Chapter Zero VISION ADDONS

 ANIMALS
o ELEPHANTS: Elephant corridors are narrow strips of land that connect two large habitats. Elephant
corridors in India are identified by states and notify them under either the WPA ‘72 or EPA ’86
o CITES Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme is a site-based system designed
to monitor trends in illegal killing of elephants, build management capacity and provide information
 Sites Part of MIKE Programme
 Chirang-Ripu Elephant Reserve: Part of the Manas Biosphere Reserve
 Deomali Elephant Reserve: Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh
 Dihing Patkai Elephant Reserve: Located in the Dehing patkai landscape which is a
dipterocarp-dominated lowland rainforest
 Garo Hills Elephant Reserve:
 Eastern Dooars Elephant Reserve: From the Teesta River in West Bengal to the
Dhansiri River in Assam. Part of the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion
 Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve: Similipal-Kuldiha-Hadgarh Elephant Reserve
popularly known as Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve in the State of Orissa
 Shivalik Elephant Reserve: Includes part of the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the Rajaji
National Park. Hence option 3 is correct
 Mysore Elephant Reserve: Mysore-Ooty Highway passes through this reserve
 Nilgiri Elephant Reserve & Wayanad Elephant Reserve: Banked by the Nilgiris, it has
the Bandipur Tiger Reserve and the Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary on two sides. The
entire stretch is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and combined creates one of
the largest uninterrupted forest habitats in the country. The area has different kinds
of vegetation in different regions and is the home of numerous animals
o Olive Ridley Turtle
 Commonly name as Pacific ridley sea turtle
 Smallest of the world’s sea turtles and is found primarily in the tropical regions of the Pacific,
Indian, and Atlantic Oceans
 Operation Oliver is a program run by the Coast Guard to ensure safe breading for olive
ridley sea turtle in seawaters of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Kendrapara district of
Odisha
 Community Reserve are launched UNDER WPA Act & NOT EPA,’86
 Type of Wetland
o Mineral Soil Wetlands:
 Marsh –
 By poorly drained mineral soils and by plant life dominated by grasses
 Common at the mouths of rivers, especially where extensive deltas have been built.
 The marsh plants slow down the flow of water and allow for the nutrient enriched
sediments to be deposited, thus providing conditions for the further development of
the marsh
 Swamp
 Mineral soils with poor drainage and by plant life dominated by trees
 Common in low-lying regions (with poor drainage) next to rivers, which supply the
swamp with water. Some swamps develop from marshes that slowly fill in, allowing
trees and woody shrubs to grow
 Grasses dominate marshes, while trees dominate swamps
 Both marshes and swamps may be freshwater or saltwater.
o Organic Soil Wetlands: Referred to as "peatlands"
 Bog –
1
  Wet, spongy, poorly drained peaty soil, dominated by the growth of bog mosses,
Sphagnum, and heaths, particularly Chamaedaphne
 Usually acid areas, frequently surrounding a body of open water. Bogs receive
water exclusively from rainfall
 Fen – a type of wetland ecosystem characterized by peaty soil, dominated by grasslike
plants, grasses, sedges, and reeds. Fens are alkaline rather than acid areas, receiving water
mostly from surface and groundwater sources
 Distinguished by hydrological regime: Bogs receive water mainly from precipitation, while
fens are supplied with water mostly from surface and groundwater sources
 Pollution Control Systems introduced by IMD
o ENFUSER: ENvironmental information FUsion SERvice
 Very high-resolution city scale model
 Identify the air pollution hotspots and pollution up to street level
 Speciality: High utilization of measurement data such as air quality observations, a detailed
description of the road network, buildings, land-use information, high resolution satellite
images, ground elevation and population data
 The ENFUSER natively taps into the operative IMD’s regional SILAM access point. The
ENFUSER results are being evaluated with the satellite measurements and observations,
model is found to capture the hotspots over Delhi very well. Pollution can be captured
better with this model
o SILAM
 The Air Quality forecast model System for Integrated modelling of Atmospheric composition
 (SILAM) for India has been further improved by implementing global emission inventories
CAMS-GLOB v2.1 supplemented with EDGAR v4.3.2 for coarse and mineral-fine
anthropogenic particulate matter at 10km resolution
o SILAM and ENFUSER have been developed in technical collaboration with Finnish Meteorological
Institute (FMI)
o WRF-Chem
 Air Quality forecast model WRF-Chem has also been updated with high-resolution land use
land cover information to improve the air quality forecast
 PLANT BIOLOGY
o Vernalization= Induction of a plant's flowering process by exposure to the prolonged cold of winter,
or by an artificial equivalent
o Photoperiodism is the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of the night or a dark period.
It occurs in plants and animals. Photoperiodism can also be defined as the developmental responses
of plants to the relative lengths of light and dark periods
o Stratification- In horticulture, stratification is a process of treating seeds to simulate natural
conditions that the seeds must experience before germination can occur. Many seed species have
an embryonic dormancy phase and generally will not sprout until this dormancy is broken
o Seed scarification (a technique to physically damage the seed coat to reduce hard seed while
keeping the seed viable) is used to soften hard seeds
 Other
o ICHR suggested dropping the Communist martyrs of Punnapra-Vayalar, Karivelloor, and Kavumbayi
agitations from the list of martyrs of India’s Independence struggle
 Punnapra Vayalar movement: Armed struggle movement against Maharaja of Travancore
and his Prime Minister, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, under the leadership of the CPI

2
Chapter 1 Ecology/ Ecosystem etc. etc
Definition
 ECOLOGY: Scientific study of the interaction of organisms with their physical environment with each other
 ENVIRONMENT: Total of living, non-living components, influence & events, surrounding an organism
 ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM/ ECOSYSTEM: Interaction of a specific group of organisms with abiotic factors within a
specific habitat resulting in clearly defined energy flow & material cycles on land, water & air
o Organism (biotic)+ abiotic Factor of specific Habitat = Defined energy flow → ECOSYSTEM
o ECOTONE: Zone of junction between two or more diverse ecosystem Example, Estuary, Riverbank,
Marshland; Habituated by “EDGE SPECIES”
 HABITAT: Totality of physical and chemical factors that constitute general environment
 ECOLOGICAL ADAPTATION: Various plants & animals exist with varying range of environmental condition via
adapting through evolution
Levels of Organisation in Ecology
Bi
os
ph
er
e
Biome

Ecosystem

Community

Population

Individual

3
 Biosphere Integrated & interacting zone of atmosphere, Hydrosphere & Lithosphere

Biome biogeographical unit of biological community formed in response to a

shared regional climate

Ecosystem Structural & function unit of Biosphere; =Community + Phsyical Env.

Ex. Aquatic[Fresh Water, Saline, Marine], Terrestial[Forest, Desert]

Community Different population dependent on each other

Generally named after dominant plant species. Ex: Grassland Community

Population Group of Organism same species at a defined time & space

Limitng factors to population= Abiotic & Biotic components

Individual Ability to act or function independently

BIOME

Type of Ecosystem
 Terrestrial Ecosystem
o Further classified in BIOMES
 BIOMES: Plant & animal community interacting within specific condition like
 Forest,
 Grassland,
 Desert
 Tundra biomes
4
  Determined mainly by climate
 Aquatic Ecosystem
o Classified as Marine & Freshwater Ecosystem
o Fresh water Ecosystem in: Lotic [Moving Water] or Lentic [still or stagnant Water] [Lento = SLOW]
Structure & Function of Ecosystem
Structure of Ecosystem

Structural view of
Ecosystem

Abiotic
Biotic Factors
Factors

Rainfall Humidity Producer Consumer

Temperature Sunlight Primary Secondary Tertiary Decomposer

Soil Inorganic
Condition Substance
Abiotic & Biotic Factors→ leads to so much variation in the physical and chemical conditions of different habitats

MAJOR ABIOTIC FACTORS

 TEMPERATURE
o affects the kinetics of enzymes and through it the metabolic activity and other physiological
functions of organism
o EURYTHERMAL→ Organisms that thrive in a wide range of temperatures. [Eury- “Wide”]
o STENOTHERMAL → Organisms restricted to a narrow range of temperatures [Steno – Narrow;
Stenograph writes Narrow]
o Direct effect of Global Warming
 WATER
o Quantity, Quality [Salinity & pH] both
o EURYHALINE tolerant of a wide range of salinities
o STENOHALINE Restricted to a narrow range
o Freshwater animals cannot live for long in sea water → Osmotic problems
 LIGHT
o PLANTS
 Autotrophs use sunlight for photosynthesis
 Dependent on sunlight for photoperiodic requirement for flowering
o ANIMAL
5
  Animals use the diurnal and seasonal variations in light intensity and duration (photoperiod)
as cues for timing their foraging, reproductive and migratory activities
 deep (>500m) in the oceans spectral quality of solar radiation become important. All colours
are not available to them of spectrum
 Blue light [least wavelength Max. Energy] penetrates deepest→ Only available → Plants
absorb blue for Photosynthesis→ when such plant under White light; it absorbs only blue &
reflect red hence appear Red
 At surface, plants absorb red to reflect rest hence appear Green
 SOIL
o Water Holding Capacity, pH, mineral composition and topography determine type of vegetation

HOMEOSTATIS
 Constancy in terms of optimal temperature & osmotic conc. of body fluids despite changing external
conditions to achieve max efficiency
 Organisms Responses against changing external
 Why small animals not found in polar region
o Small animals have larger surface area wrt. Volume
o Leads to Faster heat loss

By Physiological or behavioural responses

Regulate
Bird, Mammals

Ex. Sweat or Shivering

Can't maintain constant internal temp or conc.

Conform
Why? Thermoregulation is energetically expensive

Migrate Move away temp. from stressful habitat & then return back

Spore formation by Fungi & lower plant; Seeds dormant under unfav. condition
Suspend
Hibernation [winter], Aestivation [in summer] [Snails, fish];

Daipause[ suspended developement Zooplankton]

ADAPTATION
 Behavioural & Physiological responses
 Kangaroo Rat
o North American Deserts
o Internal fat oxidation with water as by-product
o Conc. Of Urine to reduce water requirement to minimal
 Desert Plants
o Thick cuticle [a protective and waxy or hard layer covering the epidermis ] on leaf surfaces

6
 o Deep sunken Stomata to minimise water loss [Same as in Mangroves]
o Stomata to remain closed during daytime
o No leaves but thorns
 Allen Rule
o Colder climates generally have shorter ears and limbs to minimise heat loss

** BIOMASS is the measure of Population of a species

POPULATION INTERACTIONS

 Predation
o Acting as ‘conduits’ for energy transfer across trophic levels
o Func.
 Population check→ Species become Invasive w/o predation
 Reduce intensity of Competition → Prevent diversity
 Parasitism →
o Adaptation → Loss of unnecessary sense organs, presence of adhesive organs, loss of digestive
system and high reproductive capacity
o Ectoparasites: Feed on the external surface
o Endoparasites: live inside the host body; Extreme specialisation
o Brood parasitism: parasitic bird lays its eggs in the nest of its host and lets the host incubate them
o Human Liver Fluke: Snail→ Fish → Human
 Commensalism
o An orchid growing as an epiphyte [AKA Air plant, any plant that grows upon another plant or object
merely for physical support] on a mango branch
o Barnacles on the back of a whale
o Clown fish & Anemone
 Mutualism
o Fig tree & Wasp
o Lichens = Fungus + Photosynthesising algae or cyanobacteria
o Mycorrhizae = Fungi and the roots of higher plants; Fungi help in the absorption of nutrients from
the soil; plant provides fungi energy-yielding carbohydrates
o Mediterranean orchid Ophrys→ One petal of its flower resemblance female of the bee

Function of Ecosystem
4 Functional aspects→

7
Productivity

Decomposition

Energy flow

Nutrient cycling

 PRODUCTIVITY
o Primary production = Amount of biomass or organic matter produced per unit area over a time
period by plants during photosynthesis. UNIT: weight (g/m 2) or energy (kcal/m2)
 Factors: Environmental factors, availability of nutrients and photosynthetic capacity of
plants
o Productivity = Rate of biomass production. Expressed in terms of g/m 2/yr or kcal/m2/yr
o Gross primary productivity (GPP) of an ecosystem is the rate of production of organic matter during
photosynthesis
o Net primary productivity (NPP) = GPP minus respiration losses (R), is the net primary productivity
(NPP). GPP – R = NPP
 NPP is the available biomass for the consumption to heterotrophs (herbivores and
decomposers)
o Secondary productivity = Rate of formation of new organic matter by consumers
o NPP of Land Ecosystem > Ocean Ecosystem
 DECOMPOSITION
o DECOMPOSITION: Process of breakdown of complex organic matter into inorganic substances like
CO2, water and nutrients
 Oxygen-requiring process
 Rate controlled by chemical composition of detritus and climatic factors
 Decomposition rate is slower if detritus is rich in lignin and chitin, & quicker, if detritus rich
in nitrogen and water-soluble substances like sugars
 Warm and moist environment favour decomposition whereas low temperature and
anaerobiosis inhibit decomposition
o DETRITUS: Leaves, bark, flowers and dead remains of animals, including fecal matter which is raw
material for decomposition
o PROCESSES ACTING ON DETRITUS
 FRAGMENTATION: Break down of detritus into smaller particles by Detritivores (e.g.,
earthworm)
 CATABOLISM: Process of degrading detritus into simpler inorganic substances by Bacterial
and fungal enzymes
 LEACHING: Water-soluble inorganic nutrients go down into the soil horizon and get
precipitated as unavailable salt
o HUMUS & Its properties
 Accumulation of a dark coloured amorphous substance formed by Humification
 Properties:
 Highly resistant to microbial action & undergoes decomposition at an extremely
slow rate
 Colloidal in nature → serves as a reservoir of nutrients
 Further degraded by some microbes→ Mineralisation [release of inorganic
nutrients]
8
  FLOW OF ENERGY
o The flow of energy from producer to top consumer is called ENERGY FLOW
 Unidirectional
o Sun is the only source of energy for all ecosystems on Earth, Except for the deep-sea hydro-thermal
ecosystem
 Of the incident solar radiation <50% of it is photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)
 Plants capture only 2-10 per cent of the PAR
o The sequence of being eaten and transfer of energy is called FOOD CHAIN
o The interconnected web of multiple food chains is called FOOD WEB
o Types of Food Chains
 Grazing Food Chain (GFC)
 Start with plant as producer, herbivores at intermediate level & End with Carnivores
as consumer at last level
 Loss of energy at each level through respiration, excretion or decomposition. 10%
law i.e. only 10% energy is transferred to each tropic level
 Usually 3-5 tropic levels as very little energy is left to support any organism beyond
 Detritus Food Chain (DFC)
 Based on autotrophs energy capture initiated by grazing animals & involves the
decomposition or breaking down of organic waste & dead matter derived from the
grazing food chain
 No 10% rule in DFC hence no limitation
 Begins with dead organic matter. It is made up of decomposers which are
heterotrophic organisms, mainly fungi and bacteria
 Meet their energy and nutrient requirements by degrading dead organic matter or
detritus. These are also known as SAPROTROPHS (Sapro: to decompose)
o In an aquatic ecosystem, Flow of Energy via GFC > DFC
o In a terrestrial ecosystem, Energy flows through the DFC > GFC
o Each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at a time called as the STANDING CROP. The
standing crop is measured as the mass of living organisms (biomass) or the number in a unit area
ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS
3 types of ecological pyramids
i. Pyramid of number
 UPRIGHT
 Number of individual decreases from lower level to higher tropic
 # of producers > # of herbivores># of carnivores
 Grassland Ecosystem→ # Grass> #Grasshopper > #Rats >#Hawk
 INVERTED
 Primary producers are less than consumers
 In Forest limited number of trees → large number of dependents
ii. Pyramid of biomass
 Weight instead of Number is counted. Biomass = g/m2
 UPRIGHT
 Mostly on Land
 INVERTED
 Aquatic Environment generally inverted because the biomass of fishes far exceeds that of
phytoplankton
 Producer are phytoplankton having small biomass & Consumer has more BIOMASS
9
 iii. Pyramid of energy
 Laws of Thermodynamics [Solar Energy→ Chemical→ Energy Loss @each tropic]
 ALWAYS UPRIGHT

ECOLOGICAL SUCESSION
 Ecological succession = Gradual and Fairly predictable change in the species composition of a given area
 These changes lead finally to a community that is in near equilibrium with the environment and that is called
a CLIMAX COMMUNITY
 Entire sequence of communities that successively change in given area are CALLED SERE(S)
o The individual transitional communities are termed seral stages or seral communities
 Succession starts in an area where no living organisms are present
o PRIMARY SUCCESSION: Areas where no living organisms ever existed. Example, newly cooled lava,
bare rock, newly created pond or reservoir
o SECONDARY SUCCESSION: Areas that somehow, lost all the living organisms that existed there.
o Succession is faster than Primary as soil or sediments is already present
 Example, abandoned farmlands, burned or cut forests, lands that have been flooded
 PLANT SUCESSION
o Based on nature of Habitat→ Both lead to medium water conditions (mesic) – neither too dry (xeric)
nor too wet (hydric)
o Types of Primary Succession: -
o XERARCH SUCCESSION takes place in dry areas and the series progress from xeric to mesic
conditions


1° succession;
Lichens secrete acids to
dissolve rock

Can take hold in

Small plants the small amount
bryophytes of soil

Higher
plants

Stable Climax comm.

climax remains stable
forest till env. remains
unchanged
community
 *Bryophytes: a small flowerless non-vascular green, land plants; mosses and liverworts
o HYDRARCH SUCCESSION takes place in wet areas and the successional series progress from hydric to
the mesic conditions. With time Water → Land

10
 Phytoplanktons Rooted-
Rooted-floating
Pioneers submerged
Angiosperms
plants

Reedswamp,
Free-floating
Scrub ;Trees marsh-
plants
meadow,
o
o The species that invade a bare area are called pioneer species
o SECONDARY SUCCESSION
 Succession depend on the condition of the soil, availability of water, the environment as also
the seeds or other propagules present
 Soil is already there→ rate of succession is much faster →climax reached more quickly
 All succession [water or on land] → Similar climax community – the mesic

Type of BIOMES
5 major biomes

11
 20-25 C, Multi-layered
Acidic, poor in
10 N-S All year capoy tall & large
Nutirient
No seasons trees
Tropical
a) Equatorial
b) Decidious less dense,
medium ht. ,
25-30C;
10-25 N-S >1000mm, Rich in nutirent
seasonal
Many animal
varities

Mod. Dense,
Broad leaved, less
Forest 20-30C 750- diverse plant,
Eastern N Fertile, enriched Oak, Maple
1500mm
Temperate America, NE Asia, with decaying
distributed
W. Europe litter
Seasons Squirrel, rabbits,
bears etc

Evergreen
Conifers, Pine, fur
Long winter; short Acidic poor in & spruce
Siberia, Alaska,
Boreal moist summer, nutirent
Canada, Scand
400-1000m Thin soil cover
Bear, wolves

Sahara, Kalahari, Rich Nutirent, No Scanty vegetation,

Hot and Dry 20-45C; <50mm
Rub-el-khali organic matter few large mamals

Margins of hot Rich Nutirent, No Scanty vegetation,

Semi Arid 21-38C; <50mm
desert organic matter few large mamals
Desert
Rich Nutirent, No Scanty vegetation,
Coastal Atacama 15-35C; <50mm
organic matter few large mamals

Rich Nutirent, No Scanty vegetation,

Cold Desert Tundra Climate 2-25 C; <50mm
organic matter Rabbits, antelope

large areas of
Warm Hot, 500- Porous with with
Trop. Savannah Africa, Australia, Grasses, trees
1250mm thin humus
S. maerica, India
Grassland
Hot summer Cold
Eurasia & N Thin flocculated Grasses Some
Temp. Steppe winter
America soil, rich in bases tresOaks, willow
Rainfall 500-900

Temp vary widely

Lake Streams, Water, Swamp, Algal & other
Freshwater with cooler air &
river & wetland Marshes aquatic plant
High Humid
Aquatic
Ocean, Coral reef,
Water, tidal
Marine lagoons & Same as fresh Same as Fresh
Swamp Marshes
Estuaries

Slopes of Decidious to
Temp & Rain
Mountain Range, Regolith over Tundra vegetation
Altitudinal Depend on
Himalaya, Andes, slope varying acc to
Latitude
Rockies altitude
BIOME Subtype
Region Climate
Soil Flora& fauna

Biogeochemical Cycles
 Definition: Cyclic movements of chemical elements of the biosphere between the organism & the
environment are referred to as biogeochemical cycles
 Types:

12
 o Gaseous Cycle: Main reservoir of nutrient is atmosphere or Ocean. Example, Nitrogen or Carbon
Cycle
o Sedimentary Cycle: Main reservoir is soil [Earth’s Crust] & the sedimentary & the other rocks in
Ocean Crust. Example, Sulphur and phosphorus cycle
 Source of Energy: Insolation
Carbon Cycle
 Basic constituent of all organic Compounds.
 Mainly the conversion of CO2
 71% carbon dissolved in oceans. This oceanic reservoir regulates the amt. of CO 2 in the atmosphere
 Fixation of CO2 by Photosynthesis→ Production of Carbs, Glucose → Conv to sucrose, starch, cellulose etc.
 Fossil Fuel = Reservoir of Carbon
o Rapid deforestation
o Massive burning
o Adds C to atmosphere from reservoir
 Decomposers add CO2 pool by processing of waste materials and dead organic matter of land or oceans
 Some fixed carbon is lost to sediments and removed from circulation

Nitrogen Cycle
 Constituent of amino acid, nucleic acid, proteins, vitamins & pigments
 Only few Organism which can utilise direct atmospheric Nitrogen
o Species of soil Bacteria [Aerobic Azotobacter & Anaerobic Clostridium]
o Leguminous Plants→ Rhizobium
o Blue green Algae → Anabaena, Spirulina


Phosphorus Cycle

13
  USE
o Major constituent of biological membranes, nucleic acids and cellular energy transfer systems
o Many animals also need large quantities of this element to make shells, bones and teeth
 Natural Reservoir = ROCK; Contains as phosphate
 Weathering dissolve Phosphates in soil solution→ absorbed by the roots→ Primary Consumer→ Secondary
Consumer → phosphate-solubilising bacteria act on Waste products & dead organisms
 DIFFERENCE FROM CARBON:
o No Respiratory release into atmosphere for phosphorus
o Atmospheric inputs of phosphorus through rainfall are much smaller than carbon inputs
o Gaseous exchange is negligible

Ecological Balance
 Definition: State of dynamic equilibrium within a community of organisms in a habitat or ecosystem
 Gradual Changes do take place but only through natural succession
 COMPETITION & COOPERATION between different organisms
 Shifting agriculture
o SUCESSION: -Changes in species distribution due to competition where the secondary forest species
such as grasses, bamboos or pines overtake the native species changing original forest structure
URBAN FORESTRY
Definition
 Integrated, city wide approach to plant, care and manage trees, forests, and natural systems
 Conc. on woodlands, public and private urban parks and gardens, urban nature areas, street tree and square
plantations, botanical gardens and cemeteries

