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Category: Environment

  • India to undertake river dolphins census every three years

    India to undertake river dolphins census every three years

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on August 15, 2020 initiated the Project, which envisaged bringing both the river dolphins and marine dolphins under its conservation programme….reports Nivedita Khandekar

    From this year, India would embark on a scientific enumeration of dolphins – to be carried out every three years like the tiger census – across Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra basins together to ascertain the exact number for the national aquatic animal.

    The pan-India enumeration, part of the wider “Project Dolphin”, will be starting with workshops in November with field work aimed to be completed by March next year and the report expected by June-July 2022. This will start with river dolphins.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on August 15, 2020 initiated the Project, which envisaged bringing both the river dolphins and marine dolphins under its conservation programme.

    Just as a tiger is considered an indicator of a good forest, river dolphins are indicator of a healthy river and act as an umbrella species of the river ecosystem. There are currently two species of the river dolphins inhabiting India, Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) and the Indus River Dolphin (Platanista minor).

    Ganges River Dolphin is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 , and was declared as the national aquatic animal of India and the state aquatic animal of Assam in 2009. They are also accorded the highest protection priority for conservation, by being listed in Appendix I of CITES and Appendix II of CMS COP.

    Government records show that the recent most estimation of the Ganges River Dolphins in the Ganga river basin, along with its tributaries, stands at 2,644 and in Brahmaputra, along with its tributaries, stands at 987 (survey in 2017-2018).

    The Indus River Dolphin, meanwhile, has a population of 6-8 dolphins in India, distributed only in a small pocket of the Beas River in Punjab, with majority of the population, of 1,816 individuals, residing in Pakistan.

    “There is almost 40 per cent range reduction over last 100 years. Earlier, there were dolphins upstream of Bijnor (UP), now they are only downstream of Bijnor. In fact, even Yamuna near Delhi had dolphins a century ago. Barak river in Assam too had earlier, now nothing,” said nodal officer for the dolphin enumeration programme at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Vishnupriya Kolipakam.

    Generally, traditional methods of census are very hard to follow in case of dolphins. Boats would be needed according to the depth of water in the habitat. Also, it is not necessary that the dolphins would be visible when the enumerators reach the area for counting. Important is also the fact that the enumerator needs to be trained adequately so that he or she does not mistake sun shimmer on water as dolphins.

    “Unlike what is common in popular imagination that dolphins leap one after another, Indian dolphins are visible only for a few seconds. That can possibly lead to errors. Last five years, we have spent on standardising the methods to get robust estimates,” she said.

    Unlike marine habitat, where the depth of the sea/ocean is adequate enough everywhere for boats/ships to reach, the river dolphins’ census becomes a tad difficult as the boat cannot reach everywhere.

    “And then, there are the non-surfacing dolphins too. The dolphins are blind and largely use sound for movement, foraging and communication. Hydrophones are dragged underwater to catch this dolphins’ sonar. Visual observers’ data and that generated from acoustic are combined to get proper readings,” Kolipakam said.

    Stating that dolphin conservation and Ganga conservation is linked, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Director General Rajiv Ranjan Mishra said: “We are now awaiting cabinet approval for this enumeration. It is due anytime.”

    The NMCG already has a biodiversity conservation project with the WII and dolphin is part of it, being the national aquatic animal. It has also tied up with several institutions for sensitising the fishermen as sustainable fishing is important for dolphins.

    A Field Guide 2021-22 titled “Monitoring Ganges and Indus River Dolphins, Associated Aquatic Fauna and Habitat”, was launched on October 2 by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.

    Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change’s CAMPA had funded the programme for five years under ‘Endangered Species Recovery Programme’ and the funds were used for coming up with a management plan for the Gangetic River Dolphin (along with that for Great Indian Bustard, Dugong, and the Manipur Deer). It would again be the Ministry that would fund the dolphin enumeration.

    Professor Qamar Qureshi from the WII said: “We have worked out appropriate scientific methods to count dolphins. Earlier methods were not appropriate; the current one is now robust and scientifically accurate.”

    The workshops for training are likely to start in November. “The field exercise will finish by March and by June-July, the report should be expected,” he said.

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  • COP26 sources 80% of food from Scotland for sustainable menus

    COP26 sources 80% of food from Scotland for sustainable menus

    COP26 will set an example for other large-scale international events, in terms of food sourcing, by taking a number of measures to ensure a sustainable approach…reports Asian Lite News.

    COP26 delegates will be served sustainable, locally-sourced food at the upcoming climate summit in Glasgow, the UK confirmed today.

    Overall, 95 percent of the food will be from the UK, largely sourced from Scotland, and be seasonal. This will put sustainability at the heart of catering for the summit, reducing emissions and promoting environment-friendly food production.

