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Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity Are Winners From Indonesia, Cameroon & Brazil

The Foundation recognises that people, nature, and the climate are part of one joined-up ecosystem that supports life on earth. On 19 July three inspiring individuals were announced by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation as winners of the 2023 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, in recognition of their leadership restoring and protecting vital ecosystems: Bandi “Apai Janggut”, customary community leader (Indonesia), Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet, campaigner and agronomist (Cameroon) and Lélia Wanick Salgado, environmentalist, designer and scenographer (Brazil). The three individuals will share the €1 million Prize, equivalent to Rs 91,238,000.00 equally. The Prize for Humanity is a manifestation of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s commitment to putting sustainability at the heart of everything it does and is given to individuals and organisations who are leading society’s efforts to tackle the biggest challenges facing humanity today – climate change and nature loss. Indian environmentalist Sunita Narain on the Jury who selected these three winners said: “Climate change is an existential threat. We know this. We need to find solutions that provide us inspiration and direction on what can and must be done to regenerate the environment so that we build resilience of communities and also mitigate emissions. This is what the winners of this year’s prize represent. This recognition of the work of community leaders is our duty to hope. These transformational answers will provide communities, who are worst impacted by the impacts of climate change and indeed are victims of the emissions that we have contributed to the atmosphere, the courage to act.” This is the fourth year in which the prize has been awarded. In 2020, its first year, the prize was awarded to Greta Thunberg; in 2021 it was awarded to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy; and in 2022, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were joint recipients. Humanity and nature The Foundation recognises that people, nature, and the climate are part of one joined-up ecosystem that supports life on earth. We cannot exist without nature. We depend on it for the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. At the same time, nature shapes and is shaped by the climate. Through our actions, we have disrupted the balance of nature and caused global temperatures to rise. Therefore, protecting and restoring nature – including the land and the sea – are critical for tackling climate change and for human survival. A flourishing natural world provides solutions for storing carbon and for reducing the impacts of global warming where these cannot be avoided. Humanity needs to find solutions for climate change which do not threaten the natural world. The Jury, chaired by former Federal Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, chose these three individuals out of 143 nominations from 55 countries. The winners were chosen for their leadership and tireless work over decades to restore vital ecosystems including forests, landscapes, and mangroves, and protect land with and for the benefit of local communities. They have all been committed to acting locally to restore and protect the land and biodiversity critical for the healthy functioning of our whole Earth and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Merkel said: “Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The health of our planet and people depends on them, and healthy ecosystems will help us combat climate change. The Jury selected these three individuals in recognition of transformational work happening in the Global South, led by communities who are most impacted by climate change but have done the least to cause it. We believe the recipients will continue to inspire others and generate further positive climate action throughout the world.” The Three Winners Bandi aka “Apai Janggut” is an elder and customary leader of the Indigenous Group of Dayak Iban Sungai Utik Long House, located in the rainforests of western Kalimantan, in Indonesian Borneo. Bandi has led his community in fighting for recognition of their traditional land rights for over 40 years. In 2020, the Indonesian government gave the Dayak Iban community legal recognition and ownership of 9,500 hectares of land. Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet is an advocate for gender equality and community rights to forests and natural resources from Cameroon. For over 30 years she has fought for the rights of women to secure land in tenure, ultimately to play a role in restoring vital ecosystems, end poverty and tackle climate change. In 2022 she was named ‘Champion of the Earth for Inspiration and Action’ by the UN Environment Programme and received the ‘Wangari Maathai Forest Champions’ Award by Collaborative Partnership on Forests. Lélia Wanick Salgado is a Brazilian environmentalist, designer and scenographer. In 1998 she co-founded the Instituto Terra, dedicated to the restoration of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Instituto Terra has been responsible for planting more than 2.7 million trees and restoring more than 700 hectares of degraded land. In collaboration with smallholder farmers, an additional 2,000 have been reforested, recovering 1,900 water springs. The Prize honours the work and intentions of its founder, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian When he died in 1955 at the age of 86, Calouste Gulbenkian was the richest man in the world. Much of his fortune had been made from Middle East oil. Today we all know the damage that the oil industry has caused to the planet, but at the time, it was seen as an emerging technology offering huge benefits over coal. Calouste Gulbenkian was a business architect – a convener and coalition builder – establishing and maintaining relationships with partners around the world. He did not see himself as an ‘oil man’. Never tied to a single country, he travelled the world exploring his joint passions for art and nature. He regarded philanthropy as his duty and established the Foundation, which continues his work to, “benefit all of humanity”, and today under the Board’s direction is prioritising sustainability and equity in everything it does.

