The sweet leaf, also known as the honey herb, is nowadays being used as an alternative for sugar. It is also used to treat a gamut of problems from diabetes obesity, hypertension, physical fatigue, and heart burn to even dental decay as the leaves are endowed with significant medicinal properties. A native of Paraguay and named after the Spanish botanist P. J. Esteve, the plant has been used as a natural sweetener for centuries in South America, especially by the Guarani Indians in Paraguay. In Japan, Stevia was approved as a sweetening agent in 1970 and constitutes about 40 percent of the sweetening market. Currently, Japan consumes more Stevia than any other country. China is the world’s largest exporter of the Stevia extract, Stevioside.
In India the cultivation of Stevia in various parts of the country is being promoted by the Karnataka Agriculture University during the last few years. Also the Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology is making efforts to create awareness about the usefulness of Stevia among the people in the area.
Stevia belongs to the family Asteraceae (botanical name Stevia rebaudiana), and is a sub-tropical frost sensitive perennial herb that grows up to about 2 feet in height. It grows on most soils, but prefers a sandy loam or loam that is high in organic matter. Stevia responds favourably to fertilizers with lower nitrogen content and most organic fertilizers work well, since they release nitrogen slowly. The plants may be kept indoors in winter with a fluorescent light left on for 14-16 hours per day, in areas that are prone to frost. Cuttings from wintered plants provide fresh plants for spring although seeds may also be used to grow the plant. Since germination rates are poor and seedlings are very slow to establish, it is best grown as an annual or perennial transplanted crop. Stevia prefers partial shade in climates with considerable summer sunshine. Long spring and summer days favour leaf growth while short days trigger blossoming.
Active Constituents and Biosynthesis
One of the major chemical constituent called Stevioside is found in Stevia leaf and attributes to the sweetening of the leaf. The leaf also contains rebaudioside A. In addition to the sweet diterpenoid glycosides, several other diterpenes have been isolated from Stevia. Since these compounds may be part of the waste stream produced during Stevia processing, their availability in large quantities could make them valuable co-products. Recent pharmalogical test on Stevia reveals that Stevioside and rebaudioside A found in the leaf may be successfully used to stabilize carbonated beverages as they are both heat and pH stable. Rebaudioside A is the least astringent, the least bitter, in relation to other high potency sweeteners such as aspartame. In aspartame the bitterness tends to increase with higher concentrations.
Stevia Leaf — a Natural Sweetner
Stevia leaf is about 300 times sweeter than sugar in its natural state and much more when processed. Unlike many chemical sweeteners, Stevia’s flavour is stable when heated. Like any other natural sweeteners as honey and maple syrup, Stevia has its own special flavour and does not taste exactly like sugar. However despite all its sweetness, there is a bitter aftertaste when the leaf, extract or Stevioside powder is placed in the mouth.
Action and Use
The Stevia leaf works as a wonderful sugar substitute and used to sweeten jams, dried sea food, gum and ice cream. It is safe for diabetics and hypoglycemics and has neither calories nor carbohydrates, making it suitable for health conscious people (it has only 1/300th amount of calories contained in sugar). Its medicinal uses include regulating blood sugar, preventing hypertension and may be used to treat of skin disorders.
A study conducted at the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark reports that Stevioside enhances insulin secretion from pancreas in presence of glucose via a direct action on pancreatic beta cells. No wonder it is considered as a great alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners for those who have diabetes.
Moreover it actually inhibits dental decay as opposed to sugar, which contributes to it. Less known, but no less remarkable, is the ability of water-based Stevia concentrate to help heal numerous skin problems, including acne, seborrhea, dermatitis and eczema. The application of Stevia leaf paste to cuts and wounds brings rapid healing without scarring. Pharmacological research also reveals its use to heal psoriasis, burns and lip sores.
With the worldwide demand growing day by day Stevia represents a new opportunity for researchers and farmers alike. Since a ready market exists for Stevia efforts need to be upgraded to promote the cultivation of the plant in different parts of India.
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- Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund.
- LEAF is supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon.com, Inc, Nestle, Airbnb, Inc as well as Emergent, a US-based non-profit.
- The world lost more than 10 million hectares of primary tropical forest cover last year, an area roughly the size of Switzerland.
- Ending tropical and subtropical forest loss by 2030 is a crucial part of meeting global climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals. Protecting tropical forests offers one of the biggest opportunities for climate action in the coming decade.
