The impact of mining activities involving drilling, blasting, loading, and transport of coal is the generation and dispersion of suspended particulate matter in the atmosphere for which various air pollution control measures have been prescribed. Generation and propagation of dust are controlled at the source by the installation of fixed sprinklers at CHPs, coal stockyards, … Read more
The Kunming declaration is been said to be paving way for global biodiversity negotiations. Read here to know about the key points of the declaration. The Kunming Declaration was adopted by over 100 countries on October 13, 2021, at the first part of the virtual 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to … Read more
. Rising temperatures have led to a sharp increase in climate extreme events in recent years. The current trend of catastrophic climate events results from a mere 0.6 °C temperature rise in the last 100 years. Ignoring low probability risks could be catastrophic for the economy as well as society. COVID-19 could be nature’s warning … Read more
The plastic waste management rules 2016 have been amended to speed up the elimination of single-use plastics and promote alternatives. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 aimed to: Increase the minimum thickness of plastic carry bags from 40 to 50 microns and stipulate minimum thickness of 50 microns for plastic sheets also to facilitate collection … Read more
The environment, energy and climate ministers from the ‘Group of 20’ (G20) economies expressed their commitments towards addressing the challenges presented by urbanisation, climate change and biodiversity loss. A major emphasis was placed on the inclusion of nature-based solutions (NbS) in fight against the climate crisis. Nature-based solutions (NbS) to climate change involve conserving, restoring … Read more
Harvesting animals for dairy and animal-based products in India is a major source of livelihood for 150 million dairy farmers. The products are a source of nutrition and food security for a significant chunk of the population. Dairy Sector in India.The dairy sector accounts for 4.2 per cent of the national gross domestic product. India … Read more
Forests and other nature-based solutions for climate change, such as wetlands, can provide over one third of the climate change mitigation needed by 2030. Conserving and restoring forest landscapes is not only a cost-effective way to mitigate climate change, but it also means that many other benefits are provided to local communities and wider society. … Read more
It is estimated that India generates 65 million tonnes of waste each year and is home to more than 4 million waste pickers. Predominantly women, this army of waste pickers or Safai Saathis is the backbone of traditional waste management in most Indian cities. Despite this, Safai Saathis have not found their legitimate space in … Read more
Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year for use in a wide variety of applications. At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, and make up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health, … Read more
Urban Heat Islands (UHI) are significantly warmer urban areas than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities. Urban Heat Island is a major problem associated with rapid urbanisation. The temperature increase is attributed to deforestation and the construction materials adopted for city building. Usually, under the urban heat island phenomenon, the central regions of … Read more
The oceans are warming at an unprecedented rate. Sea surface temperatures have increased at a rate of nearly 0.6°C per century since 1880. This warming in turn increases the likelihood of marine heatwaves from occurring. While marine ecosystems have evolved within a certain coping range and can adapt to conditions slightly outside that range, marine … Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced countries all over the world to rethink climate change and the need for preservation of the environment. Fiscal reforms for managing the environment are important, and India has great potential for revenue generation in this aspect. Environment regulation, may take several forms: command and control; economic planning/urban planning; environmental tax … Read more
Two new smog towers have been recently inaugurated in Delhi. Bengaluru and Chandigarh also installed smog towers this year. Mumbai’s clean air plan indicates a financial requirement of ?25 crore for installing air filtration units at major traffic intersections in the city. Benefits of Smog Towers The Delhi government claims that the newly installed smog … Read more
The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released the India State of Forest Report 2021. Read to know the details of the report here. The India State of Forest Report 2021 (ISFR) has found the country’s forest cover has increased by 1,540 sq km since 2019. But a decline in the Northeast and … Read more
India’s rapid urban growth is putting pressure on its public service arrangements especially its management of water and sanitation services. • The safe and reliable availability of water and sanitation proved to be the first line of defence against the scourges of COVID-19. The supply-demand gap is expected to widen by 50 per cent by … Read more
E-waste or Electronic waste is any electrical or electronic equipment that’s been discarded. This includes working and broken items that are thrown in the garbage or donated to a charity reseller, their components, consumables, parts, and spares. E-waste is particularly dangerous due to toxic chemicals that naturally leach from the metals inside when buried. Contamination … Read more
Recently India showed interest to become lead member of the World Solar Bank (WSB), a multilateral lender proposed by the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The idea of a WSB has gained traction as many ISA member countries may have difficulty raising finances on their own. Setting up the WSB will add heft to India’s credentials … Read more
