Amendments proposed to the Forest Conservation Act

 What are the amendments proposed to the Forest Conservation Act and their implications?

On October 2, 2021, MoEFCC released a proposal to amend several aspects of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (FCA). 

In the Godavarman v Union of India case, the Supreme Court had in 1996 expanded the definition and scope of forest land to include all areas recorded as forest in any government record, irrespective of ownership, recognition and classification. Previously, the Act had applied largely to reserve forests and national parks. The court also expanded the definition of forests to encompass the “dictionary meaning of forests”, meaning that a forested patch would automatically become a “deemed forest” even if it is not notified as protected. The order was also to plantations in non-forest land.

The proposed amendments seem to change the Court’s definition of forest. The general thrust of the changes is to deregulate forest resources so that they can be exploited even more than now for the sake of ‘development’. The proposed key amendments are:

• All land acquired by the Railways and Roads Ministries prior to 1980 will be exempted from the Act. These Ministries will no longer need clearance for their projects, nor pay compensatory levies to build there.
• For individuals whose lands fall in the category of forest as defined by the Act and the Court Order, the amendment will allow “construction of structures for bona fide purposes’’ including residential units up to 250 sq m as a one-time relaxation.
• Defence projects near international borders will be exempted from forest clearance.
• Oil and natural gas extraction from forested lands will be permitted, but only if technologies such as Extended Reach Drilling are used.
• Levies for non-forestry purposes during the renewal of a lease will be scrapped, the argument being that the double levy at the time of awarding of the lease and the renewal is “not rational”.
• Strip plantations alongside roads that would fall under the Act will be exempted.

Environmentalists and activists have these concerns:

• The creation of exceptions to the requirement of forest clearances goes directly against the legal requirement that forest rights be recognized and the consent of the gram sabha be obtained before the conversion of a forest.
• The relaxation of forest rules will facilitate corporate ownership and the disappearance of large tracts of forests.
• With the exemption of forests on private land, many forests will disappear. For instance, 4% land in Uttarakhand falls under private forests.

Speech by PM Narendra Modi at UNFCCC COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow

Speech by PM  Narendra Modi at UNFCCC COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow on November 2, 2021

Friends,

Today I am representing amid you, the land which gave this mantra thousands of years ago-

सम्-गच्छ-ध्वम्,
सम्-व-दद्वम् ,
सम् वो मानसि जानताम्।

Today in the 21st century, this mantra has become more important, has become more relevant.

सम्-गच्छ-ध्वम् – That is, let’s move together सम्-व-दद्वम् – That is, let’s all interact togetherand सम् वो मनानसि जानताम् – That is, everyone’s minds should also be one.

When I first came to Paris for the Climate Summit, it was not my intention to add one promise to the many promises being made in the world. I came with a concern, for the whole of humanity. I came as a representative of a culture that gave the message of ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’ means that everyone should be happy.

And so, for me the event in Paris was not a summit, it was a sentiment, a commitment. And India was not making those promises to the world, but 125 crore Indians were making those promises to themselves.

And I am happy that a developing country like India, which is working to lift crores of people out of poverty, which is working day and night on the Ease of Living for crores of people, despite having 17% of the world’s population today, whose responsibility in emissions has been only 5%, still India has left no stone unturned to show that it has fulfilled its obligation.

Today the whole world believes that India is the only big economy, which has delivered in letter and spirit on the Paris Commitment. We are making every effort with determination, working hard, and showing results.

Today, when I have come among you, I have also brought India’s track record. My words are not just words, they are cheers of bright future for the future generations. Today India is at number four in the world in installed renewable energy capacity. India’s non-fossil fuel energy has increased by more than 25% in the last 7 years. And now it has reached 40% of our energy mix.

Passengers numbering more than the entire population of the world travel by Indian Railways every year. This huge railway system has set itself a target of making itself ‘Net Zero’ by 2030. This initiative alone will lead to a reduction of 60 million tonnes of emissions annually. Similarly, our massive LED bulb campaign is reducing emissions by 40 million tonnes annually. Today, India is working fast on many such initiatives with a strong will.

