Notes - Environment Management
Category : UPSC
Environment Management
Introduction
Environmental management system (EMS) refers to the management of an organization's environmental, programs in a comprehensive, systematic, planned and documented manner. It includes the organizational structure, planning and resources for developing, implementing and maintaining policy for environmental protection.
More formally, EMS is "a system and database which integrates procedures and processes for training of personnel, monitoring, summarizing, and reporting of specialized environmental performance information to internal and external stakeholders of a firm.
Environment Management System
The most widely used standard on which an EMS is based
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001. Alternatives include the EMAS.
An environmental management information system (EMIS) is an information technology solution for tracking environmental data for a company as part of their overall environmental management system.
An EMS can also be classified as
Brief history of environmental management systems
In 1992, BSI Group published the world's first environmental management systems standard, BS 7750. Prior to this, environmental management had been part of larger systems such as Responsible Care. BS 7750 supplied the template for the development of the ISO 14000 series in 1996, by the International Organization for Standardization, which has representation from committees all over the world (ISO) (Clements 1996, Brorson & Larsson, 1999). As of 2010, ISO 14001 is now used by at least 223149 organizations in 159 countries and economies.
BSI Group
BSI Group, also known as the British Standards Institution (BSI), is the national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services, and also supplies certification and standards-related services to businesses.
BSI Group headquarters building in Gunnersbury, West London, featuring the BSI Group logo.
BSI Group was founded as the Engineering Standards Committee in London in 1901. It subsequently extended its standardization work and became the British Engineering Standards Association (BESI) in 1918, adopting the name British Standards Institution in 1931 after receiving a Royal Charter in 1929. In 1998 a revision of the Charter enabled the organization to diversify and acquire other businesses, and the trading name was changed to BSI Group.
The Group now operates in 182 countries. The core business remains standards and standards related services, although the majority of the Group's revenue comes from management systems assessment and certification work.
ISO 14000 Standard
ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations:
(a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land)
(b) comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements and (c) continually improve in the above.
The current version of ISO 14001 is ISO 14001:2015 which was published in September 2015.
ISO 14000 is similar to ISO 9000 quality management in that both pertain to the process of how a product is produced, rather than to the product itself. As with ISO 9001, certification is performed by third-party organizations rather than being awarded by ISO directly. The ISO 19011 and ISO 17021 audit standards apply when audits are being performed.
The ISO 14000 family includes most notably the ISO 14001 standard, which represents the core set of standards used by organizations for designing and implementing an effective Environmental Management System (EMS). Other standards included in this series are ISO 14004, which gives additional guidelines for a good EMS, and more specialized standards dealing with specific aspects of environmental management. The major objective of the ISO 14000 series of norms is "to promote more effective and efficient environmental management in organizations and to provide useful and usable tools that are cost-effective, system-based, and flexible, and reflect the best organizations and the best organizational practices available for gathering, interpreting, and communicating environmentally relevant information".
ISO 14000 series is based on a voluntary approach to environmental regulation. The series includes the ISO 14001 standard, which provides guidelines for the establishment or improvement of an EMS. The standard shares many common traits with its predecessor, ISO 9000, the international standard of quality management, which served as a model for its internal structure (National Academy Press 1999), and both can be implemented side by side. As with ISO 9000, ISO 14000 acts both as an internal management tool and as a way of demonstrating a company's environmental commitment to its customers and clients.
ISO 14001 standard
ISO 14001 sets out the criteria for an Environmental Management System (EMS). It does not state requirements for environmental performance, but maps out a framework that a company or organization can follow to set up an effective EMS. It can be used by any organization that wants to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste, and drive down costs. Using ISO 14001 can provide assurance to company management and employees as well as external stakeholders that environmental impact is being measured and improved. ISO 14001 can also be integrated with other management functions and assists companies in meeting their environmental and economic goals. ISO 14001, as with other ISO 14000 standards, is voluntary, with its main aim to assist companies in continually improving their environmental performance, while complying with any applicable legislation. Organizations are responsible for setting their own targets and performance measures, with the standard serving to assist them in meeting objectives and goals and in the subsequent monitoring and measurement of these.
