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Improve faecal sludge management: Experts at CSE global conclave

Countries in the Global South must move the issue of sanitation beyond the idea of toilets to that of effective management of faecal sludge, experts at CSE's online global conclave said. The Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) launched in 2014 claims to have built over 100 million toilets in 0.6 million villages across the country. This had resulted in the Government of India announcing in 2019 that every rural household in the country had access to a toilet. "The next, and decisive, phase in this battle for safe sanitation is now upon us -- that of moving the debate and the issue beyond the idea of toilets, to that of safely managing the enormous amounts of faecal sludge that rural India will produce from these millions of toilets," said director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Sunita Narain on Saturday. Else, "We would be looking at a public health crisis of unmanageable proportions. Besides the obvious connection to health and environment, sanitation is also critical for that sense of dignity for every human," she said. Apart from India, experts from Tanzania, Uganda, Malaysia and Bangladesh also spoke at the 'Africa-South Asia online conclave on faecal sludge management in rural areas'. Africa and South Asia together is called the Global South. Other experts who spoke at the webinar included senior environmental health officer, Water and Sanitation Section, Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Tanzania, Amour Seleman; assistant commissioner, Planning and Development, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda engineer Olwemy Lamu; water sanitation and hygiene specialist, UNICEF-India, Sujoy Majumdar; international FSM consultant, Malaysia, Dorai Narayana; chief operating officer, CWIS-FSM Support Cell, Department of Public Health Engineering, Bangladesh Abdullah Al-Muyeed and programme manager, rural water and sanitation programme, CSE, Sushmita Sengupta, a release from the CSE said. Sengupta said: "The existing practices of managing faecal sludge in many areas of these regions -- dumping in open fields or water bodies or burying in pits -- are extremely unsanitary and can trigger a public health disaster." "Effective faecal sludge management -- treating excreta completely before any disposal or reuse -- is the real need of the hour," she added. Bangladesh, according to Abdullah Al-Muyeed, has crossed a big milestone in 2021 with the launch of its National Strategy for Water Supply and Sanitation. Al-Muyeed did not think open defecation was that big a problem in his country. Recounting the Ugandan experience, Lamu said his country loses US $177 million every year due to poor and inadequate sanitation. The pan-Africa statistics that Lamu presented were equally telling: 19 per cent of Africa practices open defecation, and there are 115 deaths every hour due to excreta --related diseases -- a direct result of poor sanitation. Seleman, from Tanzania, agreed that an - institutional framework for managing faecal sludge was what his country needed as well. With 75 per cent of Malaysia's people living in cities, and the country making big strides in sanitation management, Dorai Narayana offered a different perspective: "Good governance, involvement of the private sector, and selection of appropriate technologies have helped." CSE recommendations in view of the huge scope for reuse of treated faecal sludge and wastewater in the agriculture and aquaculture sectors, as well as for non-potable uses such as flushing, included strengthening of legal and institutional structures for the implementation of faecal sludge management, the release added.

Missing school, missing meals: Without remedial action, the pandemic will cause a terrible learning deficit in tomorrow’s workforce

The parliamentary committee on education must be congratulated. It has prepared a candid report on the impact of Covid-19 on a fragile and iniquitous education system. It admits some home truths: Some 24 crore children have missed school for over a year. 77% of children have no access to online instruction. In any case, ‘Online education is not real education.’ Dropouts have increased at secondary level. In fact, the dropout figures relate to the pre-pandemic year 2019-20. As with the economy, our education system was already in decline before Covid-19. The two sectors are linked: Reversing all precedent, there are more dropouts among boys than girls. Boys are abandoning school to earn a living – sometimes, after Covid, as their family’s chief breadwinner. The report admits the yawning digital divide that has deprived most children of instruction during lockdown, negating the government’s claim of 85% online access. India’s school system has subdivisions beyond the public-private divide. 62% children attend government or government-aided schools. The other 38% are divided between well-endowed elite private institutions and a motley range of modest or questionable ones. Illustration: Uday Deb The benefits of online instruction accrue chiefly to an undefined section of the former ‘creamy layer’, largely through the massive spread of online coaching during the pandemic. The corporate lobby providing this service has acquired such visibility as to seriously skew our educational outlook. Their gung-ho rhetoric is echoed by the government’s absorption with its own online portals, regardless of how many students they reach or what teaching functions they can cover. This comfort zone has as much relevance for the reality of post-pandemic Indian education as the upbeat Sensex for the 97% of Indians hit by a loss of income. Each year, some 2.4 crore Indian children enrol in Class 1. Barring a small fraction of the privileged, the batches of 2020 and 2021 have effectively not taken the first step towards literacy and numeracy. A large proportion of those enrolled earlier will not have acquired the skills, or forgotten what they acquired. By a ballpark estimate, 8 to 10 crore children in primary school currently cannot read or count. Unless extraordinary measures are taken, they will remain in that state. In the coming decades, they will constitute 9-10% of India’s workforce. Imagine an educationless demographic bubble of this size coming to lodge in our economy – a process analogous to physical embolism, whose consequences any doctor knows. Add two more factors. This totally ‘unliterate’ core will blend into a wide penumbra of the drastically ill-educated. The Annual Status of Education Reports (ASER) consistently record a severe learning shortfall among primary-school children. The pandemic will increase this incalculably. Higher up the age ladder, curricula are being curtailed and evaluation diluted. All in all, we are fostering a horrendous learning deficit in tomorrow’s workforce. The other factor, inseparable from education in the general Indian context, is health and nutrition. To the nation’s shame, physical growth and nourishment have been declining among India’s children for several years. The post-pandemic plight of the poor will multiply the damage. The Centre for Science and Environment estimates that 37.5 crore children might suffer weight and growth loss. Even 25% of that figure seems disturbing enough – and tallies with my estimate of core educational loss. A human and economic disaster can only be averted by major nationwide action, of which there is no sign. At most there is talk, still largely unfocussed, of preventing dropouts. But that can only be the beginning of a long-term intensive programme of restoring the learning and nutritional deficit. In a major Bengali article, Abhijit Binayak Banerjee recommends the output-oriented methodology employed by Pratham in its ASER. That might indeed provide a model, adapted and extended to an action-oriented remedial agenda. Such hopes seem misplaced when the Union Budget for school education has been slashed by Rs 5,000 crore, and for anganwadi and related programmes by Rs 4,500 crore, from the original allocations for 2020-21. These were revised downward when schools shut down, so that this year’s budget shows a spurious increase. But though schools were shut, the children were there: Last year’s budget reduction failed both their nutritional and their educational needs. The midday meals budget this year is 13% below that of 2013-14. The education ministry had devised a scheme called Nipun Bharat to address the learning deficit in primary schools. Paradoxically, the prolonged closure of schools has been cited to extend, hence effectively suspend, the scheme. The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan that would fund it faces a 38% budget cut. And what of the National Education Policy? The prime minister launched ten new schemes on its first anniversary. Only two concern school education. Neither remotely suggests the radical plans for early childhood care and education whereby anganwadis would merge with primary schools to form integrated childhood centres. Such a scheme, imaginatively adapted to the post-Covid situation, might address the magnitude of the problem; nothing less will serve. We missed the chance for detailed planning and infrastructure creation during the pandemic, before schools reopened. It is almost too late but not quite. Failure on this front will deplete our economy for at least a generation of its already stretched human resources. My arguments should be unnecessary. Crores of underfed and under-schooled children should be argument enough. But the Indian psyche is unresponsive to mere human deprivation. The prospect of an economic disaster might possibly set our thinking classes thinking.