Along with this, India has also given institutional solutions to cooperate with the world at the international level. As a revolutionary step in solar power, we initiated the International Solar Alliance. We have created a coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure for climate adaptation. This is a sensitive and vital initiative to save crores of lives.

I would like to draw your attention to one more important topic. Today the world is recognizing that lifestyle has a big role in climate change. I propose to you today a One-Word Movement. This One-Word, in the context of climate, can become the basic foundation of One World. This word is  LIFE, that is, Lifestyle For Environment Today. There is a need for all of us to come together with collective participation to take Lifestyle For Environment (LIFE) forward as a campaign. This can become a mass movement of Environmentally Conscious Lifestyle. 

What is needed today is mindful and deliberate utilization, instead of mindless and destructive consumption. These movements together can set goals that can revolutionize many sectors such and diverse areas such as fishing, agriculture, wellness, dietary choices, packaging, housing, hospitality, tourism, clothing, fashion, water management, and energy.

These are topics where each of us has to make conscious choices every day. These daily choices of billions of people around the world will take the fight against climate change, billions of steps forward every day. And I consider it as a movement on every ground whether on economic grounds, on scientific grounds, on the basis of the experiences of the past century, it meets every criterion. This is the path of self-realization. This is the only way to benefit.

In the midst of this global brainstorming on climate change, on behalf of India, I would like to present five nectar elements, Panchamrit, to deal with this challenge:

1. India will reach its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030.
2. India will meet 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.
3. India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now onwards till 2030.
4. By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45%.
5. By the year 2070, India will achieve the target of Net Zero. 

These Panchamrits will be an unprecedented contribution of India to climate action.

We all know this truth that the promises made till date regarding climate finance have proved to be hollow. While we all are raising our ambitions on climate action, the world ambitions on climate finance cannot remain the same as they were at the time of the Paris Agreement. Today, when India has resolved to move forward with a new commitment and a new energy, the transfer of climate finance and low cost climate technologies becomes more important. India expects developed countries to provide climate finance of US$1 trillion at the earliest. Today it is necessary that, as we track the progress made in climate mitigation, we should also track climate finance. The proper justice would be that the countries which do not live up to their promises made on climate finance, must be pressured too.

Today India is moving forward on the subject of climate with great courage and great ambition. India also understands the suffering of all other developing countries, shares them, and will continue to express their expectations.

For many developing countries, climate change is looming large over their existence. We have to take big steps today to save the world. This is the need of the hour and this will also prove the relevance of this forum. I am confident that the decisions taken in Glasgow will save the future of our future generations, giving them the gift of a secure and prosperous life.

Speaker Sir, I took more time, I apologize to you, but I consider it as my duty to raise the voice of developing countries. That’s why I have emphasized on that too. I once again thank you very much.

2021 WMO Provisional State of the Global Climate 2021 Report

On October 31, 2021, the day of the opening of the COP 26 Climate Conference in Glasgow, UK, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released ‘The Provisional State of the Global Climate 2021 report.’

The key messages of the report on 2021 climate were:

Greenhouse Gases: 

• Atmospheric concentrations of the major greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, continued to increase in 2020 and 2021. The growth rate of all three greenhouse gases in 2020 was above the average for the last decade despite a 5.6% drop in fossil fuel CO2 emissions in 2020 due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Global warming: 

• Global mean temperature in 2021 (January to September) is around 1.08 ±0.13 °C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average and the year is likely to be between the 5th and 7th warmest year on record. 2021 is cooler than recent years owing to La Niña conditions early in the year. 

Sea level and Ocean: 

• The rate of global sea level rise has increased since satellite altimeter measurements began in 1993, reaching 4.4 mm/yr between 2013 and 2021. Global mean sea level reached a new record high in 2021. 
• Ocean heat content reached new record highs in 2019 and then 2020, the latest year for which a comprehensive analysis is available. Ocean warming rates show a particularly strong increase in the past two decades. 

