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STRENGTHEN YOUR ARGUMENT

Topic - Environment & Biodiversity

D . Gaura J. Sontak
(Founde : UPSC Supe Simplifie )

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Environment & Biodiversity

Conservation
● The number of plant species found in India according to the
Botanical Survey of India accounts roughly for 12% of all flora
species in the world.

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● Although peatlands cover less than 3% of the global surface,
estimates suggest that peatlands contain twice as much carbon

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as in the world’s forests. They are the largest natural terrestrial

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carbon store.

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● The total number of animal species in India in 2021 is at 1.03 lakh.
With 1.03 lakh species of fauna, India contributes to 6.1% of faunal
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diversity in the world.
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● India currently hostspot 17% of the planet’s human population
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and 17% of the global area in biodiversity hotspots, placing it at

the helm to guide the planet in becoming biodiversity champions.
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Forests
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● Annually, forests absorb roughly 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon

dioxide. This absorption includes nearly 33% of the carbon
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dioxide released from burning fossil fuels.

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● According to International Union for Conservation of Nature

(IUCN), deforestation and forest degradation contribute around
12% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

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Renewable Energy
● India has an estimated hydropower potential of 1,45,320 MW,
excluding small hydro projects (SHPs).

● India’s Central Electricity Authority said the country has only

developed 29% of its total hydroelectric potential of 145,320 MW,

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with an additional 10.3% under construction.

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● Compared with International Hydropower Association data that

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shows the U.S. has developed more than 80% of its hydropower
potential and the EU more than 70% of its hydropower potential,

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India has significant work still to be done.
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Climate Change
● Nearly five million people in India were internally displaced due
to climate change and disasters in 2021, the United Nations has
said in annual Global Trends Report by the UN Refugee Agency
(UNHCR).

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● India is the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitter.

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● India is among the top 5 best performing countries on Climate

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Change.

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● India improves 2 ranks in CCPI 2023, which was released in COP
27, assessing 59 countries and the European Union on climate
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change policies and actions.
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Climate Transparency Report 2022 compiled by an international
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partnership of organisations
● India suffered an income loss of USD 159 billion, or 5.4 percent of
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its gross domestic product, in the service, manufacturing,

agriculture, and construction sectors due to extreme heat in
2021, according to a new report.
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● Heat exposure in the country led to the loss of 167 billion

potential labour hours, a 39 per cent increase from 1990-1999.
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● Between 2016-2021, extreme events such as cyclones, flash floods,

floods, and landslides caused damage to crops in over 36 million
hectares, a USD 3.75 billion loss for farmers in the country, the
report said.

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● The annual expected damage from tropical cyclones and river

flooding at three degrees Celsius is 4.6 to 5.1 times that from 1.5
degrees Celsius.

Rise in sea levels

● According to World Meteorological Organization’s report, ‘State

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of Global Climate in 2021’, sea level along the Indian coast is rising
faster than the global average rate.

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● Globally, the rate of sea-level rise was 4.5 millimetre per year

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between 2013 and 2021. This was more than twice the rate

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between 1993 and 2002.
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● According to the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO)
"Global Sea-level Rise and Implications" report, India, China,
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Bangladesh, and the Netherlands are at the greatest risk of
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experiencing rising sea levels worldwide.

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● A sea level rise of 3 cm could result in the sea intruding about 17

meters inland, and with future rates of 5 cm/decade, this could
increase to 300 meters of land lost to the sea in a century.
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Greenhouse Gases
● The three major greenhouses gases are carbon dioxide, methane
and nitrous oxide. Of those, CO2 accounts for around 66% of the
warming effect on the climate.

● Oceans take up more than 30 percent of humanity’s carbon

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emissions.

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● Coal accounts for more than 70 percent of India's power mix.

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● The second-largest contributor to GHG is the agriculture sector,

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which produces huge amounts of methane (CH₄) from rice
paddies and cattle. CH₄ is a potent GHG with a 100-year global
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warming potential (GWP) roughly 30 times that of CO₂.
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Air Pollution
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● United Nations health agency WHO says 99% of world’s

population breathes poor-quality air.
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● In 2019, the government launched the National Clean Air

Programme (NCAP) to achieve 20-30% reduction in particulate
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matter (PM) air pollution by 2024 with 2017 as the base year for
comparison.
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● India can reduce its pollution by over 40% by not using fossil
fuels like petrol and diesel, while the country imports crude oil
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worth ₹16 lakh crore every year.

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E- waste
● Only 22.7 percent of the e-waste out of the total e-waste
generated in 2019-20 in India was collected, dismantled,
recycled, or disposed off.

● Maharashtra has the highest number (116) of authorized

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dismantlers and recyclers.

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Light Pollution

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● Light pollution is increasing at twice the rate of population

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growth and 83% of the world’s population lives under the
light-polluted sky.

Plastic Pollution
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● According to the Ministry report, “about 26,000 tonnes of
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plastic waste is produced everyday in India.”

● According to the report, which has been prepared in association
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with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Praxis Global

Alliance, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu together
contribute 38 per cent to the total plastic waste that is generated
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in India.
● India is generating about 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste
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annually and the per capita plastic waste generation has almost
doubled over the last five years.
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● Around 137 million tonnes of single-use plastics were produced

from fossil fuels in 2021, and it is expected to rise by another 17
million tonnes by 2027, the researchers said.

