Elaborate Notes
Sacred Groves
Sacred Groves are tracts of forest land venerated and protected by local communities, forming a traditional system of ecological and biodiversity conservation rooted in religious and cultural beliefs. These areas are often dedicated to a local deity or ancestral spirits, and customary laws dictated by the community prohibit or strictly regulate human activities such as hunting, logging, and resource extraction within their boundaries.
- Historical and Academic Context: The tradition of protecting these groves is ancient, predating formal conservation movements. Scholars like Madhav Gadgil and V.D. Vartak were pioneers in documenting these systems in India, particularly the Deorais of Maharashtra in their seminal work “The Sacred Groves of Western Ghats in India” (1976). They described these groves as “relict forests,” remnants of the original vegetation preserved in a pristine state.
- Cultural Significance: Each grove is steeped in local mythology and folklore.
- Examples:
- The Sarnas of Jharkhand and Bihar are central to the religious practices of the Munda and other tribal communities.
- The Kavus in Kerala are often associated with serpent worship (Naga devatas) and are rich in herpetofauna.
- The Law Kyntang or Law Lyngdoh in Meghalaya are protected by the Khasi indigenous community, where the presiding deity is believed to reside.
- Examples:
- List of Sacred Groves:
- Deorai/Devban: Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh
- Law Kyntang/Law Lyngdoh: Meghalaya
- Sarna: Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh
- Orans: Rajasthan
- Devarakadu/Devarabana: Karnataka (Kodagu region)
- Kavus: Kerala
- Kovil Kadu: Tamil Nadu
- Gumpa Forests: Sikkim (associated with Buddhist monasteries)
- Significance of Sacred Groves:
- Conservation of Biodiversity: They function as in-situ conservation sites, often acting as miniature biosphere reserves. They shelter numerous native, endemic, and threatened species of flora and fauna that may have vanished from the surrounding, more developed landscapes. Research by the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), IISc Bangalore, has extensively documented the rich biodiversity within these groves.
- Hydrological Value: Located often at the origins of springs or streams, they act as critical catchment areas. The dense vegetation cover improves soil porosity, facilitates groundwater recharge, and helps maintain the local water table, ensuring perennial water supply to nearby communities.
- Carbon Sequestration: As tracts of virgin or old-growth forests, they are significant carbon sinks, storing large amounts of carbon in their biomass and soil, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation.
- Repository of Medicinal Plants: These groves are treasure troves of medicinal plants used in traditional healing systems like Ayurveda and local folk medicine. The protection afforded by cultural norms ensures the survival of these valuable genetic resources.
- Preservation of Traditional Practices: They are intrinsically linked to the cultural and spiritual life of indigenous and local communities, helping to preserve traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), rituals, and governance systems.
- Community Governance: They exemplify a decentralized, community-led model of conservation. The sense of spiritual and cultural ownership fosters a strong responsibility for their protection, often proving more effective than top-down, state-led conservation efforts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recognizes such areas under the category of ‘Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures’ (OECMs).
Environmental Degradation
- Water Stress and Pollution:
- Definition: Water stress is a condition where the demand for water by all sectors, including the environment, exceeds the available supply. It is compounded by the deterioration of water quality, which reduces the quantum of usable water.
- Measurement: The most widely used indicator is the Falkenmark Water Stress Indicator, developed by Swedish hydrologist Malin Falkenmark in 1989. It measures the per capita availability of renewable freshwater annually.
- Water Stress: Per capita availability is less than 1700 cubic meters/person/year.
- Water Scarcity: Per capita availability falls below 1000 m³/person/year.
- Absolute Scarcity: Per capita availability drops below 500 m³/person/year.
- Indian Context: As per the 2011 census, India’s per capita water availability was 1545 m³, placing it in the ‘water-stressed’ category. The NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) Report (2018) highlighted that 21 major Indian cities could run out of groundwater by 2020.
- Global Freshwater Distribution:
- Only about 2.5-3% of the Earth’s water is freshwater.
- Of this freshwater, 68.7% is locked in icecaps and glaciers, 30.1% is groundwater, and only about 0.3% is readily accessible surface water.
- Of this surface water, lakes hold 87%, swamps 11%, and rivers a mere 2%.
- Reasons for Water Scarcity in India:
- Supply-Side Factors:
- Geographical and Climatic Factors: The Peninsular river systems are largely rain-fed and seasonal, leading to acute shortages in the dry season. In contrast, the Himalayan rivers are perennial but their water is not uniformly distributed across the country.
- Geological Constraints: Much of the Deccan Plateau is composed of hard crystalline rock, which has poor permeability and limits the natural recharge of groundwater aquifers.
- Demand-Side and Management Factors:
- Agricultural Demand: Agriculture is the largest consumer of water (over 80%), driven by water-intensive cropping patterns promoted during the Green Revolution, such as paddy and sugarcane, often in water-deficient regions.
- Unsustainable Groundwater Extraction: A policy of subsidized electricity for agriculture has led to rampant and unsustainable extraction of groundwater, causing a rapid decline in water tables across states like Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
- Unplanned Urbanization: The rapid, unplanned growth of cities like Bangalore has led to the concretization of surfaces, reducing rainwater percolation, and the encroachment and pollution of traditional water bodies (lakes and tanks), destroying the urban water ecosystem.