. India has slowly begun to realise pollution is not only causing environmental degradation but it is also a fundamental threat to growth and development. • If not taken seriously and contained, it will have a deep impact on the economy. There is an inevitable demand for clean technologies. Major developments in clean energy technology … Read more
A recent ‘Council for Energy, Environment and Water’ (CEEW) report has highlighted the challenges to India’s transformation from a fossil-fuel-dependent economy to one based on renewable energy. There is the major constraint of finance. The transformation will involve massive high-cost, high-risk, long-gestation investments. There is little fiscal space for large public investment in renewables, while … Read more
The need was intensified by the rising cost of these external inputs causing indebtedness and suicide among farmers, while the impact of chemicals on the environment and long-term fertility was devastating. Without the need to spend money on these inputs or take loans to buy them the cost of production could be reduced and farming … Read more
The Sixth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a “code red” to humanity declaring 1.5°C warming of the planet as inevitable. Although environmental health is being given importance globally, the pace of recovery is not as fast as the pace of degradation. In India’s context, the agriculture and allied … Read more
. Developed countries have an extremely poor track record on climate action. In keeping with this trend, the recently declared enhanced pledges for climate action, including declarations of net-zero emissions by 2050, also fall woefully short of what is required to ensure the safety of the planet. The pressure on developing countries to “do more” … Read more
Every time a technology giant chooses an India-born techie as its leader, there is a justifiable swelling of pride in the country, but also some disappointment. Despite having so many celebrated technologists around the world, India is still not a major player in technology. This failure can be attributed to lower public spending, high imports … Read more
. In 2022, the covid pandemic and the myriad crises it spawned may start to recede. Even in a best-case scenario, though, a tsunami of new challenges—from the failure of climate action to the erosion of social cohesion—is within sight. Addressing them will need leaders to adopt a different governance model. When our institutions are … Read more
India is one of the worst flood affected nation across the world. The frequency of urban floods due to high-intensity rainfall is increasing over the years. Flood management and flood governance are in news often. In this post, let’s analyse India’s disaster response capabilities to tackle floods. Flood Governance : steps taken by the government … Read more
. COVID-19 will not be the world’s last health emergency and there is an urgent need for sustainable health emergency preparedness to deal with the next one. Past crises have shown that once an outbreak is under control, governments and donors tend to turn their attention to other pressing concerns. This cycle of “panic-then-forget” has … Read more
Social forestry means the management and protection of forests and afforestation on barren lands with the purpose of helping in the environmental, social and rural development. The National Commission on Agriculture (1976) has classified social forestry into three categories. The main thrust of social forestry is to reduce pressure on the traditional forest areas by … Read more
. The salient features of the Draft National Water Policy (2012) are presented below: Emphasis on the need for a national water framework law, comprehensive legislation for optimum development of inter-State rivers and river valleys, amendment of Irrigation Acts, Indian Easements Act, 1882, etc. Water, after meeting the pre-emptive needs for safe drinking water and … Read more
Global warming due to GHGs and Ozone depletion may have following adverse consequences: Faster snow melting and glacier depletion Melting of glaciers will put close to half of world’s population under threat from flooding in short term and draughts, water and power shortages in long run. Siachin Glacier has retreated by around 1 km in … Read more
. India’s policy on climate change can be broadly divided into two phases – one in which it strictly adhered to ‘Historical Responsibility’ slogan and the other when it diluted it as it became a bigger economy and bigger polluter. India has become third largest emitter of GHG in absolute terms only behind China, which … Read more
. The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits has been negotiated under the aegis of CBD to fulfill one of the objectives of CBD i.e. to promote equitable sharing of benefits arising out of use of genetic resources. It was signed by CoP in Nagoya, Japan. Once … Read more
Kyoto protocol set ambitious goals for countries but couldn’t meet them. Reasons for the failure of Kyoto protocol are as follows: Though Kyoto was legal, it didn’t have provision of enforcing penalties, as a result developed countries failed to meet the target and also got away with that. Developing countries criticized this protocol from the … Read more
. In a bid to curb carbon emissions and global warming, Kyoto Protocol was signed among various countries and it entered into force in 2005 which marked the beginning of its first commitment period till 2012 (second commitment period was agreed from 2013-20). It was an extension of UNFCCC and a concrete plan to bring … Read more