Go by emissions, not age, to scrap end-of-life vehicles in Delhi, say experts

The National Capital Region (NCR) requires a more scientific basis to phase out polluting vehicles instead of a blanket rule that forces residents to discard their “end-of-life” vehicles, experts have recommended, adding that the authorities should invest in on-road emission tests and strengthen pollution-under-control (PUC) tests to detect vehicles that actually harm the environment. In Delhi, no vehicle which is 15 years old can legally operate on the roads, according to orders issued by the National Green Tribunal in 2015, and the Supreme Court in 2018. For diesel vehicles, this time period is cut down to 10 years. The government calls them “end-of-life” vehicles. The aim behind these rules is to cut down on the number of vehicles on the city’s roads with dated emission standards, and over the past few months, the Delhi transport department has accelerated its drive to impound 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles, sending them to be scrapped in yards located in Uttar Pradesh — Delhi at present has no scrapyard for vehicles. BS-VI or Bharat Stage VI are the latest emission norms in the country, and any new vehicle being manufactured has to comply to its standards. The norms are much more stringent than the previous BS-IV norms — for example, BS-VI allows for diesel vehicles to emit nitrous oxides (NOx) at a rate of 80 mg/km, compared to 250 mg/km for BS-IV. However, the existing PUC test only monitors carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC), not other emissions such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter. In 2017, the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority — now dissolved — had informed the court in its Report No. 73 that the current PUC certificate mechanism negated the impact of switching to tighter emission standards. A direct correlation between age and mileage of the vehicle and its ability to meet emission norms has also been analysed by Delhi Technology University (DTU) through a study published last year. “The current process to phase out vehicles is not scientific as vehicles may last longer, or less than the 10- or 15-year-old timeline. We need a new mechanism where factors such as mileage and real-world emissions are factored in. Based on that, a vehicle can be allowed to run longer — or less — than the Supreme Court and NGT benchmark,” Rajeev Kumar Mishra, assistant professor at DTU’s department of environmental engineering and lead author of the study, said. Since 2018, the Delhi transport department has legally de-registered around 5.5 million overage vehicles, but experts have urged the Delhi government to consider factors other than age to remove polluting vehicles from the Capital’s roads. “The actual life of a vehicle depends on multiple parameters — how much it is used daily, and how well it is being maintained. We see commercial vehicles that barely last seven to eight years, whereas a well-maintained private vehicle, even with a lower mileage, can last well beyond 15 years,” said Amit Bhatt, managing director (India) of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). Bhatt said instead of arbitrarily assigning a time frame to make a vehicle obsolete, NCR needs a new system where the actual real-world performance of the vehicle determines whether it is at the end of its life or not. “In its present form, the PUC certificate is not enough, as the test is taken when the vehicle is not running but is idle. Rather, we need to monitor real-world emissions and for that, remote sensing has begun across several countries,” said Bhatt. Sagnik Dey, lead researcher at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi and coordinator at the Centre for Excellence for Research for Clean Air (Cerca), said there is sufficient data to show that as a vehicle ages, its emissions also increase, but there is no fixed time frame as to when these emissions may go beyond permissible standards. “We cannot say for sure when a diesel vehicle or a petrol vehicle starts polluting considerably. In the case of cabs, we have seen some of the cabs cross 200,000km in under 10 years, whereas a private vehicle may not even cross 80,000km in that period. A cab is likely to reach its end-of-life in around seven years, whereas a private vehicle, if maintained well, may not even do so in 15 years,” said Dey. He asked for a policy-level intervention moving forward, where vehicles are identified based on their condition, arguing for PUC norms to be strengthened further too. “We need to monitor NOx too and add all pollutants that form a part of the AQI (air quality index),” Dey said. This is a point that many car-owners echo. Anuj Agrawal, 41, who runs a travel business in Gurugram, owns two cars that now need to be scrapped. He, however, said his cars are still in a great working condition. “Since I was a child, I wanted to be able to earn enough to buy a luxury car. I worked hard for 12 years and bought an Audi A4 2.0. I also always get it serviced in front of my eyes. This is my dream car and in great working condition. I refuse to believe that it is more polluting than any other vehicle,” he said. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said scrapping older vehicles is essential, as these were vehicles running on emission norms of BS-IV or less. However, she said, it is important to gradually incorporate remote sensing moving forward. “We need to keep in mind that these older vehicles are designed to emit several times more than what the vehicles we sell today are emitting, so inherently, there is more pollution through them. Certifying vehicles that are compliant based solely on the PUC is also not adequate, as it is an idling test and does not capture real-world emissions. For that, we need remote sensing, which measures a much wider bunch of pollutants and how much of these pollutants are being emitted in real-world conditions,” she said.

