• Down To Earth

BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL PRINCIPALBENCH

Article Published in the magazine i.e. Down to Earth dated 13, January, 2022 under the title Times’s running out; Is India ready to handle 34,000 tonnes of Solar Waste by 2030? Applicant Date of hearing: 14.02.2022 CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE BRIJESH SETHI, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON’BLE PROF. A. SENTHIL VEL, EXPERT MEMBER Application is registered as Suo Motu Case based on an Article published in Down to Earth Magazine. ORDER 1. The Suo Motu cognizance has been taken by this Tribunal on an Article Published in the magazine i.e. ‘Down to Earth dated 13, January, 2022 under the title ‘Times’s running out; Is India ready to handle 34,000 tonnes of Solar Waste by 2030?’. It is published in the article that India’s ambitious solar target is 280 GW by 2030 and it is high time to formulate a sound solar waste management policy, whereas India does not have a solar waste management policy. 2. In view of the serious problem which we are going to face in future, a Joint Committee of Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF & CC) and Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) shall be constituted to ascertain the factual position in the matter. The MoEF & CC will be the Nodal agency for 2 coordination and compliance. The Joint Committee may meet within four weeks and undertake site visit, if required and look into the grievance. Accordingly, an Action Plan shall be prepared with regard to environmentally sound management of solar panel waste in accordance with the laid down norms. The Action Plan/Report may be furnished within three months by e-mail at judicial-ngt@gov.in preferably in the form of searchable PDF/ OCR Support PDF and not in the form of Image PDF. 3. List the matter for consideration on 24.05.2022. A copy of this order, along with a copy of the complaint, be forwarded to the Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) and Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) by e-mail for compliance. Brijesh Sethi, JM Prof. A. Senthil Vel, EM February, 14, 2022 Original Application No. 112/2022 AP & AG

• Down To Earth

‘Holes’ in Biodiversity Bill

What are the points of contention raised by experts on the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021? The story so far:Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has criticised the provisions of the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that is currently being reviewed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The law was introduced in Parliament on December 16 last year by the Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, and was referred to the JPC. Mr. Ramesh is a member of the committee, whose chairperson is BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal. What do the amendments in the Bill deal with? 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. The amended Bill was drafted in response to complaints by traditional Indian medicine practitioners, the seed sector, and 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 seeks to exempt registered AYUSH medical practitioners and people accessing codified traditional knowledge, among others, from giving prior intimation to State biodiversity boards for accessing 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 will exempt AYUSH manufacturing companies from needing approvals from the NBA and thus will go against one of the core provisions of the Act. What are Mr. Ramesh’s objections? Mr. Ramesh contended that the Environment Ministry was drawing a distinction between a registered AYUSH practitioner and a company, and exempting the former from the Act. He said this was an “artificial distinction” as nothing prevented a registered AYUSH practitioner from having informal links with a company structure. These paved the way for potential “abuse of the law,” he said in a letter to Mr. Jaiswal and other committee members. Multiple provisions of the Bill, he said, were aimed at diluting the authority of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), especially the clause appointing 16 ex-officio officers of the Centre. Another provision, that requires companies to seek the approval of the NBA only at the time of commercialisation, and not when applying for a patent, was of concern. The Bill also decriminalised violations, such as bio-piracy and made them civil offences, and this defeated the Act’s “deterrent powers,” he said. Are there other shortcomings in the Bill? 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. In the case of the Irula Cooperative in Tamil Nadu — traditional knowledge holders of the method of collecting snake venom used for pharmaceutical products — only one company had agreed to pay, but even that promise remained unfulfilled. State boards told Down to Earth that the money collected has not been disbursed to communities because there was no information available about the knowledge holders. The law says that if the information was unavailable, then funds ought to be spent on conservation in the region from where the knowledge-bioresources come. As of now, the funds were lying unutilised, according to State boards. As per law, Indian pharmaceutical companies are required to pay between 3-5% on the extracted bioresources or between 0.01-0.05% on the annual gross ex-factory sales. But companies have resisted paying. In most cases, the courts have held that these companies have to seek prior approval and make payments to the NBA or the State boards. Often, it was not clear who was required to pay, how much or what has already been paid. The proposed amendments didn’t address these issues and so aren’t helpful in solving the current challenges of implementation

• Down To Earth

What are ‘green prescriptions,’ the new remedy for lifestyle, genetic and chronic diseases?

Spend time in the wilderness. Walk the hills. Try forest bathing. Raft in calming waters. Try your hand at therapeutic horticulture... All this sounds like friendly advice from a friend concerned about your health but is actually what a standard prescription from a doctor in the future could look like. In some parts of the world, it is already a reality. In India too, physicians are waking up to the merits of ‘green prescriptions,’ as a remedy for several lifestyle, genetic and chronic diseases. Medicines alone cannot do the job of restoring health. Green prescriptions are here to assist. It is a health management protocol wherein, in addition to medication, one is encouraged to make the most of the healing facets of nature. Doctors are writing these for various ailments, including long COVID-19. According to a recent Lancet study, long COVID can impact the quality of life for two years after infection. Spending time in nature can offer curative perks. The World Health Organization (WHO) seconds this. It describes nature as ‘our greatest source of health and well-being.’ The Finns have been one of the first to acknowledge this. In Finland, five hours a month in nature is considered the minimum dose to recover from the aftermath of the pandemic. If you don’t have the luxury of a forest, a walk in the park will do. Clinicians from New Zealand, the UK and Japan are leading us to ‘greener pastures.’ Canada recently joined the bandwagon. Doctors in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario are actively prescribing ‘nature healing’ as a remedy for lung diseases, diabetes, blood pressure, mood and sleep disorders, and anxiety. Some are even issuing passes to the country’s national parks, marine conservation areas and historic sites as part of their treatment plan. “There is good reason for this,” says Meerut-based Internal Medicine specialist Dr Suresh Sahai, who recently started giving out green prescriptions to his patients. “For one, being close to nature is associated with better endocrinological function. It lowers the risk of diabetes, thyroid diseases, metabolic disorders, osteoporosis, infertility, and more. It also helps in immunoregulation, an increasing matter of concern.” Biodiversity loss is at the centre of this. Over 90 percent of the area under the biodiversity hotspots in India has been lost, according to a 2021 report by the Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE). “It is a grave matter for scientists and environmental researchers as this loss could make the human species sick. Environmental microorganisms, including viruses, bacteria and fungi that make up the microbial biodiversity, are instrumental in maintaining a robust ecosystem. “It is necessary for humans to be exposed to a variety of these microbes to build immunity. If one is closed off from it or if microbes from the environments fade, the immune system will never know how to build a defence response against these invaders, thus increasing susceptibility to infections,” says Sahai. The immune system was brought down to the battleground during Covid and tested it all ways possible. It has shown just how important its role will be even in the future. “But unfortunately, many cities are seeing a biodiversity loss. Changes in this ecosystem increase the risk of infectious diseases both in humans and in animals. It also puts nations at the risk of zoonotic outbreaks,” says Sahai, who believes that the many national parks in India (close to 63)should be leveraged as well-being hotspots. “Even if a tiny part of these massive sanctuaries are developed for safe access, humans could benefit enormously like it is already happening in some countries.” In the United States, the Park Rx America platform lets doctors give access to state parks to patients. In South Korea, forest bathing is encouraged. It is a Japanese practice of inducing calmness in oneself by spending time in the verdant surroundings of a forest. Green prescriptions are not limited to spending time in nature alone. It extends to social connections, getting enough sunlight, exercise, and clean eating. “For instance, urban Indians just do not get enough sun. Exposure to it is necessary for the production of a chemical in the brain called serotonin that regulates the mood, digestion, sleep, and libido, among more. It is fundamental to how you feel and operate,” says Delhi-based life coach Mridula Raman. Fostering positive social connections is one of the most important suggestions on Raman’s green prescriptions. “Strong, fulfilling connections increases life span by 50 percent. In fact, research has shown that the genes of lonely people work differently. Their white blood cells are prone to overactivity, increasing the chance of an inflammation. Loneliness can lower viral defence and exacerbate heart conditions. Social connectedness, on the other hand, helps recover from disease faster and may even get you off anti-depressants,” she says. How much is good enough? Your doctor will tell you how much of a certain natural remedy you need. The important thing to understand is that there are no rigid rules around this form of natural treatment. “Also, green prescriptions are offered as supplemental support and not as a substitute for medications. For some, a daily 10-minute walk in the park or a stroll by a lake (being close to water triggers positive neurochemicals) is all one needs. For others, it could be spending a few months away from their overly-stimulated life,” says Raman. You can also do something as simple as planting trees. Researchers in Canada have found that adding a few trees to a block improved perceived health and well-being as much as increasing people’s income by $10,000 or making them seven years younger. Ready to heal with green energy? What a green prescription could read like: ✥ Reconnecting with nature by taking walks, watching sunsets/sunrises, forest bathing, spending time by a water body, camping, boating, planting trees and flower beds, and walking barefoot on the grass, among other things. ✥ Fostering social connections by making new friends, acquainting yourself with neighbours and colleagues who you don’t know much about, joining social groups, and spending more time with family, and pets. ✥ Prioritising eating clean and exercising.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