    COP26 will set an example for other large-scale international events, in terms of food sourcing, by taking a number of measures to ensure a sustainable approach.

    Ingredients will be replicated across the conference’s menus to ensure produce can be repurposed for other meals, if necessary, to avoid food waste.

    The cups used to serve drinks will be reusable and it is estimated that this approach will save up to 250,000 single use cups.

    Suppliers are setting high standards for sustainable food production, from Edinburgh’s Mara Seaweed, which is abundant and entirely sustainable and does not require fertilizer, fresh water or soil to grow, through to Benzies carrots and potatoes who use wind turbines to power their cool storage, biomas to provide heating and actively recycle the water they use.

    In line with the international nature of COP26, we will be using Scottish produce to deliver an international inspired menu. There will even be a Scottish fusion to certain international dishes such as the ‘Scotch beef ramen’.

     “There will be a tremendous amount of work to be done at COP26, with many hours of negotiations and long days, so the choice of food that we serve our visiting delegations, staff and all our volunteers, is very important,” said COP26 President Alok Sharma.

    “It is exciting to see such innovation in the menus that will be on offer and to understand the thought and effort that has gone into making dishes both healthy, sustainable and suitable for different diets and requirements.”

    “We very much look forward to giving our international visitors a flavour of the wide-ranging cuisine the UK has to offer,” he added.

    Kevin Watson, Business Director, SEC Food said: “We have worked hard to create low carbon menus that are accessible to all. We hope our sustainable food strategy will shape menus of the future as we all work to protect our planet. As well as providing great tasting and nutritious food, our menus are focused on local and seasonal sourcing, with a plant-forward approach. We have been delighted to showcase and work with so many local Scottish suppliers and our teams are looking forward to supporting the event.”

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  • India, Pakistan highly vulnerable to climate change

    India, Pakistan highly vulnerable to climate change

    The countries have been identified as highly vulnerable because of lack of basic facilitations and apparatus in place to tackle climate challenges…reports Hamza Ameer

    A latest report by the US Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has revealed that Pakistan and India are part of 11 countries, singled out and marked as highly vulnerable in capabilities to respond to environmental and societal crisis, triggered due to climate change.

    The nations marked as highly vulnerable, marked as “countries of concerns” also include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iraq, Norh Korea, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Colombia.

    The countries have been identified as highly vulnerable because of lack of basic facilitations and apparatus in place to tackle such challenges which include heat, drought, water availability and ineffective government.

    The report also identifies that Afghanistan remains as a major concern, specifically due to heat, drought and water availability challenges the country faces. Moreover, water disputes are also a key geopolitical flashpoint in India and other parts of South Asia.

    The ODNI has predicted and estimated that global warming will increase and intensify the geopolitical tensions and risk to the US national security.

    The report also highlights different approaches and disparities around the globe in tackling climate change, highlighting that the countries relying on fossil fuel exports, continue to resist a zero-carbon world in view of the economic, political and geopolitical cost related to it.

    The affects of climate change have certainly shown their visible affects in the region as changes in weather and prolonged extreme weathers are being witnessed.

    The South Asian region has got major water shortage challenges, which has also affected lives of millions of people, who suffer to not only health deteriorations but also to severity in their financial management due to drying out farmlands.

    Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been among the leaders in South Asia, who has initiated the million-tree project, planting 10 million saplings across the country, urging all to plant trees and project themselves from the devastations of climate change.

    The move by has been widely appreciated by the global community.

    Experts have warned that the climate changes are expected to have wide-ranging impacts which include reduced agricultural productivity; increased variability of water availability; increased coastal erosion; sea water incursion; and increased frequency of extreme climatic events

    “Climate change will affect it in two ways; heavy rains will destroy major crops like wheat, rice, sugar-cane, maize and cotton on one hand, and due to the changing pattern of annual weather, our farmers will be unable to predict properly annual rainfall, cold and heat”, said Javed Jabbar, former Senator and an environmentalist.

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  • A Wake-Up Call Ahead Of Climate Conference

    A Wake-Up Call Ahead Of Climate Conference

    This year’s World Energy Outlook (WEO) solidifies the policy conclusion, first presented by the IEA in May, that no new oil, gas, and coal extraction projects should be approved under a 1.5 degrees C-aligned pathway, alongside a surge of investment into clean energy and efficiency solutions, a report by VISHAL GULATI

    In the run-up to the Glassgow climate talks (COP26), the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s flagship annual wake up report on energy pathways, details an achievable roadmap to keep global heating below 1.5 degrees Celsius. The report calls for investment worth millions of dollars to achieve the target.