Lightning Deaths Increase In India As Compared To 2022

As of July 25, 2023, Bihar had recorded the maximum number of deaths from lightning, at 160. Mumbai: On July 5, 15 people reportedly died after being struck by lightning in Bihar; seven people, including two children died from lightning in Uttar Pradesh on July 7; 22 people died, and eight children suffered burns in UP, from lightning on July 11. Between April 1 and July 25, 429 people have died from lightning in India, up from 300 that died in the same period in 2022, according to data put together by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based public interest research and advocacy organisation, and shared with IndiaSpend by Kiran Pandey, Programme Director of the Environment Resources Unit at CSE. They collate data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Disaster Management Division and media reports. As of July 25, Bihar had recorded the maximum number of deaths (160), higher than the same period last year when it recorded 57 deaths, Pandey said. In 2021, more people died due to lightning strikes than floods or cold exposure. As many as 40% of the 7,126 accidental deaths reported by the National Crime Records Bureau attributed to weather events were due to lightning strikes. Between 2000 and 2021, over 49,000 have died from lightning strikes across the country. The latest numbers from the IMD are from March 2023, and show that 68 people died due to various weather events, of which 60 died due to lightning strikes. “Lightning is often called a silent killer. This is because even though lightning kills more people every year than heat waves, floods, landslides and cyclones, it somehow does not make headlines,” said Akshit Sangomala, who writes on climate change, science and policy for CSE in New Delhi. “This could be because the deaths are not clustered together and spread over time and space.” “This could also be a reason why lightning has not been declared a natural disaster by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), as yet. Some states, such as Bihar, have made a demand for this declaration,” he further added. We reached out to the NDMA for comment--on why lightning has not been declared a natural disaster despite a high national death toll--via call and email, and will update the story when we receive a response. Global warming could increase lightning strikes Lightning is a giant spark of electricity in the atmosphere between clouds, the air, or the ground. It can occur “between opposite charges within the thunderstorm cloud (intra-cloud lightning) or between opposite charges in the cloud and on the ground (cloud-to-ground lightning)”, according to the US government’s National Severe Storms Laboratory. Tall objects like trees, bushes and buildings are more susceptible to being struck by lightning, but lightning can also strike in an open field. If humans are struck by lightning, it can result in multisystem dysfunction, and survivors may experience prolonged disability following recovery from the initial strike. Electrical energy can also cause muscular spasm and necrosis, thrombosis, blood vessel tear, unconsciousness, and motor and sensory function abnormalities. Data from the annual reports of the Lightning Resilient India Campaign showed that lightning strikes increased 34% from 2019-20 to 2020-21, while reducing 19.5% between 2020-21 and 2021-22. The report is a joint initiative of the Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), a nonprofit that works with the government, the IMD, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the India Meteorological Society and World Vision India, a child-focused humanitarian organisation. “The reason attributed to reduction in lightning is due to Covid-19 pandemic-induced reduction in aerosol level, pollution, environmental upgradation and relatively stable weather system in the Indian subcontinent,” said Pandey. Studies find that with greater pollution, and a warming earth, lightning strikes are more likely. A study from the US, published in November 2014, by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, estimated that lightning strikes will increase by about 12% for every degree of rise in global average air temperature. Another study, by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Ambedkar University and the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, published in July 2022, found a correlation between the intensity of lightning flashes and atmospheric concentration of aerosols and carbon dioxide. “The increase in lightning strikes in India and around the world is related to the increase in the frequency and intensity of thunderstorms with which they are associated. The thunderstorms are directly related to the increase in air temperatures and availability of moisture in the atmosphere, which are necessary for the genesis of storms,” said Sangomala. He said greenhouse gases increase both air temperatures and moisture levels and therefore lead to more storms and hence lightning strikes. “As the Earth warms further, there could definitely be more lightning strikes, including in India.” Preventing death and destruction from lightning strikes In March 2019, India’s Meteorological Department began the Lightning Resilient India Campaign with the aim to reduce lightning deaths by 80% in three years. “The campaign, through multi- stakeholders engagement at national and state level with governments, academia, NGOs and communities, has been successful in bringing down deaths by more than 60% within two years,” the 2021-22 annual report says, without providing the detailed data. There are different sources for lightning deaths used by government agencies. The NCRB collects data based on police reports from states and districts. The Lightning Resilient India Campaign uses data from the state-level disaster management departments where available, and NCRB where not available, said Colonel Sanjay Srivastava, chairman of CROPC. Hence the numbers from the two sources might differ. We have requested the data put together by the campaign and will update the story when we receive it. Across India, lightning deaths remained similar between 2019 and 2021, the year for which the latest comparable data from NCRB are available. Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand had the most deaths because of lightning in 2021, as per NCRB data. At the state level, deaths reduced in Bihar and Jharkhand, while Madhya Pradesh and Odisha saw an increase, between 2019 and 2021. In 2021, the National Disaster Management Authority released a protocol for early warning dissemination on thunderstorms and lightning that emphasised the need for an effective warning system “to minimise the loss of life”. “The Ministry of Earth Sciences communicates warnings directly to the general public through the DAMINI mobile app and the RAIN ALARM mobile app about 30-40 minutes in advance of the event. Warning for lightning occurrence is also provided up to three hours in advance through other mobile apps like MAUSAM, UMANG and MEGHDOOT,” as per the protocol. During winters, northern parts of India such as Jammu and Kashmir are particularly vulnerable to lightning strikes, according to a study that looked at lightning strikes between 1998 and 2013. While lightning strikes occur frequently in hilly regions over India throughout the year, sparse population over the hilly terrain means there are fewer casualties, the study, by scientists from Banaras Hindu University, and published in February 2020, said. “The favourable climatic conditions, such as availability of moisture content, unstable atmosphere and strong convection, cause severe cases of lightning over the regions of Orissa and Maharashtra,” the study added. In Madhya Pradesh, while there are guidelines