India looks to electric vehicles as the future of transport, but problems remain

Indian Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is trying to encourage people to buy electric vehicles instead of vehicles powered by carbon-based fuels. During a recent parliamentary debate, he assured law makers that electric cars will only cost the same as petrol cars within two years. Advertising “I have favoured a green transition in fuel while rapid strides in green fuel technology will reduce the cost of electric vehicles (EVs), bringing them on a par with petrol-run vehicles in a short time,” he said. Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), powered by hydrogen, are one of the best clean energy alternatives used in vehicles, whose manufacturing has begun in India. Road to an electric future They are more efficient than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and produce no tailpipe emissions, reducing pollution levels while only emitting water vapour and warm air. Observers believe this could potentially allow India to save on crude oil imports worth over 12 billion euros annually. Rapid adoption of two- and three- wheelers EVs is expected to lead the way to this transition. According to NITI Aayog, the government’s apex public policy think tank, by 2030, 80 percent of two and three-wheelers, 40 percent of buses, and 30 to 70 percent of cars in India will be electric vehicles Simply put, industry experts maintain this would mean 102 million EVs that would need deployment of 2.9 million public chargers. However, the country’s road to a fully electric ecosystem still has a few hurdles including high cost, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of high performing EVs which are reasons for the slow adoption of electric mobility. No charge One of the biggest impediments to EV adoption is the lack of charging infrastructure. According to a poll conducted by Grant Thornton Bharat-FICCI, India would require to set up 400,000 charging stations by 2026 to meet the demand from two million EVs on the road. “While the electric vehicle programme has begun to receive policy attention at the national and state level, it has not yet been able to catalyse the market to build scale,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director at Centre for Science and Environment. Indian court rejects demands to unlock sealed chambers of Taj Mahal Indian curry loses its tang as Ukraine war puts cooking oil on backburner In her reckoning, EVs are still less than one percent of the new vehicle sales and the ongoing incentive programme needs to be backed by a regulatory target and zero emissions mandate at the national level to build confidence and scale in the market. Overall, the challenges of inadequate charging networks, limited EV models in the market, uncertainty around the battery cost especially battery replacement, and weak consumer awareness are some of the key factors that are impeding accelerated electrification. Auto industry shake-up The Indian government has allocated incentives to a scheme, Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) and has introduced several supply and demand side incentives to facilitate the switch to EVs. In fact, some states have also set their own ambitious EV targets: 18 out of 28 states have either a draft policy in place or have already notified one. “EVs can help achieve not just that but also help reduce the country's oil imports and preserve foreign exchange, taking India to the next level of self-reliance,” said Piyush Goyal, the minister of commerce and industry recently. Experts believe that vehicle electrification is bound to play a pivotal role in emission reduction from India's road transportation sector and supporting the fight against climate change. With India’s commitments at the COP26 summit to achieve net-zero emissions status by 2070 and lower its emission intensity by 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, EVs could help realize these goals and play a pivotal role in its green narrative. The transport sector accounts for 18 percent of total energy consumption in India which translates to an estimated 94 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE) energy.

• Down To Earth

Study finds biodiversity conservation and benefit-sharing have turned into meaningless exercises in India

New Delhi: A study conducted by a magazine focussing on the environment has questioned India's earnestness in biodiversity conservation. India’s record in conservation and use of its bioresources has been quite dismal, according to an investigative analysis done by New Delhi-based Down To Earth (DTE) magazine. This is despite the alacrity that the country has shown in ratifying and supporting international biodiversity conventions or in enacting domestic laws and regulations, the study noted. Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, a landmark global treaty in 1992, “What became clear very soon is that the conservation of bioresources, and particularly their utilisation, require active involvement of local communities. These communities need to be active partners and also share the profits of the use of their resources and knowledge,” DTE editor Sunita Narain said. In 2010, as a result, came the Nagoya Protocol, designed as an instrument for fair and equitable sharing of benefits with communities. India has been quick to act in terms of ratification of the Convention and the Protocol. In 2002, the country adopted the Biological Diversity Act and set up an elaborate institutional framework to protect bioresources and to share benefits with knowledge-holders. The National Biodiversity Authority was established; each state now has its own biodiversity board, and each village its biodiversity management committee (BMC). The BMCs are required to prepare the People’s Biodiversity Registers, and have powers to impose charges and fines for extraction of resources found in their villages. “But,” says Narain, “our analysis, based on field visits and conversations with experts, finds that the entire effort to share benefits with communities has been reduced to, at best, a meaningless bureaucratic exercise and at worst, a charade.” DTE associate editor and the lead writer of the analysis Vibha Varshney says: “The system of access and benefit-sharing can work only if the traditional knowledge holders are recognised; if the traders and manufacturing companies that use their knowledge are held liable for payments; and if this payment is then transferred to the community or traditional-knowledge holder.” Key findings No data on funds: The DTE investigation says there is no data available – other than from a few states – on the money received from companies and traders for access and benefit-sharing (ABS). It is not clear if all companies have paid for the use of resources and knowledge, or on what basis and how much. In the case of the Irula Cooperative in Tamil Nadu – traditional knowledge holders of the method of collecting snake venom used for pharmaceutical products – only one company had agreed to pay, but even that promise remained unfulfilled. No disbursal to communities: The state boards have informed DTE that the money collected has not been disbursed to communities – the reason they give is there is no information available about the knowledge holders. The law provides that if the information is not available, then funds should be spent on conservation in the region from where the knowledge-bioresources come. As of now, the funds are lying unutilised, say the state boards. Poor quality of People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs): Following the directions of the National Green Tribunal, as many as 2,66,135 PBRs have been made at break-neck speed within two years. Says Varshney: “Given the speed of this ‘exercise’, our assessment is that the quality of these registers is poor, and defeats the very purpose of documentation of biodiversity for conservation and knowledge for its utilisation.” Legal hurdles and challenges: As per law, Indian pharmaceutical companies are required to pay between 3-5 percent on the extracted bioresources or between 0.01-0.05 percent on the annual gross ex-factory sales. But companies have resisted paying. In most cases, the courts have held that these companies have to seek prior approval and make payments to the National Biodiversity Authority or the state boards. But the matter has not moved much. It is not clear who was required to pay, how much, or what has already been paid. Amendments to the National Biodiversity Act Narain points out that it is important at this stage to review the recently introduced amendments to the National Biodiversity Act, which are currently being discussed by the joint committee of the Parliament. She says: “We believe these amendments do not address the substantive issues that would fix the current problems that we have outlined in our analysis. "What is needed is to strengthen the accountability of the state boards; to share benefits with communities; and to undertake conservation of bioresources. "There is little to suggest that these will be done.” According to CSE, the amendment would weaken the system of access and benefit sharing by changing the definition of who is required to take approval for access or commercial utilisation. As per the 2002 Act, there is a provision defining a non-Indian entity, which would mean that an entity that is non-resident or a corporate body that is not incorporated or registered in India would require to take prior approval from the national board. The amendment proposes that the provision defining the non-Indian entity be substituted with “foreign controlled company”. Adds Varshney: “It is not clear why this change has been brought about and so it seems the purpose is to limit the prior approvals by the National Authority.” The amendments have also included the term “codified traditional knowledge” – under which the users, including practitioners of Indian systems of medicine will be exempted from the provisions of approvals for access or sharing benefits. “This is an issue that needs to be discussed further. We realise that the global framework of access and benefit sharing has never considered the issue of codified knowledge – and that this is important for countries like India where traditional medical systems are rich and relevant," Says Narain. But it is not clear how this codified knowledge will be distinguished from the local community-held knowledge and if this will not defeat the very purpose of the Biodiversity Act. "What needs to be done is to clarify this even as the Amendments strengthen the provisions for sharing benefits with communities and knowledge-holders,” she adds. But all this will not add up unless we can resolve how the bioresources in the wild and under strict prohibitory regulations – which do not allow for their cultivation, collection or trade – will be made part of these efforts to conserve resources through their utilisation, she notes. "In the case of the Kani tribals and their knowledge of Arogyapacha – a medicinal plant – this was the fundamental flaw. After all the negotiations were done for access and benefit-sharing, the plant could not be collected or grown; in fact, cases were filed against the tribals for doing so,” she says. The 2021 Amendment Bill has a provision for identification of such cultivated biodiversity. But Varshney says this needs to be elaborated on, so that all the strenuous efforts made to set up the paraphernalia for biodiversity conservation and for access and benefit-sharing do not go waste. Narain says, “It is important that we discuss this issue as we need to learn from what has been done till now so that we can strengthen conservation and make sure communities and traditional knowledge holders benefit from these efforts. "This is critical in the fight to protect bio-resources from loss and extinction. The global community will meet later in 2022 to discuss these issues and to evolve the way ahead. It is important that the world has new learnings to share and ways to strengthen the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol.”

