosystem or environment can sustainably maintain over a given amount of time without significantly degrading or harming its natural resources and general health is known as a region’s carrying capacity.
- To maintain long-term sustainability, it is essential to comprehend and manage the delicate balance between human activity and the preservation of natural ecosystems.
- The Union administration has taken steps to promote the IHR’s general development. A few of these include the Secure Himalaya Project, the Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme, the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (2010), and the most recent guidelines on “Carrying Capacity in the IHR,” which were distributed on January 30, 2020.
The centre’s carrying capacity affidavit:
- The Union government has been ordered by the Supreme Court (SC) to propose a course of action concerning the carrying capacity of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), which encompasses its towns and cities, in response to a petition filed on the subject.
- According to the Union government’s affidavit, which was coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, the Director of the G.B. Carrying capacity assessments and the determination of carrying capacities for each of the 13 Himalayan States and Union Territories (UT) shall be headed by the Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment.
- The affidavit goes on to say that members should include representatives of State disaster management agencies, the Geological Survey of India, the Survey of India, and member secretaries or nominations of the Central Ground Water Board and the Central Pollution Control Board.
What is required of the Court:
- Not much has changed despite earlier attempts, particularly with the January 2020 standards. The explanations are clear. The total number of States that have been able to develop action plans for the carrying capacity of their respective regions is not reported.
- Past failures can be attributed to two main causes. We are in awe at the suggestions the Ministry offered for creating these groups. The same group of individuals held accountable for the chaos and destruction in the mountains are now being held accountable for coming up with fixes.
- The process must be people-centric and the main focus must be on sustainable development, which includes the wider concept of carrying capacity.
- Considering the significance of the IHR resident population residing in towns and villages, the expert committee need not to transform into a technical or bureaucratic organisation. A sufficient amount of citizen representation from panchayats and other urban local authorities should be on this committee (at least one third).
- The expert committee must instruct each panchayat samiti and municipality to submit its recommendations by answering the population sustainability criteria, which is well-established and ought to be sent right away to every local government centre, in order to assess the social dimension of sustainability.
Way Forward:
- Evaluating the state’s environment’s entire potential for sustainability, which encompasses all biological species, food, habitat, water, ecology, and agriculture, is necessary on a longer timescale. It is advisable to request that the expert committee concentrate on the social dimensions or demographic sustainability of the individual states.