for lightning strikes on the website of the state's disaster management authority, lightning has not been categorised as a natural disaster. Orissa labels lightning as a ‘state-specific disaster’ and says it has installed a robust infrastructure in order to mitigate lightning-related casualties in the state. In Odisha, Pandey credited the use of early warning communication systems and awareness programmes at the community level for the reduction in deaths due to lightning. Deaths due to lightning in Odisha reduced from 446 in 2017 to 287 in 2021. “Lightning risk management is a collective effort. In Odisha, our strength is a coalition of all 20 government universities, including IIT Bhubaneswar, AIIMS Bhubaneswar and NIT Rourkela, working together with the state and districts,” said Colonel Sanjay Srivastava, chairman of CROPC. “A similar model is there in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam etc.” However, Pandey added that the lack of lightning protection systems that are used to prevent or lessen lightning strike damage to buildings are the biggest drawback in the mitigation of lightning in India. “The coverage of LPS is just 2% and in rural areas it is almost zero. This is the main cause of death due to lightning.” In India, lightning protection systems are being manufactured and tested at the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) in Bengaluru which is capable of testing equipment for strikes up to 40 kilo Ampere (kA), explained Pandey, adding that as India has had strikes greater than 312 kA, there is a need to upgrade its testing capacity. "Lightning is an evolving science, and there is a huge requirement of research-based knowledge for its mitigation,” said Srivastava. “Currently, data analysis, research and development, socio-economic risk assessment, etc. is being done by only CROPC. More organisations, academia and funding are required."

World faces a triple health jeopardy

The post-Second World War 1940s saw mass production of penicillin — the first antibiotic, discovered in 1928 — and the world’s dependence on this line of medicines grew substantially. More discoveries were made in the decades that followed. But all this stopped by the 1980s. What then happened was not discovery of novel classes of antimicrobials, but reformulation of the same classes of drugs against which bacteria can develop resistance easily HIGHLIGHTS As drug pipeline for new antibiotics dries up It is time to look at antibiotics as global public good We now know that antibiotics — medicines that we take in times of grave health dangers — are getting increasingly ineffective in killing the microbes that make us ill. This silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is caused by overuse and misuse of antibiotics, which has made pathogens mutate and build defence mechanisms against these drugs. Today, AMR is taking lives. Estimates say that the inability of life-saving medicines to work has led to some five million deaths in 2019. This is not all. Not only are we not conserving the existing stock of medicines, the drug pipeline for new antibiotics is drying up, or has done so already. Major pharmaceutical companies in the business of research, development and discoveries are opting out of this line of medicines. It would mean that in the years to come we are in for a triple jeopardy: One, the antibiotics we know today would be increasingly ineffective; two, there would be no new antibiotics available; and, three, there would be a critical need for access to these medicines for all. This is a dire health emergency — perhaps more serious than anything we have seen till date. The post-Second World War 1940s saw mass production of penicillin — the first antibiotic, discovered in 1928 — and the world’s dependence on this line of medicines grew substantially. More discoveries were made in the decades that followed. But all this stopped by the 1980s. What then happened was not discovery of novel classes of antimicrobials, but reformulation of the same classes of drugs against which bacteria can develop resistance easily. The problem is compounded because there are, what the World Health Organization (WHO) calls, “priority pathogens”. Most of these priority pathogens are Gram-negative bacteria that have complex cell walls and cause some of the worst infections in the world, including pneumonia. We need new classes of antibiotics to address these priority pathogens and we need them to be accessible to people across the world, even those who do not have the ability to pay the high cost of new drugs. WHO’s annual review of antimicrobial agents in different stages of drug development reveals that in the past five years, only two of the 12 antibiotics approved can be considered novel; and of these, only one is targeting a “critical” priority pathogen. (WHO’s priority pathogens are sub-categorised into “critical”, “high” and “medium”). What’s worse is that the drug pipeline is drying up, and fast. For the past few years, only one or two antibiotics have made it to the stage of new drug application. The future is even bleaker. There are just nine new drug candidates in phase 3 of clinical trials — the point before a drug can make it to the approval stage — and most of them do not target critical priority pathogens. The real irony is that this does not mean there is no research on novel antibiotics. The pre-clinical basket has over 217 antimicrobial possibilities. However, these are being developed not by large pharmaceutical firms, but in the back rooms of universities and small businesses. As per WHO, 80 per cent of the pre-clinical novel drug finds are in businesses with less than 50 employees. But as the drug moves up the ladder, the costs of development increase, and innovation falls through the cracks. So, why is Big Pharma not investing in R&D, or even taking the innovation from the small businesses to big markets, or using it to make big finds? Worse, why is Big Pharma getting out of the antibiotic business, when, as my colleagues in their analysis ask, they are making humongous profits through other drugs? The reasons are both economic and moral. Pharmaceutical companies say the cost of development is high; there are risks and so forth. But the real reason is that there is much more profit in drugs that are used for treating diseases like cancer or diabetes. There is even more profit in doing research and bringing to the market drugs that are made for what are called orphan diseases — rare diseases that may afflict only a few million, but for which medicines are necessary and high-end. The moral issue is that the companies are exiting the critical antibiotic business when they are making record profits. This desperate health emergency calls for game-changing solutions. What is being done today by G7 governments to incentivise companies to invest in novel antibiotics is important, but not enough. This class of medicines is defined by two imperatives. One, their usage has to be limited — misuse and overuse is what is creating the problem of AMR. These life-saving drugs must be conserved, which means careful, restricted use, even if less money is made in sales. Two, access to these medicines is to be ensured—this means that drugs will have to be affordable, which also limits the profit interest of pharmaceutical firms. So, it is time to look at antibiotics as a global public good. This would perhaps mean new taxes — on profits of pharmaceutical firms — and creation of conditions that ensure public research is used for common good. We cannot fail, even if the markets fail. (Courtesy: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/; Writer is Director General of CSE and editor of Down To Earth, an environmentalist who pushes for changes in policies, practices and mindsets)

