29 April 2024 – The Hindu

Earth Day 2024

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts that the summers will be hotter and that heat waves will last longer in 2024. As a result, India needs to adequately plan for water stress. The difficulty is in the fact that people are conditioned to view acute pressures, such as heat, water, or extreme weather, as being temporary and to be dealt with frequently as disaster relief. In order to understand and respond appropriately to the chronic nature of the dangers that we face, it is necessary to move away from the panic reactions that occur when a calamity occurs, such as the water crisis that occurred in Bengaluru. In addition, response to climate change cannot be delegated to a select few industries or businesses. In addition, environmental sustainability cannot be reduced to initiatives that involve planting trees over the course of a few days.
• The protection of tribal strongholds, such as those found on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is another aspect of this concern. These historically isolated indigenous people have relied on these islands as resource reservoirs for subsistence and protection for millennia. They considered these islands to be their home. This Earth Day, which is on April 22nd, ought to serve as a wake-up call. At this point in time, the climate is the economy, and the frontier of economic output will either extend or contract depending on how well we comprehend the intersections between land, food, energy, and water.
• The ramifications of such a transition on the outcomes of development or sustainability are uncertain at both the local and national levels, despite the fact that India has set a goal of achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2070. This goal will mostly be driven by a vast transition to large-scale applications of renewable energy.

What exactly is the Earth Day?

The context is as follows:

• In 1970, in response to a demand by Senator Gaylord Nelson of the United States, around twenty million people walked to the streets to demonstrate against the deterioration of the environment to mark the first Earth Day.
• Both the oil spill that occurred in Santa Barbara in 1969 and other problems, such as smog and contaminated waterways, were the factors that led to the occurrence of the catastrophe.
• “International Mother Earth Day” was established by the United Nations in 2009 and is observed annually on April 22.
• Earth Day is presently coordinated on a global scale by EARTHDAY.ORG, which is an organisation that does not want to make a profit. An earlier name for this organisation was Earth Day Network.
• “Build the world’s largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and the planet,” is the mission statement of this organisation.
• Additionally, on Earth Day in 2016, the historic Paris Agreement was signed. This agreement, which brings together nearly two hundred countries in the pursuit of a common goal to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, was signed.

The Importance of:

• As was called for in the Rio Declaration (which was issued at the Earth Summit in 1992), it acknowledges that it is the collective responsibility of humanity to promote harmony with nature and the Earth in order to create a just balance between the economic, social, and environmental requirements of both the current generation and the generations to come.

A Few Other Significant Days:

• Water Day is celebrated on March 22nd.
• World Biodiversity Day is happening on May 22.
• Environment Day is celebrated on June 5th.
• Earth Overshoot Day is observed on August 2, 2023 (the date of this day varies from year to year).
• Since its inception in 2007, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has been operating an annual campaign known as Earth Hour. The event takes place on the final Saturday of March each and every year.
• It urges people from more than 180 nations to turn down the lights between the hours of 8:30 and 9.30 p.m., according to the time zone in which they are located.
• Its goal is to educate people about the threats posed by climate change and the urgent need to protect the environment.

What are some of the different aspects of the water crisis that India is experiencing?

The Water That Is Moving Through the Enterprise:

• The principal source of soil moisture and water that is held in plants (also known as “green water”), as well as the water that is available in rivers and aquifers (also known as “blue water”), is precipitation. Irrigating fields, affecting harvests, and playing an important role in the economy are all ways in which blue and green water have an effect on the food that we cultivate.
• Agriculture is still responsible for employing over 45 percent of the population and is responsible for the majority of the country’s labour force, according to the India Employment Report 2024. During the same time period, a study conducted by the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) revealed that the patterns of monsoon rainfall in India are undergoing a transformation. The study revealed that in the past ten years, the southwest monsoon rainfall in fifty-five percent of the tehsils, which are sub-districts, has increased by more than ten percent in comparison to the previous three decades.
• Nevertheless, this increased rainfall is typically the result of heavy rain that lasts for a short period of time, which has an impact on agricultural sowing, irrigation, and harvesting. It is important for jobs, growth, and sustainability that the agricultural industry become more resilient to the challenges caused by climate change and water scarcity.

The Climate Crisis and the Effects It Has on Hydrometeorological Disasters:

• Nearly seventy-five percent of all natural disasters that have occurred during the past twenty years have been water-related, as stated in the United Nations World Water Development Report 2020. Since 1970, the number of flood-related events in India, which include landslides, thunderstorms, and cloud bursts, has increased by as much as twenty times, according to a research conducted by the Centre for Environmental and Economic Research (CEEW). A violation has occurred with regard to freshwater, which is one of the nine planetary boundaries.