. Like all industries, the generation of electricity produces waste. Whatever fuel is used, the waste produced in generating electricity must be managed in ways that safeguard human health and minimise the impact on the environment.For radioactive waste, this means isolating or diluting it such that the rate or concentration of any radionuclides returned to … Read more
A signatory to the Stockholm Declaration (1972) on Environment, India enacted laws to control water (1974) and air (1981) pollution soon after. But it was only after the Bhopal gas leak disaster in 1984 that the country legislated an umbrella Act for environmental protection in 1986. Exemptions All inland waterways projects and expansion/widening of national … Read more
single-use plastics are goods that are made primarily from fossil fuel–based chemicals (petrochemicals) and are meant to be disposed of right after use—often, in mere minutes. Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and serviceware, such as bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags. The bigger challenge is to put in place an efficient waste management … Read more
. Due to its low capital cost, groundwater is the most preferred source of water in India. According to an estimate, groundwater accounts for nearly 80 per cent of the rural domestic water needs, and 50 per cent of the urban water needs in India. However, a variety of land and water- based human activities … Read more
. Space launches can have a hefty carbon footprint due to the burning of solid rocket fuels. Many rockets are, however, propelled by liquid hydrogen fuel, which produces ‘clean’ water vapour exhaust, although the production of hydrogen itself can cause significant carbon emissions. Rocket engines release trace gases into the upper atmosphere that contribute to … Read more
. The Ministry revised the rules for management of solid waste in the municipal areas after 16 years. The new rules are now applicable beyond municipal areas and extend to urban agglomerations, census towns, notified industrial townships, areas under the control of Indian Railways, airports, airbase, port and harbour, defence establishments, special economic zones, state … Read more
. National Ambient Air Quality Standards envisaging 12 pollutants have been notified under the EPA, 1986 along with 115 emission/effluent standards for 104 different sectors of industries, besides 32 general standards. Government is executing a nation-wide programme of ambient air quality monitoring known as National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP). The network consists of six … Read more
Project Tiger was launched in 1973 for conserving the tiger. From 9 tiger reserves since its formative years, the Project Tiger coverage has increased to 50, spread out in 18 of tiger range states. These reserves are constituted on a core / buffer strategy. The core areas have the legal status of a national park … Read more
The surface water percolates well when the rocks are permeable, thinly bedded and highly jointed and cracked. After vertically going down to some depth, the water under the ground flows horizontally through the bedding planes, joints or through the materials themselves. It is this downward and horizontal movement of water which causes the rocks to … Read more
. Green GDP refers to a national accounting system of the utilization of the non-renewable natural resources of any country and is now being envisioned as a part of sustainable development. The objective is to utilize the resources optimally, efficiently and effectively in furthering the growth of economies and at the same time a realization … Read more
According to Ramsar Convention, wetland is defined as, “areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed 6 metres”. Key Features of the … Read more
. It is an Integrated Conservation Mission for river Ganga, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in 2014 with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore. Main pillars of the mission River front development o Conservation of Aquatic life and biodiversity Improvement of coverage of sewerage infrastructure in habitations on banks of Ganga. River … Read more
Environment Impact Assessment or EIA can be defined as the study to predict the effect of a proposed activity/project on the environment. A decision making tool, EIA compares various alternatives for a project and seeks to identify the one which represents the best combination of economic and environmental costs and benefits. EIA systematically examines both … Read more
. A still larger issue now emerging is the environmental issues, erosion of forest cover, etc, around the infrastructure projects. The present issues being faced in Orissa and other states on projects which can not only alter the face of the state but also the nation in terms of economic development need deeper introspection. The … Read more
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was conceived as a coalition of solar-resource-rich countries (which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn) to address their special energy needs. The ISA will provide a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar-resource-rich countries, through which the global community, including governments, bilateral … Read more
. Single-use plastics, often also referred to as disposable plastics, are commonly used for plastic packaging and include items intended to be used only once before they are thrown away or recycled. These include, among other items, grocery bags, food packaging, bottles, straws, containers, stirrers, styrofoam cups or plates etc. Impacts of single use … Read more
Mangroves are salt-tolerant vegetation that grows in intertidal regions of rivers and estuaries. They are referred to as ‘tidal forests’ and belong to the category of ‘tropical wetland rainforest ecosystem’. Causes of Depletion of mangroves Sea level rise and coastal erosion Due to global warming, the sea levels are continuously rising. The rising sea levels … Read more
