“Let’s go boating… let us have a food court… Let us have an open gym!”

There is no dearth of ideas! The general perception of a layman or user is that the urban water body is an entertainment center. For the local politician, the common man’s demand is the Magna Carta, as he perceives the public as his vote bank. For him, visibility is more important. According to him, all those visible cosmetic creations get converted into votes. In Bangalore, visionaries like Kempe Gowda, while building the city five centuries ago, were very particular about digging tanks and storing water for dry seasons. It is because of their far-sightedness that the city came into existence. The Mysore kings, including Krishnaraja Wodeyar and Tipu Sultan, and German botanist Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel, are responsible for making Bengaluru the “Garden City of India.”  Bangalore is also known as lake city. Once more than 1000 lakes were in Bangalore. Now, the number of lakes has shrunk to less than 200.  Majestic bus stand, hockey, and football stadia were once scenic lakes. If the situation continues, Bangalore will have only a few lakes, left out. However, the common man is interested in providing a walking track, Gym, and children’s play areas in the left-out lakes. Some demand a gym, some insist on street lights, and thus facilities and conveniences are added to entertain users. Some lakes provide boating facilities. In some lakes, there comes a musical fountain and a toy train. Thus, the lakes turn into an entertainment hub. In a nutshell, such activities are cosmetic and are made to satisfy the vote bank of the politicians. Most of the lakes are encircled by walking tracks. Though tiling or cementing of the walking tracks may help walkers to make a smooth walk, the cementing prevents water percolation and destroys the natural bunding that existed for centuries. Instead of encouraging native trees, exotic trees are planted in the bunds. Artificial sheds and shades are constructed on the bunds in some lakes. But this main focus of the lakes has taken a backseat. The water quality and biodiversity of a lake define its health. These two are indeed interdependent. Parameters like pH, Dissolved oxygen, and turbidity determine the aquatic flora and fauna.  The lake ecosystem ensures support for hundreds of microorganisms and aquatic life. Unfortunately, biodiversity conservation is not at all a priority for authorities. Even if some attention is given, it is done just for the namesake.  The important function of the lakes is water storage apart from groundwater recharge. Water quality is the first and foremost concern. However untreated sewage is being let into the lakes in many places. De-weeding is not conducted scientifically, which weeds away the valuable water plants and grasslands. Desilting and dredging are not periodically undertaken to clean up sedimentation. If we want to save the existing lakes, awareness must increase among the people, politicians, and bureaucrats about the importance of lake ecosystem conservation.

The lacklustre attitude to lakes will wipe out groundwater and natural rainwater storage in cities.

‘Such a beautiful bird I have never seen!’

With this exclamatory mark over his head, one WhatsApp warrior forwarded a clip of a few most colourful birds with beads of pearls, impressive eyes, and gorgeous feathers. The interesting part was when he asked me to identify the same. When I received a similar clip for the first time, I was curious to find out where exactly this bird lived. I even cursed myself for not coming across such unique birds, though I have been birding for over 4 decades. In real life, I always lament over my inability to spot the Himalayan Monal. Even the most shining and colourful Monal cannot beat these birds. Slowly, I started realizing that these are AI-generated images. Of late, the moment I received a video from a friend of mine asking for bird identification, I learned how to differentiate and promptly text the sender, it is an AI-generated image. In the last two decades, moviemakers have used AI techniques to create mind-boggling films. The turn of the 21^st century has opened up the potential of electronics and opened Pandora’s box of opportunities in the IT industry. In that sense, it is not out of place to mention that those born between the 1950s and 1980s were the luckiest people to have the last chance to glimpse a world full of natural abundance. The turn of the present century witnessed natural disasters, man-made destructions, and unimaginable industrial developments. Nature is being molested and natural resources are vanishing. The day is not far off for fixing the last nail in the coffin of fossil fuel. On one side, this is happening, while on the other hand, we are inching towards an artificial lifestyle. AI appears to be destructive rather than constructive.  One of the identified AI images is physical malformation. For instance, if a snake is depicted with an unproportionate head or a horn in the head, one can easily distinguish between a natural and an artificial one. A logical understanding may help differentiate between an AI image and a natural one.  Recently, a video clip with a buffalo was shown to house a bird nest between its two horns with a juvenile living inside. Is it possible? Won’t the animal lie down, move its head, dash against another animal, or sleep? Nesting is an avian instinct to safeguard juveniles. So, this is a clear case of logical inconsistency. Sometimes, AI algorithms meticulously work frame by frame, to make the clips appear genuine. There is one dangerous development, known as Deepfakes. Such AI clips may become the most harmful tools for concocting stories that will appear original and real. One day, a Prime Minister may appear on the TV screen and say that an emergency has been clamped. Or a tiger may enter your residential area and might even kill a child. Or there may be a devastating fire in the school where your child is studying. Or a tsunami has set in the Bay of Bengal and would engulf Bangalore in another 3 hours, creating panic. Sad indeed! AI tools may be used to predict rains, track unknown species, or a potential forest fire, but not to flood social media with absurd images just to gain viewership.  Necessary legal validation protocols must be in place to prevent the onslaught of AI in social media.

