Topic

Which is the most important environmental issue for India ... Land degradation or GHG emission?

Problem

This is not to gainsay effects of GHG emission....but land degradation is immediate priority because people will die out of hunger in coming years.. About 32% of India’s land area or 105 million hectares is undergoing land degradation. Because trees are cut without considering the consequences, the fertile, nutritious topsoil is washed away in rainfall water runoff. This is a great loss to Indian farmers who often depend on the natural fertility of the soil to grow their crops. Already more than 3 lacs farmers have committed suicide since 1995 as per the reports of The National Crime Records Bureau of India. This figure is astronomically higher than any other casualty we have witnessed even in India Pakistan wars, terrorism and violence. Why nobody is talking about it? Because no media is interested in that and we are kept in the darkness in a systematic way. You will be hearing that farmers are committing suicide because of debt etc. Please understand that this is a real environmental issue. Farmers are committing suicide because land is becoming distressed.

Reasons

When trees are taken off, floods often increase because most of the water enters streams and rivers in a very short timeframe. Such high intensity flow is often not usable by human beings and usually flows into the ocean, while also causing soil erosion which leads to loss in soil nutrients. This is why large areas of formerly productive land, where annual rainfall is relatively high, have become desertified once tree cover is removed. The next loss is due to the groundwater situation. India’s groundwater situation is growing dire 60% of all India’s aquifers will be in a critical condition. More and more trees are being removed because of industrialization and population pressure. But for the trees, monsoon water instead of getting absorbed in the soil and recharging groundwater through the roots of the trees , are doing the reverse..... Taking away topsoil and making the land distressed.

Solutions

India’s rivers are dependent on rainfall. Rainfall enters rivers and streams through two main mechanisms. One mechanism is surface flow over land. The second mechanism is through underground flow. Rain seeps into soil and becomes groundwater, which then gradually flows underground and enters streams, rivers etc.

Trees help rain seep into soil because living and decaying roots make soil porous by creating a network of well-connected, minuscule channels in the soil. Rainwater seeps into soil with such channels several hundred times faster than it seeps through soil without channels. Trees along riversides also provide habitat for flora and fauna and increase biodiversity. They act as wildlife corridors between fragmented habitats, keep river water cool and improve habitat conditions for aquatic animals. When branches or tree stumps fall into the water, this also creates new habitats and provides new energy sources for organisms.

Additionally, when plant debris falls on the soil and starts to organically degrade, it helps soil maintain integrity and form small aggregated clumps. These clumps also ensure that soil is porous.

Acute water shortage which will be the the reality in many parts of the India can only be addressed by creating vegetation. Rivers can survive only and only if there are vegetations on either sides of river.

There is a phenomenon in the nature whose explanation is still not clearly understood by scientists so far. There is a constant communication between cloud and the trees. The monsoon get distributed and spread across longer time depending upon the vegetation available. One theory suggests a corridor of trees along rivers can transport rain to the interior of continents. This indicates that forest cover plays a major role in the atmospheric circulation and water cycling on land. This suggests a good potential for forest-mediated solutions of the global desertification and water security problems. Trees also release tiny organic particles called aerosols that allow water vapour in the air to condense, bringing rainfall to areas that need them. Else monsoon will create flash floods, which is the reality right now.. leading to soil erosion.

Hence as far as India is concerned, the top priority for our environment is to create the agroforestry and address plastic pollution.

Actions required

I think it is the high time for us to understand the real environmental problems in India. Most of the time we talked about global warming in respect of GHG emission , it is not significant. But what is the real environmental issue in India?

Carbon Sequestration with significant scalability is much more technical matter and beyond the ambit of most people..... rather common people in India can do tree plantation and support Agro forestry to address this impending calamity. let's look at practical and commonsensical aspects as to what kind of actions we can take that will approximate the ideals of green living in our individual life and the life of the larger community, of which we are members.

Even If we plant few trees and do something to inhibit plastic pollution, we will be addressing real environmental issue In India. In case of private land, agroforestry will be promoted among farmers. The forest department will provide support through subsidies, where our role comes into picture.

If we go for agro forestry, CO2 can be sequestered in a much greener way.... that's the key point....hence land degradation is the biggest environmental issue for India, there is no doubt about that.

Key Note

Unless we address this issue, food riot will be inevitable as there would not be enough resources to produce food.

When are you going to wake up to this reality?