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Environmental Ecology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari

Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working as a scientist in IIT Delhiwith the association of Department of Science & Technology (GOI)

GS-III ModuleEnvironmental Ecology

Prelims-cum-Mains-2016

Current Affairs

VOLUME –

1(October – 2015)

By

Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari(Scientist in IIT Delhi)

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1. Do you think blind deforestation in the name of creating new forests

is a solution to the increasing global warming and climate change or it

has a long term environmental impacts. Give your views.

Ans. Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment. The most

dramatic impact is a loss of habitat for millions of species. Seventy percent of

Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests, and many cannot survive the

deforestation that destroys their homes.

Deforestation is clearing Earth's forests on a massive scale, often

resulting in damage to the quality of the land. Forests still cover about

30 percent of the world’s land area, but swaths the size of Panama is lost

each and every year. The world’s rain forests could completely vanish in

a hundred years at the current rate of deforestation.

Forests are cut down for many reasons, but most of them are related to

money or to people’s need to provide for their families. The biggest driver of

deforestation is agriculture. Farmers cut forests to provide more room for

planting crops or grazing livestock. Often many small farmers will each

clear a few acres to feed their families by cutting down trees and burning

them in a process known as “slash and burn” agriculture.

Logging operations, which provide the world’s wood and paper products,

also cut countless trees each year. Loggers, some of them acting illegally,

also build roads to access more and more remote forests — which leads to

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further deforestation. Forests are also cut as a result of growing urban

sprawl.

Not all deforestation is intentional. Some is caused by a combination of

human and natural factors like wildfires and subsequent overgrazing, which

may prevent the growth of young trees.

Deforestation also drives climate change. Forest soils are moist, but without

protection from sun-blocking tree cover they quickly dry out. Trees also help

perpetuate the water cycle by returning water vapor back into theatmosphere. Without trees to fill these roles, many former forest lands can

quickly become barren deserts.

Removing trees deprives the forest of portions of its canopy, which blocks

the sun’s rays during the day and holds in heat at night. This disruption leads

to more extreme temperatures swings that can be harmful to plants and

animals.

The quickest solution to deforestation would be to simply stop cutting down

trees. Though deforestation rates have slowed a bit in recent years, financial

realities make this unlikely to occur.

A more workable solution is to carefully manage forest resources by

eliminating clear-cutting to make sure that forest environments remain

intact. The cutting that does occur should be balanced by the planting of

enough young trees to replace the older ones felled in any given forest. The

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number of new tree plantations is growing each year, but their total still

equals a tiny fraction of the Earth’s forested land.

2. What were the issues which happened during Copenhagen

conference, which hampered the climatic talks to be concluded?

Discuss

Ans. COP 15 took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, from December 7 to

December 18, 2009.

The overall goal for the COP 15/CMP 5 United Nations Climate Change

Conference in Denmark was to establish an ambitious global climate

agreement for the period from 2012 when the first commitment period

under the Kyoto Protocol expires. However, on November 14, 2009, the

New York Times announced that "President Obama and other world

leaders have decided to put off the difficult task of reaching a climate

change agreement... agreeing instead to make it the mission of the

Copenhagen conference to reach a less specific "politically binding"

agreement that would punt the most difficult issues into the future".

Ministers and officials from 192 countries took part in the Copenhagen

meeting and in addition there were participants from a large number of

civil society organizations. As many Annex 1 industrialized countries are

now reluctant to fulfill commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, a large part

of the diplomatic work that lays the foundation for a post-Kyoto agreement

was undertaken up to the COP15.

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The conference did not achieve a binding agreement for long-term

action. A 13-paragraph 'political accord' was negotiated by

approximately 25 parties including US and China, but it was only

'noted' by the COP as it is considered an external document, not

negotiated within the UNFCCC process.

The accord was notable in that it referred to a collective

commitment by developed countries for new and additional

resources, including forestry and investments through international

institutions that will approach USD 30 billion for the period 2010–

2012. Longer-term options on climate financing mentioned in the

accord are being discussed within the UN Secretary General's High

Level Advisory Group on Climate Financing, which is due to report in

November 2010.