• Down To Earth

In the Green of Health

Much like the rest of the world, physicians in India are waking up to the merits of ‘green prescriptions,’ as a remedy for lifestyle, genetic and chronic diseases. Spend time in the wilderness. Walk the hills. Try forest bathing. Raft in calming waters. Try your hand at therapeutic horticulture... All this sounds like friendly advice from a friend concerned about your health but is actually what a standard prescription from a doctor in the future could look like. In some parts of the world, it is already a reality. In India too, physicians are waking up to the merits of ‘green prescriptions,’ as a remedy for several lifestyle, genetic and chronic diseases. Nature nature Medicines alone cannot do the job of restoring health. Green prescriptions are here to assist. It is a health management protocol wherein, in addition to medication, one is encouraged to make the most of the healing facets of nature. Doctors are writing these for various ailments, including long Covid-19. According to a recent Lancet study, long Covid can impact the quality of life for two years after infection. ADVERTISEMENT Spending time in nature can offer curative perks. The World Health Organization (WHO) seconds this. It describes nature as ‘our greatest source of health and well-being.’ The Finns have been one of the first to acknowledge this. In Finland, five hours a month in nature is considered the minimum dose to recover from the aftermath of the pandemic. If you don’t have the luxury of a forest, a walk in the park will do. littlegreenblog.com Clinicians from New Zealand, the UK and Japan are leading us to ‘greener pastures.’ Canada recently joined the bandwagon. Doctors in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario are actively prescribing ‘nature healing’ as a remedy for lung diseases, diabetes, blood pressure, mood and sleep disorders, and anxiety. Some are even issuing passes to the country’s national parks, marine conservation areas and historic sites as part of their treatment plan. “There is good reason for this,” says Meerut-based Internal Medicine specialist Dr Suresh Sahai, who recently started giving out green prescriptions to his patients. “For one, being close to nature is associated with better endocrinological function. It lowers the risk of diabetes, thyroid diseases, metabolic disorders, osteoporosis, infertility, and more. It also helps in immunoregulation, an increasing matter of concern.” Biodiversity loss is at the centre of this. Over 90 percent of the area under the biodiversity hotspots in India has been lost, according to a 2021 report by the Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE). “It is a grave matter for scientists and environmental researchers as this loss could make the human species sick. Environmental microorganisms, including viruses, bacteria and fungi that make up the microbial biodiversity, are instrumental in maintaining a robust ecosystem. “It is necessary for humans to be exposed to a variety of these microbes to build immunity. If one is closed off from it or if microbes from the environments fade, the immune system will never know how to build a defence response against these invaders, thus increasing susceptibility to infections,” says Sahai. The immune system was brought down to the battleground during Covid and tested it all ways possible. It has shown just how important its role will be even in the future. “But unfortunately, many cities are seeing a biodiversity loss. Changes in this ecosystem increase the risk of infectious diseases both in humans and in animals. It also puts nations at the risk of zoonotic outbreaks,” says Sahai, who believes that the many national parks in India (close to 63)should be leveraged as well-being hotspots. “Even if a tiny part of these massive sanctuaries are developed for safe access, humans could benefit enormously like it is already happening in some countries.” In the United States, the Park Rx America platform lets doctors give access to state parks to patients. In South Korea, forest bathing is encouraged. It is a Japanese practice of inducing calmness in oneself by spending time in the verdant surroundings of a forest. Green prescriptions are not limited to spending time in nature alone. It extends to social connections, getting enough sunlight, exercise, and clean eating. “For instance, urban Indians just do not get enough sun. Exposure to it is necessary for the production of a chemical in the brain called serotonin that regulates the mood, digestion, sleep, and libido, among more. It is fundamental to how you feel and operate,” says Delhi-based life coach Mridula Raman. Fostering positive social connections is one of the most important suggestions on Raman’s green prescriptions. “Strong, fulfilling connections increases life span by 50 percent. In fact, research has shown that the genes of lonely people work differently. Their white blood cells are prone to overactivity, increasing the chance of an inflammation. Loneliness can lower viral defence and exacerbate heart conditions. Social connectedness, on the other hand, helps recover from disease faster and may even get you off anti-depressants,” she says. How much is good enough Your doctor will tell you how much of a certain natural remedy you need. The important thing to understand is that there are no rigid rules around this form of natural treatment. “Also, green prescriptions are offered as supplemental support and not as a substitute for medications. For some, a daily 10-minute walk in the park or a stroll by a lake (being close to water triggers positive neurochemicals) is all one needs. For others, it could be spending a few months away from their overly-stimulated life,” says Raman. You can also do something as simple as planting trees. Researchers in Canada have found that adding a few trees to a block improved perceived health and well-being as much as increasing people’s income by $10,000 or making them seven years younger. Ready to heal with green energy? What a green prescription could read like ✥ Reconnecting with nature by taking walks, watching sunsets/sunrises, forest bathing, spending time by a water body, camping, boating, planting trees and flower beds, and walking barefoot on the grass, among other things. ✥ Fostering social connections by making new friends, acquainting yourself with neighbours and colleagues who you don’t know much about, joining social groups, and spending more time with family, and pets. ✥ Prioritising eating clean and exercising.

• Down To Earth

Biodiversity conservation and benefit-sharing with communities reduced to meaningless bureaucratic exercise: DTE analysis

