My Message For The Green Soldiers/ Activists Working For Old-Growth Trees Protection

Dear Green Soldiers/ Activists Working For “Old Growth Trees Protection”, 

Namaste (Regard) From India. 

First of all hearty thanks for inviting me for my views to protect old growth trees and my Red Tape Movement. 

Dear green soldiers, World is facing the impacts of anthropogenic climate change. Rising extreme heat is a major health issue in urban areas around the world. Cities in India are facing severe heat due to the “urban heat island effect”. It is a growing problem in the warming world due to the excess emission of greenhouse gases & depleting trees & ecosystems. 

Exposure to heat leads to fatal diseases like heat stroke, extreme dehydration, diarrhoea and chronic diseases of lungs, heart and kidneys. Animals and birds are also losing their lives due to extreme heat. 

But, there is a simple way to avoid this heat effect: protect and plant more trees. Having trees is not only good for the environment, but they are very important to protect our life and biodiversity. We can’t imagine our future without trees. 

According to a new study published in the “International Journal of Environmental Health Research” (Volume 30, 2020 – Issue 2), just spending 20 minutes in a park—even if you don’t exercise there—is enough to improve your health because trees are oxygen banks, source of antiviral Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and sink of Carbon Dioxide. A study on lower COVID-19 mortality in Italy’s forested areas by Valentina Roviello & Giovanni N. Roviello, published in Environmental Chemistry Letters on 2021-02-14, explains a surprising role of immunoprotection by the Mediterranean trees. In southern Italy, the Mediterranean trees played a protective role and reduced the graph of Covid-19 cases.

But, despite global and local campaigns and efforts, the green cover is not improving very fast. British Columbia is facing rapid deforestation of old growth trees. This is a worrying situation for both the present and the future. I am very shocked to see the photos of deforested lands of British Columbia and stumps of old growth trees. Forests are one of the first lines of defense of the earth against climate change. These are extremely important. Climate change will change global tree coverage. 

If we do not take concrete steps at the grassroots level, by 2050, the global tree canopy potential could be reduced by about 223 million hectares, causing maximum losses in tropical regions. 

Trees are working selflessly for the betterment of human beings. USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) scientists at the forest service Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) have found that every $1 spent on planting and caring for community trees yields two to five times that investment. 

If we want to keep the global average temperature rise below our 2°C target, we need to increase global forest cover, reduce the use of fossil fuel-based energy to zero, and increase the production of renewable energy. 

Taking care of already existing trees to increase forest cover, reducing the inequality of tree canopy through plantation and increasing tree canopy equity should be our priority. 

Plantations are always young forests. Such forests do not contain the type of growth, soil or wildlife which is usually seen in old-growth, natural forest ecosystems. The older the trees, the greater the role they can play in environmental balance and biodiversity conservation. Old growth trees can store a significant amount of carbon from the atmosphere and protect all organisms from climate change and global warming. We should also take care of our existing trees as we take care of seniors in our family.

Creating a better environment for all living beings on this earth is not only the right, but also the duty of humans. 

The Anti-deforestation Red Tape Movement is organised to take an oath to save the existing trees, old growth trees and planted trees. 

Origin Of Red Tape Movement

I started the Red Tape Movement in 2008 from Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh province as a strictly non-violent and peaceful anti-deforestation awareness movement to save trees and biodiversity, when I was posted as the District Savings Officer of District Etawah (Uttar Pradesh, India), on June 5, 2008. I started this movement apart from my government officer job. Red Tape Movement work for the Constitution’s fundamental duty under article 51A(G) which clearly imposes duty on every citizen to protect environment; this article says that “It shall be duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.”

Under this movement, we select/ choose a village, school or community place and do a plantation drive, tie red tapes on existing tree trunks with the help of local people/ students and administer an “oath to save nature”. We deliver the message that cutting trees will be lethal for us and our generations to come. Since 2008, we have tied red tapes on thousands of trees and made people aware of climate change and the importance of nature conservation. The Red Tape Movement is working actively to achieve the UN’s SDG 13. 

This year the Red Tape Movement is running a “Saplings to Trees’ ‘ awareness drive in basic primary schools in Uttar Pradesh province of India in cooperation with Teachers Club Uttar Pradesh and Mission Shikshan Samvad. The “Saplings to Trees’ ‘ drive will help the saplings to grow into trees and the transformation of schools to carbon neutral. 

Steps To Be Followed In Red Tape Movement 

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Tie Red Tape on an existing tree trunk. Red is the sign of danger. Through this we give the message that to cut a tree is dangerous for our future. 

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Take an oath or pledge to save our depleting ecosystem (Nature). 

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Oath or Pledge For Nature. 

4- Make aware people about the importance of trees, ecosystem, & Nature. Discussion should involve local people. 

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Do plantations for Nature. 

6-  Sit under the trees and/ or stick to the trees for a non-violent, peaceful, and effective “Gandhian” way of protest against the  organization or government to stop deforestation or logging.

7- If the government or an organization invites or calls for discussion then accept it and put your reasonable and scientific view or demand before the authority. During discussion it would be better to tell the authority that peaceful protest will continue till deforestation or logging is not stopped. 

Note: Step number 6 & 7 have never been taken by the Red Tape Movement. 

We are at a tipping point. Now, we can’t live with greenhouse gases. The 21st Century is the “Century Of Climate Change”. We need trees to sink this increasing carbon dioxide. Anything less than this is out of line. 

We, humans, should continuously try to make this world better for all living beings so that whenever we leave this earth forever, then we should not regret at all that while living on this earth, we did not take any step to save nature; while we could do that and could make planet earth habitable for generations to come. Peoples’ participation at a grass-roots level is a must for winning the war against climate change. “United” we can save earth from Climate Change. 

Thank you. 

Prabhat Misra 

Twitter: @PrabhatMisra, 

            @RedTapeMovement

Plastic Pollution In Oceans

Rivers & other freshwater bodies are the lifeline of a nation & are homes of aquatic biodiversity too, but these water bodies are getting polluted due to human activities. Plastic is one of the main pollutants, which the rivers carry from land to sea. Plastics and microplastics are now ubiquitous in our natural environment, becoming part of the Earth’s fossil record and a marker of the Anthropocene. Plastic pollution has given birth to a new kind of marine microbial habitat called the “plastisphere“.

Plastic was originally invented in the second half of the 19th century, as a cheaper alternative to ivory, which saved elephants from extinction.

It is estimated that global Commercial production of plastics that started around the 1950’s has gained exceptional growth, and reached 393 million metric tonnes of global annual production equivalent to global human biomass, in plastic, every single year. At the present rate of growth, plastics production is estimated to double within the next 20 years.

The global plastic market size was valued at USD 579.7 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4% from 2021 to 2028.

Plastic pollution is one of the most challenging issues our oceans face today. At least 690 species have encountered marine debris. 92% of the individual encounters with marine debris related to encounters with plastic. At least 17% of impacted species listed on the IUCN Red List as near threatened or above.

Humans are consuming about 2000 tiny pieces of plastic every week. That’s approximately 5 grams of plastic every week (equivalent weight of a credit card), approximately 21 grams a month, and over 250 grams a year.

There are more than 100,000 rivers on Earth. But only 1% of rivers (about1000 rivers) account for 80% of global annual emissions. These rivers pour plastics between 0.8 million and 2.7 million metric tons per year, with small urban rivers among the most polluting. The remaining 20% of plastic emissions are distributed over 30,000 rivers. Plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments.

The majority of plastic emissions is found in those countries that are emerging economies with sufficient wealth to consume a lot of plastic but that don’t have adequate waste management systems to collect the trash & recycle it.

The growing population, coupled with the rapid urbanization and industrialization in emerging economies, is responsible for an increase in “plastic based product production” to fulfill increasing needs for infrastructure (construction, automotive, electrical & electronics industries, agriculture, packaging, utility, consumer goods, and medical sector). Asia Pacific dominated the plastic market with a share of 44.6% in 2020. Plastics have 85% less specific gravity compared to metals. When used in the automotive and construction industries, they enable approximately 80% weight savings and 30% to 50% cost savings in individual components.

Rivers running through dense coastal cities in emerging economies are notorious plastic pollution hotspots while rural rivers in the same countries generally emit only very little plastic into the oceans.

According to “The price tag of plastic pollution- an economic assessment of river plastic”, the economic impact on coastal communities is estimated to be up to USD 6 to USD 19 billion for 87 coastal countries in 2018.

Based on the waste density in rivers, it is identified that 19 Asian countries account for 82% of global plastic waste flowing from land into oceans. The economic impact of marine plastic pollution in these countries constitutes 86% of the global costs.

Plastics are magnets for toxic chemicals, which, when consumed by the fish we eat, potentially impacts the health of the billions of people who rely on these seafood as their primary source of protein.

If current trends are allowed to continue, the amount of plastic entering the oceans is set to double in the next ten years; annual emissions may reach up to 53 million metric tons per year by 2030.

Controlling The Plastic Pollution 

Protecting ocean ecosystems from plastic pollution is among the main environmental imperatives of our time. Here are some suggestions.

1- Prevent plastic upstream. Prevent all plastic from entering the rivers. Upstream solutions are clearly the more structural way to go and are required to control few percent of the problem. It’s the fastest and most cost-effective way to plug the leaks.

2- Use Interceptors for intercepting trash in rivers & open drains. Interceptors can rapidly reduce the amount of plastic that will flow into the oceans via rivers & their tributaries.

3- Ban single-use plastic or single-use packaging to be made of biodegradable materials that are rapidly and fully degradable.

4- Use of high-quality waste management, financial incentives to drive collection, and new recycling methods.

How to control plastic pollution in Mahananda river?

On 28th March 2022, UNEP’s former Executive Director Mr Erik Solheim visited Mahananda riverbank, in Siliguri, to raise awareness among the people to make the river pollution-free, especially from plastic. Mahananda, While passing through Siliguri, gets polluted from the pollutants carried by its tributaries, people residing on its riverbank, open drains, untreated effluents, sand mining, carcasses of animals, and dumping of solid waste; river pollution have negatively impacted Mahananda ecology and the survival of dolphins and other riverine species. But, this river can be made free from plastic pollution, with the help of people, administration, Siliguri Municipal Corporation, and political will in the same way as Mithi river in Mumbai. Finland’s RiverRecycle company is successfully making the Mithi river free from plastics.

Mr Erik Solheim also given “Mantra of 3 R“, i.e., Refuse, Reduce & Recycle to clean river Mahananda & other rivers too. 

On March 2, 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly or the UNEA at its fifth session voted to frame a global plastic treaty by 2024. Its aim was to create an international legally-binding instrument to end plastic pollution.

Being human it’s our duty to make water bodies and aquatic ecosystems plastic-free, for current generation and future generations to come. Let us act “For Nature” & “Ecosystem Restoration”.

How A Barren Land Was Transformed Into A Micro-Forest By A Lady Officer

Termites, Water shortage and humus-less ravine soil were main challenges but the continuous hard efforts by Ms Neha Sharma ( an I.A.S. Officer & the then District Magistrate of Firozabad), her team of officers & Mr Rambabu ( a farmer & grassroot caretaker of the project) helped in transformation of a barren land into a micro- forest. It was really a challenging dream project of Ms Neha Sharma. Initially, forest department was not very hopeful but dedication and determination of Ms Sharma made this project successful. Biodiversity is flourishing, successfully. A must visit place. This flourishing micro-forest is located on the Yamuna Riverbank near Agra-Lucknow expressway in Block & District Firozabad (Uttar Pradesh, India). Idea, Dedication & Determination are essential for the success.

Now, a Saint Pagal Das Baba, his followers and Mr Rambabu are looking after this place.

On December 07, 2021 former head of UNEP Mr Erik Solheim appreciated the successful efforts on his Twitter account.

Message To Humans For Nature

At present, only one species has dominated the Earth, i.e., Homo sapiens or Humans. The future of the whole world is being decided by humans. Humans are using their dominating global status & power only for the benefit of humankind, not for other species. Humans are not serious about the damage caused to the environment due to their activities. Humans remain unaware even knowing that their own existence is in danger along with other living beings in the near future, due to climate change and other destructive anthropogenic impacts. Humans should stop this foolish and lethal way of life on Earth. This planet is not solely for humans but also equally belongs to other living beings; we humans can’t decide or limit the future of the whole biodiversity and environment. We all are on the verge of “worst future”, which we (humans) have been continuously making for self pleasure, since the first industrial revolution.

Video: Now, the newly elected Village Council Aasayi Headman Mr Ravindra Dixit has started revival of ponds, forests & biodiversity. Great Climate Action by him, For Nature.

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Pics: Act For Nature, For Better Future.

We will have to change it to tackle this coming “existence crisis” for the whole biodiversity. Our efforts will only be completed by acting, working and living “with nature” and “conserving nature”. We have to choose the path of eco-friendly lifestyle and sustainable development and create a world in which all living beings have safe habitats and workplaces (ecological niche).

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Pic: Respect The Nature.

Our climate action should be inclusive to successfully protect the whole biodiversity from the climate crisis. We humans have to bear responsibility to protect biodiversity and the environment; without this our motto to work “for nature” will not be successful. For example, every year world governments do plantations to increase green area, to save depleting biodiversity and for the wellness of citizens but the success rate of transformation of saplings to trees remains low. This is due to the lack of collective responsibility and duty “for nature” by both citizens and the government. So, if governments ensure citizens’ participation in plantation and “care after plantation”, the results would be very positive. Citizens’ participation would help the governments to create a carbon neutral and biodiversity friendly society. Such strategy is the need of the hour in all nations or in all parts of a nation. Without involvement of citizens, all actions for a better and sustainable earth would be in vain.

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Pics: Both, plantation & care after plantation, are equally important to increase green cover & biodiversity. #ForNature

All living beings are on a cosmic journey of the universe through planet Earth, with a limited time to live on Earth. In this stipulated time, it should be our responsibility to make the Earth a good and habitable home so that we can give a better future to our coming generations and whole biodiversity.

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Behave like a friend, son, daughter of Nature; Nature nurture us.

Care for Nature is the responsibility of Homo sapiens, only; we will have to fulfill this responsibility. We should continuously try to make this world better for all living beings so that whenever we leave this earth forever, then we should not regret at all that while living on this earth, we did not take any step to save nature; while we could did that and could make planet earth habitable for generations to come.

