ENVIRONMENT
The environment must not be considered as just another sector of national development. It should form a crucial guiding dimension for Plans and programmes in each sector. This becomes clear only if the concern for environmental protection is understood in its proper context.
20.2 Environmental problems in India can be classified into two broad categories.
(a) Those arising from conditions of poverty and under-development.
(b) Those arising as negative effects of the very process of development.
The first category has to do with the impact on the health and integrity of our natural resources (land, soil, water, forests, wildlife, etc.) as a result of poverty and the inadequate availability, for a large section of our population, of the means to fulfil basic human needs (food, fuel, shelter, employment, etc.). The second category has to do with the unintended side effects of efforts to achieve rapid economic growth and development. In this latter category would fall the distortions imposed on national resources from poorly planned development projects and programmes, as well as from lack of attention to long term concerns by commercial and vested interests. Thus it is clear that a concern for environment is essentially a desire to see that national development proceeds along rational sustainable lines. Environmental conservation is, in fact, the very basis of all development.
NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Land and Water 20.3 It is important to appreciate the inextricably close relationship between land and water management. Water, which is a renewable resource, can in fact be put to good use only if the land on which it falls, and the land to which it is applied, are properly cared for. Land, which is for all purposes a nonrenewable and inelastic resource, must be managed in such a manner as to be benefited rather than suffer damage as a result of its contact with water. The key to environmental quality, therefore, lies in scienti- fic land and water management above all else.
20.4 We have paid a good deal of attention to harnessing our resources by way of construction of major, medium and minor irrigation projects and the development of ground water resources. Adequate organisations have also been built up in this field in the shape of Central and State Irrigation Departments, the Central Water Commission and the Central Ground Water Board. However, very little attention has been paid to the proper management of our land and soil resources with the result that they have suffered very serious degradation.
20.5 According to estimates made by the Ministry of Agriculture in March 1980 as much as 175 million hectares (mh) out of the country's total land area of 304 mh for which records exist, are subject to environmental problems. The break-up is at table 20.1.
Table 20.1
Land Areas with Environmental Problems
Sl. Problem Area
No. (Million
hectares)
(0) (1) (2)
1 Serious Water and Wind erosion 150.00
2 Shifting cultivation 3.00
3 Waterlogging 6.00
4 Saline soils 4.50
5 Alkaline soils 2.50
6 Diara land 2.40
7 Other culturable wastelands fit for reclamation 6.60
TOTAL 175.00
20.6 The losses which the country is bearing on account of the continuing degradation of its land resources are of staggering dimensions and constitute one of the important threats to our economic progress.
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Soil 20.7 In a study made in 1972, it was estimated that on an average, India was losing about 6000 million tonnes, of top soil per annum through water erosion and that these represented, in term of major nutrients NPK alone, an annual loss of Rs. 700 crores. The corresponding loss today must be of a much higher order, considering the increase which has since taken place not only in prices of fertilisers but also in the extent and intensity of erosion.
20.8 Again, according to the Report of the National Commission on Floods (1980) the losses on account of floods in 1976, 1977 and 1978 were Rs. 889 crores, Rs. 1200 crores and Rs. 1091 crores respectively, which represent an average of over Rs. 1000 crores per year. According to the same source the total area subject to periodic floods which was estimated at 20 million hectares in 1971 now stands at the level of 40 million hectares--an increase of 100 per cent in 10 years.
20.9 Soil erosion also causes the premature siltation of tanks and reservoirs. it is difficult to quantify such losses but there can be no doubt that they are significant, considering that our investment on such projects is of the order of Rs. 10,000 crores. In the case of the big multi-purposes projects, what is at stake is not merely irrigation potential. The threat is of Particular seriousness because in most cases alternative sites for storages are just not available even if we can find the large sums of money needed to build new reservoirs in place of those which go out of commission. The choking of estuaries and harbours will be another kind of adverse impact of eroded soil carried to the sea.
20.10 The colossal damage done by the denudation of the Himalayan and other watersheds to our water resources also needs to be properly appreciated. Since the run-off of rainwater from denuded areas is far greater than from well-wooded slopes, a great deal of the water which would otherwise have been retained as sub-soil and ground water is today being lost us surface run-off often causing further erosion and floods in the process. The seriousness of such losses can hardly be over-estimated.
20.11 It also needs to be remembered that fully recharged ground water acquifers play a most significant part in moderating river flows by contributing to river discharges during the lean season. Poor land management thus aggravates the problems of drought and floods.
