When we think of air pollution, the smoggy outdoor haze of metropolitan cities comes to mind. With India being home to 21 out of 30 of the world’s most polluted cities, the visualization as an outdoor phenomenon is not completely wrong.
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The ambient concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5 particles that have an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 micrometers, 20-30 times less than the size of a single strand of human hair) in our cities is far more than the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline of 10µg/m3 as well as that of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Standard 40µg/m3.
As a result, we prefer staying indoors in the safety of controlled environments to protect ourselves from this health hazard. However, many of us are unaware that the level of indoor air pollution in majority of Indian households is far worse than the outdoor ambient air pollution one.
On an average, the Indian population spends 80% of their time in an indoor environment. The PM2.5 concentration in majority of Indian households ranges from 86-882 µg/m3. A higher PM2.5 concentration in a closed environment is ten times more harmful than a similar outdoor concentration because contained areas enable potential pollutants to build up more than open spaces do.
There are several sources of indoor air pollution. These include smoke from fuel burned for heating and cooking, smoke from tobacco, building materials (paints, varnishes, wood flooring, etc.), adhesives in furniture and electronics, broken CFLs and tube lights, excess moisture, and overall outdoor air pollution.
Out of these sources, burning solid fuel for cooking is the leading source of indoor air pollution in India. According to a recent Global Burden of Disease estimation, solid fuel burned for coking accounted for six lakh premature deaths in 2019 in India.
Census of India Projected Population 2019 and Indicators of Social Consumption suggests that 36% of the total Indian population uses solid fuels (firewood, crop residue, cow dung cake, coal, lignite and charcoal) and kerosene as primary cooking fuel as of 2020. The use of solid fuels and kerosene as primary cooking fuels is much higher in rural areas (51%) than in urban areas (9%).
There is a decrease in the use of solid fuels as primary cooking fuel in India because of rising income and the implementation of policies like Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojana. In the recent estimation by Global Burden of Disease, it is still ranked sixth among the top risk factors for premature mortalities in India.
A deeper analysis of the latest available microdata of National Sample Survey, Access to Clean Cooking Energy and Electricity and Indicators of Social Consumption indicates that 77% of the Indian population uses solid fuels for cooking either as primary or secondary fuel, much higher than primary solid fuel use data of 36%.
This means that current studies might be underestimating the number of premature mortalities associated with indoor air pollution. The analysis indicates that many LPG users also use solid fuels for cooking as a secondary fuel.
However, there is no or limited direct data available for secondary fuel use by LPG users; therefore, many-a-times, we only consider primary fuel data for scientific studies and policymaking. There are several reasons for the use of secondary solid fuel use by LPG users that includes economic, accessibility of LPG, social, and behavioral reasons. This shows that scientific and policymaking communities need to strongly consider this invisible data of secondary use of solid fuels by LPG users while framing India’s indoor pollution policies.
Besides improving outdoor and indoor air quality by focusing on clean cooking fuel for households would also give other co-benefits such as empowering women and protecting children. Conducting mass awareness programs for secondary solid fuel users who already own an LPG connection can reduce indoor air pollution and associated emissions of 41% of households (secondary fuel user) out of a total of 77% (primary and secondary) solid fuel users. This is a low hanging fruit which will reduce both indoor and outdoor air pollution, however not much is being done in this direction.
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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.
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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.