    By making a 1.5 degree Celsius scenario the benchmark of this year’s World Energy Outlook (WEO), the IEA challenges governments and companies to back up lagging Paris pledges with immediate action to shift the energy system away from fossil fuels.

    Notably, this year’s WEO solidifies the policy conclusion, first presented by the IEA in May, that no new oil, gas, and coal extraction projects should be approved under a 1.5 degrees C-aligned pathway, alongside a surge of investment into clean energy and efficiency solutions.

    This finding bolsters climate campaigners’ demands that governments and financial institutions take immediate action to stop investing in new fossil fuel extraction and rapidly increase climate finance heading into this year’s COP26 summit in Glasgow.

    The Glasgow summit is the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held since the Paris Agreement took over from the Kyoto Protocol in 2020.

    It is also the first major UN environmental meeting to be held in person from November 1-12, 2021 since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

    The success or failure of the climate future is in world leaders’ hands, said Alok Sharma, President of the 26th United Nations Climate Conference (COP26) in a speech given at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on Tuesday.

    “And so is the fate of the Paris Agreement. Because since it was signed, the world has not done enough. Emissions have continued to rise, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a code red for the climate. Stating, that unless we act immediately, the 1.5-degree limit will slip out of reach,” Sharma said.

    “Already, temperatures have risen at least 1.1 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Extreme weather is on the march around the world. This summer we have seen devastating flooding in central Europe and China, raging wildfires in North America, record temperatures across the globe, and what some have called the world’s first climate-induced famine in Madagascar,” he added.

    Meanwhile, responding to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook, David Tong, Global Industry Campaign Manager, Oil Change International, said, “Today’s report is a step change for the International Energy Agency. This year’s World Energy Outlook confirms that investment in new fossil fuel projects will undermine our chance to limit warming to 1.5 degrees C.

    “In contrast, investing in clean energy brings huge benefits. A massive scale up of clean energy would ensure energy access, reduce price shocks, prevent millions of deaths from air pollution, and create millions more jobs. The days of the WEO being used to justify dangerous investments in fossil fuel expansion must be over.”

    Carbon Tracker’s Founder and Executive Chairman Mark Campanale told IANS, “Ahead of the most important climate meeting in decades, the IEA has stepped up to the plate to give us real guidance on managing the climate crisis.

    “The IEA notes that fossil fuel demand has reached a peak in almost all its scenarios. We stand on the cusp of a new era. Importantly, it sets out what needs to be done beyond existing pledges to reach net zero by mid-century and repeats that there is no need for new investment in oil, gas and coal if we are to stay within 1.5C.”

    Christian Aid’s climate policy lead, Kat Kramer, told IANS: “The IEA’s World Energy Outlook gives the world a failing ‘F’ grade in making the energy transition. While it rightly lauds progress on wind, solar, and electric vehicles, the grossly inadequate speed at which the energy transition is currently occurring means that governments, particularly those in richer nations, are failing to reduce their emissions in line with what the science calls for to limit temperature increases to 1.5 degrees C.”

    “Governments and industries around the world need to rapidly end the use of all fossil fuels in a way that ensures a just transition for workers and communities, and that ensures that the 1.1 billion people globally that still do not have access to modern energy can leapfrog dirty development pathways.”

    For Sharma, four elements for COP26 to deliver the level of ambition are: climate action plans to significantly reduce emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by mid-century, and to support adaptation to tackle climate threats.

    A concrete action to deliver these plans, include agreements on reducing coal, electric cars, protecting trees and reducing methane emissions, to honour the $100bn dollar pledge to fund climate action and adaptation in developing states, and a negotiated outcome that paves the way for a decade of ever-increasing ambition.

    India moving away from coal slowly

    India alone is home to 7 per cent (21GW) of the global coal project pipeline, which is 56 per cent of South Asia’s total, a study showed on Tuesday, with the country moving slowly away from coal at a national level, however considerable progress is being made at the state level.

    Four countries in South Asia — Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — have previously considered or are currently considering coal. Together, they account for 13 per cent of the global pre-construction pipeline (37.4GW), said a new report by climate change think tank E3G that assessed the global pipeline of new coal projects.

    It finds there has been a 76 per cent reduction in proposed coal power since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, bringing the end of new coal construction into sight.

    The report says Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan are showing leadership in cancelling projects and making political statements that they will no longer pursue new coal power.

    In India, significant socio-economic headwinds to new coal have led to state-level commitments to no new coal, opening a pathway for national-level progress.

    Having considered new coal-fired power projects for a number of years, Sri Lanka is now leading the way in South Asia.

    The report finds India is moving slowly away from coal at a national level, however considerable progress is being made at the state level.

