Have more than 44 years of experience as Professional Engineer in the field of planning, designing and execution of sewerage and water supply projects. The experience encompasses project management, contract procurement, designing multi discipline team coordination for executing various water supply and sewerage projects including high capacity automated advance treatment facilities. Being a Key member of Delhi Jal Board, experience envisage deep understanding and knowledge on key issues and their techno-commercial solutions for water supply and sewerage schemes at Delhi.
*Senior Advisor, India Water Foundation
Redefine Ecosystem of India
Intent of World Environment day initiated since 1972 by United Nations at Stockholm resulting on the integration of human interactions and the environment. Considering this asvehicle for encouraging awareness and action to protect the environment, This day is a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, the program emerge as a theme and colloquium for businesses, non-government organizations, communities, governments and celebrities to advocate environmental causes. Since the 20th century, humans have gradually turned their attention to the issue of environmental protection and became aware that our nature not only provides resources for human development, but more importantly, it is a biosphere.
As World Environment Day 2021 has a theme of Ecosystem Restoration, its significance is preventing, halting, and reversing the damage suffered by our ecosystem. Ecosystem loss is depriving the world of carbon sinks such as forests and peatlands. Global greenhouse gas emissions have risen for three consecutive years. For too long, we have been exploiting and destroying our planet’s ecosystems. Every three seconds, the world loses enough forest to cover a football pitch, and over the last century, we have destroyed half of our wetlands. As much as 50 percent of our coral reefs have already been lost, and up to 90 percent of coral reefs could be lost by 2050, even if global warming is limited to an increase of 1.5°C. Therefore, this year’s theme is a worldwide mission to revive billions of hectares, from forests to farmlands, from the top of mountains to the depth of the sea.
Ecosystem restoration shall Redifine India’s long-term prosperity which shall rely on rebalancing our use of ecosystem services such as pollination, flood protection and CO2 sequestration, and nature’s capacity to supply them.
The Union Budget of India has always been a hit and a miss and this year is no different as the annual financial statement for the year 2021-22 brought cheer to a section of the 1.38 billion-strong population while it disappointed some others. The 350 million-strong middle class that had major brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic have also seen a vital positive impact on Environment where in natural resources to some extent got untouched. This has been the golden opportunity where in such instant change in Environment was observed as a vision which seems to be achievable.
The business community in India seems to be satisfied with the provisions in the financial spreadsheet that aim to rejuvenate the ailing economy. Though slight slash in funds frombudget reduced the allocation to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) from Rs 3,100 crore last year to Rs 2,869 crore this year yet it has a positive note attached considering the approach of government.
At this critical juncture, “recovery in all spheres” including the environment is key theme at individuals level which shall surely be supplemented by Government. Overall recovery measures earmark for the economy and healthcare yet the Government’s financial statement gave a shot in the arm to clean air by earmarking Rs 2,217 crore for controlling air pollution in 42 cities across India. This is simply due to the fact that 231 cities out of 287 have Particulate Matter 10 (PM10) levels exceeding the limits prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Decisions also include the voluntary vehicle scrapping policy under which 20-year-old personal vehicles, instead of being scrapped, will be sent to automated fitness checking centres for health certificates and will be re-registered. Though this redefine the objective of the Theme yet this may prove costly for the environment in the long run, as old vehicles during the process of re-registration can slip through system loopholes and keep polluting the environment. As a Theme, there is a need for urban electric energy driven mass transit system and passenger electric vehicle policy to be kept on fast track. This willhelp in Redifining as an objective to foster entrepreneurship, increase employment, conserving the environment and so on. The budget and policy sets up steps such as setting up of the Hydrogen Energy Mission in 2021-22 to harness hydrogen from green sources which will go a long way in reducing India’s carbon footprint.
Hence is it clearly visible that an ecosystem collapse will result in economic collapse. According to the Geneva Environment Network, between now and 2030, the restoration of 3.5 million square kilometres of degraded terrestrial and marine ecosystems – an area about the size of India and France combined – could generate USD 9 trillion in ecosystem services. Restoration could also remove 13 to 26 gigatons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The economic benefits of such interventions would exceed the cost of investment more than nine times. By contrast, doing nothing would be at least three times more costly than ecosystem restoration.
The financial sector can play a fundamental role to guide the trillions of rupees needed to preserve and restore ecosystems. The financial sector can help by incorporating biodiversity into wider financial strategies and by setting biodiversity disclosure, reporting and loss targets – particularly for priority industries that either depend on functioning biodiversity or whose activities significantly affect it.
Since this World Environment 2021 will also mark the formal inauguration of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021 – 2030. It is also the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals and the timeline scientists have identified critical for avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. The UN Decade is intended to massively scale up the restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems to fight the climate crisis, prevent the loss of a million species and enhance food security water supply and livelihoods. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) together with the support of partners, it is designed to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems worldwide. A global call to action, the UN Decade draws together political support, scientific research, and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration. Using the hashtag #GenerationRestoration, the UN Decade is galvanizing a global movement, in which everyone can contribute to the mission.
World Environment Day is an eye opening opportunity to make people aware of the issues we are facing and how one can contribute to saving it. Our environment is one of the most important aspects to survive on this planet. It is the only thing that can sustain life. On the occasion of World Environment Day, it is essential for all to realize that every little deed matter when it comes to saving the environment.
Note: Few facts above have been captured from various news, articles, sources and have been analysed by author as per own experience.
