Editorial: Red alert on the green front

In the backdrop of World Environment Day, which was observed recently, it makes sense to take stock of our footprint, vis-a-vis the effluents and the garbage we toss into our bins and our drains, day after day. This year, the United Nations has trained its focus on the plastic pollution crisis.

The world produces over 460 mn tonnes of plastic annually, which is double of what it produced almost 20 years ago. At the present rate, plastic production could treble over the next 40 years. But, less than 10% of the plastic waste finds its way into the recycling plants, while 22% of it is dumped into landfills, oceans, lakes, rivers and other reservoirs, where it ends up damaging the flora and fauna of the ecosystem, poisoning the soil, and passing on toxins to the human food chain. Microplastics, that are less than 5 mm in size, have been found in organisms like fish, as well as drinking water, human blood and the soil.

Toxic chemicals like chromium, as well as phthalates are introduced in plastic to make them usable. When they leech out from the products during use or recycling by humans, they are known to cause neurological defects, and even cancer with minimal exposure over prolonged periods. And here’s the bit that we should pay attention to. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), has remarked that plastic plays a major role in climate change. Producing plastic involves a highly energy-intensive manufacturing process, which requires inputs such as fossil fuels like crude oil that is transformed into polymers by the application of heat. Four years ago, plastic accounted for 3.4% of the global greenhouse emissions, or 1.8 bn metric tonnes.

Reducing our dependence on single use plastics as well as finding ways to recycle existing items must be made part of our vocabulary, and it’s something both individuals as well as corporates need to pay attention to. But plastics aside, environmental degradation on the local level also needs to be tackled on a war footing. While coastal wetlands are being affected by rising sea levels, inland wetlands are being subjected to encroachments and garbage dumping.

Encouragingly, the Tamil Nadu government has unveiled a mission to restore as many as 100 selected wetlands across the State before 2025-26. The Wetland Mission is set to be implemented at an outlay of Rs 115.15 crore in the State, which has a total wetland coverage of 6.92% which is higher than the national average of 4.62%. We even have 14 Ramsar sites, which is the highest among all states. What is noteworthy is that each wetland has a socioeconomic value of Rs 50 crore per year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also recently drawn attention to the nation’s efforts in increasing its forest cover over the past few years.

Of course, amidst all the PR campaigns to commemorate the environment, one must also remember that self discipline, as well as strict legislation and enforcement are crucial when it comes to the protection of green spaces. Glaring episodes involving private parties attempting to bulldoze their way through biodiversity-rich protected lands, in the absence of environment clearance certificates is something the government must crack down on. On the pretext of development, we should not end up losing some of our most precious natural resources, else the only photo-op we will be left with, will be that of a scorched earth.