The requirements of ISO 14001 are an integral part of the European Union's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).
Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a voluntary environmental management instrument, which was developed in 1993 by the European Commission. It enables organizations to assess, manage and continuously improve their environmental performance. The scheme is globally applicable and open to all types of private and public organizations. In order to register with EMAS, organisations must meet the requirements of the EU-EMAS-Regulation. Currently, more than 4,600 organisations and more than 7,900 sites are EMAS registered.
Goals of EMS
The goals of EMS are to increase compliance and reduce waste.
Features of EMS
An environmental management system:
The PDCA Cycle
An EMS follows a Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA), Cycle. The diagram shows the process of first developing an environmental policy, planning the EMS, and then implementing it. The process also includes checking the system and acting on it. The model is continuous because an EMS is a process of continual improvement in which an organization is constantly reviewing and revising the system.
This is a model that can be used by a wide range of organizations from manufacturing facilities to service industries to government agencies.
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Example Of EMS: A Case Study EMISOFT’S Environmental Management, Reporting and Compliance Platform It may be the world's most powerful, agile environmental management system. How It Works Manage. Understand. Report. Improve corporate performance and sustainability with complete visibility of your organisation's environmental impact on one environmental management software platform. Measuring the total environmental impact of your operations is challenging. Data flows from varied sources, in multiple formats and on different schedules. Understanding what it all means requires power, precision and insight - things a light ERP plugin or general EHS software don't have. Gain complete visibility of your environmental performance with our integrated environmental management system. Streamline Reporting with faster, more Accurate, more precise data collection and processing. Improve Performance with better isenitoring and planning and more efficient use of resources. Minimise Impact with comprehensive reporting that reveals new ways to improve sustainability. |
Environment Management in India
Need of Environment Management in India
Environment Management systems are needed in India because:
Trends in Environment in India
Impact Assessment and Planning (IAP)
Assessing environmental and social impacts prior to setting up operations and obtaining environmental approval from the authorities is almost mandatory in most project categories. IAP assessment may be required for not only newly constructed facilities, but also for operations that will be undertaken in a current building.
Environment Liability and Clean-up
Foreign invested has resulted in more current and historic environmental liabilities associated with property transactions in India.
Sustainability and Regulatory Compliance
The increasing desire of Indian companies to meet world-class standards has led to establishing companies in India to take on sustainability initiatives.
Climate Change
While India still lags the West in coming up with efficient regulation based on the development versus environment database, there is an increasing awareness in India that climate change need to be checked to control its effect on the environment.
Objectives of Environment Management in India
Conservation of Critical Environment Resources
Environment management becomes essential to conserve critical ecosystems and resources, and invaluable natural and made-made heritage, which are essential for life support, livelihoods, economic growth and human well-being.
Intra-generation Equity
To ensure equitable access to environmental resources and quality for all sections of society, and in particular, to support poor communities.
Environmental Governance
To apply the principles of good governance with respect to transparency, rationality, accountability, and reduction in time and costs, to the management and regulation of use of environmental resources.
Water Resource Management
Groundwater
The stage of ground water development in India is 61%. The development of ground water in different areas has not been uniform. Intensive development of ground water in certain areas in the country has led to over-exploitation leading to decline in the level of ground water and sea water intrusion in coastal areas. Out of 5842 numbers of assessment administrative units, 802 units are 'over-exploited', 169 units are 'critical', 523 units are 'semi-critical', 4277 units are 'safe' and 71 units are 'saline'. Government of India, through the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, has taken significant steps to manage groundwater through the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).
Water Quality Management
Recycling Waste Water
Recycling the world's waste water, almost all of which goes untreated would ease global water shortages while protecting the environment. People have been using fresh water faster than nature can replace it, contributing in some regions to hunger, disease, conflict and migration. Two-thirds of humanity currently live in zones that experience water scarcity at least one month a year. Half of those people are in China and India. Besides reducing pollution at the source, policy initiatives must focus on removing contaminants from waste water flows, reusing water, and recovering useful by-products. The potential for reusing liquid waste can be understood by the fact that astronauts on the International Space Station drink recycled urine and use it wash up. In Jordan and Israel, 90% and 50% of agricultural water, respectively, has been recovered for reuse. Besides being recycled, waste water can also be a rich source nutrients, minerals and energy. Harvesting phosphorus from urine supplied by urine-diverting toilets reduces waste water's nutrient load. More than a fifth of global phosphorus demand worldwide could be met by recycled human urine and feces. Waste can also be converted into fuel.