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Pics: Our efforts, “For Nature”, should be impactful and long lasting.

Behave like a friend, son, & daughter of Nature; Nature nurture us. We are existing because Nature is existing. Without Nature, Earth will be a lifeless planet like millions of millions planets are existing in Universe. Our duty and deed should be like an intelligent species of Earth, as we humans are. Our anthropogenic impacts should be ecofriendly and sustainable, not destructive. Only then we may dream about a better future.

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Pic: Stop Blindness Towards Nature; Save Nature.

Note: In this article, pics, video and views are my own. – Prabhat Misra

Milkweeds, Biodiversity Conservation And Climate Change

 Milkweeds belongs to genus Asclepias. These are herbaceous, perennial, and flowering plants. The genus contains over 200 species.

Flowers of milkweeds attract butterflies, bees, and other pollinators . A study of milkweeds by Patrick Dailey of Lewis and Clark Community College, Godfrey, Ill., reported an astonishing 457 different kinds of insects found on milkweed plants.

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In the late summer, monarch caterpillars, milkweed aphids, and large milkweed bugs can be seen feeding on the milkweed plant. All of them dine on the milky plant juices that give the plant its name. Milkweed bugs feed mainly on seeds inside milkweed pods. Adult milkweed bugs occasionally take nectar from milkweed flowers or suck sap from the milkweed plant.

After mating, the females deposit eggs in crevices between the milkweed seed pods. The eggs develop for four days before tiny nymphs hatch.

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The nymphs grow and molt through five instars, or developmental stages, over a month. Like all true bugs, large milkweed bugs also undergo incomplete or simple metamorphosis.

Milkweed plant contains nasty toxins called cardenolides. Cardenolides are noxious because they bind to key parts of sodium pumps and prevent them from doing their job. This makes animal hearts beat stronger and stronger, often ending in cardiac arrest. 

These insects have evolved to take in the toxin glycoside that exists within the plant’s juices, which makes them poisonous to anything that might want to eat them. 

Many of the insects that feed on milkweed or other cardenolide-producing plants have mutations in at least one of the genes that carry instructions for making sodium pumps and making it harder for cardenolides to bind to it. 

Thus these bugs get protection from milkweed juice which makes these insects poisonous to birds and other creatures that would eat it.

Milkweed is the host for the monarch butterfly and also the only food source for caterpillars of Monarchs; such dependency makes this relationship ecologically important and may help to sustain the populations of this iconic insect. 

Milkweed plants harboring aphids provide a food source (honeydew) for parasitoid wasps, which attack European Corn Borer insect eggs and improve corn yield. 

Climate Change, specially global warming, will have adverse impact on milkweed dependent insects specially monarch butterflies. Such environmental conditions will increase cardenolide levels in milkweeds, and can set up an “Ecological Trap” for monarchs.

As this plant senses rising temperatures, it produces more cardenolides, perhaps as a defense mechanism. But, increase in cardenolides may be lethal to insects which are solely depends upon milkweeds for their food.

Source: YouTube

Milkweeds: A Conservation Practitioner’s Guide is available HERE.

Are trees helpful in controlling Covid19?

World is facing Covid19; it is caused by the coronavirus SARSCoV2. Coronaviruses (CoVs) are single-stranded positive sense RNA viruses and were first reported in 1960. In humans, only seven types of human-CoVs (HCoVs) exist that can infect humans; these are- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-CoV (MERS-CoV), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoV (SARS-CoV), HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-HKU1, and latest novel SARS-CoV-2. CoVs can infect mammals including humans and cause respiratory, hepatic, neurological and gastrointestinal diseases. SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) is destroying the world economy, social life, and human lives with an increased mortality rate each day. 

Plants are source of antiviral bioactive compounds 

There is no specific drug currently available to cure COVID-19 infection. But, there are many medicinal plants which have bioactive molecules having antiviral properties. Bioactive compounds of several medicinal plants have excellent ability to work against coronaviruses because these compounds are known to act on viral protein targets namely ACE-2 (Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2) receptor, 3CLpro (3 Chymotrypsin-like protease), PLpro (Papain-like protease), RdRp (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase) enzyme and other known factors through which coronaviruses gain entry into the human cell and complete the life cycle. The bioactive compounds of these medicinal plants are a ray of hope to develop drugs against SARS-CoV-2 infection. 

The antiviral bioactive compounds includes coumarin, saponins, glycosides, phenols, tannins, flavonoids, carotenes, lycorine, quercetine, polyphenols, terpenes, sterols, chlorogenic acid, mangiferin, astragalin, trifolin, sinigrin, β-sitosterol, hesperetin, vitamin C, isoquinoline alkaloids, emodin, alliin, allicin, ajoenes, vinyldithiins, catechol, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, caffeine, catechin, pyrogallol, gallic acids, resveratrol, rutin, caffeic acid, Tomentin E, cinnamon amides etc. 

These antiviral bioactive compounds have been reported from many plants especially Radix bupleuri, Lycoris radiata, Artemisia annua, Pyrrosia lingua, Isatis indigotica,  Torreya nucifera, Lindera aggregate, Rheum palmatum, Polygonum multiflorum, Cerasus avium, Alcea digitata, Citrus aurantium, Allium sativum, Quercus infectoria, Onopordum acanthium, Berberis integerrima, Crataegus microphylla, Andrographis paniculata, Alnus japonica, Psoralea corylifolia, Paulownia tomentosa, Tribulus terrestris, Sambucus nigra, Eleutherococcus senticosus, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Acacia arabica, Ocimum sanctum, Ocimum basilicum, Theobroma cacao, Pelargonium sidoides, Taraxacum officinale, Illicium oligandrum, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Angelica keiskei, Polygala karensium, Calophyllum brasiliense, Cimicifuga foetida, Boerhavia diffusa, Terminalia chebula, Caesalpinia sappan etc. 

Role of trees in controlling Covid-19 cases in South Italy, in the year 2020

In northern Italy, particulate matter (PM) played important role in spreading Covid-19 where COVID-19 disease provoked the highest number of victims in the country, as well as one of the most worrying situations worldwide, and where PM concentrations of ≥ 50 µg/m3 as PM10 daily averages were often recorded. Fine PM penetrating into the respiratory system can easily provoke inflammatory responses as well as cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, thus resulting into respiratory distress. 

In a recent study on lower COVID-19 mortality in Italy’s forested areas explains a surprising role of immunoprotection by Mediterranean plants. In southern Italy, the  Mediterranean plants played a protective role and reduced the graph of Covid-19 cases. In South Italy, the forested areas mitigated air pollution by intercepting PM onto plant surfaces, and bolstered the human immune system by emitting bioactive volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These trees act as unique sources of useful metabolites and volatile organic compounds (VOC) displaying positive effects against various pathogens, including viruses and positive effects on the human immune system. Persons living in southern Italy received positive effects on the human immune system. Study found that Mediterranean trees Laurus nobilis, Quercus ilex, Olea europaea, Daucus virgatus, Onopordum illyricum, Pistacia vera, and Nerium oleander played important roles in releasing VOCs.  Important VOC reported from South Italy’s forests were Borneol, bornyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, terpineol, α-pinene, β-caryophyllene, β-pinene, oleuropein, lauricides, ethyl acetate, methanol extracts, monoterpenes, sesquiterpene, Kaempferol, flavonoids, phenolics, sabinene and megastigmanes.

It was also found that the pandemic’s severity was generally lower in southern regions, especially those areas which have more than 0.3 hectares of forest per capita. The lowest mortality rates were found in southern Italy, mainly in regions like Molise (0.007%) and Basilicata (0.005%) where the forest per capita ratio is higher than 0.5 Ha/person. 

Mild climate, higher average sunlight exposure and the Mediterranean diet, which includes the consumption of foods containing polyphenols and natural compounds with potential antiviral activities, all contributed to the defence against the pandemic. 

According to the study, the evergreen Mediterranean forests and shrubland plants have protected the southern population by emission of immuno-modulating VOCs and provision of dietary sources of bioactive compounds. 

Antiviral Bioactive Compounds From Indian Trees 

Many Indian flora have shown antiviral bioactive compounds and VOCs; some of the important one are: Aglai roxburghiana, Vicoa indica, Acacia auriculiformis, Cassia fistula, Olex polyama, Senecio tenuifolius, Zingiber capitatum, Phyllanthus amarus, Picrorhiza kurroa, Adansonia digitata, Aloe vera, Andrographis paniculata, Aglai odorata, Atlantia, Curcuma longa, Acacia nilotica, Acacia tortilis, Alpinia galanga, Ailanthus allisima, Anisomeles indica, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Agrimonia eupatoria, Alpinia officinarium, Avicennia marina, Azadirachta indica, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Aristolochia bracteolate, Alstonia scholaris, Cassia fistula, Eucalyptus sp., Ficus benghalensis, Ficus religiosa, Mangifera indica, Melia azedirach, Syzygium jambolanum, Psidium guajava, Morus alba, Lantana camara, Hibiscus rosasinensis, Ficus glomerata, Dalbergia sissoo, Casuarina equisetifolia, Adhatoda vasica & Aegle marmelos. 

Several Indian mangrove plants including Ceriops decandra, Excocaria agallocha, Rhizophora lamarckii, Rhizophora mucoranata, Rhizophora spiculata have been reported to exhibit potent antiviral activity.

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So, Protect Earth’s Biodiversity

Trees release life saving antiviral bioactive compounds and VOCs. Foliar emission of VOC has been reported in many plants of angiosperms, bryophytes, ferns and gymnosperms (conifers). But anthropogenic activities are destroying the ecosystem of Earth, forests and biodiversity.

According to Global Forest Watch, the tropics lost 12.2 million hectares of tree cover in 2020. Of that, 4.2 million hectares, an area the size of the Netherlands, humid tropical primary forests are important for carbon storage and biodiversity. The resulting carbon emissions from this primary forest loss are equivalent to the annual emissions of 570 million cars (2.64 Gt CO2), more than double the number of cars on the road in the United States. Primary forest loss was 12% higher in 2020 than the year before and the second year in a row that primary forest loss worsened in the tropics. This is really worrisome and not good for our future. Forests are our hope for life; land biodiversity totally depends on forests. Forests are biosequesters of carbon dioxide and climate change warriors. Save them. 

Nature loves you and works for you; it is our fundamental duty and fundamental right to work for nature and a better earth, where all biodiversity lives with love, peace and unity. Trees are the soul and source of life on Earth, save trees.

Note: This article has been written only to cause awareness.

Why To transform into Carbon Neutral Cities?

We are living in the ‘Century Of Anthropogenic Climate Change’, a change caused by humans and not by Nature. There is a complete ‘Climate Emergency’. Environment, Biodiversity and habitats are getting destroyed by human activities. Earth is warming. Our activities are resulting in tropical storms, typhoons, flood, drought, ocean warming, rising ocean water, pandemics, health issues, global warming, climate change, poverty, food insecurity, pollution, deforestation, pests challenges and loss of agriculture production.

In Nature, creation has no sound but destruction has both sound and impact as well. It is a fact that Earth is warming and we are living in the ‘century of climate change’. Due to global warming, vector borne diseases will spread at a faster rate. In the near future, many more diseases like COVID19 may spread as pandemics. So, our preparedness to control environmental degradation and emerging diseases will decide our future. We can save our future generations from such adversities by making a ‘livable planet for all’. If we have healthy ecosystems, forests, oceans, biodiversity, soil, land water and groundwater systems then we may think about a secured future for our generations to come. For all this, we have to reduce our greed towards nature. It’s our responsibility to take steps to make Earth a livable planet.

The cities are changing and spreading very fast; these are becoming unsustainable for the surrounding ecosystems. Cities are one of the causes of environmental degradation. Cities are on average less efficient as they cause more pressure on forests and the environment and will enhance degradation of the environment, deforestation, and biodiversity loss which finally will enhance global warming and climate change.

Ecological Challenges in Cities

Earlier, the balance among sustainability, ecosystem, biodiversity and cities was maintained due to ponds, wetlands, lakes, trees, forests ecosystems, biodiversity, so the growth rate of population, rivers, drainage system, least pollution, slow urbanisation, slow industrialization, sustainable development, eco-friendly transportation and tourism. But now the situation is reversed; cities are moving towards Climate Emergency.

Cities are facing the problems of rising mean temperature, extreme heat waves, flooding, erratic rainfall, rapid urbanization and steadily declining groundwater, and drought. Increased surface temperature causes ‘urban heat islands’ which results in heat stress, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat syncope and cramps.

In the near future, Climate Change and global warming will provide favourable conditions for the vector borne-diseases like COVID19, skin irritation, respiratory problems and other similar diseases.

What can be done?

No action to ‘Change Climate Change’ will have adverse effects on ecosystems, biodiversity and human lives. Forest loss, extreme weather, drought, flood, stronger hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical storms, habitat loss, migration of species, damage to the ecosystems, eutrophication, algal blooming, spread of diseases and other climate impacts. The UN Emissions Gap Report 2019, says that global greenhouse emissions would need to fall by 7.6% every year between now and 2030 to stop severe climate crisis in the coming decades. Countries need to take urgent climate action or should be ready to face a dark future and global climate emergency.

Carbon Neutrality or Climate Neutrality is a ray of hope to cope with Climate Change. Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing carbon emissions with carbon removal or simply eliminating carbon emissions altogether. It is used in the context of ‘carbon dioxide releasing’ processes associated with transportation, energy production, agriculture, and industrial processes. The concept may be extended to include other greenhouse gases (GHGs), in terms of their ‘carbon dioxide equivalence’. Climate neutrality can be achieved if climate change-encouraging ‘greenhouse gases’ are completely avoided or saved elsewhere. According to the UN Environment, the carbon dioxide emissions account for 82% of global warming, and the rest comes mainly from much potent methane and nitrous oxide.

The ‘Future Developed Nations’ will have high ‘Green Governance’, ‘Carbon Negativity’, ‘Forest Cover’, ‘Biodiversity’, ‘Agriculture Production’, ‘Sustainable Development’, ‘Household Size’, ‘Education’, ‘Health & Medical advancement’ and ‘ Advanced Research & Development’.

