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Illegal Sand Mining in National Chambal Sanctuary

Context

Three States have commenced joint action to stop illegal sand mining in National Chambal Sanctuary, situated at the trijunction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which is known for its population of critically endangered gharials.

Details

About the sanctuary:

• The National Chambal Sanctuary, also known as the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400 km2 tri-state protected area.
• It is home to the endangered Red-crowned Roof Turtle and the Ganges River dolphin.
• It is located near the junction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• The Chambal River passes through the valleys and hills of the sanctuary.
• This is part of the Khathiar-Gir Dry Deciduous Forest Ecoregion.

About the river:

• The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in Central and Northern India and forms part of the Ganges drainage system.
• Drainage: This river flows through Madhya Pradesh in a north-northeast direction and forms the border between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before flowing southeast for a moment to join the tributaries of Uttar Pradesh.
• This legendary river is mentioned in ancient records.
• The perennial Chambal occurs on the southern slopes of the Vindhya Range in Madhya Pradesh.
• The Chambal River is considered free of pollution.
• Fauna: hosts a variety of river faunal assemblage including two crocodiles - the mugger and the gharial, eight species of freshwater turtles, flat-topped grass, Gangetic river dolphins, skimmers, black otters etc.
• The ancient name of Chambal river is Charmanvati, which means a river with dried banks leather on its side. Over time, this river was known as char (skin) river and got the name Charmanvati.

Sand crisis:

• The world uses 50 billion tons of sand and gravel each year, making it the second most used resource on the planet after water.
• Since there is a water crisis in many parts of the world, it is not surprising that we are on the brink of a sand crisis.
• The United Nations Environment Program published a report in 2022 on the need to control the extraction and consumption of sand.
  • The report made ten specific recommendations, including classifying sand as a "strategic resource", mapping and monitoring coastal resources, and adopting laws and policies to combat sand greed.

Indian overview:

• The Union Ministry of Mines calls sand, which is formed by the weathering of rocks, a "soft mineral".
• According to a report, the annual demand for sand in urban India alone is 60 million tons in 2019.
• India is producing sand faster than it can be naturally replenished.
  • According to a UNEP report published in 2018, coastal drainage in India and China has become a "spotlight" affecting rivers, lakes and coasts. This is likely due to the construction boom in both countries.

Impact:

• A 2010 study found that sand mining in three major rivers in central Kerala has destabilized the riverbanks and increased the frequency and intensity of floods.
• Sand removal could reduce water flow and destroy shorelines and animal habitats.
• If the sand is mined, the water becomes more cloudy, which affects the oxygen content in the water and the ability to live in it.
• Sand loss is a "direct threat to wetlands as they form an important element for waterfowl and the entire ecosystem".
• Sand mining also affects endangered species.
• Sand mining also costs lives in India. Many activists, police officers and journalists investigating the problem of local illegal sand mining have died in the line of duty.
• An investigation found that the Indian government’s inaction and collusion between state officials and sand miners allowed illegal sand mining to continue unchecked in coastal Tamil Nadu for three decades.

Steps taken in India:

• The Union Environment Ministry's 2016 Guidelines for Sustainable Sand Mining aim to "encourage scientific sand mining and environment-friendly management practices".
  • It recommends measures for sustainable mining, emphasizes monitoring and recommends the government to map access to the sea.
• In 2018, the Ministry of Mines released the "Sand Mining Framework" to help states formulate their sand policies.

How effective are the existing laws?

• Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 of India regulates the mining activities in the country.
  • Despite a set of guidelines to curb the practice, illegal and unsustainable sand mining has continued, spurring the Indian government to take another step toward enforcing rules.
• As per the National Green Tribunal (NGT), permission (or environment clearance) for mining of sand and minerals in an area is granted by state governments. In some cases, the Centre issues the clearance.
  • Most entities in mining have an environment clearance but they don’t comply with all the conditions they are asked to.
• The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, mandated the setting up of district mineral foundations (DMFs).
  • The funds accrued under the DMF were to be used for the welfare of the people living in areas affected by illegal sand mining.
  • This was done through the Pradhan Mantri Khanji Kshetra Kalyan Yojana set up by the Ministry of Mines.
  • As of September 2020, a total of Rs 38,988.15 crore of the fund was allocated to the 21 states, of which only Rs 17,766.02 crore (45.5 per cent) was spent.