Forests 20.12 The extent of forest cover is a goad indicator of the health of the land. The large scale deforestation in recent decades has rendered the sensitive catchment areas in the Himalayan and other hilly areas particularly vulnerable to soil erosion. The Paucity of India's forest cover is apparent from the fact that of the 75 million hectares classed as forest lands, less than half is actually under adequate tree cover. and as much as about 20 million hectares of forest land is estimated to be affected by erosion. No more than about 12 per cent of the country's land surface is actually under adequate tree cover as against the target of 33 per cent prescribed by the National Forest Policy of 1952. Further, although 13 million hectares are classed as "permanent Pastures", these areas are in fact generally without any vegetation on account of either overgrazing or encroachments.
20.13 Mention must also be made of the damage caused to our agricultural lands in canal irrigated areas by waterlogging and consequent salinisation on account of our failure to provide them with adequate drainage. It is estimated that about 6 million hectares of good lands are affected by varying degrees of salinity. Waterlogging is also caused by obstructions to natural drainage caused by road, rail, canal and flood control embankments which are not adequately provided with cross-drainage works. As waterlogging is second only to erosion as a threat to the soil, it is of the utmost importance that effective steps are taken to provide drainage and other appropriate ameliorative measures.
20.14 The country can hope to achieve a countinous improvement in agricultural productivity only if problems of land degradation are tackled with the utmost vigour. Such an effort, though gigantic by any standards, is, however, inescapable if the country's agricultural future is to be assured. Considering that even if all possible steps are initiated immediately, it will be years before results begin to show, and that further massive damage will unavoidably continue during this period, there is absolutely no room for complacency on this front.
Other Natural Living Resources 20.15 India is endowed with an immense variety of natural living resources in its rich animal and plant heritage, which sustains millions of its people. While the maintenance of the country's basic biological productivity through proper land and water management is of vital ecological concern, the preservation of its genetic diversity and conservation of its species and ecosystems for sustainable utilization is of crucial importance for the future survival and development of our people.
20.16 Disappearing Species and Ecosystems: Under the relentless pressures of an exploding population, however, and unplanned development of natural environments, the habitats of our species are being rapidly lost or modified. It is estimated that, worldwide, slightly over 1,000 animal species and subspecies known to science are threatened with an extinction rate of one per year, while 20,000 flowering plants are thought to be at risk. The World's stock of all species is now estimated at 10 million of which 8.5 million have still to be identified. In India, five species of mammals and birds ate known to have become extinct in the recent past while 103 such species are listed as endangered under the wildlife (Protection) Act. 1972. At the present inadequate level of scientific knowledge in our country, we do not know
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how many species of flora and fauna are threatened, endangered or extinct, but the number must be considerable, in view of the very rapid shrinkage of all natural forests and other ecosystems throughout the sub-continent in recent years. The extermination of a unique, unstudied organism or ecosystem involves an irreversible loss to science and sometimes, even a valuable potential resource. For example, tropical rainforests are considered to contain more species than any other biome, estimated at 2 to 5 Million species, but most of these have already been lost or are grossly disrupted in the Western Ghats, while in the north-eastern region they have been extensively destroyed through a faster cycle of shifting cultivation. No National Park has unfortunately yet been constituted specifically for the preservation of the plant and animal diversity of the tropical rainforest ecosystems of our country.
20.17 Conservation of Genetic Resources and Natural Ecosystems : With the introduction of scientific plant and animal breeding in recent decades, the inestimable value of a number of wild and unutilised relatives of domesticated plants and animals had been recognised. India abounds in such wild and semi-wild relatives whose value is still unknown and they remain untapped resources. The rich variety of citrus, the species to which oranges, limes and lemons belong, in the hills of north-east India, is an example of one such resource. Other species, which are not directly exploited by man, have contributed to his success in evolving high-yielding varieties by serving as model experimental organisms. it is, therefore, evident that the diversity of biological organisms is a vital resource which needs to be carefully protected in natural ecosystems if we are not to close many possible evolutionary options for benefiting future, generations. These natural ecosystems are perse a vitally important economic resource. They can serve as design models of how artificial ecosystems can be constructed to maximise the productivity of land. They serve as reservoirs of material for improving our managed ecosystems. For example, some primitive varieties of rice collected from Kerala and Mizoram have been found to be donors of genes for resistance to a serious rice pest, the brown plant hopper, which some years ago devastated the high-yielding dwarf varieties of rice in South-East Asia that were susceptible to it. Such varieties are now being widely used internationally and may have done more for the continued productivity of the rice crop than almost any other finding in its improvement history during the last decade. The north-eastern region of India is an important source of valuable genes in several agricultural and horticultural crops.