Achieving ‘Carbon Neutrality’ is very important for all of us because it will help to make an eco-friendly and sustainable future. We cannot change our past but can change our future. We have two primary choices at present: either to accept the conditions as they exist and wait for the worst future or accept the responsibility to ‘Change Climate Change’ for the sake of a livable, better and more sustainable future. It is upon us i.e. current generation, to choose a future, for better or worse.

If we want to cherish every precious moment in our cities, then following urgent ‘climate action’ for a ‘sustainable future’ should be taken into account:

-Reduce our dependence on fossil fuels based energy.

-Ban on unsustainable logging.

-Forested areas should not drop below 33%.

-Alternative sources of energy, like solar energy, should be priority.

-Conservation of parks and wetlands.

-Promoting Green schools.

-Water Conservation to save every drop of water especially through Rainwater Harvesting, soak pits and renovation of water bodies like ponds and lakes.

-Water Budget should be promoted in every household and office.

-Plantation of local species should be our priority and will be helpful in biodiversity protection.

-Care After Plantation (CAP) should be ensured at grassroot level by officials.

-Pond Forests (Micro-Forests) should be promoted.

-Pooling, Cycling and Walking should be part of our daily life.

-There should be a Pollution Emancipation Force in every school, village and urban area with the help of local residents and students. This force will help in sanitation and cleanliness.

– A good Traffic management system helps to reduce air pollution. The projected population of Agra for 2021 is expected to be around 2.3 million. Traffic will be a main challenge in the near future.

-Promote awareness through ‘Climate Movement’ at grassroot level.

-There should be a provision of compulsory plantation in new societies because these are built by destroying the ecosystem of the area. Plantation in urban areas will help to reduce at least 5°C temperature and will help to cope with the ‘urban heat island effect’.

-Health systems should be made advanced to cope with epidemics due to climate change.

-Every household and office should be encouraged for energy conservation.

The IPCC 2018 report said that global emissions must be reduced by 45% by 2030, and net-zero by 2050 to have a 50% chance of limiting temperature rises to 1.5°C in the 21st century. Since the industrial revolution in the 1750s, CO2 levels have risen more than 30%; this level is higher than at any time in at least 800,000 years in the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases have already raised global temperatures by around 1°C since pre-industrial times. The Global average concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) reached 410 parts per million (ppm) in 2019, up from 400.1 ppm in 2015.

Some examples of climate action at global level

Lessons from Los Angeles

According to WHO estimates, around 7 Million people die every year (19178 per day) from exposure to fine particles in polluted air that lead to stroke, Heart Disease, Lung Cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) & respiratory infections like pneumonia.

In 1943, in the middle of World War II, Los Angeles was facing the problem of smog which was caused by the city’s own vehicles and factories. Vehicle emissions caused most of Los Angeles’ smog. Los Angeles took action on-time and reduced the number of cars on the road and made them run more cleanly. Use of the catalytic converter was made compulsory for the vehicles. Due to climate action, air pollution from cars decreased. Now, new passenger vehicles in the US are 98-99% cleaner than those cars from the 1960s, and air quality has improved even as an increasing number of people are driving more than ever. A recent EPA (Environment Protection Agency, USA) study found that every dollar invested in clean air resulted in a $30 benefit.

Los Angeles’ six common pollutants dropped an average of 73%, gross domestic product grew by 324%. These steps reduced the loss of workdays due to illness, lowered the medical costs, lowered the premature deaths associated with particulate matter, improved the health and productivity, improved the crop and timber yields and encouraged tourism, recreation, and healthy living.

Lessons From Belgium

Belgium, an European Union nation, is on it’s way towards a ‘circular economy’. Belgium preferred the sustainable use of resources, recycling of materials, and valorisation of materials.

Worldwide material consumption (material footprint per capita) has expanded rapidly; in 1990, some 8.1 tonnes of natural resources were used to satisfy a person’s need, while in 2017, almost 12.2 tonnes of resources were extracted per person.

The concept of circular economy is at the forefront of global discussions. The International Resource Panel argues that a transformation from a linear economy (where products, once used, are discarded) to a circular one (where products and materials continue in the system for as long as possible) will contribute to a more sustainable future. How we manufacture industrial products and deal with them at the end could provide environmental, social and economic benefits.

A transition to a low-carbon, climate-neutral (or Carbon Neutral) and resource-efficient economy requires a holistic approach: it is not achieved by addressing challenges in silos (in isolation). Science, technology and innovation must be put to work for this transition. Belgium is ready to play its role and to lead.

One of the aims of the circular economy model is zero waste, where all materials are kept in circulation. In 2016, Belgium ranked as number two in the European Union in recycling waste; almost 77 per cent of total waste in Belgium was recycled.

By 2050, the Flanders region of Belgium wants to have a circular economy where nothing is wasted. Other measures include the strengthening of the network of repair cafés and encouraging leasing of material goods rather than buying them.

The building and construction sector, globally accounts for 36 percent of primary energy use and 39 percent of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. It also uses large amounts of natural resources and generates waste. In the Brussels Capital Region, waste produced by the construction sector amounts to 628,000 tonnes out of 1,325,000 tonnes of waste collected annually. The majority (91 per cent) of this waste is downcycled, meaning recycled into materials of lower quality and functionality.

The “Be Circular, Be Brussels” initiative is setting out a strategy to transition from a linear to a circular economy by 2025.

The Belgian city of Ghent in Flanders was one of the first European cities to launch its own urban food policy in 2013, called Ghent en Garde. Due to this, local food is now booming. Surplus food has been distributed to people in need, which simultaneously alleviates poverty and reduces CO2 emissions.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations revealed that about one third of the food produced for humans is wasted every year, globally.

In 2019, this Belgium city’s initiative was one of the winners of the United Nations Global Climate Action Award.

Lessons From Paris

The following four ‘Green Steps In Paris’ may teach us about ‘Climate Action At Local Level’:

1- During 2016 summer, Paris passed a new law encouraging residents to help green the Paris by planting their own urban gardens. The initiative, “permis de végétaliser” (or “license to vegetate”), is part of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s 2020 target of adding 100 hectares (247 acres) of vegetation on the city’s walls and roofs.

To encourage citizens to become “gardeners of the Parisian public space,” any resident can apply for a renewable three-year permit to start their own urban garden project. Participants can green the capital in various ways, from planting fruit trees to creating living walls to a rooftop garden. Upon request, the city will also provide a planting kit that includes topsoil and seeds. Gardeners are instructed to maintain sustainability and to keep the city’s aesthetics in mind. They are not allowed to use pesticides and can plant only local species. The city has also expressed the need for ‘local honey plants’ to help in growing the world’s diminishing bee population.

The new urban gardening program of Paris is designed to encourage biodiversity, green spaces, mitigate the “heat island” effect, change climate change, improve air quality and improve the thermal and acoustic comfort of buildings.

French Parliament’s new law is mandating that all new buildings constructed in commercial zones must be partially covered by plants or solar panels.

2- The first Sunday of every month is a car-free day in Paris.

3- France banned plastic plates and cutlery, making it the first country in the world to take this step.

4- Project Oasis, a plan to convert the concrete schoolyards of Paris into “islands of cool”, to provide healthy air during the periods of extreme heat, and to bring down temperatures across the city.

In comparison to other European cities, Paris has the lowest proportion of green area in parks and schools; London boasts 33% green space and Madrid 35%. Green walls in Paris have expanded areas of shade and special drainable concrete surfaces that can absorb water when it rains, are essential features.

If all goes to plan, all of Paris’s 800 schools will be transformed into green spaces by 2040. The City of Paris plan is also being facilitated by 100 Resilient Cities (100RC). Paris has taken these steps to save lives from ‘heat waves’; the heatwaves have killed many more people in France than terrorism has.

5- Paris has unveiled plans to plant trees and gardens alongside four of its historic sites to improve the air quality and address climate change.

Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo has announced an “urban forest” planting scheme for the Place de l’Hotel de Ville, the Gare de Lyon, the Palais Garnier and a footpath along the banks of the river Seine. According to the Mayor, “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, forecasts heatwaves at 50 degrees Celsius by 2050. We have an obligation to act today.”

Globally, Nature is declining; one million species are at risk of extinction. Carbon neutrality is the need of the hour. If we are dreaming about a beautiful city of heaven, having healthy ecosystems, forests, biodiversity and human life, then we shall have to take every step to reduce our carbon footprints, encourage sustainability, transform towards renewable energy, reduce our dependence on fossil energy, implement a circular economy, stop deforestation and stop the loss of ecosystems, biodiversity and their habitats in our cities. Such steps will also help to achieve ‘carbon negativity’ in our cities and defeat the ‘climate change’.

How Deforestation And Climate Change Are Opening The Ways For Disease Outbreaks

“The coronavirus is now telling the world what we have been saying for thousands of years—that if we do not help protect biodiversity and nature, then we will face this and worse future threats,” said Levi Sucre Romero, a BriBri indigenous person from Costa Rica who is the Coordinator of the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests.
Forests are key to climate, water, health and livelihoods. Forests are disappearing at an alarming rate but still cover about 30 percent of the world’s land area. Since humans started cutting down forests, 46 percent of trees have been felled, according to a 2015 study in the journal Nature.

Ecosystem services by forests
Forests provide a diversity of ecosystem services including:
*Converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and biomass. A full-grown tree produces about 100 kg of net oxygen per year.
*Acting as a carbon sink. Forests are one of the planet’s first lines of defense against climate change, absorbing as much as a quarter of man-made carbon emissions each year.
They are necessary to stop climate change.
*Forests induce rainfall. If the forest is cut, it can lead to drought.
*Purifying water.
*Mitigating natural hazards such as floods.
*Serving as a genetic reserve.
*Provide medicines.
*Serving as a source of lumber and as recreational areas.
*Land food chains start from forests.

An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 plant species are harvested for traditional or modern medicine, while around 50% of modern drugs have been developed from natural products that are threatened by biodiversity loss.

Decade 2011-2020 is UN Decade on Biodiversity. The United Nations proclaimed 22 May the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.

Deforestation, Climate Change and Disease Outbreaks
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Earth’s forest area was about 50 million square kilometers. This has since shrunk to less than 40 million square kilometers. About 17 percent of the Amazonian rainforest has been destroyed over the past 50 years. Humans are deforesting the lands on a large scale, mostly for urbanization, agriculture expansion and industrialization.
Forest losses recently have been on the rise.
In the last 25 years, the world’s forests shrank by 1.3 million square kilometers. Which means that since 1990 the world’s lost more forest area than the size of South Africa.
Fires, droughts, and tropical storms are also playing an increasing role in forest loss, especially as climate change makes them more frequent and severe.
The frequency of disease outbreaks has been increasing fast. The total number and diversity of disease outbreaks have increased significantly since 1980. Between 1980 and 2013 there were 12,012 recorded outbreaks of 215 human infectious diseases, comprising 44 million individual cases and affecting 219 nations. Bacteria, viruses, zoonotic diseases (originating in animals) and those caused by pathogens transmitted by vector hosts were responsible for the majority of outbreaks.

A number of factors are responsible for the disease outbreaks, including high levels of global and regional travel, trade and connectivity, and high-density living. But the links to climate change and deforestation are the most important factors for disease outbreaks.
Climate Change and Deforestation have altered and accelerated the transmission patterns of infectious diseases and has caused human displacement. Movements of large populations to new locations, often under poor conditions, increase the vulnerability to diseases like measles, malaria, diarrhoea diseases and acute respiratory infections.
Scientists fear that a number of yet-unknown deadly diseases are lurking in forests that could be exposed as people encroach further. The likelihood of spillovers to people may increase as the climate warms, pushing animals, along with the viruses they carry, into regions where they’ve never existed before.
Health of the people living at the frontiers of deforestation is always a great concern. They are always afraid that the next serious pandemic could emerge from our world’s forests.

Deforestation destroys the natural habitats of wild animals and increases closeness to human populations; this creates a greater possibility for zoonotic diseases (diseases that spread from animals to humans). Many viruses exist harmlessly with their host animals in forests, because the animals have co-evolved with them. But humans can become unwitting hosts for pathogens when they venture into or change forest habitat.

The majority of ‘new diseases affecting humans‘ are zoonotic. Among mammals, bats have a higher number of zoonotic viruses. Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight and are notorious reservoir hosts for some of the world’s most highly pathogenic viruses, including Nipah, Hendra, Ebola, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Most of the bats have inherited resistance to the virus, survive and pass this resistance to their offspring. The bat’s immune system fights viral infections but does not overreact to them, preventing bats from falling ill from the many viruses they have.
People and animals interacting with bats (or their urine, feces or saliva) might catch these zoonotic viruses and then spread them to other animals or people. The zoonotic disease originates in wild animals (mostly mammals) and then cross over to people.
Problem of Climate Change is worsening. According to the ‘Global Carbon Project‘ atmospheric CO2 concentration reached 407.4 parts per million in 2018 on average, and is projected to increase by 2.2 ppm in 2019 to reach 410 ppm averaged over the year. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations in 2019 are 47% above pre-industrial levels. At present Earth is under severe pressure of GHGs; one tonne of carbon is equivalent to 3.67 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The problem with climate change is that it makes more environments available for disease-carrying species. According to WHO, climate variability has a direct influence on the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases. By 2100 it is estimated that average global temperatures will have risen by 1.0–3.5 °C and will increase the spread of many ‘vector-borne diseases’ in new areas. Amongst these are fungi transmitted Cryptococcus gattii infection, algal transmitted Ciguatera fish poisoning, tick vector transmitted Lyme disease and mosquito vector transmitted West Nile Virus encephalitis, Chikungunya, Rift Valley Fever, Zika virus paralysis and Dengue fever, Bats transmitted Ebola virus, Nipah virus Coronavirus virus. Other equally important diseases, which will spread and prevalent due to climate change and deforestation, include respiratory allergies due to increased human exposure to air pollution and dust, and heat-related illness and deaths.
The vector-borne infectious diseases are usually confined to wildlife that have spilled over to people in areas undergoing rapid forest clearing. The 60 percent of new infectious diseases that emerge in people, including HIV, Ebola, and Nipah, originated in forest-dwelling animals.
In Brazilian Amazon, between 2003 and 2015, on average a 10 percent yearly increase in forest loss led to a 3 percent rise in malaria cases.
Diseases can also occur when new habitats draw disease-carrying species out of the forest. For instance, in Liberia forest clearings for palm oil plantations attract hordes of typically forest-dwelling mice, lured there by the abundance of palm fruit around plantations and settlements. Humans can contract Lassa virus when they come into contact with food or objects contaminated with feces or urine of virus-carrying rodents or bodily fluids of infected people. In humans, the virus causes hemorrhagic fever—the same kind of illness triggered by Ebola virus—and in Liberia killed 36 percent of infected people.

