Down To Earth (16–30 April, 2025)

About Riverbed Mining

• It involves the extraction of materials like sand, gravel, and stones from riverbeds, that are essential for construction activities— roads, buildings, and urban infrastructure.

Impacts of Riverbed Mining

• Erosion and Flood Risks: Excessive mining weakens riverbanks, increasing the likelihood of floods and soil erosion.
• The removal of sediments disrupts the natural flow of rivers, leading to unpredictable water levels.
• Loss of Aquatic Biodiversity: Riverbed mining threatens species like the Gangetic dolphin, which relies on sediment-rich waters for survival.
• The destruction of habitats affects fish populations and other aquatic organisms.
• Water Scarcity and Pollution: Mining alters groundwater recharge patterns, leading to water shortages in nearby communities.
• Increased turbidity and sedimentation degrade water quality, making it unsafe for consumption.
• Groundwater Depletion: Riverbed mining often lowers the water table by disturbing the aquifers.
• The Central Ground Water Board has flagged unscientific sand mining as a threat to shallow aquifers, crucial for irrigation and drinking water in rural areas.
• Impact on Communities: Indigenous communities, especially in tribal belts, suffer land degradation and livelihood loss due to the disruption of river systems and contamination of water sources.

Policy Framework and Legal Developments

• Sustainable Sand Mining Guidelines, 2016: MoEFCC introduced these guidelines to regulate sand mining with an emphasis on scientific assessment, decentralized monitoring, and transparency.
• Enactment of Sand Mining Rules, 2023: In response to persistent violations, the central government notified new Sand Mining Rules in 2023. These rules aim to:
• Encourage real-time monitoring using drones and satellite imaging.
• Strengthen the District Survey Report (DSR) mechanism.
• Make the entire process digital — from bidding to transportation tracking.

Judicial Interventions

• National Green Tribunal (NGT) Rulings (2024): To stop mining activities that violated environmental clearance norms.
• Supreme Court of India: It has directed states to complete their District Survey Reports scientifically before issuing fresh mining leases. It also urged the use of technology for transparency.

Technological and Community Solutions

• Digital Surveillance: Several pilot states are now implementing GPS tracking of mining trucks, drone surveillance, and satellite audits to track and reduce illegal activities.
• Community-Based Monitoring: States like Kerala and Maharashtra are experimenting with involving local panchayats and civil society in reporting violations and regulating mining activities.

Policy Recommendations

• Strengthen DSR Compliance with involvement from independent scientific institutions.
• Mandate Third-Party Environmental Audits for riverbed mining operations.
• Incentivize Alternatives like manufactured sand (M-sand) to reduce riverbed dependency.
• Institutional Capacity Building for state pollution control boards and district administrations.

Informal Waste Pickers: Neglected Yet Indispensable

Context

• Despite their critical role in recycling and resource recovery, Informal waste pickers remain marginalized, facing social, economic, and occupational challenges.

About the Waste Pickers

• The First World Conference of Waste Pickers, held in Colombia in 2008, reached a provisional consensus to adopt the term ‘waste picker’ in English, replacing the derogatory term ‘scavenger’.
• Estimates suggest that the informal waste management sector employs between 12.5 million and 56 million people worldwide.
• It accounts for nearly 1% of the population, or around 80 million people.

Role of Informal Waste Pickers

• Resource Recovery: Informal waste pickers collect and segregate recyclable materials, reducing the burden on landfills and mitigating pollution.
• Their work contributes significantly to the recycling industry, supporting the circular economy.
• Cost Reduction: By recovering valuable materials, waste pickers reduce municipal waste management costs.
• Their efforts subsidize urban sanitation services, making them an integral part of the waste value chain.
• Environmental Impact: Waste pickers play a vital role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by diverting waste from landfills.
• They help tackle the growing problem of plastic pollution, particularly in urban areas.

Challenges Faced by Waste Pickers

• Lack of Recognition: Waste pickers are often excluded from formal waste management systems, limiting their access to resources and opportunities.
• Many cities outsource waste management to private companies, sidelining informal workers.
• Occupational Hazards: Waste pickers face health risks due to exposure to hazardous materials and unsanitary conditions.
• They lack access to protective equipment and healthcare services.
• Economic Vulnerability: The informal nature of their work leaves waste pickers without job security or stable income.
• Women, who form a significant portion of this workforce, are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

Way Forward

• Integration into Formal Systems: Cities should develop policies to integrate waste pickers into formal waste management systems without disrupting their autonomy.
• Initiatives like Pune’s SWaCH Cooperative and Ambikapur’s SAMCLAF demonstrate the potential of community-driven approaches.
• Social and Economic Support: Providing waste pickers with access to healthcare, education, and financial services can improve their quality of life.
• Ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions is essential for their empowerment.
• Awareness and Advocacy: Public awareness campaigns can highlight the contributions of waste pickers and reduce stigma.
• Advocacy efforts can push for policy changes that recognize and support their work.

Coral Bleaching

Context

• Scientists in Australia said that an unprecedented mass bleaching event has devastated the Ningaloo Reef off Australia's western coast, affecting the reef's surface and deeper layers and multiple coral species.