Improve faecal sludge management: Experts at CSE global conclave

Countries in the Global South must move the issue of sanitation beyond the idea of toilets to that of effective management of faecal sludge, experts at CSE's online The Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) launched in 2014 claims to have built over 100 million toilets in 0.6 million villages across the country. This had resulted in the Government of India announcing in 2019 that every rural household in the country had access to a toilet.->-> View it--> https://www.newkerala.com/news/2021/120201.htm

Without Stricter Checks, Latest Directive To 'Utilise' Fly Ash May Prove Futile

The latest notification does not address chronic problems of badly managed and risky disposal of fly ash by polluting units, say environmentalists The latest government attempt to ensure the safe and sustainable disposal of fly ash--a toxic residue left over from burning coal--could end up damaging India's farmlands, water bodies and fragile habitats, say researchers and activists. Fly ash is known to cause air and water pollution. Coal and lignite-based thermal power plants should "ensure 100% utilisation of ash generated by it in an eco-friendly manner", said an April 22, 2021 notification of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Over the last two decades, the Indian government has been issuing similar notifications on the disposal and utilisation of fly ash. Its recommendations have varied: use it to manufacture building material and in construction work; apply it as soil conditioner in farms and use it to reclaim low-lying areas and empty mines. However, over 50% of industries remain non-compliant, mostly dumping the ash in the open, in water bodies and in unlined and uncovered pits. There have been eight major incidents involving coal ash in India between August 2019 and May 2021, as per a status report by Fly Ash Watch Group, a collective of activist individuals and organisations across India. The Singrauli region spread across Singrauli district in Madhya Pradesh and Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh accounted for half of these. In 2019-20, 197 thermal plants in India generated 226 million tonnes of fly ash. And nearly 1.6 billion tonnes of it are scattered over 65,000 acres of land, as of 2019. Accidents happen mostly when fly ash overflows or breaks through the embankment of ash ponds where it has been dumped. An ash pond is designed with an embankment all around and an internal and external drainage system. It needs to be constantly monitored for safety and spillage. Environmentalists have been urging the government to delete "filling of low lying area" as an accepted use of fly ash. "There are no clear guidelines on what constitutes a 'low-lying area'," said Rahul Choudhary, Supreme Court advocate and founding member of the Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE). Even riverine stretches and wetlands can be considered low-lying, he pointed out. Little action has been taken against erring units, as we detail later. We reached out to the MoEFCC for comments on fly ash mismanagement. This article will be updated as and when we receive a response. Coal-based power plants are among the most polluting industries in India, significantly responsible for its dire air pollution levels, studies have shown. Coal-based thermal power plants are water intensive, using more water than permitted, IndiaSpend has reported in September 2019. Rules diluted over the years Over 76 fly ash accidents have been reported in mainstream English media in the last decade, killing people and extensively damaging water sources, air and soil, said a joint 2020 study by the Healthy Energy Initiative and Community Environmental Monitoring, a clean energy advocacy. Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have the highest number of coal-based thermal power plants and report the most fly ash accidents, according to the study. Fly ash spillage is hard to fix and polluters and authorities have shown no interest in cleaning up, observed experts. "Once water is contaminated there is no undoing [the contamination], but even for the visible spots of ash spillage there is no clean-up undertaken by plant authorities," said Shripad Dharmadhikary, analyst at the research organisation Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, who also co-authored the Fly Ash Watch report. "The eight major incidents [August 2019 - May 2021] don't take into account the ash spill that happens routinely." The government has been attempting to tackle the problem since 1999. The first official notification on the subject came in 1999 and it outlined some methods for the constructive use of fly ash--to manufacture cement, concrete blocks and bricks and in the construction of roads and embankments within a 100-km radius of thermal power plants. However, subsequent notifications--in 2003, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020 and the latest, in 2021--diluted the definition of and deadline for ash utilisation by polluters. They allowed the reclamation of low-lying areas and abandoned mines using ash, extended deadlines for polluters, raised the distance over which fly ash can be transported and did away with the ash content cap in coal. In 2019-20, the power sector consumed 678 million tons of coal and generated 226 million tonnes of ash. Of this, only 187 million tonnes (82%) was put to use in various ways. The remaining waste piled up, damaging the environment. The Centre for Science and Environment analysed state wise-data on ash generation and utilisation between 2010 and 2019 and found Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh had accumulated the most ash during this period. And Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha have huge ash backlogs. In order to minimise this pollution, urgent measures are needed, said experts. On the draft notification, the Manthan Adhyayan Kendra commented that it "appears to prioritise full disposal of fly ash without adequate considerations of the safety of health and environment". The think-tank Centre for Policy Research also noted the need to take into account "non-compliance induced breaches of ash dykes and ponds and present preventive and restitutive measures for the same". Apart from legal issues, it pointed to "serious impacts such as contamination of farmlands, common use areas, water bodies and air, for years". Periodic disasters, no action "In the last two decades since the notification was first introduced, the problem of fly ash has escalated. The subsequent notifications have allowed violations which have led to fly ash breach accidents and the regulatory authorities are clueless on how to handle it," said Shweta Narayan, an environmental justice activist and campaigner for climate and health with Health Care Without Harm in India. In June 2021, a fly ash breach accident was reported in Chattisgarh's Korba thermal power plant, said Savita Rath, a local activist and lawyer. "Only three plants--Jindal's Raigarh power plant, Korba West plant and DB power plant--have ponds to dispose of ash. So many other plants in Chhattisgarh don't have any mechanism in place. And, even in these ponds, ash is piled up like small hills. Is there no limit to how much one can accumulate in the ponds?" Earlier, in April 2020, the wall of the Reliance Thermal Plant's ash pond in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh collapsed claiming at least two lives, destroying agricultural land and contaminating groundwater. The Singrauli region houses 10 thermal power plants. It is a preferred industrial location because it offers easy access to coal and water from the nearby Rihand reservoir. In the last two years alone, four of the eight major ash pond breach incidents took place in the region. Note: *This is different from one-time breaches at other power plants; a continuous overflow of ash slurry from the plant's ash pond directly into Rihand reservoir has been reported over many years. "Around six months before the collapse of the [ash pond] wall, local villagers and gram panchayat members had protested and warned that the wall of the pond could collapse anytime," said Sandeep Sahu, a local activist, on the Reliance Plant accident. "This was [the result of] long-term negligence." The district collector's office had also warned plant officials about the precariousness of the ash dyke but no action was taken, said a Newsclick report. Truant units undeterred by strictures Since 2013, Supreme Court advocate and environmentalist Ashwani Kumar Dubey has filed several petitions in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on fly ash disposal in the Rihand reservoir. All the thermal plants in the region are located on the banks of the reservoir, he told IndiaSpend. "The reservoir is the only source of drinking water for the people of Singrauli and Sonbhadra districts and the entire water body has been contaminated, making it unfit for consumption," Dubey said. In several cases, the NGT has reprimanded plant authorities but that does not appear to work as a deterrent. The North Chennai Thermal Power Plant is a case in point. The litigation on ash slurry leaks has been going on for years. In 2017, the NGT had warned the plant of total closure if it failed to contain the discharge. In January 2020, the tribunal even imposed a penalty of Rs 8.34 crore. Despite this, the pollution continues. Fly ash transportation is also hazardous. India exports large quantities of fly ash to Bangladesh, where it is used to make cement and it is transported through the Sundarbans by barges. Five incidents of capsizing of such barges occurred in 2020, according to the reply to a Right-to-Information request filed by the Manthan Adhyayan Kendra. "Containing the spread of pollutants is more difficult in the water and when combined with heavy rains or cyclones, it is dispersed to a longer and wider stretch of the water bodies," Avli Verma, an analyst at the Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, told IndiaSpend. There are no studies in the public domain to assess the damage caused by fly ash to water bodies in various accidents. We reached out to the Inland Waterways Authority of India on whether any damage assessment is undertaken when fly ash barrages capsize. We will update when we receive a response. Deemed non-hazardous waste In 2000, the ministry reclassified fly ash as solid waste from "hazardous industrial waste", and put it in the same category as household waste. As solid waste, fly ash is subject to different and far less stringent regulations on how it should be handled unlike hazardous waste, said Narayan of Health Care Without Harm. Since 2009, the Expert Appraisal Committee--which assesses the environmental impact of a project for the MoEFCC--has been directing plant authorities to not dispose of ash in low-lying areas in their environment clearance conditions (see here, here and here). However, the 2019 office memorandum by the ministry deleted this condition with retrospective effect. In the case of Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Ltd Plant in Ghatampur, Kanpur Nagar, the environment clearance directed the plant authorities to put in place mechanisms for the continuous monitoring of radioactivity and heavy metals in fly ash. "None of the orders have been complied [with]. The state agencies are also in denial mode," said SC advocate Dubey. He approached the Supreme Court on non-compliance in the Rihand reservoir case, but the matter is pending because of the ongoing pandemic. The NGT has been imposing penalties on erring plants in several cases but it does not factor in the ongoing contamination and the damage this causes to the lives and livelihoods of those living in the vicinity and to its long-term ecological impact, Choudhary said. Fears over increased coal production Over the years, with an increase in power generation, India has been seeing an increase in coal ash generation. As the amount of fly ash increased, the environment ministry brought in, as we said, several notifications and amendments to the notifications aiming to achieve 100% utilisation of fly ash within a specified deadline. "Utilisation targets are difficult to achieve," said Dharmadhikary of the Manthan Adhyayan Kendra. Legacy ash--unused over years--and the freshly generated ash piles up in ash ponds or open fields. Without adequate legal action against violators and weak compliance, breaches will continue undeterred, said activists. With the opening up of the coal sector for commercial mining by private players in 2018, and with reduced oversight, there will be further increase in ash generation, it is feared.