Global Cryosphere:

• Changes in the global cryosphere in 2021 were consistent with recent multi-decadal trends, with below-normal Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover and end-of-summer Arctic sea ice area, negative mass balances on mountain glaciers and the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets, and near-normal Antarctic sea ice cover. 
• The summer heat wave in western North America took a toll on the region's mountain glaciers, with exceptional mass losses in the Cascade, southern Coast, and Rocky Mountains. Mass loss at some glaciers in southwestern British Columbia was the greatest in the instrumental record (1965-2021). 
• Greenland experienced an exceptional mid-August melt event which included temperatures above 0°C and rainfall at Summit Station, the highest point on the ice sheet. This is the first time that rain has been observed at Summit, and marks the third time in the last nine years that the Summit has experienced melting conditions. Ice core records indicate that only one such melt event occurred in the 20th century. 

Extreme Weather Events:

• Exceptional heatwaves affected western North America on several occasions during June and July. Lytton, in south-central British Columbia, reached 49.6 °C on 29 June, breaking the previous Canadian national record by 4.6 °C. 569 heat-related deaths were reported in British Columbia alone between 20 June and 29 July. 
• Death Valley, California reached 54.4 °C on 9 July, equalling a similar 2020 value as the highest recorded in the world since at least the 1930s. 
• Extreme heat affected the broader Mediterranean region on several occasions during the second half of the Northern Hemisphere summer. The most exceptional heat was in the second week of August. On 11 August, an agrometeorological station near Syracuse in Sicily reached 48.8 °C, a provisional European record. 
• The most significant hurricane of the North Atlantic season was Ida. Ida made landfall in Louisiana on 29 August with sustained 1-minute winds of 240 km/h, the equal-strongest landfall on record for the state, with major wind damage and storm surge inundation. The system continued on a northeast track over land with significant flooding, especially in the New York City area. In total, 72 direct and 43 indirect deaths were attributed to Ida in the US and Venezuela, with economic losses in the United States estimated at US$63.8 billion. 
• Extreme rainfall hit Henan Province of China from 17 to 21 July. On 20 July, the city of Zhengzhou received 201.9 mm of rainfall in one hour (a Chinese national record), 382 mm in 6 hours, and 720 mm for the event as a whole, more than its annual average. The city experienced extreme flash flooding with many buildings, roads and subways inundated. 302 deaths were attributed to the flooding, and economic losses of US$17.7 billion were reported. 
• Western Europe experienced some of its most severe flooding on record in mid-July. The worst-affected area was western Germany and eastern Belgium, where 100 to 150 mm fell over a wide area on 14-15 July over wet ground. The highest daily rainfall was 162.4 mm at Wipperfürth-Gardenau (Germany). Numerous rivers experienced extreme flooding, with several towns inundated, and there were also several landslides. 179 deaths were reported in Germany and 36 in Belgium, with economic losses in Germany exceeding US$20 billion.

India:

• The progress and withdrawal of the Indian Monsoon was delayed but overall Indian monsoon rainfall was close to average, with above-average falls in the west offset by below-average values in the northeast. During the course of the season, 529 deaths in India and 198 in Pakistan (as of 30 September) were attributed to flooding with further deaths in Bangladesh and Nepal6.
• The most severe cyclone of the North Indian Ocean season was Tauktae, which tracked north off the west coast of India, with a peak 3-minute sustained wind speed76 of 50-53 m/s, before making landfall in Gujarat on 17 May at slightly below peak intensity, the equal strongest known landfall in Gujarat. At least 144 deaths were reported in India and 4 in Pakistan77. 
• Later in the season, Cyclone Gulab crossed the eastern coast of India from the Bay of Bengal in late September; the remnant system crossed India before emerging and re-intensifying in the Arabian Sea, where it was renamed Shaheen. 
• Shaheen made landfall on 3 October on the northern Oman coast northwest of Muscat, the first cyclone since 1890 to make landfall in this area. Al Suwaiq recorded 294 mm rain in 24 hours, about three times the region’s annual average. 39 deaths were reported across India, Pakistan, Oman and Iran, mostly from flooding.

