Down To Earth (01–15 March, 2025)

About

• The Yamuna River is facing severe environmental challenges due to rampant sand mining and riverbed erosion.
• These activities have not only disrupted the river's ecological balance but also posed a threat to the livelihoods of communities dependent on the river.

Impact of Sand Mining

• Ecological Degradation: The removal of sand from the riverbed disrupts the natural habitat of aquatic plants and animals.
• It affects the food chain, leading to a decline in fish populations and other aquatic species.
• Riverbed Erosion: Excessive sand mining accelerates riverbed erosion, causing the river to change its course.
• It can lead to the loss of fertile agricultural land and damage to infrastructure such as bridges and roads.
• Water Quality: Sand mining increases the turbidity of the river water, reducing its quality.
• The increased sediment load can also clog irrigation channels and affect water supply for domestic and agricultural use.
• Flooding: The removal of sand weakens the river's natural floodplain, reducing its capacity to absorb floodwaters.
• It increases the risk of flooding in nearby areas, endangering lives and property.

Social and Economic Consequences

• Livelihoods: Many communities rely on the Yamuna River for their livelihoods, including fishing and agriculture. The degradation of the river's ecosystem threatens their income and food security.
• Health Risks: The increased turbidity and pollution of the river water pose health risks to communities that depend on the Yamuna for drinking water and sanitation.
• Illegal Activities: Unregulated sand mining is often associated with illegal activities, including corruption and exploitation of labor. Workers involved in illegal mining operations are subjected to poor working conditions and minimal pay.

Mitigation Measures

• Regulation and Enforcement: Strengthening regulations and enforcement mechanisms to curb illegal sand mining activities.
• It includes regular monitoring of mining sites and imposing strict penalties for violations.
• In 2022, the Uttarakhand High Court banned mechanised mining of riverbed materials across the state.
• Sustainable Mining Practices: Promoting sustainable sand mining practices that minimize environmental impact.
• It includes setting limits on the amount of sand that can be extracted and ensuring that mining activities do not disrupt the river's natural flow.
• Community Engagement: Involving local communities in the management and conservation of the river.
• It includes raising awareness about the impact of sand mining and encouraging community-led initiatives to protect the river.
• Restoration Projects: Implementing river restoration projects to rehabilitate degraded riverbeds and floodplains.
• It includes reforestation, soil conservation, and the creation of buffer zones to protect the river from further erosion.

India's Extreme Weather Records in 2024

Context

• In 2024, India experienced extreme weather events on 322 out of 366 days, highlighting the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters, surpassing the records of previous years.

Record-Breaking Statistics

• In 2024, India faced extreme weather events on nearly 88% of the days, up from 87% in 2023 and 86% in 2022.
• These events included heat and cold waves, cyclones, lightning, heavy rain, floods, and landslides, affecting various regions across the country.
• The rising trend of extreme weather days has resulted in severe human and economic losses, with 3,472 fatalities in 2024, a 15% increase over three years.

Regional Impact

• Central India experienced the highest number of extreme weather days in 2024, with 253 days marked by such events.
• Madhya Pradesh, in particular, saw extreme weather for 185 days, the most in the country.
• The Southern Peninsula region also witnessed a significant increase, with 223 days of extreme weather, a 31% rise since 2022.
• These regions faced devastating impacts on agriculture, with 4.07 million hectares of cropped land affected in 2024, an 84% increase from the previous year.

Types of Extreme Weather Events

• Heat Waves: The year was the hottest on record, with significant temperature increases across various regions.
• Heat waves led to 459 deaths, highlighting the need for effective heat action plans.
• Floods and Heavy Rains: Floods and heavy rains caused 1,287 fatalities, with Kerala and Maharashtra being the worst affected states.
• The increased frequency of intense rainfall events underscores the importance of robust flood management systems.
• Lightning and Thunderstorms: Lightning and thunderstorms claimed 1,374 lives, making them the deadliest weather events of the year.
• Bihar reported the highest number of lightning-related deaths.
• Cyclones: Cyclonic storms caused widespread damage to coastal regions, leading to loss of life and property.
• The increasing intensity of cyclones is a stark reminder of the need for enhanced coastal resilience.

Climate Change and Its Implications

• The record-breaking statistics of 2024 reflect the profound impact of climate change on India's weather patterns.
• Events that once occurred once every century are now happening with alarming frequency, overwhelming vulnerable populations.
• The rising trend of extreme weather days and the resultant loss and damage highlight the high cost of climate change borne by farmers and communities.

