IASbaba's Flagship Course: Integrated Learning Programme (ILP) - 2024 Read Details
SYNOPSIS [21st April,2021] Day 87: IASbaba’s TLP (Phase 1): UPSC Mains Answer Writing (General Studies)
1. Examine the issue of marine pollution with special focus on plastics. How does plastic waste threaten the oceans? Discuss.Approach- Candidate can define the marine pollution and focussing on the role of plastics in causing the same. With the help of data and citing important conventions in this regard, a way forward can be given to tackle this menace.
Introduction
Marine pollution is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from land sources and is washed or blown into the ocean. This pollution results in damage to the environment, to the health of all organisms, and to economic structures worldwide.
Body
Marine pollution and plastics
How does plastic threaten the oceans?
What can be done?
Conclusion
The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life - drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. We must treat plastic pollution as serious threat to humanity, ocean health must be treated as a global issue and all nations should act in concert to implement Sustainable Development Goal: 14 i.e. To conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
2. What are the major anthropogenic threats to the Western Ghats? What measures
have been taken to protect the ecology of Western Ghats? Discuss.
Approach
Since the question is asking you to discuss so it necessitates a debate where reasoning is backed up with evidence to make a case for and against an argument and finally arriving at a conclusion.
Introduction
Running parallel to the West coast of India from the river Tapi in the north to Kanyakumari in the south and covering a total area of 160,000 square kms and traverses through six States viz. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, The Western Ghats, also known as ‘Sahyadri’, constitute a 1600 km long mountain chain along the west coast of India.
Body
MAJOR ANTHROPOGENIC THREATS TO THE WESTERN GHATS
The Western Ghats of India is facing severe threats to its ecosystem. In the period between 1920 to 1990, 40 percent of its natural vegetation was depleted. This is coupled with dangers arising from encroachments. The major anthropogenic threats include:
MEASURES TO PROTECT THE ECOLOGY OF WESTERN GHATS
Conclusion
The Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is one of the eight hot-spots of biological diversity in world, hosts a large proportion of the country’s flora and fauna and largely impacts climatic conditions and rainfall patterns in the peninsula. It’s our responsibility to protect them from destruction. If we could not do anything for the conservation of Western Ghats right now, then it will be too late to save amazing flora and fauna from the old mountain range.
3. Why is India home to cities having dangerous air pollution levels? What urgent measures would you recommend to address this problem?
Approach:
Question is very straight forward in its approach students are expected to write about role of social media platforms in changing societal norms and values and explanation with appropriate use of examples as demanded by the question explicitly.
Introduction:
Twenty-one of the world’s 30 cities with the worst levels of air pollution are in India, according to data compiled in IQAir AirVisual’s 2019 World Air Quality Report; six Indian cities are in the top ten. Indeed, air pollution is pervasive in many parts of India, causing massive public health and environmental crises. The economic cost of fossil fuel air pollution alone is estimated at INR 10,700 billion, or 5.4 percent of the country’s annual GDP. An estimated one million deaths each year, and 980,000 pre-term births, are attributed to air pollution from fossil fuel in India.
Body:
India has been particularly vulnerable to air pollution over the last two decades, owing to population growth, increasing numbers of vehicles, use of fuels, inefficient transportation systems, poor land use patterns, industrialisation, and ineffective environmental regulations. Among Indian cities, the capital, New Delhi, is one of the worst-affected. New Delhi has the highest ambient particulate matter pollution exposure in the country. As of 2019, the average annual PM 2.5 concentration across India was 58.1 micrograms per cubic meter; Delhi’s average PM 2.5 concentration for the year 2019 was 98.6 micrograms per cubic meter. The startling aspect of that statistic is that the recorded level is not just the highest for any capital city in India, but for any capital city in the world.
Reasons for Air Pollution:
Crop Burning
The national capital territory of Delhi is landlocked between the states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and the Himalayas in the north. Much of the air pollution in Delhi is blamed on crop-burning—especially in the states of Punjab and Haryana, where rice and wheat are widely grown. Burning typically peaks during the first week of November, a time when many farmers set fire to leftover rice stalks and straw after harvest, a practice known as stubble or paddy burning, a cost-effective measure for clearing out fields.
Industrial Pollution
Delhi has the highest cluster of small-scale industries in India. Assessments made by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) show that the national capital is home to and surrounded by highly pollutive industrial clusters that do not meet limits on air, water or soil emissions. Even the other major cities especially in the Northern India suffer from high Industrial Pollution.
Vehicular Emissions
The transport sector is the main source of PM2.5 emissions in North Indian cities(28 percent of all PM2.5 emissions). Vehicular contribution also makes up 80 percent of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide in Indian cities’ air. Data on vehicular pollution in these cities shows the following: trucks and tractors generate 9 percent of emissions; 7 percent from two-wheelers; 5 percent from three-wheelers; 3 percent each from cars and buses; and 1 percent from light commercial vehicles. In all, these vehicles are responsible for 41 percent of the total pollution load in these major metropolitan cities.