Way forward

• According to the 2018 UNEP report, important ways to reduce the amount of sand extracted include avoiding unnecessary natural sand consumption in construction and using alternatives.
  • For example, sand is used as an aggregate for road bases and cement-based construction. This sand can be replaced by aggregating the derivatives of the incineration of solid municipal waste.
• Converting crop residue into building material – which can also help North India manage its stubble burning problem at the end of the rice season.
• It’s important to properly fund these alternatives.
• There is a need to enforce existing standards and best practices.

IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report

Context

According to an IPCC report, climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health and a window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all is fast closing.

Background

• Through its multiple assessment cycles beginning in 1990, the IPCC has analysed research by scientists on
  • Global warming,
  • The role humans have had in exacerbating it,
  • The long-term climate impact from current and future emissions and what people can do about it.
• The IPCC does not itself undertake scientific assessments but only evaluates the state of scientific evidence on various aspects of climate change.
• The 6th Assessment Report (AR6) assesses scientific, technical, and socio-economic information concerning climate change.

 About the Synthesis Report: This is the final report of the AR6, which integrates findings from six reports (3 working groups + 3 special reports) released by IPCC during the cycle which began in 2015.

6 key messages for policymakers

• Excess emissions from human activities have raised global temperature by 1.1°C above 1850-1900.
• Current policy action will lead to further temperature rise, and the impacts on humans and other forms of life will become more severe.
• At current emissions levels, we will deplete the remaining carbon budget (of 500 GtCO2).
• We need to cut GHG emissions across all sectors urgently, within this decade and no later.
• We have all the solutions we need to shift to low-carbon economic systems. These include –
  • Widespread electrification,
  • Diversifying energy generation to include more wind, solar, and small-scale hydropower,
  • Deploying more battery-powered electric vehicles, and
  • Conserving and restoring forests while also reducing tropical deforestation.
• Political commitment and equity are key to enabling this shift – there is enough finance, it needs to be directed to climate action

Challenges

• Overshooting 1.5°C (expected in the early 2030s) will result in irreversible adverse impacts on certain ecosystems with low resilience (polar, mountain, coastal ecosystems, etc).
• Adaptation gaps exist and will continue to grow if no action is taken and the lower-income group will suffer the most.
  • Though developed countries commit to jointly mobilise $100 billion in climate finance annually, current global financial flows for adaptation are insufficient.
• Some parts of the world (tropical, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems) have already reached their adaptation limits.
  • This means adaptive actions cannot avoid negative impacts there.
• There is increased evidence of maladaptation (changes in natural/human systems that inadvertently increase vulnerability to climate stimuli) in various sectors and regions.
  • For example, mangrove plantation in coastal Odisha has disturbed the local ecosystems, affecting marginalised and vulnerable groups adversely.
• There are multiple barriers (variable impacts, risks and co-benefits in deploying them) to implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) – a climate change mitigation tool that removes CO2 from the atmosphere

 Implications of the report for India: Increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events – could have dire consequences for agriculture, the economy and public health.

 Opportunity: There is a 50-50 chance that by 2030, the global surface temperature in any individual year could exceed 1.5C.

 Recent efforts: The loss and damage (L&D) finance facility, which came into prominence during the COP27 (Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt) to the UNFCCC, aims to provide financial assistance to nations most vulnerable and impacted by the effects of climate change.

Way ahead

• Engaging public-private sector to mobilise sufficient finances
• Citizens must be provided with climate literacy to drive political commitment, research and urgency towards adaptation.
• Enabling conditions such as policy instruments, greater public support and technological innovation could reduce barriers to CCS.
• The policymakers must prioritise investments in disaster risk reduction, including early warning systems, evacuation plans, and infrastructure development to protect vulnerable populations.

Conclusion

• Certain future changes are unavoidable but could be limited by deep, rapid and sustained global GHG emissions reduction based on the principle of climate justice.
• Therefore, mainstreaming effective and equitable climate action will not only reduce losses and damages, but will also provide wider benefits.

Coral Breach in Gulf of Mannar

Context

Corals usually come in shades of green, brown, pink, yellow, red or blue. But a snorkelling investigation of three coral colonies adjoining Kurusadai, one of the 21 uninhabited islands that form the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park along the Tamil Nadu coastline, shows them to be grey and eerie.

Details

The story:

• The 21 islands came under the control of the forest department in 1986, which established the national park — a 10,500 sq km reserve that is a habitat for the rare sea-cow, dolphin and dozens of coral species — the same year.
• Being a protected area, tourism was not allowed in the national park until March 2022, when Kurusadai opened its doors to tourists (the other 20 islands are still closed for visitors).
• The corals, which provide shelter to myriad marine life, protect against storms and support livelihoods through fisheries and tourism, could have been the star attraction. But they are dead.
• One of the prime threats that killed the corals near Kurusadai is Kappaphycus alvarezii.
  • It is a seaweed (alga) species deliberately introduced in Ramanathapuram for commercial cultivation some two decades ago.
  • The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as one of the world’s 100 most invasive species.