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వాతావరణంలో మార్పులు గరుడవేగంతో సంభవిస్తున్నాయి. ధరిత్రిని దహించివేసి, మానవ మనుగడను అసాధ్యం చేసే వైపరీత్య ప్రభావాలు ఇప్పుడే కానవస్తున్నాయి. అవును, వాతావరణ మార్పు ఒక తిరుగులేని వాస్తవం. స్వయంకృతంతో మనం ఒక మహాముప్పునకు సమీపంలో ఉన్నాం. ఐక్యరాజ్యసమితి ఆధ్వర్యంలోని ‘ఇంటర్ గవర్నమెంటల్ ప్యానెల్ ఆన్ క్లైమేట్ చేంజ్’ (ఐపీసీసీ) తాజా నివేదిక ఈ కఠోరసత్యాన్ని మరింత స్పష్టంగా చెప్పింది. దావానలాలు, వరదలు, తుఫానులు ఇత్యాది ప్రాకృతిక విపత్తులన్నీ వాతావరణ మార్పులను ధ్రువీకరిస్తున్నాయని ఐపీసీసీ ఘంటాపథంగా చెప్పింది. ఆ భయానక భవిష్యత్తు రేపో, మాపో కాదు ఇప్పుడే, ఇక్కడే ఉంది. లేదని పొరపడవద్దు. ‘బహుశా’లకు ఇంకెంతమాత్రం ఆస్కారం లేదు. స్థిమితంగా ఉండడానికి వీలు లేదు. నిమ్మళంగా వ్యవహరించడం వినాశనాన్ని కొని తెచ్చుకోవడమే అవుతుంది. నిజమైన, అర్థవంతమైన కార్యాచరణకు మనం తక్షణమే, భావవేగంతో పూనుకోవాలి. ఐపీసీసీ నివేదిక ఇదే కర్తవ్యాన్ని చెప్పకనే నిర్దేశించింది. కాలుష్యకారక వాయువుల ఉద్గారాలను నియంత్రించకపోతే 2040 సంవత్సరం నాటికే ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా ఉష్ణోగ్రతలు 1850–1900 సంవ త్సరాల మధ్య ఉన్న స్థాయిలను మించి 1.5డిగ్రీల సెల్సియస్‌కు పెరిగిపోతాయని ఐపీసీసీ నివేదిక పేర్కొన్న మొదటి ముఖ్యాంశం. ప్రస్తుత ఉష్ణోగ్రతల పెరుగుదల పారిశ్రామిక విప్లవకాలం స్థాయికి 1.09డిగ్రీల సెల్సియస్ మాత్రమే అధికం. అయినప్పటికీ ఈ అధిక ఉష్ణోగత్రలు ఎంత వినాశనం సృష్టిస్తున్నాయో మనకు తెలుసు. కనుక ఇప్పుడు ముంచుకొస్తున్న ప్రమాదం ఎంత తీవ్రమైనదో మనం తక్షణమే అర్థం చేసుకోవాలి. మానవచర్యల మూలంగానే వాతావరణ మార్పులు సంభవిస్తున్నాయని చెప్పేందుకు ఐపీసీసీ శాస్త్రవేత్తలు ఏమాత్రం వెనుకాడడం లేదు. ఇది వారి నివేదికలోని రెండో ముఖ్యాంశం. ఇంతవరకు మనం ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా తరచు వాటిల్లుతున్న ప్రాకృతిక వైపరీత్యాలపరంగా వాతావరణ మార్పులను అవగతం చేసుకునేవాళ్ళం. అయితే ఇప్పుడు కెనడాలో వడగాడ్పులు, గ్రీస్‌లో దావానలాలు, జర్మనీలో వరదలు సంభవించడంలో వాతావరణ మార్పులు నిర్వహిస్తున్న పాత్ర సమగ్రంగా అర్థమవుతోంది. కనుక ఈ మార్పులు ఒక తిరుగులేని వాస్తవమనే సత్యాన్ని ఇప్పుడిక కొట్టివేయలేం. ధరిత్రిని విషవాయువుల ఉద్గారాల నుంచి కాపాడుకోవడంలో మనం ఇంకెంత మాత్రం సముద్రాలు, అడవులు, నేలల మొదలైన ప్రాకృతిక వ్యవస్థలపై ఆధారపడలేం. ఈ దృష్ట్యా ప్రపంచ దేశాలు తమ ‘నెట్ జీరో’ ప్రణాళికలపై పునరాలోచన చేయవలసి ఉంది (మానవచర్యల మూలంగా ఉత్పన్నమవుతున్న హరిత గృహవాయువుల పరిమాణం, వాతావరణం నుంచి మనం తొలగిస్తున్న ఆ వాయువుల పరిమాణం మధ్య సమతుల్యతను నెట్ జీరో సూచిస్తుంది). కాలుష్యకారక వాయువుల ఉద్గారాలను, వాటిని శోషించుకోవడంలో అడవుల, సముద్రాల, నేలల; నిరోధించడంలో అధునాతన సాంకేతికతల శక్తి సామర్థ్యాల కంటే తక్కువస్థాయిలో ఉంచుతామనే లక్ష్యాన్ని వివిధదేశాలు నిర్దేశించుకున్నాయి. ఈ లక్ష్యాన్ని 2050నాటికి సాధిస్తామని అమెరికా, 2060నాటికి సాధిస్తామని చైనా హామీ ఇచ్చాయి. అయితే ఆలోగానే అంటే 2040లోగానే ఉష్ణోగ్రతల పెరుగుదల ప్రమాదకర పరిమితులను అధిగమించనున్నదని ఐపీసీసీ నివేదిక హెచ్చరించింది. కొవిడ్ మహమ్మారితో అతలాకుతలమైన ప్రపంచ ఆర్థికవ్యవస్థలు కోలుకోవడానికి చేస్తున్న ప్రయత్నాలతో హరిత గృహవాయువుల (జీహెచ్‌జీ) ఉద్గారాలు మరింతగా పెరిగిపోయే ప్రమాదముందనేది ఎవరూ విస్మరించలేని వాస్తవం. 