Why are hosts safe?

Spillovers of infectious diseases to people is more likely to occur in the tropics because in tropics overall wildlife and pathogen diversity is higher.

A 4.3 percent increase in deforestation over a three-year timeframe was associated with a nearly 50 percent increase of malaria incidence in a small patch of Brazilian Amazon.

In one large-scale analysis in 2017, researchers found a positive association between the rates of deforestation and malaria prevalence in 67 countries.

Spillover in humans

Monkey malaria is caused by Plasmodium knowlesi which proliferate in forest-dwelling macaques, has become the most common cause of malaria in Malaysia, and human infections are steadily rising throughout Southeast Asia. The forests of Borneo are being felled at a rapid rate, foremost to make way for palm oil plantations. Some of the mosquito vectors that carry P. knowlesi are likely to occur in areas with forest disturbance. Deforestation has been bringing humans into contact with forest-dwelling macaques and infected mosquitoes, as people move into cleared areas and macaques closer to human settlements. In addition, the clearing of trees may shift the locations of breeding sites for mosquitoes that thrive at forest edges. These mechanisms are thought to play a role in a range of vector-borne diseases. And as tropical forests are being felled worldwide at an alarming rate, scientists are becoming increasingly concerned that future pandemics may arise from destruction of forests.

Tropical forests are undergoing land use change in many regions of the world, including the African continent. The land cover change data in conjunction with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreaks between 2004–2014 in West and Central Africa showing that in these EVD outbreaks the spillover from wildlife reservoirs occurred mostly in hotspots of forest fragmentation.
For some zoonotic diseases, a diverse community of animals help to buffer the spread of disease transmission to humans. In the northeastern US, the bacterium causing Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, is transmitted via ticks, but can infect many mammals in forest communities. Of these, only the white-footed mouse can truly sustain infections over long periods of time and pass them onto ticks.

The past two coronavirus outbreaks, SARS and MERS, are examples of transmission of wild animal diseases to humans. In 2003 the SARS coronavirus jumped from bats to civets and then from civets to people. In the MERS outbreak, the MERS coronavirus jumped from bats to camels and then from camels to people.

Wildlife markets have put humans in close contact to pathogens that live only in animals and after mutation these viruses infect humans. It is expected that the novel coronavirus was born in the wildlife market of Wuhan in China in late 2019.

Conclusion
We are living in the 21st century having world population of about 7.6 billion today and which is expected to be 10 billion by 2050. Such a growing size is causing a pressure on our ecology. Biodiversity and Ecosystems are under stress. Our daily life and actions are not eco-friendly. Humans are destroying their future to fulfill their current unsustainable needs and ambitions. We are in the period of ‘Climate Crisis’. Deforestation and Climate Change has increased fast over the past two decades and is linked to disease outbreaks. The more we degrade and clear forest habitats, the more likely we’re going to find ourselves in those situations where epidemics of infectious diseases occur.

When a forest is destroyed then an ecosystem dies. Understanding how deforestation may lead to disease outbreaks in humans will help in developing better strategies to prevent them, and possible ways to predict future disease outbreaks.

Finally, we should remember that, “People who will not sustain trees will soon live in a world that will not sustain people.” – Bryce Nelson.

Save Forests, Change Climate Change and Stop Deforestation to control disease outbreaks and to save biodiversity.

Note: This article has been published by me on Youth Ki Awaaz.

Stop the Spread of COVID19, Singapore way

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 resulted in more than 8000 cases and 800 deaths, in 26 countries. At that time, SARS was successfully controlled by means of syndromic surveillance, isolation of patients, and strict enforcement of quarantine. By interrupting all human-to-human transmission, SARS was effectively eradicated.

COVID19. Source: UNAIDS
The COVID-19 virus is a new virus linked to the same family of viruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and some types of common cold . COVID19 threatens to become a global pandemic that could wipe off $1 trillion from the world’s gross domestic product.

Singapore is a small, globally-connected city-state, with an estimated population of 5.6 million people(2018) and population density of 7804 people/sqKm.

Singapore is a rich nation without health-care shortages. It has been ruled by one political party since independence. Singapore is currently facing COVID19 incidents. But it is controlling the spread of COVID19 successfully. The local media support the government’s messaging without questioning, from washing hands to staying at home if someone is not feeling well.

What are the similarities and differences between SARS and COVID19?

The global community is much better prepared now, in comparison to the SARS outbreak in 2003.

There are many similarities between the SARS and COVID19 (coronavirus disease 2019). In both, the main transmission route is respiratory droplets, although viral shedding via faeces has also been reported for both viruses. The whole genome of COVID19 has a 86% similarity with SARS. The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), found in the lower respiratory tract of humans, has been identified as the receptor used for cell entry for both SARS and COVID-19. Both have a median incubation time of about 5 days.

COVID-19 differs from SARS in terms of infectious period, transmissibility, clinical severity, and extent of community spread. By contrast, evidence from ‘exported COVID-19 cases’ suggest that transmission during the early phase of illness also contributes to overall transmission; therefore, isolation of more severe patients is too late and ‘pre-symptomatic transmission’ is making ‘temperature screening’ less effective.

Genomic analyses of the new coronavirus have revealed that its spike protein differs from those of close relatives and the capsid protein possess a site on it which is activated by a host-cell enzyme called furin. The furin is found in lots of human tissues, including the lungs, liver and small intestines, which means that the virus has the potential to attack multiple organs.Source: Hindustan Times March 13, 2020

By interrupting all human-to-human transmission, SARS was effectively eradicated but the cases of COVID-19 have been increasing with more than 3800 deaths, mostly in China.

Symptoms of the COVID19

Common symptoms of COVID19 disease include:
1- Fever,
2- Cough (mostly dry cough)
3- Runny nose,
4- Shortness of breath,
5- Fatigue.

Most cases do not start with a runny nose.If anyone has mild flu-like symptoms like cough, runny nose, sore throat and fever, contact a doctor. During the unwell period, do not go school or work place, avoid crowds, stay at home and don’t avoid doctors. Avoid touching the face without washing up hands; face is sacred. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Virus enters through eyes, mouth and nose.Source: Web Md

According to World Health Organization it is best to stay three feet from a sick person with minimum time engagement will carry least risk. The coronavirus is a delicate microbe that is killed easily with disinfectant. New York Times in an recent article provided all the possible answers to the questions related to transmission of ‘COVID19’.

Zero Deaths

Case Summary in Singapore (as of 8 Mar 2020, 1200h) shows zero deaths. Among the 60 ‘active cases’, 51 are stable and 9 cases are critical. All the 60 patients are hospitalised.

Real time updates may be seen here.

How is Singapore handling the situation? Despite being an international business hub, Singapore has kept infection rates down. Here are some steps taken by Singapore government to tackle with Coronavirus spread:

1- Unlike the other countries that are witnessing coronavirus cases in travellers from China, Singapore is concerned with more human-to-human transmissions of the COVID19 virus.

2- Tough laws for tracing and containing Covid19 cases– Citizens who have travelled to infected places are quarantined. The principle is that if the person under quarantine developed illness, that person would not spread the disease. Anyone giving false information, about their travel history, faces punitive action and faces even a ban on re-entering to Singapore.

3- People have a strong sense of civic duty- Citizens and people living in Singapore put the public interest over their own. They accept government orders to quarantine and report their location to authorities using an online system.

4- Singapore has a world-class health system– Health facilities in Singapore are of high level. Recently, it is deploying a new test to track links between infected patients which will help authorities to stop the virus spreading further.

5- Singapore citizens returning to their homeland are placed on 14-day paid mandatory leave-of-absence (LoA) starting from the day they arrive.

6- The Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) issued notices to a number of companies engaged in profiteering from the coronavirus situation in the country and were selling masks at a higher price to benefit from the increased demand.

7- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reassured its citizens that the virus didn’t appear as deadly as SARS, meaning that most people would likely experience a minor illness even if they contracted it.

Prevention and response plan of Singapore government When there is an outbreak resulting in the spread of an infectious disease worldwide, Singapore puts in ‘prevention and response plan‘.As part of this plan, the ‘Disease Outbreak Response System Condition’ (DORSCON) becomes active.

DORSCON is a colour-coded framework that shows the current disease situation and provides general guidelines on what needs to be done to prevent the spread of the disease and finally reduce the impact of infections. DORSCON takes into account the current disease status overseas, transmission of the disease, possibility of disease arrival in Singapore and possible impact of the disease on Singapore’s community. There are 4 statuses of DORSCON– Green, Yellow, Orange and Red, depending on the severity and spread of the disease. During the SARS spread in Singapore, the DORSCON status was orange. It means that the disease was severe and spread easily, but still contained. During current COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the status of the DORSCON is the same i.e. orange.Source: Government Of Singapore

What happens to the suspect cases? When suspect cases come in to the knowledge then following steps are taken in Singapore:

1- All suspect cases are transferred to the hospitals through ambulances to reduce their exposure to the general public. All such cases are reported to the Ministry of health promptly.
2- Suspect cases are isolated in the hospitals. Many suspect cases turn out to have other mild diseases such as the common flu.
3- Ambulance crews who attend the suspect cases to the hospital, wear personal protective equipment, for they come into close contact with patients and are at higher risk of infection.
4- The risk of infection from transient contact is very low. There is no need to avoid places where suspected and confirmed cases have been.

The 05 M’s to check spread of COVID19

Singapore is controlling the spread of ‘COVID19’ through 5 M’s:
1- Manage health by keeping a close watch on the body for symptoms.
2- Manage clean hands through good personal hygiene of regular hand washing with soap and water.
3- Minimise contact with those who are unwell.
4- Mask up when unwell and visit the doctor immediately.
5- Monitor the news related to Covid19 with government websites, especially the health department and press releases. Apart from the above suggestions, the Singapore government suggests the practise of good personal hygiene. An unwell person should cover their mouth with tissue paper when sneezing or coughing, if sick avoid crowded places, monitor temperature twice daily and stay at home, strictly follow quarantine orders, bin liter, used masks and tissues, keep toilets clean and dry, keep tables clean, keep home and surroundings clean and ventilated, use private transport to the clinic, do not go near live animals including poultry and birds and do not eat raw and undercooked meats. Singapore is showing the world that when all the stars are aligned, the virus may not be as uncontrollable as feared. India may also learn from the successful steps and approach by the Singapore government to control the spread of COVID19 virus and related health problems. Fast-tracked and extensive testing key to coronavirus containment. All the laboratory that can do swine flu testing can also do Covid-19 testing. India’s capacity of testing 100,000 samples for Covid-19 can be increased further by adding ICMR’s network of 106 virus research and diagnostic laboratories (VRDLS) within days.The ‘political will’, early case detection, prompt isolation of ill people, comprehensive contact tracing, immediate quarantine of all contacts, community quarantine, and implementation of social distancing may contribute to the eradication of COVID19 from India and world.

Note: This article, by me, has originally been posted at Youth Ki Awaaz.

Love affair of a Blood Cancer Patient with Sparrows

“I have been a patient of blood cancer since 2013 but I never stopped dreaming, making plans and finding ways to save birds. Always remember how important your life is; do not forget it, even for a second. ” – Narendra Singh Yadav, Former Officer, Blood Cancer Patient & Sparrow-Saver

Mr Narendra Singh with a sparrow chick

Humans have lived in close harmony with the adorable little birds, sparrows, for 10,000 years. Since then, humans and sparrows are living in integral life. There are many stories of love with these birds. But, I’m sharing here a completely differ and extraordinary story of love with sparrows. This is an inspirational story of a senior government officer of India. He is suffering from blood cancer and facing many kinds of physical problems coz of regular chemotherapy and medicines. But, he is a very positive personality and has dedicated his life to protect the sparrows ( Passer domesticus indicus) which are rarely seen in cities. He is Mr. Narendra Singh Yadav. He was posted as Divisional Joint Development Commissioner, in the government of Uttar Pradesh province, India; due to his continuous illness he has taken voluntary retirement.
He lives in Kanpur City with his wife Mrs Rashmi Singh and two young daughters, Prachi & Pragya. Whole family is dedicated to protecting sparrows. Apart from studying, his daughters are actively involved in maintaining the records of nests and chicks and preparing food for these chicks. His wife Mrs Rashmi looks after his mission and home both.

Family of Mr Narendra Singh take care of Sparrows.

He distributes special nests of sparrows, free of charge. His neighbour houses, colonies, societies and multistorey buildings have nests on the walls. He takes care of injured and sick birds. He is known to his friends as ‘Sparrow Man‘.

Mr Narendra Singh take care of injured sparrows and their chicks.

Since childhood he was a nature lover. Mr Narendra Singh has saved more than 150,000 chicks of sparrows & distributed about 6000 nests, since 2013. He was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2013. Since then, he used 10% of his salary for saving these birds and making nests for them.

Free distribution of sparrow nests by Mr Narendra Singh.

His family organizes dinner and distributes sweets when chicks come out of these nests, for the first time and also give them name as humans have. Names of some chicks who are living as complete sparrows are- Pawan, Saurabh, Mayank, Dulari, Vineeta, Arjun, Rohit, Reena, Darsh, Avantika, Rohan, Rajat, Priya, Krishna, Priyanka etc. He was inspired by late CL Khanna who was working for the conservation of Sparrows for many years; he was a big name in the field of conservation of Sparrows in Kanpur.
During his service, he tried to maintain a green habitat fit for Sparrows, in his office, work field, residential colony and native villages. He is also working for biodiversity conservation and created the micro-forests of a total 30 acres area in his parental villages Palia and Aasatmuddinpur of Bangermau tehsil of district Unnao (Uttar Pradesh province, India). In these forests there are more than 3000 plants of medicinal and mythological importance.
He organises anti-deforestation Red Tape Movement in his native villages, regularly. There he aware the villagers about the importance of trees, birds, biodiversity, wetlands, rivers, water conservation, sanitation, health, Climate Change and Global Warming.
He is working on sparrow conservation through Santulan Society, an NGO based in Indira Nagar, Kanpur. This NGO is a self funded non-profit-making organisation. Due to his great efforts, his mission to save sparrow has now been spread in many districts of Uttar Pradesh like- Etawah, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat, Kannauj, Kanpur Nagar, Farrukabad, Unnao, Hardoi, Lucknow, Kasganj, Mathura, Agra etc.
According to Mr Narendra Singh, in our busy lives, we have lost the bond with sparrows. The sparrows have been on the decline over much of its natural range, both in the urban and rural areas. Loss of habitat due to anthropogenic activities is the main cause of their rare appearance. The decline of the house sparrow is an indicator of the continuous degradation of the environment and is a warning about detrimental anthropogenic effects on biodiversity. Microwave pollution and concrete jungles are major challenges before Sparrows. The conservation of Sparrows will also help to save much of the common biodiversity, which shares the habitat of the sparrows.