वनांतील दुष्काळासाठी धोरण हवे!

शेती हे जसे शेतकऱ्यांच्या उदरनिर्वाहाचे साधन, तशीच वनोपज ही आदिवासींची रोजी-रोटी. दुष्काळ किंवा अतिवृष्टीचा फटका वनांना आणि पर्यायाने आदिवासींनाही बसत असताना, त्यांच्यासाठी दुष्काळ धोरण का नाही? केसरी मटामी (राहणार पुसेर, तालुका चामोर्शी, जिल्हा गडचिरोली) म्हणतात, ‘‘या वर्षी एप्रिल-मे महिन्याच्या अवकाळी पावसामुळे तेंदू पानांना नवीन पालवी फुटली नाही. पुरेशी उष्णता न मिळाल्यामुळे जुनी पाने गळून पडली नाहीत. परिणामी उत्पादन ५० टक्क्यांपेक्षा कमी झाले, ६० टक्क्यांपेक्षा कमी मजुरी मिळाली.’’ गोंदिया, गडचिरोली, चंद्रपूर, भंडारा, नागपूर या सर्व वनक्षेत्रांतील मोह फूल संकलन आणि तेंदुपत्ता संकलन या वर्षी सरासरीच्या ४० ते ५० टक्केच झाले. दुष्काळ, अतिवृष्टी, ओला दुष्काळ अशा अनेक नैसर्गिक आपत्तींमुळे शेतकऱ्यांचे मोठय़ा प्रमाणात नुकसान होते. या सर्व नैसर्गिक आपत्तींचे दुष्परिणाम वन क्षेत्रावरही होतात, मात्र त्याचा फारसा अभ्यास केला जात नाही. वन क्षेत्रावरही शेतीएवढाच परिणाम होतो. या वर्षी विदर्भातील वनक्षेत्रांत अवकाळी पावसाने तेंदुपत्ता, मोह फुले, मोहाचे फळ म्हणजे टोर कमी प्रमाणात झाले, अशा नोंदी अनेक ग्रामसभांत झाल्या आहेत. ग्रामसभांना वनहक्क कायद्याअंतर्गत सक्षम यंत्रणा मानण्यात आले आहे. वनहक्क व्यवस्थापन समितीला गौण वनोपज गोळा करणे आणि विक्रीचे अधिकार मिळाले आहेत. प्रादेशिक हवामान केंद्र, नागपूरच्या मासिक अहवालात म्हटले आहे की, मे २०२३ मध्ये संपूर्ण विदर्भातील उपविभागात सामान्य ९.९ मिमीच्या तुलनेत ५३.२ मिमी पावसाची नोंद झाली आणि ४३९ टक्के निर्गमन झाले. सर्व ११ जिल्ह्यांमध्ये पाऊस झाला आणि एकूण पावसाचे दिवस २४ होते. याच कालावधीत मोका चक्रीवादळ आले. २०२३ च्या पहिल्या चार महिन्यांतील १२० दिवसांपैकी ८४ दिवस भारताने अत्यंत प्रतिकूल हवामानाचा अनुभव घेतला. जानेवारी ते एप्रिल २०२३ दरम्यानच्या या घटना ३३ राज्ये आणि केंद्रशासित प्रदेशांमध्ये दूरवर पसरल्या होत्या. याउलट, ‘सेंटर फॉर सायन्स अँड एन्व्हायर्न्मेंट’ आणि ‘डाऊन टू अर्थ’द्वारे जारी केलेल्या ‘स्टेट ऑफ इंडियाज एन्व्हायर्न्मेंट इन फिगर्स, २०२३’नुसार, २७ राज्ये/ केंद्रशासित प्रदेशांत याच कालावधीत ८९ दिवस देशाने अत्यंत तीव्र हवामानाचा अनुभव घेतला. २०२२ च्या पहिल्या चार महिन्यांत उष्णतेच्या लाटा ही सर्वात सामान्यपणे उद्भवणारी अत्यंत तीव्र हवामान घटना होती, तर २०२३ मध्ये तिचे स्थान गारपिटीने घेतले. २०२३ मध्ये ८४ दिवसांपैकी ५८ दिवस ३३ राज्ये/ केंद्रशासित प्रदेशांत गारपीट झाली. गेल्या वर्षी याच कालावधीत, २२ राज्ये/ केंद्रशासित प्रदेशांत गारपीट झाली होती. २०२३ मध्ये, पहिल्या चार महिन्यांत, ७० टक्के दिवसांमध्ये अत्यंत तीव्र हवामान होते, असे ‘डाऊन टू अर्थ’च्या सुनीता नारायण यांनी ‘स्टेट ऑफ इंडियाज एन्व्हायर्न्मेंट इन फिगर्स, २०२३’मध्ये म्हटले होते. २०१४ आणि २०१५ च्या मार्च आणि एप्रिलमध्ये अवकाळी पाऊस आणि गारपिटीमुळे देशाच्या अनेक भागांमध्ये रब्बी तसेच बागायती पिकांचे मोठे नुकसान झाले. भारतीय हवामान खाते, पुणे यांनी १९८१ ते २०१५ या ३५ वर्षांमध्ये भारतातील चार एकसंध प्रदेशांत झालेल्या गारपिटीचे तपशीलवार विश्लेषण २०१६ साली केले. गारपिटीशी संबंधित हवामानशास्त्रीय आणि अनुकूल बाबींचा अभ्यास करून योग्य वेळी अंदाज वर्तवणे आणि कृषी सल्लागार वेळेवर उपलब्ध करून देणे, हा त्यामागचा उद्देश होता. २४ फेब्रुवारी ते १४ मार्च २०१४ या कालावधीत महाराष्ट्रात ३१ वर्षांतील सर्वाधिक ११ दिवस गारपीट झाली. देशातील इतर राज्यांपेक्षा महाराष्ट्रात गारपिटीची सर्वाधिक शक्यता असल्याचेही या अभ्यासातून स्पष्ट झाले. तुलनेने गुजरात, छत्तीसगड, तमिळनाडू, त्रिपुरा, मेघालय, सिक्कीम आणि नागालँडमध्ये ही शक्यता कमी आहे. या अभ्यासातून पुढे आलेली माहिती पिकांचे नुकसान कमी करण्यासाठी उपयुक्त असल्याचे आढळले. महाराष्ट्रातील विदर्भ, मध्य