Island Erosion in India

Hey guys, we are back with another topic which can give you food for thought. We don’t post daily cause  scarcity of time. But whenever we post do follow it religiously.

Recently an uninhabited islands part of Lakshadweep named “parali 1” has vanished and has fully inundated under water . Besides “parali 1” which is a part of “Bangaram a toll”, other four Islands are also facing coastal erosion, parali 2 and 3 , Bangaram and Thinnakara.

Matter of worry is , this coastal erosion is not only confined to Lakshadweep and its Islands. It has also affected “largest Delta of world-sunderbans". There is constant threat on mangroves and other biodiversity of sunderbans.

Rising temperature and pollution is harming coral reeves of Lakshadweep, thus coastal erosion phenomenon has added more to their plight.

Regions for coastal erosion :-

Global warming and rising sea level being the first and foremost. Local reasons also play vital role in the coastal states of  India.

For e.g.-  In case of Lakshadweep, 2004 tsunami is also considered a culprit.

Besides this wave energy is also a main cause of coastal erosion.

Source :- Parth Solanki

Environmental Issues in India

India being a fastest growing economies of the world face “enormous uphill tasks” in saving natural resources . The development path adopted by India is neither sustainable nor equitable. And it is leading to widespread degradation of environment.

On the tip of iceberg of environmental issues facing India today are below.

                                        

(  (1) Emissions, Rain and Climate change :-

India releases the fifth largest amount of emissions and its stand on climate change is that our right to development is non-negotiable. Globally, climate change is expected to result in sea –level rise, which is serious threat to India considering it has 7,517 kilometer-long coastline.

More than 7 million people will be at risk due to sea expansion and could cost us 1,850 million rupees . Moreover, climate refuges from south Asia will also affect India. Around 75 million people of Bangladesh might be forced to take shelter in India. But more than that, it is the impact on the rains that will affect India the most. It will create havoc for Indian farmers and in turn affect Indian economy adversely. These impacts, in fact, are already showing up.

(2)    Land Degradation :-

Extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and recently the push for genetically modified crops have affected land fertility, in turn affecting production. So much that vegetables and fruits are found contaminated by heavy metals and pesticides.

  (3) Pollution of fresh water resources:-

All the major rivers including the mighty Ganga, Yamuna, Riva, Sutluj and Cauvery are polluted with sewage and industrial toxic waste .  The ground water is depleted contaminated leading to various diseases like cancer, skin ailments and water borne diseases. Millions spent on Ganga and Yamuna Action Plans have not given the desired results.

     (4) Deforestation:-

India has been busy planting trees, to provide timber and fuel wood and in some cases to earn money from selling carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism. The country now ranks second globally in terms of total land area plantation. Yet forest degradation in India are disappearing at a rate up to 2.7 percent per year. It could put India ahead of most other countries in terms deforestation. This has affected the livelihood of a large population of native forest residents.

(     (5) Unbridled urbanization:-

Unbridled urbanization has created mammoth cities that are heaving under the weight of human population. Resources are stretched and the demand is unending. Lack of livelihoods in rural areas, a declining agriculture is further pushing people to urban areas. The cities like Mumbai, not built to bear the pressure are falling apart with severe shortfall in basic amenities. As an example, 2/5^th of India`s urban population resided in 35 metropolitan cities.

Source:- Dr. Seema Javed, senior media officer, Greenpeace India 

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