Corals and seaweeds

• Corals and seaweeds are constantly locked in a battle.
• This dynamic can be compared with trees and weeds growing in a forest.
• Marine algae seek corals since they provide support for growth. But live corals use their defence mechanisms to prevent a hostile takeover. Though corals can protect themselves from native seaweed, they lose to Kappaphycus.
• The seaweed is dangerous because it grows fast, doubling its size in 15-30 days, and seeks out live corals to thrive on — unlike native seaweeds, which typically grow on dead corals.

Seaweed Cultivation in India

• In 2021, India cultivated around 34,000 tonnes of seaweed, as per the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute.
• That same year, the Centre earmarked Rs 600 crore to increase seaweed production to 11.85 million tonnes by 2025.
• National research institutes and companies are for increased cultivation of Kappaphycusto improve livelihoods, profits and to reduce India’s import of kappa-carrageenan, a polysaccharide extracted from the alga that finds use in industrial gums and as a smoothening agent in ice cream, toothpaste, jellies, medicines and paint.

Commercial production of Kappaphycus

• Commercial production of Kappaphycusbegan in the 1960s in the Philippines, the native land of the species. It has since been introduced in over 20 nations.
• Perhaps India should have been warned of the species’ invasive nature when it was introduced in Hawaii in the 1970s.
• The invasive species has also caused considerable damage to Coconut Island in Hawaii, Cubagua Island in Venezuela, Zanzibar in Tanzania, and Almirante and Cristobal in Panama and Costa Rica.
• India’s tryst with the controversial species began in 1984, when CSMCRI acquired a small part of Kappaphycus alvareziiof Philippine origin from Japan.
• In 2000, the institute transferred the technology of cultivating Kappaphycusto PepsiCo. The company introduced it to the northern part of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park without a proper environmental impact assessment (EIA).

About the National Park

• The Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park is a protected area of India consisting of 21 small islands (islets) and adjacent coral reefs in the Gulf of Mannar in the Indian Ocean.
• It is the core area of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve which includes a 10 km buffer zone around the park, including the populated coastal area.
• It was established as a National Park in 1986.

Flora

• The park includes marine components such as coral reefs, seaweed communities, sea grasses, and mangroves.
• Mangroves dominate the intertidal zones of the park islands.
• The introduced tree genus Prosopis is dominant on land in all the islands.
• The flowering herb Pemphis acidula (family Lythraceae) is the only endemic plant species.
• This vegetation provides important feeding grounds for vulnerable marine mammals such as the dugong, endangered green turtles and olive ridley turtles.

Fauna

• The dugong, a vulnerable marine mammal, is the flagship mammal of the park.
• About 510 (23%) of the 2,200 fin fish species in Indian waters are found in the Gulf, making it the most highly diverse fish habitat in India.
• A unique endemic species of Balanoglossus – Ptychodera fluva, a living fossil that links invertebrates and vertebrates, has been recorded only at Kurusadai.

Concerns

• Large areas of these reefs are in generally poor condition due to destructive human activities of the 150,000 persons living along the coast.
• Nutrient and other pollution loads are high due to agriculture, deforestation, industry, urbanization and septic pollution. It appears that the coral reefs of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park seem to be healthy and in good condition, despite high rates of sedimentation and other threats.
• However, live coral cover is only about 35%. Various algae cover much of the dead coral.
• Stony coral species of families Poritidae and Faviidae constitute the dominant reef builders here.
• Coral reefs near some of the islands have been heavily damaged by exploitation as raw materials for industrial ventures such as cement industries, brick manufacture, masonry work and lime kilns.

About Kappaphycus alvarezii

• Kappaphycus alvarezii, the elkhorn sea moss, is a species of red algae.
• It is a dark greenish-brown hue and can sometimes be deep purple. The moss is cylindrical in shape throughout the seaweed.
• The Elkhorn sea moss is located in the Pacific, French, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Caribbean sea, South China's sea. It is located on the islands of Hawaii and Guam
• The role this sea moss plays in its native habitat is to feed the fish in the surrounding area. It also produces and releases certain minerals which benefit the habitat in which it inhabits.
• It can also loosely attach itself to the coral. They can form large unattached fragments that can form a mat like structure. This algal mat can act as UV protection for fish and act as a source of food for the surrounding aquatic life.