प्रदेश, छत्तीसगड, झारखंड, ओडिसा, तेलंगणा आणि आंध्र प्रदेशच्या वन क्षेत्रांत २००पेक्षा जास्त प्रकारची वन उत्पादने असून ही या उत्पादनांची मुख्य व्यापारी केंद्रेसुद्धा आहेत. आदिवासी व इतर वनहक्कधारकांची अर्थव्यवस्था शेतीसोबत तेंदूपत्ता आणि मोह फुलांभोवती फिरते, पण जेव्हा भीषण दुष्काळामुळे शेती करणे अशक्यच होते, तेव्हा जंगल हेच त्यांच्या उपजीविकेचे एकमेव साधन असते. हे आदिवासी रोज सुमारे आठ तास जंगलात वनोपज गोळा करतात आणि संध्याकाळी किती गोळा केले याचा आढावा घेतात. अलीकडे त्यात झालेली तूट त्यांच्यासाठी धक्कादायक आहे. त्यांना सरकारी अन्नपुरवठा योजनेतून पुरेसा तांदूळ मिळतो, परंतु पोषणासाठी तेवढेच पुरेसे नाही. महत्त्वाचे म्हणजे, वनोपाज मौल्यवान रोकड आणते जी लग्नसमारंभ, आजार आणि भातपेरणीसाठी बियाणे खरेदी करण्यासाठी आवश्यक असते. वनोपज नसल्यामुळे २०१६ आणि २०२३ साली आदिवासींना मोठा फटका बसला. देशातील अनेक गावे वनक्षेत्रालगत आहेत. ‘वन हक्क कायदा २००६’ आणि ‘भारतीय आदिवासी मंत्रालय’ यांच्या मार्च २०२३ च्या अहवालानुसार व्यक्तिगत वन हक्क श्रेणीत २१ लाख ९९ हजार १२ कुटुंबांना ४६ लाख ५७ हजार ६०५ एकर जमीन देण्यात आली आहे. एक लाख ग्रामसभांना सामूहिक वन हक्क देण्यात आले आहेत. ज्यात एक कोटी २९ लाख एकर जमीन आदिवासी आणि इतर पारंपरिक वन निवासींना देण्यात आली आहे. जवळपास ३० कोटींच्या वर आदिवासी व इतर पारंपरिक वननिवासी वनांवर अवलंबून आहेत आणि ही सहा हजार कोटी रुपयांची अनौपचारिक अर्थव्यवस्था आहे. वन उत्पादन त्यांच्या वार्षिक उत्पन्नाच्या ४० टक्के आणि त्यांच्या अन्नाच्या गरजेच्या २५-५० टक्के योगदान देते. सरकारचे दुष्काळ व्यवस्थापन धोरण जंगलातील दुष्काळ व अवकाळी पाऊस विचारात घेत नाही आणि त्यामुळे होणाऱ्या नुकसानीची भरपाईही देत नाही. या वर्षी विदर्भातील तेंदू पानाचे संकलन नागपूर जिल्ह्यात ५० टक्के, गोंदियात ३५ टक्के आणि गडचिरोलीत ५० टक्के झाले. तसेच या वर्षीच्या अवकाळी पावसामुळे मोह फुलांचे संकलनसुद्धा ५० टक्क्यांच्या खाली झाले आणि मोह झाडाला येणाऱ्या फळांचे उत्पादनही ५० टक्क्यांपेक्षा कमी राहिले. दरवर्षी जून-जुलै महिन्यांत येणाऱ्या वनांतील हिरव्या भाज्या, फुले आणि मुळे यंदा मे महिन्यातच आली. तेंदूपत्ता व अनेक झाडांवर कीड लवकर आली. दुष्काळ व्यवस्थापनासाठी स्थापन करण्यात आलेल्या बहुतांश अधिकृत समित्यांमध्ये वन विभागाला प्रतिनिधित्व देण्यात आले असले, तरीही दुष्काळ व्यवस्थापनाच्या धोरणात वनक्षेत्रातील दुष्काळासाठी कोणत्याही तरतुदी नाहीत. ‘नॅशनल इन्स्टिटय़ूट ऑफ डिझास्टर मॅनेजमेंट’चे संचालक अनिल के. गुप्ता यांच्या म्हणण्यानुसार, वनक्षेत्रातील दुष्काळाचा आणि अवकाळी पावसाचा थेट परिणाम तेथील जलविज्ञानावर होतो, मात्र वनक्षेत्रातील दुष्काळासाठी कोणतेही वेगळे वर्गीकरण नाही. केंद्रातील माजी ग्रामीण विकास सचिव एन. सी. सक्सेना यांनी वन क्षेत्रातील दुष्काळाचा समावेश औपचारिक दुष्काळ व्यवस्थापन योजनांमध्ये करणे अत्यंत गरजेचे असल्याचे मत व्यक्त केले आहे. आदिवासी मंत्रालयाने २०१३-१४ मध्ये सुरू केलेली ‘लघु वनउत्पादन योजना’ (गौण वनोपाज योजनेसाठी) हे आदिवासींना वाजवी किंमत देण्याच्या दिशेने पहिले पाऊल होते. सुरुवातीला, नऊ राज्यांमधील दहा वनोपज समाविष्ट होते. नंतर त्यांचा विस्तार २४ गौण वनोपज आणि सर्व राज्यांमध्ये करण्यात आला. ‘लघु वन उत्पादन योजना’ आदिवासी मंत्रालयाला एक फिरता निधी देते. या योजनेनुसार नुकसान झाल्यास केंद्र आणि राज्याने ७५:२५ या प्रमाणात भरपाई देणे अपेक्षित आहे. सध्या योजनेत २३ गौण वनोपज आहेत आणि ती सर्व राज्यांना लागू आहे, मात्र आज या योजनेला १० वर्षे झाली तरीही तिच्या अंमलबजावणीची राज्यवार काय स्थिती आहे, याचा कोणालाही अंदाज नाही. आदिवासी मंत्रालय आणि विभागाने याप्रश्नी अभ्यास करणे गरजेचे आहे. उपजीविकेचे स्रोत संपले तर पुन्हा मोठय़ा प्रमाणात स्थलांतर होण्याची चिन्हे आहेत.