2010 నాటి ఆ ఉద్గారాల స్థాయిలో, 45 నుంచి 50శాతం మేరకు తగ్గుదలను 2030 సంవత్సరం నాటికి సాధించి తీరాలి. ఇది జరిగినప్పుడు మాత్రమే 2050 సంవత్సరం నాటికి నెట్ జీరో లక్ష్యాల సాధన సాధ్యమవుతుంది. అంటే మానవాళి ముందున్నది ఒక బృహత్తర కర్తవ్యం. వాతావరణ మార్పులకు అత్యధికంగా కారణమవుతున్న దేశాలలో అమెరికా, చైనా అగ్రస్థానంలో ఉన్నాయి. ప్రపంచ వార్షిక జీహెచ్‌జీ ఉద్గారాలలో సగభాగానికి ఈ రెండు దేశాలే కారణమని శాస్త్రవేత్తలు నిర్ధారించారు. 1870 నుంచి 2019 వరకు వాతావరణంలోకి విడుదలయిన మొత్తం హరిత గృహవాయువుల ఉద్గారాలలో 60శాతానికి అమెరికా, 27 దేశాల యూరోపియన్ యూనియన్, రష్యా, బ్రిటన్, జపాన్, చైనా పుణ్యమే. మరి భారత్ విషయమేమిటి? ప్రపంచ అగ్రగామి ఆర్థికవ్యవస్థగా ఆవిర్భవించాలని ఆరాటపడుతున్న మనదేశం వార్షిక కర్బన ఉద్గారాలలో ప్రపంచంలో మూడో స్థానంలో ఉంది. అయితే ఆ ఉద్గారాల పరిమాణం చాలా స్వల్పమైనది. 1870 నుంచి 2019 దాకా ప్రపంచ కర్బన ఉద్గారాలలో మన దేశం వాటా కేవలం 3శాతం మాత్రమే. ఆ కారణంగా వాతావరణ మార్పులను నిరోధించడంలో మనదేశం పాల్గొనవలసిన పని లేదని ఎవరైనా భావిస్తే అది పెద్ద పొరపాటు అవుతుంది. మన ప్రయోజనాల పరిరక్షణ కోసం ఆ మార్పులను అరికట్టడానికి శీఘ్రగతిన, పెద్దఎత్తున పటిష్ఠచర్యలు చేపట్టాలి. ఇప్పటికే అతివృష్టి, వరదలు, ఉష్ణోగ్రతల పెరుగుదల, మేఘాల విస్ఫోటం మొదలైన వాటి రూపేణా మన ప్రజలను వాతావరణ మార్పులు నానా వెతలపాలు చేస్తున్నాయి. కార్బన్ డై ఆక్సైడ్ ఉద్గారాలను తగ్గించే విషయంలో మనకు ఉన్న బాధ్యత స్వల్పమైనదే. అయితే ఆ స్వల్ప బాధ్యతను నిర్వర్తించేందుకు మనం చెప్పుకోదగిన స్థాయిలో చర్యలు తీసుకోవడం లేదన్నది ఒక నిష్ఠురసత్యం. ఇది మన శ్రేయస్సుకు తోడ్పడదు. వాతావరణ మార్పుల్ని అరికట్టేందుకు సమర్థమైన ప్రభావశీలమైన ప్రపంచ నాయకత్వం అవసరం. ఈ నాయకత్వం ఎంత దుర్బలంగా ఉందో కొవిడ్ వాక్సిన్ల విషయంలోనే తేలి పోయింది. ప్రపంచంలో ప్రతి ఒక్కరికీ కొవిడ్ వాక్సిన్లను అందుబాటులో ఉంచే విషయంలో ఈ నాయకత్వం ఘోర వైఫల్యం చెందింది. కరోనా విలయం వలే వాతావరణ మార్పు కూడా ఒక విశ్వవిపత్తు. మానవాళి ఈ ఆపదను సమష్టిగా ఎదుర్కోవాలి. సమస్త దేశాల కోసం ఒక్కదేశం నిలవకపోయినా, ఒక్కదేశం కోసం సమస్త దేశాలు నిలవకపోయినా ఎవరికీ మేలు జరగదు. కరోనా వైరస్ వలే వాతావరణ మార్పు కూడా ఒక గొప్ప సమానీకరణ శక్తి. ఈ ప్రచండ ప్రాకృతిక మార్పులు ధనిక–-పేద అంతరాలకు అతీతమైనవి. ఈ వాస్తవం దృష్ట్యా వాతావరణ మార్పులపై సమస్త మానవాళి సమష్టిగా పోరాడాలి. శాస్త్రవేత్తలు సత్యాన్ని ఆవిష్కరించారు. ఇప్పుడు ఆ హానికర మార్పులకు వ్యతిరేకంగా సమరస్థాయిలో కార్యాచరణకు మనం తక్షణమే పూనుకోవాలి.