It is all in the expected lines! US opts out of climate accord. The maxim ‘think globally and act locally’ is perhaps misinterpreted by Trump. He may be proud to be a ‘global’ leader, but, for climate purposes, he prefers to be ‘local’. For him, it appears that the sustainability of the planet Earth is immaterial. The US is a culprit in two ways. For one, they are the second largest fossil fuel producer and emitter. On the other, despite being an affluent nation, they are depriving their financial support to underdeveloped countries by stepping out of the Paris Accord. The accord works on the polluter-pay principle, but the US won’t pay henceforth. Another unfortunate Trump decision is to exit WHO.  Understandably, Trump is under compulsion to build America. His poll promise of nation-building seems to be Trump’s focus, and one has to appreciate his patriotic spirit. Nevertheless, Trump should not forget his responsibility as a world leader but has to balance between nation and world. We do not understand how a nation like the USA could afford to think environment to have jurisdiction. The pollutants emitted in America do not have a territory and will never stop within the four walls. Air is common to mankind, and the emission will travel beyond the boundaries. How could America forget COVID-19, which originated in China and traveled the entire globe? How can he imagine America being a ‘stand-alone island’ that could survive without mobilizing resources from other countries? In essence, global nations are interdependent in sharing natural resources. When the entire world realized this interdependency and started thinking from a broad perspective, it was a retrograde step to pull out of the Paris Accord. Climate change has already taken its toll throughout the world. Even the US has been affected recently due to the massive Los Angeles fire. El Nino effect is experienced everywhere. When the climate emergency has already set in, it cannot spare America just because it does not participate in global climate action. On the one hand, other signatories to the Paris Accord may follow suit and developed countries may pull out their commitment. On the other hand, the UN may experience a funding crisis in supporting third-world countries.

Perhaps the financial goals planned when the US was a partner to the accord need to be revisited. The need of the hour is for the member nations to come together and reset the climate mitigation goals. The member nations need to ignore the US while planning the future course of action as if the US is not in existence. Being the major contributor to emissions, the quantum of emission load from the US cannot be ignored. However, the revised climate goals must envisage a feasible and achievable target, sans America, at least for the next four years. Simultaneously, efforts must be on to convince the Trump administration to come into the ambit of the climate accord.  To sum up, climate change cannot wait for Trump and the ball must be set rolling. This is a ticklish issue but has to be tackled judiciously by other world leaders.

Bird lovers are highly disappointed!

Fewer migratory birds are spotted in Bangalore and other parts of the state. Climate change and global warming are cited as reasons for the drop in bird count. Most of the water bodies that house resident birds are seeing a decline in migratory birds. In Bangalore, winter months like November and December experienced a slight drop in temperature and January is expected to have a significant dip in temperature. In the first week of January, the forecast was that the minimum temperature may hover around 10°C during the next 10 days. Bird enthusiasts feel that Bangalore is slowly losing its bird population.

