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The coral bleaching phenomenon:-
Even though reefs cover only a tiny area of the oceans (less than 0.1 per cent) they support the survival of almost a quarter of the marine creatures and over 500 million people on the planet (Underwater Earth, 2015) who are dependent on it for food, fishery, livelihood and culture.
In the last two decades, the corals around the globe have been experiencing massive bleaching, wherein they lose their colours and turn pale / white as they are unable to support the algae within them because of changes in sea water temperatures (very high or very low), high solar irradiance (too much of light), lowering of nutrients and salinity due to too much of surface run-off or mixing of fresh water near the coast, overfishing, heavy storms or pollution (oil drilling/spilling, coral trading, chemicals in agriculture, marine activities).
Figure 1. The various stages of coral bleaching
Corals can survive without the algae for short periods and revert back to original health with the re-entrance of the algae once the sea conditions return to normal, but if the stress factors stay longer, the corals begin to starve and die. The coral reefs, eventually, collapse due to erosion. A healthy coral reef system can even resist coral bleaching, but increasing global warming and frequent episodes of bleaching weaken even the healthy reef systems.
Global Extent of Coral Bleaching and Clive Wilkinson Report:-
Mass coral bleaching and mortality has become a global phenomenon covering all oceans. The first global event was observed in 1998 due to an underwater heat wave of a great magnitude triggered by El-Nino conditions (warm current spreading from Pacific to Indian Oceans), resulting in the death of about 16 per cent of the coral reefs around the world. And before the reefs could recover fully, the second mass bleaching event occurred in 2010.
Within just 4 years, the world saw the longest mass coral bleaching ever from 2014-2017. In the Great Barrier Reef of Australia (that runs for almost 4,000 kilometers along the north-eastern coastline) which is one of the best managed marine protected areas in the world, among the 500 observed reefs, only about 4 did not experience any bleaching in 2016 (hitting about 90 per cent of the reefs, and killing between 29 – 50 per cent of the reef’s coral) (Underwater Earth, 2015).
Figure 2. Coral bleaching in various locations globally
Clive Wilkinson Report:-
The first report on the ‘Status of Coral Reefs of the World’ was published in 1998 by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, edited by Clive Wilkinson. Since then the report was published regularly (2000, 2002, 2004 and 2008) with updates on reef status in different regions and countries of the world, including- Indian Ocean, Asia and Australia, Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean, Atlantic Ocean and South America with contributions from scholars of different countries. The reports predicted that almost all the reefs would soon be coming in the threatened stage (NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 2017).
The initial report focussed more on pollution, over-fishing and other human stresses to corals, however, the increasing frequency, scale and the severity of the events led scholars to conclude that coral reefs are one of the first ecosystems where the impacts of unexpected global warming and ocean acidification are clearly visible to everyone around. Rather, these are just the beginnings of a human-ecological crises waiting to snowball and require strong protective measures to preserve the biodiversity as well as local life systems.
Coral Reefs in India:-
Coral reefs are found in the Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gulfs of Kutch, Mannar and Khambat, Malwan Reef and Angria Bank (Maharashtra) and Netrani Island (Karnataka).
A May 2016 news report by S. Dasgupta has revealed that Indian coral reefs are experiencing massive coral bleaching and death mainly due to heat stress and population pressure, increasing inundation and making the scarce fresh water unfit for consumption, especially in low-lying atolls like- Lakshadweep (S. Dasgupta, 2016).
Figure 3. Coral Reefs in India
What is Being Done To Protect Coral Reefs?:-
There are as such no standard or strict laws to protect the reefs globally, but there are many alliances and organizations like– Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – which are involved in preventing damage to healthy reefs and restoring damaged ones through assessment, conservation and restoration programmes (that include- coral nurseries, marine protected areas and awareness campaigns) world-wide involving local communities.
In India, Panini, in her paper titled “Law and Policy for Conservation and Management of Coral Reef Areas in India”, states – the coral reefs come under the ecologically sensitive areas (Coastal Regulation Zone, CRZ-I) and Wildlife Protection Act. So, no new activities related to construction/ underwater blasting/ use of corals or sand from beaches are permitted. There is a National Committee on Wetlands, Mangroves and Coral Reefs, but it has no strict policies that stop harmful activities or pollution on the seaward side (Panini, FAO, 1997).
Immediate reductions in CO2 emissions, overfishing, sedimentation and pollution, and promoting sustainable tourism and education are the only ways to save reefs from vanishing completely.
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Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.
Globally, around 80% of wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, according to the United Nations.
This can pose a significant environmental and health threat.
In the absence of cost-effective, sustainable, disruptive water management solutions, about 70% of sewage is discharged untreated into India’s water bodies.
A staggering 21% of diseases are caused by contaminated water in India, according to the World Bank, and one in five children die before their fifth birthday because of poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, according to Startup India.
As we confront these public health challenges emerging out of environmental concerns, expanding the scope of public health/environmental engineering science becomes pivotal.
For India to achieve its sustainable development goals of clean water and sanitation and to address the growing demands for water consumption and preservation of both surface water bodies and groundwater resources, it is essential to find and implement innovative ways of treating wastewater.
It is in this context why the specialised cadre of public health engineers, also known as sanitation engineers or environmental engineers, is best suited to provide the growing urban and rural water supply and to manage solid waste and wastewater.
Traditionally, engineering and public health have been understood as different fields.
Currently in India, civil engineering incorporates a course or two on environmental engineering for students to learn about wastewater management as a part of their pre-service and in-service training.
Most often, civil engineers do not have adequate skills to address public health problems. And public health professionals do not have adequate engineering skills.
India aims to supply 55 litres of water per person per day by 2024 under its Jal Jeevan Mission to install functional household tap connections.
The goal of reaching every rural household with functional tap water can be achieved in a sustainable and resilient manner only if the cadre of public health engineers is expanded and strengthened.
In India, public health engineering is executed by the Public Works Department or by health officials.
This differs from international trends. To manage a wastewater treatment plant in Europe, for example, a candidate must specialise in wastewater engineering.
Furthermore, public health engineering should be developed as an interdisciplinary field. Engineers can significantly contribute to public health in defining what is possible, identifying limitations, and shaping workable solutions with a problem-solving approach.
Similarly, public health professionals can contribute to engineering through well-researched understanding of health issues, measured risks and how course correction can be initiated.
Once both meet, a public health engineer can identify a health risk, work on developing concrete solutions such as new health and safety practices or specialised equipment, in order to correct the safety concern..
There is no doubt that the majority of diseases are water-related, transmitted through consumption of contaminated water, vectors breeding in stagnated water, or lack of adequate quantity of good quality water for proper personal hygiene.
Diseases cannot be contained unless we provide good quality and adequate quantity of water. Most of the world’s diseases can be prevented by considering this.
Training our young minds towards creating sustainable water management systems would be the first step.
Currently, institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) are considering initiating public health engineering as a separate discipline.
To leverage this opportunity even further, India needs to scale up in the same direction.