The negotiations on extending the Kyoto Protocol had unresolved

issues as did the negotiations on a framework for long-term

cooperative action. The working groups on these tracks to thenegotiations are now due to report to COP 16 and CMP 6 in Mexico.

The conference was preceded by the Climate Change: Global Risks,

Challenges and Decisions scientific conference, which took place in

March 2009 and was also held at the Bella Center. The negotiations

began to take a new format when in May 2009 UN Secretary General

Ban Ki-moon attended the World Business Summit on Climate

Change in Copenhagen, organized by the Copenhagen Climate

Council (COC), where he requested that COC councilors attend New

York's Climate Week at the Summit on Climate Change on 22

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September and engage with heads of government on the topic of the

climate problem.

3. What were the issues which hampered the Copenhagen meet to be

conclusive? Suggest measures so that the world can reach out to a

conclusion in the Paris conference.

Ans . COP 15/CMP 5

The overall goal for the COP 15/CMP 5 United Nations Climate Change

Conference in Denmark was to establish an ambitious global climateagreement for the period from 2012 when the first commitment period

under the Kyoto Protocol expires. However, on November 14, 2009, the

New York Times announced that "President Obama and other world

leaders have decided to put off the difficult task of reaching a climate

change agreement... agreeing instead to make it the mission of the

Copenhagen conference to reach a less specific "politically binding"

agreement that would punt the most difficult issues into the future".

Ministers and officials from 192 countries took part in the Copenhagen

meeting and in addition there were participants from a large number of

civil society organizations. As many Annex 1 industrialized countries are

now reluctant to fulfill commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, a large part

of the diplomatic work that lays the foundation for a post-Kyoto agreement

was undertaken up to the COP15. The conference did not achieve a binding

agreement for long-term action. A 13-paragraph 'political accord' was

negotiated by approximately 25 parties including US and China, but it was

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only 'noted' by the COP as it is considered an external document, not

negotiated within the UNFCCC process .

Conclusion in the Paris conference.

The overarching goal of the Convention is to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions to limit the global temperature increase. Since COP 17 this

increase is set at 2 °C (3.6 °F) above pre-industrial levels. However,

Christiana Figures acknowledged in the closing briefing at the 2012

Doha conference: "The current pledges under the second

commitment period of the Kyoto protocol are clearly not enough to

guarantee that the temperature will stay below 2 °C and there is an

ever increasing gap between the action of countries and what the

science tells us."

During previous climate negotiations, countries agreed to outline

actions they intended to take within a global agreement, by 1October 2015. These commitments are known as Intended Nationally

Determined Contributions or INDCs. Together, the INDCs would

reduce global warming from an estimated 4–5 °C (by 2100) to 2.7 °C,

and reduce emissions per capita by 9% by 2030, while providing

hope in the eyes of the conference organizers for further reductions

in the future that would allow meeting a 2 °C target.

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4. What should be the strategy of India to maintain a balance

between reducing carbon emissions and developing further?

Discuss

Ans. One of the key sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions is the

generation of electric power from fossil fuels. The use of oil, gas and coal for

electricity generation accounts for roughly 25 per cent of annual global carbon

dioxide emissions (Science Daily 2007). Targeting the emissions from these

concentrated sources of carbon dioxide represents, therefore, one of the best

ways of reducing global carbon emissions.

Of the three fossil fuels, coal is by some margin the largest source of

atmospheric carbon dioxide from power stations. According to the US Energy

Information Administration (2007), coal accounted for 43 per cent of

electricity production in 2004, close to twice the next most important source,

natural gas. On top of this, coal produces more carbon dioxide per unit of

electricity than natural gas, thereby amplifying its significance further. So, any

reduction in emissions from coal-fired plants can have a significant impact

globally. (It is worth bearing in mind, however, that much of the emission-

reduction technology applicable to coal plants can be applied to gas-fired

plants too.)

The economics of coal-fired power generation make it most cost effective to

build large power stations. Individual plants are often capable of generating

1000 MW or more of power and these power plants are major sources of

carbon dioxide. Some of them are among the largest single sources of

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greenhouse gas emissions on Earth. Equally, reducing or eliminating the

emissions from a single power plant of this size would provide a large

environmental benefit.