Interpretation of the Water Crisis from Multiple Perspectives:

• The water crisis can be categorised as either a physical or an economic catastrophe, and it is caused by a number of different factors. These factors include increased urbanisation, industrialization, agricultural practices that are not sustainable, climate change, unpredictable rainfall patterns, and excessive water consumption.
• In addition to these factors, other key contributors include ineffective water management, pollution, inadequate infrastructure, a lack of participation from stakeholders, and runoff that is exacerbated by excessive rainfall, soil erosion, and sediment accumulation.

Concerns Regarding Water Stress:

• According to the World Resources Institute, seventeen countries are experiencing “extremely high” levels of water stress, which poses a risk of causing conflict, instability, and peace among the people of those countries. These issues are not unique to India; it is not an exception.
• In India, water availability is already low enough to be categorised as water stressed, and is expected to reduce further to 1341m3 by 2025 and 1140m3 by 2050. Also, 72% of all water withdrawals are for use in agriculture, 16% by municipalities for households and services, and 12% by industries.

Groundwater Table Depletion:

• In almost every State and in the main cities of India, there is groundwater table depletion. The example of Bengaluru is one prominent example. In Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana, the ratio of groundwater consumption to availability is 172%, 137%, 137% and 133%, respectively, which is cause for alarm.
• In contrast, in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, it is 77%, 74%. 67%, 57%, and 53%, respectively. Most perennial rivers/streams now have intermittent flows or have run dry. In most areas after April-May, there is Less water availability even for drinking and other uses.

Lack of Streamlined Approach Across Domestic and Agricultural Domains:

• The government’s emphasis on ‘Per Drop More Crop’, ‘Gaon ka pani gaon mein’, ‘Khet ka pani khet mein’, ‘Har Medh per ped’ under various programmes such as the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), watershed management, Mission Amrit Sarovar and the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, etc adopts a siloed approach vis-a-vis domestic and agricultural uses.
• In this scenario, it is mandated to adopt a comprehensive and synchronized localist interventions tailored to the needs of different regions and States that provides equal emphasis on all aspects of water usage and conservation.

Continuous Encroachment on Catchment Areas:

• Small water bodies such as lakes, ponds, and streams are under constant threat due to encroachment on their catchment areas. As urbanization expands, people are building houses, commercial buildings, and other infrastructure in and around the catchment areas of these water bodies.
• The urban agglomeration witnessed from the 1990s has severely impacted SWBs, turning many of them into dumping grounds. The Standing Committee on Water Resources (2012-13) underlined in its 16th report that most of the water bodies in the country were encroached upon by State agencies themselves.

What are the Different Steps Required for Mitigating the Water Crisis?

Effective Water Governance:

• Effective water governance needs policies that recognise its interactions with food and energy systems. However, CEEW and International Water Management Institute (IWMI) analysis shows that although India has adopted several policies, most do not recognise this nexus while planning or at the implementation stage.
• For instance, while the scaling up of green hydrogen is desirable, the link with water availability is not always considered. Similarly, the impact of scaling up solar irrigation pumps on groundwater levels must be analysed to deploy the technology where there is an optimal mix of solar resource and higher groundwater levels. Policies should incorporate the food-land-water nexus through localised evidence and community engagement.

Sustainable Use of Blue and Green Water:

• India needs to focus on the judicious use of blue and green water through water accounting and efficient reuse. The National Water Mission targets increasing water use efficiency by 20% by 2025. Similarly, the Atal Mission on Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 calls for reducing non-revenue water, which is lost before it reaches the end user, to less than 20% in urban local bodies.

Leveraging Financial Tools for Climate Adaptation:

• Leverage financial tools to raise money for climate adaptation in the water sector. Following global trends, India’s climate action has been largely focused on mitigation in the industrial, energy, and transport sectors.
• Financial commitments for climate change adaptation in the water and agriculture sectors are still relatively small. In 2019-20, for which aggregate estimates are available, the per capita annual spending on climate change mitigation was about Rs 2,200, whereas for adaptation, it was only Rs 260.

Adopting Judicious Mix of Traditional and New Technologies:

• A large amount of India’s food grains is from the rainfed region. The Government lays stress on having a judicious mix of ‘traditional indigenous and new technologies to improve soil health and conserve water’ and pitched for the efficient use of every drop of water. Hence, paying attention to these points is important.