Biodiversity conservation is an absolute imperative but a recent analysis by Down To Earth magazine highlighted that there is no data available on the money received from companies and traders for access and benefit sharing. Similarly, the money collected has not been disbursed to communities, the analysis pointed out. Details here. While India has shown immense enthusiasm in ratifying and supporting international biodiversity conventions or in enacting domestic laws and regulations, the country's record in conservation and use of its bioresources has been dismal, as per a recent analysis by Down to Earth (DTE), Centre for Science and Environment's (CSE) fortnightly magazine. In 1992, the world had agreed on a landmark global treaty - The Convention on Biological Diversity at the Rio Summit and it's been 20 years since the Biological Diversity Act was enacted in India. Both aimed to conserve biological diversity, use it sustainably and ensure that the benefits arising from its use are shared fairly and equitably with the people who have protected the biodiversity. India had been quick to act in terms of ratification of the Convention and the Protocol, the discussion at DTE's virtual event observed. "In 2002, the country adopted the Biological Diversity Act and set up an elaborate institutional framework to protect bioresources and to share benefits with knowledge-holders. The National Biodiversity Authority was established; each state now has its own biodiversity board, and each village its biodiversity management committee (BMC)," the DTE press note read. The BMCs are required to prepare the People's Biodiversity Registers (PBR), and have powers to impose charges and fines for extraction of resources found in their villages. "What became clear very soon is that the conservation of bioresources, and particularly their utilisation, require active involvement of local communities. These communities need to be active partners and also share the profits of the use of their resources and knowledge," said Sunita Narain, editor of DTE and director general of CSE, said at a virtual event held to discuss DTE analysis. Additionally, Narain pointed out, that DTE's analysis found that the entire effort to share benefits with communities had been reduced to meaningless bureaucratic exercise. "The system of access and benefit-sharing can work only if the traditional knowledge holders are recognised; if the traders and manufacturing companies that use their knowledge are held liable for payments; and if this payment is then transferred to the community or traditional-knowledge holder," said Vibha Varshney, associate editor, DTE and the lead writer of the analysis. Key findings of the report The DTE investigation pointed out that there was no data available on the money received from companies and traders for access and benefit-sharing. "It is not clear if all companies have paid for the use of resources and knowledge, or on what basis and how much. In the case of the Irula Cooperative in Tamil Nadu – traditional knowledge holders of the method of collecting snake venom used for pharmaceutical products – only one company had agreed to pay, but even that promise remained unfulfilled," the analysis pointed out. It also highlighted that the state boards informed DTE that the money collected had not been disbursed to communities because of lack of information about the knowledge holders. "The law provides that if the information is not available, then funds should be spent on conservation in the region from where the knowledge-bioresources come. As of now, the funds are lying unutilised, say the state boards," the DTE analysis stated. Additionally, the analysis also pointed out that following the directions of the National Green Tribunal, as many as 2,66,135 PBRs were set up within two years. "Given the speed of this 'exercise', our assessment is that the quality of these registers is poor, and defeats the very purpose of documentation of biodiversity for conservation and knowledge for its utilisation," Varshney said. Another important point that the analysis highlighted were the legal hurdles and challenges. "Indian pharmaceutical companies are required to pay between 3-5 per cent on the extracted bioresources or between 0.01-0.05 per cent on the annual gross ex-factory sales. But companies have resisted paying," the press note of the virtual event noted. It pointed out that the courts had held that these companies have to seek prior approval and make payments to the National Biodiversity Authority or the state boards. But the matter has not moved much and it is unclear who was required to pay, how much or what has already been paid. Amendments to the National Biodiversity Act Narain observed that it was important to review the recently introduced amendments to the National Biodiversity Act, which were currently being discussed by the joint committee of the Parliament. "We believe these amendments do not address the substantive issues that would fix the current problems that we have outlined in our analysis. What is needed is to strengthen the accountability of the state boards; to share benefits with communities; and to undertake conservation of bioresources. There is little to suggest that these will be done," she added. According to CSE, the amendment would weaken the system of access and benefit-sharing by changing the definition of who is required to take approval for access or commercial utilisation. As per the 2002 Act, there is a provision defining a non-Indian entity, which would mean that an entity that is non-resident or a corporate body that is not incorporated or registered in India would require to take prior approval from the national board, the press note stated. The amendment proposes that the provision defining the non-Indian entity be substituted with "foreign-controlled company". "It is not clear why this change has been brought about and so it seems the purpose is to limit the prior approvals by the National Authority," Varshney added. The amendments have also included the term "codified traditional knowledge" – under which the users, including practitioners of Indian systems of medicine will be exempted from the provisions of approvals for access or sharing benefits. "We realise that the global framework of access and benefit sharing has never considered the issue of codified knowledge – and that this is important for countries like India where traditional medical systems are rich and relevant. But it is not clear how this codified knowledge will be distinguished from the local community held knowledge and if this will not defeat the very purpose of the Biodiversity Act," Narain added. What needs to be done is to clarify this even as the Amendments strengthen the provisions for sharing benefits with communities and knowledge-holders."

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

India looks to electric vehicles as the future of transport, but problems remain

Indian Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is trying to encourage people to buy electric vehicles instead of vehicles powered by carbon-based fuels. During a recent parliamentary debate, he assured law makers that electric cars will only cost the same as petrol cars within two years. “I have favoured a green transition in fuel while rapid strides in green fuel technology will reduce the cost of electric vehicles (EVs), bringing them on a par with petrol-run vehicles in a short time,” he said. Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), powered by hydrogen, are one of the best clean energy alternatives used in vehicles, whose manufacturing has begun in India. Road to an electric future They are more efficient than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and produce no tailpipe emissions, reducing pollution levels while only emitting water vapour and warm air. Observers believe this could potentially allow India to save on crude oil imports worth over 12 billion euros annually. Rapid adoption of two- and three- wheelers EVs is expected to lead the way to this transition. According to NITI Aayog, the government’s apex public policy think tank, by 2030, 80 percent of two and three-wheelers, 40 percent of buses, and 30 to 70 percent of cars in India will be electric vehicles Simply put, industry experts maintain this would mean 102 million EVs that would need deployment of 2.9 million public chargers. However, the country’s road to a fully electric ecosystem still has a few hurdles including high cost, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of high performing EVs which are reasons for the slow adoption of electric mobility. No charge One of the biggest impediments to EV adoption is the lack of charging infrastructure. According to a poll conducted by Grant Thornton Bharat-FICCI, India would require to set up 400,000 charging stations by 2026 to meet the demand from two million EVs on the road. “While the electric vehicle programme has begun to receive policy attention at the national and state level, it has not yet been able to catalyse the market to build scale,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director at Centre for Science and Environment. Indian court rejects demands to unlock sealed chambers of Taj Mahal Indian curry loses its tang as Ukraine war puts cooking oil on backburner In her reckoning, EVs are still less than one percent of the new vehicle sales and the ongoing incentive programme needs to be backed by a regulatory target and zero emissions mandate at the national level to build confidence and scale in the market. Overall, the challenges of inadequate charging networks, limited EV models in the market, uncertainty around the battery cost especially battery replacement, and weak consumer awareness are some of the key factors that are impeding accelerated electrification. Auto industry shake-up The Indian government has allocated incentives to a scheme, Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) and has introduced several supply and demand side incentives to facilitate the switch to EVs. In fact, some states have also set their own ambitious EV targets: 18 out of 28 states have either a draft policy in place or have already notified one. “EVs can help achieve not just that but also help reduce the country's oil imports and preserve foreign exchange, taking India to the next level of self-reliance,” said Piyush Goyal, the minister of commerce and industry recently. Experts believe that vehicle electrification is bound to play a pivotal role in emission reduction from India's road transportation sector and supporting the fight against climate change. With India’s commitments at the COP26 summit to achieve net-zero emissions status by 2070 and lower its emission intensity by 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, EVs could help realize these goals and play a pivotal role in its green narrative. The transport sector accounts for 18 percent of total energy consumption in India which translates to an estimated 94 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE) energy.

• Down To Earth

World Biodiversity Day Special: Biodiversity conservation and benefit sharing with communities has become a meaningless exercise, finds a new Down To Earth analysis