    Between 2019 and 2021, public officials from the states of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka announced their intention to not build new coal power plants.



    According to a 2019 study, many more states have the potential to move away from new coal power due to a combination of socio-economic and environmental factors, particularly the rapidly increasing cost competitiveness of new renewables.

    India’s pre-construction pipeline of 21GW is the second largest in the world.

    India is currently constructing 34GW of new coal capacity, more than the next seven countries combined. This is on top of India’s considerable existing operating fleet of 233GW (11.3 per cent of the global total).

    Yet since 2015, India has seen over 326GW of projects cancelled, including more than 250GW of shelved capacity. This means almost 7GW has been scrapped for every 1GW that has gone into operation.

    Conditions are now ripe for India’s remaining pipeline to not continue into construction, says the report. The cost implications of building new coal are starker in India than in many other countries, with clear evidence that even a country with large domestic coal reserves can struggle to make coal-fired power economically viable.

    Average coal plant load factors have fallen consistently, from 61 per cent in 2018 to 53 per cent in 2021, making it more expensive to run existing plants and highlighting the folly of building new coal.

    Meanwhile, renewable tariffs in India are some of the lowest in the world, reaching a record low of Rs 1.99/kWh ($ 0.026/kWh) in December 2020.

    This is cheaper than the majority of the existing Indian coal fleet, and all the new coal projects. Renewables backed by storage are also increasingly competitive.

    The report finds India’s power distribution companies (discoms) are already in dire financial health, with debt expected to touch $80 billion in FY22.

    Even the under-construction pipeline of coal projects (34GW) face major stranded asset risk, according to IEEFA’s June 2021 study. Stressed and stranded assets are already a reality, for example the seven-plus coal power units totalling 7410MW that have either been ordered to be liquidated or are heading for liquidation, six of which were in early stages of construction.

    Most private developers have little appetite for coal and are instead pivoting to renewables, making it increasingly hard to fund new coal projects. Recent analysis also suggests that India may not even need additional coal capacity to meet its future electricity demand and could even begin retiring older coal plants and still meet demand projections.

    Collectively, lower than expected power demand growth, cheaper renewables, falling load factors, and difficulty in securing finance highlight the headwinds and risks to continued pursuit of new coal in India, says the report.

    While Indian national politics have hesitated to engage in discussion on moving away from coal for multiple reasons, progress is being made at the sub-national level, with several states considering pivoting away from new coal.

    Senior government officials in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Karnataka have all signalled their intent to not pursue new coal power projects.

    India’s pursuit of coal has typically been justified on energy security, affordability, and development arguments, but new coal does not make economic sense for India anymore.

    Renewable energy can deliver these outcomes better, quicker and cheaper, and without the negative socio-economic, health, and environmental impacts of coal, concludes the report.

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  • India aims to be advanced but not at environment’s cost: Puri

    India aims to be advanced but not at environment’s cost: Puri

    India was the seventh most-affected country by climate change in 2019, with most of the impact being felt by its cities….reports Asian Lite News

    India aims to achieve economic growth like advanced countries, but it will not copy their path of development as it is aware of the environmental cost, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday.

    “India recognises the importance of its cities in the country’s transformation as India’s urban areas are expected to contribute to as much as 70 per cent of the national GDP by 2030. We have to achieve both our economic aspirations and realise our environmental responsibilities,” he said, as he called for promoting new and innovative low-carbon technologies under “Accelerating Urban Action for a Carbon-free World” on the United Nations World Habitat Day 2021.

    According to a statement by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, the ministry is aiming to develop technologies that ensure housing, service delivery, and better mobility for all, and place people at the forefront of sustainable urban development, without producing much carbon footprint.

    “‘Accelerating Urban Action for a Carbon-free World’ is not only appropriate but also very relevant from India’s context. The increasing global urban footprint makes more energy demands in cities which are already responsible for 78 per cent of global energy consumption and 70 per cent of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions,” Puri said, adding that the climate change makes human settlements vulnerable, especially for the marginalised and urban poor, who are exposed to extreme weather events.

    India was the seventh most-affected country by climate change in 2019, with most of the impact being felt by its cities.

    India’s cumulative CO2 emissions from 1870-2017 is very less – at only 3 per cent, as compared to the 25 per cent by the US, 22 per cent by the EU and UK, and 13 per cent of China, the minister added.

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  • Govt comes out with draft regulations for plastic packaging waste

    Govt comes out with draft regulations for plastic packaging waste

    The rules also mandate the responsibilities of local bodies, gram panchayats, waste generators, retailers and street vendors to manage plastic waste….reports Asian Lite News

    The Centre has come out with draft regulations for extended producer responsibility (EPR) under Rule 9 (1) of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, wherein the EPR shall be applicable to both pre-consumer and post-consumer plastic packaging waste.