Status of Urban Forestry in India

 Existing availability of open spaces:
o Min: Chennai → 0.81 m2/person
o Max: Gr. Noida→ 278 m2/person
o 2014 Urban and Regional Development Plans→ Suggest 10-12 m2/person
 European/US cities (20 to 40% of total geographical area) → Most Indian cities far behind
o Greenest City: Chandigarh → 35% of GA under forest and tree cover
 NAGAR VAN SCHEME
o AIM: Creating forests in 200 cities in next five years
o People’s participation + Forest Dept, Municipal bodies, NGOs, Corporates and local citizens
 Forest once established will be maintained by State Government
14
 o Pune’s Warje forest offer good model for growth
 MoEF&CC selected ITANAGAR for implementation of the ‘Nagar Van’ scheme
 TREE CITY OF THE WORLD 2020→ 120 ‘Tree Cities of the World’
o BY Arbor Day Foundation + FAO 
o To recognise of the City's commitment to urban forestry
o HYDERABAD city
IMPORTANCE OF URBAN FORESTRY
 Environmental Benefits:
o Reduction in temp
o Removal of air pollutants
o Recharge of groundwater and stabilisation of soil.
o Create Additional carbon sink
 Social and Psychological Benefits
o ↑ Beauty & aesthetic quality of residential streets and community parks
o Important recreational Facility → Enhance cultural activities, Urban parks + peri-urban forests,
o Reduce stress and improve physical health
 Economic Benefits
o Increase property values and commercial benefits
o Can (↓) Energy consumption by (↓) building air-conditioning demand
o (↓) Municipal expenditures for storm water management

Issues with Urban Forestry

 Expensive approach: Maintenance costs can be very high in such situations
 Structural damage: Roots of street trees often cause the cracking of roads and pavements and sometimes
water pipes. Urban trees can also cause structural damage to buildings
 Threats to Human safety: Hazard to urban inhabitants; Electric Line; Falling under cyclone conditions
 Constraints in India: -
o Shortages of green space due to huge population pressure
o Unequal spatial distribution → Several areas have NO parks; Majority green space concentrated in
some areas
o Other factors are lack of funding, weak linkages with other resource management programs, and
improper planning that fails to consider the surrounding ecosystem, the community, and the
regional context
Way forward
 Plan for urban forestry should be integrated into overall planning of the urban areas in advance otherwise
greening of the urbanised area becomes more difficult once the settlement takes place
 NGOs, civil society, media and corporate groups
 Species must be selected by considering climate, soil type and topography; Not just decorative; Species
which provide multiple benefits, Less water extensive
 Riverside beautification

Ecosystem Restoration
 DEF: Process of assisting the recovery of a degraded, damaged or destroyed ecosystem
o Restoring vegetation, planting native trees, clearing invasive species, regenerative (perennial)
agriculture, agroforestry etc
 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 2021–2030 as the “DECADE ON ECOSYSTEM
RESTORATION”
o UN Environment and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will lead

15
 o Target: Land→ 350 million hectares of degraded landscapes by 2030
o Ecosystems addressed include forests, grasslands, croplands, wetlands, savannahs, inland water,
coastal and marine ecosystems, and even urban environments
o Regional Efforts:
 Initiative 20×20 in Latin America that aims to restore 20 million hectares of degraded land
by 2020,
 AFR100 African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative that aims to bring 100 million
hectares of degraded land under restoration by 2030
 ONE TRILLION TREES INITIATIVE
o Launched by World Economic Forum
o Grow, restore and conserve 1 trillion trees around the world
o 1t.org → platform for leading governments, businesses, civil society and ecopreneurs
o designed to support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
 NEED for Restoration
o Terrestrial Ecosystems:
 Declining Forest Cover: Use data with reference World’s forest area ↓ from 31.6%,1990 to
30.6% in 2015→ Reduction in carbon sink and loss of habitat
 Declining land fertility: linked to erosion, soil depletion and pollution. This affects vegetative
cover of forests, croplands, grasslands and rangelands
 Economic impact of Land degradation: Loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services worth
more than 10 per cent of annual global gross domestic product
o Aquatic Ecosystems:
 Decrease in wetland areas:
 Impact on oceans and coasts:
 Decline in Sea grasses on which dugongs and other marine animals depend
 Rise in Dead zones around major river deltas which affect fishing industry
 Coral reefs are projected to decline 70 to 90% if T ↑ of 1.5°C
 High Carbon emissions: Degradation of Terrestrial & Aquatic Sinks
 BENEFITS
o SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS
 Poverty Alleviation: a boost to rural economies worth US$9 trillion in ecosystem services.
 Food security: Healthy soils → produce higher quality plants.
 Enhanced tourism→ Revival of natural landscapes
 Prevent conflict and migration triggered by environmental degradation
o ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS
 Climate change mitigation: Could remove GHGs via restoration of forests, mangroves and
peatlands
 Biodiversity Conservation: protect species threatened with extinction
 Reviving coastal and marine biodiversity hotspots on Earth: → Storm protection, fisheries
and carbon storage
o Fulfilling International Commitments
 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Climate Agreement, Aichi Biodiversity
Targets
 Challenges in ecosystem restoration
o High initial financial Investment
o Time taking process: Needs continuous and long-term efforts to generate desired results
o Lack of coordination: international coordination required
16
 o Poor understanding of ecosystem characteristics: ER without conducting proper research and study
can have undesirable results and cause further degradation
o Impact on economic activities: ER involves conscious efforts to limit economic activities involved in
over exploitation of natural resources
 Way Forward
o Financial Resources
o Political Will
o Restoring terrestrial ecosystems through afforestation
 UN Decades ending in 2020 are
o United Nations Decade on Biodiversity
o Decade of Action for Road Safety
o United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification

Ecosystem Service
 Ecosystems are base for economic, environmental and aesthetic goods and services
 The products of ecosystem processes are named as ecosystem services
o Forest ecosystems purify air and water, mitigate droughts and floods, cycle nutrients, generate
fertile soils, provide wildlife habitat, maintain biodiversity, pollinate crops, provide storage site for
carbon and provide aesthetic, cultural and spiritual values

HAZARD MITIGATION [BIO-SHIELD]

 Very Useful as it reduces all three components of the risk equation [Risk = Threat x Vulnerability x
Consequence]:
o Buffering and mitigating hazard impacts
o Reducing vulnerability by providing ecosystem services
o Reducing Exposure

Ecosystem Hazard Mitigation

Mountain forests,  Landslides

Vegetation on hillsides  Avalanches: Protect against rockfall and stabilise snow
 Floods: Catchment forests reduce risk of floods by increasing infiltration of
rainfall and delaying peak floodwater flows
 Drought Water recharge and purification, drought mitigation and
safeguarding drinking water supply
Wetlands, floodplains  Wetlands and floodplains control floods in coastal areas, inland river basins, and
mountain areas subject to glacial melt.
 Peatlands, wet grasslands and other wetlands store water and release it slowly,
reducing the speed and volume of runoff
 Coastal wetlands, tidal flats, deltas and estuaries reduce the height and speed of
storm surges and tidal waves.
 Marshes, lakes and floodplains release wet season flows slowly during drought
periods
Coastal (Mangroves,  Coastal ecosystems protect against hurricanes, storm surges, flooding and
saltmarshes, coral reefs, other coastal hazards 
barrier islands, sand  Coastal wetlands buffer against saltwater intrusion and adapt to slow sea-
dunes) level rise by trapping sediment and organic matter.
 Non-porous natural barriers, such as sand dunes (with associated plant
communities) and barrier islands, dissipate wave energy and act as barriers
against waves, currents, storm surges and tsunamis

17
 Drylands  Natural vegetation management and restoration in drylands contributes to control
desertification, as trees, grasses and shrubs conserve soil and retain moisture.
 Shelterbelts, greenbelts and other types of living fences act as barriers against
wind erosion and sand-storms
 Maintaining vegetation cover in dryland areas, and agricultural practices, such as
use of shadow crops, nutrient enriching plants and vegetation litter, increases
resilience to drought.
 Prescribed burning and creation of physical firebreaks in dry landscapes reduces
fuel loads and the risk of unwanted large-scale fires.

Ecological Footprint
 Measure of human demand on the Earth’s Ecosystem
 Standardised measure of demand of natural capacity that may be contrasted with planet’s ecological
capacity
 Amount of biologically productive land & sea area necessary to supply the resources a human population
consumes
 Currently, humanity total ecological footprint at 1.5 times Earths

Ecosystem Accounting
NATURAL CAPITAL
 World’s stocks of natural assets, includes geology, soil, air, water and all living things
 Ecosystem Services are derived from Natural Capital
 Includes
o Individual environmental assets or resources, both biotic and abiotic (such as water, minerals,
energy, timber and fish), as well as
o Ecosystem assets → Forests and wetlands
o Biodiversity and ecosystem services → Air and water filtration, flood protection, carbon storage,
pollination of crops and habitats for wildlife

NATURAL CAPITAL ACCOUNTING/ECOSYSTEM ACCOUNTING

 Tool to measure country’s natural Capital and give perspective on link between the economy, ecology and
environment
 NCA uses an accounting framework to provide a systematic way to measure and report on stocks and flows
of natural capital
 EA coherent framework for integrating measures of ecosystems and the flows of services from them with
measures of economic and other human activity
 Accounting for natural Capital → IN physical or monetary terms
 WHY?
o Quantifying and valuing natural assets help countries track over-exploitation and invest in protecting
and restoring ecosystems

System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA)

 SEEA is a statistical system to bring together economic and environmental information into a common
framework to measure the condition of the environment, the contribution of the environment to the
economy and the impact of the economy on the environment
 It consists of three parts:
o SEEA Central Framework (SEEA CF):
 Adopted by the UN Statistical Commission
 First international standard for environmental economic accounting in 2012

18
  FOCUS on “individual environmental assets” like water resources, energy resources etc. and
how those assets move between the environment and the economy
o SEEA Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA):
 Offers synthesis of current knowledge in ecosystem accounting
 Perspective of ecosystems and considers how individual environmental assets interact as
part of natural processes within a given spatial area
o SEEA Applications and Extensions: It illustrates to compilers and users of SEEA Central Framework
based accounts how the information can be used in decision-making, policy review and formulation,
analysis and research

SEEA EA
 India implemented SEEA EA as new national statistical framework to combat environmental degradation and
promote sustainability
o SEEA EA was also adopted as statistical standard by the UNITED NATIONS STATISTICAL
COMMISSION recently

India’s SEEA EA framework

 India is one of 90 countries that have successfully adopted the ecosystem accounting system including the
new framework for SEEA EA
 In India, led by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) under the Natural Capital
Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES) Project
o NCAVES mainstream natural capital accounting and the valuation of ecosystem services in data-
driven decision and policymaking at the national, regional and local levels
o NCAVES Project, funded by EU, has been jointly implemented by:
 United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD)
 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
 Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD)
o Aims to assist the five participating partner countries, namely Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South
Africa [BRICS – Russia + Mexico]
o In India, the NCAVES project is being implemented by the MoSPI in close collaboration with the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the National Remote Sensing
Centre (NRSC)
o NCAVES India Forum
 Organised in collaboration with United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), European Union
and UN Environment
 NCAVES India Forum 2021 was organised by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation
o Achievements of MoSPI under the project include
 Publication of “EnviStats India”, on an annual basis since 2018, which is a compilation of the
Environment Accounts as per the UN-SEEA framework
 Development of the India-EVL Tool which is essentially a look-up tool giving a snapshot of
the values of various ecosystem services in the different States of the country
 MoSPI also released ‘Ecosystem Accounts for India - Report of the NCAVES Project’, which
provides an overview of work undertaken in India as part of the NCAVES project

 SEEA EA is an integrated statistical framework for organizing biophysical data, measuring ecosystem services,
tracking changes in ecosystem assets and linking this information to economic and other human activity

19
  SEEA EA is built on five core accounts:

 DIFFERENT TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM ACCOUNTS

Ecosystem extent Ecosystem Ecosystem services Monetary asset

Thematic accounts
account condition account account account:
Info on the extent Measures overall Measures supply of Records the Cover stand-alone
of different quality of ecosystem services monetary value of accounts for land,
ecosystem types ecosystem asset such as provisioning opening and closing water, carbon and
(e.g. forests, and captures of crop, timber, stocks of all biodiversity,
wetlands, Key indicators such Non-timber forest ecosystem assets
agricultural areas as soil nutrient, products, nature-
and marine areas) water quality etc→ based tourism etc
in terms of area potential to supply
ecosystem services

Importance of Natural Capital Accounting (NCA)

 Overcoming Limitations of GDP: Natural capital is essential for economic growth & employment, but GDP
has a limited representation of the natural capital
 Effective management of Natural resources: Provide perspective on the link between the economy, ecology
and environment→ better manage natural resources
 Promote natural capital business model: Way of doing business that recognizes the value of natural and
human resources and life-supporting ecological services. NCA highlights the importance of conservation of
natural capital for protecting businesses
o For instance, the agriculture sector needs pollinators, like bees, to grow crops and any threat to
pollinator population can have escalating economic impacts on the sector

20
  Monitoring progress of global initiatives: NCA can be applied to monitor progress on a range of critical
global initiatives such as Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
 Improved & informed decision-making process: Helps policy makers in
o Checking environmental degradation
o Estimating financial needs by evaluating how the economy responds in terms of expenditure on
environmental protection
o Identifying policy priorities: focus on the hotspots. For instance, water quality accounts can help in
identifying areas that require resources for artificial ground water recharging in the immediate
future
 Poverty reduction: NCA provides systematic information about the assets that poor people and low-income
countries depend on for income, livelihoods, health, security and resilience.
o 75% of the world’s poorest directly dependent on natural capital [ smallholder farmers, rural
labourers, herding, fishing and forestry]
 Developing future strategies: Developing a set of statistics on biodiversity hotspots and flora and fauna
species accounts can help in setting up Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework for the Convention on
Biological Diversity
 Climate change mitigation: In the face of climate change and variability, the various indicators of the human
footprint on land, such as the use of land, needs to be assessed on a regular basis for scientific and effective
land use planning, management and ecological restoration
 Generates Public awareness about environmental preservation: Accounting for ecosystem services can
help create public awareness about environmental values

Challenges of Environmental accounting

 Cost involvement: Environmental accounting and reporting will require extra manpower and cost. Many
enterprises, unless otherwise compelled, may not be willing to incur such costs. Thus, incurring additional
cost may be considered as problems in introducing EA
 Lack of skilled manpower: Educated people, skilled workers are vital for the efficient and effective
implementation of natural accounting. Lack of skilled workforce is an obstacle for the environment
 Lack of consciousness about environmental accounting: Manufacturing organisation does not record
correctly on the different account of environmental accounting. Many institutions intentionally avoid
separate environmental accounts
 Lack of coordination with different stakeholders related to environmental issues affect proper
implementation

21
Chapter 2 Aquatic Ecosystem
Fresh Salt Content <5ppm
Water
Ecosystem
Lakes, Ponds, pools, Springs, Steams & Rivers

Marine Salt>35ppt
Ecosystem
Shallow Sea & Open Ocean

Brackish Salt- 5 to 35ppt

Water
Ecosystems
Estuaries, Salt Marshes, Mangroves

LIMITING FACTORS FOR PRODUCTIVITY OF AQUATIC HABITAT

 Sunlight & Oxygen are limiting factors for Aquatic Habitat

 Moisture & Temperature are limiting Factor for terrestrial habitat

LAKES
TYPES OF LAKES ON BASIS OF NUTRIENTS
 Oligotrophic
o Very low nutrients
o Many animal & plant species
 Mesotrophic
o Moderate Nutrients
 Eutrophic
o Highly Nutrient Rich
o Animals & Plants eliminated due to Eutrophication

WET LAND ECOSYSTEM

 Intermediate Transitional area of character between deep water & terrestrial habitats
 Lake Littorals [Marginal area between highest & lowest water levels of lake], floodplains, Other marshy or
swampy areas
 Depth @low tide less than 3m
 Lakes vs Wetlands
o Lakes deeper than 3 mtr with little or less aquatic vegetation [Macrophytes]

22
 Importance Ecosystem & Biodiversity Nearly two-thirds of its fish harvest
Support Highly productive Ecosystem Support large species
Part of Nutirents Cycle [Nitrogen, Sulphur, Carbon]
Ground Water Recharge

Human Dependence Vital source for food, raw materials

Help in controlling the floods

Natural Filters clean up the fertilizers and pesticides

Threats Urbanisation

Pollution

Agriculture Converted to paddy field

Dredging & Sand Mining Lowers water table→ Dries up wetland

Exotic Species

Conservation Efforts by India

NATIONAL PLAN FOR CONSERVATION OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS (NPCA):
 NPCA is a single conservation programme for both wetlands and lakes
 Centrally sponsored scheme under MoEF&CC
 Formulated in 2015 by merging of the National Lake Conservation Plan + National Wetlands Conservation
Programme
 NPCA seeks to promote better synergy and avoid overlap of administrative functions

WETLANDS (CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT) RULES, 2017

 Nodal authority: WETLANDS AUTHORITY within a state for all wetland-specific authorities in a state/UT for
the enforcement of the rules
 Prohibited activities:
o Setting up any industry and expansion of existing industries
o Dumping solid waste or discharge of untreated wastes and effluents from industries and any human
settlements, and
o Encroachment or conversion for non-wetlands uses.
 Integrated Management Plan: The guidelines recommend that the state/UT administration prepare a plan
for the management of each notified wetland by the respective governments
 Penalties: As per Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

[IMP] CENTRE FOR WETLAND CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT (CWCM)

 MoEF& CC established India’s first Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management (CWCM)
 CWCM would be a part of National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, an
institution under MoEF & CC
 Role of CWCM

23
 o It would address specific research needs and knowledge gaps in conservation and management of
wetlands
o It will aid in application of integrated approaches for conservation, management and wise use of
wetlands
o It would also serve as a knowledge hub and enable exchange between State/ UT Wetland Authorities,
wetland users, managers, researchers, policymakers and practitioners
Global Conservation Efforts
RAMSAR CONVENTION
 In force 1975, Inter-governmental accord for preserving the ecological character of wetlands
 India has 46 Ramsar Sites which are the Wetlands of International importance
 Ramsar philosophy is the “wise use” of wetlands.
 Wise use: maintenance of ecological character within the context of sustainable development
 World’s Largest = 1) Rio Negro [Brazil] 2) Ngiri-Tumba-Maindombe [DRC] 3) Queen Maud Gulf [Canada]
 Country with Most Sites: U.K. (175) & Mexico (142)

CRITERION FOR RAMSAR SITES

9 Criterion
Group A of the Criteria→ Wetland types
 Criterion 1: if it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland
Group B of the Criteria → Biological diversity
 Based on species and ecological communities
o Criterion 2: If supports VU, EN, or CR species or threatened ecological communities
o Criterion 3: If Supports plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity
o Criterion 4: if supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles or provides refuge
during adverse conditions
 Based on Water-birds
o Criterion 5: if it regularly supports 20,000 or more water-birds
o Criterion 6: If supports 1% of the population of one species or subspecies of waterbird
 Based on fish
o Criterion 7: if supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-
history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits
and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity
o Criterion 8: if an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on
which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.
 Based on other taxa
o Criterion 9: if supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-
dependent non-avian animal species

 SMALLEST SIZE: 1) Renuka Wetland 2) Chandertal Wetland 3) Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary

 Largest: 1) Sundarban Wetland, 2) Vembanad-Kol Wetland [Kerela], 3) Chilika Lake 4) Kolleru 5) Bhitarkanika 6)
Asthamudi
Andhra Pradesh Kolleru Lake Natural eutrophic lake; b/w Grey Pelican
Godavari and the Krishna
Act as Natural Flood Balancing
Previously a lagoon, but now it
is several km inland coz
coastline of emergence and
delta formation
24
Assam Deepor Beel Permanent Freshwater Lake in
a former channel of
B’putra
Major storm water storage
basin for Guwahati
Bihar [New] Kabartal Wetland Begusarai; AKA Kanwar Jheel
Important stopover along the
Central Asian Flyway
Gujarat Nalsarovar Natural freshwater lake on
relict Sea
Largest natural wetland in the
Thar Desert Biogeographic
Province
W to Ahmedabad; N of G.
Khambat
[New] Thol Lake Wildlife On the Central Asian Flyway
Sanctuary Man Made
[New] Wadhvana Wetland Man Made
Wintering ground
Haryana [New] Bhindawas Wildlife JHAJJHAR
Sanctuary human-made freshwater
wetland;
[New] Sultanpur National Park Gurgaon, Sultanpur National
Park
Himachal Pradesh Chandertal Wetland high altitude lake
Migratory Site
Spotbilled Pelican, Lesser
and Greater Adjutant
Stork and Baer's Pochard
Water Hyacinth Infested
Five CR
Three vultures –Red-
headed vulture, White-
rumped vulture and
Indian vulture
Two waterbirds: Sociable
lapwing & Baer’s pochard
Endangered Indian Wild
Ass
CR white-rumped vulture
and sociable lapwing
VU Sarus crane, common
pochard and lesser
white-fronted goose.
> 1% of the population of
glossy ibis [LC]
Pallas’s fish-eagle [EN],
Common pochard [VU]
Dalmatian pelican [NT], .
Red-crested pochard
[ rare in Western India
Resident Birds
River tern [VU]; Sarus
crane [VU]; black-necked
stork
Egyptian vulture [EN]
Steppe eagle [EN],
Pallas’s fish eagle [EN]
Black-bellied tern [EN]
>1.7% population
Greylag goose
>2% population of Indian
cormorant
sociable Lapwing [CR],
and Egyptian vulture
[EN], Saker falcon [EN],
Pallas’s fish eagle &
black-bellied tern
Snow Leopard and is a
refuge for many species
like Snow Cock, Chukor,
25
 Black Ring Stilt, Kestrel,
Golden Eagle, Chough,
Red Fox, Himalayan Ibex,
and Blue Sheep
Pong Dam Lake Water storage reservoir on R. Maharana Pratap Sagar
Beas
trans-Himalayan flyway
nature conservation education
centre on the Ransar Island
Renuka Wetland Natural freshwater springs
inland subterranean karst
fed by a small stream to the
Giri river
J&K Hokera Wetland Near Srinagar
Jhelum Basin
Only Site in K with Reedbeds
Surinsar-Mansar Lakes Freshwater composite lake in Indian flapshell turtle
semi-arid Panjab Plains [VU], Indian softshell
[Jammu], turtle [EN]
Twin Lake
Wular Lake India’s Largest freshwater lake Extensive marshes of
emergent and floating
vegetation
Kerala Ashtamudi Wetland It is a natural backwater in
Kollam district.
• River Kallada and Pallichal
drains into it.
• It forms an estuary with Sea
at Neendakara (famous
fishing harbour in Kerala).
• National Waterway 3 passes
through it
Sasthamkotta Lake Largest freshwater lake in
Kerala in Kollam district.
River Kallada had a unique
replenishing system
through a bar of paddy field
Vembanad-Kol Wetland 2nd largest Ramsar Site
Longest lake of India.
below sea level
Ladakh [New] Tso Kar Wetland Complex
Tso Moriri Freshwater to brackish lake only breeding ground
outside of China for
Black-necked crane
Only breeding ground in
India for Bar-headed
Great Tibetan Sheep or
Argali and Tibetan Wild
Ass are ENDEMIC
Madhya Pradesh Bhoj Wetland Consists of two lakes located sarus crane
in city of Bhopal: Bhojtal and
the Lower Lake
humanmade reservoir
Maharashtra [New] Lonar Lake