I am talking about Sparrow conservation and related issues with Mr Narendra Singh.

His dream is to distribute more than 12000 nests and to save the lives of more than 300,000 sparrows chicks. We should Salute to such a great Green Soldier who is working for nature, with selflessness. He is truly an amazing Saint.

The disappearance of sparrows has been widely reported in India. The sparrow population in Andhra Pradesh area alone had dropped by 80%, and in other states like Kerala, Gujarat and Rajasthan, it had dipped by 20%, while the decline in coastal areas was as sharp as 70 to 80%. Urbanisation and Industrialisation will make the situation worst for the sparrows.
Mr Narendra Singh’s contribution is a complete story for this year’s World Sparrow Day. He is not only helping in conserving sparrows but is also spreading love for sparrows, awareness about their importance in our lives and tips on their conservation. Looking at him, I hope others will also be inspired and join the conservation movement to save sparrows and biodiversity by doing little things at grassroot level.

Note: This great story was originally published by me at ‘Youth Ki Awaaz‘.

Climate Neutrality By 2050

“There is no hint that help will come (on Earth) from elsewhere to save us from ourselves,” Carl Sagan in his 1994 book Pale Blue Dot.
We are living in the 21st century, the century of climate change, and doing nothing near to limit climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions are rising when they should be falling.

U.N.’s Emissions Gap Report 2019 says that global greenhouse emissions would need to fall by 7.6% every year between now and 2030 to stop severe climate crisis in the coming decades.

Countries need to take urgent climate action or should be ready to face a dark future with rising seas, extreme weather events and increased human misery.

Climate Neutrality, a climate action, is essential to limit global warming to 1.5 °C, by the mid-21st century,a target laid down in the Paris agreement signed by 195 countries.

What Is Climate Neutrality

Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing carbon emissions with carbon removal or simply eliminating carbon emissions altogether. It is used in the context of ‘carbon dioxide releasing’ processes associated with transportation, energy production, agriculture, and industrial processes. The concept may be extended to include other greenhouse gases (GHGs), in terms of their ‘carbon dioxide equivalence’.

‘Climate Neutral’ was the New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2006, which reflects the broader inclusiveness of other greenhouse gases in climate change, even if CO2 is the most abundant.

Achieving ‘Carbon Neutrality’ is very important for all of us coz it will help to make an eco-friendly and sustainable future. Watch this important video.

Steps to achieve Carbon Neutrality, globally

Climate neutrality can be achieved if ‘climate change’ encouraging ‘greenhouse gases’ are completely avoided or saved elsewhere. You may calculate and offset your CO2 emissions here.

According to UN Environment, the Carbon dioxide emissions account for 82 per cent of global warming & the rest coming mainly from much potent methane and nitrous oxide.

Globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) reached 410 parts per million (ppm) in 2019, up from 400.1 ppm in 2015. Methane and nitrous oxide concentrations also rose, along with a ozone depleting CFC-11.

According to UN Environment, the Climate Neutrality can be achieved by addressing the climate footprint of a individual, organisation, sector, household, institution, industry or a nation through the 3-step method:

1- Measure the carbon footprint (greenhouse gas emissions).

2-Reduce the emissions as much as possible through climate actions like consumption of renewable electricity (wind, solar, hydro, solar thermal, etc.), improving energy efficiency of processes, technological innovation in low carbon, plantation, agricultural measures etc.

3- Compensate those which cannot be currently avoided by using UN certified emission reductions (CERs), a type of carbon credit. CERs are carbon credits generated by UN supported climate-friendly projects.

By buying credits to compensate one’s unavoidable emissions, one can:

1-Rewards these projects located in developing countries and encourages the development of new ones;

2-Helps bring sustainable development benefits to communities, such as improved air and water quality, improved income, improved health, reduced energy consumption and much more;

3-Contributes to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Please, watch this important video to understand the role played by ‘Carbon Credits‘.

What we can do?

At grassroot, every individual, household, society, organisation, institution should take responsibility for the carbon emissions that we cannot currently avoid. Try to reduce carbon emissions at emission stage as much as possible, and keep ‘continuously’ to reduce them along with compensate those that we are not been able to eliminate. Watch this important video.

Reduce Your ‘Carbon Footprint’.

Our every action is important because every action has a ‘carbon footprint’ which we will have to reduce for a better Earth and life on this beautiful planet. At present Earth is under severe pressure of GHGs; one tonne of carbon is equivalent to 3.67 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), which means this would be equivalent to about eight years of global emissions at current rates. So, ‘Climate Neutral’ society should be our aim. Regulating carbon emissions down to net zero emissions by 2050 will help to end the global climate crisis.

Note: This story was originally published at Youth Ki Awaaz.In Hindustan Times at A ‘Carbon Neutral’ society should be our objective, Lucknow edition, 17 February 2020 in XPRESSIONS

Why To Worry About ‘Carbon Budget’?

Swedish Climate Change Activist Greta Thunberg at the 50th World Economic Forum annual meeting, Davos, on January 21, 2020.

“Let’s be clear. We don’t need a “low-carbon economy.” We don’t need to “lower emissions.” Our emissions have to stop to stay if we are to have a chance to stay below the 1.5 degrees target. We need real zero. Because distant net zero emission targets will mean absolutely nothing if we just continue to ignore the carbon dioxide budget, which applies for today not distant future dates. If high emissions continue like now even for a few years, that remaining budget will soon be completely used up.” – Greta Thunberg at Davos on January 21, 2020

A carbon budget is an upper limit of total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with ‘remaining below a specific global average temperature’. IPCC is stressing to stay ‘Carbon Budget’ within 1.5°C, i.e., the amount of carbon dioxide emissions we can emit while still having a chance of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Anthropogenic Greenhouse gas, GHG, emissions have already raised global temperatures by around 1°C since pre-industrial times. We need shrinking “carbon budget” to stay within 1.5°C of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

IPCC report, SR15, suggests that we have only a few years left at our current rate of emissions before we blow the 1.5°C carbon budget.
Limiting warming to 1.5°C requires strictly limiting the total amount of carbon emissions between now and the end of the century. Global CO2 emissions need to fall to net-zero by 2050 to avoid 1.5°C of warming.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) special report on 1.5°C (SR15) says that there is only a 66% chance of limiting ‘global average temperature’ increase below 1.5°C, i.e., the atmosphere can absorb no more than 420 gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2 if we are to stay below the 1.5°C threshold.

IPCC’s SR15 reported that at the current rate of about 42 Gt of CO2 emissions globally every year or about 1332 tonnes per second, the ‘Carbon Budget’ is expected to be used up in just within 8 years. In other words, if emissions continue unabated, the world is on track to exceed this budget in only about 7.11 years & exposing communities to increasingly dangerous forest fires, extreme weather, drought, flood, stronger oceanic waves, hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, sea ice melting, polar ice melting, rising sea levels, coral bleaching, habitat loss, shifting of habitats, migration of species, damage to the ecosystem and other climate impacts.

Anthropogenic Impacts Of Climate Change. Source: World Economic Forum

The MCC’s (Mercator Research Institute On Global Commons and Climate Change, Berlin ) Carbon Clock shows how much CO2 can be released into the atmosphere to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C and 2°C, respectively. The clock keeps ticking and shows how little time is left for political decision-makers to take action. See ‘Carbon Clock‘ here.
According to the ‘Global Carbon Project‘ atmospheric CO2 concentration reached 407.4 parts per million in 2018 on average, and is projected to increase by 2.2 ppm in 2019 to reach 410 ppm averaged over the year. Atmospheric CO2 concentration in 2019 are 47% above pre-industrial levels.

The UN Climate Action Summit 2019 revealed that, as ice sheets and glaciers melt, the rapid sea-level rise could affect one billion people by 2050.
It looks like we are living in a world with an uncertain future for our current and next generations. We need urgent climate action by the governments and institutions to transform this world to ‘real zero carbon emissions’, as Greta Thunberg appealed in Davos on January 21, 2020 at WEF20.
We cannot change our past but can change our future. We have two primary choices at present: either to accept the conditions as they exist and wait for the end of the future or accept the responsibility to ‘Change Climate Change’ for the sake of a livable, better and more sustainable future. It is upon us i.e. current generation, to choose a future, for better or worse.
If we want to cherish every precious moment on earth, then we must take urgent ‘climate action’ for a ‘sustainable future’. If we want to keep global average temperature increase below our 1.5°C target, then we will have to leave all (100 percent) of our fossil fuels in the ground and increase global forest cover equal to the land area of Canada (10 million km2), by the year 2050.
This all will only be possible through implementing ‘Zero Carbon’ policies and development, by our leaders with strong ‘political will’, for making a better world.

World Oceans On Fire

World is living in the 21st century, the century of climate change. The new year, 2020, was welcomed by pre-existing wildfire in the jungles of Australia and the Amazon, increasing ocean warming, increasing global warming, anthropogenic impacts of climate change and depleting biodiversity. Such events are happening due to Global Warming which in turn is the result of our past discovery of ‘Steam Power’ and ‘Fossil Fuels’ at the advent of the ‘Industrial Revolution’. At that time, the policy makers, scientists and engineers did not judge the fate and impact of fossil fuels discovery.

On 9th May 2013, Earth achieved a ‘sad milestone of 400 ppm atmospheric CO2 concentration, a greenhouse gas. This happened for the first time in human history. The cumulative emissions of CO2 is helping to increase global warming and climate change.

At a climate change conference in 2000, Paul Crutzen, Nobel laureate in chemistry, was so alarmed by the human impacts on the biosphere since the industrial revolution that he proposed that the present era to be renamed as the ‘Anthropocene‘, marked by deforestation and GHGs emissions due to continuous combustion of fossil fuels.

Climate change is the biggest challenge to the future of lifeforms on Earth. ‘Earth Poles’ are getting warmer which will result into rise in sea water level. Dramatic collapse of Arctic sea ice, in recent years, is the sign of disaster to come much sooner. Due to this process, arctic ice will open for sea-ice melting. As the Arctic sea-ice melts, the surface changes from being a bright reflective white to a darker blue or green which allows more of the Sun’s rays to be absorbed; it is happening due to positive feedback loop which is adding to the rate of ocean warming.

The main GHG responsible for global warming and climate change is carbon dioxide. The lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is more than 100 years. The high concentration of these gases trap more infra-red radiation and remit back to earth’s surface resulting in global warming. Oceans absorb more than 90 percent of excess heat remitted by greenhouse gases and are continuously warming the seas at an increasing rate with disastrous impacts on Earth’s climate. Most of the excess energy stored in the oceans leads to thermal expansion and sea-level rise.

Oceans were the hottest on record in 2019

There are five oceans which include the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic oceans which carry about 97% of the world’s water. The oceans covers 70% of the global surface and have significance influence on Earth’s weather and climate. Oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it for years to millions of years. The oceans absorb much of the solar energy which enters the earth and slowly release that heat over many months or years. The oceans store more heat in the uppermost 3 meters (10 feet).

The Indian Ocean, bordered by Asia, Africa, and Australia, is the warmest in the world. Indian Ocean remains warm all year round because there is no Arctic contact.

The effects of ocean warming are adverse and in the form of extreme weather, stronger oceanic waves, hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, sea ice melting, rising sea levels, coral bleaching, habitat loss, shifting of habitats, migration of marine species and damage to marine life and ecosystem.

The recent study, published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, said that last year the ocean was 0.075 °C (0.135 °F) hotter than the historical average between 1981-2010. The world’s oceans have absorbed 228 Zetta Joules (228 billion trillion Joules) of energy in recent decades. If this level of energy is compared with the energy liberated after Hiroshima atom-bomb explosion then the amount of energy will be equivalent to four Hiroshima bombs explosion entering the oceans every second for the past 25 years. One Hiroshima category atom-bomb explosion liberate energy of about 63,000,000,000,000 Joules. So, the amount of heat we have put in the world’s oceans in the past 25 years equals 3.6 billion Hiroshima atom bomb explosions. According to this study ocean had absorbed 25 Zetta Joules of additional energy in 2019 compared with 2018’s data of absorbed energy and that is equivalent to about five Hiroshima bombs of heat every second, i.e., 432,000 atom-bombs per day (24 hours).

The study said that there was a clear link between climate-related disasters such as bushfires in southeastern Australia and warming oceans. Warmer seas mean more ‘evaporation’, more ‘rainfall’ and more ‘evaporative demand’ by the atmosphere. This in turn leads to ‘drying of the continents’, a major factor behind the recent wildfires of Amazon, Arctic, California and Australia. Hotter oceans also expand, leading to sea level rises. Marine life is dying because they can’t adapt to rising temperature quickly. Localised ocean heatwave blobs have become more common over the last century and are big to marine life. The frequency of blobs is expected to increase further as the planet will warm. Recently, scientists have reported that heatwave blob in the northeast Pacific Ocean was responsible for the biggest Seabird die-off on record, between 2013-2016; it was largely responsible for the death of almost a million common murres (Uria aalge), amongst other wildlife.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in a landmark oceans report 2019 warned that tens of millions of people could be displaced from coastal areas by the end of the century.

With just 1°C of global warming since the pre-industrial period, Earth has experienced a cascade of droughts, superstorms, floods and wildfires made more likely by climate change. So, the 2015 Paris accord aims to limit global temperature rises to “well below” 2°C, and to 1.5°C if at all possible. In 2018 IPCC report warned that the rise in global temperatures should be limited to 1.5°C to avoid dangerous impacts. This report said that global emissions must be reduced by 45% by 2030, and net zero by 2050 to have a 50% chance of limiting temperature rises to 1.5°C 21st century. Since the industrial revolution in the 1750’s, CO2 levels have risen more than 30% and higher than at any time in at least 800,000 years in the atmosphere.