Biodiversity conservation is an absolute imperative today, but is India serious about it? Notwithstanding the alacrity that the country has shown in ratifying and supporting international biodiversity conventions or in enacting domestic laws and regulations, India’s record in conservation and use of its bioresources has been quite dismal – finds an investigative analysis done by Down To Earth (DTE) magazine. Thirty years ago, in 1992, the world had agreed on a landmark global treaty: the Convention on Biological Diversity. Says Sunita Narain, editor of DTE and director general of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which helps publish the magazine: “What became clear very soon is that the conservation of bioresources, and particularly their utilisation, require active involvement of local communities. These communities need to be active partners and also share the profits of the use of their resources and knowledge.” In 2010, as a result, came the Nagoya Protocol, designed as an instrument for fair and equitable sharing of benefits with communities. India has been quick to act in terms of ratification of the Convention and the Protocol. In 2002, the country adopted the Biological Diversity Act and set up an elaborate institutional framework to protect bioresources and to share benefits with knowledge-holders. The National Biodiversity Authority was established; each state now has its own biodiversity board, and each village its biodiversity management committee (BMC). The BMCs are required to prepare the People’s Biodiversity Registers, and have powers to impose charges and fines for extraction of resources found in their villages. “But,” says Narain, “our analysis, based on field visits and conversations with experts, finds that the entire effort to share benefits with communities has been reduced to, at best, a meaningless bureaucratic exercise and at worst, a charade.” Says Vibha Varshney, associate editor, DTE and the lead writer of the analysis: “The system of access and benefit sharing can work only if the traditional knowledge holders are recognised; if the traders and manufacturing companies that use their knowledge are held liable for payments; and if this payment is then transferred to the community or traditional-knowledge holder.” Key findings No data on funds: The DTE investigation says there is no data available – other than from a few states – on the money received from companies and traders for access and benefit sharing (ABS). It is not clear if all companies have paid for the use of resources and knowledge, or on what basis and how much. In the case of the Irula Cooperative in Tamil Nadu – traditional knowledge holders of the method of collecting snake venom used for pharmaceutical products – only one company had agreed to pay, but even that promise remained unfulfilled. No disbursal to communities: The state boards have informed DTE that the money collected has not been disbursed to communities – the reason they give is there is no information available about the knowledge holders. The law provides that if the information is not available, then funds should be spent on conservation in the region from where the knowledge-bioresources come. As of now, the funds are lying unutilised, say the state boards. Poor quality of People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs): Following the directions of the National Green Tribunal, as many as 2,66,135 PBRs have been made at break-neck speed within two years. Says Varshney: “Given the speed of this ‘exercise’, our assessment is that the quality of these registers is poor, and defeats the very purpose of documentation of biodiversity for conservation and knowledge for its utilisation.” Legal hurdles and challenges: As per law, Indian pharmaceutical companies are required to pay between 3-5 per cent on the extracted bioresources or between 0.01-0.05 per cent on the annual gross ex-factory sales. But companies have resisted paying. In most cases, the courts have held that these companies have to seek prior approval and make payments to the National Biodiversity Authority or the state boards. But the matter has not moved much. It is not clear who was required to pay, how much or what has already been paid. Amendments to the National Biodiversity Act Narain points out that it is important at this stage to review the recently introduced amendments to the National Biodiversity Act, which are currently being discussed by the joint committee of the Parliament. She says: “We believe these amendments do not address the substantive issues that would fix the current problems that we have outlined in our analysis. What is needed is to strengthen the accountability of the state boards; to share benefits with communities; and to undertake conservation of bioresources. There is little to suggest that these will be done.” According to CSE, the amendment would weaken the system of access and benefit sharing by changing the definition of who is required to take approval for access or commercial utilisation. As per the 2002 Act, there is a provision defining a non-Indian entity, which would mean that an entity that is non-resident or a corporate body that is not incorporated or registered in India would require to take prior approval from the national board. The amendment proposes that the provision defining the non-Indian entity be substituted with “foreign controlled company”. Adds Varshney: “It is not clear why this change has been brought about and so it seems the purpose is to limit the prior approvals by the National Authority.” The amendments have also included the term “codified traditional knowledge” – under which the users, including practitioners of Indian systems of medicine will be exempted from the provisions of approvals for access or sharing benefits. Says Narain: “This is an issue that needs to be discussed further. We realise that the global framework of access and benefit sharing has never considered the issue of codified knowledge – and that this is important for countries like India where traditional medical systems are rich and relevant. But it is not clear how this codified knowledge will be distinguished from the local community held knowledge and if this will not defeat the very purpose of the Biodiversity Act. What needs to be done is to clarify this even as the Amendments strengthen the provisions for sharing benefits with communities and knowledge-holders.” Narain adds: “But all this will not add up unless we can resolve how the bioresources in the wild and under strict prohibitory regulations – which do not allow for their cultivation, collection or trade – will be made part of these efforts to conserve resources through their utilisation. In the case of the Kani tribals and their knowledge of Arogyapacha – a medicinal plant – this was the fundamental flaw. After all the negotiations were done for access and benefit sharing, the plant could not be collected or grown; in fact, cases were filed against the tribals for doing so.” The 2021 Amendment Bill has a provision for identification of such cultivated biodiversity. But Varshney says this needs to be elaborated on, so that all the strenuous efforts made to set up the paraphernalia for biodiversity conservation and for access and benefit sharing does not go waste. Says Narain: “It is important that we discuss this issue as we need to learn from what has been done till now, so that we can strengthen conservation and make sure communities and traditional knowledge holders benefit from these efforts. This is critical in the fight to protect bio-resources from loss and extinction. The global community will meet later in 2022 to discuss these issues and to evolve the way ahead. It is important that the world has new learnings to share and ways to strengthen the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol.”

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

As North India Reels under Heatwave, Air Pollution Debate Must Go Beyond Delhi-NCR

The issues of climate change and pollution are real, but they are yet to become part of political discourse in India. The heatwave of 2022 should be treated as a red notice by environment India is witnessing an unprecedented heatwave. The mercury touched 50 degrees Celsius last Sunday in parts of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, Mumbai is facing an unexpected surge in heat. These incidents clearly point at the climate crisis in India. To deal with this crisis, it is essential to go back to basics. In India, the discussion on air pollution, which is one of the most critical factors behind climate change, is restricted to the National Capital Region, and particularly Delhi. The need of the hour is to bring together all the states and formulate a comprehensive year-round plan along with achievable targets to combat pollution. Relationship between Heatwave and Climate Change The MET department of the United Kingdom has published a study on the ongoing heatwave in India. The study findings suggest that climate change caused by human beings is one of the most significant causes of this heatwave. A report on the study noted, “The study shows that the natural probability of a heatwave exceeding the average temperature in 2010 is once in 312 years. In the current climate – accounting for climate change – the probabilities increase to once in every 3.1 years. And by the end of the century, the study – incorporating climate change projections – shows this will increase to once every 1.15 years.” The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published by the United Nations last year observed, “Human influence has warmed the climate at a rate that is unprecedented in at least the last 2,000 years. In 2019, atmospheric CO2 concentrations were higher than at any time in at least 2 million years, and concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide were higher than at any time in the last 800,000 years.” Effect of Pollution on Climate Change From these two reports, some points stand out. First, human influence on climate change is a crucial reason behind the climate crisis. Second, while climate change raises temperatures and makes heatwaves hotter, it also affects the pattern of changing weather. Air pollution and climate change are not different issues at all. Global research on climate change has repeatedly pointed out the correlation between the two. The United Nations Environment Programe (UNEP) notes, “Although they may seem to be two very different issues, climate change and air pollution are closely interlinked, so by reducing air pollution we also protect the climate. Air pollutants include more than just greenhouse gases — principally carbon dioxide but also methane, nitrous oxide, and others — but there’s a big overlap: the two often interact with each other.” Air pollution is majorly human-induced in India. Some of the reasons behind the uncontrolled air pollution in India are haphazard urban planning, rampant open burning, faulty waste management systems, landfills, too much dependency on coal power, unchecked industry emissions, and so on. Pollution is a Pan India Issue The discussions and policies regarding air pollution are concentrated in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Delhi. But this is not enough. According to a study published by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), 56 North Indian cities show winter pollution trends similar to Delhi. “Even smaller cities with lower annual average levels record pollution levels that are as bad or even worse than Delhi,” Anumita Roychowdhury, the co-author of the study, told Down to Earth. Cities like Vrindavan, Agra, and Firozabad (all in UP), the study shows, have comparatively lower annual average particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) levels than Delhi but in winter (2021) their weekly average PM2.5 levels were more than Delhi’s. Advertisement The pollution problem, however, is not restricted to North India anymore. For example, the problem of air pollution in Mumbai has only worsened in the past decade. PM10 is the highest in Mumbai among the 24 major cities in peninsular India. Among the three major coastal cities (Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai), the particulate concentration in Mumbai has increased exponentially over the last few years. Similarly, an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed that PM 2.5 levels in Kolkata’s air last year exceeded the national standard by more than 1.5 times and by more than 13 times the standard set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). What States Must Do to Combat Air Pollution It is important for each state to come forward and formulate its own action plans. Many states, in the past, have failed to present their action plans to the National Green Tribunal. As part of the action plan, air monitoring networks should be strengthened and electric vehicles should be adopted to reduce transportation-related pollution. Regulation compliance should be strengthened, and industrial emissions should be better controlled. Advertisement India has a National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and the states have an important role in this plan. State governments can legally compel cities and districts to meet their goals. If this is not done within a specified amount of time, it could be linked to the disbursement of development funds, for instance. It is high time for each state to have adequate number of real-time pollution monitoring stations across cities. There is also a need to identify pollution hotspots in each state. There are no central directives on these issues, which has been affecting the overall initiatives against climate change. Furthermore, state-specific action plans must have comprehensive and effective monitoring systems, which are not only scalable but should also comply with sound reporting methodologies for analysing trends and taking useful policy actions. Need For Sustainable, Long-term Action Plan India now needs a sustainable and long-term action plan against climate change. When it comes to pollution, the whole focus is on the NCAP. But there is a need for decentralisation of this plan too. Freedom must be given to states to make their own targets, but with utmost accountability. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented India’s vision and climate targets at the 26th Conference of the Parties (CoP26) in Glasgow. The plan is named Panchamitra. One of the major highlights of this plan is that India will get its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030. But in the current context of the heatwave and climate change warnings, there is a growing belief among experts that rather than tough targets, India must look at more achievable and sustainable targets while pursuing these long-term plans. Similarly, initiatives to combat pollution and climate change should go hand in hand. The NCAP is a plan that came into effect before the COVID-19 pandemic. This disaster has changed India and the world economically. Therefore, rather than long-term plans, experts believe that year-round plans for combating pollution would be more effective. The yearly targets would be easy to achieve and budget allocations would be easier, keeping in mind the economic situation of India. For example, in urban planning, green spaces include rooftop gardens, parks, mini forests, roadside trees and water bodies, all of which should be maintained over long-term. As part of the solution to climate change, governments, corporations and civil society organisations must prioritise transitions in energy, transport, agriculture among other key sectors. Similarly, a decrease in CO2 emissions, through the use of renewable energy and the phase-out of internal combustion engines, will contribute to reducing global warming in the long-term. There is no one formula that fits all when it comes to a crisis as massive as climate change. But recognition of the problem is essential. The issues of climate change and pollution are real, but they are yet to become part of the political discourse in India. The awareness about pollution in states outside Delhi-NCR is relatively poor. But each citizen of India has the right to breathe fresh air. Amid shifting political goalposts and lack of public awareness, climate cannot be compromised. The heatwave of 2022 should be treated as a clarion call or a red notice by the environment. It needs more immediate and focused attention.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