Biological Diversity Amendment Bill passed in Lok Sabha

The amendment ‘ensures that tribes and vulnerable communities benefit from the proceeds of medicinal forest products. By decriminalising certain activities, we are encouraging Ayurveda as well as ease of doing business’ The Lok Sabha on July 25 passed the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 amidst sloganeering by Opposition Members demanding that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi make a statement on the Manipur violence. The Bill aims to amend the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. “In the 20 years since the Act was in brought into force by the Vajpayee government, we have seen that there were problems and it was necessary to address them,” said Bhupendra Yadav, Minister for Environment and Forests and Climate Change in the Lok Sabha. “To ensure that tribes and vulnerable communities benefit from the proceeds of medicinal forest products, these amendments were necessary. By decriminalising certain activities, we are encouraging Ayurveda as well as ease of doing business.” The amended Bill was drafted in response to complaints by traditional Indian medicine practitioners, the seed sector, industry and researchers that the Act imposed a heavy “compliance burden” and made it hard to conduct collaborative research and investments and simplify patent application processes. The text of the Bill also says that it proposes to “widen the scope of levying access and benefit sharing with local communities and for further conservation of biological resources.” The Bill sought to exempt registered AYUSH medical practitioners and people accessing codified traditional knowledge, among others, from giving prior intimation to State biodiversity boards to access biological resources for certain purposes. Environmentalist organisations such as Legal Initiative for Forests and Environment (LIFE) have said that the amendments were made to “solely benefit” the AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) Ministry and would pave the way for “bio piracy.” The modifications would exempt AYUSH manufacturing companies from needing approvals from the NBA and thus will go against one of the core provisions of the Act. The Bill decriminalises a range of offences under the Act and substitutes them with monetary penalties. It empowers government officials to hold inquiries and determine penalties. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was framed to give effect to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992, that strives for sustainable, fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge. To do this, it formulates a three-tier structure consisting of a National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) at the national level, State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) at the State level and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at local body levels. The primary responsibility of the BMCs is to document local biodiversity and associated knowledge in the form of a People’s Biodiversity Register. An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the Down To Earth magazine on how the Biodiversity Act was being practically implemented, pointed out serious shortcomings. There was no data available — barring a few States — on the money received from companies and traders for access and benefit-sharing from use of traditional knowledge and resources. It was unclear if companies had even paid communities despite commitments. A Joint Parliamentary Committee was constituted on December 2021 to analyse the Amendment Bill. Congress spokesperson, Jairam Ramesh, who was a member of the committee, in a letter addressed to other members and BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal — the committee chairperson — said that these exemptions could open the law for abuse. The final text of the Bill was sent back to the Lok Sabha by the Committee without any modifications.

From trash to treasure: The how and why of segregating waste

The amount of trash generated per capita is expected to rise by 1-1.33 percent each year. Let's talk about what happens to the trash we generate at home and other places, and why we need to lessen it. By India Today Information Desk: Nine years after the announcement of the Swachh Bharat Mission, a flagship nationwide cleanup effort, trash can no longer be seen through the lens of sweeping brooms or a civic consciousness drive. Swachh Bharat requires a warlike frontal attack by the government, private investors, and the public to avert a full-blown disaster which is quickly gathering stench. The dark side of India’s robustly growing economy, increasing urbanisation, rising income levels, and soaring consumption is a surge in garbage generation. Based on reports by Niti Aayog and Blackridge Research, India generates between 55-62 million tonnes (Mt) of municipal solid waste (MSW) annually. About 43 Mt is collected, of which 12 Mt are treated, and 31 Mt is dumped in open areas. This is over and above our legacy waste: approximately, 800 Mt of MSW already exists in 3159 open dumpsites across the country. The amount of trash generated per capita is expected to rise by 1-1.33 percent each year. With a population of 1.4 billion and growing, the quantity of MSW is expected to skyrocket to 125-165 Mt annually in 2030. Predictably, Hyderabad-based Mordor Intelligence estimates the business opportunity for waste management in India to be over USD 35 billion in 2030. PRIVATE SECTOR INTEREST Some startups have emerged with innovative ideas to 'valorize' waste into valuable resources. However, this industry is still nascent and grossly inadequate. The need for know-how, infrastructure, capacity, technology, and public-private partnerships is gargantuan. For instance, HariBhari, started by technopreneurs Amit Kumar and Sujay Jha, operates a waste management unit in Naini, Prayagraj. Originally set up to deal with the Maha Kumbh Mela waste, they cater to the 700 tonnes of MSW that Prayagraj City produces daily. In partnership with the municipal corporation, shiny green garbage trucks collect trash door-to-door. At the facility, mountains of waste are painstakingly sorted by both machines and ragpickers’ hands. Organic waste is biodegradable and converted to compost over a period of four weeks. KRIBHCO buys the entire lot. Combustible waste with a higher calorific value is converted into refuse-derived fuel (RDF), which is a renewable source of energy and is bought by local cement units. Recyclable waste, like plastic, is sent back, along the ‘kabadiwala’ route, to industries where it is repurposed. By purchasing trash-recycled products, companies gain carbon credits to offset their own CO2 emissions. This 'circular economy' concept works on the principles of reuse, recycling, refurbishing, and remanufacturing to reduce the impact of garbage on the environment. But even with the best efforts, 40 percent of the trash still goes to landfill. To improve their ratio, HariBhari is exploring tech know-how from a Norwegian waste management leader. WHY IS SEGREATING TRASH A HERO ACT? Mordor Intelligence estimates that just 30 percent of the 75 percent of recyclable waste is recycled in India. The key reason: people, like you and me, do not segregate household waste. As such, when trash lands at a waste management facility, the sheer enormity of sorting is daunting. The simple task of separating waste at its source in different coloured bins, both at home and in public places, could help every waste management facility gather speed. For example, three clear bins for three kinds of waste are suggested by Niti Aayog: Waste segregation dramatically improves how waste is consolidated and sent to recycling factories. If we do not separate garbage when we throw it, machines or labourers must undertake the sorting. Machines are powered by expensive diesel and may be inaccurate due to their automation. Manual sorting by daily wage workers is time-consuming. In 2017, an initiative to sort trash at source sent 250 tonnes less trash to the Mumbai landfills in one day. ARE INDIAN CITIES GEARED FOR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT? Not adequately. Urban local bodies currently spend 60-70 percent of their budget on waste collection, 20-30 percent on transportation, and less than 5 percent on treatment and disposal. For most city dwellers, ‘kabariwalas’ and garbage dumps are the only ways to get rid of trash: unfortunately, most trash lands on the outskirts of their own city. By the end of 2021, Niti Aayog, in coordination with the Centre for Science and Environment, could identify only 28 zones where waste management processes were effective. Sadly, this is a scratch on the surface. India has more than 4,000 cities and towns; 46 cities have populations greater than 1 million and 254 have a population between 100,000 and 1 million. If these cities do not address their growing garbage, they will have no choice but to yield precious land to toxic landfills. WHAT NEXT? We must segregate our trash. The government must enable private investors and municipalities to set up waste management plants. But despite the best segregation and facilities, all garbage cannot be repurposed. To ultimately address trash, we must look at reducing it. Every household, every person. A sale at Zara? Buy only what you need, not what you want. Paper with scribbles on one side? Save it for the next time you need to take down notes. Ordering from Zomato? Choose no utensils at checkout. These minuscule changes create a ripple effect to reduce strain on our waste management systems. True, trash has some potential. But not so that we can keep generating them.

