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The missing green - Failures to honour environment commitments

Environmentalists in the country for decades  have been alleging that a large number of infrastructure projects are implemented without mandatory due diligence and green clearance procedures are often riddled with irregularities. ECOLOGICAL SAFEGUARDS 
  • Increasing criticism by environmentalists: The criticism of environmentalists have sharpened in the past 15 years because of delusion in ecological safeguards. There have been various instances like the public hearing requirement in the environmental impact assessment notification in the garb of streamlining the clearance processes.
  • Environmental Performance Index: an Environmental Performance Index of Yale University ranked India 168 amongst 220 countries two years ago.
  • Absence of effective mechanisms: according to a newspaper’s investigation there is an absence of effective mechanism for ensuring environmental compliance.
    • According to the investigation, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has less than 80 officials for conducting field visits.
    • The State pollution control boards as well as environmental tribunals are almost always short staffed.
  • Post facto clearance: The Centre and the state governments have been relying on procedures like post-facto clearance instead of strengthening the monitoring mechanisms.
    • The government has been trying to goad project developers into compliance by giving them incentives despite the Supreme Court instructions.
    • For instance in 2020 a bench of the court called out the practice of allowing project developers to report a violation risk retrospectively as a derogation of fundamental principle of environmental jurisprudence.
    • The court pointed out that allowing for an ex-post facto clearance would essentially condone the operation of industrial activities without the grant of environmental clearance, in absence of a clearance there would be no conditions to safeguard the environment.
AFFORESTATION - ADEQUACY Reports 
  • ISFR Report,2021:According to the Indian State of Forest report 2021 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and climate change there is an aggregate rise in total forest area although the natural forest has declined by 1582 km².
    • There has been a 902 km² decline of forest cover in the hill districts of India according to the recent assessment.
    • The alarming feature of forest profile is the reduction in forest cover in north-eastern states, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Himachal Pradesh due to anthropogenic factors like felling of trees, shifting cultivation, developmental activities and natural calamities such as landslides.
  • National Forest policy, 1988: The national Forest policy in visage to 33% of the geographical area under forest and tree cover and 2/3rd of area in hills under forest.
  • COP26 target: The forest carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) should increase according to the conference of parties target (COP26)-Nationally determined contribution-of increasing additional carbon sink of 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030.
  • Global forest resources assessment: according to the global forest resources assessment, 2020 by the Food and agriculture organisation (FAO) India ranks 10th in forest area globally.
    • The average annual net gain in forest area in India was .38% over the 2010-20 period which is third in the global rank.
Classification of forests The forest are classified based on canopy density as:
  • Very dense forests (VDF)-3.04% with tree canopy density of over 70%.
  • Moderately dense forests (MDF)-9.33% which are also called natural forest with tree canopy density of 40% -70%.
  • Open forests-9.34% with tree canopy density of 10% -40%.
 The per hectare carbon sink provided by VDF is the highest in tropical and subtropical climate across India, implying that each hectare of VDF has the largest carbon stock owing to its larger canopy.
  • The tropical dry deciduous forests are spread in the largest area, with the share of open forests, MDF and VDF in descending order respectively.
  • The MDF found in tropical moist deciduous forest are the next largest stratum that provides CCS owing to their size.
  • The himalayan dry temperate forest has the highest carbon stock potential in their VDF compared to the VDF of other forest strata as well as the aggregate CCS, and these forests need conservation positively.
  • The plantations and trees outside forest (TOF) provide the lowest CCS although they are easy to grow and maintain.
  • The tropical dry deciduous forest followed by tropical moist deciduous forest provide the maximum CCS owing to their size in the absolute terms.
  • Mangroves, 0.15% of the graphical area, the blue economy ecosystems with 3 to 4 times higher CCS as compared to any forest on land have increased by a minimal 17 km² and are unable to offset the loss of MDF.
As India’s tries to grow into a $5 trillion economy, The policymakers need to ensure that such prosperity does not come at the cost of the environment.


POSTED ON 04-02-2022 BY ADMIN
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