Migratory birds like Northern Shovellers, Northern Pintails, Common Pochards, Rosy starlings, and warblers were not spotted like in previous years. Migratory ducks like Garganey and sandpipers are recorded in fewer numbers. Someone had spotted the migratory Bar-headed geese near Mysore. Birders were anxiously searching for such migratory birds but to no avail. A decade ago, the migratory birds used to land in Bangalore says some avid birders. El Nino effect has undoubtedly cooled down the weather which should be suitable for birds to land here. Due to reasonably good rains, sufficient water is seen in lakes and waterbodies. Despite that, why birds have not landed here is a research topic. Incidentally, certain points need to be given attention. The garden city seems to be slowly giving up its green cover on the one hand due to rapid urbanization. This has led to massive encroachment of the buffer zones of the waterbodies. On the other, untreated sewage water enters the lakes in many cases. The water quality in these rain-fed lakes has deteriorated with no potential for aquatic life. This may be one of the reasons for birds to avoid the city’s lakes. Most lakes are under BBMP’s jurisdiction, so violations like letting sewage water in or encroachment in buffer zones are seen as a blatant misuse of power. Birds like painted storks prefer shallow water, while some migratory ducks are comfortable with more water. Researchers feel that deteriorating water quality is the major reason for the decline in bird populations. Populistic cosmetic changes like tiling the lake walking track, lighting the bunds, and providing park benches, or open gyms cannot revive the lakes. Unscientific de-weeding and desilting will end in biodiversity loss in lake ecosystems. Indeed, the authorities are also taking certain initiatives like Kere Mitra and online grievance redressal portals such as Janaspandana app and Sahaya app for quick solutions. However, most officials either remain insensitive or lack knowledge about ecosystem preservation and the importance of birds in the food chain. Against this backdrop, the naturalists and birders still hope that some migratory birds may land in the next few days. Global warming and climate change are attributed as reasons for the fast decline in birds, but the reality is that most changes are man-made (Rosy starling in the picture)

‘Why this newspaper heap is lying here? ‘, an annoyed homemaker calls the kabaadiwalah (rag picker) to dispose of the same. The kabaadiwalah comes, weighs, and also pays a paltry sum. Of course, the homemaker, enriched by a few bucks for the old newspaper is doubly happy as the trash is cleared on one side and fetches some monetary gains too. The homemaker is not interested in what happens to the old newspapers after disposal.

This is exactly the mindset of a producer or manufacturer on a larger scale. ‘We sell the scrap for a throwaway price and there are many takers’, said a manufacturer as if his production cycle is over as soon as he disposes of the waste, generated during production. He is clueless about what happens to the waste disposed of. ‘Take, make and dispose’ is the popular model of production in India which has done more harm than good. Such a model is popularly known as a linear economy which has been in practice ever since mechanization started in our country. Of course, the same conventional model is practiced in many countries. This is not only a concern in the manufacturing industry. It applies to all production activities. For example, consider what the farmers do in Punjab after harvest. They burn the stubble to clear the trash and prepare for their next season. Most of them know that stubble burning would lead to air pollution, but find it difficult to change the pattern that is being practiced till now, due to various reasons. The famous saying that ‘old is gold’ should not be forgotten. Not only this, the cycle of production will end only if the residue or waste is put to better use. Waste for one person will be a wealth for another. The linear economy believes that the production is complete once, the producer disposes of the waste. The Circular economy is more scientific and envisages full utilization of the wasted wealth in a productive manner. The producer becomes responsible for the waste generated. He has to ensure that the waste will be recycled and put to productive use. In Western countries waste picking, repairing, and recycling provides significant job opportunities. Therefore, the circular economy must replace the existing linear economy, which promotes better resource utilization, waste reduction, and recycling.  The circular economy takes care of the environment and saves nations from climate emergency. It should not be forgotten that millions of people die due to poor handling of waste and pollutants. Scrapped iron and steel, automobile junk, electronic waste, and rusted engineering goods have been piled up over the years. If we take stock of the waste being dumped in India, we will realize abundant potential within the country is available for better resource utilization. In India, the necessary shift to the circular economy is in the rudimentary stage as we do not have the required R&D allocations for this purpose. Policymakers are yet to realize the vast potential of optimal resource utilization. Continuous experiments on how resources can be better utilized should be the new paradigm shift in the research objectives of the scientific fraternity. 