From an environmental perspective, it would be preferable to abandon

completely the burning of fossil fuels, and especially of coal, as a means to

generate electricity. Unfortunately, that is not an option for either the short or

the medium term. The world's great economies are driven by coal combustion

and none of them is going to abandon its use easily. Table 1 lists the

proportion of electricity derived from coal combustion for a range of the

world's major economies. The USA derives 51 per cent of its electricity fromcoal, India relies on the fuel for 75 per cent of its electrical power, China for 82

per cent and South Africa for 93 per cent. All these countries have massive

coal reserves; but even South Korea and Japan, which have negligible coal

reserves of their own, burn large amounts of imported coal to generate

electricity.

Abstract

Burning coal to generate electricity is one of the key sources of atmospheric

carbon dioxide emissions; so, targeting coal-fired power plants offers one of

the easiest ways of reducing global carbon emissions. Given that the world's

largest economies all rely heavily on coal for electricity production,

eliminating coal combustion is not an option. Indeed, coal consumption is

likely to increase over the next 20–30 years. However, the introduction of

more efficient steam cycles will improve the emission performance of these

plants over the short term. To achieve a reduction in carbon emissions from

coal-fired plant, however, it will be necessary to develop and introduce carbon

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capture and sequestration technologies. Given adequate investment, these

technologies should be capable of commercial development by ca 2020.

5. What was significant in INDC declaration by India? Discuss

Ans. India has a long history and tradition of harmonious co-existence between

man and nature. Human beings here have regarded fauna and flora as part of their

family. This is part of our heritage and manifest in our lifestyle and traditional

practices. We represent a culture that calls our planet Mother Earth. As our ancient

text says; "Keep pure! For the Earth is our mother! And we are her children!" Theancient Indian practice of Yoga, for example, is a system that is aimed at balancing

contentment and worldly desires, that helps pursue a path of moderation and a

sustainable lifestyle. Environmental sustainability, which involves both intra-

generational and inter-generational equity, has been the approach of Indians for

very long. Much before the climate change debate began, Mahatma Gandhi,

regarded as the father of our nation had said that we should act as ‘trustees’ and

use natural resources wisely as it is our moral responsibility to ensure that we

bequeath to the future generations a healthy planet. The desire to improve one's lot

has been the primary driving force behind human progress. While a few fortunate

fellow beings have moved far ahead in this journey of progress, there are many in

the world who have been left behind. Nations that are now striving to fulfill this

'right to grow' of their teeming millions cannot be made to feel guilty of their

development agenda as they attempt to fulfill this legitimate aspiration. Just

because economic development of many countries in the past has come at the cost

of environment, it should not be presumed that a reconciliation of the two is not

possible.

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INDC declaration by India :-

India is committed to engaging actively in multilateral negotiations under

the UNFCCC in a positive, creative and forward-looking manner. Our

objective is to establish an effective, cooperative and equitable global

architecture based on climate justice and the principles of Equity and

Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities,

under the UNFCCC. Such an approach should be anchored in the vision

inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's famous exhortation; “Earth has enoughresources to meet people’s needs, but will never have enough to satisfy

people's greed”. We must promote sustainable production processes and also

sustainable lifestyles across the globe. Habit and attitude are as much a part

of the solution as Technology and Finance. It must be understood that

poverty is a big polluter so is the extravagant way of life and a profligate

pattern of consumerism a grave threat to environment.

As we put together the new global compact for enhanced actions, it is

critical to ensure that it is comprehensive, balanced, equitable, and

pragmatic. It should address all the elements including Adaptation,

Mitigation, Finance, Technology Transfer, Capacity Building and

Transparency of Action and Support. At the same time, the genuine

requirements of developing countries like India for an equitable carbon and

development space to achieve sustainable development and eradication of

poverty needs to be safeguarded. Achievement of these goals requires

adherence to the principles and provisions of the UNFCCC. As the Prime

Minister of India, while addressing the United Nations on 25th September

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2015, has said; “We all believe that international partnership must be at the

centre of our efforts, whether it is development or combating climate

change. And, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is

the bedrock of our collective enterprise. When we speak only of climate

change, there is a perception of our desire to secure the comforts of our

lifestyle. When we speak of climate justice, we demonstrate our sensitivity

and resolve to secure the future of the poor from the perils of natural

disasters”.