20.18 The natural ecosystems may represent our only hope for finding the basic material for restoring the health of completely devastated landscapes such as much of the Himalayan hill slopes. The forests under management have, moreover, been treated from the very narrow viewpoint of production of commercial timber and pulpwood so that they have been rapidly converted to stands of teak, pine or euca- lyptus with no thought given for even the maintenance of species producing valuable minor forest produce such as oilseeds. Our wildlife conservation efforts have so far been primarily directed to the maintenance of areas with one or more spectacular animals such as the tiger or the rhino. This has led to a total neglect of many other ecosystems which lack such spectucular animals but are rich in floristic reserves.
Marine Ecosystems 20.19 There is inadequate knowledge and understanding of the country's valuable marine ecosystems, and total absence of protective measures has led to wanton exploitation and destruction of these resources.
(a) The coral reefs. rich in limestone, have been thought-lessely plundered for the manufacture of cement in the Gulf of Mannar (Tamil Nadu) and in the Pirotan Islands (Gujarat), and threatened in Lakshadweep and in the Andaman Islands. thus exposing the coastal areas to sea erosion. These rare and unique ecosystems need urgent protection as Marine Reserves.
(b) Similarly, our coastal mangroves constitute extraordinarily rich ecosystems, which contain many unique species adapted to the unusual habitat and are also key nursery areas for many species of fish and crustaceans which need protection. These mangroves, which form a vital protection against cyclone damage, have already been lost from most of our coastal areas, and now deserve full- protection where they still exist in viable area in the Sundarbans (West Bengal), Bhitarkanika Sanctuary (Orissa), Coringa. Sanctuary (Andhra Pradesh) and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
(c) Marine Reserves need to be designated for the protection and scientific management of such endangered marine species as the Cetaceans (which include the whales and porpoises), the Dugong or sea-cows, and the sea-turtles of which five of the World's seven species occur in India.
(d) Some of the Island ecosystems of the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshdweep groups are very rich and delicately balanced but vulnerable to intrusions. These islands need to be scientifically surveyed and protected in appropriate reserves under technical management.
20.20 Necessity for Constituting Biosphere Reserves: It will be evident from what has been stated in the preceding paragraphs that there is a compelling conservation need to set aside sufficient representative examples of biotic provinces to extend protection to entire community of species in viable terrestrial and marine eco- systems to be designed as Biosphere Reserves. The concept of such Reserves was evolved under UNESCO's Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme with the following objectives :
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(a) To save for the present and future human use the diversity and integrity of biotic communities of plants and animals within natural ecosystems, and to safeguard We, genetic diversity or species on which their continu- ing evolution depends.
(b) To provide areas for ecological and environmental research including, particularly, baseline studies, both within and adjacent to those reserves, such research to, be consistent with objective (a) above.
(c) To provide facilities for education and training. The Biosphere Reserves should comprise not only completely natural ecosystems but also semi-natural, established landuse practices. Among such reserves, areas that have outstanding potential for restoration to natural conditions, should also be included. Biosphere Reserves are not meant to substitute established national parks and sanctuaries but may often coincide partly with our national parks and sanctuaries.
20.21 While 19 National Parks and 202 wildlife Sanctuaries have been set up in the country covering an area of 75,763 sq. kms. (representing 2.3 per cent of the geographical area), most of these inadequately cover the ecological diversity of threatened habitats or even the endangered species of the country and most of them suffer from lack of scientific or any other kind of effective management. The first step, therefore, towards the preservation of the biological diversity of our country would require a detailed survey and classification of the conservation and ecosystem types to ensure the conservation of as many representative examples of each as possible. In view of the virtual disappearance of many genuinely natural ecosystems in the country, those that remain in such natural or near- natural condition need to be identified for full protection as Biosphere Reserves with the greatest urgency. Other man-modified eco- systems, which retain their natural diversity should also be protected. Such Biosphere Reserves can be thought of as national laboratories in which the functioning of natural and man-modified ecosystems will be investigated to ensure the optimum use of our biological wealth for the future welfare of our people.
ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION 20.22 Pollution refers essentially to a process by which a resource (natural or man-made) is rendered unfit for some beneficial use due to physical, chemical or biological factors. Of the various kinds of pollution (air, water, land, noise, radiation and odour) that affect the quality of life in India, water pollution is by far the most serious in its implications for the health and well-being of our citizens.