Warming oceans are threatening food security, increasing the dispersion of diseases in marine animals, transmission of diseases from marine to humans through food, causing more extreme weather events and the loss of coastal protection. Marine life is dying because they can’t adapt quickly to rising ocean warming. Marine fishes, seabirds and marine mammals are facing very high risks from increasing temperatures. Marine life forms are migrating in search of favourable environment, habitat, food and breeding grounds. Economic losses due to ocean warming are likely to run from tens to hundreds of billions of dollars.

Coral reefs are facing coral bleaching which increase their mortality risk. The global ocean warming has caused marine heat waves in Tasman Sea and other regions. Staghorn corals, a species hit hard by marine heat waves in recent years. Healthy coral reefs are a sign of good health of an ocean are critical habitats for young fish and other sea life.

Rising ocean temperature will also affect the vegetation and reef-building species such as corals and mangroves, which protect coastlines from erosion and sea-level rise especially in low-lying island countries in the Pacific Ocean. Sea level rise will destroy housing and infrastructure and will force people to relocate.

Every moment, if we are delaying in taking action to slow or reverse the warming, the situation will only get worse. All nations will see their economies shrink because of climate change by 2100. The Hurricane Harvey in the Gulf of Mexico in 2017 brought a massive storm that killed 82 people and resulted in loss of $108 billion damages. In 2018, Hurricane Florence resulted in 53 deaths and damages up to $50 billion.

Ocean Acidification, the other evil of global warming

Global warming can affect sea levels, coastlines, ocean acidification, ocean currents, seawater, sea surface temperatures, tides, the sea floor, weather, and trigger several changes in ocean biogeochemistry. Ocean acidification along with anthropogenic climate change is called the “evil twin of global warming” and “the other CO2 problem”. Ocean Acidification is partially anthropogenic in origin and caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere;it involves a shift towards pH-neutral conditions rather than a transition to acidic conditions. An estimated 30–40% of the carbon dioxide, released from human activities, dissolves into oceans, rivers and lakes. Part of the carbon dioxide reacts with the water to form carbonic acid. Some of the resulting carbonic acid molecules dissociate into a bicarbonate ion and a hydrogen ion and finally help to increase the ocean acidity (H+ ion concentration). Ocean Acidification have harmful consequences for marine organisms such as depressing metabolic rates, decrease in the immune responses and bleaching of corals and shellfish. The additional carbonic acid that forms in the oceans ultimately results in the conversion of carbonate ions into bicarbonate ions. This net decrease in the amount of carbonate ions make it more difficult for marine calcifying organisms, such as corals and plankton to form biogenic calcium carbonate, and such marine organisms become vulnerable to dissolution. Ongoing acidification of the oceans is a threat to the future oceanic food chains, and if uncontrolled then it will result into ecological collapse in the oceans. Since the Industrial Revolution, our seas have become about 30 percent more acidic, a rate not observed in 300 million years. This has a wide range of consequences for marine ecosystems, as well as for the billions of people who depend on the ocean for food and survival. According to ‘Climate Central‘, since the industrial revolution, ocean pH has dropped from 8.2 to 8.1. At current emission rates, ocean pH may drop to 7.8 by the end of the century, creating an ocean more acidic than any seen in the past 100 million years.

What can be done?

1- There is an urgent need to achieve the mitigation targets set by the Paris Agreement on climate change and keep global average temperature increase below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. This will help to control the impacts of ocean warming on ocean ecosystems and their services.

2- Regulate human activities in these habitats and prevent environmental degradation. It will help to conserve and protect marine habitats.

3- Restoring marine and coastal ecosystems

4- Introduce policies to keep fisheries production & seafood production within sustainable limits.

5- Increase investments in scientific research to measure and monitor ocean warming and its effects. This will provide more precise data on impacts of ocean warming and will be helpful in making the mitigation and adaptation strategies.

A New Model To Predict The Future Of A Disease

Little is known about how the majority of human infectious diseases will be affected by future global environmental changes. Scientists have developed a new predictive model to know about how the diseases, specially ‘Ebola Virus Disease’ (EVD), will be developed by 2070.

What Is Ebola?

According to a research published in “The New England Journal of Medicine,” of April 2014 issue, fruit bats of Pterpodidae family, are natural hosts and potential reservoirs of most lethal Ebola virus known, named Zaire ebolavirus. The Zaire Ebola was the causative agent of outbreak in Western Africa. That outbreak in West African nations had been described by the WHO as the worst in history.

Zaire Ebolavirus strain is the most lethal of the six known strains (including the newly discovered Bombali strain); it is fatal in up to 90% of cases.

Ebola Virus
Source: CDC

The filovirus genome contains seven genes, including VP40. The natural reservoir of the virus is thought to be the African fruit bats.

Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of infected symptomatic person or through objects contaminated with infected environment. Infected “bushmeat” of bats or gorilla, usually serves as the first exposure to diseased animal food.

The incubation period of Ebola virus can range from 2 to 21 days.

The symptoms of Ebola virus include fever, sore throat, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding, with a fatality rate approaching 90 percent.

There is no cure and no known vaccine of EVD, although efforts are going on to design one.

The viral RNA fragments were found in an oral swab from a greater long-fingered bat (Miniopterus inflatus), captured in 2016 in Liberia’s Sanniquellie-Mahn District, which borders Guinea.
Source: Science

The Model

Scientists of University College London, Prof David Redding and Prof Kate Jones, used a mathematical model to analyze “Ebola Outbreak Dynamics” and to understand how climate change, land use, population growth and poverty will affect a disease spread. They back-tested the model to check its validity and confirmed that the model was able to successfully predict past outbreaks. Then, they “pointed” it in the future. They found that unless action is taken to limit population growth, greenhouse gas emissions, and social inequality, the likelihood of new outbreaks will rise significantly. Poverty and climate change, in particular, are two main contributors to outbreak risk. Climate change and poverty can increase the risk of an outbreak, researchers warn.

The problem with climate change is that it makes more environments available for disease-carrying species. Climate change will directly lead to net negative health impacts. According to WHO, climate variability have a direct influence on the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases. By 2100 it is estimated that average global temperatures will have risen by 1.0–3.5 °C and will increase the spread of many vector-borne diseases in new areas. Amongst these are fungi transmitted Cryptococcus gattii infection, algal transmitted Ciguatera fish poisoning, tick vector transmitted Lyme disease and mosquito vector transmitted West Nile Virus encephalitis, Chikungunya, Rift Valley Fever, Zika virus paralysis and Dengue fever and Bats transmitted Ebola Outbreak by Ebola virus. Other equally important diseases, which will spread and prevalent due to climate change, include respiratory allergies due to increased human exposure to pollen, molds, air pollution and dust, cancer risk due to increased duration and intensity of ultraviolet (UV) radiation and heat-related illness and deaths.

In the case of EVD, fruit bats are thought to be a reservoir of the virus. Ebola virus risk will be compounded by increasing populations which in turn will push people to new areas of previously untouched forests (home to bat species which can transfer the disease). Thousands of people died due to ‘2013–2016 Ebola outbreak’ in West African nations.

Ebola Virus Ecology and Transmission
Source: CDC

The model is not an exact prediction but the statistical predictions it makes can be extremely useful. This new model predicts where Ebola might strike next. For instance, the predictions pointed to potential outbreaks in places such as Nigeria, which have not yet had an Ebola epidemic. These areas, prone to a probable Ebola outbreak, may be made prepared so that the nation can save numerous lives.

The model also predicts where the disease might spread to other parts of the world, via airlines. Western Europe and the US are prone to import some infected individuals, as is Russia, China, India, and much of Asia.

The model suggest further outbreaks could occur across most of West and Central Africa. Trends in the underlying drivers of EVD risk suggest a 1.75 to 3.2-fold increase in the endemic rate of animal-human viral spill-overs in Africa by 2070, given current modes of healthcare intervention.

Two thirds of human infectious diseases are animal-borne (zoonotic) and these diseases form a major, global health and economic burden, mostly impacting poor communities. Many zoonotic diseases are poorly understood, and global health responses to them are underfunded. This model framework can also be used to target interventions designed to reduce epidemic risk for many other zoonotic diseases.

Climate change makes more environments available for disease-carrying species. Researchers of ‘University College London’ found that unless action is taken to limit population growth, greenhouse gas emissions and social inequality, the likelihood of new outbreaks will rise significantly. Poverty and climate change, in particular, are two main contributors to outbreak risk.

In all realistic simulations, the incidence of Ebola will rise. In the worst case scenario, the area affected by “spillovers” (transmission of Ebola from animals to humans) can rise by 15%, which brings a substantial increase in outbreak risk.

This model predicts future global change scenarios, with higher human population growth and lower rates of socio-economic development, a fourfold higher likelihood of epidemics occurring as a result of spill-over events.

This model will play an important role in predicting about diseases and will be helpful to make a possible strategy to control the disease before it take the shape of a ‘outbreak’.

Mass Awareness Through Anti-deforestation ‘Red Tape Movement’

Earth is under the grip of climate change which, in turn, is the result of increasing level of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs)—due to deforestation, urbanization, industrialization, pollution and increasing human population. Melting of polar ice caps, oceanic acidification, increasing global temperature, flood, drought, increasing sea level, and depleting biodiversity are important impacts of “Climate Change”. Anthropogenic activities are raising the level of CO2 by about two parts per million a year in the atmosphere.

According to the Centre For Research On The Epidemiology Of Disaster (CRED) & UNISDR, people exposed to natural hazards in low-income countries are seven times more prone to deaths, and six times more prone to injuries or displacement compared to equivalent populations in high-income countries.

According to the IPCC 2014 report, the damage caused by climate change will increase as temperatures rise, and it will affect vulnerable populations through food insecurity, higher food prices, income losses, lost livelihood opportunities, adverse health impacts, and population displacements.

Climate change threatens to create a vicious cycle for the world’s poor, as further warming pushes more people into poverty, increasing their vulnerability to climate impacts. Extreme weather threatens critical services like electricity, housing, food production and water supply. According to UNISDR, climate-related and geographical disasters have killed 1.3 million people worldwide and injured 4.4 billion in the last 20 years.

Globally, floods are the most frequent natural disaster, affecting the highest number of people across the biggest geographical area. According to NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority), India is highly vulnerable to flooding with more than 40 million hectares or 12% of India’s total geographical area prone to floods. So, we must develop a better and natural “GHG Sink system” to achieve 350 ppm CO2 level in the atmosphere. Trees are the “Best Natural Sinks” of CO2 on land and will be helpful to tackle climate change.

Red Tape Movement

I started the Red Tape Movement as an anti-deforestation awareness movement to save trees and biodiversity, when I was posted as the District Savings Officer of District Etawah (Uttar Pradesh, India), on June 5, 2008.

Under this movement, especially on holiday, we choose a village or community place and do a plantation drive, tie red tapes on existing tree trunks with the help of people and administer an “oath to save nature”. We deliver the message that cutting trees will be lethal for us and our generations to come. Since 2008, we have tied red tapes on thousands of trees and made people at grassroots aware of climate change and the importance of nature conservation. The Red Tape Movement is working actively to achieve the UN’s SDG 13.

Rise For Climate

The Red Tape Movement was also the global partner for the “Rise For Climate” global event and had organised the event in more than 350 education departments of rural schools through “Teachers Club Uttar Pradesh” and “Mission Shikshan Samvad Uttar Pradesh”. About 10,000 students and teachers participated in this event on September 8, 2018. The general-secretary of “Teachers Club Uttar Pradesh”, Mr Avanindra Jadaun (District Etawah) led the event along with Mr Vimal Kumar, Teacher in Junior High School (District Kanpur Dehat). On September 8th, rural schools, in throughout Uttar Pradesh, participated in a plantation drive aimed at making students and villagers aware of environment conservation and climate change. Students tied red tapes on tree trunks and took an “oath” to save trees and biodiversity, and to live an environment-friendly life.

Special Drive

This year the Red Tape Movement is running a “Saplings to Trees” awareness drive. “Care After Plantation” is critical because, after plantation, people rarely go back to look at the status of the seedlings they planted; hence, the saplings often die. Trees give us life; it’s our duty to look after them as our family members.

The “Saplings to Trees” drive, between August 14- October 02, 2019, encouraged people at grassroots to help the saplings to grow into trees. Thousands of teachers, about 300,000 students and about 1.5 million family members and villagers participated in the drive between August 14 to October 2, 2019. Mission Shikshan Samvad and Teachers Club Uttar Pradesh were the main organisers of this drive.

Red Tape Movement in the Himalayan province in Uttarakhand, India.

Global Climate Strike

Red Tape Movement also participated in the recent “Global Climate Strike” between September 20–27, 2019 in different regions of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the students and teachers organised an awareness program for the villagers to bring home the message of saving and protecting saplings after plantation. Students, teachers, residents, police, religious heads, officers, local leaders and inmates in jail—all are participating for a better future!

Some pictures from the event:

Every Step Counts (Our Pledge)

We are at a tipping point. Now, we can’t live with energy from fossil fuels. 21st Century is the “Century Of Climate Change”, and it’s time to re-empower our communities with clean and renewable energy so that we can make it the “Century Of Renewable Energy”. Anything less than this is out of line.

“United” we can save earth from Climate Change, through such peoples participatory grass root awareness movements and by living an eco-friendly life, for our future generations to come.

Global Loss Of Forest Cover

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”

– John Muir

Forests hold more than three-quarters of the world’s biodiversity, provide many products and services that contribute to socio-economic development and are particularly important for hundreds of millions of people in rural areas. The livelihoods and food security of many of the world’s rural poor depend on forests and trees.

Forests are home to many species of birds, reptiles, arthropods, annelids and mammals. Thus, forests are the foundation of most life on Earth. But, forests and dependent biodiversity are facing the impacts of anthropogenic climate change due to deforestation, urbanisation, industrialisation, pollution and increasing human population. Anthropogenic activities are raising the level of carbon dioxide by about two parts per million a year in the atmosphere.