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Soil Degradation
● Soil degradation in some form or another affects around 29% of
India’s total land area.

Solid Waste
● Indian municipal solid waste consists of about 60% biodegradable

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material, 25% non-biodegradable material and 15% inert
materials, like silt and stone.

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Waste To Energy
● India’s municipalities have been collecting more than 95% of the

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waste generated in cities but the efficiency of waste-processing
is 30-40% at best.
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Water Stress
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● With an annual groundwater extraction of 248.69 billion cubic

meters (2017), India is among the largest users of groundwater in
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the world.

● Almost 89% of the groundwater extracted is used for irrigation

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and the rest for domestic and industrial use (9% and 2%).
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● Fluoride, iron, salinity, nitrate, and arsenic contamination are

major problems. As many as 335 districts reported nitrate
pollution compared to 109 in 2006.
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Land Degradation & Desertification

● Degraded land in the country increased to 97.84 million hectares
in 2018-19 from 96.32 million hectares in 2011-13.

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● Nearly 30 per cent of India’s land area has been degraded through
deforestation, over-cultivation, soil erosion and depletion of
wetlands.

● India has pledged to restore 5 million hectares of degraded land

by 2030. But this is just 1.5 per cent of its geographical area.

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● The UN predicts that within 10 years, 50 million people in

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drylands — especially in sub-Saharan and South Asian regions —
will be displaced due to desertification.

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Oceans & Marine Pollution
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● Over a third of India’s coastline that is spread across 6,907 km
saw some degree of erosion between 1990 and 2018. West Bengal
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is the worst hit with over 60% of its shoreline under erosion.
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● While the global average of the Ocean Health Index, a measure

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that looks at how sustainably humans are exploiting ocean

resources, has improved between 2012 and 2021, India’s score in
the index has declined over the same period, the Centre for
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Science and Environment (CSE) report underlines.

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River Pollution
● Three out of every four river monitoring stations in India posted
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alarming levels of heavy toxic metals such as lead, iron, nickel,

cadmium, arsenic, chromium and copper.

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● Less than 30% of the water released back in the rivers is

somewhat treated – over 70% of wastewater flows completely
untreated.

● Currently, around 18% of the river stretches in India are highly

polluted, while 14% are mildly polluted, rendering about a third

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of the water in these rivers unfit for humans.

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● Just 2% or 22 km of Yamuna falls in Delhi, but 98 % of pollution in
the Yamuna comes from the national capital due to untreated or

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semi-treated industrial effluents or sewage that is being

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discharged into the river in the 22 km stretch.

Coral Reef
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● There are about 570 species of hard corals found in India and
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almost 90% of them are found in the waters surrounding
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Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

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● The pristine and oldest ecosystem of corals share less than 1% of

the earth's surface but they provide a home to nearly 25% of
marine life.
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● Coral reef systems generate $2.7 trillion in annual economic value

through goods and service trade and tourism.
● Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system
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stretching across 2,300 km. It hosts 400 different types of coral,

gives shelter to 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc.

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Tigers
● Currently, there are 53 tiger reserves covering more than 75,000
sq. km (approximately 2.4% of the country’s geographical area)
across India.

● With the current population of about 3,000 tigers, India harbours

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more than 70% of global wild tiger population, which is
increasing at an annual rate of 6%.

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Illegal Mining
● There are 1 lakh incidents of illegal mining in the country every

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year.
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Coastal Erosion
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● Of the 6,907.18 km long Indian coastline of the mainland, about
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34% is under varying degrees of erosion.

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Mangroves
● India accounted for nearly five thousand square kilometers of
mangrove cover in 2021.

● Scientists estimate that at least one third of all mangrove forests

has been lost during the last few decades.

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● West Bengal accounted for the highest share of mangrove in India

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with over 42 percent in 2021. Gujarat followed with Andaman &

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Nicobar islands ranking third that same year.

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Forest Fires
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● The ISFR 2021 estimates that more than 36% of the country's
forest cover is prone to frequent forest fires, 6% is 'very highly'
fire-prone, and almost 4% is 'extremely' prone.
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Human Animal Conflict

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● Tigers killed 125 humans in reserves between 2019 and 2021.

● Elephants killed 1,579 humans in three years — 585 in 2019-20, 461

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in 2020-21, and 533 in 2021-22.

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● There were 222 elephants were killed by electrocution across the

country between 2018-19 and 2020-21.
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● 29 tigers were killed by poaching between 2019 and 2021, while

197 tiger deaths are under scrutiny.

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Electric Vehicles
● The domestic electric vehicles (EV) market is expected to grow at
a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49% between 2022 and
2030 and is expected to hit one crore units of annual sales by
2030.

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● As per industry estimates, the total EV sales in India stood at
around 10 lakh units in 2022.

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Wetlands

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● The National Wetland Inventory and Assessment compiled by the
Indian Space Research Organisation, estimates India’s wetlands to

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span around 1,52,600 square kilometres which is 4.63% of the
total geographical area of the country.
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