History as an invasive species

• This alga is an introduced species and a noxious aquatic weed in Hawaii.
• This species was considered an introduced many countries with the sole main purpose of increasing the commercial aquaculture carrageenan industry; the carrageenan is a biopolymer extracted from algae and used extensively in the food industry for the formation of gels to stabilize fat in food with dairy products.

CAMPA Policyat odds with IPCC Report

Context

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Synthesis Report, where the IPCC notes the significance of preserving natural ecosystems to mitigate climate change.
• The report has raised concerns about the ongoing policy of afforestation in India that allows forests to be cut down and replaced elsewhere.

Afforestation in India

• Afforestation has become an increasingly contested policy in India.
• The government has pledged to add “an additional (cumulative) carbon sink of 2.5-3 GtCO2e through additional forest and tree cover by 2030”.

Why is CAMPA invoked in the IPCC report?

• India’s Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) has been accused of facilitating the destruction of natural ecosystems in exchange for forests to be set up elsewhere.

What is CAMPA?

• CAMPA is a body established by the Indian government in 2002 on the orders of the Supreme Court.
• The purpose of CAMPA is to promote afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensating for forest land that has been diverted to non-forest uses, such as for dams, mines, and other development projects.
• The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 requires project proponents to identify land elsewhere for afforestation and pay for the afforestation exercise.
• The money paid by project proponents is deposited in a fund overseen by CAMPA.

Controversies surrounding CAMPA

• Unutilised fund: The money paid to CAMPA sits in a fund, but most of the fund remained unspent until 2013, leading to criticism of facilitating the destruction of natural ecosystems. In 2006-2012, the fund grew from Rs 1,200 crore to Rs 23,600 crore.
• Threatening endangered landscape: CAMPA also came under fire for funding projects that endangered landscape connectivity and biodiversity corridors.
• Unsustainability of artificial plantation: CAMPA has been accused for planting non-native species or artificial plantations that don’t compensate for the ecosystem loss.

Why is forestation under CAMPA unsustainable?

• Natural ecosystems sequester more carbon: This report highlights the importance of preserving natural ecosystems and reducing the conversion of natural ecosystems to mitigate climate change.
• Renewable energy installation is more sustainable: The IPCC report also found that solar power has more mitigating potential than reducing the conversion of natural ecosystems, and wind power was the third highest.

Conclusion

• Preserving natural ecosystems should be recognized as an essential means to mitigate climate change, and environment impact assessments should include climate costs.
• Policies such as afforestation, ecosystem restoration, and renewable energy must be carefully evaluated to reduce the impact of the climate crisis.

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

Context

Recently a man booked under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 for “illegally” keeping and nursing an injured Sarus crane (Grus Antigone).

What is Sarus crane?

• The Sarus crane is a large non migratory crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia.
• Sarus crane is also found in wetlands.
• Sarus crane is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh.
• Sarus crane is the world’s tallest flying bird.

What is the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972?

• Aim - It aims to conserve protected species in 2 ways
  • By prohibiting  hunting
  • By protecting habitat through the creation and regulation of sanctuaries, national parks, reserves, etc.
• Hunting – It includes not just the act of killing or poisoning a wild or captive animal, but even an attempt to do so.
• Even injuring or destroying any part of the animal or its eggs or nests is an offence punishable under the Act.
• List includes capturing, coursing, snaring, trapping, driving or baiting any wild or captive animal.
• Captive animal -Any animal specified in Schedule I-IV which is captured or kept or bred in captivity.
• The Act prohibits capturing or hunting any species of animals listed under Schedules I-IV.
• Offences -Under the Act offences are considered as  
  •  Hunting, unauthorized possession, transport and trade.
  • Offences related to protected areas or habitat destruction.
• Powers of the state government - This act allows the State government to appoint a Chief Wildlife Warden alongside wildlife wardens, honorary wildlife wardens, and other officers and employees.
• The act empowers the State to constitute a State Board for Wild Life consisting of
  • The Chief Minister as Chairperson,
  • The Minister in charge of Forests and Wildlife as the Vice Chairperson
  • At least 3 members of the State legislature.
• Penalties – Any person who contravenes any provision of the Act shall be punished with up to 3 years imprisonment or fine up to Rs. 25,000 rupees or both.

What is the 2022 Amendment to the WPA?