“Do not keep PET bottles on the stage during the event,” instructed an event manager at a national conference on climate change. He was extra cautious and wanted to protect himself from sharp remarks. Whenever an environmental event is planned, the organizers often meet and discuss how to make it eco-friendly. One school chief said that they do not accept anything that is not eco-friendly and even she refused to accept a cup won by students representing some inter-school nature contest. When we pointed out how her school had plastic chairs and tables, she had enough excuses like the plastic tables are used for a long time. Plastic manufacturers and consumers have ready-made excuses. It is indeed hard to completely avoid plastic as of now. Interestingly, though the PET bottles are of single-use, our question is why the Indian Government had not included them under the 21 SUP items that were banned on July 1st, 2022. Is there scope for managing these single-use plastic (SUP) bottles? The abbreviation PET is derived from the chemical name Polyethylene Terephthalate. The bottles made from PET are meant for single use. The manufacturers also claim that the PET bottles are recyclable and assert that 80% of used PET bottles are recycled. After accounting losses during sorting and processing, it is understood that 64% are effectively recycled into usable materials, especially in the textile industry. It is further learnt that 75% of such recycled PET (rPET) account for polyester fibres.   If such a wonderful recycling opportunity is there, why are our water bodies, forests, green belts, and garbage dumps often seen cluttered with PET bottles? Prompt comes the reply. They are not PET bottles. They are thinner than PET material. Most of the PET water bottles are indeed made of thinner materials such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS). These plastics are often not recyclable or are difficult to recycle, leading to a significant amount of plastic waste ending up in landfills or polluting our oceans and natural habitats. So, it may be concluded that more studies must be made to explore whether all SUP bottles are recyclable. The urgent need is to identify non-recyclable plastic materials and include them under the SUP-banned items list. If no timely action is taken, the very purpose of the SUP ban will be meaningless

We never learn from our past!  After 4 decades, the Union Carbide instrumental in the Bhopal gas tragedy has been forgotten completely. Similarly, it appears that the Vedanta group will also fall in line one day. Vedanta (Sterlite Industry) of Thoothukudi Tamil Nadu is a name that no one can forget, especially in Tamil Nadu. Sterlite operated the largest copper smelter plant in India, in Thoothukudi from 1998 to 2018. The plant has not been operational since March 2018 and was shut down on 28^th May 2018 after protests from locals. The plant also included a refinery, a phosphoric acid plant, and a sulphuric acid plant.  The Supreme Court dismissed a plea to reopen the plant in March 2024. Tamil Nadu opposed Vedanta’s suggestion to form an expert committee to decide on resuming operations, citing evidence of pollution by the plant. The Thoothukudi Copper Smelting plant has been long-opposed by the residents for polluting their environment and causing a range of health problems and was subject to several closures, on grounds of violating environmental norms. Now once again the Vedanta group is in the headlines. The only difference is the product, earlier it was copper and now it is tungsten. The issue is the same. The Union Ministry of Mines had auctioned 8 blocks for mining Tungsten in various parts of the country such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Tungsten is in high demand for defense and other hi-tech industries, which is expected to be a strategic metal. In Tamil Nadu, every political party is against the proposed Tungsten or Wolfrum mining project in Nayakkarpatti Tungsten Block in Madurai district. This block is stated to overlap with the state’s Arittapatti Biodiversity Heritage Site, the first of its kind, spanning 193,215 hectares across the Arittapatti and Meenakshipuram villages in the Madurai district. The Tamil Nadu government declared this area a BHS on November 22, 2022, under the Biological Diversity Act of 2002. The block has already faced public protests and opposition from the Tamil Nadu Government. The project proponents say that the heritage area is just 193 Sq km out of the demarcated project area of 2016 Sq km that houses temples like Panchapandava temple and Jain Cave temple. On Dec 9^th, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution unanimously, rejecting the project. While we agree that development is essential for economic growth, the environment and ecology cannot be conveniently forgotten.