8 trees felled daily on avg in last 5 years: RTI reply

New Delhi: Eight trees were on average cut every day in Delhi for the past five years—from August 2016 to August 2021—an RTI reply has revealed. The reply states a total of 15,090 trees were cut in the city over the past five years for various projects, which included permission given to individuals and state and central agencies for their projects. Environmental activist Vikrant Tongad, who filed the RTI, says each tree can fulfill the oxygen needs of around four people. Saplings planted for compensatory afforestation take several years before they grow into adult trees again. “The data fetched has a list of trees for which permission was given. However, a large number of trees are cut illegally for which there is no data available and hence, the actual impact on Delhi’s greenery would be much more,” said Tongad, stating the survival rate of saplings planted as part of compensatory plantation also needed to be monitored. While Tongad had filed his RTI application in 2018, he said he was able to receive the reply only on Wednesday. “This is the latest data provided by the Delhi government’s forest and wildlife department and pertains to the last five years,” said the activist. A senior forest and wildlife official said the figure of 15,000 trees was a conservative one for a city having a green cover of nearly 25 per cent. “Over five years, this figure is fairly low and largely includes permissions for projects wherein tree felling was inevitable. These are largely public projects for the larger benefit of the citizens of Delhi,” said the official, stating permission was given to several projects, including NHAI projects, NBCC projects and DMRC work. A five-member Supreme Court-appointed committee had earlier this year stated the value of a tree to be Rs 74,500 that increases with its age. This included the costs of generating oxygen and other benefits to the overall ecosystem. Trees over 100 years old were said to have an economical value of more than Rs 1 crore. The committee consisted of expert members Soham Pandya, B K Maji, Niranjita Mitra, N K Mukarji and Sunita Narain. 8 trees felled daily on avg in last 5 years: RTI reply Aug 19, 2021, 04.46 AM IST New Delhi: Eight trees were on average cut every day in Delhi for the past five years—from August 2016 to August 2021—an RTI reply has revealed. The reply states a total of 15,090 trees were cut in the city over the past five years for various projects, which included permission given to individuals and state and central agencies for their projects. Environmental activist Vikrant Tongad, who filed the RTI, says each tree can fulfill the oxygen needs of around four people. Saplings planted for compensatory afforestation take several years before they grow into adult trees again. “The data fetched has a list of trees for which permission was given. However, a large number of trees are cut illegally for which there is no data available and hence, the actual impact on Delhi’s greenery would be much more,” said Tongad, stating the survival rate of saplings planted as part of compensatory plantation also needed to be monitored. While Tongad had filed his RTI application in 2018, he said he was able to receive the reply only on Wednesday. “This is the latest data provided by the Delhi government’s forest and wildlife department and pertains to the last five years,” said the activist. Congratulations! You have successfully cast your vote A senior forest and wildlife official said the figure of 15,000 trees was a conservative one for a city having a green cover of nearly 25 per cent. “Over five years, this figure is fairly low and largely includes permissions for projects wherein tree felling was inevitable. These are largely public projects for the larger benefit of the citizens of Delhi,” said the official, stating permission was given to several projects, including NHAI projects, NBCC projects and DMRC work. A five-member Supreme Court-appointed committee had earlier this year stated the value of a tree to be Rs 74,500 that increases with its age. This included the costs of generating oxygen and other benefits to the overall ecosystem. Trees over 100 years old were said to have an economical value of more than Rs 1 crore. The committee consisted of expert members Soham Pandya, B K Maji, Niranjita Mitra, N K Mukarji and Sunita Narain. According to the latest India State of Forest Report released in 2019, Delhi’s green cover stood at 21.9% (324 sqkm in area). In 2017, it stood at 20.6%, or 305.4 sqkm of the total area of Delhi.