26
 Nandur Madhameshwar Construction of Nandur
Madhameshwar Weir at
the confluence of the Godavari
and Kadwa Rivers
Manipur Loktak Lake Largest freshwater lake of NE
Keibul Lamjao: Floating
national park
Orissa Bhitarkanika Mangroves It is part of Bhitarkanika It is famous for its
Wildlife Sanctuary [ in addition saltwater crocodiles and
includes Gahirmatha Olive
Marine Wildlife Sanctuary] Ridley sea turtle
The core area of the sanctuary
was declared Bhitarkanika Bhitarkanika NP,WS
National Park Gahirmatha is largest
Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Nesting Site for Olive
Sanctuary is adjacent to Turtle [VU]
the Bhitarkanika Wildlife
Sanctuary
Chilika Lake Brackish water lagoon  Nalbana Bird Sanctuary
@mouth of the Daya is the core area
River  Irrawaddy dolphin
It is the largest coastal lagoon (critically endangered)
in India [Only known
1st site under Ramsar population]
Punjab Beas Conservation Reserve It is a 185-kilometre stretch of Only known population
the Beas River. in India
• The stretch is dotted with of Indus river dolphin
islands, sand bars and
braided channels
• In 2017, a programme was
initiated to re-introduce
the critically endangered
gharial.
Harike Lake It is a shallow water reservoir
confluence of
Beas and Sutlej rivers
Kanjli Associated with Guru Nanak
Keshopur-Miani Community Community managed wetland
Reserve
Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary Shiwalik foothills of Punjab Indian pangolin and
Bhakra-Nangal Project Egyptian vulture
Ropar Humanmade of lake and river
formed by diversion of water
from the Sutlej
Rajasthan Keoladeo National Park A complex of ten artificial, Invasive grass Paspalum
seasonal lagoons, varying distichum
in size Siberian crane
Man-made and man-managed
wetland
Gambhir and Banganga.
Mosaic of scrub and open
grassland
Breeding, wintering and
staging migratory bird

27
 Sambhar Lake India's largest inland saltwater Wintering flamingos
lake.
Tamil Nadu Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird One of the last remnants of
Sanctuary Dry Evergreen Forests
Habitat: Dry Evergreen
Forests, Mangrove & Wetlands
Tripura Rudrasagar Lake Reservoir fed by three Red listed Three-striped
perennial streams discharging Roof Turtle
to the River Gomti
Uttar Pradesh Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary Renamed as Chandra Shekhar
Azad Bird Sanctuary
Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary Permanent freshwater: Two White rumped vulture
oxbow lakes and Indian vulture

Saman Bird Sanctuary Seasonal oxbow lake on the

Ganges flood plain
Samaspur Bird Sanctuary Perennial lowland marsh Egyptian vulture
Sandi Bird Sanctuary XX
Sarsai Nawar Jheel permanent marsh Non-migratory sarus
crane
[New] Sur Sarovar Keetham Lake, is a human-
made reservoir; originally
created to supply water
to the city of Agra in summer
Upper Ganga River Brijghat to Narora Ganges
Stretch River Dolphin and Gharial
Crocodile
Uttarakhand [New] Asan Conservation Asan River running down to its
Reserve confluence
with the Yamuna River in
Dehradun district of
Uttarakhand. The damming of
the River by the Asan
Barrage in 1967 resulted in
siltation above the dam wall
West Bengal East Calcutta Wetlands It is multiple use wetland that
serves the city of Kolkata
Sundarban Wetland largest Ramsar Site in India

ris-report-annotsated_summary-20210813-165854-e60ac4b9a8ebb1ca027d7419de3ee798.pdf

CURRENT AFFAIR
 Assam Bans community Fishing in Deepor Beel. — Assam's only Ramsar Site
o Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary; @ southwestern edge of Guwahati
o Shirking in Size: - Satellite imagery revealed that its area has shrunk by at least 35% since 1991.
o Reason→
 Losing connectivity with small rivers such as Kalmoni, Khonajan and Basistha that used to flow
 Expansion of the city
 Encroachment upon the natural channels through Guwahati and from the hills around
 Municipal waste dump at Boragaon almost on the edge of the wetland

28
Montreux Record
 Montreux Record is a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance where
changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of
technological developments, pollution or other human interference.
 Wetlands of India that are in Montreux Record: Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) and Loktak Lake
(Manipur)
o Chilka lake (Odisha) was placed in the record but was later removed from it

Estuary Ecosystem
 Semi enclosed coastal body of water with one or more river flowing
 Complete Salinity Range
 Biologically highly productive region as receives large nutrients from freshwater & Seawater

Sea Grass
 Protection and restoration of sea grasses can play a significant role in mitigating climate change
 Component of Blue Carbon

ABOUT SEA GRASSES

 Flowering plants; Sexual and asexual methods
 Grow submerged in shallow marine waters like bays and lagoons
 Range: From the tropics to the Arctic Circle
 Have roots, stems and leaves
 AREAS
o Inhabit all types of substratas (layers) from mud to rock and they are found extensively in muddy and
sandy substratas
o Occurs all along the coastal areas of India
o Abundant in the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu, however threatened now
 Restoration of seagrasses has been taken up by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department in the Gulf of Mannar
 SPECIES: Sea Cow Grass (Cymodocea serrulata), Thready Seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata), Needle Seagrass
(Syringodium isoetifolium) and Flat-tipped Seagrass (Halodule uninervis)

THREATS
 Natural
o Grazing, storms, Ice-scouring and Desiccation [removal of moisture from something]
 Human
o Eutrophication, Mechanical destruction of habitat, Overfishing and Release of nutrients, Siltation,
trawling, Coastal engineering construction and Pollution

Importance of Seagrasses

 ‘Ecosystem Engineers’ → Maintain water quality and trap fine sediments and suspended particles in the water
column and increase water clarity
 Sequester 11% of the organic carbon buried in the ocean and can capture carbon from the atmosphere 35 times
faster than tropical rainforests
 Filter nutrients released from land-based industries before they reach sensitive habitats like coral reefs
 Stabilize sea bottom like land grasses that prevent soil erosion as Ocean bottoms without seagrasses are prone
to intense wave action from currents and storms
 BIODIVERSITY
o Protect juvenile and small adult fish from large predators
o Food as well as habitat for fishes, octopuses, shrimp, blue crabs, oysters, sponges, sea urchins, clams, etc
o ‘The lungs of the sea’ → Release oxygen into the water through photosynthesis
 They are used as fertilizer for sandy soil
29
Mangroves
 About Mangroves
o Salt-tolerant plant community of tropical and subtropical inter-tidal regions between latitude 24° N and
38° S [Require High Solar Radiation]
o ‘Tidal forests’ and belong to ‘tropical wetland rainforest ecosystem’
o Evergreen Land Plants
 Evolutionary adaptations→
o Constraints: Lack of oxygen, high salinity and diurnal tidal inundation
o Adaptation:
o Succulent [thick fleshy leaves or stems adapted to storing water] leaves with salt secreting glands
o Sunken stomata
o Aerial breathing roots called ‘pneumatophores’ [Blind roots] for respiration. {Def: an aerial root
specialized for gaseous exchange}
o Lenticellated bark→ a spongy area in the bark of a woody plant, serving as a pore to permit the
exchange of gases between the stem and the atmosphere
o VIVIPARITY Mode of Reproduction→ vivipary occurs when seeds or embryos begin to develop before
they detach from the parent
o Stilt roots
o Buttresses [ large, wide roots on all sides of a shallowly rooted tree]
 Temperature pattern of sea-surface and air, rainfall and freshwater runoff have a strong influence over
mangrove forest, largely through the reduction of salinity
 In India, three types of mangrove formation
o Deltaic mangroves occur mainly along the east coast
o Backwater-estuarine type along the west coast and
o Insular type in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
 CONFIG: Species like Rhizophora send prop roots down into water; Avicennia send vertical up from mud

MANGROVE STATUS IN INDIA

Acc. to State of Forest Report 2019 by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change →
 0.15% of the country’s total geographical area under mangrove
 Top 3 States: 1) West Bengal 2) Gujarat 3) A&N Islands 4) Andhra 5) Maharashtra 6) Odisha

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 
 IMPORTANT SITES
o Sunderbans Mangroves→ Largest in world; Fauna: Gangetic dolphin, Estuarine crocodiles; Tiger
o Godavari-Krishna Mangroves
o Baratang Island Mangroves (A&N)
o Pichavaram Mangroves (TN)
 Lost 40% of mangrove due to agriculture, aquaculture, tourism, urban development and overexploitation
 Globally, 67% of mangroves lost/degraded; 1% being lost each year; Disappear mangroves in around 100
years

Benefits of Mangrove ecosystem

 Mangrove goods and services: Fuel wood, construction, fish traps and Traditional medicine to treat malaria,
diarrhoea, snake bites etc
 Habitat and nursery functions: Towering canopies provide nesting and resting ground for migratory and sea
birds. Supports coral reefs
 Coastal protection: Buffer between land and the sea. Significant role in sediment stabilization, shoreline and
coastal protection as well as water purification
 Disaster Management: Natural barrier to Cyclones, tsunamis
o Minimizing damage to property and loss of human life
o The Sunderbans Mangrove forest 1) reduce the wind speed drastically 2) Break the waves and the storm
surge triggered 3) Curvature of the Sunder ban Divert cyclones towards Bangladesh; For instance,
cyclone Bulbul in 2019
o Bhitarkanika National Park (Odisha) Play same role in Amphan and 1999 super cyclone
 Erosion control: Reduce the height of wind and swell waves and reduce the water level of storm surges, which
lessens the risk of flooding
 Nutrient cycling: Mean biomass ~ to Tropical terrestrial forests→ coastal food webs through regulating and
supporting nutrient cycling
 Heavy metal Sink
 Carbon sequestration: One of the most carbon rich ecosystems. Capture and store huge stocks of carbon above
and below ground
 Carbon emissions from mangrove deforestation== 10% of emissions from deforestation globally, despite
covering just 0.7% of land coverage

31
Threats to mangrove ecosystem
 Population and demand for small timber, fodder, fuelwood and other non-wood forest products
 Urbanisation and agriculture: >40 per cent of mangrove area on the western coast was converted to agricultural
fields & Urban areas
o Cleared for Shrimp culture, Saltpans and Aquaculture also pose major threat to the mangroves
 Pollution: Discharge of domestic sewage, industrial effluents and pesticides into creeks and estuaries
 Climate change: Rising sea levels and increased sedimentation caused by precipitation and shoreline change
 Exploitation: Illegal large-scale collection of mangrove fruits used in medicine → hinders natural regeneration
 Use of dragnets in fishing entangles and uproots young seedlings
 NASA's "map of the causes" finds mangroves losses due to natural causes [Erosion and extreme weather] slow
vis-à-vis than human [farming and aquaculture]
o Causes: 1) 47% loss due to Commodities— a combination of rice, shrimp, and oil palm cultivation from
2000 to 2016. 2) Shoreline erosion
o 80% of Direct anthropogenic loss in Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and
Vietnam

Initiatives to conserve Mangrove ecosystem

 India's ‘National Strategy and Action Plan’ to sustainably mitigate the mangrove and coastal ecosystem
 Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification under the Environmental Act, 1986, declared all coastal stretches up
to 500 m from the high tide line as CRZ, which is very essential for conservation and sustainable management of
mangrove forests
 MoEF&CC put restrictions on the expansion of shrimp farming
 Mangrove for Future (MFF) is Indian initiative with cooperation of IUCN to promote investment in coastal
ecosystem conservation for sustainable development
 ‘Magical Mangroves – Join the Movement’ [Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd., in collaboration with WWF India] a
nationwide campaign launched recently which highlights the significance of mangroves conservation in present
times and urges citizens to join the conservation movement
 In Andhra Pradesh, Forest Dept. has formed Eco Development Committees and Van Samrakshan Samithis for
joint implementation of projects in mangrove areas. Maharashtra became the first coastal state to declare a
state mangrove tree species as a symbol to enhance conservation of the salt-tolerant vegetation

Global Initiative to protect Mangrove

 Inclusion of mangroves in Biosphere Reserves, World Heritage sites and UNESCO Global Geoparks→ improve
knowledge, management and conservation of mangrove ecosystems throughout the world
 International Blue Carbon Initiative is a coordinated, global programme focused on mitigating climate change
through the conservation and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
 Global Mangrove Watch (GMW)— Online platform provides the remote sensing data and tools for monitoring
mangroves and gives universal access to near real-time information

Way forward
 The identification and implementation of conservation priorities comprehensive species-specific information
 Mangrove nursery banks should be developed for propagation purposes and suitable sites are to be identified
for planting mangrove species
 The participation of the local community & socioeconomic studies on the mangrove-dependent people
 Integrating mangrove restoration with alternative livelihoods: Integrating restoration activities with income
generating activities to surrounding communities, reduces human overdependence and subsequent pressure on
mangrove ecosystem and their resources
o For e.g. Beekeeping, aquaculture, use of energy efficient stoves should be promoted to relieve pressures
and safeguard mangroves
 Periodical monitoring of the mangrove forest

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CORAL REEFS
 Symbiotic Relation with “Zooxanthellae” microscopic algae
o Gives nutrient to Coral using photosynthesis
o Coral provide shelter &sunlight & CO2
 Colours are due to Zooxanthellae
 Majority occur in tropical & subtropical water but there are deep water corals in colder region
 Features
o Shallow tropical area with warm, clean water
o Highly productive: Counterpart to the tropical rain forest in terms of species diversity and biological
productivity in the Ocean
o Capable to recycle scarce nutrients
 In India, Coral reefs are present in the areas of Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar, Andaman & Nicobar,
Lakshadweep Islands and Malvan (Maharashtra)
 Classification
o Fringing: Contiguous with shore; Andamans
o Patch: isolated discontinuous patches; Palk Bay, Gulf of Mannar & Gulf of Kachchh
o Barrier: Linear offshore parallel to coastline; Nicobar & Lakshadweep
o Atoll: Circular from sea floor; Lakshadweep
 IMPORTANCE
o Enables the formation of associated eco-systems [essential habitats, fisheries and livelihoods]
o Provide an accurate long-term record of the climate change & study seasonal climate variability in many
remote tropical oceans
o Natural protective barrier against erosion & storm surge
o Capture plankton
o Largest CaCO3 producer
o Provide substrate for Mangroves

Major threats for the corals

 Natural: Environmental-Temperature, Sediment Deposition, Salinity, pH, etc
 Anthropogenic: Mining, Bottom Fishing, Tourism, pollution, etc.

Coral Bleaching
 OCCURENCE a) density of Zooxanthellae decline OR b) Conc. Of photosynthetic pigments with Z’ellae fall
o They lose 60-90% of their Zooxanthellae & each lose 50-80% of pigments
 Causes for Coral Bleaching

33
 Temperature
Live in narrow band of temp; More Frequent in higher temp

Solar Irradiance
Summer for shallow living corals
UV Rays
Pathogens

Chemical contamination
Agricultural runoff, Chemical pollution
Eutrophication and subsequent oxygen depletion
Destructive fishing & boating practices

Marine Pollution: Oil spill etc

Tourism

Coral mining
Live coral is removed from reefs for use as bricks etc

Ocean acidification

Sedimentation
From Coastal construction and shoreline development

Consequences of Coral Bleaching

 Impact marine ecosystem: Most bio-diverse and productive ecosystems

 Natural barriers to shorelines: Coral reefs die→ Coastlines more susceptible to storms, hurricanes, and cyclones
 BLUE CARBON: Reduce CO2 absorption by Ocean
 Socio- Economic Impact: Tropical countries’ economies, food supplies, and safety of their coastal communities

[CA] GREAT BARRIER REEF'S MASS BLEACHING

 Massive bleaching in 2020 in all three sections of the Great Barrier reef – northern, central and southern –
 3rd major bleaching event in five years
o 5 mass bleaching events – 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2020
o All caused by rising ocean temperatures driven by global heating
o Shrinking gap between mass bleaching is MAJOR CONCERN leaving no time for Corals recover from mild
bleaching
 About
o GBR → World’s largest coral reef ecosystem

34
 o World’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of
molluscs
o No other World Heritage property contains such biodiversity

Measures to protect Mangrove forest & Coral Reef [Coastal Ecosystem]

 Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), 2011 & Island Protection Zone (IPZ), 2011 regulate development activities
 Mangrove & Coral Reefs are categorised as Ecological Sensitive Zone (CRZ-I)
o No construction permitted except Dept. of Atomic Energy, Pipelines, Transmission lines, Weather radars
of IMD, Trans harbour sea links w/o effecting tidal flow
 CORAL REEF is under Schedule 1 of WPA, 1972

Coral Restoration
BIO ROCK TECHNOLOGY FOR CORAL RESTORATION
 About BIO ROCK TECHNOLOGY
o Bio rock = Power source connected steel structures lowered onto sea- bed → Electro accumulation of
minerals dissolved in seawater → Resultant called BIO ROCK
 Anode(+ve) Cathode(-ve) → Calcium ions combine with carbonate ions form CaCO3 → Adhere to
cathode→ Coral larvae adhere to the CaCO3 and grow quickly
o Fragments of broken corals tied to the bio-rock structure→ Grow at least four to six times faster→ Need
not spend their energy in building own calcium carbonate

Global Measures for Coral Restoration

 Chapter 17 of “Agenda 21”
o Protection and sustainable development of the marine and coastal environment
 International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI)-
o Informal partnership b/w Nations and organizations which strives to preserve coral reefs and related
ecosystems around the world.
o Declared 2018 as the third International Year of the Reef (IYOR)
 Awareness globally about the value of, and threats to, coral reefs and associated ecosystems.
 UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)-
o Works with scientists and policy makers worldwide to place biodiversity at the heart of environment and
development decision-making to enable enlightened choices
 STAPCOR
o International conference on Status & protection of Coral Reefs
o 2018 in Bangaram Coral Island of Lakshadweep Theme “Reef for Life”

Measures taken in India

 Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction system (COMAPS), Land Ocean Interactions in Coastal zones (LOICZ)
and Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management (ICMAM)
 Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZ) and has setup National Coastal Zone Management Authority and State Coastal
Zone Management Authority to protect coral reefs.
 Coral Bleaching Alert System (CBAS)-
o Service initiated from INCOIS uses the satellite derived Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in order to assess
the thermal stress accumulated in the coral environs
 Coral Reef Recovery Project- JV of Wildlife Trust of India and the Gujarat Forest Department, supported by Tata
Chemicals Limited (TCL)
o In Mithapur, the project envisions the creation of a model public-private-managed coral ecosystem of
international standards using global benchmarks to restore degraded reefs through activities including
coral transplantation and natural recruitment

35
 Bio rock structure installed 1 NM off the Mithapur coast in the Gulf of Kachchh
o Zoological Survey of India, with Gujarat’s forest dept
 ReefWatch India- An NGO, has taken up two projects —Re(ef)Build and Re(ef)Grow - to conserve the reefs
o Re(ef)build → restoring and rehabilitation at the Andamans by rescuing naturally broken coral fragments
& reattaching them to a robust substratum

Current Affair
 Bio rock structure installed 1 NM off the Mithapur coast in the Gulf of Kachchh
o Zoological Survey of India, with Gujarat’s forest dept
 PALAU IS FIRST COUNTRY TO BAN 'REEF TOXIC' SUN CREAM
o Ingredient Oxybenzone - is harmful
o Cause: 1) Susceptible to coral bleaching 2) Damage DNA of coral 3) deform and kill juvenile corals as
per International Coral Reef Foundation
o Other Countries with Same Bann: US [Virgin Islands, Hawaii], Caribbean island of Bonaire [Dutch]

URBAN WATER BODIES

 Riverfronts, lakes and ponds to marshes, mangroves, backwaters, lagoons and other wetlands. E.g. -
Hussainsagar and Osmansagar lakes in Hyderabad
 NGT pulled up the Telangana government for failing to take steps to control the pollution in Hyderabad's
Hussainsagar lake
 Urban Lake: Acc. To National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP), water body with minimum depth of 3m,
spread over >10 hect. & having no or very little aquatic vegetation, is considered as a lake
 Urban lakes are lakes which are located within city limits (census town) and directly surrounded by urban
developments, with some recreational facilities limited to the shoreline area (parks, playgrounds)

FUNCTIONAL ROLE
Providing environmental, social and economic services
 Maintaining Hydrology: Recharge ground water, channelizing water flow to prevent water logging and
flooding, shoreline stabilization etc
 Source of water supply: for drinking, industrial use, irrigation etc
 Water quality improvement: by removing excess nutrients and many chemical contaminants
 Helps cities adapt to climate change effects: such as heat island effect and flash floods
 Preserving the biodiversity: by hosting a wide variety of flora and fauna including migratory species
 Socio-economic functions: Supports recreational activities, tourism, fishing, transportation etc. Some water
bodies also act as sites of artistic, religious and spiritual pursuits

ANTHROPOGENIC THREATS
 Water pollution:
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 o Point sources: Tributary drain, sewage draining, industrial effluents etc
o Non-point sources: Urban storm water runoff, solid waste and debris, Agricultural fertilisers and
chemicals etc
o Solid wastes, especially plastic waste obstruct water flows in natural drainage systems
o Algal blooms → Reduce depth & thus water carrying capacity
 Riverfront developments: on floodplains impacts on riverbank stabilisation, riparian buffer and immediate
floodplain ecological values. Rivers are being narrowed impacting river’s flooding capacity
 Waste disposal: made into landfills; Example Guwahati’s Deepor beel[Ramsar Site] used by MC to dump
solid waste
 Encroachment: Due to increased pressure on Urban land Example, Charkop Lake in Maharashtra, Ousteri
Lake in Puducherry, Deepor beel in Guwahati
 Illegal mining activities: for building material [sand and quartzite] → Alter their beds, force river to change
course, erode banks, lead to flooding and affect groundwater recharge
 Loss of Vegetative cover increase soil erosion and high sedimentation in eater bodies
 Concretisation result in higher flows during storm due to presence of impervious surfaces etc. can lead to
heavy flow in urban watersheds
 Unplanned Tourism Activities: Lack of systematic planning and regulation and absence of garbage disposal
facilities has contributed to the degradation of many water bodies especially at the high-altitude lakes, for
example- Dal Lake in Srinagar
 Cultural Misuse: local communities for their cultural or religious festivals [immersion of idols]
 Disturbance of aquatic biodiversity

Measures taken for protection of Urban waterbodies

 Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2017: Its objective is to conserve aquatic ecosystems (lakes
and wetlands), through implementation of sustainable conservation plans governed by application of
uniform policy and guidelines
 National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA): prohibits activities like conversion of
wetland for non-wetland uses including encroachment, solid waste dumping, etc.
 National Lake Conservation Plan (NCLP) by MoEF&CC aiming at restoration of water quality and ecology of
the lakes in the country
 Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT): Its mission components include
provision for rejuvenation of water bodies specifically for drinking water supply and recharging of ground
water
 Notifying wetlands under the Ramsar Convention: It is an inter-governmental accord signed by members
countries to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.
 Enforcement & Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining: to control the instance of illegal mining
 Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974: It provides several directions to control the flow of
sewage and industrial effluents into water bodies.
o CPCB under this
 Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs): For lake management and conservation such as, Bhoj Wetland Authority
for the restoration and management of Bhoj wetlands in Madhya Pradesh, Chilka Development Authority in
Orissa for the Chilka Lake
 Non-Government Organizations: Small local organizations/Citizen Groups such as Neela Hauz Citizen Group
in Delhi and Save Urban Lakes in Bangalore, are also involved in lake conservation and restoration
 Judiciary and Legal Mechanisms: PILs by various citizen groups successfully seeked mandamus for many
highly polluted and environmentally degraded lakes. Some of these significant battles of lake protection
include Powai and Charkop lakes in Mumbai against encroachment
o LIVING ENTITY

37
Way Forward
 An integrated and multidisciplinary approach with a common regulatory framework may result into
conservation of Lakes and wetlands
 Roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders along with Centre, state and urban local bodies should be
specified
 Revival and restoration of water bodies: Processes such as de-weeding, desilting, aeration, bioremediation
and biomanipulation can help restore the original state of these water bodies.
 Integrated watershed development: by developing an understanding of their inter-connectivity of urban
water bodies and taking the extent and topographical conditions of catchment area, existing and proposed
storm water drains and permeability of soil conditions into account
 Checking encroachments on urban water bodies: Town Planning departments should regularly monitor the
prohibited areas to prevent encroachments
 Promote groundwater recharge and pollutant attenuation: by removing concrete flood control channels
and exposing the underlying native sediment
 Limit, reduce and/or mitigate for impervious surfaces: throughout the watershed by use of new
engineering techniques like pervious pathways, pervious parking lots to minimize the surface runoff
 Stakeholder participation and capacity building: must be used as an important instrument for better
management of urban Water Bodies
 Ensuring planned Urbanization: that considers the delineation and protection of catchment areas, drainage
channels and areas of lakes, ponds, etc
 Other steps: Ensuring proper disposal of solid and liquid waste, undertaking urban forestry, restricting sand
mining etc

LIVING ENTITY

 Punjab and Haryana High Court recently declared that Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh is a “living entity” or “legal
person” with rights, duties and liabilities of a living person for its survival, preservation and conservation
 All citizens of Chandigarh as loco parentis (in the place of a parent) to save the lake from extinction

About the status

 By declaring legal entities, lake have same legal rights as a person in eyes of the law and polluting the lake
would amount to harming a human being
 Loco parentis would be able to sue for the protection of such entities' rights
 Legal responsibility to the appointed guardians or “loco parentis” to protect
 Any fine imposed for polluting or damaging the water body would go to the water body's restoration
directly; instead of those aggrieved from the damage
 Environmentalists also argue that the status of a living person would enable water bodies, through their
representatives to enter contracts with third parties in matters of constructions that could affect the body-
such as hydroelectric projects, canals, dams, etc.