    The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 mandate the generators of plastic waste to take steps to minimise generation of plastic waste, not to litter the plastic waste, ensure segregated storage of waste at source and hand over segregated waste to local bodies or agencies authorised by the local bodies.

    The rules also mandate the responsibilities of local bodies, gram panchayats, waste generators, retailers and street vendors to manage plastic waste.

    The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has invited comments from the stakeholders within 60 days of the publishing of the draft regulations, after which the final notification will be issued, said the Secretary in the ministry, R.P. Gupta.

    Extended producer responsibility (EPR) basically means the producer is responsible for the product till its very end of life and has to ensure reverse collection after the consumer has deemed it as waste.

    The draft regulations cast EPR on producers, importers and brand owners for collection and recycling of plastic packaging waste and the EPR shall be applicable to both pre-consumer and post-consumer plastic packaging waste, according to the notification.

    Three kinds of plastic packaging categories have been identified to be covered under EPR: Rigid plastic packaging; Flexible plastic packaging of single layer or multilayer (more than one layer with different types of plastic), plastic sheets or like and covers made of plastic sheet, carry bags (including carry bags made of compostable plastics), plastic sachet or pouches; and multilayered plastic packaging (at least one layer of plastic and at least one layer of material other than plastic).

    The manufacturer will be deemed responsible for managing the reversal from the consumer end and for recycling or treating plastic packaging waste.

    The notification also mentioned category-wise and year-wise targets for the producers.

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  • India, Denmark Ink Green Pacts

    India, Denmark Ink Green Pacts

    Denmark is the only country in the world with which India has a Green Strategic Partnership which also opens the door to green Danish solutions in India’s green transition, reports Ateet Sharma

    India and Denmark are ready to accelerate their Green Strategic Partnership when Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen begins her three-day visit to India on Saturday, becoming the first foreign head of government to be received by PM Narendra Modi since the Covid-19 crisis broke out.

    Frederiksen’s visit confirms not only the strengthened political, economic and commercial relations between Denmark and India but also gives a massive push to the Green Strategic Partnership that both countries entered into in September 2020.

    Denmark
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting the Prime Minister of Kingdom of Denmark, Ms. Mette Frederiksen, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on October 09, 2021. (PIB)

    Denmark is the only country in the world with which India has a Green Strategic Partnership which also opens the door to green Danish solutions in India’s green transition. At the same time, the visit gives an opportunity to discuss the importance of cooperation for the climate area in the run-up to COP26.

    “Denmark has a long tradition of engaging in the challenges of the world. This is especially true in the green energy transition, where India as a strong and ambitious player is crucial in solving the climate challenges facing the whole world, “Frederiksen stated before leaving for New Delhi.

    The last few years have witnessed a strong bilateral relationship developing between both the countries.

    Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi welcomes the Prime Minister of Kingdom of Denmark, Ms. Mette Frederiksen at the Ceremonial Reception, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on October 09, 2021. (PIB)

    A year after Frederiksen and PM Modi held their first-ever virtual summit in September 2020, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Copenhagen last month — the first by an Indian Foreign Minister in 20 years — to undertake a comprehensive review of the Indo-Danish partnership.

    Solutions and size, skills and scale

    Denmark is a global leader in several niche technologies which are of relevance to India. Mentioning that Denmark has skills, India has scale and the world has the need for new technologies, PM Modi had stressed on establishing a research platform where solutions could be found to global issues of concern such as food security, water management, climate change and sustainable development.

    Prime Minister of Kingdom of Denmark, Ms. Mette Frederiksen meeting the India dignitaries at the Ceremonial Reception, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on October 09, 2021. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also seen. (PIB)

    The Green Strategic Partnership, which has added a new dimension to the bilateral relations, is the first agreement of its kind, which expands cooperation in renewable energy, environment, circular economy, water and waste management, reducing air pollution and various other sectors.

    It advances political cooperation, expands economic relations and green growth, creates jobs and strengthens cooperation on addressing global challenges and opportunities with focus on an ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

    There are around 200 Danish companies operating in India like Grundfos, Vestss, Maersk, Haldor, Topsoe and CIP which have invested in areas such as shipping, renewable energy, environment, agriculture and food processing and are keen to expand their engagements in other sectors like smart urban development and waste-to-energy. Major chambers like DIDE, Danish shipping and Agriculture and Food Council are also expanding the new age partnership. Similarly, there are 60 Indian companies that have invested in Denmark.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Kingdom of Denmark, Ms. Mette Frederiksen at the Joint Press Statements, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi. (PIB)

    “Our Green Strategic Partnership has great potential for Danish companies and Danish exports. In Denmark, we have the solutions, while India, as one of the most populous countries in the world, has the size to be able to push the green transition on a global scale, “Frederiksen said ahead of her India visit.