जांच के बिना सरकार की पाम तेल योजना आपदा का कारण बन सकती है

मलेशिया और इंडोनेशिया जैसे उत्पादकों पर विनाशकारी प्रभावों का हवाला देते हुए विशेषज्ञों ने कहा है कि पारिस्थितिक रूप से संवेदनशील क्षेत्रों में घरेलू पाम तेल उत्पादन का विस्तार करने के लिए केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडल द्वारा मंजूरी दी गई योजना पर्यावरण के लिए खतरनाक हो सकती है। ताड़ का तेल सबसे सस्ता खाद्य तेल है, जिसका इस्तेमाल ब्रेड से लेकर पिज्जा तक ज्यादातर खाद्य पदार्थों में किया जाता है। हाल के महीनों में, वैश्विक कीमतें बहु-वर्षीय शिखर पर पहुंच गई हैं, जिससे सरकार को वसा को सस्ती बनाने के लिए आयात शुल्क में कटौती करने के लिए मजबूर होना पड़ा है। खाद्य तेलों के आयात पर भारत की बढ़ती निर्भरता को कम करने के लिए, सरकार ने बुधवार को “नेशनल मिशन ऑन एडिबल ऑयल्स – ऑयल पाम (NMEO-OP)” आवंटित करने को मंजूरी दे दी। ₹इसके लिए 11,040 करोड़ रुपये। कार्यक्रम अंडमान और निकोबार द्वीप समूह के अलावा पूर्वोत्तर क्षेत्रों में वृक्षारोपण को बढ़ावा देना चाहता है। प्रधान मंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने ट्विटर पर कार्यक्रम को “गेम-चेंजर” कहा। तिलहन फसलों के विपरीत खाद्य तेल बागान, प्राकृतिक उष्णकटिबंधीय वनों की जगह लेते हैं, जिससे जैव विविधता घटती है। सुमात्रा, बोर्नियो और मलय प्रायद्वीप के वन क्षेत्रों में पर्यावरणीय मामले के अध्ययन – जो वैश्विक ताड़ के तेल का 90% उत्पादन करते हैं – ने पाया है कि व्यावसायिक खेती ने प्राचीन जंगलों के स्वाथों को नष्ट कर दिया था, वन्यजीवों को वनमानुष से लेकर पक्षियों तक का सफाया कर दिया था। अधिकारियों ने कहा कि वे स्थिरता के मुद्दों के बारे में “जागरूक” थे। मामले की जानकारी रखने वाले एक अधिकारी ने कहा, “योजना के गैर-वित्तीय पहलू उन्हें संबोधित करेंगे।” लेकिन विवरण नहीं दिया क्योंकि इन्हें ठीक किया जा रहा था। टिकाऊ कृषि पर एक शीर्ष विशेषज्ञ ने कहा कि स्थायी ताड़ के तेल को उगाना संभव है, लेकिन कुछ सख्त मानदंडों का पालन करने की आवश्यकता होगी, जिसे उन्होंने कहा कि उन्हें सरकार की योजना में देखने की उम्मीद है। भारत वनस्पति तेलों का दुनिया का सबसे बड़ा आयातक बन गया है, जो सबसे आम व्यंजन पकाने के लिए एक आधार सामग्री है। देश अपनी घरेलू मांग का दो-तिहाई हिस्सा आयात के जरिए पूरा करता है। 2020-21 में, भारत ने 5.8 बिलियन डॉलर के कच्चे और रिफाइंड पाम तेल दोनों का आयात किया। कच्चे तेल और सोने के बाद खाद्य तेल देश का तीसरा सबसे अधिक मूल्य वाला आयात है। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट की अनुमिता रॉय चौधरी ने कहा, “पर्यावरणीय प्रभाव, विशेष रूप से पारिस्थितिक रूप से संवेदनशील क्षेत्रों में, एक बड़ी चिंता है।” “हम अभी तक नहीं जानते हैं कि योजना को कैसे लागू किया जाएगा। इसे उन्हीं मजबूत सुरक्षा उपायों की आवश्यकता होगी जो आवश्यक और अच्छी तरह से पहचाने जाते हैं। ” सेंटर फॉर सस्टेनेबल एग्रीकल्चर के जीवी रामंजनेयुलु ने कहा कि भारत की उष्णकटिबंधीय जलवायु ताड़ के तेल के बागानों के लिए अच्छी तरह से अनुकूल है, जो पीट मिट्टी पर पनपते हैं। तेल में स्वस्थ असंतृप्त वसा और विटामिन होते हैं, हालांकि इसमें अस्वास्थ्यकर संतृप्त वसा का अपना हिस्सा होता है। संतुलित आहार के हिस्से के रूप में इसका सेवन हृदय के लिए अस्वस्थ नहीं होना चाहिए। ताड़ के तेल, एक बारहमासी फसल, नारियल की तुलना में प्रति एकड़ अधिक तेल पैदा करती है, लेकिन इसके लिए तीन गुना पानी की आवश्यकता होती है। इसलिए, भूजल निकासी से बचने के लिए इसे बरसात के क्षेत्रों में उगाया जाना चाहिए। “तीन या चार जमीनी नियम हैं। वर्षावन बिल्कुल नो-गो जोन होने चाहिए। खेत की खेती और मिट्टी प्रबंधन करें। खरपतवारनाशी से बचें और मोनोक्रॉपिंग की अनुमति न दें। वृक्षारोपण के भीतर अन्य फसलें उगाएं,” रामंजनेयुलु ने कहा। “यह वैश्विक लाभ प्रदान कर सकता है यदि इसे स्थायी रूप से उगाया जाए, अन्यथा देश को आपदा का सामना करना पड़ सकता है।” नई योजना में 2025-26 तक ताड़ के तेल के तहत अतिरिक्त 0.65 मिलियन हेक्टेयर लाने का लक्ष्य रखा गया है, जो वर्तमान में 0.3 मिलियन हेक्टेयर से बढ़कर एक मिलियन हेक्टेयर तक पहुंच जाएगा। इसके परिणामस्वरूप कच्चे पाम तेल का उत्पादन 2025-26 तक 11 लाख टन और 2029-30 तक 28 लाख टन तक बढ़ जाएगा, जैसा कि ऊपर उद्धृत अधिकारी ने कहा। यह योजना प्रत्यक्ष लाभ हस्तांतरण के रूप में सीधे किसानों के खातों में भुगतान करके उत्पादकों को अंतरराष्ट्रीय मूल्य अस्थिरता से बचाने के लिए व्यवहार्यता अंतर निधि प्रदान करती है। रॉय चौधरी जैसे पर्यावरण विशेषज्ञों ने अंडमान के भारतीय द्वीपसमूह में ताड़ के तेल के लापरवाह विस्तार के बारे में आगाह किया। रामंजनेयुलु ने कहा कि आर्द्र और बरसाती अंडमान पाम तेल उगाने के लिए एक अच्छी जगह है बशर्ते वर्षावनों को छुआ न जाए।

हमारे ग्रह को सुरक्षित रखने में मीडिया की बड़ी भूमिका- नवीन पटनायक

ओडिशा के मुख्यमंत्री नवीन पटनायक ने बुधवार को कहा कि मीडिया अपनी व्यापक पहुंच के साथ सकारात्मक प्रभाव पैदा कर सकता है और हमारे ग्रह की रक्षा के लिए सक्रिय कदम उठाने के लिए जनता को जुटा सकता है। संवाद समूह के 'संवाद डिजिटल' और 'पुनश्चा पृथ्वी' अभियान की लॉन्चिंग के अवसर पर वर्चुअल संवाद करते पटनायक ने कहा कि डिजिटल मीडिया तेजी से विकसित हो रहा है और समाचार प्रसार के तरीके को बदल रहा है। उन्होंने कहा कि ग्रह को सुरक्षित रखने के लिए जागरूकता बढ़ाने में मीडिया की बड़ी भूमिका है। उन्होंने कहा कि जलवायु परिवर्तन के कारण उत्पन्न प्रकृति की अनियमितताओं से ओड़िशा अछूता नहीं है। हालांकि राज्य ने अपनी व्यापक और गहन आपदा प्रबंधन रणनीतियों के साथ दुनिया के सामने उदाहरण पेश किया है। वहीं केंद्रीय शिक्षा और कौशल विकास मंत्री धर्मेंद प्रधान ने कहा कि डिजिटल तकनीक निकट भविष्य में और अधिक ऊंचाइयों को छुएगी, उन्होंने कहा कि जिस तरह से राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति (NEP) 2020 ने डिजिटलीकरण की कल्पना की है, वह भाषा की बाधाओं को भी दूर करेगी। इस अवसर पर केंद्रीय पर्यावरण, वन और जलवायु परिवर्तन मंत्री भूपेंद्र यादव ने कहा कि केंद्र देश के जैव ईंधन के उत्पादन को बढ़ाने और वृक्षों के आवरण को 24 प्रतिशत तक बढ़ाने की दिशा में काम कर रहा है। इस अवसर पर प्रख्यात पर्यावरणविद् और विज्ञान और पर्यावरण केंद्र (सीएसई) की महानिदेशक सुनीता नारायण ने जलवायु परिवर्तन से निपटने के लिए तत्काल कदम उठाने का आह्वान किया। इस अवसर पर केंद्रीय पर्यावरण, वन और जलवायु परिवर्तन मंत्री भूपेंद्र यादव ने कहा कि केंद्र देश के जैव ईंधन के उत्पादन को बढ़ाने और वृक्षों के आवरण को 24 प्रतिशत तक बढ़ाने की दिशा में काम कर रहा है। इस अवसर पर प्रख्यात पर्यावरणविद् और विज्ञान और पर्यावरण केंद्र (सीएसई) की महानिदेशक सुनीता नारायण ने जलवायु परिवर्तन से निपटने के लिए तत्काल कदम उठाने का आह्वान किया।