The area proposed for the mining activity is ecologically sensitive and was declared a biodiversity hotspot. Additionally, the identified mining activity will destroy the great heritage. Now we hope that the Ministry of Mining will give up the project. However, since the mining rights are now vested with the Centre as the Parliament has passed a bill taking over the rights in 2022, we do not know whether a positive decision would be taken to drop the proposed activity. In democracy the good old Latin quote ‘vox populi, vox Dei matters much. Let us wait and watch what is in store for us! (Picture Courtesy: Representative Internet photo)

Dr Salim Ali was a bird hunter at a young age. Jim Corbett was a hunter in the beginning. History has many examples to demonstrate that some significant moment in life transforms a man to emerge as a renowned person. On Nov 12^th of every year, we remember Dr Salim Moizuddin Abdul Ali, fondly called Birdman of India and this is his 128^th birthday. Born in Mumbai, he dedicated his life to birds. Even today, his book is referred to by many for reference. Let me share an interesting moment in my life. Three decades ago, while some of us were roaming in the Sathyamangalam forests, we spotted a bright brown bird in a tall tree and were curious to identify it. Its tail was not long but it resembled a Paradise flycatcher. In those days, we had no other reference books except Dr Salim Ali’s book.

We all started birding as it was an opportunity to visit places and see different habitats. My journey as an environmental activist began with such visits. Today we have hundreds of books like Grimmett, Grewal, etc. Even your smartphone can help. You have a lot of mobile apps like iNatural, eBird, or Google Lens to help. Even the entire team had only one binocular.  We had nothing with us except Dr Ali’s book in which it was mentioned that the female Paradise Flycatcher has a short tail, unlike the male. This incident raised my admiration for Dr Ali multi-fold. Similarly, if one had observed some strange behaviour pattern of a bird, mostly that behaviour might have been mentioned in Salim Ali’s book. ‘The Book of Indian Birds’ by Salim Ali is the first of its kind. I still have the 1996 Salim Ali Centenary edition with me and I do refer to the book even now, though several books have come up with colourful bird photos. The interesting fact about Dr Ali’s book was that he described even unusual behaviours of birds. I wonder how he has documented all the minute details of the birds. He mentions how many eggs a bird lays, and the colour and size of the eggs in his book. He has recorded the calls. He even kept track of the nesting season. About migration also, he mentions where the birds visit and where one cannot find the species. Such amazing details come in handy for the birders. Today, e-bird portal keeps millions of recordings taking advantage of electronic platforms and AI potential. But think of 20^th century when electronics were in a rudimentary stage.  If there are thousands of birders in India now, it is because of the efforts and interest created by him. Dr Salim Ali lives in our minds

Your latest smartphone you bought in 2022 is having trouble or certain features are not working. It is not smarter anymore. You have visited the service centre at the other end of the city several times but to no avail. Or, the bill handed by the service centre is alarming. Now you are fed up and plan to dump the phone. What is to be done with the condemned smartphone?  Either it reaches the landfill or is struck up in a local repair house. It is the same case with the laptop you bought 3 years ago.