Creating a More Resilient Environment to Climate Change
There is a need to create more resilient environment to adapt to climate change. A coalition of nations, river basin organizations, business and civil society can be made for more resilient to climate impacts. This concept was seen with the creation of the international Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation to make water systems more resilient to climate impacts. The "Water Resilience Focus" event under the Lima to Paris Action Agenda on climate change also focused on other key partnerships and coalitions to make river basins, lakes, aquifers and deltas more resilient to climate change and reduce human interference with oceans.
Climate changes, along with unsustainable use of water, are causing widespread impacts on societies and economies, creating droughts, floods and warming which affect all water systems and trigger negative and often fatal impacts. This concept highlights individual commitments to implement adaptation plans, strengthening water monitoring and measurement systems in river basins and promoting financial sustainability and new investment in water systems management.
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The Delta Coalition includes 12 countries (Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, South-Korea, Mozambique, Myanmar, Netherlands, Philippines, Vietnam, France and Bangladesh) to bring deltas to global policy discussions, build partnerships and focus on action, aiming to increase resilience for almost 250 million people in deltas in these 12 countries. |
Managing River Ganga
Ganga is an important Indian river which sustains a large pool of aquatic life. The degrading condition of Ganga is a major concern and needs an immediate action plan to save it from further ecological damage. Several steps have been taken by the government to ensure healthy environment of Ganga.
The National Green Tribunal has banned camping activity in the entire belt of Kaudiyala to Rishikesh on the banks of river Ganga in Uttarakhand. Rafting does not cause any serious pollution river or environment. NGT prohibits the use of any plastic items in the entire belt and restricts using mechanized riverbed mining in the Ganga till Haridwar.
Ganga project activities include ghat and crematoria construction/ repair, river front beautification, installation and repair of sewage treatment plants (STPs). Ganga pollution can be controlled by treating the effluents coming from tanneries, sugar mills, distilleries and other industrial units in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur.
Introducing Water Management Topics in Curriculum
Rajasthan River Basin and Water Resources Planning Authority has incorporated geo-tagging and advanced scientific techniques for water conservation works and aims to include water conservation lesson in school syllabus. New generation need to learn and understand importance of water conservation right from the beginning. The curriculum should be designed in such a way that it imparts a detail information on the importance of water conservation along with the methods and technology to be used for water conservation.
Pollution Control
Industrial pollution control
Charge system will levy a fee or tax on the amount of pollution a firm or source generates. It is important for the firm to reduce emissions to the point, where its marginal abatement cost is equal to the tax rate. The charge system encourages the industries to reduce the pollutants further. The charges thus collected can form a fund for restoration of the environment. Another form of pollution charge is a deposit refund system, where consumers pay a surcharge when purchasing a potentially polluting product, and receive a refund on return of the product after useful life span at appropriate centers. The concept of extended producers' responsibility brought in to avoid accumulation of dangerous products in the environment.
Under this system, firms that achieve the emission levels below their allotted level may sell the surplus permits. The firms which are required to spend more to attain the required degree of treatment/allotted levels, can purchase permits from others at lower costs and may be benefited.
Subsidies can provide incentive to address environmental problems. However, it has been reported that the subsidies encourage economically inefficient and environmentally unsound practices, and often leads to market distortions due to differences in the area. However, in the national interest, subsidies are important to sustain the expansion of production. In such cases, the subsidy may be comparable to the net social benefit.
Eco-labeling is the practice of supplying information on the environmental characteristics of a product or service to the general public. These labeling schemes can be grouped into three types.
Segregation at source of pollutant generation is important. Preliminary treatment involves a number of unit processes to eliminate undesirable characteristics of wastewater. Processes include use of screen, grit chambers for removal of sand and large particles for grinding of coarse solids, pre-aeration for odour control and removal of oil.