Challenges in implementing these orders

 Prescribing rights and duties without specifying the ambit of rights would not lead to the desired impact
 In the case of environment, the state is vested with the duty to protect and preserve the environment,
considering the principles of sustainable development
 It is unclear whether vesting environmental bodies with rights would mean something beyond the already
prescribed duties for the states and individuals.

38
39
Chapter 3 Environmental Issues
POLLUTION is any undesirable change in physical, chemical or biological characteristics of air, land, water or soil

Tropospheric Air Pollution

 CAUSE: Presence of undesirable solid or gaseous particles in the air
o Gaseous air pollutants: Oxides of sulphur, nitrogen and carbon, hydrogen sulphide, hydrocarbons,
ozone and other oxidants
o Particulate pollutants: These are dust, mist, fumes, smoke, smog etc

GASESOUS AIR POLLUTANTS

Oxide of Sulphur
 Produced when sulphur containing fossil fuel is burnt; Most common Form is SO2
 Colourless, bad-smelling, Toxic
 Source: 1) Burning of Sulphur in fossil fuels 2) Natural by-product of volcanic activity
 Secondary pollutants Created: 1) Sulfate aerosols 2) particulate matter 3) Acid rain
 EFFECT:
o LOW CONC., Respiratory diseases + Irritation to Eye
o HIGH Conc.→ Stiffness of Flower which fall off
 Oxidation of SO2→ SO3; Naturally Slow but presence of particulate matter, Ozone or H202 catalyses
 Scrubber— For SO2→ Exhaust is passed through a spray of water or lime

Report by Greenpeace India and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA)
 India's SO2 emissions declined approx. 6% in 2019 as compared to 2018 for the first time in last 4 years
 Top emitter's position 1) India 2) Russia 3) China
 India emitted 21% of global anthropogenic SO2 emissions; Mostly from coal-fired power plants that lack
pollution-curbing equipment

40
 Biggest emission hotspots → Clusters of power stations @Singrauli, Neyveli [TN], Talcher [Odisha] etc
 Greenpeace India by an analysis of NASA data— India has >15% of all anthropogenic SO2 hotspots in the world
as detected by the OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) satellite

Steps taken in India

 Expansion of Renewable energy and ↓ in coal dependency
 Govt → Shut down non-compliant thermal power stations and has also allocated Rs 4,400 crore to tackle the air
pollution crisis
 In 2015, MoEF&CC introduced SO2 emission limits for coal power stations
 Installing Flue-Gas Desulfurization (FGD) units

Oxide of Nitrogen
 When dioxygen & dinitrogen [both very abundant & stable in atmosphere] react @ High Temp. Example, When
lightning strikes or In IC Engine
o N2 + O2 → 2NO; 2NO+O2→ 2NO2
 Rate of conversion of NO to NO2 ↑ when OZONE in stratosphere
o NO + O3→ NO2+O2
 EFFECT:
o Irritant Red haze in the traffic is due to oxide of N
o Higher conc. Of NO2 damage the leaves of plants and retard the rate of photosynthesis.
o Lung Irritant→ acute problem in children
o Harmful to various textile fibres and metals

Hydrocarbons
o Formed by incomplete combustion of fuel used in automobiles
o EFFECT:
 Carcinogenic, i.e., they cause cancer
 Harm plants by causing ageing, breakdown of tissues and shedding of leaves, flowers and twigs
o Catalytic converters
 Reduce emission of poisonous gases of Exhaust
 Platinum-palladium and rhodium as Catalyst
 Unburnt HC→ CO2 + H2O
 CO + NO [Both from exhaust] → CO2 + N2

Oxides of Carbon
CARBON MONOXIDE
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 Colourless and odourless gas, highly poisonous
 Source: Automobile exhaust; incomplete combustion of coal, firewood, petrol, etc.
 Smoking also cause carboxyhaemoglobin to form & reduce Oxygen carrying capacity

CARBON DIOXIDE
 Source: Respiration, burning of fossil fuels; decomposition of limestone during cement manufacture, During
volcanic eruptions

Ammonia
 Colourless, highly reactive, soluble, alkaline gas
 Prominent constituent of the nitrogen cycle that adversely affects ecosystems at higher concentrations
 Sources of emissions:
o Agriculture, including animal husbandry and NH3-based fertilizer applications
o Other sources: Industrial processes, vehicular emissions, volatilization from soils and oceans,
decomposition of organic waste, forest fires, animal and human waste, nitrogen fixation processes
 Naturally, present in body and secreted by the kidneys to neutralise excess acid, while ammonia in the form
of nitrogen is essential for plant growth
 Uses:
o Production of fertilisers, plastics, synthetic fibres, dyes and other products
o In Fertilizers→ NH3 used to make ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) →used as a high-nitrogen fertilizer

Affects the environment and humans

 Climate change: Excess Ammonia lead to nitrification and denitrification, contributing to GHG
 Air pollution: NH3 in gaseous forms reacts with other oxides and pollutants in the atmosphere to form PM
2.5 and particles of ammonium salts→ haze like condition
 Water pollution: Leach into streams and rivers → Algal blooms and dead zones
o As per BIS: limit for NH3 → 0.5 ppm
o In Yamuna water → 1.8 ppm
 Ecosystem damage: Eutrophication and acidification effects
o Eg. Increase in nitrogen loving species by shift from mosses, lichens and ericoids to grasses like
Deschampsia flexuosa and Molinia caerulea
 Adverse health effects:
o NH3 interacts with moisture in the skin, eyes, oral cavity, respiratory → ammonium hydroxide
 Caustic and disrupts the cell membrane lipids→ Cellular destruction
o Gaseous ammonia reacts with other pollutants in the air to form fine particles of ammonium salts
which affect human breathing as well cause diseases like pneumonia and asthma

Means to check ammonia pollution

 Laws and guidelines: Stringent guidelines and conservation laws against dumping agricultural waste and
fertilizers into the river
 Policy decisions: Subsidies to ammonia-based fertilisers to be streamlined
 Technology: to treat ammonia in water
 Animal dietary management: Reducing the crude protein and acidification of the animal diet to improve
protein digestion→ reduces nitrogen excretion and ammonia emission

ACID RAIN
 Acid rain refers to the ways in which acid from the atmosphere is deposited on the earth’s surface
 Rainwater with pH < 5.6 is called Acid Rain
 Oxides of Nitrogen & Sulphur settle down
o Dry deposition → Gases and dust particles become acidic & settle on ground
o Wet deposition → Rain, sleet, snow, or fog i.e. more acidic than normal

42
 
 AMMONIUM SALTS as atmospheric haze (Aerosol of fine particles)
o AEROSOL particles of oxides or ammonium salts in raindrops result in wet deposition
o SO2 is also absorbed directly on both solid & liquid ground surfaces and is thus deposited as dry
deposition
 EFFECT
o Harmful for Trees and plants → dissolves and washes away nutrients needed for their growth
o Respiratory ailments
o Effect plants and animal life in aquatic ecosystem
o Corrodes water pipes → Leaching into the drinking water

PARTICULATE POLLUTANTS
 Minute solid particles or liquid droplets in air
 Source: Vehicle emissions, smoke particles from fires, dust particles and ash from industries
 Can be
o Viable → Particle that contains one or more living. Ex. bacteria, fungi, moulds, algae etc.; Allergies in
Humans, Diseases in plants
o Non-Viable →
 Non-Viable classification as per Nature & Size
o SMOKE PARTICULATES
 Consist of solid or mixture of solid and liquid particles formed during combustion
 Ex. Cigarette smoke, fossil fuel Smoke, garbage and dry leaves, oil smoke
o DUST
 Fine solid particles (over 1µm in diameter) produced during crushing, grinding and
attribution of solid materials
 Example, Sand from sand blasting, saw dust from wood works, pulverized coal, cement and
fly ash from factories, dust storms etc
o MISTS
 Produced by particles of spray liquids and by condensation of vapours in air
 Sulphuric acid mist, herbicides and insecticides
o FUMES
 Condensation of vapours during sublimation, distillation, boiling and several other chemical
reactions
 Example, Organic solvents, metals and metallic oxides form fume
 Lead interferes with the development and maturation of RBC

Electrostatic precipitator— For particulate matter

 Electrode wires are maintained at several thousand volts, which produce a corona that releases electronsto
negatively charge dust particles
 The collecting plates are grounded and attract the charged dust particles
 Particulate matter that are very very small and are not removed by these precipitators
o Acc to CPCB→ PM 2.5 [dia <2.5μm] or less is very dangerous → Inhaled deep cause respiratory
problems & inflammation

SMOG
 Types
o Classical Smog
 Occur in Cool humid climate
 Mixture of smoke, fog & Sulphur Dioxide SO2
 AKA Reducing smog coz chemically, a reducing mixture
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 o Photochemical Smog
 Occurs in warm, dry and sunny climate
 Cause: Action of sunlight on unsaturated hydrocarbon & Nitrogen Oxides of Factories &
Automobiles
 OXIDISING SMOG

FORMATION OF PC SMOG

 Burning of Fossil Fuels gives out hydrocarbons (unburnt fuels) and nitric oxide (NO)
 NO + Sunlight→ NO2
 NO2 + Sunlight → NO + O [Nascent Oxygen]
 Free Oxygen + Dioxygen → Ozone
 Ozone reacts with NO → NO2 + O2
 OZONE is Oxidising which oxidise unburnt HC to form formaldehyde, acrolein and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN)

EFFECTS OF PC SMOG
 Major Components: Ozone, Nitric oxide [NO], Acrolein, Formaldehyde and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN)
 Ozone and PAN act as powerful eye irritants
 Ozone and nitric oxide {NO} irritate the nose and throat and high conc. causes headache, chest pain, dryness
of the throat, cough and difficulty in breathing
 Cracking of rubber and extensive damage to plant life
 Corrosion of metals, stones, building materials, rubber and painted surfaces

Control Methods
 Control primary precursors → NO2 and HC && Secondary Precursors→ Ozone & PAN
 Catalytic converters→ Prevent the release of nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons
 Planting like Pinus, Juniparus, Quercus, Pyrus and Vitis → metabolise nitrogen oxide

Indoor Air Pollution

 DEFINITION: Degradation of indoor air quality by harmful chemicals and other materials
o Factors: Indoor pollution sources, ventilation conditions, indoor activities
o Air pollutants accumulate if not well ventilated


 Sources of IAP
o Key causes: Use of traditional biomass and cookstoves
o Incomplete combustion → PM, methane, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds etc.
44
 Severity: Acc. to the EPA’86, Levels of indoor air pollutants are 2- 5 times higher than outdoor levels
o Thus, it can affect the health of individuals more severely as people spend most of their time (more than
80%) indoors
 Two schemes
o Unnat Chulha Abhiyan → Promote improved biomass cookstove
o Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana → LPG connections to BPL families
o RAISE initiative: Retrofit of Air-conditioning to Improve Indoor Air Quality for Safety and Efficiency By
EESL & USAID

FACTS

 Acc to report published in Lancet

o Indoor air pollution (IAP) caused 64% fewer deaths in the last two decades (1990-2019) in India
o 1·67 million deaths [17·8% of the total deaths] due to air pollution in India in 2019
o Of this 36.5% (0·61 million deaths) were caused due to the IAP

Impact of Indoor Air Pollution

 On Health- Respiratory illness, acute respiratory tract infection, stillbirth, lung cancer, leukemia, stroke,
ischaemic heart diseases
 On Women, Aged and Young Children- as spend more time in the home
o Affects problem solving, mathematical abilities, IQ and learning capabilities in children
 On Overall Productivity- Fatigue, dizziness, allergies, hypersensitivity coughing, sinus congestion etc
 On Mortality: According to WHO, 3.8 million premature deaths occur annually

Challenges in tackling IAP

 Ensuring sustained usage of clean-cooking tech
 Behavioural changes due to global warming: prolonging peoples’ time indoors and extending usage of air
conditioners
 Marginalization of IAP in public discourse: In discussions on air pollution, IAP often loses out to outdoor
pollution. As a result of this IAP is also get neglected while policy formulations on pollution take place

Way ahead
 Public awareness about the clean fuel and other IAP agents, behavioural changes, ensuring proper ventilation in
houses designs, modification of design of cooking stove, etc, should get adequate attention as a means of
reducing IAP

Automotive EMISSION NORMS

 1991-92 → 1st stage of mass emission norms for diesel vehicles
 2000 → Euro I equivalent Norms for Passenger cars and commercial vehicles
 2001 → BS II norms
 2003→ First Auto Fuel Policy (2003); Bharat stage III norms
 2010→ BSIV
 Due to drastic air pollution, BSV skipped
 BS VI requires automobile + oil companies to tweak products

1991-92 2000 2001 2003 2010 BSV skipped BS VI requires

automobile + oil
companies to
tweak products
1st stage of mass Euro I equivalent BS II norms First Auto Fuel BSIV Due to drastic air
emission norms for Norms for Policy (2003); pollution
diesel vehicles Passenger cars and Bharat stage III
commercial norms
vehicles

45
BS Norms
 Set up by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under MoEFCC
 Regulate the output of air pollutants from IC engines
 Gases covered: Carbon monoxide, Hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and Particulate matter
 Based on Euro standards

Major standards under BS VI

Diesel Limit Petrol
Nitrogen oxide ↓ by 70% ↓ by 25%
Particulate Matter (PM) ↓ by 80% Limit introduced
FUEL
sulphur traces in FUEL 5X lower 10 ppm as compared to sulphur traces in BS IV fuel (50 ppm),
which is a reduction of 80%
Technologies Introduced
Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF)
Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)
Real Driving Emission (RDE): Measures vehicle’s emission in real-time conditions against lab conditions
Onboard Diagnostics (OD): Mandatory for all→ Give Status of the various vehicle sub-systems

Drawback of BS VI norms
 Increased cost: ↑ cost of cars → ↓ demand
 High investment to upgrade tech
 Not the best standards: Based on European standards→ 3rd best standard across the globe
o China combined key parameters from US and Korea

Pet Coke
 By-product (carbonaceous solid) of oil refinery process mainly "the bottom of the barrel"
 High grade fuel with high calorific value; low ash content; low volatile matter
 High sulphur content, up to 7%

Types:
 In raw form called “green coke” or green petroleum coke
o 80% of worldwide petcoke production is “fuel-grade” petcoke (green coke), used for electricity
generation and in cement kilns
 Calcined pet coke (CPC) → By processing raw pet coke in a rotary kiln that removes residual volatile
hydrocarbons
o Calcination = heating of solid chemical compound in absence/limited O2/air→ Remove impurities or
volatile substances
 Calcined petcoke industrial uses:
o Only commercially viable method for Smelting of Aluminium
o Production of titanium dioxide
o Partial replacement for coal in Steel blast furnaces
o Brick and glass manufacturing
o Ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate
 Environmental Impacts of Petcoke
o Releases GHG: High carbon content → 10% more CO2 than normal coal
o High sulphur content: Release of SOx
o Heavy metals: Nickel and Vanadium
o PM:

46
Issues in dealing with Petcoke
 Absence of data of petcoke production and consumption
 Excess cess on coal→ favour of petcoke
 Cheaper than coal and has a very high calorific value
 Oil refineries in USA export vast quantities of it to India like a dumping ground for waste generated

GOVT steps in Pet Coke

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) (under Ministry of Commerce) laid out procedure for allocation of
quota for import of CPC for Aluminium industry and “Green” pet coke for CPC manufacturing industry

BACKGROUND
 In 2017, Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) recommended Ban on distribution, sale and use of
furnace oil and petcoke in NCR
o Following SC banned use of pet coke in New Delhi, Haryana, UP & Rajasthan
 M. C. Mehta Vs Union of India (2018) → Pet coke banned for use as fuel nationwide
o Import allowed as non-fuel only for cement, lime kiln, calcium carbide and gasification industries
o Later Govt permitted imports of certain quantity of pet coke for fuel purpose; for anode making by
aluminium industry
o Before Import ban→ India was largest consumer
 Presently, SC has fixed import limit for raw at 0.5 metric tonne per annum (mtpa) and calcined petroleum
coke at 1.4 mtpa

Conclusion
 Improving statistical data on petcoke and real time monitoring
 Improving pricing of coal to reduce use of pet coke as an alternative
 Promotion of Fluidized Bed Boilers and emissions treatment systems
 Residue Fuel Hydrogenation: Adding excess hydrogen to convert Solid Oil residues into more diesel, asphalt,
wax, or other fuel oils in new refineries

Stratospheric Pollution Ozone Depletion

 Unit for measurement of thickness of the ozone in a column of air from the ground to the top of the
atmosphere= DOBSON UNITS (DU)
o 1 Dobson Unit = Number of molecules of ozone required to create a layer of pure ozone 0.01
millimeters thick at a temperature of 0 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 1 atmosphere
o Ozone layer’s thickness = 300 Dobson Units or a layer that is 3mm thick
o Ozone levels drop to about 120 DU
 Harms of UV Rays
o UV rays are absorbed by DNA and proteins of living organisms→ high energy breaks the chemical
bonds
o Aging of skin, damage to skin cells and various types of skin cancers. In human eye, cornea absorbs
UV-B radiation, and a high dose of UV-B causes inflammation of cornea, called snow-blindness,
cataract, etc.
o reducing agricultural productivity
 Formation & Breakdown of OZONE
o Ozone in the stratosphere is a product of UV radiations acting on dioxygen (O2)

o
o Ozone is thermodynamically unstable and decomposes to molecular oxygen
o STATE of Dynamic Equilibrium

47
  CFCs or FREONS
o Nonreactive, Non-flammable, Nontoxic organic molecules used in refrigerators, air conditioners,
Plastic foam production, cleaning computer parts etc
 CFC Effect
o In stratosphere, UV rays act to release Cl atoms → Cl act as catalyst to degrade ozone & realise
molecular oxygen → Cl atoms are not consumed in the reaction

o
 Why during Southern Hemisphere spring (August - October) the ozone hole increases in size, reaching a
maximum between mid-September and mid-October? Southern Hemisphere spring
o During Summer in South → Nitrogen dioxide and methane react with chlorine monoxide to form
Chlorine Sink. Preventing Depletion
o In WINTER → Polar stratospheric clouds form over Antarctica→ provide surface for hydrolysis[Ice
Crystals] of chlorine nitrate[ClONO2] formed in summer to form hypochlorous acid [HOCl]
o In Spring → Sunlight Return → HOCl and Cl2 are photolyzed to trigger Chain rexn. Depleting OZONE
 Why only over Antarctic
o Stratosphere is much colder allowing Polar Stratospheric clouds to form
 Arctic Ozone hole is rare compared to Antarctic Ozone Hole?
o Arctic stratosphere less isolated due to nearby land masses and mountain ranges disturbing weather
patterns
o Weaker & perturbed Polar vortex in the Northern → Temperatures do not fall so low
 Stratosphere is much colder over Antarctica allowing Polar Stratospheric clouds to form
o NASA prefer the term “depletion” over the Arctic
 Arctic ozone hole formed in March 2020
o Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite noticed a strong reduction of ozone concentrations over the Arctic
o March 12 at 205 DU; three times the size of Greenland
o WHY such rare phenomenon?
 "Incredibly strong and persistent" polar vortex during winter→ frigid Arctic air locked in the
Arctic
 Polar Stratospheric clouds (PSCs) formed due to this
 Also, polar vortex prevented ozone-rich air from other regions from washing into the Arctic

What is polar vortex?

o Large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both Earth’s poles
o Exists near the poles, weakens in summer and strengthens in winter
o The term "vortex" refers to the anti-clockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the Poles
o A stronger polar vortex → fence in the cold (by bottling up all the cold air at poles), while a weaker one
allows cold outbursts to visit the mid-latitudes
o In the northern hemisphere, there are more regions of land-sea temperature contrast, which can set up
atmospheric waves that can disturb the vortex
o In the southern hemisphere, there is much more sea, which is continuous around Antarctica.