Emphasizing Both, Quality and Quantity:

• Enhancing water availability with respect to quantity and quality and blue and green water is vital since water is more than just a basic human right. Water is also an instrument of peace-building and enhances the overall quality of life. Promoting sustainable agricultural production, ensuring water security and maintaining environmental integrity are increasingly becoming important issues.
• Water Crisis mitigation can be made possible by adopting different resource conservation measures in general and rainwater harvesting (in-situ and ex-situ) and ensuring roof top rainwater harvesting in particular.
• Rain water harvesting (RWH) enables resilience against water scarcity and drought by augmenting recharge and aiding irrigation. The optimum use of surface water by large-scale RWH structures, conjunctive use with groundwater And safe reuse of waste water are the only viable solutions to boost and maintain the current level of food grain production.

Need for a Protocol for Revival of Water Bodies:

• There is the need for a protocol of the revival of ponds/waterbodies. To tackle all these problems there is a great need to study the condition of every waterbody, its water availability, water quality and the state of ecosystem services it supports. There is a need also to create more waterbodies and their revival in every village by looking into the catchment-storage-command area of each waterbody.

What Does the Earth Day, 2024 Signify for the Tribal Population in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (ANI)?

Concerns:

Disregard of Indigenous Land Ownership and Management Systems:

• In May 2022, in complete disregard of the indigenous land ownership and management systems, the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) administration issued three public notices, announcing its intention to create three wildlife sanctuaries: a coral sanctuary at Meroë Island, a megapode sanctuary at Menchal Island, and a leatherback turtle sanctuary on Little Nicobar Island.

Lack of Consultation and Coordination:

• Approximately 1,200 southern Nicobarese inhabit Patai Takaru (Great Nicobar Island), and Patai t-bhi (Little Nicobar Island), holding traditional rights over both inhabited and ostensibly “uninhabited” islands. Yet, the A&N administration neither consulted nor informed the southern Nicobarese of its plans.

Usurpation of Tribal Rights:

• In mid-July,2022, the A&N administration issued an order asserting that it did not receive any claims or objections from any individual regarding the land and marine areas within the three proposed sanctuaries; that no individual enjoys any rights within the boundaries of the proposed sanctuaries. And, that there will be “restriction on the people of neighbouring area to enter into these islands… in the national interest.”

Denotification of the Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary:

• The announcement of wildlife sanctuaries coincided with growing scrutiny and criticism from experts over the denotification of the Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary for a ₹72,000-crore mega project on Great Nicobar, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
• Establishing exclusionary conservation areas in a region, which is already a paradise for biodiversity, stems from the fact that the champions of the mega project are aware of the extensive environmental and social damage that the project will entail.
• It will devastate about eight to 10 lakh evergreen forest trees, smother and gouge out scores of coral reefs found along Galathea Bay, destroy the nesting site for the globally endangered Leatherback sea turtle species, devastate hundreds of nesting mounds of Nicobar Megapodes, and kill as many crocodiles.

Suggestions:

• Balanced Development: Militarising ANI and infrastructure and developmental projects will not doubt aid India’s strategic and maritime capabilities, but such development should not come at the cost of the ruthless exploitation of Biodiversity hotspot i.e ANI.
• Sustainably Developing ANI: Given its economic, ecological & environmental constraints and the laws to protect the indigenous tribes, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will have to be first developed sustainably in order to maximise its economic and military potential.
• A sustainable island development framework is not only important for the ANI but will also be applicable and of interest to other island nations across the Indian Ocean.
• Sister Islands: Reunion is the most developed island territory among the above-mentioned four island territories, with a framework that supports both the island’s economic needs as well as France’s military priorities in the Indian Ocean.
• Taking from the idea of “sister cities”, the framework of “sister islands” can be formed.
• India and France should lead an effort, utilising their island territories of Andaman and Reunion in developing a concept of sister islands aimed at creating a foundation for a sustainable model for island development across the Indian Ocean.
• Similar to sister cities, a sister island concept would allow India and France to co-develop a sustainable framework for island development.
• India’s Development Plans in Indo-Pacific: If India is to invest in capacity building initiatives and maritime projects in the Indian Ocean, there is a need to research and create an island model for development. Such an approach also creates a new avenue for Indian-led initiatives in the Indo-Pacific.
• As India and its partners compete for access and influence across the Indo-Pacific toward achieving common interests, there is a need to engage with and address regional concerns and challenges of strategically located island nations.
• Role of IOC: Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) is the only island driven organisation in the Indian Ocean. It plays an important role in voicing the concerns and challenges of the islands of the western Indian Ocean.
• France recently took over as the Chair of the IOC. India in 2020, formally joined the group as an Observer.
• It provides an opportunity for both the countries to lead an island-focused development model.
• India could also borrow lessons from France’s island experiences in both the Indian Ocean as well as in the Pacific.