The revised emission standards for thermal power plants were notified with respect to Paniculate Matter (PM), Sulphur Dioxide\[(S{{O}_{2}})\], Nitrogen Oxide\[(N{{O}_{x}})\], Mercury (Hg) and water consumption on December 7, 2015, and shall come into force from December 6, 2017. The government had taken other steps to clean up the environment in areas adjoining thermal power plants. It included installation of continuous emission/effluent monitoring systems (CEMS), revised norms for fly ash utilisation, industry specific action plans for critically polluted areas where significant number of thermal power plants are located and development of green belt in surrounding areas.
Recently, the Supreme Court of India has ordered industries to set up Effluent Treatment Plants or (ETPs). These are used by leading companies in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry to purify water and remove any toxic and non-toxic materials or chemicals from it. These plants are used by all companies for environment protection. An ETP is a plant where the treatment of industrial effluents and waste waters is done. The ETP plants are used widely in industrial sector, for example, pharmaceutical industry, to remove the effluents from the bulk drugs. During the manufacturing process of drugs, varied effluents and contaminants are produced. The effluent treatment plants are used in the removal of high amount of organics, debris. dirt, grit, pollution, toxic, non-toxic materials, polymers etc. from drugs and other medicated stuff. The ETP plants use evaporation and drying methods, and other auxiliary techniques such as centrifuging, filtration, incineration for chemical processing and effluent treatment.
State-owned Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited has made an agreement with specialty chemicals maker Evonik Industries for setting up a multi-million hydrogen peroxide and propylene oxide project at Dahej in Gujarat. This project would be based on an innovative, environment-friendly HPPO technology. The world's first facility to manufacture carbon foam batteries will be set up at Bavia near Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Firefly Energy India is planning to build a plant to produce carbon foam batteries. State Bank of India has invested in the Carbon Disclosure Project, which is an organisation based in the United Kingdom which works with shareholders and corporations to disclose the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of major corporations.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents the policies, practices and initiatives a company commits to in order to govern themselves with honesty and transparency and have a positive impact on social and environmental wellbeing. The Indian government has been trying to make it mandatory for companies to spend at least 2% of net profitability on CSR. A mutually time targeted programme is implemented under Corporate Responsibility for Environment Protection (CREP)
Air Quality Management
The Supreme Court ruled that health of citizens was more important than commercial interests of auto makers as it banned the sale and registration of Bharat Stage (BS)-III emission norm-compliant vehicles from 1 April, 2017 Bharat Stage or BS norms are standards for vehicular emissions. They lay down the permissible levels of pollutants that come out of the exhaust pipes of motor vehicles. The aim is to check air pollution and emissions that lead to global warming. India is set to enforce a new generation of vehicular pollution norms on 1 April, 2017 called BS IV. Only BS IV compliant vehicles can be manufactured, sold and registered, across the country after April 1. Centre for Science and Environment, estimates that the transition will lead to a significant decrease in PM emissions. Emissions can fall by as much as 80% from new trucks and by 50% from cars. Reductions in Hydrocarbon and \[N{{O}_{x}}\] emissions from may come down by 41-80 % depending on the engine size. The difference between BS III and BS IV is that the latter are stricter and permit lower quantities of pollutants to be emitted by vehicles.
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Norms |
CO(g/km) Carbon Monoxide |
HC (Hydro carbons) + \[N{{O}_{x}}\] Nitrogen Oxides (g/km) |
RSPM (Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter) |
Sulphur Content in Diseset |
|
BS I |
2.72 |
0.97 |
0.14 |
NA |
|
BS II |
2.2 |
0.5 |
0.08 |
500 PPM |
|
BS III |
2.3 |
0.35 (Combined) |
0.050 |
100 PPM |
|
BS IV |
1.0 |
0.18 (Combined) |
0.025 |
50 PPM |
It has been developed using the suggestions and best practices prescribed by civic experts, medical practitioners and community leaders, both national and international (Mexico City, Beijing and Los Angeles). It is based on two strategies - a city-wide air quality monitoring system, called Air Quality Index (AQI), and a broad public information and education campaign called Air Information & Response (AIR) Plan. The Air Action Plan is modeled on the Heat Action Plan that was first implemented by Ahmedabad in 2013 and has now been scaled to 11 cities across India. Its aim was to protect communities from heat stress and longer, more intense heat waves that were becoming increasingly frequent due to climate change.