    As the two sides envisage the energy partnership to be further strengthened over the coming years, PM Modi has already invited “like-minded” Denmark to join India, Japan and Australia for supply-chain diversification and resilience. Considerable progress is expected to be made in this and several other spheres over the weekend.

    (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

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  • Dubai Municipality to celebrate World Migratory Birds Day

    Dubai Municipality to celebrate World Migratory Birds Day

    The Environment Department is organizing various environmental events on Saturday, 9th October 2021, at Creek Park – Gate No. 1, from 4 pm to 6 pm…reports Asian Lite News

    Dubai Municipality will celebrate the World Migratory Birds Day, which falls on 9th October. Observing this international occasion is part of strengthening the Municipality’s leading role in raising environmental awareness for the emirate’s community and its quest to preserve biodiversity and ecosystems in the emirate.

    Environment Department of Dubai Municipality will organize various awareness programs in an interesting and attractive way for all segments of society with the aim of educating them about the importance of migratory birds and their different types, the threats they face and how the community can contribute to mitigating them.

    Dubai Municipality to celebrate World Migratory Birds Day

    This year’s global event, with the theme, “Sing, Fly, Soar, like a Bird,” focuses on the phenomena of the birds’ voices and flight as a way to inspire and connect people of all ages in their shared desire to celebrate migratory birds and unite in a joint global effort to protect birds and the habitats they need to survive.

    World Migratory Bird Day has a global reach and is an effective tool for sharing best practices in contributing to the protection of migratory birds from the threats they face on their journey in search of food, temperate climate or escape from predators.

    The Environment Department is organizing various environmental events on Saturday, 9th October 2021, at Creek Park – Gate No. 1, from 4 pm to 6 pm. This occasion is an opportunity for all family members to participate in environmental workshops that will be presented in cooperation with various private companies.

    The workshops include environmental messages related to migratory birds and how to preserve them. One of the most prominent educational workshops offered by the Environment Department is how to make bird nests that the participants will be able to place in their homes to attract birds, specifically migratory birds, that they will take as a resting place before completing their journey. The public can enjoy unique experiences, including getting to know some of the birds that will be present at the event site, such as falcons. Visitors can take photos with them, with the need to adhere to all precautions during their visit to the event.

    One of the most prominent projects that will be presented to the public is the program for tracking migratory birds by satellite, where a tracking device will be installed, equipped with a satellite positioning device, to follow the movement of the bird without the need to catch it again and study its migration path, which contributes to programs for the protection and proper management of these birds. In addition, everyone will be able to participate in the various environmental competitions that will be organized and an environmental Yoga workshop in which participants will be able to enjoy the birds singing while exercising. Art enthusiasts will be able to showcase their creativity by coloring a 15-meter long environmental painting of migratory birds, and watch the environmental art exhibition in which 15 artists of different nationalities will participate to embody the importance of birds through their paintings.

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    Bird migration is a natural miracle. Migratory birds fly hundreds and thousands of kilometers to find the best environmental conditions and habitats for feeding, breeding and raising their young. When conditions at breeding sites become unfavorable, it is time to travel to areas where conditions are better.

    The Emirate of Dubai and the UAE in general represent a major habitat for many migratory birds due to the availability of a safe haven for these birds during their migration. The country also represents one of the favorite resting places for many migratory birds due to the abundance of food sources and the availability of natural reserves within the country. The coastal shallow waters, inland waterways, mangroves and salt marshes are among the main important elements for birds escaping from the frozen icy areas in the Asian and Siberian poles during their quest for a warmer climate in Africa.

    The UAE hosts annually large numbers of migratory birds, due to its location and the nature of its climate, in addition to the availability of suitable havens for birds, where two important paths of bird migration overlap, the path of bird migration from East Africa to West Asia, and the path of Central Asia, while birds of northern Europe and Asia visit the UAE as a breeding area to avoid harsh climatic conditions due to the extreme cold in the northern breeding areas which are associated with lack of food supply.

    Reserves distributed in various regions of the Emirate of Dubai constitute important habitats for hundreds of species of migratory birds annually, such as Socotra cormorants, sooty gulls, white-cheeked terns, crested cats, black grouse, and yellow-necked sparrows, in addition to wading birds and birds of prey, such as the osprey and the peregrine falcon and small birds, in addition to types of storks, such as the beak, heron, and flamingo that are found in coastal areas and swamps, as well as different types of ducks.