- Pollution: The discharge of untreated or poorly treated domestic sewage and industrial effluents into rivers and lakes has severely degraded water quality, rendering large volumes of water unfit for use.
- Population Growth: An increasing population directly translates to higher demand for water for drinking, sanitation, and food production.
- Interstate Water Disputes: Conflicts over river water sharing, such as the Cauvery dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, hinder the efficient and equitable utilization of available water resources.
- Supply-Side Factors:
Water Stress Measures or Measures to Conserve Water
- The ‘3R’ Principle (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle):
- Reduce: Promoting water-use efficiency through micro-irrigation techniques like drip and sprinkler systems in agriculture (Per Drop More Crop), and water-saving fixtures in domestic settings.
- Reuse: Using greywater (from kitchens and bathrooms) for non-potable purposes like flushing toilets and gardening.
- Recycle: Treating wastewater through Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) to a standard where it can be reused for industrial processes, agriculture, or to recharge aquifers.
- Pollution Control: Strict enforcement of The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and empowering bodies like the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs).
- Catchment Area Treatment: Reforestation and afforestation in the catchment areas of rivers and water bodies to enhance infiltration, reduce soil erosion and siltation of reservoirs.
- Sustainable Agricultural Practices: Shifting towards less water-intensive crops (e.g., millets), and adopting methods like the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), intercropping, and mixed cropping.
- Interlinking of Rivers: The National Perspective Plan (1980) for inter-basin water transfer aims to redirect water from surplus basins to deficit ones. The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the first to be implemented under this plan.
Watershed Management
A watershed is a geo-hydrological unit of land where all surface water drains to a common point, such as a river, lake, or estuary. Watershed management is the integrated and holistic approach to managing the land, water, and biomass resources within a watershed to achieve sustainable ecological and economic outcomes.
- Objectives: It aims at soil and water conservation, increasing vegetation cover, groundwater recharging, preventing soil erosion, and enhancing livelihood opportunities for the local community.
- Government Initiatives: The Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), now subsumed under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), is the flagship program for this purpose.
- Notable Examples: The work of Rajendra Singh, known as the “Waterman of India,” in reviving traditional johads (earthen check dams) in Rajasthan is a globally acclaimed model of community-driven watershed management. Similarly, the transformation of Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra under the guidance of Anna Hazare is another success story.
Rainwater Harvesting
This is the technique of capturing, storing, and utilizing rainwater for various purposes. It prevents surface runoff and recharges groundwater.
- Methods:
- Rooftop Harvesting: Collecting rainwater from rooftops and storing it in tanks or directing it to recharge pits.
- Surface Runoff Harvesting: Constructing structures like check dams, percolation tanks, and bunds to capture runoff in streams and fields.
- Traditional Water Harvesting Systems: India has a rich legacy of sophisticated, region-specific water harvesting systems.
- Zings (Ladakh): Small tanks that collect melting glacier water, connected by a network of guiding channels.
- Jhalaras (Jodhpur, Rajasthan): Rectangular stepwells that collect subterranean seepage from a nearby lake or reservoir.
- Ahar-Pynes (South Bihar): A traditional floodwater harvesting system where channels (pynes) divert river water into storage reservoirs (ahars).
- Eri System (Tamil Nadu): An extensive network of man-made tanks to store rainwater, a system with a history of over 1500 years.
- Bhandara Phad (Maharashtra): A community-managed system of check dams or diversion weirs built across rivers.
- Kund (Western Rajasthan, Gujarat): A covered underground tank with a saucer-shaped catchment area to collect rainwater.
- Panam Keni (Wayanad, Kerala): A unique cylindrical well made from the bark of a specific tree, built in paddy fields to tap surface and sub-surface water.
Wildlife: The Asiatic Lion
- Taxonomy and Status: The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) is a subspecies of lion. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The African Lion (Panthera leo) is listed as Vulnerable.
- Characteristics and Habitat:
- It is known as the “king of the grassland,” its primary habitat being dry deciduous forests and scrublands, not dense forests.
- The male lion’s roar is among the loudest in the animal kingdom and can be heard from a distance of up to 5-8 km.
- Distinction from African Lion:
- Mane: The Asiatic lion’s mane is less dense and shorter, so the ears are always visible.
- Longitudinal Skin Fold: A prominent fold of skin along the belly is a key characteristic of the Asiatic lion, which is absent in its African counterpart.
- Size: Asiatic lions are slightly smaller on average than African lions.
- Social Structure and Behaviour:
- Lions are the only truly social cats, living in groups called prides.
- There is a clear division of labor: the males’ primary role is to defend the pride’s territory and protect the cubs, while the lionesses, being more agile, are the primary hunters.
- Distribution and Conservation:
- Historically, the Asiatic lion’s range extended from Greece through the Middle East to Eastern India. Today, its only wild population is confined to the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding areas in Gujarat, India.