Delhi: Singed by spate of infernos, EDMC lays out rules to avoid landfill fires

The SOPs come as Delhi has seen an increase in landfill fires -- three major fires at Ghazipur landfill and one at Bhalswa landfill over the last two months -- amid heatwave conditions in the city Strict ban on entry of outsiders, including waste pickers; random checks for lighters, matchbox and cigarettes; CCTV cameras; and patrol teams -- these are among the new standard operating procedures (SOP) finalised by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) to control fires at garbage mounds in its jurisdiction. The SOPs come as Delhi has seen an increase in landfill fires -- three major fires at Ghazipur landfill and one at Bhalswa landfill over the last two months -- amid heatwave conditions in the city. The EDMC controls the Ghazipur landfill. “Landfill fires cause huge air pollution and long-term health impact. Fire incidents are observed more frequently during April-June and October post monsoon. In order to minimise such incidents, the new SOP is being issued for strict compliance,” said the order issued by EDMC engineer-in-chief on May 10. The regulations state that the entry of any unauthorised person shall be completely banned and only machine operators, drivers, transporters and personnel of contractors undertaking biomining will be allowed to enter, and any instances of trespassing will be reported to police. The ban on entry of outsiders will also impact the business of waste pickers who segregate and recycle waste, with the regulations calling for increased vigilance during the vulnerable months when methane generation from decomposing organic waste increases, thereby causing frequent fires. Jai Prakash Chaudhary, secretary of Safai Sena, an organisation of 12,000 waste collectors, said that the civic body should first develop material recovery centres near landfill sites and dhalaos where waste can be segregated. “Waste pickers do not cause fires. We do the work for improving the environment of the city by increasing recycling. MCD can develop material recovery centres where waste pickers can help them in waste segregation while also feeding their families. No one willingly wants to go on top of a landfill,” he added. A senior municipal official said that entry of wastepickers in the landfill was already banned under the previous arrangement and that the latest SOPs only plans to strictly enforce the rule. Spread over an area of 70 acres near Delhi-UP border, the Ghazipur landfill is one of the biggest landfills in the country, holding over eight million tonnes of accumulated legacy waste. It has witnessed four major fire incidents in this year. The new norms also mandate the deployment of water sprinklers on the garbage mound to ensure the moisture content in dry waste is maintained at 5-25%. A reserve of construction and demolition waste will also be developed near vulnerable points for helping in fire fighting operations. A senior municipal official from the department of environment management services (DEMS) said that an inventory of fire extinguishers, emergency lights, hose pipes and jetting machine is also being made available in Ghazipur. “We have already deployed 21 CCTV cameras and more are being added for monitoring the landfill,” the official said. The civic body also plans to install public announcement system, siren system and improve the lighting arrangement along its periphery, state the regulations, a copy of HT has been. Atin Biswas, a waste management expert and programme director of municipal solid waste sector in Centre for Science and Environment, said that segregation of waste should be non-negotiable for a long-term solution to the landfill crisis. “For the time being, the corporations need to carry out compaction of waste to remove air pockets and ensure inert soil layers are formed on daily basis to prevent landfill fires. The fires are not being caused due to 10-20-year-old waste. It is due to fresh waste being dumped.” he added.

• Urban Lab

Pollution Killed 2.4 Million Indians In 2019: How Did Lancet Calculate This?

Air pollution alone has been attributed to be the cause of some 1.6million deaths in India in 2019. Over 2.3 million people died due to pollution in 2019, a new study by the Lancet indicates. Among these deaths, 1.6 million were caused by air pollution, water pollution caused some 500,000 deaths. The report said that most of the deaths due to air pollution were caused by 'ambient particulate matter pollution and household air pollution'. "The death rate due to household air pollution decreased by 64·2% from 1990 to 2019, while that due to ambient particulate matter pollution increased by 115·3% and that due to ambient ozone pollution increased by 139·2%," the report said. While the Lancet report hints at a worrying picture for India, how did the report conclude that pollution killed 2.3 million people in India in 2019 since there is no protocol for the doctors to write "pollution" as the cause of death on death certificates? The same applies to prescriptions. A person may get allergic reaction due to air pollution, it isn't pronounced as a cause on papers. To understand how the Lancet reached the death numbers, BOOM spoke to experts to know the methodology used in the peer reviewed study. How is pollution estimated to be a cause of death? The numbers are indicative, said Avikal Somvanshi,Senior Programme Manager at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). This means that there is no direct cause-and-effect conclusion. However, there are a set of diseases which are attributed to pollution, like air pollution for cardiovascular diseases and water pollution for gastric diseases. "The number of deaths caused by such diseases are correlated to the pollution levels in the area," Avikal said. This is a standard method used by health organisations like the World Health Organisation. According to the report, the main sources of 'ambient particulate matter pollution' in India are residential and commercial biomass burning, windblown mineral dust, coal burning for energy generation, industrial emissions, agricultural stubble burning, waste burning, construction activities, brick kilns, transport vehicles, and diesel generators. The Lancet study quotes numbers from 2019, a year before the pandemic began which put a halt on activities like travelling for a while. It was seen during the lockdown in April 2020 how the air quality in different parts of the world improved since the combustion of fuel among other pollution-causing activities had decreased. As such the deaths caused by pollution in the 2020 can be expected to be low in number. "We estimated exposure to ambient particulate matter pollution, household air pollution, and ambient ozone pollution, and their attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years in every state of India as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019," the Lancet report highlights. Economic impacts of pollution Air pollution has an adverse effect not only on health of the people but also the economy of the country. The report suggests that the burden of death and disease due to air pollution 'could impede India's aspiration to be a $5 trillion economy by 2024.' "Besides endangering health and shortening lifespan, air pollution adversely affects economic productivity," the Lancet report says.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Pollution kills 9 mn people a year; nearly a quarter are from India: Lancet study