    Reserves provide safe havens that reduce the pressures on migratory birds and provide them with maximum protection in order to preserve biodiversity and enhance environmental sustainability. There are eight nature reserves in the Emirate of Dubai as protected areas to preserve wildlife within the emirate, covering approximately 1,297,82 square kilometers and representing various ecosystems – desert, marine, coastal and mountainous habitats, which are teeming with many types of plants, animals, fish and birds. Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is also one of those key areas that provide a safe place for migratory birds and are of international ecological importance due to their unique biodiversity.

    Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1985 and declared by Local Order No. 2 of 1998 as a protected area. In December 2003, His Highness the Ruler of Dubai issued Law No. 11 of 2003 to define the regulations related to nature reserves. Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary was added to the list of wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention in 2007, thus becoming the first nature reserve in the UAE to be recognized globally according to the Convention. It is also an important destination for birds for breeding and migration according to the Birdlife International.

    Dubai Municipality to celebrate World Migratory Birds Day

    The most beautiful thing that can be seen in Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is the flamingo birds, especially when these migratory birds come to spend the period between autumn and spring, where many of these birds can be seen, and even when most of them return to Central Asia to spend the summer months. A group of them remain here to inhabit this area throughout the year.

    Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is characterized by mangroves, which play a major role in the UAE ecosystem and are home to many living creatures and many resident and migratory birds. A large variety of organisms live and reproduce within the mangrove ecosystem. Therefore, the preservation and growth of mangroves is necessary to preserve these living creatures, especially the resident and migratory birds, because they provide a safe haven for life and reproduction in which food sources are available from small fish and mollusks.

    The Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary in Dubai annually hosts thousands of migratory birds that reside temporarily on the banks of salt flats, mud flats, mangroves and swamps that are widespread there. The reserve includes hundreds of species of birds, and is characterized by the richness and diversity of plant and fungal life, especially seabirds of various types and shapes, including flamingoes, which migrate to the UAE with the onset of winter and abound in January, preferring shallow waters.

    The Al Marmoom Conservation Reserve also receives many migratory birds, with an area of more than 40 hectares of virgin shrubs. The reserve includes 204 species of local birds and 158 species of migratory birds. The Marmoom Reserve is considered the first unenclosed desert reserve in the country open to the public that combines the concepts of eco-tourism and nature protection and it has the highest concentration of big Alventer flamingoes in a desert area with a population of 500-2000 birds. The reserve has eight bird watching towers distributed in its lake areas, which include thousands of migratory and local birds for bird lovers and enthusiasts for watching. A bird watching platform is also built in the form of interlocking straps.

  • NASA images show polluted skies set to engulf north India soon

    NASA images show polluted skies set to engulf north India soon

    The latest NASA satellite data shows that more than 200 farm fires have been recorded in the Majha region of Punjab since September 1…reports Asian Lite News

    The clear blue skies over the national capital may go dark soon with dust and smoke as the stubble burning season nears. The satellite images by US space agency NASA have shown that crop residue burning has already started in several fields in Haryana and Punjab, according to media reports.

    Punjab annually generates 20 million tonnes of paddy straw, which is normally set on fire to quickly clear the fields for the next crop, resulting in choking of the National Capital Region (NCR) in October and November, and causing major health effects.

    The latest NASA satellite data shows that more than 200 farm fires have been recorded in the Majha region of Punjab since September 1, according to media reports. By September 29, the count of fires was 66 in Punjab and 23 in Haryana.

    During October and November, stubble burning usually contributes between 20 per cent to 70 per cent of Delhi’s air pollution. Last year, a report from the Environment Ministry showed that the average contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s air pollution increased from 10 per cent in 2019 to over 15 per cent in 2020.

    A study by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), estimates that crop residue burning releases 149.24 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), over 9 million tonnes of carbon monoxide (CO), 0.25 million tonnes of oxides of sulphur (SOX), 1.28 million tonnes of particulate matter, and 0.07 million tonnes of black carbon.

    These directly contribute to environmental pollution: the heat from burning paddy straw penetrates 1 centimetre into the soil, increasing the temperature to 33.8 to 42.2 degree Celsius, which kills the bacterial and fungal populations critical for a fertile soil.

    Moreover, air pollution is considered as the greatest environmental threat to health, and it disproportionately affects vulnerable populations: 91 per cent of deaths from ambient air pollution occur in low-income and middle-income countries.

    In India, 1,16,000 infant deaths in 2019 were attributable to air pollution, coal combustion was attributable for 1,00,000 deaths while ambient air pollution killed 16.7 lakh Indians, data released by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) showed.

    Meanwhile, state governments of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi and even the Centre have taken multiple measures to incentivise farmers and prevent them from setting their fields on fire.