- Conservation efforts under “Project Lion” have been successful in increasing the population from a mere handful in the early 20th century to over 674 (as of 2020 census).
Prelims Pointers
- Sacred Groves:
- Deorai: Maharashtra
- Law Kyntang: Meghalaya
- Sarna: Jharkhand
- Orans: Rajasthan
- Devarakadu: Karnataka
- Kavus: Kerala
- Water Stress:
- Falkenmark Index: Measures per capita renewable freshwater availability.
- Water Stress threshold: < 1700 m³/person/year.
- Water Scarcity threshold: < 1000 m³/person/year.
- India’s per capita water availability (2011): 1545 m³.
- Freshwater Distribution:
- Total Freshwater: ~3% of Earth’s water.
- Distribution of Freshwater: Icecaps/Glaciers (68.7%), Groundwater (30.1%), Surface Water (0.3%).
- Distribution of Surface Freshwater: Lakes (87%), Swamps (11%), Rivers (2%).
- Traditional Water Harvesting Systems:
- Zings: Ladakh
- Jhalaras: Jodhpur
- Ahar Pynes: Bihar
- Eri System: Tamil Nadu
- Bhandara Phad: Maharashtra
- Kund: Western Rajasthan & Gujarat
- Panam Keni: Kerala
- Asiatic Lion:
- Scientific Name: Panthera leo persica.
- IUCN Status: Endangered.
- Only natural habitat in India: Gir National Park, Gujarat.
- Key distinguishing feature from African lion: Longitudinal belly fold.
- Social group is called a ‘Pride’.
Mains Insights
Sacred Groves (GS Paper I - Culture & GS Paper III - Environment)
- Tradition vs. Modernity in Conservation:
- Sacred groves represent a powerful synergy between culture and conservation. The model challenges the Western, science-centric “fortress conservation” approach by demonstrating the efficacy of community-led, faith-based systems.
- Debate: The key question is the sustainability of this model in the face of modernization, resource pressures, and eroding traditional beliefs. Policy must focus on integrating traditional knowledge with modern conservation science, rather than replacing one with the other.
- Challenges and Threats:
- Internal Threats: Dilution of religious beliefs among younger generations, changing community structures, and internal conflicts.
- External Threats: Encroachment for agriculture and infrastructure, resource extraction pressures (Sanskritization), and the impacts of commercialization.
- Relevance for Policy:
- These groves are prime examples of ‘Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures’ (OECMs), a concept gaining international recognition. Integrating them into the formal conservation network can help India meet its biodiversity targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Water Scarcity (GS Paper I - Geography, GS Paper II - Governance, GS Paper III - Economy/Environment)
- Water as a Governance Challenge: India’s water crisis is often described as a man-made issue of poor management rather than absolute scarcity.
- Cause-Effect: The policies of the Green Revolution, particularly subsidized electricity and Minimum Support Prices for water-guzzling crops, created a perverse incentive structure leading to unsustainable groundwater depletion and agrarian distress.
- Institutional Failure: The crisis reflects a failure in water governance, characterized by fragmented institutional frameworks (multiple ministries and departments), weak enforcement of pollution laws, and unresolved interstate disputes that politicize a shared resource.
- The Urban Water Conundrum:
- Unplanned urbanization has a dual negative impact: it increases demand while simultaneously destroying supply sources (lakes, wetlands) and recharge zones. This leads to the paradox of cities facing both acute water shortages and severe urban flooding.
- The Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) Debate:
- Proponents’ View: Argue that ILR is a necessary engineering solution to correct the natural imbalance in water availability between river basins, providing water security, boosting irrigation, and mitigating floods and droughts.
- Critics’ View: Environmentalists like Himanshu Thakkar argue that ILR is an economically unviable and ecologically disastrous project. Concerns include massive displacement of communities, deforestation, destruction of aquatic ecosystems, and unforeseen impacts on hydrology and monsoon patterns. A more sustainable path lies in decentralized water harvesting, watershed management, and improving water-use efficiency.
Wildlife Conservation: The Asiatic Lion Case Study (GS Paper III - Environment)
- Critique of the Single-Population Conservation Model:
- The conservation of the Asiatic lion in Gir is a success story, but it has created a concentration risk. A single population is highly vulnerable to catastrophic events like disease outbreaks (e.g., Canine Distemper Virus) or natural disasters.
- This highlights the need to move from conserving a species in one location to establishing multiple, geographically separate populations to ensure long-term genetic viability and survival.
- The Translocation Debate (Gir to Kuno):
- The Supreme Court’s 2013 directive to translocate some lions to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was based on scientific advice to mitigate extinction risk.
- The persistent delay in implementation showcases the complex interplay of science, politics, and federalism in conservation. It raises questions about conservation priorities and the willingness to implement scientifically sound, long-term strategies over regional political considerations.
- Man-Animal Conflict and Landscape Conservation:
- As the lion population grows, individuals are dispersing outside the protected area, leading to increased human-lion conflict. This necessitates a shift from a park-centric approach to a landscape-level conservation strategy that involves managing human-dominated areas, securing wildlife corridors, and incentivizing local communities to coexist with wildlife.