48
 o

International Treaties and Cooperation about the Protection of the Stratospheric Ozone Layer
 The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
o Precursor to the Montreal Protocol
o Framework convention, because it served as a framework for efforts to protect the globe’s ozone layer
 Montreal Protocol (1987) on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer regulates production and consumption of
nearly 100 ozone depleting substances (ODS)
 The Kigali Amendment (2016) to Montreal Protocol extended controls to phase down the production and
consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) because these substances are powerful greenhouse gases
 UNEP Ozone Secretariat to implement the Montreal protocol

HYDROCHLOROFLUOROCARBON (HCFC)-141 B
 India achieved complete phase out of HCFC-141 b
 MoEFCC brought out notification to prohibit issuance of import license for HCFC-141b under Ozone
Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2019 issued under the EPA’86
 Complete phase out of HCFC-141 b is among the first at this scale in Article 5 parties (developing countries)
under the Montreal Protocol

About HCFC
 Less stable than CFCs because HCFC molecules contain carbon-hydrogen bonds
 Shorter atmospheric lifetimes than CFCs and deliver less reactive chlorine to the stratosphere
 HCFCs are also part of a group of chemicals known as the volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
 Not soluble in water; soluble in organic (carbon-containing) solvents

About HCFC-141 b use in India

 Blowing agent in the production of rigid polyurethane (PU) foams
o Used in cold storages and cold chain infrastructure, automobiles, commercial refrigeration,
refrigerators, water geysers, etc
 Not domestically produced→ met through imports.
 MoEFCC incentivised non-ODS(ozone depleting Subs) and low GWP[Global Warming Potential] technologies
under HCFC Phase out Management Plan (HPMP)

Water Pollution and Its Control

 MAJOR CONTAMINATS

49
 o
o Pathogens
 Disease causing agents. Human excreta contain Escherichia coli and Streptococcus faecalis
o Organic Waste
 Bacteria decomposes organic matter→ Consume lot of oxygen→ Sharp decline in
DISSOLVED OXYGEN
 Health Level is 10ppm in Cold Water, if <6ppm → Fish gets cancelled
 DO falls with increased temp as oxygen escapes + enhanced biological activity
 If TOO much Organic Waste→ All oxygen used up→ Life XXX→ Anaerobic bacteria cause
breakdown→ Foul smell and are harmful to health
 BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)→ Amount of oxygen required by bacteria to break
down the organic matter present in a certain volume of a sample of water
 measure of the amount of organic material in the water
 Clean water’s BOD <5 ppm; Highly polluted water → BOD <17 ppm


o Chemical Pollutants
 Toxic Heavy Metals dissolve in water→ Dangerous to humans because our body cannot
excrete them→ damage kidneys, central nervous system, liver etc
 Nitrates and Phosphates
 Act as plant nutrients. Used in Fertlizers→ Water runoff over Agricultural fields
 Overstimulate growth of algae→ robbing the water of dissolved oxygen vital to
other aquatic life
 Eutrophication
o Heated (thermal) wastewaters
 Eliminates or reduces the number of organism sensitive to high temperature
 Enhance the growth of plants and fish in extremely cold areas but, only after causing
damage to the indigenous flora and fauna
 “Terror of Begal”
o Invasive species of Water Hycanith [Eichhornia crassipes], Native to Amazon
o Grow in Eutrophic [Eu- Well; Trophia – Nourish] water bodies, and lead to an imbalance in the
ecosystem dynamics of the water body

50
 o
 BIOMAGNIFICATION refers to increase in concentration of the toxicant at successive trophic levels
o Because a toxic substance accumulated by an organism cannot be metabolised or excreted

Eutrophication
o Natural aging of a lake by nutrient enrichment of its water, Naturally, takes thousands of years

Young Streams Organic

drain Remain Warm
Lake→
Nutrients deposit Water Marsh Plant
Water cold Floating
like N, P Pile up → Lakes Organism form roots Finally land
and Plants
Fertlity Inc → go shallower & replace cold & fill basin
clear→Little
Acquatic Warmer water
life Growth

o CULTURAL OR ACCELERATED EUTROPHICATION → Acceleration of aging process due to effluents

from the industries and homes
o Large amounts of nutrients in waters → Excessive growth of planktonic (free-floating) algae→ ALGAL
BLOOM
 /*Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water that are unable to propel
themselves against a current*/
 HAB [Harmful Algal Bloom] → Consumes Dissolved Oxygen + Produce potent neurotoxins
 RED TIDE as sometimes gives red colour to water

Drinking Water
STANDARDS

LIMIT EXCESS DEFICIENCY

Fluoride Soluble Fl >2ppm cause brown Deficiency
added to get mottling of teeth cause tooth
1ppm >10 ppm Bones and Decay
Teeth
Lead 50 ppb kidney, liver,
reproductive system
Sulphate <500 ppm laxative effect
Nitrate 50ppm methemoglobinemia
(‘blue baby’
syndrome)

Heavy Metal Pollution

Introduction
 Industrial wastewater is 20% of total wastewater volume in the Ganga basin
o Reduction in industrial wastewater can reduce heavy metal pollution in Ganga water
 Any metallic element having high density and is toxic at low concentrations. Ex→ Mercury (Hg), Cadmium
(Cd), Arsenic (As)
o Density > 5 g/cm3
 Two-thirds water quality stations on major rivers have heavy metal beyond BIS limits
51
 o Non-monsoon period: Lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium and copper contamination were more
common
o Monsoon periods: Iron, lead, chromium and copper
 Sources of pollution:
o Natural sources: Seepage from rocks into water, volcanic activity, forest fires, storm water runoff
from urbanised areas, Volcanic activity, Metal evaporation from soil and water, soil erosion,
geological weathering etc
o Anthropogenic sources: Mining, milling, plating, industrial and domestic wastewater, sanitary
landfill, agricultural runoff and fossil fuel combustion etc
 Bio toxic effects when consumed above the bio recommended limits.

Metal Sources Health effects

Chromium Mining, industrial coolants, chromium salts Lung cancer, nasal ulcer and hypersensitivity
(Cr) manufacturing, leather tanning reactions, Chromium VI can cause damage to DNA

Lead (Pb) lead acid batteries, E-waste, coal- based Inhibition of the synthesis of haemoglobin;
thermal power plants, Paint, Pesticide, dysfunctions in the kidneys, damage to the
Batteries, Crystal Glass Preparation central and peripheral nervous systems,

Learning inhibitions

Mercury (Hg) Chlor-alkali plants, thermal power plants, Minamata disease, damage to organs the brain
fluorescent lamps, hospital waste and kidneys,
(thermometers, barometers), electrical
appliances

Arsenic (As) Geogenic/natural processes, smelting Black foot disease, cancer and skin lesions
operations, thermal power plants, fuel
combustion

Cadmium Zinc smelting, waste batteries, e-waste, paint Itai-Itai, cadmium pneumonitis, renal dysfunction,
(Cd) sludge, incinerations and fuel combustion tubular proteinuria

Copper (Cu) Mining, electroplating, smelting operations Irritation of the nose, mouth and eyes,
headaches, stomach aches, vomiting and diarrhea

Nickel (Ni) Stainless Steel Manufacturing Units, thermal Allergy, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, lung
power plants, battery Industry fibrosis, lung and nasal cancer

Barium computers in the front panel of a CRT, e- brain swelling, muscle weakness, damage to the
waste heart, liver, and spleen

Beryllium E-waste, coal burning lung cancer, skin disease, poor wound healing and
wartlike bumps

Fluorides coal-fired power plants and other industrial Dental and skeletal fluorosis
sources, community water fluoridation

Nitrates runoff or seepage from fertilized agricultural, Blue baby syndrome (methemoglobinemia) which
municipal and industrial waste urban reduces oxygen level in blood
drainage and decaying plant debris

ARSENIC

52
Consequences
 Skin cancer, cancers of the bladder, kidney and lung, diseases of the blood vessels and reproductive
disorders
 Ground water for irrigation deposits arsenic in soil → Accumulation of arsenic in the food crops
o Fodder for livestock→ consuming cattle-based food products also impacted
 Contamination travel PAN India via food
 Biomagnification

Source
 Natural processes in groundwater: Weathering of rocks and minerals
 Anthropogenic Activities: Exploitation of groundwater, application of fertilizers, burning of coal and leaching
of metals from coal-ash tailings

Report on Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in India

 By Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)
o ESTD in 1970
o Subordinate office of Ministry of Jal Shakti 
o Responsibilities of providing scientific inputs for management, exploration, monitoring, assessment,
augmentation and regulation of ground water resources
 FINDING of REPORT
o 21 states have pockets of higher Arsenic conc.
 BIS limit 0.01 mg/l
o Worst Region: Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river basin
 UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam


o Groundwater Contamination has penetrated the food chain but mitigation targeted only in treatment of
groundwater or supply of surface water
o Need to widen scope of government testing to include irrigation sources in addition to current drinking
water sources

Methods
 Oxidation, co-precipitation, adsorption, ion exchange and membrane process
 Lime softening, and iron co-precipitation → most effective
 Permeable reactive barriers, phytoremediation, biological treatment and electro kinetic treatment
 Rainwater harvesting and recharging of ground water table to avoid fall in groundwater level
 Check leaching of metals into groundwater

URANIUM
 WHO permissible limit: 30 ug/litre
 BIS has no limit for uranium
 Central Ground Water Board report contamination in groundwater across 16 states in India including
Punjab, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, etc
 Ailments:
o Thyroid cancer, blood cancer, depression and other serious ailments
o Excessive ingestion can cause chronic kidneys disease
53
  Source:
o Naturally occurring but human activities like over pumping enhance the uranium problem
o Aquifers are composed of sediment carried down from the Himalayas by streams or from uranium-
rich granitic rocks
o Overuse of these aquifers reduces the water level and creates oxidising conditions enhancing the
uranium’s solubility in water
 Interaction of the uranium with other chemicals such as bicarbonate, Nitrate pollution enhance its solubility

Way forward

 Ex situ Treatment:
o Adsorption or ion exchange: The water-soluble contaminants are captured by sorption onto a solid
support that can be natural or synthetic material
o Precipitation: This is mostly practiced above ground and involves addition of alkali to raise the pH &
precipitate the oxide or hydroxide
 In-situ chemical stabilization such as:
o Redox Technologies: Manipulate oxidation-reduction conditions to reduce uranium to uranous
(uranium IV) forms
o Flushing Technologies: Uses variety of leaching solutions to dissolve solid-phase uranium and
hydraulic extraction techniques to remove the solubilized uranium
 The central and state governments should collaborate with technical institutions such as Bhabha Atomic
Research centre (BARC) to comprehensively address the issue of radioactive contamination

Marine Pollution
Forms of Marine Pollution
 Marine Litter:
 Chemical pollution: Harmful contaminants pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, detergents, oil, industrial chemicals,
and sewage. Crude oil
 Light pollution: Penetrates water near urban environments→ disrupts circadian [Recurring naturally on 24 hours
cycle] rhythms
54
 Noise pollution: Sounds from ships, sonar devices, and oil rigs disrupts natural noises → interrupt
communication (whales use echolocation), disrupting migration, hunting, and reproduction patterns of marine
animals

MARINE LITTER
 Intro
o Any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded into the sea/rivers/beaches or
reaching indirectly storm water or winds
o 8 million tons reach oceans annually
 Plastic bottle last up to 450 years in marine environment
o Amount of discarded plastics will outweigh the amount of fish in our oceans by 2050
o Report titled “Breaking the Plastic Wave”- the annual flow of plastic into the ocean could triple by 2040
to 29 million metric tonnes per year, without immediate and sustained action
 Causes of Marine Litter
o Land-based pollutants: 80% of marine pollution originates on land.
 Main sources of marine plastic: Urban and storm runoff, sewer overflows, tourism and
recreational use of the coasts, industrial activities etc
o Consumerism and urbanisation: Along the world’s coastlines → Coastal ‘megacities’
 Acc to IUCN, over 50% of 300 million tons of plastic produced annually is single-use items
o Microplastics: Under the influence of solar UV radiation, wind, currents and other natural factors, plastic
fragments into small particles
 Microplastics (<5 mm)
 Nanoplastics (<100 nm)
 disperses plastic even farther and deeper; Impossible to retrieve
o Other factors include:
 Sea based sources → Discarded fishing gear, shipping activities and ocean mining
 Poor practices in managing solid wastes,

Effects of Marine Litter

Marine species → ingestion, suffocation and entanglement
Marine
environmen Floating plastics Spread of invasive species→ loss of biodiversity

t Algae blooms→ 500 Dead zones in world[areas low; cant life]

Conc. of Litter in gyres. E.g., Great Pacific Garbage Patch @North Pacific Gyr

On food and Microplastics into human through biomagnification and bioaccumulation

health

Expenditure on beach cleaning, public health

Economic
loss -ve effects tourism industry
Higher costs for shipping industry → fouled propellers, Waste in harbours
Fishing industry → Reduced and lost catch

55
Initiatives to Reduce Marine Litter
 London Convention/Protocol (1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and
Other Matter)
o Into force in 2006
o Regulates the dumping of wastes from ships, permitting only certain types of non-harmful waste to be
dumped
 MARPOL: IMO's International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)
o Prevention of pollution by garbage
o Prohibits the discharge of plastics (including fishing gear) into the sea from ships
 The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities
(GPA)
o Intergovernmental mechanism to counter land-based Marine pollution
 GPML (The Global Partnership on Marine Litter): Launched at Rio+20 in June 2012
o Mechanism for cooperation and coordination
o Harnessing the expertise, resources and enthusiasm of all stakeholders
o Contribution to achievement of the 2030 Agenda SDG 14.1 [prevent and significantly reduce marine
pollution of all kinds, particularly from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution]

[Current Affair] GLOLITTER PARTNERSHIPS PROJECT

 Implemented by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) [UN specialised agency]and the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),
 Fund: Government of Norway via the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)
 AIM: help the maritime transport and fishing sectors move towards a low-plastics future
o Assist developing countries for prevention, reduction and control of marine plastic litter from those
sectors

International Maritime Organization

 UN specialized agency for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and
atmospheric pollution by ships

INDIA AND ISSUE

 India dumps about 6 lakh MT of plastic waste into the oceans annually
 Scientists have found 238 tonnes polluting Cocos Keeling Islands

56
 o
 Efforts taken
o India signatory to MARPOL
 Marine Pollution dealt by Merchant Shipping Rules, 2009 under the Merchant Shipping Act,
1958
o Steering committee by MoEFCC with stakeholders from all the concerned Ministers and Dept
 Role: Co-ordinate, examine and provide guidance to Ministries, State and UT Governments
to marine plastic littering issue
o Steps to phase out single-use plastics under the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules
2018
o BIS standard
 Insoluble Plastic microbeads of diameter=< 5 mm & solid plastic particles used in personal
care products banned
o State initiatives:
 Kerala’s Suchitwa Mission→ Fishermen are engaged in finding plastic that stuck in fishing
nets or floats in the sea. In last 10 months since the project was launched, they have
managed to recover 25 tonnes of plastic waste

Challenges in dealing with the issue

 Long residual period of plastic
o Can't do much due to 1) vast scale of the ocean 2) Plastic Break down
 Lack of compliance with laws and conventions
o London Convention – 1972
o MARPOL – 1978
 Structural flaws: 95% value of plastic packaging is lost after a single use cycle
o Globally, Only, 71% plastic produced formally collected; <15 % recycled
 Lack of data: lack of Consistent definitions & data and metrics
 Insufficient transparency regarding type, chemical additives, etc, trade flows, waste production,
consumption, and post-use patterns of plastic

Concerns with Bio-degradable plastics

 Promised alternative under the right conditions which are not found in the Ocean
 Energy & Cost intensive to produce
 Biodegradability does not resolve entanglement, or ingestion

Way Forward
 Multi-pronged approach: Including limiting plastic use, improving waste collection, infrastructure, and
management, and expanding recycling
 Collaborations: between govt, research institutions and industries
 Transition from linear to circular economy: of Plastics

57
  Individual’s responsibility to limit plastic via daily habits

Wastewater Treatment
Status
 In India, 70% of states treat <50% wastewater and the median state treated 33% of its water in 2016-17
 While almost 80% of water supply flows back into the ecosystem as wastewater

BENEFITS of Treatment
 Waste-water management can help in Scarcity of water in cities
o As per NITI Aayog’s composite water management index
o Water demand is projected to be twice the available supply by 2030
o Waste-water recycling can meet more than 20 per cent of the Bangalore’s daily needs
 Treated water can be used for irrigation
 Prevent untreated water entering ground water sources
o Water quality index →India’s rank 120 among 122
o India’s 21% of communicable diseases from usage of unsafe water
 SDG 6: Improvement of water resource management in a broad, inclusive and integrated way

United Nations University - Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) reported that efficiently
treating wastewater can help meet SDGs
Findings of the report
 World annually generates 380 trillion litres (tl) wastewater → projected to rise 51% by 2050
 Recovering N, P, K from wastewater can offset 13.4% of global fertilisers demand
 Energy recovered in form of methane→ Green fuel or to generate electricity
 Irrigate up to 31 million hectares of agricultural land
Generation
 Asia generate 42 %; Europe and North America 18% each
 Per capita level, North America generate 1.4 times world average
 Europe’s per capita output half of North America

P.S.
UNU-INWEH acts as the “UN Think Tank on Water”;
Applied research and education in cooperation with other research institutions, international organizations,
individual scholars, and scientists throughout the world

Case studies of Use Case

 Avadi Sewage Treatment Plant: Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation constructed offgrid sewage treatment
plant. Solved problem of sewage disposal; provided treated water for fishing, vegetable cultivation and
recharging of groundwater
 Sewage-fed aquaculture system of Kolkata: Using domestic sewage for fish culture and other agricultural
purposes
 Zero liquid discharge in textile industry in Tirupur:
 Singapore’s NEWater [purified using microfiltration and RO& UV, can be used for potable and non-potable
purpose

Steps taken for waste-water management

 Initiatives by NITI Aayog
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 o NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index → ranks state; includes water treatment as
parameter
o NITI Aayog Urban Management Programme on ‘Water Recycling and Reuse’ → Work on capacity
building for Urban Water Cycle Management for Sustainable and Resilient Water Infrastructure and
Healthy Cities
 National Policy on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) to be implemented under Swachh Bharat
Mission, AMRUT and Smart City Mission
 Govt set up Centre of Excellence of Decentralized Wastewater Management, at IIT Madras
 Gujarat government → Freshwater limited for drinking and irrigation purposes only; Industrial demand via
treated wastewater
 Construction of STPs & Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) for cluster of small-scale industries
 ‘Namami Gange Programme’ under ‘Ganga action plan’

Way forward
 Adoption of strategies like environmental taxes, pollution levies, polluter pay principle and circular approach
(use, treat, reuse) to manage wastewater
 Strict legal and regulatory framework to regulate and treatment of industrial waste
 Knowledge, innovation and capacity building on wastewater can be promoted by policymakers and
researchers
 According to NITI Aayog water regulatory framework for wastewater management should be established in
all states firmed timelines for implementation
 Promotion Public-Private Partnership

Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD)

 Water treatment process to recirculate all the water with zero liquid waste
 Components:

Pre-treatment (Physio- Reverse Osmosis Evaporator &

chemical & Biological) Crystallizer (Thermal
Process)

Ultra-filtration Water flows more Brine concentrator is a

Reused and concentrated to less mechanical evaporator
concentrate (polluted concentrated side → Resulting in a wet
stream) is further Clean drinking water sludge
treated Crystallization →
Sludge to solid waste


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ZLD helps industries by
 Protecting the public health: Eliminating the need of discharging wastewater
 Reducing the water stress: Reducing the water demand from the Industry
 Cost efficiency by recovering valuable products such as caustic soda, sodium sulphate, potassium Sulphate,
gypsum and other heavy metals

Challenges in adopting ZLD

 ZLD generates hazardous solid wastes creating disposal challenges
 Evaporators in ZLD system consume a large amount of energy thus increasing the carbon footprint. Also
implementing ZLD increases the production costs 25%-30%
 Certain industries like semiconductors cannot reuse ‘treated’ wastewater as they need ultra clean water

Alternatives can also be considered for sustainable management of industrial effluent discharge
 Minimal liquid discharge (MLD): Processes where 70-95% of water is recovered (almost 100% recovery in
ZLD). Installation & maintenance far less
 Deep-well injection: Liquid waste disposal technology → Injection wells to place treated or untreated liquid
waste into geologic formations. Deep-well injection is easier and less expensive than ZLD
 Discharge the effluents after primary and secondary treatment into the sea: High TDS water in sea is a safe
 Hybrid of ZLD and Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs): CETPs are treatment systems specifically
designed for collective treatment of effluent generated from small-scale industrial facilities in an industrial
cluster. ZLD Systems could also be integrated with the CETP to make the effluent treatment and reuse of the
wastewater cost efficient for small scale industries also

Ocean Acidification
 DEFINITION: Change in ocean Chemistry — Lowering of Ocean pH; Normal pH is around 8.0


 PROCESS: Oceans are major sink of atmospheric CO2 as conc. Of CO2
o [CO2] (↑) in atmosphere → Oceans absorption (↑) → Carbonic Acid forms→ Breaks to release H + &
Bicarbonate→ HCO3- break to give more H+ & CO32- ion→ Lowers the availability of Carbonate Ions for
Calcination [shell formation]
o [H+] ↑ → acidity increase
o [HCO3-] ↑ && [CO32-] ↑ → Low availability for Calcination → Shell formation becomes difficult
o In other words, Hydrogen ion competes with shell creature to form Bicarbonate
 EFFECT ON SATURATION HORIZON
o SIDE NOTE→ Forms of Calcium Carbonate
 Calcite→ Less soluble; Some shells of algae, Coral etc.
 Aragonite→ More Soluble; Found in most corals, most molluscs
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 o [IMP]Under Normal circumstances [with normal CO2 levels]
 As ocean is exchanged @ Top layer, it is saturated with Carbonate Ions whereas bottom layers
are Carbonate deficient
 This means, in top layers Carbonate shells don’t dissolve & as you go down the tendency to
dissolve will increase
 Layer beyond which it will dissolve is called Lyscoline [Lys- = Solution]. Simply above Lyscoline
wont dissolve, below shells will dissolve
 **Lysocline for Aragonite is higher than that for Calcite
 OCEAN ACIDIFICATION → Cause these layers to move further vertically up→ Non dissolving
region shrink→ More & more exposed to undersaturated Layer
o CCD or Carbon Compensation Depth is depth at which CaCO3 is dissolved [region under Lysocline]
o As it moves shallower, more & more CaCO3 will dissolved to release Carbon Back to atmosphere
 Other Factors influencing Ocean Acidification
o ACID RAIN
 Major effect locally but limited globally toward Ocean Acidification
o Eutrophication
 Blooming→ Decomposing of organic Matter→ More CO2 released by bacteria

CLIMATE CHANGE
/*From GEO*/

 Present INTER GLACIAL PERIOD started 10,000 YA

 Geological Evidence which show alternating Glacial and Interglacial
o Geomorphological Features in high altitude and High Latitude
o Sediment Deposits in Glacial lake
o Rings of Trees
Cause Climate Change

Astronomical SunSpot Related Change in Solar Output

Causes
Millankovitch Oscillation
Terrestrial Volcanism
Causes
Anthropogenic Effect