India’s contribution takes into account its commitment to conservation of

nature as well as the imperatives of meeting the competing demand ofresources for addressing the challenges of poverty eradication, food security

and nutrition, universal access to education and health, gender equality and

women empowerment, water and sanitation, energy, employment,

sustainable urbanization and new human settlements and the means of

implementation for enhanced action for achieving among others, the

sustainable development goals for its 1.2 billion people.

India’s INDC is fair and ambitious considering the fact that India is

attempting to work towards low carbon emission pathway while endeavoring

to meet all the developmental challenges the country faces today. Through

this submission, India intends to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP

by 33 to 35 % by 2030 from 2005 level. This commitment is further echoed

in India’s actions in climate change adaptation with setting up its own

‘National Adaptation Fund’.

The current policy framework also includes a favorable environment for a

rapid increase in renewable energy, move towards low carbon sustainable

development pathway and adapting to the impacts of climate change. It

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represents the highest possible efforts as evident from the multiple initiatives

of the Government of India. Accordingly, India’s development plans will

continue to lay a balanced emphasis on economic development and

environment. India reserves the right to make additional submissions on

Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) as and when required.

India’s INDC is based on the 1992 convention. In terms of the provision on

Article 3.1 and 4.7, this submission by India represents the utmost ambitious

action in the current state of development. Both in terms of cumulative

global emissions (only 3%) and per capita emission (1.56 tCO2e in 2010),

India’s contribution to the problem of climate change is limited but itsactions are fair and ambitious.

The recent decisions of the Government represent a quantum jump in our

aspirations in climate change actions starting with the manifold scaling up of

our renewable energy targets to the programme on Smart Cities, cleaning of

rivers and Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission). The initiatives

have demonstrated unparalleled vision and strong political initiatives of the

Government. It is expected that developed countries will re-examine their

pre 2020 actions in the light of substantial action taken by developing

countries like India to ensure that the ambition gap is substantially bridged.

Through this INDC, India has shown its commitment to combat climate

change and these actions are indeed important contributions to the global

effort. However, our efforts to avoid emissions during our development

process are also tied to the availability and level of international financing

and technology transfer since India still faces complex developmental

challenges. The critical issue for developing nations is the gap between their

equitable share of the global carbon space and the actual share of carbon

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space that will be accessible to them. The transfer of appropriate

technologies and provision of adequate finance will have to be a determined

contribution of the developed countries, which will further enable the

developing countries to accomplish and even enhance their efforts. It is

expected that developed countries would recognize that without means of

implementation and adequate resources, the global vision is but a vacant

dream. Addressing the United Nations Summit for the adoption of Post-2015

Development Agenda in September 2015, the Prime Minister of India, Shri

Narendra Modi said; “We should forge a global public partnership to harness

technology, innovation and finance to put affordable clean and renewable

energy within the reach of all. Equally, we must look for changes in our

lifestyles that would make us less dependent on energy and more sustainable

in our consumption. It is equally critical to launch a global education

programme that prepares our next generation to protect and conserve Nature.

I hope that the Developed World will fulfill its financing commitments for

development and climate change, without in any way putting both under the

same head”.

Recent Initiatives of the Government of India Under the leadership and vision

of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Government of India has

taken a number of measures to promote sustainable development and address

the threat of climate change at national and sub-national level. The first step

was revisiting the National Missions under the National Action Plan on

Climate Change (NAPCC). Government is proposing to set up new missions

on Wind Energy, Health, Waste to Energy, Coastal Areas and redesigning the

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National Water Mission & National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture.

Other initiatives include

6. Write a short on evolution in the ecosystem.

Ans. Evolutionary ecology lies at the intersection of ecology and evolutionary

biology. It approaches the study of ecology in a way that explicitly considers

the evolutionary histories of species and the interactions between them.