This service was launched in the National Capital and included a multi-modal transportation model aimed at reducing Delhi's air pollution. The RO-RO have a direct impact on its air ambient quality and the capital would breathe clean air. According to plans, heavy commercial vehicles passing through Delhi will be loaded on flat railway wagons at railway terminals outside the capital and will get unloaded at the other end of the city. RO-RO service aims to reduce carbon emission and congestion on the roads of the NCR as about 66,000 diesel trucks pass through Delhi and its adjoining areas in a day.
The government agency is implementing the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981 to restore air quality. It is a statutory organisation under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, 1974. CPCB runs nation-wide programs of ambient air quality monitoring known as National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP). The network consists of 621 operating stations covering 262 cities/towns in 29 states and 5 Union Territories of the country. Under N.A.M.P., four air pollutants vi., Sulphur Dioxide (S02), Oxides of Nitrogen as N02, Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable Suspended Paniculate Matter (RSPM/ PM10) have been identified for regular monitoring at all the locations. The monitoring of meteorological parameters such as wind speed and wind direction, relative humidity (RH) and temperature were also integrated with the monitoring of air quality.
Fuel in Delhi and some other cities most of the public transport is running on CNG instead of diesel. CNG happens to be a very viable alternative to traditional fuels particularly for use in the automobile industry. Being low in pollutants, high in calorific value and heat yield, economical and available in abundance globally, CNG is the perfect alternative fuel for most automobiles. CNG is environment friendly as it reduces vehicular exhaust emissions significantly. Carbon Monoxide emissions are reduced to a maximum of 90 % and Hydrocarbon emissions by 60% as compared to vehicles that use Petrol.
Carbon Dioxide emissions, a cause for global warming, are also reduced significantly by 10%. There is the Closed Loop kit where the exhaust gases are inspected by the sensors and the volume of intake gas is tweaked accordingly to minimize pollution.
A colour-coded national air-quality index has been used to monitor the air quality. The Ministery for Environment, Forests & Climate Change launched 'The National Air Quality Index' (AQI) to judge the air quality. The formulation of the index was a continuation of the initiatives under Swachh Bharat Mission. Air pollution has been a matter of environmental and health concerns, particularly in urban areas. Central Pollution Control Board along with State Pollution Control Boards has been operating National Air Monitoring Program (NAMP) covering 240 cities of the country. In addition, continuous monitoring systems that provide data on near real-time basis are also installed in a few cities.
A graded response highlights the actions required to be taken as and when the concentration of pollutants, in this case particulate matter, reaches a certain level. At the current level of pollution lying between poor and moderate, the measures that are to be enforced under the plan include strict ban on garbage burning, closing brick kilns, mechanised sweeping of roads, enforcing ban on fire-crackers among others. If pollution increases to the next level, very poor, tougher measures are to be enforced including hiking parking fees by up to 4%, banning diesel generator sets and increasing frequency of metro. In this plan, odd-even car rationing scheme and halt on construction activities may be implemented across Delhi-NCR if air quality remains at the emergency level for 48-hours.
Cess on diesel vehicles will lead to the reduction in air pollution. The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) for the National Capital Region (NCR) has recommended to levy a green cess of 20-22% on diesel vehicles. EPCA recommended a cess of 20 % on the cost of vehicles with engines that are smaller than 1,500cc in size, and 22% on those over l, 500cc. The main reason behind EPCA's recommendation is to remove the existing incentive for buying diesel vehicles. Removing the fuel price differential, through the imposition of ECC (environment compensation charge) will be a step in removing the incentive for diesel vehicles. This is needed to reduce public health risk as diesel emissions are among the more harmful pollutants.
Hybrid and electric vehicles are relatively much less polluting than the traditional petrol and diesel vehicles. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) aims to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in India. There is an ambitious target to achieve 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles year on year from 2020 onwards. Government has launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME India) scheme under NEMMP. The aim of the Government through this scheme will be to allow hybrid and electric vehicles to become the first choice for the purchasers so that these vehicles can replace the conventional vehicles and thus reduce liquid fuel consumption in the country from the automobile sector.