- Tropical forests are massive carbon sinks and by investing in their protection, public and private players are likely to stock up on their carbon credits.
- The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.
- REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It monetised the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.
- It is a unique initiative as it seeks to help developing countries in battling the double-edged sword of development versus ecological commitment.
- The initiative comes at a crucial time. The tropics have lost close to 12.2 million hectares (mha) of tree cover last year according to global estimates released by Global Forest Watch.
- Of this, a loss of 4.2 mha occurred within humid tropical primary forests alone. It should come as no surprise that most of these lost forests were located in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
- Brazil has fared dismally on the parameter of ‘annual primary forest loss’ among all countries. It has lost 1.7 mha of primary forests that are rich storehouse of carbon. India’s estimated loss in 2020 stands at 20.8 kilo hectares.
- Between 2002-2020, Brazil’s total area of humid primary forest reduced by 7.7 per cent while India’s reduced by 3.4 per cent.
- Although the loss in India is not as drastic as in Brazil, its position is nevertheless precarious. For India, this loss is equivalent to 951 metric tonnes worth carbon dioxide emissions released in the atmosphere.
- It is important to draw comparisons between Brazil and India as both countries have adopted a rather lackadaisical attitude towards deforestation-induced climate change. The Brazilian government hardly did anything to control the massive fires that gutted the Amazon rainforest in 2019.
- It is mostly around May that forest fires peak in India. However, this year India, witnessed massive forest fires in early March in states like Odisha, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram among others.
- The European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service claimed that 0.2 metric tonnes of carbon was emitted in the Uttarakhand forest fires.
- Implementation of the LEAF Coalition plan will help pump in fresh rigour among developing countries like India, that are reluctant to recognise the contributions of their forest dwelling populations in mitigating climate change.
- With the deadline for proposal submission fast approaching, India needs to act swiftly on a revised strategy.
- Although India has pledged to carry out its REDD+ commitments, it is impossible to do so without seeking knowledge from its forest dwelling population.
Context:-
At the recently concluded Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021, Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arrest the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]What is LEAF Coalition?
Why LEAF Coalition?
Brazil & India
According to the UN-REDD programme, after the energy sector, deforestation accounts for massive carbon emissions — close to 11 per cent — in the atmosphere. Rapid urbanisation and commercialisation of forest produce are the main causes behind rampant deforestation across tropical forests.
Tribes, Forests and Government
Disregarding climate change as a valid excuse for the fires, Indian government officials were quick to lay the blame for deforestation on activities of forest dwellers and even labelled them “mischievous elements” and “unwanted elements”.
Policy makers around the world have emphasised the role of indigenous tribes and local communities in checking deforestation. These communities depend on forests for their survival as well as livelihood. Hence, they understand the need to protect forests. However, by posing legitimate environmental concerns as obstacles to real development, governments of developing countries swiftly avoid protection of forests and rights of forest dwellers.
For instance, the Government of India has not been forthcoming in recognising the socio-economic, civil, political or even cultural rights of forest dwellers. According to data from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in December, 2020 over 55 per cent of this population has still not been granted either individual or community ownership of their lands.
To make matters worse, the government has undertaken systematic and sustained measures to render the landmark Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 ineffective in its implementation. The Act had sought to legitimise claims of forest dwellers on occupied forest land.
Various government decisions have seriously undermined the position of indigenous people within India. These include proposing amendments to the obsolete Indian Forest Act, 1927 that give forest officials the power to take away forest dwellers’ rights and to even use firearms with impunity.
There is also the Supreme Court’s order of February, 2019 directing state governments to evict illegal encroachers of forest land or millions of forest dwellers inhabiting forests since generations as a measure to conserve wildlife. Finally, there is the lack of data on novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths among the forest dwelling population;
Tardy administration, insufficient supervision, apathetic attitude and a lack of political intent defeat the cause of forest dwelling populations in India, thereby directly affecting efforts at arresting deforestation.
Way Forward
Tuntiak Katan, a global indigenous leader from Ecuador and general coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, aptly indicated the next steps at the Climate Summit:
“The first step is recognition of land rights. The second step is the recognition of the contributions of local communities and indigenous communities, meaning the contributions of indigenous peoples.We also need recognition of traditional knowledge practices in order to fight climate change”
Perhaps India can begin by taking the first step.