    The Delhi government on Monday announced a set of 10 points formulated under its Winter Action Plan. It is also providing the Pusa- bio-decomposer, developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, free of cost to its farmers to prevent stubble burning.

    The Punjab government is focusing on increasing use of paddy stubble in power generation. The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has asked the state’s three thermal power plants to use paddy stubble as fuel to the extent of 10 per cent of total annual coal use.

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  • Urgent steps must be taken to save world’s third pole

    Urgent steps must be taken to save world’s third pole

    The first draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework set a target of 30 per cent of terrestrial land being protected in 2030… reports Vishal Gulati

    With the draft global biodiversity framework in preparation for the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-15), Chinese researchers say comprehensive biodiversity monitoring programs are urgently needed on the Tibetan Plateau – the worlds “third pole”.

    Talking to IANS virtually, Chinese researchers Lingyun Xiao and Li Li at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University talk about their work that deals with local communities on the plateau, which scientists believe is �melting’ fast and urging to take climate action now.

    “In my opinion, comprehensive biodiversity monitoring programs are urgently needed in Tibetan Plateau to understand the status quo and to inform the developing of countermeasures,” said landscape ecologist Li.

    However, there is a lack of data to assess climate change impacts on the biodiversity of the plateau, she remarked.

    The Tibetan Plateau lies between the Himalayan range to the south and the Taklamakan Desert to the north. (Wikipedia)

    Both researchers have done extensive research on human and nature interactions and the importance of involving local communities in conservation activities.

    Lingyun, a field ecologist who focuses on wild mammal ecology and conservation, told IANS in an interview that the Tibetan Plateau is an important part of biodiversity conservation, although not entirely belonging to one of the global hotspots.

    “It conserves the unique assemblage of large mammals, most of which evolved from the plateau. A group of archaeologist found an assemblage of mammal fossils on the plateau, all dated back to four million years ago, way before the ice age in Pleistocene.

    “It suggest that the cold winters in rising high Tibet served as a habituation ground for the mammals, which became pre-adapted for the Ice Age and then successfully expanded to the northern hemisphere through the Holarctic region,” she said.

    Lingyun admits they observed grassland desertification due to permafrost melting in the western part of Sanjiangyuan region on the Tibetan Plateau.

    Without mincing words, she clarified that climate change and permafrost or glacier melting are out of her research area.

    About biodiversity and climate change, she replied, “As different parts of the plateau experience different directions of climate change, I suppose the impact on biodiversity would also be different. Some species would benefit from the changing climate, such as those used to living in warmer areas, species turnover would happen but nobody could be sure whether the overall biodiversity will decrease or not.”

    “Studies have been conducted mostly at the local scale from warming experiment, or at the regional scale from species distribution model projection.”

    The first draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework set a target of 30 per cent of terrestrial land being protected in 2030.

    Pastoral nomads camping near Namtso. (Wikipedia)

    As China has already released the ecological red line policy which covers 25 per cent of land area, it becomes important to consider other areas which could provide multiple functions and take biodiversity conservation into account.

    The Tibetan Plateau is a vast region, ecological patterns and processes vary a lot from place to place. For example, the plateau’s temperature, precipitation and land cover changes differ a lot.

    Currently, there are 35 global biodiversity hotspots in the world. The eastern edge of the plateau belongs to the hotspot mountains of southwestern China, and the southern edge the hotspot of the Himalayas.

    “The plateau’s conservation value is well acknowledged domestically,” said landscape ecologist Li.

    The top three largest protected areas in China are all located on the plateau — Qiangtang, Sanjiangyuan and Kekexili.

    The establishment of these large nature reserves is certainly valuable to protect the unique flora and fauna on the plateau.

    “Our own research, however, found that the importance of China’s farmland for conservation has been neglected. Cultivated landscapes in China play a significant role to sustain the country’s avian diversity. The importance is even more pronounced when terrestrial protected area increases from 17 to 30 per cent under the post-2020 biodiversity framework,” she said.

    She hoped the new framework would also provide guidance for biodiversity protection outside conventional protected areas — particularly to foster biodiversity-human coexistence in farmlands and even urban districts.

    The Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in July released the first draft of a new global biodiversity framework, to guide actions worldwide through 2030, to preserve and protect nature and its essential services to people.

    Tibetan Buddhist stupa and houses outside the town of Ngawa, on the Tibetan Plateau.

    At the virtual third meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that went into recess on September 3, delegates helped build political momentum to ensure the level of ambition needed to safeguard and put biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030.

    Delegates will continue their discussions during the resumed session in January 2022 in Geneva, where they hope to advance the framework in preparation for consideration at CBD’s next meeting of its 196 Parties at COP-15 in Kunming in China next year.

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