All you need to know about net zero emissions

The idea of net zero emissions has got a lot of traction among global climate negotiators over the last year and some agreement on it is expected at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November. All major economies have announced net zero targets The idea of net zero emissions has got a lot of traction among global climate negotiators over the last year and some agreement on it is expected at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November. All major economies have announced net zero targets. Here is all you need to know about the concept and what it means for India: What is net zero? It is primarily carbon neutrality. It means the aggregate carbon emissions of a country should be zero on a given date. If a country emits a certain amount of carbon every year, it will have to offset it through forest absorption or carbon capturing or buying carbon credits. In a way, a country can achieve negative emissions, if removal and absorption exceed the actual emissions. Bhutan and Suriname are the only two countries in the world whose net emissions are less than carbon absorption capability because of their green cover and very little population. How is net zero different from emission reduction? Earlier, the discussions focussed on emission-reduction targets by 2050 or 2070 for rich countries, whose unregulated emissions over several decades are responsible for global warming and consequent climate crisis. In recent years, there has been a realisation that emission reduction will not work, and countries will have to work towards carbon neutrality. The net zero formulation does not assign any emission reduction targets to any country. It aims at aggregate zero emission levels. From the perspective of the developed world, it is a big relief because now the burden of climate change mitigation is shared by every country. What is the net zero campaign about? An aggressive campaign has been going on for the past two years for every country to assign a net zero target year. The argument is that net zero is mandatory to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement target of not allowing the planet’s temperature to rise beyond two degrees Celsius by the turn of the century. The concept got a fillip with Joe Biden’s election as the US president and the appointment of John Kerry as his special climate envoy. Kerry has visited over 30 countries since March pushing for a net zero goal. He is keen to have an agreement on net zero at Glasgow. What did Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say about net zero? The IPCC in its Physical Science Basis report released on August 9 said that reaching net zero for greenhouse gas emissions is a requirement to stabilise human-induced global temperature at any level. This was for the first time that net zero got scientific backing with IPCC projecting the impact of net zero in different scenarios. The report outlined the impact of net zero on global warming. It said the temperature rise can be restricted to 1.5 degree if net zero concept is enforced in the next five to 10 years. The report said the planet can achieve net zero to stop global warming despite certain modelling limitations such as permafrost thaw (pace of melting of ice sheets). The IPCC report went beyond net zero saying the world needs to aim for negative carbon emissions by the turn of the century to overcome the adverse impact of global warming. How many countries have committed to net zero? To date, 137 of 192 countries that are part of the UN Climate Convention and representing 80% of global emissions have committed to net zero emissions targets. They include the world’s two largest emitters – the US and China. The third biggest emitter, India, is yet to announce a net zero target year. China has a net zero target of 2060. Germany and Sweden have opted for 2045; Iceland and Austria 2040; Finland 2035; and Uruguay 2030. Most countries including the US have opted for 2050. Six countries have brought laws to achieve the target while the rest have pronounced so through policy documents. Why is the West keen on this concept? Climate experts cite two reasons for it. First, most of the western world, especially Europe, has moved away from fossil fuel to a cleaner and greener economy. Therefore, for them, to meet the net zero target would not be very investment intensive. According to International Energy Agency, the dependence of Europe on fossil fuels was less than 50%. Many other north European countries have good forest cover, which acts as carbon sink. The concept also provides a huge business opportunity as patents of a majority of cleaner and greener efficient technologies are with the western countries. “In a way, the West is equipped to earn huge from the green transition business,” said Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment. This is seen as a probable reason why Kerry and Glasgow Climate Summit president and UK environment minister Alok Sharma have been nudging India to stipulate a net zero year. Why is India opposing the idea? India believes that agreeing to net zero would slow down its economic growth and hamper its poverty alleviation programmes. It also believes that net zero negates the concept of common but differentiated responsibility of the UN Climate Convention to deal with the climate crisis. For India, rich countries have to share the burden for historical emissions and not the developing world which is not responsible for climate crisis. In net zero, every country has an equal responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is not equitable. net zero will impact India’s use of coal for electricity. As of now, thermal power contributes 60% of India’s needs. It is a reason why India is able to provide affordable electricity to most. India has said that net zero is not possible without the transfer of clean technology patents to the developing and underdeveloped world to help them faster transition to a cleaner economy. It also claims the Green Climate Fund set up in 2016 with a promise to share green technologies with the developing world has not been able to do much as the rich countries have not provided the promised US$ 100 billion by 2020. India has acknowledged that it would not be able to avoid net zero for long. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced Indian railways will achieve net zero by 2050, the country’s first carbon-neutral declaration. Will the world reach an agreement on net zero at Glasgow? Reaching an agreement on net zero would be difficult but not impossible, considering that so many countries have agreed to it. Most climate negotiators have said a roadmap for reaching an agreement on net zero is likely to be laid if it is not reached. Most experts believe that an agreement is possible in 2024 when climate mitigation targets under the Paris accord are to be reviewed. If there is an agreement, then the countries would have to provide a roadmap to achieve a net zero target, which could be audited and reviewed. What next? After net zero, the world will look at negative carbon emissions. The IPCC has presented a scenario for the same in its recent report.

Why the Global South needs birds and bees more than the North?

Synopsis: World’s biodiversity is facing a risk from reduction of pollinators such as bees, butterflies, birds, bats, etc. It is believed that the risk is greater for most of the developing world. A brief look. Context A recent study on the causes and effects of the dramatic decline of pollinators has raised concerns for Africa, the Asia-Pacific and Latin America. List of Contents Context Concerns Causes behind pollinator decline Significance of the findings Importance of pollinators Way forward Source: Down to Earth Relevance: Implications of the decline in pollinator population Concerns On livelihood– Declining population of pollinators can impact the livelihoods of rural population. On yield from crops– Yield of pollinator-dependent crops is becoming unstable and categorized as “serious” in South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania while it is “moderate” in Europe and North America. Threat of extinction– Around 40% of the invertebrate pollinator species, particularly bees and butterflies, face extinction across the world as per report by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) On nutrition– it can affect nutrition and livelihood of the people since pollinated crops are of notable nutritional and economic value to livelihoods and well-being On ecosystem services– that provide food and wellbeing to millions, particularly in the Global South are threatened by this declining trend Global risk– Reduction in the quantity or quality of food, fibre, fuel or seed that can be produced as a result of pollinator loss, is another global risk

Pullution control boards lacking transparency, new study finds

Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has released a study assessing how transparent state pollution control boards (PCBs) are, in terms of putting out environmental and governance information into the public domain. The study titled TRANSPARENCY INDEX: Rating of Pollution Control Boards on Public Disclosure assessed the data disclosure performance of 29 PCBs and six pollution control committees (PCCs) from across the country. Overall, in terms of solid waste, 14 SPCBs/PCCs do not share any information on municipal waste generation; 11 on plastic waste generation; 10 on hazardous waste; and nine on e-waste. Regarding MSW, it has been observed that out of 34 states, 17 have shared information on total solid waste generation, collection and treatment—Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Punjab, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Arunachal Pradesh has shared information on solid waste generation and collection, while Manipur and Tripura have shared information only on solid waste generation. However, no initiative has been taken by 14 SPCBs/PCCs—Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Daman Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand—for sharing municipal solid waste information on their websites. As per the CSE report, municipalities do not keep/maintain regular data on waste generation and its composition, which is one of the reasons for unavailability of municipal solid waste information on websites. Highlights of the CSE Report: Report assesses how actively boards display and disclose key environment and governance-related information in the public domain CSE has rated 35 pollution control boards and committees based on information furnished in the public domain under 25 parameters- only 17 have scored grades above 50 percent Report also highlights a lack of uniformity in the display of the available information

How transparent are India’s pollution control boards?