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 Millankovitch
Sunspot Volcanism Anthropogenic Effect
Oscillations
Sunspots are dark & Variation cycles in the Throws up lots of Increasing trend in
Cooler patches on the earth’s orbital aerosols into the conc. Of GHGs
Sun which increases characteristics around atmosphere Global Warming
and decrease in Sun Remain in
Cyclical Manner Earth Wobbling & the atmosphere→ Reduce
Number of Sunspots change in the earth’s Insolation
increase → Cooler & axial tilt
Wetter weather + All these alter amount
Greater storminess of insolation received
occur the sun
Number of Sunspot
Decrease → Warm
and drier conditions

Global Warming
DEFINITION: Global warming is the average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface
& in the troposphere, which contribute to changes in global climate pattern

IMPACT

 Melting of glaciers & Icecaps → Rise in Sea Level

 Change in rainfall pattern
 Extreme weather phenomenon
 Increased spread of tropical diseases
 Habitat Loss
 Loss of Plankton

Greenhouse Gases
Transparent to sunlight but not to the heat radiation
PRIMARY GHGS OF CONCERN
Source SINK GWP (100 Years) &
Lifetime (years)
Carbon Dioxide  Anthropogenic activities add  Carbon Capture, 1 100
(CO2) more CO2 to atmosphere & Sequestration
reduce natural sinks  Forest & Ocean
Chloroflurocarbons HFC  MOST POTENT & 140- 1-270
(CFCs) LONGEST STAYING GHG 11,700
 Removed only when
PFCs→ Aluminium Production 6,500- 800-
destroyed by sunlight in
9,200 50,000
upper atmosphere
SF6→ Magnesium Processing, 23,900 3,200
Tracer Gas for leak detection
Methane (CH4)  Natural 21 12
o Wetlands
o Anaerobic Decomposition
 Anthro
o Agriculture (Primary Source)

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 o Livestock as part of digestive
process
o Prime Component of Natural
Gas
Nitrous Oxide  Synthetic Fertilisers in Agri 310 120
(N2O)  Breakdown of Livestock
Excrete
 Fossil Fuel Combustion
 Wastewater Management
Ozone (O3) Very effective when
present in the lower
troposphere
OTHER CONTRIBUTORS
Water Vapours Other GHGs→ Increase rate of
Evaporation→ Inc. water conc.
GASES THAT REACT WITH GHGS AND EFFECT THEIR CONC.
Nitric Oxide (NO)
Carbon Monoxide

 .
EFFECTIVENESS OF GHG MOLECULE

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 Amount of Gas in air Limetime α Time for
earth's to recover

Concentration Lifetime in
of GHG atmosphere

Wavelength
of Radiation
absorbed
How strong their
impact is

GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL[GWP]

Measure of total energy that a gas absorbs over a period (usually 100 years) compared to CO2

Thermal Power Plant (TPP)

 Major pollutants from coal TPP → Oxides of nitrogen (NOx), Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Particulate matter (PM)
 Acc. to Centre for Science and Environment (CSE),
o TPPs → > 60% of Total Industrial Emissions of PM
o 45% of SO2
o 30 % of NOx
o 80% of mercury in the country
o 70 % of the total freshwater withdrawal by all industries

EMISSION NORMS FOR COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS

 MoEFCC pushed the deadline for thermal power plant (TPP) by up to three years for complying emission norms
in the country. Pushed to 2025
 NORMS
o Till 2015, TPP meet only the PM emission norms; No national regulations for SO2, NOx and mercury
emissions
o MoEFCC notified for PM, SULPHUR OXIDES, NITROGEN OXIDES AND MERCURY AND WATER USE for
coal based TPPs
 Key Highlights of new guidelines
o Creation of task force: by the CPCB to categorise TPPs in three categories [different time limit] based on
their location

Qualification To be compliant
Category A 10 km; NCR or >10 lakh pop cities end of 2022
Category B Non-attainment cities or within Cities December 31, 2023
within critically polluted areas
Category C Rest December 31, 2024
P.S.: Non-attainment cities are cities not meeting National Ambient Air Quality Standards
o Exemption on ground of retirement: TPPs to retire before December 31, 2025
o Penalty provisions: Non-compliance→ Penalty up to 0.20 rupees per unit
 Issues in implementation of guidelines
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 o Weak penalty regime: Generation-based, fine for smaller capacity plant (generally old plants) reduces
o Exemption to old plants: A new category for retiring plants has been created in the current amendment
without specifying which these plants are. It highly favours old, inefficient polluting plants that are
scheduled to retire by 2025
o Delay in implementation
o Large capital investment required by already stressed sector due to DISCOM delayed payments

National Mission On Use Of Biomass In Coal Based Thermal Power Plants (By Ministry Of Power)
 AIM: Address 1) farm stubble burning 2) Reduce carbon footprints of TPP
 Objectives
o Increasing the level of co-firing from 5% to higher
 Co-firing → combustion of two diff fuels in same combustion system
o R&D activities in boiler design to handle higher silica, alkalis in the Biomass pellets
o Facilitating constraints in supply chain and transport

Technologies to reduce TPP emission

Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD)
Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction
(SNCR)
Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)
Electro-Static Precipitators (ESPs)
Closed cooling water system cooling
towers
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)  Dry FGD: Dry scrubbing → Dry hydrated lime is
injected directly into flue gas duct
o Dry final product
 Wet FGD: Lime slurry is sprayed → SO2 is
absorbed & becomes wet calcium sulfite and
wastewater
o Wastewater treated using large filter
presses or large vacuum belt filters
 Reagent, i.e., urea, ammonium hydroxide,
anhydrous ammonia or aqueous ammonia
 Injected into flue gases in the furnace within
the appropriate temp zone
 React to form N2 and H2O
 NO catalyst
 Ammonia used as reducing agent
NOx emissions  Convert NOx to nitrogen in the presence of
a catalyst
 Catalyst: Mix of titanium dioxide, vanadium
pentoxide, and tungsten trioxide
 Remove 60–90% of NOx from flue gases
 Expensive and the associated ammonia
injection results in an ammonia slipstream
in the exhaust
particulate matter Removes fine particles using force of induced
(PM) electrostatic charge
Red. in water
consumption

FLY ASH
 Fine powder; By-product of burning coal in thermal power plants
 Composition: Oxides of silica, aluminium and calcium. Elements like Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, lead etc. are
also found in trace concentrations
 NGT recently directed CPCB to compute and levy environmental compensation

Fly ash Generation in India

 Indian coal is low grade with 30-45 % ash content vis-à-vis 10-15%
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  Large quantity of ash 1) Water & Air pollution 2) large area land for disposal
 India’s fly ash generation = 226 million ton and bout 83% of Fly Ash is utilized in 2019-20


 Methods of scientific disposal
o Dry Fly Ash Disposal system: Electrostatic precipitation (ESP) collect dry Fly Ash; disposed by
constructing dry embankment
o Wet Fly Ash Disposal System: Fly Ash is mixed with water and transported as slurry; disposed of in
ash ponds or dumping areas near the plants

Utilisation of Fly Ash

 Agriculture: Improves water holding capacity and soil aeration. Contains micronutrients like phosphorus,
potassium and calcium
 Used in variety of construction works- Manufacturing of Portland cement, bricks/blocks/tiles
manufacturing, road embankment construction and low-lying area development, etc.
o Concrete made with fly ash is stronger and more durable than traditional concrete made with
Portland cement
o Fly ash is lightweight material and therefore it undergoes lesser settlement. Thus, can be used for
embankment construction over weak substrate [Alluvial clay or silt] where excessive weight could
cause failure
 Manufacturing of Absorbents for purification of waste gases, drinking water purification, wastewater
treatment etc

Government Measures to promote Fly Ash Utilization

 Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on behalf of Ministry of Power → monitor fly ash generation and
utilization @coal/ lignite TPP since 1996-97
 MoEFCC’s Notifications on Fly Ash Utilization in 2016:
o Mandatory uploading fly ash available on TPP’s website
o Increase in mandatory jurisdiction of area of application from 100 km to 300 km.
o Cost of transportation of fly ash → borne by TPS up to 100 km; Shared between user and TPS for 100
km-300 km;
o Target of 100% Fly Ash utilization by 31st December 2017
o Mandatory use of fly ash-based products in Government schemes Ex →PM Gramin Sadak Yojana,
MGNREGA, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, etc
 New Notification
o Shorter Fly-ash utilization cycle: 3-year cycle for 100% utilization
o Legacy Fly Ash Utilization: Progressive utilization of legacy fly ash has been extended by another 10
years
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  Unutilized and Accumulated Fly ash referred to as legacy ash
o Introduction of Polluter Pays Principle: Fine of Rs 1,000 per tonne of unutilized ash has been
introduced if the plant does not achieve at least 80% ash utilization annually or in three years
o Construction and Transportation: The non-complying power plants will provide ash free-of-cost to
agencies engaged in construction activities within a 300 km radius with all transportation cost to be
borne by TPPs
o Role of Central Pollution Control Board: A committee under the chairmanship of CPCB chairman will
examine, review and recommend eco-friendly ways on fly ash utilization. Also, CPCB will have real-
time data on ash availability
 GST reduced to 5% on fly ash & its aggregate [>90% fly ash content]
 ASH TRACK → App for ash management; to link fly ash users and power plant executives
 Govt notification in February 2019:
o Red clay brick kilns within 300 km to be converted into fly ash-based bricks/blocks/tiles within 1Y
o TPP to provide fly ash @Re 1/tonne and bear the full transportation cost up to 300 km

Issues in Implementation
 Prolonging the legacy-ash issue: With 1.6 billion tonnes of legacy ash as of March 2019, the 10-year
extension will further lead to piling up of ash
 Technological limitations in current TPPs: lead to unsafe disposal and hiding of ash generated
 Penalty amount is lesser than compliance cost:
 Limited data provided by the TPPs: Improved but Not up to the mark

Way Forward
 Modernization of coal/lignite based TPP need to include
o Technological advancement for dry fly ash collection, storage and disposal facilities so that fly ash in
dry form could be made available to its users
o Marketing strategy for the development of fly ash-based industries and making available fly ash and
fly ash-based building products in the nearby markets
 Ensure compliance through innovative monitoring like use of drones and satellites with stronger penalty
regime
 Policy support: To promote the usage of fly ash, state and local governments should issue preferential
policies that encourage its recycling, such as the preferential purchase of recycled fly ash products and
reduction of the overall effective tax
 Standardisation of Specifications for Fly Ash based building materials
 Encourage ‘Industry–Institute Interactions’ regarding scientific disposal of fly ash for entrepreneur
development, creating awareness and organizing training programmes
 Induction of ‘Fly Ash’ as a subject in academic curriculum of Engineering and Architecture is needed

OTHERS
Agro-chemicals and their Effects
 Integrated organic farming is a cyclical, zero-waste procedure, where waste products from one process are
cycled in as nutrients for other processes
 Pesticides
o Example, Nicotine (Pre WWII), DDT, Aldrin and Dieldrin
o Organo-phosphates and carbamates [Less persistent or more bio-degradable] but severe nerve
toxins and hence more harmful to humans
 Herbicides
o Sodium chlorate (NaClO3)
o Sodium Arsinite (Na3AsO3)
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Industrial Waste
Industry Type Waste
Cotton mills, food processing units, Biodegradable
paper mills, and textile factories Waste
Thermal power plants NON fly ash Fly ash + slag used
Integrated iron and steel plants NON blast furnace & steel melting slag in cement industry
Aluminium, zinc and copper NON Mud and tailings
Industries
Fertilizer industries NON Gypsum
chemicals, drugs, pharmaceuticals, NON inflammables, Explosives or
dyes, pesticides, rubber goods reactive substance
SLAG = Glass-like by-product left over metal extracted from ore. Mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide
Tailing Similar

E-Waste

Degradation by Improper Resource Utilisation and Maintenance

 SOIL EROSION AND DESERTIFICATION:
o Making of Fertile topsoil takes centuries, removed by over-cultivation, unrestricted grazing,
deforestation and poor irrigation practices
o When large barren patches extend and meet over time→ Creation of desert
 WATERLOGGING AND SOIL SALINITY:
o Irrigation w/o proper drainage → waterlogging→ Draws salt to the surface→ Deposit as thin crust or
@roots of the plants

MITIGATION STRATEGIES
Green Chemistry in daily Life
Green chemistry / Sustainable chemistry→ Area of chemistry focused on the design of products and processes that
minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances

 Dry Cleaning of Clothes

o Tetra chloroethene (Cl2C=CCl2) [Contaminate ground water + suspected carcinogen] was used as
solvent
o Replaced by liquefied carbon dioxide with a suitable detergent
o Hydrogen peroxide→ bleaching clothes→ Makes use of lesser amount of water.
 Bleaching of Paper
o Earlier Used→ Chlorine gas
o Now Hydrogen Peroxide
 Synthesis of Chemicals
o Ethanal (CH3CHO) aka MeCHO is now commercially prepared by one step oxidation
 ‘Green Solution’ to Clean Turbid Water
o Earlier ALUM was used→ increases toxic ions in treated water
o Powder of kernel [गिरी] of tamarind seeds→ Non-toxic, biodegradable and cost-effective material→
Usually discarded as agricultural waste

Eco-Tourism
[CA] BLUE FLAG CERTIFICATION

 Eco-tourism model to provide tourists clean and hygienic bathing water, facilities/amenities, safe and healthy
environment and sustainable development of the area

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 o Sets stringent environmental, educational, safety-related and access-related criteria that applicants
must meet and maintain
 Serves as an eco-label; Can be obtained by a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator
 Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) Denmark-based non-profit Annually award
 33 stringent criteria in four major heads:
o Environmental education and information
o Bathing water quality
o Environment management and conservation
o Safety and services in the beaches
 List of Beaches in India awarded Blue Fag certification
o Ghoghala beach (Diu)
o Shivrajpur beach (Gujarat)
o Padubidri and Kasarkod (Karnataka) [LATEST]
 HAVE grey water treatment plants, solid waste management plants, Disabled-friendly
equipment, Clean drinking water, bathing facility, Toilets, solar power plant, solar lighting
o Kappad beach (Kerala)
o Eden beach (Puducherry)
o Rushikonda beach (Andhra Pradesh)
o Golden beach (Odisha)
o Radhanagar beach (Andaman & Nicobar Islands)

Carbon Sequestration [taking forcible possession of something]

 DEFINITION: Carbon capture & storage [CCS] is the technology designed to capture CO2 at power stations,
industrial sites or form air & permanently storing it underground
o [Sequestration = taking forcible possession of something]
 Artificial Sinks such as Depleted Oil Reserves, Mines etc.
 Geological Sequestration Mechanism
o Hydrodynamic Trapping: Trapped under low permeability cap rocks (like Natural Gas)
o Solubility Trapping: CO2 dissolved in Water or Oil & stored
o Mineral Carbonation: React with minerals, fluids to form stable compound [Ca, Fe, Mg]

CAPTURE
Separate CO2 from other gases

Pre-combustion capture Post-combustion capture Oxy-fuel combustion

Capturing CO2 during
intermediate reaction
Gasification: Converting C
fuel into Fuel Gas or Syn
Gas {CO, H2 & CO2}
Reforming: Rearranging of
hydrocarbon structure
Separation of CO2 from
waste gas
Methods:
Absorption in solvents
HP membrane filtration
Adsorption by solid
Cryogenic Separation
Fuel burned with pure
oxygen → Produce flue
gas with high CO2 ; free
from N2
Uses
Fossil-fuelled power
plants
Cement production
Iron and steel industry

STORAGE
 Former gas and oil fields
 Deep saline formations (Porous rocks filled with very salty water)

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  Coal bed formations
 Ocean bed etc

UTILIZATION
 Alternative to storage, used as a commercial product
 USES
o Food and drink industry as a carbonating agent, preservative, packaging gas, solvent
o Pharmaceutical industry
o Concrete building materials: Cure cement; Manufacture of aggregates
o Enhanced oil and coal-bed methane recovery: CO2 injected into depleting oil or gas reserves to
increases the amount of recovery
o Production of methanol, urea, polymers, syngas etc.
o Mineral carbonation: CO2 + metal oxide [Mg or Ca] to form carbonate
o Biofuels production: Cultivate microalgae; Production of biofuels
o Generating additional power:
 CO2-based steam cycles can help power generation efficiency
 Geologically stored CO2 could be used to extract geothermal heat for producing renewable
geothermal energy

[CA] CARBON CAPTURE, UTILISATION & STORAGE (CCUS)

 Dept. of Science & Technology (DST) invited proposals under Accelerating CCUS Technologies (ACT)
o ACT → Initiative to facilitate acceleration & maturing of CCUS via funding of projects and R&D
o 16 countries, regions, and provinces are working together in ACT
 Mission Innovation (MI) Programme
o Global initiative → 24 countries + EU
o AIM: Accelerate the global clean energy innovation
o India’s DST is active member

BENEFITS
 Emission reduction: International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasted → can contribute 16% of the total global
CO2 reductions by 2050
 Creating negative-emission power plants: CCUS + bioenergy→ can be critical in harder-to-abate sectors
 Adding economic value: Useful chemicals or fuels of commercial importance
 Enriching concrete: Used to strengthen concrete→ infrastructure durability
 Jobs Creation:

CONCERNS
 High Costs: Technological limitations, extra energy and materials
 Environmental impacts: Sea storage of CO2 → acidification or eutrophication; Long term effects not yet
been studied
 Leakage Threat:
 Benefits being partly offset: Extra energy and materials needed can increase conc. of other gas pollutants

Way Forward
 life cycle basis impacts (both economic & environmental) to be evaluated
 Further Research
 Govt should form policy to support CCUS industry, R&D, Incentive mechanism & legal Framework

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Carbon Footprint: Amount of Carbon being emitted by an activity or organisation
Blue & Green Carbon
 GREEN CARBON
o Def: Carbon removed by photosynthesis & stored in plants and soil
o Afforestation & reforestation
 BLUE CARBON
o Def: Refers to coastal, aquatic & marine carbon sinks; particularly
o TIDAL MARSH, MANGROVES, SEA GRASS
o Coastal ecosystems store more carbon than Rainforests
o High carbon stocks per hectare
o BLUE CARBON INITIATIVE: By Conservation International (CI), IUCN, Inter govt. Oceanic Commission
[UNESCO]

Carbon Flux 
 DEFINITION: Amount of carbon exchanged between Earth's carbon pools - the oceans, atmosphere, land,
and living things
 Measured in units of Gigatonnes of carbon per year [GtC/yr]

NASA MODEL TO ASSESS CHANGE IN CARBON CONCENTRATIONS FROM FORESTS

 About
o How changes in forests over the past two decades impacted carbon concentrations in the
atmosphere
o “First consistent Global framework for estimating the carbon flux specifically for forests”
 IMPORTANCE: Current annual reporting of national forestry data → Varies between countries IPCC’s
standardized guidelines
 HOW? Using NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) [designed to track ice sheet coverage]
 Key findings
o Tropical forests absorbed more carbon than other forest types && released more carbon into the
atmosphere due to deforestation and degradation
o Forests absorbed around 15.6 billion metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere between 2001- 2019,
while deforestation, fires etc. released 8.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year

Carbon & Economy

CARBON CREDIT
 Tradeable certificate or permits representing right to emit one tonne of CO2 equivalent(tCO2eq)
 Any organisation which produce 1 tCO2eq less than standard level for that activity earn one Carbon Credit
 WORKING
o Under KYOTO PROTOCOL under UNFCCC→ Countries set Emission Norms to be met
o Now companies can either —
 Reduce their GHG using new technology
 Tie with developing countries & help them set up new technologies
o Can be traded on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX)

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CARBON OFFSETTING
 Credits for reductions in GHG made at another location such as Wind Farms
 Fastest way to Carbon Credit → Find a project [Solar Farm, Wind Farm etc.] which needs cash injection

CARBON TAX

GEO-ENGINEERING

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Chapter 4 International Organisations
Climate Change Organisations
UNFCCC
United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is multilateral legal instrument on climate
change @ UNCED (UN Summit Conference on Environment & development aka RIO Summit

Institutional Arrangements
 The Conference of the Parties (COP) → “supreme body” of the Convention; highest decision-making
authority; Annual sessions of the COP
 COP President and Bureau
o President → Rotates among the five UN regional groups who is environment minister of his or her home
country
o Bureau is continuing Body [work b/w sessions as well]
o Guides work of COP and each subsidiary body

 Subsidiary Bodies (SBs)

o Two permanent subsidiary bodies (SBs), 
 Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)
 Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI)
o SBSTA’s→ Provide the COP “with timely advice on scientific and technological matters relating to the
Convention”
o SBI’s → Assist COP “in the assessment and review of the effective implementation of the Convention”

 The Secretariat
o The secretariat, also known as the Climate Change Secretariat, services the COP, the SBs, the Bureau and
other bodies established by the COP.
 Other Bodies
o Other bodies have been set up by the COP to undertake specific tasks. These bodies report back to the
COP when they complete their work
o COP 1 established two ad hoc groups to conduct negotiations on specific issues.