Neither can you boot the system nor is it free from viral attack. If you confront such situations, be cool, you are not the only one on earth. Billions of electronic gadgets are being dumped every day because they are irreparable. Every day a new product is being discovered. Ranging from an electronic microchip or data card to giant digital frameworks and electrical equipment with electronic components consume our space, posing a threat to the environment. Considering the threat to the environment by e-waste, The Environment Protection Act 1986, amended from time to time incorporated the E-Waste (Management Rules) 2016 in India. It also has undergone a lot of changes. The latest E-Waste (Management) Rules 2022 came into force on 1.4.2023. The Central Pollution Control Board monitors the implementation of the rules through its state pollution control boards. The above rules specify the responsibilities of the manufacturer, producer, refurbisher, and recycler. The idea is to ensure that the manufactured electric and electronic goods are properly recycled. 100s of electric and electronic items listed in the rules are meant to be recycled. All said and done, recycling the e-waste does not seem easy. While the speed at which the gadgets become obsolete is alarming, many of us do not discard the used gadgets on one pretext or other. This means that documenting data on the total e-waste itself has become near-impossible. By definition, e-waste is any discarded product with a plug or battery and electronic goods that form health and environmental hazards, containing toxic additives or hazardous substances such as mercury, which can damage the human brain and coordination system. E-waste is the biggest worry all over the world. The world’s generation of electronic waste is rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling, the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) reveals today. In other words, only 20% of the e-waste generated is recycled approximately. The 62 million tonnes of e-waste generated in 2022 would fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly enough to form a bumper-to-bumper line encircling the equator, says the UN Institute for Training and Research. Worldwide, the generation of e-waste is rising by 2.6 million tonnes annually, to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030. This is going to be a tough job to manage the e-waste soon!

“Climate Change is a hoax!” says Trump. Trump is known for his stand against the Paris Climate Accord.  When the US stepped out of the Accord during Trump’s first term, it was almost conceded as the collapse of the global framework. World leaders pinned hope only on the 46^th President Joe Biden who readily agreed and signed the accord. For Trump, America first and climate action waste!   “Make America bigger” seems to be his only goal, could we expect him to do good for other nations or planet Earth? The world not only realized that climate change is the biggest threat facing the Earth, but of late started thinking of climate emergency.

While the UN is confident that nothing is too late, the immediate focus is reducing fossil fuel. However, it is also a fact that unless underdeveloped nations are funded to meet the deadlines for phasing out fossil fuel, the objective of addressing the climate emergency will remain a tall wish and nothing more than that. The ongoing COP 29 at Baku (Nov 11^th to 22^nd, 2024), Azerbaijan is crucial to deciding the course of the climate action. But world leaders need to revisit their financial goals. The ensuing Trump administration has lowered the hopes that the US will continue to support the meeting of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to the extent of the revised target of $500bn annually. Already many countries have expressed their fear that they may find it difficult to meet the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). If the US drops out of the Paris Agreement again, the climate action will remain only on paper, because obviously, the estimated NDC of the US is the highest. If the current policies and investments are any indication, we are heralding an era of a likely increase of 3°C.  Already experts have forecast this contingency. There are about 200 member countries many of whom have already signed the Paris Agreement and are aware of the climate emergency that the world is facing today. They are willing to bring positive climate action. Barring the US, all are ready to meet the challenge. It is wise for member nations to arrive at a pragmatic solution, without the US on board and be prepared to plunge into action. There is no point in waiting for Trump to show mercy. The time has come for the global nations to show that climate actions are possible without the US (Pic courtesy: http://www.greenhumours.com)

“Cracker-free Diwali is just an annual slogan! No one cares!”. While this is the quick response from some frustrated environmental activists, there is a diagonally opposite descent note from protagonists of Dogmatic beliefs. For them, bursting crackers is not a big deal and will not do more harm to the environment than other pollutants. During Ram’s return to Ayodya, no crackers were burst. All lighted Diya to show their happiness. In those days Diwali signified the bringing of light and happiness around. Fireworks and the related chemicals were discovered much later during the last few centuries. Presently, the burning of firecrackers is the highlight of Diwali and for most people, Diwali is just a synonym for a night full of crackers, noise, and smoke. For some, firecrackers are burst because it is believed that they drive away evil spirits.

