Receive Daily Updates
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.
Recent Posts
- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)