A tribal family in Koraput, Odisha. (Photo: Shiv’s fotografia/Wikipedia)

World population is projected to increase from around 7.6 billion today to close to 10 billion people by 2050. Global demand for food is estimated to grow by 50% during this period; it will place enormous pressure on forests to agriculture land conversion which will threaten the livelihoods of foresters, forest communities and indigenous peoples, but also the variety of life on our planet. We can expect a loss of habitat, land degradation, soil erosion, decrease in clean water, dropping of ground water and the release of carbon into the atmosphere.

TheGlobal Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) and FAO found that the world’s forest area decreased from 31.6% of the global land area to 30.6% between 1990 and 2015. According to Britannica, in the 19th century, tropical forests covered approximately 20% of the dry land area on Earth, but by the end of the 20th century this figure had dropped to less than 7%. In India, according to State of Forest Report 2017, the total forest and tree cover in India was 80.20 million hectares, which was 24.39% of the geographical area of the country with a reduction of 0.34 million hectares of moderately dense forests due to forest degradation.

Three-quarters of the globe’s accessible freshwater comes from forested watersheds but 40% percent of the world’s 230 major watersheds have lost more than half of their original tree cover. An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest, which is roughly the size of the country of Panama, are lost each year, according to FAO. It is estimated that 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation, according to the WWF. The growing intensity of wildfires and their spread to new corners of the globe is a big danger for forests. This is really alarming.

The Importance Of Forests

Apart from food, fodder and medicine, forests supply about 40% of global renewable energy. About 2.4 billion people depend upon forests for basic energy services. Forests and trees play a crucial role in controlling greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They act as carbon sinks and absorb about 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

What Do We Do Now?

The value of ecosystems to human livelihoods and well-being amounts to $125 trillion per year. The United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030 includes a target to increase forest area by 3% worldwide by 2030, signifying an increase of 120 million hectares, an area over twice the size of France. Urgent action must be taken to reduce the loss of forests, habitats and biodiversity which are part of our common heritage and which support food and water security. Climate change mitigation and/or adaptation are the need of the hour if we are to ensure peace and security.

When A Forest Is Destroyed…..

“When a forest is lost, then an ecosystem and dependent life is lost” – Prabhat Misra

A forest is a large area dominated by trees. There is no universally recognised or precise definition, with more than 800 definitions of forests used around the world. Although a forest is usually defined by the presence of trees, under many definitions, “an area completely lacking trees may still be considered a forest if it grew trees in the past, will grow trees in the future, or was legally designated as a forest regardless of vegetation type.”

Forests cover a third of the world’s land. According to the World Bank’s World Development Indicator 2016 “At the beginning of the 20th century, the Earth’s forest area was about 50 million square kilometers. According to the World Bank’s World Development Indicator 2016, since 1990, the world has lost 1.3 million square kilometers of forests, an area larger than South Africa.”

According to a study published in the research journal ‘Nature’ dated September 2015, there are about 3 trillion trees on Earth, which amounts to about 400 trees per person. “Of these trees, approximately 1.30 trillion exist in tropical and subtropical forests, with 0.74 trillion in boreal regions and 0.66 trillion in temperate regions.” It is estimated that over 15 billion trees are cut down each year, and the global number of trees has fallen by approximately 46% since the start of human civilization. Tropical regions have been seeing the fastest loss of forests.

World Bank’s report titled ‘Turn Down the Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts, and the Case for Resilience’, concluded that “The world would warm by 4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century if we did not take concerted action now”.

According to a study by Michigan University’s ‘Global Change Curriculum’, it is only after more than 100 years that forests become as they were before they were cut.

According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), current extinction rates are about 1,000 times higher than before humans came along, and future rates are likely to about 10,000 times higher.

The UN General Assembly has declared 2011-2020 as the UN Decade on Biodiversity. The United Nations proclaimed May 22 the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB), to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.

According to Ecologist Fredrick Clements, who worked on the concept of predictable change in vegetation time, ecological succession is a process involving several phases:

• Nudation: Succession begins with the development of a bare site, called nudation (disturbance).
• Migration: refers to the arrival of propagules.
• Ecesis: involves the establishment and initial growth of vegetation.
• Competition: as the vegetation becomes well established, grows, and spreads, various species begin to compete for space, light, and nutrients.
• Reaction: during this phase autogenic changes such as the buildup of humus affect the habitat, and one plant community replaces another.
• Stabilisation: a supposedly stable climax community forms.

A forest consists of many components that can be broadly divided into two categories: biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components. The living parts include trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and other herbaceous (non-woody) plants, mosses, algae, fungi, insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and microorganisms living on the plants and animals and in the soil. Forests are often home to many animal and plant species.

Research shows how forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the Earth’s biosphere and contain 80% of the Earth’s plant biomass. Net primary production is estimated at 21.9 gigatonnes carbon per year for tropical forests, 8.1 for temperate forests, and 2.6 for boreal forests.

Scientists have recorded how the first known forests on Earth arose in the Late Devonian (approximately 380 million years ago), with the evolution of Archaeopteris. Archaeopteris quickly spread throughout the world, from the equator to subpolar latitudes. Archaeopteris formed the first forest by being the first known species to cast shade due to its fronds and forming soil from its roots.

The greenhouse effect resulting in an increase in temperature is likely to bring profound allogenic changes. Allogenic succession is caused by external environmental influences and not by the vegetation. Climate change often occurs at a rate and frequency sufficient to prevent arrival at a climax state.

Forests provide a diversity of ecosystem services including:

• Converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and biomass. A full-grown tree produces about 100 kg of net oxygen per year.
• Acting as a carbon sink. Therefore, they are necessary to stop climate change.
• Aiding in regulating climate. For example, research from 2017, show that forests can induce rainfall. If the forest is cut, it can lead to drought.
• Purifying water.
• Mitigating natural hazards such as floods.
• Serving as a genetic reserve.
• Serving as a source of lumber and as recreational areas.

According to the special report on Global Warming by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in October 2018, to avoid temperature rise by more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, there will need to be an increase in global forest cover equal to the land area of Canada (10 million km2), by the year 2050.

So, when a forest is destroyed, like in Aarey, then an ecosystem will die. Let’s come and raise our voice to save forests.

Are Plantation Forests Eco Friendly Or Just ‘Green Deserts’?

A forest is a complex, biodiversity-rich, self-regenerating ecosystem, consisting of soil, water, microclimate, and a wide variety of plants and animals in mutual coexistence, on a piece of land. Trees are naturally regenerated in ‘natural forests’. Natural Forests have high biomass density, i.e., they sequester more carbon and have ‘continuous plant growth’.

A natural forest is made up of many layers, i.e., it is multi-storey. The main layers of all forest types are the forest floor, the understory and the canopy. The ’emergent layer’ exists in tropical rainforests. Each layer has a different set of flora and fauna, depending upon the availability of sunlight, moisture and food. Thus, natural forests are biologically diverse, and home to many rare species threatened species, and endangered species’. ‘Natural Forests’ host more than 70% of terrestrial biodiversity and are critical for life on the planet.

Forests grow around the world, from the equator to polar regions. Different climates have different kinds of forests e.g., in cold climates conifers dominate, in temperate and tropical climates flowering plants dominate. Different rainfall also has different kinds of forests. No forest exist in deserts, just a few xerophytes are dispersed.

Anthropogenic factors (human impact on the environment) are encouraging logging, forest fires, acid rain, invasive species introduction, shifting cultivation and deforestation. Excessive deforestation reduces biodiversity, affect natural forests and also indigenous species that rely upon old-growth forest habitat. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation report-2010, ‘agriculture expansion is increasing deforestation’.

In 1997, the World Resources Institute recorded that only 20% of the world’s original forests remained in large intact tracts of undisturbed forests, and among these, more than 75% of forests are found in three countries: boreal forests of Russia and Canada and the rainforest of Brazil.

Plantation programmes are being carried out globally, along with conservation of natural forests, to protect biodiversity, to ‘change climate change’ by increasing the ‘carbon sink area’, for soil and water conservation, and for industrial wood production. However, according to this article, “Plantations are most likely to contribute to biodiversity when established on degraded lands rather than replacing natural ecosystems and when indigenous tree species are used rather than exotic species.”

Single Species Plantation Forests Are Not Natural Forests

But, new forests or plantation forests or anthropogenic forests are not completely equivalent to natural forests or old-growth forests in terms of species diversity, resilience and carbon capture. Plantations, going globally, are usually monoculture, that is, large saplings of the same species are planted across a given area, whereas a natural forest contains a more diverse range of tree species. In a true sense, single-species plantation forests are not natural forests.

Plantations of single tree species may have very different ecosystem characteristics than do many native forests. Monoculture plantations have very little biodiversity, require human intervention and use of large amounts of herbicides and pesticides. They have ‘less biomass density‘, sequester less carbon and have a single storey. These are managed forests, in which the trees of the same age, and generally of the same species, are planted; this is done chiefly to maximise the production of the wood fibre.

Plantations may include tree species that would not naturally occur in the area e.g. hybrids and genetically modified trees.

In ecological terms, plantations are always young forests. What does this mean? Such forests do not contain the type of growth, soil or wildlife which is usually seen in of old-growth, natural forest ecosystems.

The Problem With Plantation Forests

Plantation forests are the cause of numerous environmental problems in many countries because of mostly single-species dominance. For instance, in Indonesia, where palm oil plantation is causing a threat to many species, including red apes or orangutans, only 15% of native species can survive the transition from primary forest to a plantation. In Indonesia, multinational pulp companies have harvested large areas of natural forest. About 50% of the 1.4 million hectares of pulpwood plantations in Indonesia have been established on what was previously natural forest land.

Single species plantations have a negative impact on biodiversity, communities, and local economies which includes, loss of biodiversity, depletion of water sources and water pollution from pesticides and agrochemicals used.

Annually, September 21st is observed as the ‘International Day of Struggle against Monoculture Tree Plantations’.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation projects a huge increase in monoculture tree plantations: between 40 and 90 million hectares will be planted by the year 2030.

So, next time, when you opt for plantation, first ensure that it is not going to be a monoculture. This step will be helpful to save the depleting biodiversity and will maintain the ‘high biomass density’ of the ‘future forest’ so that they will be able to sequester more carbon and will help to ‘change climate change’.

Care After Plantation

“To exist as a nation, to prosper as a state, to live as a people, we must have trees.”

― Theodore Roosevelt

“People who will not sustain trees will soon live in a world that will not sustain people.”

― Bryce Nelson

Forests are one of the planet’s first lines of defense against climate change, absorbing as much as a quarter of man-made carbon emissions each year. Apart from this, trees play unconditional and more very important roles on Earth.

Plantation drive is run with the aim to increase green cover, renovation of forests and creating anthro-forests or man-made forests.

Ethiopia set the World Record for ‘most trees planted in a day’ on July 29, 2019 as part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s ‘Green Legacy Initiative’, a reforestation plan to address Ethiopia’s rapid tree loss.

But, despite these global as well as local campaigns and efforts, green cover is not improving very fast. This shows that only plantation is not important but `Care After Plantation‘ (CAP) is also equally or more important for ensuring the survival of a planted sapling and it’s development in a tree.

The saplings are like children that needs nurturing, care and proper environment to grow in. Where the saplings do not find such conditions to grow, results are not good; many saplings die before achieving the status of trees. The ‘Care After Plantation‘ (CAP) will take care of saplings, growing young trees and biodiversity.

Five-year maintenance time is a must for the success of plantations. Most saplings die in the first year. Saplings which have been growing since the past five years, typically grow in to a forest.

Due to lack of pre and post planting management, moisture stress, poor soil, planting unmanageable number of seedlings, lack of enforcement and monitoring system at grassroot level, it is not possible to achieve the maximum success in complete transformation of saplings into trees. Climate change will alter global tree coverage. If we take no action then the global potential canopy cover may shrink by about 223 million hectares by 2050, with maximum losses in the tropics.

The landowners, communities, businesses, students, teachers, employees, officers, leaders and other stakeholders should play an important role in ‘Care After Plantation’.

Saplings should be planted according to ‘city master plan’ and ‘Village Development Plan’ so that they do not have to be cut later. Saplings planted on the roadsides are prone to grazing, vehicular interference, grazing and human interference.

The’ Future Developed Nations’ will have high ‘Green Governance’, ‘Carbon Negativity’, ‘Forest Cover’, ‘Sustainable Development’, ‘Household Size’, ‘Education’ and ‘Health’. The’ CAP’ will help to achieve these targets through people’s participation. It will raise awareness at grassroot level and will help to increase the ‘green cover’. The resultant forests will create wildlife habitat, increase carbon sink area, provide oxygen, reduce flood risk, prevent soil erosion, increase groundwater, improve aesthetics and increase sustainability. The ‘CAP‘ will encourage people to learn about plant species, management of pests and diseases, plantation land management and conservation methods.

Students and Teachers are playing important role to cause awareness at grassroot level.

Recent study in the journal Science mapped the global potential tree coverage and showed that 4.4 billion hectares of canopy cover could exist under the current climate. Excluding existing trees, agricultural and urban areas, scientists found that there is a scope for an extra 0.9 billion hectares of canopy cover, which could store 205 gigatonnes of carbon in areas that would naturally support woodlands and forests. This highlights global tree restoration as one of the most effective carbon drawdown solutions to date, once they reached maturity.

If we want to keep global average temperature increase below our 2°C target, then we will have to increase global forest cover along with keeping fossil fuels in the ground and maximum reliability on renewable energy.

So, not only do plantation, but also take ‘care after plantation’ to fulfill our environmental duties with responsibility. Better environment is not only our right but duty also.

We should take responsibility to ‘Care After Plantation’ for a ‘Better Future’.

@PrabhatMisra

October 16, 2019

Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Are ‘Plantation Forests’ Ecofriendly Or Just ‘Green Deserts’?

A forest is a complex, biodiversity-rich, self-regenerating ecosystem, consisting of soil, water, microclimate, and a wide variety of plants and animals in mutual coexistence, on a piece of land. Trees are naturally regenerated in ‘natural forests’. Natural Forests have ‘high biomass density’, i.e., they sequester more carbon and have ‘continuous plant growth’.