 COP 11 established the “Dialogue” to exchange experiences and analyse strategic approaches for long-term
cooperative action to address climate change
UNFCCC @ RIO KYOTO Protocol COP-3 PARIS PROTOCOL
– Strict Quantified Targets
– 2nd phase was abandoned

Signed on - June 1992 - Signed 5 years later to RIO in – December 2015

Ratified on - Ratified March ‘94 1997 – Ratified Nov 2016
197 Parties - Ratified in 2005** – 1st Commitment period
- Took so much time to ratify started in 2020
→ became outdated by the – To be reviewed every 5
time Years
– 1st Commitment period: – RATIFED BY 190 COUNTRIES
2008 to 2012
- Ratified by 193 (US didn’t)
– 2nd Commitment Period
2013 to 2020
Goal - Acknowledge the threat of 1st period: Hold Global Temperature
Climate Change - Developed Reduce GHGs by increase to <2°C, better
- Stabilise GHGs conc. At Safe 5% (vs 1990 level) <1.5°C comparing to Pre-
Level 2nd period industrial Levels → GO NET
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Countries - Developed Countries Only
under - Voluntary for Developing
Obligation WHY? In ’92 → 38 developed
countries emitted 62% of
GHGs
Reduce GHG by 18% v/s 1990 ZERO by 2050
level
Like RIO All Parties under Commitment
1st: 37 Countries + EU [only BUT level of Commitment
18% GHGs as on 2005] ** varies
– Developing by ‘05= 51%;
China #1
2nd: ONLY 29 countries + EU

Financing - Launched a system of Grants
& loans for “Adaptation” &
“Mitigation” in Developing
Countries
- Fund to replenish every 4
years by ~40 developed donor
countries
“CLIMATE JUSTICE”
Implementation Annual Reporting on GHG
emissions & related measures
Like UNFCCC @Rio
- IMPROVED Emission
Monitoring, Review &
Verification System
- INTRODUCED Compliance
System
– INTRODUCED Market
Mechanism:
– International Emission
Trading
–Clean Development
Mechanism
–Joint Implementation
Now there was a numeric
GOAL of 100bn $ a YEAR
Developed are main donors
BUT Developing countries can
also JOIN
TOP DOWN Goal approach of
KYOTO abandoned
– Flexibity & National
Ownership – Countries can
set their own TARGETS
— PROCESSED made for
aligned & transparent in all 3
stages — PLAN, IMPLEMENT,
REVIEW
— Improved Methodology for
GHG inventories
“PARIS RULEBOOK”

– Market mechanism
Improved
Legal Binding NO YES, legal binding to reduce HYBRID–Legally binds to
GHG setup Emission Tracking
System & Conduct regular
reporting BUT broadly NO
LEGAL OBLIGATION

Market Mechanism
INTERNATIONAL EMISSION CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM JOINT
TRADING(IET) (CDM) IMPLEMENTATION
(JI)
Applicable 1. Developed/Industrial Countries 1. Developed Countries 1. Developed
to ONLY 2. Developing Countries Countries ONLY
Type of “CAP & TRADE SYSTEM” “BASELINE & CREDIT” “BASELINE
Trading Unit traded “Emission Allowance” Unit Traded are Carbon Credits which CREDIT”
System which is permitted to emit 1 represent reduction of 1 tCO2eq
tCO2eq
Carbon Credits under this is called Called as
74
 “Certified Emission Reduction (CER)” “Emission
Reduction Unit
(ERU)”
–Country A doesn’t meet its – Developed Country A Similar to CDM but
target Developing Country X projects done only
–Country B exceeds its target –If A can’t reach GHG reduction goal it can within developed
–B can sell its emission units to A help X by investing in their GHG reducing countries
No physical item involved PHYSICAL PROJECTS
— & it will be counted in A’s kitty

CARBON TRADING
 “CAP & TRADE SYSTEM” or Emission Trading
o Each country has a GOAL to reduce GHG emission. In other words, each country has a CAP in GHG
emission & this gap decreases every year ensuring total emission falls
 Example, Country A current emission is 100 units (vs. 50 units in base year) & goal is to
reduce 5% on base year. i.e. Target = 95% of 50 units = 47.5 in 10 years
 Each year they must reduce ~5.x units. Thus, for Year 1 → Cap is 100-5=95 units
o Cap & Trade allow trade of emission unit which are emission allowed but not emitted [example
allowed is 95 but emitted is only 90→ 5 gets spare]
o Each unit gives owner the RIGHT to trade 1mt CO2eq
 “BASELINE & CREDIT” or offset trading
o If an entity is expected to continue their work as usual, Emission emitted will be baseline emission
o But if they make extra effort & reduce their GHGs→ their saved emission can be traded as Carbon
Credit

o
o CRITERIA FOR CARBON CREDIT TRADE
 Emission reduced will yield Carbon credit only when such reduction is REAL, ADDITION,
VERIFIABLE & PERMANENT

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 

Drawbacks of UNFCCC
 Non-inclusive: Doesn’t include microscopic particulates from car engines and combustion-based power
plants
 Slow progress: It took a long time for COP to bring Russia to agree into participating in the Kyoto Protocol.
(until 2005)
 Unsustainable targets: The world reached at almost 1degree Celsius warming post industrialization and the
Paris contributions are not enough to maintain 2-degree Celsius levels.
 Unsatisfactory Response: Many countries argued for a tougher target of 1.5C - including leaders of low-lying
countries that face unsustainable sea levels rises in a warming world.
 Financial Constraints: The agreement requires rich nations to maintain a $100bn a year funding pledge
beyond 2020, which is not enough as highlighted by several pacific island countries.
 Non-binding agreement: The US withdrawal from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, citing, that the deal
punished" the US and would cost millions of American jobs”, has created new barriers and more pressure on
rest of the nations in achieving the targets of Paris agreement
 As part of the US withdrawal, USA has stopped the payment of the extra $2bn that had been promised in to
the Green Climate Fund.
 No enforcement mechanism: Under the Paris agreement, each country determines, plans, and reports its
own efforts to mitigate global warming. The only penalty for non-compliance is a so-called “name and
shame” — or “name and encourage” — system whereby countries that fall out of compliance are called out
and encouraged to improve

Timeline
1979 First World Climate Conference (WCC)
1988 IPCC established

2002 COP 8 Delhi Declaration → Development needs of the poorest countries and the need for
technology transfer for mitigating climate change
2007 COP13
Bali Road Map and Bali action plan
The Plan has five main categories: shared vision, mitigation, adaptation, technology and
financing
2008 COP 14, Poznan (Poland)
Launch of Adaptation Fund under the Kyoto Protocol and
The Poznan Strategic Programme on Technology Transfer
2010 COP 16 (Cancun)
 The Green Climate Fund
o Support projects, policies in developing countries
o World Bank as interim Trustee of Fund

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  The Technology Mechanism
o Facilitate implementation enhanced action on technology development
 Adaptation Framework are established
o Adaptation projects in Developing countries
o Funded from CDM
o Supervised by namesake board
COP17 Durban Summit
 Green Climate Fund Launched
2013 COP19/CMP9 (Warsaw)
Key decisions adopted include:
 Further advancing Green Climate Fund and Long-Term Finance,
 Cutting emission from deforestation — “The Warsaw Framework for REDD+”

REDD & REDD+

 Climate change mitigation by incentivizing forest conservation
 REDD (Reducing emission from Deforestation & Forest Degradation)
o Developing countries to protect, better manage & Save their forest resources
 The “Plus” in REDD+, lays out the various ways in which countries have defined the three
activities: conservation, the sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stock

Readiness Implementation Result-based

actions

Development Enacting REDD+ Results-based

of national actions and payments
strategies or national Green Climate
action plans, strategies Fund (GCF)
REDD+ finance REDD+
mitigation
actions
capacity
building

 INDIA AND REDD+:
o The Paris agreement called upon Parties to implement and support REDD+
o India ‘s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) → Capture 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of Carbon
dioxide through additional forest and tree cover by 2030
o “National REDD+ Strategy”
 By MoEF & CC
 To address drivers of deforestation and forest degradation
 Develop roadmap for enhancement of forest carbon stocks and achieving sustainable
management of forests through REDD+ actions

IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
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  United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change
 Reviews & assesses all the scientific, technical & socio-economic information produced around the world
relevant to Climate Change
o It doesn’t conduct any research on its own nor does it monitor any data
o Internationally accepted authority on climate change
 Established by UNEP & WMO in 1988 to provide clear scientific view of Climate Change → IPCC endorsed by
UNGA in same year (1988)
 HQ = @ WMO HQ in Geneva
 Provide a scientific basis for govt to develop climate related policies
 Underlie negotiations at UNFCCC
 Also, helps UNFCCC in preparing special reports, technical papers; help prep countries their national GHG
inventories

ASSESSMENT REPORTS
 Comprehensive scientific reports about climate change produced worldwide
 Written in non-technical style suitable for policymakers
 6th AR is due in 2022
 The Assessment Reports - by three working groups of scientists.
o Working Group-I - – The Physical Science Basis – Deals with the scientific basis for climate change.
o Working Group-II - Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
o Working Group-III – Mitigation of Climate Change – Deals with actions that can be taken to combat
climate change
 AR6 has
o 3 Working Groups Assessment Reports
o 3 Special Reports:
 Global Warming of 1.5°C
 Climate Change and Land
 The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate

SPECIAL REPORTS
 Prepared on the specific topics
 Sometimes requested by govt.

United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP)

 Global environment authority that sets the global environment agenda
 UN Environment Assembly UNEA is highest-level decision-making body on the environment
 HQ = Nairobi, Kenya
 It was established after the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972
 Member of the UNDP→ help the world meet SDGs
 UNEP hosts the secretariats of
o Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
o The Minamata Convention on Mercury
o The Convention on Migratory Species
o CITES
 UNEP is also one of several Implementing Agencies for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the
Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol

CHAMPION OF EARTH
 Highest UN honour in field of environment
 Recognises outstanding figures from public, private sector & Civil Society
 Five Categories

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 o Lifetime achievement
o Policy Leadership – Modi received in 2018
o Action & Inspiration – Afroz Shah for Cleaning Versova Beach
o Entrepreneurial Vision
o Science & Innovation

IMPORTANT REPORTS BY UNEP

 Emission Gap Report
 Global Environment Outlook
 Frontiers
 Invest into Healthy Planet

Major Programmes of the UNEP

 Clean up the World
 Billion Tree Campaign
 World Environment Day (June 5th)

Treaties Concluded under the Aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) or UN Environment
 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
o WMO + UNEP established IPCC
 Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
 Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

 An independently operating financial organization established @RIO in 1992
 Provides grants for projects related to
1. Biodiversity
2. Climate change
3. International waters
4. Land degradation
5. Ozone layer
6. REDD+
7. Organic pollutants
 Serves as financial mechanism for:
 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
 UNFCCC
 UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
 Minamata Convention on Mercury
 The GEF, although not linked formally to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer (MP), supports the implementation of the Protocol in countries with economies in
transition

United Nations Conference on Environment & Development (UNCED)

 RIO Summit or Earth Summit in 1992
 The Earth Summit resulted in the following documents:
o Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
o Agenda 21
o Forest Principles
 Legally binding agreements (Rio Convention) opened for signature after Rio Earth Summit
o Convention on Biological Diversity
o UNFCCC
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 o UN Convention to Combat Desertification UNCCD

Agenda 21
 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of UN [for UN, other multilateral orgs, and individual govts] regarding
sustainable development
 Objective of the Agenda 21
o Every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21
o To achieve global sustainable development by 2000, with the "21" in Agenda 21 referring to the
original target of the 21st century
 EVOLUTION
o World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002 or RIO+10 Or Johannesburg Declaration
 Agreed to full implementation of Agenda 21, alongside achievement of Millennium
Development Goals
o United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) or Rio+20 @ Rio in 2012
 Reduce poverty, advance social equity & ensure environmental protection
 AGENDA 21 for Culture
o Add culture as a fourth conceptual pillar of sustainable development in governance, the historical
three pillars of which are the environment, social inclusion, and economics

Convention on Biological Diversity

 Legally Binding Convention
 Opened for Signature @Rio in 1992
 Recognised that conservation of Biological Diversity is “Common concern of Humankind” & integral part of
development process
 The CBD Secretariat, based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, operates under UNEP, the United Nations
Environment Programme
 THREE MAIN GOALS
o Conservation of biodiversity
o Sustainable use of its components
o Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources

Supplementary Protocols to CBD

Two supplementary agreements→ Cartagena Protocol and Nagoya Protocol

THE CARTAGENA PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

 International treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern
biotechnology from one country to another
 Adopted on 29 January 2000 & in force on 11 September 2003
 Cartagena in Spain along Mediterranean Coast

THE NAGOYA PROTOCOL ON ACCESS TO GENETIC RESOURCES AND THE FAIR AND EQUITABLE SHARING OF
BENEFITS ARISING FROM THEIR UTILIZATION (ABS) TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
 Supplementary agreement to the CBD
 Transparent legal framework for the effective implementation the fair and equitable sharing of benefits
arising out of the utilization of genetic resources
 Adopted on 29 October 2010 & entered into force on 12 October 2014

Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020

 @COP10 in Nagoya, a revised and updated Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, 2011-2020 was agreed and
published
 Included the "Aichi Biodiversity Targets", comprising 20 targets which address each of five strategic goals
defined in the Strategic Plan

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 o Strategic Goal A: Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity
across government and society
o Strategic Goal B: Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use
o Strategic Goal C: To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and
genetic diversity
o Strategic Goal D: Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services
o Strategic Goal E: Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management
and capacity building

Target 1 People are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to
conserve and use it sustainably
Target 2 Biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development and
poverty reduction strategies and planning processes and are being incorporated into
national accounting, as appropriate, and reporting system
Target 3 Incentives, subsidies harmful to biodiversity are eliminated, phased out or reformed
Goal A in order to minimize or avoid negative impacts, and positive incentives for the
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity are developed and applied,
consistent and in harmony with the Convention and other relevant international
obligations, taking into account national socio economic conditions
Target 4 Governments, business and stakeholders at all levels have taken steps to achieve or
have implemented plans for sustainable production and consumption and have kept
the impacts of use of natural resources well within safe ecological limits
Goal B Target 5 By 2020, the rate of loss of all-natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and
where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is
significantly reduced
Target 6 By 2020 all fish and invertebrate stocks and aquatic plants are managed and
harvested sustainably, legally and applying ecosystem based approaches, so that
overfishing is avoided, recovery plans and measures are in place for all depleted
species, fisheries have no significant adverse impacts on threatened species and
vulnerable ecosystems and the impacts of fisheries on stocks, species and ecosystems
are within safe ecological limits
Target 7 By 2020 areas under agriculture, aquaculture and forestry are managed sustainably,
ensuring conservation of biodiversity
Target 8 By 2020, pollution, including from excess nutrients, has been brought to levels that
are not detrimental to ecosystem function and biodiversity
Target 9 By 2020, invasive alien species and pathways are identified and prioritized, priority
species are controlled or eradicated, and measures are in place to manage pathways
to prevent their introduction and establishment
Target 10 By 2015, the multiple anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs, and other vulnerable
ecosystems impacted by climate change or ocean acidification are minimized, to
maintain their integrity and functioning
Goal C Target 11 By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal
and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and
ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed,
ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other
effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider
landscapes and seascapes
Target 12 By 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their
conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and
sustained
Target 13 By 2020, the genetic diversity of cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated
animals and of wild relatives, including other socio-economically as well as culturally
valuable species, is maintained, and strategies have been developed and

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 implemented for minimizing genetic erosion and safeguarding their genetic diversity
Goal D Target 14 By 2020, ecosystems that provide essential services, including services related to
water, and contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being, are restored and
safeguarded, taking into account the needs of women, indigenous and local
communities, and the poor and vulnerable
Target 15 By 2020, ecosystem resilience and the contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks
has been enhanced, through conservation and restoration, including restoration of at
least 15 per cent of degraded ecosystems, thereby contributing to climate change
mitigation and adaptation and to combating desertification
Target 16 By 2015, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and
Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization is in force and operational,
consistent with national legislation
Target 17 By 2015 each Party has developed, adopted as a policy instrument, and has
commenced implementing an effective, participatory and updated national
biodiversity strategy and action plan
Target 18 By 2020, the traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local
communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and
their customary use of biological resources, are respected, subject to national
legislation and relevant international obligations, and fully integrated and reflected in
the implementation of the Convention with the full and effective participation of
Goal E indigenous and local communities, at all relevant levels.
Target 19 knowledge, the science base and technologies relating to biodiversity, its values,
functioning, status and trends, and the consequences of its loss, are improved, widely
shared and transferred, and applied
Target 20 At the latest, the mobilization of financial resources for effectively implementing the
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 from all sources, and in accordance with the
consolidated and agreed process in the Strategy for Resource Mobilization, should
increase substantially from the current levels. This target will be subject to changes
contingent to resource needs assessments to be developed and reported by Parties.

COP 11 of CBD was held in Hyderabad, India

CITES
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora & Fauna
 International agreement between govt
 The convention was opened for signature in 1973 and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975
 Administered through UNEP
 Secretariat located @ Geneva
 Species for which trade is regulated are listed in one of three appendices, each conferring a different level of
regulation & requiring CITES permits or certificate

Lists
Appendix I Include species with extinction & provide greater level of protection including
restriction on commercial Trade
Appendix II Species Currently not threatened but may become so without trade control
Can include species similar in appearance to species already listed in the
Appendices
Appendix III Species for which a range country has asked other parties to help controlling
international Trade
 India has had COP 3; COP meeting Held every 3 year
 2022 in San Jose, Costa Rica

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TRAFFIC: Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network
 Joint conservation programme of WWF & IUCN
 Established in 1976 as response to CITES

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS)

 Also known as Bonn Convention
 Signed in 1979; Enforced in 1983
 Aims to conserve terrestrial, aquatic & Avian Migratory Species throughout Range
 Signed under the auspices of the UNEP and is concerned with conservation of wildlife and habitats on a
global scale
 COP 13 Held in Gandhi Nagar in 2020; Held every 3 years
o Mascot was GIB
 Agreements range from Legally Binding Treaties called Agreement to less formal MOUs

Appendix I Threatened Migratory Species

Appendix II Migratory Species requiring international cooperation

MOUs SIGNED BY INDIA

 Raptor MOU: MOU on CMS of Prey in Asia & Africa; Since 1983, India signed in 2016
 MOU on Siberian Crane (1998)
 MOU of Marine Turtles (2007)
 MOU of Dugongs (2008)

UN Convention to Combat Desertification

 Opened for signature after RIO; Established in 1994
 Legally Binding international agreement linking Environment & development to Land Management
 India Hosted COP 14 in 2019 in New Delhi
o The New Delhi Declaration: Investing in Land and Unlocking Opportunities

Conventions
Name About
Stockholm  Persistent  Initial Dirty Dozens
Convention Organic  agree to outlaw nine of the dirty dozen
Pollutants  Limit use of DDT to malaria control
(POPs)  Curtail inadvertent production of dioxins and furans
 Adopted in  3 Annex: A= Elimination; B= Restriction; C= Unintentional
2001; Force = Production
2004  Pesticides: Aldrin, Chlordane, DDT, Endrin, Heptachlor,
Endosulfan
 Industrial Chemicals: PCBs, Hexachlorobenzene (HCB)

POPs
 "forever chemicals" are organic compounds that are resistant
to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and
photolytic processes
 Bioaccumulate in fatty Tissues; Long Range Transport; Toxic

Basel  Control of  Annex I: Waste that are classified as Hazardous & Subject to
Convention Transboundary control Procedure
Movement of  Annex II: Waste that require special consideration; “Other
Hazardous Waste”; Primarily Household Waste

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 Waste & their  Waste Regulated
Disposal o Used Oils, Lead Acid Batteries
 Basel, Switz o PCBs
 Adopted 1989 o POPs waste
Rotterdam  Covers  Legally Binding Obligation for implementation Prior Informed
Convention Pesticides & Consent (PIC)
Industrial  International Trade of Certain Hazardous Chemicals; facilitate
Chemicals that information exchange about characteristics
are banned for  Annex III Chemicals
health & o Include Pesticides & Industrial Chems banned or restricted
Environment by by two or more parties
Parties o 43 Chemicals
 Conference of
Plenipotentiaries
 Adopted 1998;
Force = 2004
Vienna  Adopted in  Provided Framework necessary to create regulatory measures in the
Convention 1985; Force = form of the Montreal Protocol
1995  MONTREAL PROTOCOL Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
 Framework for o ozone depleting substances controlled by the Montreal
international Protocol contain either chlorine or bromine (substances
efforts to containing only fluorine do not harm the ozone layer)
protect OZONE o Nitrous oxide (N2O) NOT controlled
Layer o Legally Binding
 NO Legally
binding Goals for
CFCs
Kigali Kigali Amendment to  This amendment adds HFCs to the list of chemicals that
Agreement the Montreal countries promise to phase out
Protocol is an  122 countries had ratified the Kigali Amendment by the end of
international July 2021
agreement to  HFC is not an Ozone Damaging Substance BUT a GHG Warming
gradually reduce the Potential is 100X of CO2
consumption and  HFC despite being GHG not covered under Paris Agreement
production of  Goal is to achieve over 80% reduction in HFC consumption by
hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs)

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 2047
Minamata Global Treaty to  Adopted in Kumamoto, Japan
Convention Protect from  Controls transboundary Movement of Hg
Anthropogenic  Doesn’t include Natural Emission
emission & release  Mercury is produced in
of Mercury o Coal Fired Power Plants
o Chlor Alkali Production, Vinyl Chloride Monomer
Production
o Acetaldehyde Production
o Batteries, Lights, Cosmetics
Nairobi  In 1996 and is  India is NOT a party to the convention
Convention part of UNEP’s  Address emerging issues in the region WESTERN IOR→ Expert
Regional Seas groups and task forces such as Mangrove Network, Coral Reef
Programme Task Force, Marine Turtle Task Force, the Forum for Academic
 Nairobi and Research Institutes (FARI), and the Legal and Technical
Convention with Working Group
support from 
UNEP–
“Western Indian
Ocean Marine
Science
Association and
the Western
Indian Ocean
Mangrove
Network”

85
Chapter 5 ***Environment Impact Assessment
EIA is a planning tool for harmonising development activities with the environment concerns with a objective to
foresee the potential environment problems & address them at planning & design stage

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Chapter 6 Biodiversity & Conservation
Introduction
 Definition: The diversity of different species, genetic variability, among individuals within each species and
variety of ecosystems [ecosystem diversity]
 United Nations Earth Summit (1992) Definition also used by UN Convention of Biological diversity → the
variability among living organisms from all sources, including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic
ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species,
between species and of ecosystem
Levels of Biodiversity

Genetic Refers to variation of genes within species

Diversity
It is essential for a healthy breeding of population of species

Species Refers to variety of species or number of species in a defined area

Diversity Diversity of species = Richness + Abundance + Types
Hotspots of diversity are areas rich in species diversity

Ecosystem Refers to broad difference between i) ecosystem types, [Tropical Rain

forest v/s Arid Grassland] ii) Diversity of habitat & ecological
Diversity processes within each ecosystem type [Rainforest of Africa vs
America]

Species Diversity

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  70% of all the species = Animals, while plants (including algae, fungi, bryophytes, gymnosperms and
angiosperms) = 22%
 The number of fungi species > Combined total of fishes + amphibians + reptiles + Mammals

Measurement of Biodiversity
 Species Richness – Measure of number of species in a community
o Alpha Diversity – Diversity within area; number of species in that ecosystem
o Beta Diversity – Comparison of diversity b/w ecosystem; measure change in amt of species b/w
ecosystems
o Gamma Diversity – Measure overall diversity for different ecosystem within region
 Species Evenness – Proportion of species on given site. Low Evenness = Few species dominate the site

Importance of Biodiversity
Every organism beside extracting needs contribute something to other
Ecologica
l Diversity of Ecosytem α Stability

Imp resource for humans Ex. Food, Pharmal, Cosmetic, Fodder etc.
Economic
"Crop Diversity" or Agrobiodiversity

Understanding how life Fn. & role of each species

Scientific
We are also a species part of ecosytem

Pattern of Biodiversity
 LATITUDINAL GRADIENTS
o Species diversity (↓) as we move away from the equator towards the poles, Few exceptions
o WHY?
 Speciation is function of time → Temperate frequent glaciations; Tropical remained
undisturbed → Thus had more time for diversification
 Tropics less seasonal, constant and predictable→ promote niche specialisation
 More solar energy → higher productivity

Loss of Biodiversity
Does it really matter? Should we be concerned if some species goes extinct? [Critical]

 ‘RIVET POPPER HYPOTHESIS’ by Ecologist Paul Ehrlich

 In an airplane (ecosystem) all parts are joined using thousands of rivets (species). If every passenger
travelling in it starts popping a rivet to take home (causing a species to become extinct), it may not affect
flight safety (proper functioning of the ecosystem) initially, but as more and more rivets are removed, the
plane becomes dangerously weak over a period of time. Loss of rivets on the wings (key species that drive
major ecosystem functions) can be critical

Species which have been extinct

o Dodo (Mauritius)

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 
o Quagga (Africa)

 subspecies of Zebra
o Thylacine (Australia) aka Tasmanian Tiger

 Large carnivorous marsupial

o Steller’s Sea Cow (Russia) Mammal
o 3 subspecies (Bali, Javan, Caspian) of tiger
 Amphibians appear to be more vulnerable to extinction
 5 episodes of mass extinction

Causes of biodiversity losses:

 Natural Calamities bring change to biodiversity
 There are four major Manmade causes (‘The Evil Quartet’ is the sobriquet)

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 Habitat loss Habitat loss come from tropical rain forests
and
fragmentation Fragmentation → Mammals + birds requiring large territories and animals with
migratory habits face population decline

Over- Species like Steller’s sea cow, passenger pigeon extinctions due to overexploitation by
humans
exploitation
Inc. in Human Population = ↑ rate of consumption of natural resources

Alien species Turn invasive, and cause decline or extinction of indigenous species
invasions Nile perch in L. Victoria in E. Africa; African Catfish (India)

Weed species like carrot grass (Parthenium), Lantana and water hyacinth (Eicchornia);

Co-extinctions Species becomes extinct, the plant and animal species associated with it in an obligatory
way also become extinct

Deforestation
 National Forest Policy (1988) of India has recommended 33 per cent forest cover for the plains and 67 per
cent for the hills
 By the end of the century, it shrunk to 21.54 per cent
 Slash and burn agriculture, commonly called as Jhum cultivation
o In earlier days, when Jhum cultivation was in prevalence, enough time-gap was given so that the
land recovered from the effect of cultivation. With increasing population, and repeated cultivation,
this recovery phase is done away with, resulting in deforestation
 Consequences of Deforestation
o Enhanced CO2 conc. in the atmosphere because trees that could hold a lot of carbon in their biomass
are lost with deforestation
 Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award for individuals or communities from rural areas that have
shown extraordinary courage and dedication in protecting wildlife

Conservation of Biodiversity
Why Should We?
Three categories

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 Nations with rich biodiversity can reap enormous benefits
Narrowly
utilitarian Direct Economic benefits from naturefood, firewood, fibre, construction
material, industrial products (tannins, lubricants, dyes, resins, perfumes)

Broadly Biodiversity plays a major role in many ecosystem services that nature
provides
utilitarian

Ethical Philosophically or spiritually, we need to realise that every species has an

intrinsic value

How do we conserve Biodiversity?