What is the News? The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has released the report titled ‘Transparency Index — Rating of Pollution Control Boards on Public Disclosure’. About CSE Transparency Index: The index assessed the data disclosure performance of 29 state pollution control boards and six pollution control committees from across the country. The study has evaluated the information shared by SPCBs/PCCs during the last four to five years (2016-21) and uses 25 indicators that provide a broader assessment of the type and amount of information shared. A few key indicators used in the study include the availability of information on public hearings, non-attainment cities among others. Key Findings of the Transparency Index: Data Disclosure: Most of the State Pollution Control Boards(SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees(PCCs) are non-transparent when it comes to sharing information with the public. Out of 29 boards, only 17 boards and committees scored 50% or above. The pollution control boards of Odisha and Telangana were the top performers and had scored 67% in transparency. Limited data on current pollution levels: Data indicating that the current pollution levels – air pollutants, waste etc – and the basic indicators of environmental health are missing. Most boards display inadequate data, indicating no trends. Information on the compliance status of industries: One of the serious drawbacks found during the review of annual reports is the lack of information on the compliance status of industries under various acts and rules. The index also mentions serious non-transparency regarding the information on public hearings, Board meetings also. Annual Reports: No initiative has been taken by 11 SPCBs and PCCs of the following states and Union territories in sharing their annual reports Recommendations of the Transparency Index: There should be a uniform format for presenting annual reports and sharing information on websites. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) should come up with a website format for the SPCBs / PCCs and guidelines for framing annual reports CPCB should come up with a website format for all SPCBs / PCCs for uploading information about the compliance history of industries at least for the grossly polluting. All SPCBs must share Public hearing information online. Information related to waste management should be made available on the websites of the pollution control bodies.

Kerala PCB reluctant to put info in public domain: Study

Kochi: A majority of India’s pollution control agencies remain closed entities when it comes to sharing information with the public. A new rating study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has found that a mere handful of India’s pollution control boards (PCBs) and authorities are adequately putting out environmental and governance information into the public domain through their websites. Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh boards have been rated as the most transparent among 35 such organisations studied. The Kerala state pollution control board (KSPCB) does not perform well in many of the 25 parameters that were used to measure their transparency in a five-year period of 2016-2020. However, it has a total score of 56.3%, with the toppers — Odisha and Telangana — at 67%, followed by Tamil Nadu at 65%. “Kerala PCB does not put out its orders against polluting industries in the public domain. As for its annual reports, we didn’t see any online, except 2013-14,” said Shreya Verma, programme officer-CSE and author of the study. For this study, CSE collected data from two sources — websites of SPCBs/PCCs and their annual reports. A few key indicators used in the study include the availability of information on direction/show-cause/closure notices issued by boards, information on public hearings and EIA reports, non-attainment cities and polluted river stretches, etc,” she said. One of these functions under Section 17(C) of the Air and Water Acts is to collect and disseminate information related to air and water pollution and also about its prevention, control or abatement. The law asks the boards to share the data in the public domain. But this is rarely done in practice. Most boards have been protective of industries polluting the environment. Of the 35 SPCBs, only five — J&K, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand and West Bengal — have shared soft copies of directions and show-cause/closure notices issued on their websites. Only five boards — Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Tripura and Uttarakhand — have shared minutes of their board meetings on their websites. Nine SPCBs/PCCs — Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Goa and Mizoram — have provided detailed information on public hearings, which includes the executive summary, draft EIA report of the project, and minutes of the meeting. However, Kerala PCB scored good points for displaying their CEMS data. The study found huge laxity in sharing information on solid waste. “The study also found a lack of uniformity in displaying data. For instance, all surveyed SPCBs/PCCs have different website formats, which makes accessing information quite difficult. Similarly, there is no format for annual reports. Hence the information available varies from board to board,” Verma said.

India stresses on ‘flexibility’ in climate goals for developing world

Yadav met COP26 president Alok Sharma, following which he said “differentiation” and “flexibility” should be at the core of decision-making at COP 26. Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday said India will advocate principles of “differentiation” and operationalisation of “flexibility” provided in the Paris Agreement for developing countries, at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change conference (COP26) in November -- reiterating the country’s position at a time when there are demands in some quarters for it to commit to so-called net-zero emissions. Yadav met COP26 president Alok Sharma, following which he said “differentiation” and “flexibility” should be at the core of decision-making at COP 26. “India believes that climate actions must be nationally determined and strongly advocates that the differentiation and operationalisation of flexibility provided in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement for developing countries should be at the core of decision-making,” said Yadav, emphasising the importance of climate justice. Among other factors, climate justice incorporates an understanding of historical responsibility for the climate crisis and equality. The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate crisis. The agreement, which has a goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels is guided by principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities, in the light of different national circumstances. Article 13 of the agreement says its transparency framework shall provide flexibility to developing countries that need it in the light of their capacities. The transparency framework covers all substantive aspects of the Paris deal, including the tracking progress and achievement of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). IPCC flagged earlier this month that the planet has a very short window to prevent catastrophic climate change. The 1.5°C global warming-threshold is likely to be breached in the next 10 to 20 years and by 2040 in all scenarios, it said in its report. Sharma in an interview to HT on Monday said: “We want every country to plan for net-zero by the middle of the century.” But India has said earlier that pushing developing countries with extremely low per capita emissions to commit to a net-zero goal will undermine their right to develop. “We have noted the pledges made by some countries to achieve Net Zero GHG (green house gas) emissions or carbon neutrality by or around mid-century. However, this may not be adequate... Therefore, and keeping in view the legitimate need of developing countries to grow, we urge G20 countries to commit to bringing down per capita emissions to the global average by 2030,” India said in its statement at a G20 ministerial meeting. On Tuesday, Sharma met RK Singh, the power and renewable energy minister; PK Mishra, PM Narendra Modi’s principal secretary; and Piyush Goyal, minister of commerce and industry and textiles. The power ministry on Wednesday said India has already retired 16,369 MW of inefficient coal fired power plants -- an issue Sharma raised during the meeting. Sharma said on Wednesday: “I leave India hopeful. I’ve had a set of very constructive discussions here... In the context of India, it is worth pointing out that India is already on track to overachieve its current NDC...” Experts said all countries must do more. “We should be proactive; push for hard action by 2030 by top polluters; not net-zero by 2050. Currently, countries are not on track. We must run the talk; no doubt our actions today are comparable with our contribution, but this is not enough. We can and must do more,” said Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment. “Every country’s circumstance and capacities are different so flexibility is important from the perspective of both implementation and reporting, but overall, our actions collectively need to be circumscribed by the constraints set by science. We have a small window of opportunity, and everything to lose given our vulnerable population,” said Apurba Mitra, head, Climate Policy, WRI India.