A natural forest is made up of many layers, i.e., it is multi-storey. The main layers of all forest types are the ‘forest floor’, ‘the understory’ and ‘the canopy’. The ’emergent layer’ exists in tropical rainforests. Each layer has a different set of flora and fauna, depending upon the availability of sunlight, moisture and food. Thus, natural forests are ‘biologically diverse’, and ‘home to many rare species, threatened species, and endangered species’. ‘Natural Forests’ host more than 70% of terrestrial biodiversity and are critical for life on the planet.

Forests grow around the world, from the equator to polar regions. Different climates have different kinds of forests e.g., in cold climates conifers dominate, in temperate and tropical climates flowering plants dominate. Different rainfall also has different kinds of forests. No forest exist in deserts, just a few xerophytes are dispersed.

Anthropogenic factors (human impact on the environment) are encouraging logging, forest fires, acid rain, invasive species introduction, shifting cultivation and deforestation. Excessive deforestation reduces biodiversity, affect natural forests and also indigenous species that rely upon old-growth forest habitat. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report-2010, ‘agriculture expansion is increasing deforestation’.

In 1997, the World Resources Institute recorded that only 20% of the world’s original forests remained in large intact tracts of undisturbed forests, and among these, more than 75% of forests are found in three countries: boreal forests of Russia and Canada and the rainforest of Brazil.

Plantation programmes are going on globally, along with conservation of natural forests, to protect biodiversity, to ‘change climate change’ by increasing the ‘carbon sink area’, for soil and water conservation, and for industrial wood production. Plantations are most likely to contribute to biodiversity when established on degraded lands rather than replacing natural ecosystems and when indigenous tree species are used rather than exotic species.

But, ‘new forests‘ or ‘plantation forests‘ or ‘anthropogenic forests‘ are not completely equivalent to natural forests or old-growth forests in terms of species diversity, resilience and carbon capture. Plantations, going globally, are usually monoculture, that is, large saplings of the same species are planted across a given area, whereas a natural forest contains a more diverse range of tree species. In a true sense, ‘single species plantation forests’ are not ‘natural forests’.

Plantations of single tree species may have very different ecosystem characteristics than do many native forests. Monoculture plantations have very little biodiversity, require human intervention and use of large amounts of herbicides and pesticides. They have ‘less biomass density‘, sequester less carbon and have a single storey. These are managed forests, in which the trees of the same age, and generally of the same species, are planted; this is done chiefly to maximise the production of the wood fibre.

Plantations may include tree species that would not naturally occur in the area e.g. hybrids and genetically modified trees.

Plantations are always young forests in ecological terms. This means that the forests produced by plantations do not contain the type of growth, soil or wildlife typical of old-growth natural forest ecosystems.

‘Plantation Forests’ are the cause of numerous environmental problems in many countries because of mostly single-species dominance, for instance in Indonesia where ‘palm oil plantation’ is causing a threat to many species including ‘red apes’ or ‘orangutans’. Only15% of native species can survive the transition from primary forest to a plantation. In Indonesia, multinational pulp companies have harvested large areas of natural forest. About 50% of the 1.4 million hectares of pulpwood plantations in Indonesia have been established, which was earlier natural forest land.

Single species plantations have a negative impact on biodiversity, communities, and local economies which includes, loss of biodiversity, depletion of water sources and water pollution from pesticides and agrochemicals used.

Annually, September 21st is observed as the ‘International Day of Struggle against Monoculture Tree Plantations’.

A massive increase in monoculture tree plantations is predicted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation: between 40 and 90 million hectares will be planted by the year 2030.

So, next time, when you go for plantation, then first ensure that it is not going to be a monoculture. This step will be helpful to save the depleting biodiversity and will maintain the ‘high biomass density’ of the ‘future forest’ so that they will be able to sequester more carbon and will help to ‘change climate change’.

Published in ‘Hindustan Times Lucknow edition on 15/10/2019.

Why to worry about fossil fuels?

We are living in the 21st century, the world’s population is about 7.6 billion today, and it is expected to be 10 billion by 2050. Such a growing size is putting pressure on our ecology. Biodiversity and ecosystems are under stress. Our daily life and actions are not eco-friendly. Humans are destroying their future to fulfil their current unsustainable needs and ambitions. We are in the period of ‘Climate Crisis’.

It is said that we are moving towards the ‘Century Of Renewable Energy’ but our expanding urbanisation, industrialisation, agriculture and developmental activities are mostly dependent upon fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) for their energy needs. This, in turn, is causing the melting of polar ice, ocean acidification, coastal erosion, increasing global temperatures, floods, droughts, increasing sea level and depleting biodiversity.

Fossil fuels based energy, a fundamental driver of the Industrial Revolution, has played a dominant role in global energy systems. Fossil fuel production and consumption began with coal and its first reported use dates back to 4000BC, in China. In the nineteenth century, coal surpassed biomass in providing the largest share of the global energy supply and in the twentieth-century petroleum and natural gas overtook coal. Currently, crude oil is the largest fossil energy source, accounting for around 39 percent of fossil energy, followed by coal and natural gas at 33 and 28 percent, respectively.

The use of fossil energy sources has continued to grow, despite rapid growth in renewable energy sources. Renewable energy sources are not replacing fossil fuels but are rather expanding the overall amount of energy that is produced. This is the reason for increasing GHG emissions and ‘climate havoc’. We are under the grip of global ‘Climate Emergency’ and moving towards an irreversible phase of ‘Climate Crisis’.

This year alone, Greenland has lost enough ice to raise the average global sea level by more than a millimetre. The UN Climate Action Summit 2019 revealed that, as ice sheets and glaciers melt, the rapid sea-level rise could affect one billion people by 2050.

We cannot change our past but can change our future. We have two primary choices at present: either to accept the conditions as they exist and wait for the end of the future or accept the responsibility to ‘Change Climate Change’ for the sake of a livable, better and more sustainable future. It is upon us i.e. current generation, to choose a future, for better or worse. If we want to cherish every precious moment on earth, then we must take urgent ‘climate action’ for a ‘sustainable future’. If we want to keep global average temperature increase below our 2°C target, then we will have to leave the majority (up to 80 percent) of our fossil fuels in the ground and increase global forest cover equal to the land area of Canada (10 million km2), by the year 2050.

So, all humans should do their best and surrender the worst for their future’s best.

Climate Hug ( Klima Umarmung )

When we search for the meaning of hug then we find that Hug means to hold someone or something tightly in one’s arms especially to express affection. According to Wikipedia, hug can indicate familiarity, love, affection, friendship, brotherhood, sympathy, support, comfort, and consolation, particularly where words are insufficient. A hug usually demonstrates affection and emotional warmth. A hug can be practiced publicly and privately without stigma in many countries, religions and cultures, within families, and also across age and gender lines, but is generally an indication that people are familiar with each other. Moving from a handshake (or touch-free) relationship to a hug relationship is a sign of a closer friendship such as best friends.

‘Climate Hug‘ is an affection, love and friendship with those things which are eco-friendly & can save world from ‘Climate Change’. Whole world is facing ‘Climate Change’ and ‘Climate Crisis’ coz of anthropogenic activities (deforestation, urbanization, industrialization, pollution and increasing human population) which are raising GHGs emission by 2ppm/year & causing ‘Warming of Earth’. Melting of polar ice, oceanic acidification, increasing global temperature, flood, drought, increasing sea level and depleting biodiversity are important impacts of ‘Climate Change’. The growing intensity of wildfires and their spread to new corners of the globe raises fears that climate change is exacerbating the dangers.

We are in ‘Climate Emergency‘ and it is need of the hour to take urgent ‘Climate Action’.

On September 20, 2019 the ‘Water Conservation Girls‘ or ‘Jal Shakti Kanya‘ will organise ‘Climate Hug’ to show their support for ‘Global Climate Strike‘; these girls will hug trees after binding ‘Red Tape‘ on trees trunks & after taking ‘Oath To Save Nature‘. They will deliver the message to the world that take ‘Climate Action’ and live eco-friendly life every second to ‘Save Future.’ ‘Climate Action’ should be in our deeds & daily life. Love & use only those products which are not releasing GHGs into the atmosphere. Use renewable forms of energy and least dependence on fossil energy.

Climate Hug is a ‘Climate Action’ & a drive under ‘Red Tape Movement‘ by Prabhat Misra to show your love & live your life for ‘Climate Friendly Products‘, Trees, Biodiversity, ‘Plastic-free & Pollution-free Society‘.

Let’s come & be part of it on September 20th & every day.

Author: Prabhat Misra

Toilet Parliament, The Sanitation Democracy

We are living in the 21st Century, the Century Of Climate Change. With the rise of mean global temperature, the population of disease causing vectors will also increase. These vectors, like mosquitoes & flies, are carriers of diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, Chikungunya, Dengue etc. Open defecation is making the situation worst and helping to spread these diseases. Every year 188,000 children or more than 500 children per day die because of open defecation. India is the home of world’s largest population which defecate in the open.

But, India is trying best to make Swachh Bharat or Clean India. In this regard, District Administration of Firozabad (Uttar Pradesh Province) formed a new model named ‘Toilet Parliament’ to encourage villagers for ‘Sanitation’, to use toilets and stop the practice of open defecation. This model has been developed by Mr Prabhat Misra, Assistant Director, National Savings, Firozabad. The first ‘Toilet Parliament’ was formed in Mohammadpur Nadayi village of Madanpur Block of District Firozabad on experimental basis, on 28 September 2017. Later, after success in this village, District Magistrate Mrs Neha Sharma implemented model of ‘Toilet Parliament’ in Firozabad district, on 03 November 2017.

This is a new kind of democracy, that is, ‘Sanitation Democracy’ or ‘Toilet Democracy‘.

Parliament is comprises of villagers who have personal toilets or toilets under ‘Swachh Bharat Mission, Headman of Village Council, Secretary of Village Council, school teachers and headmasters, sanitary workers, Asha, Anganwadi, Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and retired government employees.

Members of ‘Toilet Parliament’ will work collectively and voluntarily to encourage villagers for construction and use of toilets.

Members will promote Sanitation. Every week, Members will organise ‘cleanliness drive’ to clean the village.

Members will cooperate ANM, Anganwadi, Asha and government officials to cope with malnourishment and to help pregnant women for good health.

For ‘Clean and Healthy Society’, members will help in ‘social and behaviour change’.

Female members will encourage the use of ‘sanitary napkins’ by young girls and women.

‘Toilet Parliament’ will help ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ to make ‘Open Defecation Free’ India. It will be equally helpful to ‘Change Climate Change’ by controlling Methane Emission.

It is a revolutionary sanitation step and is based on Awareness, Education and Campaign (ACE). Shikohabad Block has become probably the FIRST Block of India in which every Gram Panchayat has Toilet Parliament.

This model is a ‘Citizens Action Group’ which act on the concept of ‘United We can do & achieve’.

On World Toilet Day 2018, top bureaucrats of India CEO NITI Aayog, Mr. Amitabh Kant and Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Mr. Parameswaran Iyer emptied a toilet pit and then participated in a ‘Toilet Parliament’ organised in village Wazidpur Kutukpur of Firozabad District (Uttar Pradesh). The village has attained ODF (open defecation free) status and is moving towards ODF plus activities.

During the Toilet Parliament, six resolutions were passed:

1– The community would sustain its ODF status and levy a fine on any open defecator.

2– Convert all single pit toilets to twin pit toilets.

3– Village Council will make a soakpit in all septic tanks.

4– Village Council will promote composting in each village for solid waste management.

5– Village Council will eliminate plastic usage.

6– District Administration will promote use of organic fertilizers by all in the district.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kant appreciated the concept of the Toilet Parliament. Participating in this Parliament, he said this is a unique initiative as it allows people a platform to discuss their issues related to sanitation and reach consensus for collective action. He said this concept of Toilet Parliament should be scaled up as it reflects the value of involving people in decision making.

Offering his comments, Mr. Iyer congratulated the village and the district for achieving ODF status. He said the six resolutions demonstrate the commitment of the village to sustain the ODF outcomes.

The twitter account of ‘Toilet Parliament’s is @ToiletSansad; it will provide latest information about the activities and achievements of ‘Toilet Parliament’.

Globally, this model will be helpful to ‘Change Climate Change’ and in making of a ‘Clean Society’.

Update :

Each Village Council in Block Firozabad (District Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, India) will have a Woman Brand Ambassador to represent Cultural heritage and Sanitation of that Village Council. Order has been issued by Block Development Officer of Block Firozabad Mr Prabhat Misra on November 30, 2018.

Story by Mr Prabhat Misra.

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Blog Action Day 2010

Blog Action Day 2010 Water

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Clean Water- A Big Challenge [Blog Action Day 2010]

Save River Ganga, the lifeline and Goddess of India.

Since the advent of INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, the problem of CLEAN WATER and RELATED PROBLEMS get worsten. Unplanned URBANIZATION-cum-INDUSTRIALIZATION along with POPULATION EXPLOSION resulting into WATER POLLUTION, KILLING OF WATER BODIES, DEATHS OF AQUATIC FLORA and FAUNA, UNINHABITABLE RIVERS, DEATHS OF CHILDREN due to UNSAFE DRINKING WATER etc. Today, nearly ONE BILLION PEOPLE lack basic access to safe water. The problem of UNSAFE WATER is a MAN-MADE PROBLEM; so the solution must be developed by man. SAFE DRINKING WATER is the part of Millennium Development Goal under Target 7C ; the target under MDG 7C is- Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. On 28 July 2010, UN General Assembly declares access to clean water and sanitation as a human right.

We are facing a big problem of clean water in 21st Century; WE CAN BRING A MAJOR POSITIVE CHANGE by living ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY LIFE. New Urbanization and Industrialization must fulfill all the parameters of ENVIRONMENT AND WATER BODIES [ underground water, rivers, lakes, wetlands, oceans and glaciers] PROTECTION LAWS and ACTS; old cities and industries must adopt new technologies and infrastructure to treat sewage and pollutants and recycle these; there must be complete ban on release of sewage and industrial influents into water bodies. ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY LIFESTYLE and FAMILY PLANNING must be made a compulsory fundamental duty for every citizen. Blog Action Day 2010 has announced this year’s topic as WATER, at the right time. Clean and Safe water is must for humans and other living beings survival and their right too; OUR FUTURE IS IN CLEAN WATER. Be helpful in achieving MDG target 7C and secure a bright future.