Biodiversity Leakage

Context

• A recent study, published in the journal Science, has raised concerns about the unintended consequences of conservation efforts in wealthy nations that may inadvertently exacerbate biodiversity loss in other countries.
• It highlights how local conservation gains in wealthy nations can result in net harm to global biodiversity.

About Biodiversity Leakage

• It refers to the unintended transfer of environmental pressures from one region to another due to conservation policies, trade regulations, or economic shifts.
• It mirrors carbon leakage, where strict emission controls in one country push polluting industries to less-regulated regions.

Study's Findings

• Loss of Species: The study found that consumption by high-income nations was responsible for 13.3% of all species range loss worldwide.
• Key Contributors: The United States, Germany, Japan, and China caused biodiversity losses 15 times greater than their domestic impacts.
• The study highlighted that 18 out of the 24 countries analyzed had higher international than domestic impacts on biodiversity loss.

Causes of Biodiversity Leakage

• Displacement of Harmful Activities: Logging bans, land conservation, or fishing restrictions often push exploitative activities into areas with fewer protections.
• Example: A moratorium on logging in Indonesia has driven deforestation into neighboring Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.
• Trade and Supply Chain Shifts: When nations ban the import of illegally harvested timber or wildlife products, suppliers often find new markets with weaker enforcement.
• Example: The European Union’s regulations against deforestation-linked products have redirected trade flows to less-regulated Asian and African markets.
• Policy Gaps and Governance Failures: Conservation policies may focus on specific regions but fail to address systemic causes of biodiversity loss.
• Example: In Latin America, protected areas have succeeded in reducing deforestation within their boundaries, but illegal logging has intensified outside them.
• Global Economic Dynamics: Rising demand for commodities like palm oil, soy, and beef often drives land-use changes, even as conservation efforts aim to curb deforestation.
• Example: Efforts to curb Amazon deforestation have shifted soy production to the biodiverse Cerrado region in Brazil.

Impacts of Biodiversity Leakage

• Loss of Ecosystem Services: When ecosystems are degraded in unprotected areas, local communities lose access to essential resources like clean water and fertile land.
• Threats to Endangered Species: Many species migrate across landscapes, and displacement of habitat destruction can harm already vulnerable populations.
• Impact on Biodiverse Regions: The United States' consumption had the most significant impact on wildlife in Central America, while China and Japan's demand affected species in the rainforest regions of Southeast Asia.
• Additionally, almost half of all range losses at long distances from the 24 driver countries were of species in Madagascar, driven by deforestation for vanilla production.
• Weakening of Conservation Efforts: Leakage undermines the credibility and effectiveness of conservation policies, making it harder to achieve global biodiversity targets.
• Social and Economic Disruptions: Conservation-induced displacement can lead to conflicts between environmental goals and local livelihoods, particularly in developing regions.
• Other key examples are Fishing Restrictions and Overfishing Elsewhere, Deforestation Bans and Palm Oil Expansion, Carbon Offset Dilemma (displaced deforestation) etc.

Addressing Biodiversity Leakage

• Integrated Land-Use Planning: Coordinating conservation efforts across entire landscapes to prevent displacement of harmful activities.
• Stronger Global Governance: Enhancing international trade regulations and cooperation to ensure sustainability beyond protected areas.
• Inclusive Conservation Policies: Engaging local communities and Indigenous groups to create solutions that balance conservation and livelihoods.
• Supply Chain Accountability: Promoting responsible sourcing and certification schemes (e.g., FSC for timber, RSPO for palm oil).
• Ecological Compensation Mechanisms: Ensuring that conservation efforts do not create unintended environmental harm elsewhere.

Push to Subsume Villages Into Towns in India

Context

• Fearing loss of autonomy and access to government schemes, several villages across India are protesting against the decision to change their status to town.
• Recent push to subsume villages into towns goes against the spirit of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments.

About

• India is experiencing an accelerating transformation in its rural-urban landscape, and push to subsume villages into towns has been driven by urbanization policies, economic imperatives, and infrastructural expansion.
• However, this shift has profound implications for rural employment schemes, especially the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Drive Toward Urbanization

• Increased Tax Revenues: Urban local bodies (ULBs) can levy property taxes and other charges, generating more revenue than panchayats.
• Infrastructure Expansion: Towns attract higher investments in roads, electricity, water supply, and public services.
• Political and Administrative Control: Urban areas come under municipal governance, reducing local panchayat autonomy but increasing centralized urban planning.