Also, a lot of the smaller cities have poor waste management, there is a lot of burning, solid fuel use, they are moving from non-motorised to motorised transport. Chulhas [cookstoves], we know, contribute to 25 percent outdoor pollution in India.” These stoves also cause pollution indoors, which is especially dangerous for children, according to the WHO.
Steps to Address the Pollution
Control of ambient particulate matter pollution requires action in several sectors and the linkage of these actions for greatest impact. Various studies have estimated the contribution of different sources to PM pollution in Delhi, which can be useful in informing the efforts that are needed to address these sources.Various government initiatives have been launched in the past few years to reduce air pollution.
Capacity Building
Public and media discussions on air pollution largely focus on the high ambient PM levels in north India in the winter season and the impacts on people’s health. Similar discussions are needed for the longer-term adverse health effects of chronically high pollution levels throughout the year.
More awareness needs to be created among policymakers and the general public about the slow but substantial impact of ambient particulate matter and household air pollution. Government initiatives to reduce solid fuel use for tackling household air pollution include a scheme initiated by the prime minister in May 2016—the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which aims to provide clean and safe cooking fuel (liquefied petroleum gas) to 50 million low-income households by March 2019. It targeted the addition of 10,000 distributors, increasing access, and covering nearly all the upfront costs of switching for low-income households.
Another imperative is a viable public transport system strategy. While the Metro has provided massive relief to Delhi’s commuters, it is not viable for all economic classes. Therefore, Delhi needs an active bus service that runs on electricity.Regardless of the high initial cost, such vehicles offer other advantages like low maintenance cost, longer service life and lower operational costs per kilometre. More importantly, they reduce pollution levels.
Electric mobility is a definitive way towards cleaner air, without compromising functionality. Continuing with the ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles in the same way as in the past would make it difficult to see a satisfactory AQI in Delhi. A shift to electric mobility is long-overdue in Delhi.
Conclusion:
The restrictions on non-essential movement in the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant decline in air pollution levels across India. It helped achieve 95 percent of National Clean Air Program targets for 2024 in just 74 days in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, as emissions from the transport, construction and industrial sectors almost stopped and those from power plants reduced significantly. Air pollution, however, is not a one-time, short-term crisis; it is a recurring problem that requires long-term, holistic solutions. If the lockdown showed anything, it is that air pollution levels can be brought down dramatically if India focuses its energy towards a green recovery model that is less emissions-intensive.
In the post-COVID-19 era, the urgency of reviving the economy must not sideline the implementation of NCAP. The key mitigation measures will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thereby provide opportunities for climate co-benefits. These include transitioning to cleaner fuel for household use that would eradicate household emissions, switching to Bharat Stage VI vehicles and fuels, strict compliance for industrial, power plant and brick kiln emissions, and a sustained programme to stop open crop-waste burning. In the long term, NCAP also needs to be scaled-up in a significant manner to ensure that rapid economic growth and meeting National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are aligned
4. How does mining affect the local ecology? Illustrate. Discuss various sustainable methods of mining.
Approach
The candidate needs to illustrate upon how mining affects the local ecology in the first part of the answer while in the second part, discussing various sustainable methods of mining is the demand.
Introduction
Mining is considered as one of the necessary evils of the modern world, which provides the materials required to sustain quality of life. While improving the quality of life and giving an impetus to economic development, it has also brought in its wake, a notable impact on the environment as well as socio-economic conditions of local people.
Body
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. Developing regions with large mineral deposits confront a challenge in striking the right balance between exploiting the mineral resources for economic prosperity and safeguarding environmental stability. In this regard, effects of mining on the local ecology include –
India had a vision to incorporate sustainability in this sector at least almost a decade ago, even before the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable mining activities are integral to many of the SDGs. Here, various sustainable methods of mining are –
The National Mineral Policy 2019 emphasised that environmental, economic and social considerations must be taken into account as early as possible in the decision-making process so that mining is financially viable, socially responsible, environmentally, technically and scientifically sound, uses mineral resources optimally and ensures sustainable post-closure land uses.
Conclusion
Despite recent strides and new technology, the mining industry remains unsustainable in many areas. Not all of the technologies are economical yet. However, the mining industry as a whole does seem to be moving in the direction of sustainability where future seems promising.
5. Discuss the key principles of environmental impact assessment (EIA)? Is it impractical to adhere to these principles in real life? Critically examine.
Approach:
Candidates are expected to write about Environment impact assessment, also critically examine whether it is impractical to adhere to these principles in real life.
Introduction
UNEP defines Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as a tool used to identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project prior to decision-making. It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project planning and design, find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts, shape projects to suit the local environment and present the predictions and options to decision-makers.
Body
Importance of principles of the EIA:
Difficulty and shortcomings in adherence to the principles in reality:
Wayforward:
Conclusion
An EIA should not be used just as a means for obtaining an environmental clearance; rather, project proponents should use it as a management tool to assess the soundness of a project plan. The focus of EIA needs to shift from utilisation and exploitation of natural resources to conservation of natural resources.
TLP HOT Synopsis Day 87 PDF