Man narrowly escapes lightning strike, video goes viral

The heart-stopping clip showed a lightning bolt striking a street in Attapur. It missed the pedestrian who was going home after running errands. Lightning strikes are common in India during the June-September monsoon, which is crucial to replenishing regional water supplies but also responsible for widespread deaths and destruction each year. It is pertinent to mention that Col Sanjay Srivastava, Chief of Lightning Resilient India Campaign, blamed deforestation, pollution and the depletion of bodies of water for an increase in lightning. The Director General of the Center for Science and Environment Sunita Narain named global warming as one of the reasons for the increase in lightning frequency. India saw a big jump in extreme weather events such as heatwaves and lightning strikes last year and related deaths rose to their highest in three years, with scientists blaming climate change for the heavy toll. According to government data, there were nearly eight times as many heatwaves, 27 in all, and lightning strikes rose more than 111 times, killing 907 people, the Ministry of Earth Sciences said in a report to parliament. Thunderstorms increased more than five times to 240.

CEA and CSE put joint effort to strengthen capacity

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, India have collaborated to conduct a training programme on strengthening the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in Sri Lanka. The first workshop of the programme was conducted in Colombo from July 17 - 18 at the CEA Auditorium, whilst the second workshop was held in Kandy from July 20 - 21.

Harnessing data to optimise air quality policies

Deteriorating air quality and its adverse health impact have raised significant concerns amongst civil society, NGOs, and policymakers. Air pollution and climate change are closely intertwined, share common causes, and often exacerbate each other. While climate change is a long-term phenomenon, air pollution aggravates it significantly, leading to immediate and urgent consequences of immense magnitude. Given this correlation, measures to improve air quality, especially urban air pollution, will catalyse action on climate action. Assessing efficacy Ranked fourth in the World Air Quality Report by IQAir, Delhi generally makes headlines as one of the world’s most polluted cities. However, air pollution is essentially a pan-India urban menace, with 39 Indian cities featuring in the top 50 polluted cities globally. State governments in Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan devised actionable plans to address air pollution caused by stubble burning. In 2016, due to hazardous air pollution levels, authorities in Delhi implemented temporary measures, including shutting down schools, colleges, and industries, and banning diesel generators. The Delhi government and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) developed the Air Quality Index (AQI)-based Graded Response Access Plan (GRAP), which adjusts the level of action and measures taken according to the levels of air quality—from good to severe+ pollution, determined by averaging pollutant concentrations over specific time intervals. Similarly, state governments in Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan devised actionable plans to address air pollution caused by stubble burning. However, their attempts have largely remained confined to crisis response, as the extreme volatility of air quality makes identification of patterns and implementation of sustainable preventive measures difficult, especially in the absence of comprehensive yet targeted data analysis. Likewise, the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), implemented in 2019, aims to improve India’s air quality in 131 cities in India with real-time monitoring. The programme aims to achieve a 40-percent reduction in pollutant concentration, complying with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM 10 concentrations by 2026. PM 2.5 and PM 10 are fine particulate matter composed of tiny droplets of liquid, dry solid fragments, and solid cores with liquid coatings that can lead to harmful health effects when inhaled. Additionally, initiatives such as the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP), Commission for Air Quality Management, and subsidies for Turbo Happy Seeder machines (THS) aim to improve air quality by discouraging crop residue burning. The CPCB employs spatial averaging to assess compliance with NCAP standards because only around half of the NCAP cities have real-time monitoring stations and most of the cities’ monitoring stations did not meet the minimum data requirement. Despite such measures, a Centre for Science and Environment analysis revealed a minimal disparity in PM2.5 levels between cities included in the NCAP and those not covered by it, indicating that air pollution was a much wider urban problem. Data monitoring may play a significant role in explaining this observation. The CPCB employs spatial averaging to assess compliance with NCAP standards because only around half of the NCAP cities have real-time monitoring stations and most of the cities’ monitoring stations did not meet the minimum data requirement. In contrast, international agencies like the United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency ( The CPCB could consider implementing a robust protocol that regularly analyses real-time air quality data to ensure robust and effective policy response. Oklahoma Gas & Electric and Austin Energy in the US have implemented programmes that use data analytics to reduce the power demand for air conditioning by 30 percent without the end users even realising a change and thereby avoiding building additional power plant capacities. Deploying data analysis tools by cross-checking consumption against monthly electricity bills also helped the US to tackle energy theft. The US’ experience shows how improved data analysis, management, and collection can also be used for developing climate mitigation strategies effectively. Data-driven development Harnessing data is vital in combating climate change. Establishing a comprehensive and regularly updated air quality data repository is crucial to informed decision-making. As the G20 president, India emphasised the significance of “Data for Development” (D4D) in its agenda. India’s G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, underlined the importance of accessible granular data to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while criticising those who limit data access and emphasising its value for academic and research purposes. A sustainable future calls for a discourse on data privacy norms, cross-border data sharing, localisation of sensitive data of national importance, and onboarding of all stakeholders. The Indian government has made large datasets of 36 critical sectors public, accompanied by analytics and visualisation tools. By making such large datasets public, India has taken the baton in the marathon of using data for real development. Implementing data-driven policy frameworks encourages other developing nations to build capacity in this space. It paves the way for future global collaboration to attain SDG 3.9, which seeks to reduce death and illness due to air, water, and soil contamination. A sustainable future calls for a discourse on data privacy norms, cross-border data sharing, localisation of sensitive data of national importance, and onboarding of all stakeholders. From data to insights In light of the abundance of data available, it is crucial to use it to extract valuable insights. Data analytics could enable the government to identify pain points and implement adaptable policies promptly, unlike the NCAP, where there are no time-bound targets for the reduction of pollution. Air quality monitors collect pollutant data hourly, creating an extensive repository of data that qualifies as big data due to its high velocity, variety, value, and veracity. Using spatial averages on such datasets is a rudimentary approach because it oversimplifies the complexity of air pollution by neglecting microscale variations of pollutants within a given area, population exposure to air pollutants and its impact on their health, source identification of pollution, and other geographical meteorological local conditions. In comparison, the Transfer Income Model, a microsimulation model that analyses the impact of tax, transfer, and health programmes in the US, is a better approach. It employs causal inferential statistics to examine variations within the sample and how policy changes across time and geography. Such a model could be used in India through a hybrid framework of NCAP and GRAP. Additionally, machine learning and artificial intelligence can be employed to automate the formulation, analysis, and ongoing enhancement of policies addressing the dynamic nature of air quality. Air quality monitors collect pollutant data hourly, creating an extensive repository of data that qualifies as big data due to its high velocity, variety, value, and veracity. Predictive analytics has found promising applications in healthcare, exemplifying its immense potential for future utilisation. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare uses predictive analytics to generate insights on factors like healthcare expenditure and population growth. Similarly, a predictive model can be created using past time series data from multiple air quality monitors to forecast AQI. For instance, if sulphur is the primary cause of severe AQI, the government should target specific activities contributing to sulphur pollution instead of implementing a basket of predetermined actions. Predictive analytics in AQI determination can assess policy effectiveness, identify optimal parameters that have minimal impact on the economy and ensure improved air quality. Way forward A dynamic framework incorporating predictive policy formulation supported by data can be the next phase in tackling air quality issues effectively and proactively in India. The utilisation of data is paramount in addressing global challenges such as climate change. This warrants increased attention, and analytics could provide valuable assistance. Addressing climate change necessitates a collaborative global plan, where India has the potential to emerge as a leading force, showcasing thought leadership and impactful action.

Indian expert sees gaps in our environmental laws

Sri Lanka has strong environmental laws for implementing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, but there are some gaps which need to be addressed to achieve the standards of the best international practices, says an Indian scientist. Speaking at a Seminar in Colombo, Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment Director Nivit Kumar Yadav said that proper data systems, good quality EIA reports, development of proper review systems, to evaluate EIA reports, enhancing the involvement of civil society, and compliance of approved projects through well-prepared Environmental Management Plan (EMPs), were essential. “Sri Lanka needs to improve the transparency when it comes to environmental compliance, which will push industries to take extra measures to comply with statutory norms”, Yadav said. The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, India, have collaborated to conduct a workshop-cum-training programme on strengthening the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in Sri Lanka. Although Sri Lanka has strong environmental laws under the National Environmental Act, it has to face various challenges, when it comes to implementation of those laws, according to the CEA and CSE. To achieve the objective of implementing EIA for prescribed development projects, data collection, impact assessment study, the preparation of the EIA report, and implementation of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) to facilitate compliance monitoring have to be executed in full spirit. As for implementation, the EIA process responsibilities lie with all relevant stakeholders, CEA, and the project proponents. There is also a need to improve the quality of the EIA report since decisions are made on the basis of the recommendations of the EIA report. Keeping this in mind, the CEA and CSE are conducting workshops-cum-capacity building programme to enhance the knowledge of environmental regulators to ensure better implementation of EIA in Sri Lanka. Supun S Pathirage, Chairman, CEA, and P B Hemantha Jayasinghe, Director General, CEA, expressed their gratitude to the CSE for their contribution in handling such a workshop and pointed out the benefits of environment conservation work in Sri Lanka, through strengthening the EIA process.

Extreme temperatures, torrent of rain: How Asia is facing the worst of climate crisis

The continent is facing record temperatures and a torrent of rainfall. Experts say South Asia in particular is vulnerable to climate change and warn that the worst is yet to come Asia is under siege from the climate crisis. The continent is facing record temperatures and a torrent of rainfall – and experts warn that the worst is yet to come. Let’s take a closer look at what is happening: The current monsoon rains which began in June have claimed the lives of 55 people including eight children. What do experts say? Experts say Asia, particularly South Asia is extremely vulnerable to climate change. As Saleemul Haq, director at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development, told Al Jazeera, “Over a billion and a half people are living in an area that is not such a big part of the world. It has major river systems from the Hindu Kush and the Himalayan mountain regions flowing through.” Pakistan-based climate scientist Fahad Saeed added that climate change has upset the ‘delicate balance’ needed for crops to grow – which is bound to impact South Asia’s standing as the region that feeds the world. The Tribune quoted the IMD chief as saying that an examination of records showed India had been facing an increase in the frequency, duration and intensity of extreme heat conditions due to climate change. “The irony of it is that the poor of the world are actually victims of climate change,” even if they aren’t the ones who “created the problem,” Sunita Narain, director general of the Centre for Science and Environment and veteran Indian environmentalist previously told CNN. “Floods, droughts and other devastating climate events are “all showing us very clearly what will the future be,” Narain added.