Conversely, it can be seen as an approach to the study of evolution that

incorporates an understanding of the interactions between the species underconsideration. The main subfields of evolutionary ecology are life history

evolution, sociobiology (the evolution of social behavior), the evolution of

interspecific relations (cooperation, predator-prey interactions, parasitism,

and mutualism) and the evolution of biodiversity and of communities.

Pristine, natural environments that have been relatively unaltered by humans

are of particular importance in evolutionary ecology because they constitute

the environments to which any particular organism has become adapted to

over time.

Description

The relationship between Ecology and Evolution is both intimate and

fundamental, yet the field of Evolutionary Ecology is not a strong or obvious

focus of research activity. Habitats and climate have been changing at various

temporal and spatial scales since the origin of life. Although this variation can

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have a profound effect on both ecological and evolutionary processes, the

interplay between ecology and evolution remains comparatively neglected.

Most researchers in evolution are more concerned with the pattern of

evolution (phylogeny) and its genetic and developmental correlates than with

the ecological causes of evolution. Similarly, ecologists often ignore the

evolutionary implications of population and community processes, at least

partially because it is difficult enough working out ecological processes when

one assumes (implicitly) that all individuals are identical over short time

scales. These cartoons of ecology and evolution reflect a fundamental gap in

both subject matter and approach. I would like Evolutionary Ecology to fillthis gap explicitly, providing the premier journal for research on both the

evolutionary influences on ecological processes and on the ecological

influences on evolutionary processes.

Evolutionary Ecology is a conceptually oriented journal of basic biology

at the interface of ecology and evolution. The journal publishes originalresearch, reviews and discussion papers dealing with evolutionary

ecology, including evolutionary aspects of behavioral and population

ecology. The objective is to promote the conceptual, theoretical and

empirical development of ecology and evolutionary biology; the scope

extends to all organisms and systems.

Research papers present the results of empirical and theoretical

investigations, testing current theories in evolutionary ecology.

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7. Migratory birds face myriad of other man-made threats.

Substantiate.

Ans . The red knot is a tiny shorebird that undertakes a mind-boggling

migration from the tip of South America all the way to the Arctic Circle. One of

the few stops on that marathon journey is the Delaware Bay, an estuary that

offers a banquet for migrating birds. Here, for some 20,000 years, red knots

have flocked by the thousands to fuel their journey. But humans may be

writing a tragic ending to this extraordinary evolutionary success story,

unless biologists armed with an unusual tool can win a race against time.

On the beach, shorebirds are like little wind-up toys. They follow the

waves in and out, zigzagging up and down the sand on their tiny legs.

About 1200 shorebirds are doing that here, at the Delaware Bay in

southern New Jersey. Charles Duncan is a biologist with Manomet

conservation non-profit – and his eyes are locked on the birds at thewater’s edge. –

Scattered amongst these birds are a handful of yet another kind of

shorebird – the red knot, or Calidris canutus rufa. They really stand out

– they’re the only shorebirds with red breasts. Duncan’s one of about 20

scientists and volunteers out here today to give these birds a little

medical checkup. But first they have to catch them.

There’s a net that’s buried in the sand. Both ends of the front of that net

are connected to weights. And these weights get launched out of

makeshift cannons – three-foot long pipes partly filled with gunpowder.

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The net’s launched. The team springs into action. They take off at a

sprint along the beach where a hundred shorebirds are now fluttering

beneath the net. A tarp is laid on top to keep the birds cool and calm.

The group works the birds free, one by one. They call out the type of

bird as they go. Barry Watts is one of the volunteers. –

So here’s what the red knots do. They eat like crazy in Argentina, and

then they take off. They fly for up to 2000 miles without stopping, at

altitudes of 20,000 feet where the air’s incredibly thin and there’s no

food or water. And as they fly north, there are a handful of specific

places where they land reliably. Brian Harrington is a retired biologist

who’s studied red knots for 40 years.

Horseshoe crabs have been around for at least 300 million years. They

lay their high- fat and high-protein eggs on the shores of the Delaware

Bay. It’s a feast for the red knots. Or at least, until recently. Over the last

few decades, horseshoe crabs have become more popular as fish bait

and for medical purposes. Fewer horseshoe crabs mean fewerhorseshoe crab eggs, which means fewer red knots.

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