Today Diwali is nothing but a combination of health problems, and environmental degradation created due to air and noise pollution. Some even plead for the welfare of workers of the cracker factory, shutting their eyes to the fate of child labourers. (see picture). Despite objections from religious circles, the Government and Supreme Court together came heavily against bursting crackers, keeping in mind the primary concern of the health of senior citizens, children, and pregnant women.  The Supreme Court has expressed concern over growing air pollution and the dire need to mitigate it. The cracker sound has undoubtedly become feeble, thanks to the CPCB guidelines on green crackers and bursting times. With the skyrocketing prices on the one hand and growing awareness on the other, Diwali by and large has been silent. According to the Supreme Court order, only green crackers made from eco-friendly chemicals were sold and burst. The timing for bursting crackers was restricted to 2 hours. Manufacturing firecrackers that emit more than 125 decibels were banned. The Chinese-made explosives were also banned. According to the CPCB standards, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe. However, as expected, the AQI of Delhi has defied the firecracker ban during Diwali. On Friday, (1^st Nov 2024) the city recorded the worst air quality with an AQI of 400 and above, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. By the time this paper goes to print, the Air quality will have increased beyond the permissible limit. As usual, many have deviated from the laid-down norms and burst crackers beyond the permitted timings. Green Crackers might not be the only crackers that had been burst. This is exactly what we have been experiencing year after year. Delhi is already reeling under pollution pressures as the stubble-burning season has begun. While the AQI in Delhi is hovering around 400 +, Bangalore is somewhere around 200 as of 1^st Nov 2024. Precisely, all over India, the air quality has deteriorated to double its usual levels. We wonder whether the directives for cracker bursting are just a formality. There is no point in boasting that India has taken effective steps to check climate change unless we religiously follow the norms. Everyone must rise to the occasion to ensure clean air and silent celebration in the national interest.

As the JCB reached the well of a lake, a municipal contractor who lacked basic knowledge about the importance of the grasslands ordered, ‘Remove those grasses. ‘ When the monster machine started moving ahead, a few chirring munias flew out, while the juveniles were crushed. Coots, moorhens, and swamphens gave panic calls. This is not a rare sight; a JCB machine does not distinguish between parthenium, lantana, and grass. The JCB operator has only one mission, i.e., CLEAR EVERYTHING. And he is paid for that. In the meantime, we read some interesting news!

The Karnataka State Wildlife Board has approved the proposal to declare the Hesaraghatta Grassland area in Bengaluru as the “Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland Conservation Reserve,” At last, a long-drawn struggle has come to a close as the government opened its eyes to the ground reality. It was indeed a prolonged battle to save the vast grassland. In 2021, BDA tried to do some unscientific tree plantation drive, destroying the grassland. A valiant protest by the local activists ended fruitful in stopping the plantation drive. It is heartening to note that the residents staged an unyielding protest to declare it a conservation reserve.

In fact, grass has become a part of our lives, whether it is tall or trimmed. Especially, the Grassland is often an integral part of the ecosystem. In films, we see tigers emerging from grasslands. Animals and microorganisms survive in the grassland ecosystem. Everyone knows that grazing animals like sheep and goats survive on grass. They consume only the grass tips, leaving the regenerative capacity of the grass to the natural process. Plucking out the roots of the grass is just a man-made destructive activity to make way for the concrete jungle.  Water gets filtered by grass to enable clean water to enter the lakes and ponds. Grasslands capture water and regulate water flow, controlling floods besides storing carbon in the soil which regulates climate, and prevents soil erosion and loss of topsoil. Grassland enables more resilience to droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires. It is a gift from nature that the grassland houses pollinators like bees, birds, and beetles. 

It will not be out of context to mention the importance of the grasslands of the western ghats. The grasslands are at the top of the mountains forming a perfect natural ecosystem with Shola forests just below. Such ecosystems are unique and the grasslands drain the rainwater slowly. The spongy topsoil of the grassland-shola ecosystem works like a blotting paper and drips out in rivulets. For millions of years, this process has continued in these pristine forests on hill slopes and adjacent plains. Of late, these natural forests are vanishing at an exponential rate, because of the ignorance about the role of grasslands.

Precisely the waterbodies and forests will vanish if grasslands are destroyed