2021 World Population Data Sheet Released

The 2021 World Population Data Sheet released by the US Population Reference Bureau in August 2021 gives these messages:

• World population in mid-2021 is estimated to be 7.8 billion.
• While COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way we live and work in the short-term, it will be years before we have a full understanding of the pandemic’s longer-term impact on populations.
• COVID-19 is likely the cause of an increase in crude death rates in some countries around the world and a dip in life expectancy in the United States. 
• While the pandemic’s impact on fertility rates is still largely unknown, the global population is on course to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, a nearly 24% increase over 2020.

• India is projected to have the greatest absolute increase in population size of any country between 2021 and 2050, rising nearly 246 million to 1.64 billion.
• China, Thailand, and Ukraine are among 39 countries and territories projected to have smaller populations by 2050.
• Globally, the total fertility rate dropped from 3.2 in 1990 to 2.3 in 2020. But wide variations can be found across regions, ranging from 4.7 in sub-Saharan Africa to 1.3 in East Asia and Southern Europe.
• Global life expectancy at birth is 75 years for women and 71 years for men.

First UN Food Systems Summit

The UN hosted the inaugural Food Systems Summit on September 23, 2021, uniting global leaders in a drive to find novel ways to produce healthy fare for the world’s growing population without harming the planet. It was a virtual held during the UN General Assembly in New York. The summit brought together governments, businesses, farmers, indigenous peoples, youth, academics and citizens to produce a detailed roadmap to a world where good food is affordable and accessible and produced with minimal damage to the natural systems that sustain life on Earth. 

The UN Food Systems Summit saw over 51,000 people tuned in from 193 countries, all ready to tackle global hunger, climate change and biodiversity loss for true food systems transformation.

Over the previous 18 months, the Summit had brought together all UN Member States and constituencies around the world – including thousands of youth, food producers, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, researchers, private sector, and the UN system – to bring about tangible, positive changes to the world’s food systems. As a people’s summit and a solutions summit, it recognized that everyone, everywhere must take action and work together to transform the way the world produces, consumes, and thinks about food.

Five action areas emerged through the process as the primary areas to accelerate action in order to deliver on the 2030 Agenda through food systems:

• Nourish All People
• Boost Nature-Based Solutions of Production
• Build Resilience to Vulnerabilities, Shocks, and Stresses
• Advance Equitable Livelihoods, Decent Work, & Empowered Communities 
• Means of Implementation

The first-ever UN Food Systems Summit saw nearly 300 commitments from hundreds of thousands of people from around the world and across all constituencies to accelerate action and to transform food systems. On behalf of India, NITI Aayog submitted a paper on National Pathways for Food Systems Transformation. Many Indian NGOs and other groups have submitted their commitments to the Registry.

The Economics of Biodiversity: The Das Gupta Review

The UK Government commissioned Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta of the University of Cambridge, to lead an independent, global Review on the Economics of Biodiversity. The Review was released in early 2021. The key messages of the Review were: 

• Our economies, livelihoods and well-being all depend on our most precious asset: Nature. Biodiversity enables Nature to be productive, resilient and adaptable.
• We have collectively failed to engage with Nature sustainably, to the extent that our demands far exceed its capacity to supply us with the goods and services we all rely on. Estimates show that between 1992 and 2014, produced capital per person doubled, and human capital per person increased by about 13% globally; but the stock of natural capital per person declined by nearly 40%.
• Our unsustainable engagement with Nature is endangering the prosperity of current and future generations. 
• Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Current extinction rates, for example, are around 100 to 1000 times higher than the baseline rate, and they are increasing.
• At the heart of the problem lies deep-rooted, widespread institutional failure. Nature’s worth to society – the true value of the various goods and services it provides – is not reflected in market prices because much of it is open to all at no monetary charge. These pricing distortions have led us to invest relatively more in other assets, such as produced capital, and underinvest in our natural assets.
• The solution starts with understanding and accepting a simple truth: our economies are embedded within Nature, not external to it. While most models of economic growth and development recognize that Nature is capable only of producing a finite flow of goods and services, the focus has been to show that technological progress can, in principle, overcome that exhaustibility. This is to imagine that, ultimately, humanity is ‘external’ to Nature. 
• The Review develops the economics of biodiversity on the understanding that we – and our economies – are ‘embedded’ within Nature, not external to it. 
• We need to change how we think, act and measure success. We should:
• Ensure that our demands on Nature do not exceed its supply, and that we increase Nature’s supply relative to its current level.
• Change our measures of economic success to guide us on a more sustainable path. Introducing natural capital into national accounting systems would be a critical step towards making inclusive wealth our measure of progress.
• Transform our institutions and systems – in particular our finance and education systems – to enable these changes and sustain them for future generations.
• Transformative change is possible – we and our descendants deserve nothing less.

Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis: UNICEF Report

In late August 2021, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a report entitled “The Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis”. The report examines the impact of the rapidly deteriorating global climate on children.

Here are the key messages of the report:

The climate crisis is the defining human and child’s rights challenge of this generation, and is already having a devastating impact on the well-being of children globally. We are up against, and crossing, key planetary boundaries. And as a result, the climate crisis is creating a child’s rights crisis. 

• A billion children across the world are at “extremely high risk” from the impacts of climate change.
• 820 million children (over one third of children globally) are currently highly exposed to heatwaves. 
• 400 million children (nearly 1 in 6 children globally) are currently highly exposed to cyclones. 
• 330 million children (1 in 7 children globally) are currently highly exposed to riverine flooding. 
• 240 million children (1 in 10 children globally) are currently highly exposed to coastal flooding. 
• 920 million children (over one-third of children globally) are currently highly exposed to water scarcity 
• 600 million children (over 1 in 4 children globally) are currently highly exposed to vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue, among others 
• 2 billion children (almost 90% of children globally) are currently highly exposed to severe air pollution. 
• 815 million children (over one-third of children globally) are currently highly exposed to lead pollution due to exposures in contaminated air, water, soil and food. 

Millions of children live in areas that experience multiple, overlapping climate and environmental hazards:

• 330 million children are exposed to at least 5 of these overlapping climate and environmental hazards, shocks and stresses. 
• 80 million children are exposed to at least 6 of these overlapping climate and environmental hazards, shocks and stresses.

Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI)

This report provides the first comprehensive view of children’s exposure and vulnerability to the impacts of climate change through the Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI). The CCRI is structured according to two central pillars: Pillar (1) Exposure to climate and environmental hazards, shocks and stresses; 

Pillar (2) Child vulnerability. Across the two categories, the CCRI brings 57 variables together to measure risk across every country and region.

Globally, approximately 1 billion children (nearly half of the world’s children) live in extremely high-risk countries. Out of the countries assessed, here are some of the country ranks (Rank 1 extremely high-risk to Rank 163 the least risk):

1. Central African Republic

2. Chad

14. Pakistan

15. Afghanistan

15. Bangladesh 

26. India

40. China

61. Sri Lanka

80. US

90. Russia

117. Canada

154. Norway

163. Iceland

The highest-risk places on Earth contribute least to the causes of climate change – the 33 extremely high-risk countries emit less than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions The 10 most extremely high-risk countries emit only 0.5% of global emissions.

Hope 

While the outlook is dire, there is room for optimism and hope. We can reimagine an environment fit for children. One of the biggest reasons for hope is the power of children and young people. Listening and responding to ALL children and young people’s perspectives on climate change is critical. COVID-19 has added a new dimension to this challenge, but the recovery process is also an opportunity to make the changes that are necessary.

Achieving an environment fit for children will require a whole-of-society response: 

• Increase investment in climate adaptation and resilience in key services for children. To protect children, communities and the most vulnerable from the worst impacts of the already changing climate, critical services must be adapted, including water, sanitation and hygiene systems, health and education services. 
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis, comprehensive and urgent action is required. Countries must cut their emissions by at least 45% (compared to 2010 levels) by 2030 to keep warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. 
• Provide children with climate education and greens skills, critical for their adaptation to and preparation for the effects of climate change. Children and young people will face the full devastating consequences of the climate crisis and water insecurity, yet they are the least responsible. We have a duty to all young people and future generations. 
• Include young people in all national, regional and international climate negotiations and decisions, including at COP26. Children and young people must be included in all climate-related decision making. 
• Ensure the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is green, low-carbon and inclusive, so that the capacity of future generations to address and respond to the climate crisis is not compromised.