• Schedules and increasing penalties – It brings changes in reducing the number of Schedules and increasing penalties.
• CITES – It seeks to implement the provisions of “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” (CITES).
• Rationalizing schedules – It seeks to reduce the number of schedules from VI to IV whereby Schedule V for vermin or animals that destroy food crops will be done away with.
• More powers to Center - It accords greater powers to the Centre concerning the export, import, regulation, prohibition, and trade of plant or animal species, through a designated Management Authority.
• Conservation reserves - Central government may declare areas adjacent to national parks and sanctuaries as a conservation reserve
• Invasive alien species -The central government may authorise an officer to seize and dispose the invasive species.

Translocation of Elephants

• The Kerala government's appeal of the order of the Kerala High Court is rejected by the Supreme Court.
• The Kerala government's appeal against the Kerala High Court's directive to move Arikomban (Wild Elephant), the "rice tusker" of Munnar, to the Parambikulam tiger reserve was recently dismissed by the Supreme Court.

About the translocation of elephant

• The act of transporting an elephant from its natural habitat to another location is referred to as translocation.
• This procedure is frequently used to address human-elephant conflict (HEC), in which elephants kill humans occasionally while damaging crops and destroying homes.
• The procedure of catching, restraining, and transporting elephants is frequently extremely stressful for them and can result in harm, misery, and even death.
• Elephant populations may also be significantly impacted, particularly if the translocated elephant is a matriarch or a breeding female.
• Additionally, research has shown that moving elephants may only shift the conflict's focal point rather than eliminate it entirely.
• Elephants frequently adjust to their new surroundings and continue to raid homes or fields, which causes more conflict.

Argument against

• A huge male elephant that had been relocated from the West Midnapore farmland in South Bengal to the Mahananda Sanctuary in the Darjeeling district was the subject of India's first radio-telemetry study of a translocated problem elephant in 2006.
• The elephant started destroying homes and raiding crops in communities and Army locations rapidly.
• In 2012, a team of biologists followed 12 male Asian elephants that had been relocated 16 times to various national parks in Sri Lanka as part of a study on translocated problem Asian elephants.
• The study concluded that translocation led to the spread and escalation of the conflict between humans and elephants as well as an increase in elephant mortality.
• In December 2018, Vinayaga, a bull known for raiding crops, was relocated from Coimbatore to the Mudumalai-Bandipur region.

Argument in favour

• The Kerala High Court emphasized that the presence of natural resources for food and water at the new location will discourage elephants from foraging near populated areas.
• The court also stressed that the elephant will be radio-collared and that forest / wildlife officials will be watching its activities, which will take away the element of surprise from any conflict situations.

Important relocations in the past

• Asiatic lions: Located from Gujarat's Gir National Park to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Tigers: From Ranthambore National Park to Sariska Tiger Reserve and from Kanha Tiger Reserve to Satpura Tiger Reserve.
• From Kaziranga to other protected locations like Manas National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, one-horned rhinos may be found.
• Blackbuck: From the Tal Chhapar Sanctuary in Rajasthan to the Velavadar National Park in Gujarat.
• Dolphins from the Ganges that travel to the Yamuna and the Chambal are known as Gangetic Dolphins.

Data and facts

• India is home to the greatest population of wild Asian elephants, estimated at 29,964 as of the 2017 Project Elephant census.

• Approximately 60% of the species' total population is there.

• The most elephants are found in Karnataka, then Assam, and Kerala.

• India's Natural Heritage Animal is the elephant.

• Elephants are regarded as a "Keystone Species" because of their vital contribution to the balance and wellbeing of forest ecosystems.

• They are renowned for having the biggest brains of any land animal, which contributes to their extraordinary intelligence.

• Elephants are particularly essential grazers and browsers in the ecosystem, eating large amounts of grass each day and dispersing seeds as they go.

• The frequently dense foliage that covers the Asian environment is also shaped by them.

Conservative Initiatives

• India In order to protect elephants and their natural habitat in India, the Indian government launched Project Elephant in 1992.
• Additionally, 33 elephant reserves exist in India with the goal of conservation.
• The purpose of World Elephant Day, which is commemorated on August 12 every year, is to increase public awareness of the critical need to protect and conserve elephants.
• In order to raise awareness of the serious issues facing both Asian and African elephants, the day was launched in 2012.
• Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme:In order to enhance global decision-making on the conservation of elephants in Asia and Africa, an international collaboration measures the levels, trends, and causes of elephant mortality.

Way ahead

• Plans for proper monitoring and management, such as steps to reduce possible conflicts and post-relocation monitoring, should also be in place.

• While moving difficult elephants may be considered as a strategy to reduce conflicts between people and elephants, it should be done so cautiously and on the basis of thorough management plans, community involvement, and sound scientific research in order to reduce potential risks and guarantee the welfare of both elephants and local communities.