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CREATE THE SPACE FOR GOVERNANCE WITH A GREEN HEART

Relevance:

• GS 2 – Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
• GS 3 – Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Why in the news?

• A new term begins for the government and the Lok Sabha, emphasizing the need for green concerns.
  • Historically, no government has prioritized the environment, with the last one actively harming environmental interests in pursuit of ‘development.’
• Environment Ministers for over a dozen years have prioritized mining, oil, coal, highways, and power industries.

Need for Green Policies

• India faces severe environmental degradation that can only be halted by adopting green policies.
• Green policies are crucial even as India strives to become a middle-income economy.
• Urgent areas for addressing environmental concerns include:
  • Policy reforms and stringent regulations
  • Sustainable development practices
  • Conservation of natural resources
  • Reduction of industrial pollution
  • Promotion of renewable energy sources
  • Protection of biodiversity and ecosystems

India Needs to Acknowledge Greater Vulnerability

• India’s leadership frequently mentions climate change but takes limited action, primarily focusing on promoting the solar energy industry.
  • Despite increasing energy consumption, no significant steps have been taken to reduce emissions.
• Remedial aspects of climate change, such as building resilience, ensuring food security, and providing access to essentials, have been deprioritized.
• Increasing occurrences of floods, famines, heatwaves, wildfires, water shortages, and droughts highlight the need for effective contingency plans.
• Measures needed to protect vulnerable populations and reduce harm include:
  • Updating building guidelines for climate resilience
  • Preserving natural storm barriers like mangrove forests
  • Establishing funds for evacuation and rehabilitation
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recently neglected these essential tasks.

Key Environmental Concerns for India

Forest Cover

• India has one of the world’s lowest levels of green cover per capita with only 28 trees per person, compared to Canada’s 10,163 and China’s 130.
  • Significant decline in important forest cover over the past 20 years.
  • Urban forestry is severely lacking.
• Forest damage has been obscured by questionable accounting practices, including counting plantation forests and urban tree cover.
• The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, hastily passed by the outgoing Parliament, needs to be rolled back and replaced with robust protections.

Unliveable Cities

• Major metropolitan areas like Delhi, Mumbai, and tier 2 and tier 3 cities in the Gangetic belt suffer from extreme air pollution, impacting residents’ health and lifespan.
• Cities like Bengaluru and Delhi face severe water shortages, with the poor queuing for hours for minimal water supply.
• Rivers such as the Adyar in Chennai and the Yamuna in Delhi have become polluted.
• Urbanization has led to the destruction of green spaces and water bodies, creating heat islands.
  • Smaller cities face more manageable problems but need timely intervention to avoid crises.
  • Only about 28% of sewage generated by Indian cities is treated, necessitating a major national overhaul of sewage treatment systems.

Destruction in the Himalayas

• Climate change has caused rapid glacier recession, with forecasts predicting up to 80% of their volume disappearing this century.
• Changes in rainfall and temperature patterns adversely affect water and food security in the mountains and much of North India.
  • Government has ignored protests, such as those by Ladakhis demanding action.
• Wetlands and other marginal landscapes, crucial for biodiversity, face similar neglect.

Public Participation

• The government has historically refused to listen to stakeholders and affected persons.
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) mechanisms have become mere formalities.
  • Protests and criticisms are often ignored.
  • The Char Dham Highway project is a case in point, causing significant environmental harm due to insufficient EIA processes.
• The sanctity of the EIA Notification of 2006 has been undermined by numerous amendments.
• EIA mechanisms need to be given statutory status to prevent sabotage.

Restore Genuine Conservation

• Greenwashing policies, driven by commercial interests, Green credits and compensatory afforestation have replaced genuine conservation efforts.
  • Sustainable development does not mean that only commercially profitable steps may be taken by the government.
• Enforcement mechanisms and bodies need to be strengthened to ensure genuine environmental governance.

Need of the Hour

• These are not luxury concerns; they impact the survival and health of millions.
• The absence of these issues from the election manifestos of major political parties was bitterly disappointing.
• It is not too late to address these critical concerns.
• For the government to truly serve as the steward of the people, it must:
  • Take a hard look at the physical health of the country.
  • Prioritize environmental and public health issues.
  • Implement effective and sustainable policies to safeguard the environment and public well-being.

Alternative articles

https://universalinstitutions.com/india-needs-to-bring-environment-issues-to-political-mainstream/

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/create-the-space-for-governance-with-a-green-heart/article68324891.ece

Mains question

Discuss the critical environmental challenges before India in conservation. Suggest measures for sustainable development and effective governance. (250 words)