Which is produced from sugarcane, maize, wheat, etc., can be mixed with gasoline to form different blends. As the ethanol molecule contains oxygen, it allows the engine to more completely combust the fuel, resulting in fewer emissions and thereby reducing the occurrence of environmental pollution. Since ethanol is produced from plants that harness the power of the sun, ethanol is also considered as renewable fuel. Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme was launched in January, 2003 which aimed to promote the use of alternative and environment friendly fuels and to reduce import dependency for energy requirements.
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Air Quality Monitoring App The government of Rajasthan has introduced mobile application RajVayu for sharing information about air quality index of Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur. The app was launched on the World Environment Day (5th June). With this, Rajasthan becomes first state in country to launch such app for sharing information about air quality index of cities. RajVayu app gathers information based on the data collected by sophisticated air quality monitoring equipment and weather sensors. The app has been built by Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) jointly with Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). It can share details about the air quality, such as levels of pollutants likes\[S{{O}_{x}}\],\[N{{O}_{x}}\], CO, Ozone particles and Particulate Matter (PM) with the city residents and tourists. It can also provide information about temperature, wind speed, humidity, weather forecast and advisories. This app is based on the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting Research (SAFAR-India) which is presently connected in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. The services of this application would be expanded other cities in the state including in Ajmer, Alwar, Bhiwadi, Kota and Pali. Another application named 'Drishti' has been launched for monitoring of pollution levels in industrial regions. |
Noise Pollution
Noise pollution has major mental impact on living organism. Several initiatives have been taken to control noise pollution from various sources. The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has made it mandatory for all automobile manufacturers to provide emission and noise pollution details for every vehicle they produce by April 2017. The ministry has amended Form 22 under the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1989 through which manufacturers provide the initial certification of compliance of vehicles. It will include pollution standards, safety standards of component quality and road-worthiness certificate for all vehicles. The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways wants to award five star ratings to vehicles based on their emission and noise pollution standards.
Amended Form 22: It makes mandatory for all automobile manufacturers to provide emission and noise pollution deals for every vehicle including makers of electric rickshaws and electric carte. It will include the engine number, chassis number and emission norm of the vehicle. It will apply to all vehicles including petrol, CNG, LPG, electric, diesel and hybrid. Automobile manufacturers need to specify the levels of each pollutant like carbon monoxide, hydro carbon, non-methane \[HC,\,\,HC\,+,PM\]etc. for petrol and diesel vehicles. They will also have to specify the sound level for horn and pass-by noise values of all vehicles. Earlier, Form 22 only certified that the vehicle in question complied with the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1989.
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Oil Degrading Bacteria Scientists have found three new strains of oil-degrading bacteria in Kochi, Kerala. Earlier, laboratory tests of these new strains conducted were successful. The field trials will be conducted by the Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute of Plant Sciences (MBGIPS), Kozhikode and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). The study will allow the development of bioremediation agents to clean up petroleum pollutants from the environment. Enzymes in oil-degrading bacteria (microorganisms) can degrade and utilise hydrocarbons as a source of carbon and energy. Scientists from successfully isolated key hydrocarbon-degrading enzyme produced by the bacteria. The three new strains isolated by MBGIPS include two species of Burkholderia and one species of Pseudomonas. These oil-degrading bacteria have been sequenced and submitted to the Genebank database on organisms. |
World Bank' Aid to Minimize Coal Use
The global development lenders such as World Bank and
Asian Development Bank (ABD) should provide help countries including India to shift away from coal for energy purpose. The idea of funding was proposed by the World Coal Association to finance countries to help them to shift to more efficient technologies so that they can meet their COP21 commitments. Coal is needed to meet energy demands. Even if countries opt for renewable energy they are not going to do away with coal in overall energy mix. In absence of any funding, countries invest in inefficient sub-critical thermal plants, which have much higher \[C{{O}_{2}}\] and particulate matter (PM) emissions. The aid by global development lenders will help countries to adopt super critical and ultra-super critical (USC) plants technologies.