MGNREGA and the Rural Employment Safety Net

• It is a demand-driven scheme ensuring 100 days of wage employment to every rural household (its applicability is limited to rural areas) willing to do unskilled manual work.
• Once a village is designated as a town, it loses access to MGNREGA.

Key Concerns

• Disqualification from MGNREGA Benefits: Once a village is reclassified as an urban area, its residents lose access to MGNREGA jobs.
• Lack of Alternative Employment in Small Towns: The informal economy dominates, offering unstable and low-paying jobs, which are insufficient to replace MGNREGA’s wage security.
• Disruption in Livelihoods: MGNREGA supports marginal farmers, landless laborers, and women workers, many of whom find it difficult to transition into urban employment.
• Without MGNREGA, these workers are forced into precarious, unregulated jobs with no social security benefits.
• Erosion of Community Assets: MGNREGA has contributed significantly to water conservation, afforestation, and rural infrastructure through community-based work.
• As villages are urbanized, such local asset-building initiatives decline, affecting long-term rural resilience.

Agroforestry in India

Context

• Agroforestry is fast emerging as a win-win strategy to mitigate climate change and improve farmers’ income.
• It is particularly so in India, home to onefifth of the agroforestry carbon projects in the world.

About the Agroforestry

• It is the practice of integrating trees, crops, and livestock within the same agricultural landscape as a sustainable land-use system.
• It offers multiple benefits, including improving soil fertility, increasing biodiversity, and enhancing rural livelihoods.

History and Evolution of Agroforestry in India

• Traditional systems such as agri-silviculture (crops and trees) and silvopastoral (trees and livestock) have existed in rural India for generations.
• However, modern agroforestry gained momentum in the 1980s with the National Wastelands Development Board promoting tree plantation on degraded lands.

Importance of Agroforestry (Policy Perspective)

• National Agroforestry Policy (2014): The first-ever national policy dedicated to promoting agroforestry, ensuring access to quality planting material, and simplifying tree harvest regulations.
• Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF) under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA): A scheme aimed at increasing tree cover and enhancing farmers' income.
• Forest Rights Act (2006): Allowing forestdwelling communities to sustainably manage and cultivate trees on forest lands.

Types of Agroforestry Systems in India

• Agri-Silviculture:
• Cultivation of crops alongside trees.
• Commonly practiced in states like Punjab and Haryana with poplar and eucalyptus plantations.
• Silvo-Pastoral Systems:
• Integration of trees with livestock grazing.
• Found in Rajasthan and Gujarat with acacia and fodder trees.
• Agri-Horticulture:
• Combination of fruit trees with seasonal crops.
• Widely practiced in Kerala and Maharashtra with mango, guava, and coconut plantations.
• Home Gardens:
• A mix of vegetables, fruit trees, and medicinal plants in household backyards.
• Predominant in southern and northeastern states.
• Taungya System:
• Practiced in forested areas where farmers grow crops alongside newly planted trees.
• Common in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Benefits of Agroforestry

• Environmental Benefits:
• Carbon Sequestration: Trees absorb carbon dioxide, mitigating climate change.
• Soil Conservation: Prevents erosion and improves soil fertility through organic matter accumulation.
• Biodiversity Conservation: Supports wildlife by providing habitats and food sources.
• Water Conservation: Reduces runoff and enhances groundwater recharge.
• Economic Benefits:
• Diversified Income Sources: Farmers earn from timber, fruits, fodder, and medicinal plants.
• Employment Generation: Agroforestry creates rural employment opportunities in nurseries, plantations, and wood processing.
• Resilience to Climate Change: Trees act as windbreaks, reducing crop damage from extreme weather events.
• Social Benefits
• Improved Livelihoods: Supports small farmers and tribal communities. crops.
• Nutritional Security: Provides fruits, nuts, and medicinal plants for household consumption.
• Traditional Knowledge Conservation: Encourages indigenous agroforestry practices.

Challenges in Agroforestry Adoption

• Regulatory Hurdles: Farmers often struggle with timber harvesting and transportation restrictions.
• Lack of Awareness and Training: Many farmers lack knowledge about suitable treecrop combinations.
• Market Uncertainty: Unstable timber and non-timber product markets affect profitability.
• Landholding Constraints: Small and marginal farmers may not have enough land for agroforestry.

Government Initiatives to Promote Agroforestry

• Green India Mission: Focuses on afforestation and sustainable forest-based livelihoods.
• National Bamboo Mission: Encourages bamboo cultivation as an agroforestry component.
• Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs): Provide training and demonstrations on agroforestry techniques.