IN-SITU CONSERVATION

 IN-SITU Approach→ When we conserve & protect the whole ecosystem, its biodiversity at all levels is
protected
 Maximum protection certain ‘biodiversity hotspots’ regions with very high levels of species richness and high
degree of endemism
o Three of these hotspots in India– Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma and Himalaya
 SACRED GROVES
o Khasi and Jaintia Hills, Aravalli Hills of Rajasthan, W. Ghat regions of Karnataka and Maharashtra and
the Sarguja, Chanda and Bastar areas of Madhya Pradesh
o In Meghalaya, the sacred groves are the last refuges for many rare and threatened plants

EX-SITU CONSERVATION

 Threatened animals and plants taken out from natural habitat & placed in special setting where they
protected & given special care
o Zoological parks, botanical gardens and wildlife safari parks

OTHER EFFORTS
 Convention on Biological Diversity (‘The Earth Summit’) held in Rio in 1992
o All nations to take appropriate measures for conservation of biodiversity and sustainable utilisation
of its benefits
 World Summit on Sustainable Development held in 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa
o 190 countries pledged their commitment to achieve by 2010, a significant reduction in the current
rate of biodiversity loss at global, regional and local levels
 WPA 1972
 Mega Diversity Centre are countries in tropical region with large number of species diversity
o Located in 12 Countries: Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, DRC, Madagascar, China & India,
Malaysia, Indonesia & Australia
 Hotspots by IUCN which are
o Defined acc. to their vegetation coz they are imp to determine primary productivity

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***IUCN
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
 field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources
 Not just only conservation but also focused on Sustainable Development
 Estd. in 1948; HQ= Gland, Switz
 World Conservation Congress→ Highest Decision-Making Body

The Red Data Book

 Issued by International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] @Morges, Switzerland
 PINK PAGES → Critically Endangered Species
 GREEN PAGES→ Species formerly endangered but now recovered to no longer threatened
 It is also a key indicator for the SDGs and Aichi Targets

 9 Categories

Criterion CR EN VU NT
Reduction in More than 90% over More than 70% More than 50%
Population last 10 years over 10 years over 10 years
Population Size less than 50 than 250 mature than 10,000 Close to qualify or likely to
Size mature individuals individuals individuals qualify in near future
Probability of extinction >50% in 10 >20% within 20 at least 10%
extinction years years within 100 years
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SPECIES IN INDIA [IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]

Indian Biodiversity Landscape

Realms


 8 Terrestrial Biogeographic Realms as per The World Wildlife Fund [WWF] scheme as per decreasing Size

Palearctic Including the bulk of Eurasia and North Africa Himalayan Region

Nearctic Including most of North America

Afrotropic Including Trans-Saharan Africa and Arabia
Neotropic Including South America, Central America, and the Caribbean
Australasia Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, and the neighbouring islands. The
northern boundary called as Wallace Line [Australian and Southeast Asian
fauna]
Indomalaya Including the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and southern China Most of ISC
Oceania Including Polynesia (except New Zealand), Micronesia, and the Fijian Islands
Antarctic Including Antarctica

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94
Chapter 7 Acts & Policies
***Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
INTRODUCTION
 Constitutional Provisions for Wildlife:
o The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, Forests and Protection of Wild Animals and Birds was transferred from
State to Concurrent List
o Article 51 A (g) of the Constitution states that it shall be the fundamental duty of every citizen to protect
and improve the natural environment including forests and Wildlife.
o Article 48 A in the DPSP, mandates that the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the
environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country
 Authorities Appointed under the Act:
o Centre appoints the Director of Wildlife Preservation 
o State appoint a Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) 
 Complete administrative control over Protected Areas (PAs) within a state
o State governments → Appoint Wildlife Wardens in each district
BODIES CONSTITUTED UNDER THE ACT
 National Board for Wildlife (NBWL): 
o Apex body for the review of all wildlife-related matters & approval of projects in and around national
parks and sanctuaries
o Chairman = PM; Vice Chairman= MoEF & CC
o “Advisory” nature
o Standing Committee of NBWL: For approving all projects falling within protected wildlife areas or within
10 km of them.
 Chaired by the MoEF&CC
 State Board for Wildlife (SBWL): 
o Chairperson = CM
o The board advises the state government in:
 The Selection and management of areas to be declared as protected areas
 The formulation of the policy for protection and conservation of the wildlife
 Any matter relating to the amendment of any Schedule
 Central Zoo Authority: 
o 10 members including the Chairperson and a Member-Secretary
o Chairperson = MoEF & CC
o Recognises & regulate zoos
o Rules & guidelines under which animals may be transferred among zoos nationally and internationally.
 National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA): 
o NTCA was constituted in 2005
o Chairperson = MoEF &CC ; VC = State MoEF & CC
o The Central Government on the recommendations of NTCA declares an area as a Tiger Reserve
 >50 WS in India → designated as Tiger Reserves
 Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB): To combat organized wildlife crime in the country.
o HQ = New Delhi
o Function:
 Collect and collate intelligence related to organized wildlife crime activities
 Disseminate intelligence to the State to apprehend the criminals
 Establish a centralized wildlife crime data bank
 Assist State Govt in prosecutions related to wildlife crimes.

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 Advise the GoI on issues relating to wildlife crimes having national and international
ramifications, relevant policy and laws
 SCHEDULES: 6 Schedules


Schedules Protections
Schedule I  Endangered species needing
rigorous protection.
 Protection from poaching,
killing, trading etc
 Harshest Penalties
 Hunting prohibition except
if threat to human life or in
case of a disease that is
beyond recovery
Schedule II  high protection with the
prohibition on their trade
Schedule III  Not endangered 1. Barking deer
 Hunting prohibited but 2. Bharal [Blue Sheep]
penalty is less 3. Chital
4. Gorals
5. Stripped Hyaena
6. Nilgai
7. Sambar
8. Wild pig
9. Sponges (All Calcareans)
Schedule IV

Schedule V  Animals considered as 1. Common crow

vermin (small wild animals 2. Fruit bats
that carry disease and 3. Mice
destroy plants and food) 4. Rats
 Can be hunted
Schedule VI  Regulation & restriction in 1. Beddomes’ cycad (Cycas
cultivation, possession, sale beddomei)
and transportation of a 2. Blue Vanda (Vanda
specified plant soerulec) medicinal
 Cultivation & Trade of 3. Red Vanda (Rananthera
specified plants with prior imschootiana)]
permission of competent 4. Kuth (Saussurea lappa)
authority 5. Ladies slipper orchids
(Paphiopedilum spp.)
6. Pitcher plant (Nepenthes
khasiana)

A1972-53_0.pdf

Wildlife Act, 1972

OBJECTIVE
 To provide protection to the endangered species listed in the schedule of Act
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  To provide legal support to the conservation Areas of the country classified as National Parks, Sanctuaries &
closed Areas
Amendment in 1991 to make it more stringent + provision for protection of specified plant species + conservation of
endangered species of wild animals
Project Tiger (1973)
 Objective:
o Ensure maintenance of viable population of tigers in India for scientific, aesthetic, cultural &
ecological value
o Preserve areas of biological importance as natural heritage for the benefit, education & enjoyment
of the people
Project Elephant 1992
 To assist states having free range population of wild elephants
 AIM: Long term survival of identified viable population of elephants in their natural habitat
 Other project like Crocodile breeding project, Project Hangul, Musk Deer→ launched by GOI
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
OVERVIEW
 Objective of providing the protection and improvement of the environment
 Central Government to establish authorities with the mandate of preventing environmental pollution in all
its forms and to tackle specific environmental problems that are peculiar to different parts of the country.
 BACKGROUND: United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm in June 1972
(Stockholm Conference) → The Act implements the decisions made at the Stockholm Conference

Salient Features of the EPA Act

 Powers of the Central Government: measures necessary of protecting and improving the quality of the
environment
o The Central government is also empowered to:
 Plan and Execute a nation-wide programme for the prevention, control and abatement of
environmental pollution
 Lay down standards for the quality of environment in its various aspects
 Lay down standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various
sources
 The restriction of areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of
industries, operations or processes shall/ shall not be carried out subject to certain
safeguards
o The central government as per the Act has the power to direct:
 The closure, prohibition or regulation of any industry, operation or process.
 The stoppage or regulation of the supply of electricity or water or any other service
 Restriction on Pollutant Discharge: No individual or organisation shall discharge/emit or permit to
discharge/emit any environmental pollutant in excess of the prescribed standards.
 Compliance with Procedural Safeguards: No individual shall handle or shall be caused to handle any
hazardous substance except in accordance with the procedure and without complying with the safeguards,
as prescribed.
 Powers of Entry and Inspection: Any person empowered by the Central Government shall have a right to
enter (with the assistance deemed necessary) at any place:
o For the inspection of compliance of any orders, notifications and directions given under the Act.
o For the purpose of examining (and if required seizing) any equipment, industrial plant, record,
register, document or any other material object may furnish evidence of the commission of an
offence punishable under this Act.
 Establishment of Environmental Laboratories: The Central Government entitled to:
o Establish environmental laboratories.
o Recognise any laboratory to carry out the functions
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  Penalties for Offences:
o Any offences under the EPA are punishable with the imprisonment of upto five years or a fine upto
one lakh rupees or both.
o Offences by Companies: Every person directly in charge of the company deemed to be guilty unless
proven otherwise
o Offences by Government Departments: Head of the Department (HoD) deemed to be guilty of the
offence unless proven otherwise
 Cognizance of offences: No Court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act except on a complaint
made by:
o The Central Government or any authority on behalf of the former.
o A person who has approached the Courts after a 60-day notice has been furnished to the Central
Government or the authority on its behalf
o Locus Standi is relaxed→ Any person can approach court provided 60 days’ notice given
 Important Notifications Issued Under EPA
o CRZ Notification (1991), which regulates activities along coastal stretches.
o The Environmental Impact Assessment

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

 Statutory organisation formed in 1974 Under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
 Entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
 Field formation and provides technical services to the MoEFCC of the provisions of the Environment (Protection)
Act, 1986

Biological Diversity Act, 2002

 In line with UN CBD & its provisions
o Conservation of Biological Diversity
o Sustainable use of its components
o Fair & Equitable sharing
 Three tier structure
o National biodiversity Authority
o State biodiversity Boards
o Biodiversity Management Committee @local level

The Scheduled Tribes & other Traditional Forest Dweller (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
 RESTITUTION of both individual to cultivated land in forestland & community rights over common property
resources
 Integration of conservation & livelihood rights of people
 Features
o NODAL AGENCY is Ministry of Tribal Affair
o Applicable to Tribal & other forest dwelling communities
o Forest Rights recognised if they resided in or depended on forest for THREE GENERATION before
13.12.2005. A generation = 25 years
o National Park & Sanctuaries included along with Reserve Forest, protected forest
 Access to collect, use & dispose Minor Forest Products
o MFP = All non-timber forest products of plant origin→ Wax, Lac, Tendu, Medicinal Plants, Bamboo,
Stumps, honey etc
 Rights are Heritable but not alienable [to be sold etc.] or transferable
 Gram Sabha as competent authority for process of determining the nature & extent of Forest Rights

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Coastal Regulation Zone
 Issued in 1991 to regulate development activities
 Amended in 2011 & 2018
 Four Zones

CRZ I Ecological Sensitive  Mangrove, if>1000 sq. No construction shall be

m→ Buffer area of 50m permitted except
 Coral – Dept. Atomic Energy
 Sand Dunes –Pipeline + Transmission
 Mudflats but active Line
 National Park, Marine Weather Radar
Park Trans Harbour Sea Link
 Area between Low Tide
& High Tide Line
CRZ II Built-up Area Areas developed up to Building are permissible
shoreline falling within on landward side of
Municipal limits existing road, Authorised
structure

CRZ III Rural Area Rural or Urban area but Added in 2018
less developed amendment
CRZ IIIA – Densely
populated Rural
Area>2161→ No
development zone 50m
form HTL replacing 200m

CRZ IIIB Vice Versa

CRZ IV Water Area Area from low tide line up No restriction on
to territorial limits traditional fishing
including area of tidal
influenced water body

***Chapter 8 Protected Area Network

Wildlife Sanctuary & National Park
 State Govt under WPA, 1972 declare area as Wildlife Sanctuaries
 WLS vs NP
o NP enjoy greater protection
o Certain activities are regulated in WLS are banned in NP like Grazing etc
o WLS can be focused on one Species
 General Provision for WLS & NP
o Declared by State Govts by initial Notification on advice of State Board for Wildlife
o Final Notification declaring limits
o Central Govt can also declare
o No alteration of Boundary shall be made except on recommendation of National Board for Wildlife

Bhitarkanika National Park (Odisha) Mangrove Forest [also a Ramsar Site along with Chillika]Play role in Amphan
and 1999 super cyclone Mitigation

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Community Reserve & Conservation Reserve
 Flexible system where wildlife conservation is achieved w/o compromising community needs
 Legal Backing to community-initiated efforts in Wildlife Protection
 Tiruppadaimarathur Conservation Reserve FIRST

Coastal Protected Areas

 Three Categories
o Category I: NP + WLS having entire in intertidal/sub-tidal or Mangrove
o Category II
o Category IIIA
o Category IIIB

Man & Biosphere (MAB)

 Target Ecological, Social & economical dimension of Biodiversity Loss
 Combine Natural + Social Science, Economics & education
 MAB rely on world Network of Biosphere Reserve

Biosphere Reserve
 International Co-ordinating Council of UNESCO
 DEFINE: Natural & Cultural Landscape; Human & Nature can co-exist while respecting each other
 Criteria for Selection of BRs
o Primary Criteria: i) Effectively Protected & undisturbed Core Area & include additional land & water
to showcase research & demonstration of Sustainable Methods ii) Core Area should be large enough
to sustain viable population of all tropic Levels
o Secondary Criterion: i) Rare & Endangered Species ii) Diversity of Soil & Micro Climatic Condition iii)
Traditional or Rural Mode modes of Living for Harmonious use of environment
 ZONES of BR
o Core Zone:
 To be kept undisturbed
 Kept free form all human presence
o Buffer Zone
 Natural Human Activities permitted
 Limited recreation, tourism, fishing & Grazing
o Transition Zone:
 Zone of Cooperation where conservation, knowledge & Management skills applied

World Network of Biosphere Reserve

 Admitted by ICC of UNESCO
 On request of participating country

BIOSPHERE RESERVES
 DEFINITION: Unique & representative ecosystem of terrestrial & Coastal areas which are internationally
recognised within framework of UNESCO’s Man & Biosphere (MAB) Programme

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S. Name of the Biosphere World Area in Date Location in the States/UTs
No. Reserve n/w of KM2
BRs by
UNESCO
1 Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve 1 5,520 1986 Part of Waynad, Nagarhole, Bandipur &
** 1st Madumalai, Nilambur, Silent Valley &
Siruvani Hills [TN, KL & KN]
2 Nanda Devi BR 2 5,860.69 1988 Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Almora distt. UK
3 Nokrek 3 820 1988 E, W & S distt. of Meghalaya
4 Manas 2837 1989 Assam distt. Kokrajhar, Bongaigoan,
Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup & Darang
5 Sunderbans 4 9,630 1989 Delta of Ganga & B’putra in WB
6 Gulf of Mannar 5 10,500 1989 Rameswaram Islands to Kanyakumari of TN
7 Great Nicobar 6 885 1989 Southern Most Island of AN
8 Simlipal 7 4,374 1994 Odisha – Mayurbhanj
9 Dibru– Saikhowa 765 1997 Assam – Dibrugarh & Tinsukia distt.
10 Dehang – Debang 5,111 1998 Arunachal – Upper Siang, W. Siang & Dibang
Valley
11 Pachmarhi 8 4,981 1999 MP – Betul, Hoshangabad & Chhindwara
12 Khangchendzonga 9 2,619 2000 Sikkim– N & W distt.
13 Agasthyamalai 10 3,500 2001 Kerela – Trivandrum, Kollam &
Pathanmthitta
Tamil Nadu – Thirunelveli & Kanyakumari
14 Achanakmar– Amarkantak 11 3,835 2005 MP – Anuppur, Dindori
CG – Bilaspur
15 Kachchh **Biggest 12,454 2008 Gujrat – Kachchh, Rajkot, Surendranagr &
Patan
16 Cold Desert 7,770 2009 Pin valley NP, Kibber WS, Chandratal &
Sarchu
17 Seshachalam 4,755 2010 Andhra → Seshachalam hill range of Eastern
Ghats,
18 Panna 12 2,998 2011 MP→ Panna & Chhattarpur distt.

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 Nilgiri BR Nanda Devi BR Sunderbans BR Gulf of Mannar BR
Area 5,520 sq. km 9,630 sq. km
States Karnataka, TN & Kerela Uttarakhand WB
Geograph Alt: 250m to 2,650m Nanda Devi NP lies at Swampy delta of R. 21 Islands with
y It forms an almost an elevation >3,500 m Ganga estuaries, beaches,
complete ring around MSL
the Nilgiri Plateau
Region Wyanad, Nagarhole NP, Distt. Chamoli, Almora,
Bandipur NP, Pithoragrh &
Mudumalai NP & WS Bageshwar
Hill slopes of Nilambur,
Niligiri Plateau, Silent
Valley NP & Siruvani
Hills
Vegetatio Dry Scrubs, Temperate Type HERITIERA FOMES→ forests of
n Dry & Moist Deciduous, Silver Weed & orchids Species of mangrove; nearshore env.,
Semi Evergreen & Wet like Latifolie & Common names Sea grasses
Evergreen Forests, Rhododendron include Sunderi  6 endemics +
Evergreen Sholas, endangered
grasslands & Swamps Mangrove

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 species
Animals EN Species– Nilgiri Tahr Snow Leopard, Black RBT, Roots of Marine Biodiversity
& Lion–Tailed Macaque Bear, Brown Bear, Mangrove→ Fish, SEA DUGON or SEA
Others: Elephant, Tiger, Musk deer, Snow cock, shrimp + 170+ Bird COW
Gaur, Sambar & Chital Eagle Species
Cheetal, Barking Deer
Tribal Badagas, Todas, Kotas,
Irullas, Kurumbas,
Paniyas, Adiyans,
Edanadan Chettis, Allar,
Malayan

Biodiversity Hotspots
 Norman Myers
 Defined acc. to their vegetation coz they are imp to determine primary productivity
 Criterion
o Species Endemism: Mist contain at least 1500 species of Vascular Plants as endemics
o Degree of Threat: Lost at least 70% of original habitat
 36 Biodiversity Hotspot
 Hottest Hot Spots
o Endemic Plants
o Endemic Vertebrates
o Endemic plants per 100sq. km
o Endemic Vertebrates per 100 sq. km
o Remaining Primary vegetation
 8 Hottest Hotspots
o Madagascar
o Philippines
o Sundaland [SEA + Borneo]
o Brazil Atlantic Forest
o Caribbean
o Indo Burma
o Western Ghats/Srilanka
o Eastern Arc & Coastal forest of Kenya + Tanzania [Somalia k Neeche ki do Countries] [Indian Ocean]
 Indian Biodiversity Hotspots
o Himalayas
o Indo-Burma: NE India [except Assam] + Andaman
o W. Ghats & Sri Lanka
o Sundaland: Nicobar + Indo Malay

World Heritage Site

 UNESCO World Heritage List
 Outstanding universal value
 First List in 1978
 Two Categories: Natural & Cultural
 10 Conditions
1. Masterpiece of Human Creative Genius
2. Important interchange of human Values

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 3. Unique cultural tradition, living or extinct
4. Outstanding Building Architecture
5. Outstanding Traditional Human Settlement
6. Directly associated with living Tradition
7. Exceptional natural Beauty & Aesthetic Importance
8. Represent Major Stage of Earth History
9. Significant ongoing Ecological & Biological process of evolution
10. Significant natural Habitat for conservation of Biodiversity
 CULTURAL
1. CH: The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement
(2016)
2. DEL: Humayun's Tomb, Delhi (1993)
3. Red Fort Complex (2007)
4. Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi (1993)
5. UP: Agra Fort (1983)
6. Taj Mahal (1983)
7. Fatehpur Sikri (1986)
8. RJ: Hill Forts of Rajasthan (2013)
9. Jaipur City, Rajasthan (2019)
10. The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur (2010)
11. GUJ: Dholavira: a Harappan City (2021)
12. Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat (2014)
13. Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park (2004)
14. Historic City of Ahmadabad (2017)
15. MH: Ajanta Caves (1983)
16. Elephanta Caves (1987)
17. Ellora Caves (1983)
18. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) (2004)
19. Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai (2018)
20.
21. Khajuraho Group of Monuments (1986)
22. Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (2003)
23. Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (1989)
24.
25.
26. Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar (2016)
27. Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya (2002)
28.
29. Churches and Convents of Goa (1986)
30. Great Living Chola Temples (1987,2004)
31. Group of Monuments at Hampi (1986)
32. Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram (1984)
33. Group of Monuments at Pattadakal (1987)
34. Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana (2021)
35. Mountain Railways of India (1999,2005,2008)
36. Sun Temple, Konârak (1984)

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