Benefits of Aid:
Forest Fire Mitigation
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology released its report on forest fires which revealed that the frequency of forest fires across Central Indian forests and the Himalayan Pine forest have increased by 55% in 2016. The States of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh accounted for l/3rd of the forest fires. The Committee said that Chir pine needles, which are highly inflammable due to its high resin content, are main factor in occurring and spreading of forest fires. Incidents of fire in broad leaves forests were found to be minimal. The Committee also suggested that a national policy on managing forest fires should be prepared.
Major Recommendations to Prevent Forest Fire
Waste Management
Around 62 million tonnes of waste is generated annually in the country at present, out of which 5.6 million tonnes is plastic waste, 0.17 million tonnes is biomedical waste, hazardous waste generation is 7.90 million tonnes per annum and 15 lakh tonne is e-waste. The responsibility of waste generators has been introduced to segregate waste into three categories - Wet, Dry and Hazardous Waste. The waste generator need to pay 'User Fee' to the waste collector and a 'Spot Fine' for littering and non-segregation. In case of hilly areas, land for construction of sanitary landfills in the hilly areas should be identified in the plain areas, within 25 kilometers. Waste processing facilities will have to be set up by all local bodies having 1 million or more population within two years.
Some of the developments in the waste management sector in India are given below:
National Solid Waste Association of India (NSWAI)
National Solid Waste Association of India (NSWAI) has been formed on 25th January 1996. It is also a member of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), and provides forum for exchange of information and expertise in the field of Solid Waste Management at the international level.
The objectives of NSWAI are as follows:
Soil Management
Soil plays a vital role in sustaining life by forming a growing medium for plants which is the primary source of energy and clean air. Vegetation cover prevents soil erosion, so more focus need be put on plantation of trees. Soil management can be achieved through the following ways:
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification has proposed Science-Policy Interface (SPI) to facilitate a two-way science-policy dialogue and ensure the delivery of policy-relevant information, knowledge and advice on desertification/land degradation and drought (DLDD). The SPI is composed of 20 members and three observers, who are mostly scientific experts.
Biodiversity Management
Eco-Sensitive Zone
An Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) has been proposed by the government in Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai. ESZ acts as a buffer for further protection around Protected Areas (PAs) such as National Parks and Wildlife sanctuaries. Activities around such areas are regulated and managed so as to protect the environment. ESZ is notified under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest. Many states have opposed ESZ because of presence of minerals and resources side by side. Local people in many areas are also opposed to ESZ for loss of livelihood due to restriction placed by it on various activities.
Guidelines on ESZ classify activities under three categories:
Prohibited: Commercial mining, setting of saw mill, setting of industries causing pollution, establishment of major hydroelectric projects.
Regulated: Establishment of hotels and resorts, felling of trees, erection of electrical cables, drastic change of agricultural systems.
Permitted: Agriculture and horticulture practices by local communities, rain water harvesting, organic farming, etc.
Drone to Monitor Tigers
Conservation drones are being used to monitor tiger reserves. Besides monitoring of tiger population in the reserves, the unmanned aircraft would collect and transmit visual data on animal movements, poaching activities and instances of forest fire from inaccessible forest terrains on a real-time basis. The drones could be used for the management of habitats and species. The use of drones was suggested by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun. Drones were earlier used for conservation programmes in the forests of Assam and Madhya Pradesh. Drones were used in Panna Tiger Reserve. In April 2013, the test flight of a small aircraft, Maja, was undertaken in Kaziranga Tiger Reserve. Later, in January 2014, three other drones were tested in Panna Tiger Reserve, where WII has initiated a long-term tiger reintroduction and monitoring project.
Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Mechanism
Under this mechanism, a pan of the profit earned from exploiting natural resources can be used for conserving natural resources. The National Biodiversity Authority proposed this mechanism for biodiversity conservation. The board had earlier issued notices to more than 1,100 manufacturers and traders of Ayurvedic drugs that are commercially utilising these bio resources. Many of the companies use these natural plants and products as ingredients in medicinal and other products. 95% of the ABS amount shall is transferred to the account of the Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) of the respective region.
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