About

• Coral reefs, often referred to as the rainforests of the sea, are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth.
• However, rising ocean temperatures and environmental stressors have triggered widespread coral bleaching, threatening marine life and coastal communities.
• The latest reports indicate that 84% of the world's coral reefs have been affected by bleaching, making it the most severe event in recorded history.

What is Coral Bleaching?

• It occurs when corals experience prolonged heat stress, causing them to expel the zooxanthellae algae that provide them with food and color.
• Without these algae, corals turn ghostly white and become vulnerable to disease and death.

Causes of Coral Bleaching

• Climate Change: Rising ocean temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions.
• Pollution: Agricultural runoff and industrial waste degrade water quality.
• Overfishing: Disrupts marine ecosystems, making corals more susceptible to stress.

Impact on Marine Life

• Coral reefs support 25% of all marine species, including fish, mollusks, and crustaceans.
• Bleaching events disrupt food chains, leading to biodiversity loss.

Scale of the Crisis

• According to the International Coral Reef Initiative, the ongoing bleaching event has surpassed previous records, affecting reefs across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
• The Great Barrier Reef has suffered multiple bleaching events, with 44% coral loss in some areas.
• NOAA reports that 99.9% of coral reef areas in the Atlantic Ocean have experienced bleaching-level heat stress.

Myanmar Earthquake: Sagaing Fault

Context

• The Sagaing fault in Myanmar, responsible for the recent Mandalay earthquake (magnitude 7.7), serves as a stark reminder of the destructive power of seismic activity.

About the Sagaing Fault

• The Sagaing fault, a strike-slip fault system, runs along the tectonic boundary between the Central Myanmar Lowlands and the Indo-Burman Range.
• It is influenced by the oblique convergence between the Indian and Eurasian plates.
• This convergence partitions strain into perpendicular and parallel components, with the fault absorbing much of the lateral movement.
• It runs 1,400 km from the Andaman Sea to the eastern Himalayan bend classified as a ridge-trench transform fault.
• Horizontal strike-slip motion dominates its activity, accommodating 50–55% of the region’s plate motion.

Historical Earthquakes

• 1839: Ava Earthquake
• 1927: Yangon Earthquake
• 1946: Sagaing Earthquake (Mandalay)

Geodynamic Context of the Sagaing Fault

• Tectonic Boundary and Plate Movements: The Sagaing fault forms the tectonic boundary between the Central Myanmar Lowlands and the IndoBurman Range.
• Oblique convergence of the Indian and Eurasian plates, rather than direct head-on collision, results in strain partitioning across the fault.
• The Burma plate (or Burma sliver), a microtectonic block between the Indian plate and Sagaing fault, owes its origin to this strain partitioning.

South Asia’s Seismic Vulnerability

• Major Plate Boundaries: The Himalayas, Shillong Plateau, Southern Indo-Burman Range, and Andaman-Nicobar subduction zone are active tectonic features resulting from the collision of the Indian and Eurasian Plates over 40 million years ago.
• Ongoing Threats: The Chittagong-Tripura fold belt remains active with moderate earthquakes, though its potential for generating great quakes is still unclear.

India’s Vulnerability: Learning from Myanmar’s Tragedy

• India’s proximity to major tectonic features such as the Himalayas, Indo-Burman Range, and Andaman-Nicobar subduction zone places it among the most earthquake-prone countries in South Asia.
• Risk Assessment: Historical earthquakes in regions like Kashmir, Assam, and Gujarat underline the need for proactive measures.
• Seismic zones in northeastern and northern India could experience similar devastation due to active fault lines and plate interactions.

Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs

Context

• Recently, US President Donald Trump unveiled his ‘reciprocal tariffs’ policy, describing it as a ‘declaration of economic independence’ and as a part of broader ‘America First’ trade agenda.

About the Reciprocal Tariffs Policy

• Key Features: The tariffs aim to match or exceed the duties imposed by other countries on US goods.
• India faces a 26% reciprocal tariff, resulting in an overall tariff burden of 36% on its exports to the US.
• South Asian neighbors like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan face even higher tariffs, with Sri Lanka’s overall burden reaching 54%.
• Additional Tariffs: An ad valorem duty of 10% was imposed on imports from all trading partners.
• Steel and aluminum imports from all countries face 25% tariffs, as announced earlier in March 2025.
• Exemptions: Trump spared Mexico and Canada from reciprocal tariffs, despite imposing additional import duties on their goods earlier.

Implications for the Global Economy

• Economic Uncertainty: The tariffs have disrupted global supply chains, affecting industries ranging from manufacturing to agriculture.
• Stock markets worldwide have experienced significant volatility, reflecting fears of prolonged economic instability.
• Impact on Trade Relations: The policy risks triggering a global trade war, with countries like China and the EU announcing retaliatory tariffs.
• India’s agricultural sector, in particular, faces challenges as the US seeks to open its markets for American agri-businesses.
• Historical Parallels: Trump’s tariffs echo the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which deepened the economic crisis during the Great Depression and led to retaliatory measures by other nations.