About the same number of people die due to air pollution each year as cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke combined, the Lancet study said A new study blames pollution of all types for 9 million deaths a year globally, with the death toll attributed to dirty air from cars, trucks, and industry rising 55 per cent since 2000. That increase is offset by fewer pollution deaths from primitive indoor stoves and water contaminated with human and animal waste, so overall pollution deaths in 2019 are about the same as in 2015. The United States is the only fully industrialised country in the top 10 nations for total pollution deaths, ranking 7th with 1,42,883 deaths blamed on pollution in 2019, sandwiched between Bangladesh and Ethiopia, according to a new study in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health. Tuesday’s pre-pandemic study is based on calculations derived from the Global Burden of Disease database and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle. India and China lead the world in pollution deaths with nearly 2.4 million and almost 2.2 million deaths a year, but the two nations also have the world’s largest populations. When deaths are put on a per population rate, the United States ranks 31st from the bottom at 43.6 pollution deaths per 1,00,000. Chad and the Central African Republic ranked the highest with rates about 300 pollution deaths per 1,00,000, more than half of them due to tainted water, while Brunei, Qatar, and Iceland have the lowest pollution death rates ranging from 15 to 23. The global average is 117 pollution deaths per 1,00,000 people. Pollution kills about the same number of people a year around the world as cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke combined, the study said. “Nine million deaths is a lot of deaths,” said Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory at Boston College. “The bad news is that it’s not decreasing,” Landrigan said. “We’re making gains in the easy stuff and we’re seeing the more difficult stuff, which is the ambient (outdoor industrial) air pollution and the chemical pollution, still going up.” It doesn’t have to be this way, researchers said. “They are preventable deaths. Each and every one of them is a death that is unnecessary,” said Dr Lynn Goldman, dean of the George Washington University School of Public Health, who wasn’t part of the study. She said the calculations made sense and if anything was so conservative about what it attributed to pollution, the real death toll is likely to be higher. The certificates for these deaths don’t say pollution. They list heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, other lung issues and diabetes that are “tightly correlated” with pollution by numerous epidemiological studies, Landrigan said. Mainstream scientific thought To then put these together with actual deaths, researchers look at the number of deaths by cause, exposure to pollution weighted for various factors, and then complicated exposure-response calculations derived by large epidemiological studies based on thousands of people over decades of study, he said. It’s the same way scientists can say cigarettes cause cancer and heart disease deaths. “That canon of the information constitutes causality,” Landrigan said. “That’s how we do it.” Five outside experts in public health and air pollution, including Goldman, told The Associated Press the study follows mainstream scientific thought. Dr Renee Salas, an emergency room doctor and Harvard professor who wasn’t part of the study, said “the American Heart Association determined over a decade ago that exposure to (tiny pollution particles) like that generated from the burning of fossil fuels is causal for heart disease and death.” “While people focus on decreasing their blood pressure and cholesterol, few recognise that the removal of air pollution is an important prescription to improve their heart health,” Salas said. Three-quarters of the overall pollution deaths came from air pollution and the overwhelming part of that is “a combination of pollution from stationary sources like coal-fired power plants and steel mills on one hand and mobile sources like cars, trucks, and buses. And it’s just a big global problem,” said Landrigan, a public health physician. “And it’s getting worse around the world as countries develop and cities grow.” Source: Lancet In New Delhi, air pollution peaks in the winter months. Last year, the national capital saw just two days when the air wasn’t considered polluted. It was the first time in four years that the city experienced a clean air day during the winter months. “That air pollution remains the leading cause of death in South Asia reconfirms what is already known, but the increase in these deaths means that toxic emissions from vehicles and energy generation is increasing,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, a director at the advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi. “This data is a reminder of what is going wrong but also that it is an opportunity to fix it,” Roychowdhury said. Pollution deaths are soaring in the poorest areas, experts said. “This problem is worst in areas of the world where the population is most dense (e.g. Asia) and where financial and government resources to address the pollution problem are limited and stretched thin to address a host of challenges including health care availability and diet as well as pollution,” said Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute, who wasn’t part of the study.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

9 million people worldwide are killed by pollution each year, study finds

A new study blames pollution of all types for 9 million deaths a year globally, with the death toll attributed to dirty air from cars, trucks and industry rising 55% since 2000. That increase is offset by fewer pollution deaths from primitive indoor stoves and water contaminated with human and animal waste, so overall pollution deaths in 2019 are about the same as 2015. The United States is the only fully industrialized country in the top 10 nations for total pollution deaths, ranking 7th with 142,883 deaths blamed on pollution in 2019, sandwiched between Bangladesh and Ethiopia, according to a new study in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health. Tuesday’s pre-pandemic study is based on calculations derived from the Global Burden of Disease database and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle. India and China lead the world in pollution deaths with nearly 2.4 million and almost 2.2 million deaths a year, but the two nations also have the world’s largest populations. When deaths are put on a per population rate, the United States ranks 31st from the bottom at 43.6 pollution deaths per 100,000. Chad and the Central African Republic rank the highest with rates about 300 pollution deaths per 100,000, more than half of them due to tainted water, while Brunei, Qatar and Iceland have the lowest pollution death rates ranging from 15 to 23. The global average is 117 pollution deaths per 100,000 people. Pollution kills about the same number of people a year around the world as cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke combined, the study said. “9 million deaths is a lot of deaths,” said Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory at Boston College. “The bad news is that it’s not decreasing,” Landrigan said. “We’re making gains in the easy stuff and we’re seeing the more difficult stuff, which is the ambient (outdoor industrial) air pollution and the chemical pollution, still going up.” It doesn’t have to be this way, researchers said. “They are preventable deaths. Each and every one of them is a death that is unnecessary,” said Dr. Lynn Goldman, dean of the George Washington University School of Public Health, who wasn’t part of the study. She said the calculations made sense and if anything. was so conservative about what it attributed to pollution, that the real death toll is likely higher. The certificates for these deaths don’t say pollution. They list heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, other lung issues and diabetes that are “tightly correlated” with pollution by numerous epidemiological studies, Landrigan said. To then put these together with actual deaths, researchers look at the number of deaths by cause, exposure to pollution weighted for various factors, and then complicated exposure response calculations derived by large epidemiological studies based on thousands of people over decades of study, he said. It’s the same way scientists can say cigarettes cause cancer and heart disease deaths. Three-quarters of the overall pollution deaths came from air pollution, and the overwhelming part of that is “a combination of pollution from stationary sources like coal-fired power plants and steel mills on one hand and mobile sources like cars, trucks and buses. And it’s just a big global problem,” said Landrigan, a public health physician. “And it’s getting worse around the world as countries develop and cities grow.” In New Delhi, India, air pollution peaks in the winter months and last year the city saw just two days when the air wasn’t considered polluted. It was the first time in four years that the city experienced a clean air day during the winter months. That air pollution remains the leading cause of death in South Asia reconfirms what is already known, but the increase in these deaths means that toxic emissions from vehicles and energy generation is increasing, said Anumita Roychowdhury, a director at the advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi. “This data is a reminder of what is going wrong but also that it is an opportunity to fix it,” Roychowdhury said. Pollution deaths are soaring in the poorest areas, experts said. “This problem is worst in areas of the world where population is most dense (e.g. Asia) and where financial and government resources to address the pollution problem are limited and stretched thin to address a host of challenges including health care availability and diet as well as pollution,” said Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute, who wasn’t part of the study. In 2000, industrial air pollution killed about 2.9 million people a year globally. By 2015 it was up to 4.2 million and in 2019 it was 4.5 million, the study said. Toss in household air pollution, mostly from inefficient primitive stoves, and air pollution killed 6.7 million people in 2019, the study found. Lead pollution — some from lead additive which has been banned from gasoline in every country in the world and also from old paint, recycling batteries and other manufacturing — kills 900,000 people a year, while water pollution is responsible for 1.4 million deaths a year. Occupational health pollution adds another 870,000 deaths, the study said. In the United States, about 20,000 people a year die from lead pollution-induced hypertension, heart disease and kidney disease, mostly as occupational hazards, Landrigan said. Lead and asbestos are America’s big chemical occupational hazards, and they kill about 65,000 people a year from pollution, he said. The study said the number of air pollution deaths in the United States in 2019 was 60,229, far more than deaths on American roads, which hit a 16-year peak of nearly 43,000 last year. Modern types of pollution are rising in most countries, especially developing ones, but fell from 2000 to 2019 in the United States, the European Union and Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s numbers can’t quite be explained and may be a reporting issue, said study co-author Richard Fuller, founder of the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution and president of Pure Earth, a non-profit that works on pollution clean-up programs in about a dozen countries. The study authors came up with eight recommendations to reduce pollution deaths, highlighting the need for better monitoring, better reporting and stronger government systems regulating industry and cars. “We absolutely know how to solve each one of those problems,” Fuller said. “What’s missing is political will.”

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Heatwave in India: सांसों पर भी भारी पड़ रही भीषण गर्मी, हवा में बढ़ती ओजोन से बढ़ रहा खतरा

नई दिल्ली, विवेक तिवारी। अगले कुछ दिन आपको गंभीर वायु प्रदूषण के चलते सांस लेने में दिक्कत हो सकती है। वहीं, रिकॉर्ड गर्मी से हवा में ओजोन की मात्रा बढ़ रही है जो ज्यादा देर धूप में रहने पर आपके लिए घातक साबित हो सकती है। दिल्ली और एनसीआर में हवा में प्रदूषण के स्तर पर नजर रखने वाली पृथ्वी विज्ञान मंत्रालय की संस्था सफर की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक, अगले तीन दिनों में दिल्ली की हवा में एक बार फिर प्रदूषण का स्तर मानकों से ज्यादा हो जाएगा। हवा में बढ़ती ओजोन की मात्रा आपकी मुश्किल बढ़ा सकती है। सफर की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक, गुरुवार दोपहर दिल्ली के कई इलाकों में हवा में ओजोन का स्तर मानकों से कहीं अधिक दर्ज किया गया। पूसा में ओजोन का स्तर एयर क्वालिटी इंडेक्स में 258 तक पहुंच गया। जो मानकों से कहीं अधिक है। मानकों के तहत हवा में ओजोन का स्तर एक्यूआई में 100 से ज्यादा नहीं होना चाहिए। इसी तरह दिल्ली स्थित आईआईटी के आसपास के इलाके में ओजोन का स्तर 217 के करीब दर्ज किया गया। नोएडा में यह 197 के करीब रहा। अगले तीन दिन में बढ़ेगा प्रदूषण दिल्ली में पीएम 2.5 का हवा में औसत स्तर 70 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति क्यूबिक मीटर रहा। अगले तीन दिनों में इसके बढ़ कर 90 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति क्यूबिक मीटर तक पहुंचने की संभावना है। मानकों के तहत हवा में पीएम 2.5 का स्तर 60 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति क्यूबिक मीटर से ज्यादा नहीं होना चाहिए। इसी तरह हवा में पीएम 10 का स्तर 227 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति क्यूबिक मीटर तक दर्ज किया गया। इसके अलगे तीन दिन में बढ़ कर 295 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति क्यूबिक मीटर के स्तर तक पहुंचने की संभावना है। मानकों के तहत हवा में इसका स्तर 100 माइक्रोग्राम प्रति क्यूबिक मीटर से ज्यादा नहीं होना चाहिए। इस वजह से हवा में बढ़ती है ओजोन सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड इनवायरमेंट (CSE) की कार्यकारी निदेशक अनुमिता राय चौधरी बताती हैं कि सर्दियों की तुलना में गर्मियों में होने वाला प्रदूषण काफी अलग होता है। कई अध्ययनों में पाया गया है कि गर्मी में दर्ज किए जाने वाले प्रदूषण में धूल के कण ज्यादा होते हैं। सर्दियों में होने वाले प्रदूषण में धूल की मात्रा 15 फीसदी तक होती है वहीं गर्मियों में ये मात्रा बढ़ कर 30 फीसदी तक हो जाती है। अनुमिता कहती हैं कि हमें ध्यान रखना होगा कि हवा में बढ़ता ओजोन का स्तर बेहद खतरनाक है। ओजोन के प्रदूषण का कोई खास सोर्स नहीं होता है। बेहद गर्म मौसम में गाड़ियों और पावर प्लांट से निकलने वाला धुआं आपस में क्रिया करके ओजोन बनाने लगता और हवा में ओजोन का स्तर बढ़ने लगता है। प्रदूषण पर कैसे लगेगी लगाम अनुमिता रॉय चौधरी के मुताबिक अरावली और रिज इलाकों में पेड़ों की संख्या बढ़ाने के साथ ही हमें दिल्ली और एनसीआर के चारों ओर एक पेड़ों की एक ग्रीन वॉल बनानी होगी। पेड़ पौधे धूल भरी आंधियों के प्रभाव को काफी कम कम कर देते हैं। वहीं शहर में गाड़ियों की संख्या घटाने और सड़कों और फुटपाथ को बेहतर बनाने भी प्रदूषण कम होगा। सड़कें टूटी होने पर धूल ज्यादा उड़ती है। हवा में बढ़ती ओजोन है खतरनाक दिल्ली मेडिकल काउंसिल की साइंटिफिक कमेटी के चेयरमैन डॉक्टर नरेंद्र सैनी के मुताबिक हवा में ओजोन के स्तर का बढ़ना काफी खतरनाक है। ये सीधे हमारे फेफड़ों पर असर डालता है। हवा में ओजोन बढ़ने से सांस लेते समय छाती में दर्द, खांसी, गले में जलन और सांस की नली में सूजन जैसी दिक्कत हो सकती है। फेफड़ों के काम करने में कमी आ सकती है। ओजोन ब्रोंकाइटिस, अस्थमा इत्यादि को और खराब कर सकता है। ओजोन के कारण कार्डियोवैस्कुलर बिमारी हो सकती है जो कि दिल को प्रभावित कर सकती है। बहुत लम्बे समय तक ओजोन के सांस के जरिए शरीर में जाने से कैंसर जैसी बीमारियों का खतरा भी हो सकता है।

• Sustainable Habitat

Tips: AC को 16-18 डिग्री पर चलाना पड़ेगा जेब पर भारी, इतना रखेंगे टेंपरेचर तो बिल और गर्मी दोनों होंगे कम

इन दिनों राजधानी में रेकॉर्ड गर्मी पड़ रही है। इससे बचने के लिए लोग AC का प्रयोग कर रहे हैं और दिल्ली सरकार की जीरो बिल की स्कीम का लाभ नहीं ले पा रहे हैं। वहीं AC बाहर के वातावरण को और अधिक गर्म भी कर रहे हैं। बीएसईएस से मिली जानकारी के अनुसार 12 मई को राजधानी में बिजली की डिमांड 6780 मेगावॉट तक पहुंच गई। यह 24 घंटे में ही 2.8 प्रतिशत तक बढ़ गई। बीएसईएस के अनुसार इसकी मुख्य वजह AC ही हैं। 50 प्रतिशत बिजली की खपत AC, पंखों और कूलर की वजह से हो रही है। CSI की 2019 की एक रिपोर्ट में दावा किया गया है कि गर्मी की वजह से दिल्ली में लोगों को सात महीने AC चलाना पड़ता है। यदि इसी हिसाब से AC चलते रहे तो एक दशक में बिजली की डिमांड दोगुनी हो सकती है। इसी रिपोर्ट में यह भी कहा गया है कि राजधानी के लोग सबसे अधिक बिजली रात में 12 से 1 बजे के बीच खर्च करते हैं। जबकि इसके बाद दोपहर 3 से 4 बजे के बीच पावर की डिमांड रही है। CSI की अनुमिता राय चौधरी के अनुसार AC चलाने से बिल्डिंग तो ठंडी हो रही है लेकिन बाहर गर्मी बढ़ रही है। इसकी वजह से गलियों में रहने वाले लोगों की मुश्किलें बढ़ रही हैं। इनके अनुसार गर्मियों में घरों को ठंडा रखने के उपकरणों की वजह से बिजली की डिमांड में सबसे अधिक वृद्धि हुई है। 1.5 टन के AC को चलाने के लिए दिल्ली वालों का बिल करीब 5000 रुपये मासिक के करीब आ रहा है। जबकि दिल्ली में देश की सबसे सस्ती बिजली उपलब्ध है। एनर्जी कनजर्वेशन एक्सपर्ट सुनील विश्वास के अनुसार 3 स्टार स्पिल्ट AC एक दिन में 6 घंटे चलता है तो 30 दिन में 260 किलोवॉट बिजली की खपत होती है।