Dr N Janbemo Humtsoe
Climate Reality Leader
The theme for this year’s earth day is “Restore our Earth”. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines restore as “to return something to an earlier good condition.” To restore means something has changed, exhausted or that there is some disequilibrium and we want to put that thing back to its original state, because the original state is better than the current state. Therefore, when we say “restore our earth” it means something has gone wrong with the earth’s environment, ecology, resources, or the people or their actions such that we need to restore things back to its original or natural state.
What then needs restoring? how do we restore it? or how long will it take for things to return to its normal state? These are the immediate questions that comes to our mind when we think of the theme “restore our earth”. Certainly, if we look around us, we find so many things that needs restoring, that needs human actions and efforts to return to its natural state and beauty. On one side, we are faced with the problem of scarcity of resources, and on the other, an abundance of waste. Combined together, it is causing massive damage to the earth’s fragile environmental balance.
The problem of scarcity, that arose due to insatiable human appetite for consumption fueled by improving economic standards, has led to over exploitation of resources leading to depletion and exhaustion of resources, biodiversity loss and species extinction. There is scarcity in almost everything including food, clean air and water, aquatic animals, minerals, forest, arable lands, urban space and so on. On the other hand, we are overwhelmed by the waste and toxics that are generated to fuel our economy, including food waste, carbon emissions, plastic and other solid waste, urban and industrial effluents etc. All these problems need some kind of human collective intervention to restore things to its normal state. According to the earth day network, restoration is imperative to combating climate change and making the Earth a safer, healthier, and more equitable place to live.
Population Growth: The surge in demand for resources has been caused mainly because of two reasons: economic growth and population explosion. Higher income is associated with higher consumption. Therefore, even if population remains constant, when more people start earning higher income, it would increase the consumption basket of various goods and services in the economy, and therefore, the greater need for resources. However, we cannot restrict economic progress because by nature, humans are driven to maximize profit and improve welfare.
But population growth can be stabilized or controlled. During the 20th century alone, human population in the world has increased from 1.65 billion to 6 billion. The current world population has reached 7.8 billion, and most of the increase in population comes from the developing countries where resources are scarce and there is a greater competition for food, water and other natural and economic resources. Stabilising the world population will therefore, reduce the pressure on earth’s natural resources.
Water: Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, during the recent commissioning of the Zarü water sources in Kohima, said that the state capital still lacks about 80 percent of water supply and that even the CM bungalow do not have water supply linkage, further attributing the scarcity of water to climate change. The problem of water scarcity is not restricted to Kohima or Nagaland alone. According to UNICEF estimates, four billion people in the world experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year and over two billion people live in countries where water supply is inadequate.
Water scarcity can mean scarcity in availability due to physical shortage, or scarcity in access due to lack of adequate infrastructure. Water scarcity has also been exacerbated due to increase in water use because of an increased temperature caused by global warming; increase in water demand for livestock and farming; reduction in fresh water supply due to over withdrawals, deforestation, contamination etc. Many of the water systems that keep ecosystems thriving and feed a growing human population have become stressed. Rivers, lakes and aquifers are drying up or becoming too polluted to use. In addition, climate change is altering rainfall patterns, causing shortages and droughts in some areas and floods in others.
Therefore, we need to address water problems by changing our lifestyles and consumption patterns; planting more trees and conserving natural habitats; improving water catchment, harvesting and recharging underground waters; address water pollution issues including treatment of urban and industrial effluents; improve agricultural and irrigation practices that consumes less water; and by enacting better policies and regulations.
Forest: Forests cover 31 percent of the global land area. The total global forest area is 4.06 billion hectares. Forest area as a proportion of total land area decreased from 32.5 percent to 30.8 percent in the three decades between 1990 and 2020. This represents a net loss of 178 million hectares of forest(State of world forest, 2020).
Forests are essential to life on Earth, providing us with a wide range of ecosystem services. They are home to nearly 80 percent of the species on earth ranging from animals to plants, fungi and other micro organisms. In addition, forests provide food, fuel and fiber; clean the air; filter water supplies; control floods and erosion; and provide recreational, educational and economic benefits. Forests are the world’s second largest carbon sinks, next to oceans, using their natural processes to absorb and store atmospheric carbon in wood, leaves and soil.
However, deforestation and forest degradation continue to take place at alarming rates. Between 2015 and 2020, the rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million hectares per year. While deforestation is taking place in some areas, the good news is that, new forests are being established through natural expansion or deliberate efforts in others parts of the world. As a result, the net loss of forest area is less than the rate of deforestation. Nevertheless, more than 100 million hectares of forests are estimated to be adversely affected by forest fires, pests, diseases, drought and adverse weather events.
Therefore, we need to urgently reverse the loss of forest cover worldwide through sustainable forest management, afforestation and reforestation policies and increase efforts to prevent forest degradation and contribute to the global effort of addressing climate change.
Air Pollution: WHO reports show that air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year and that 9 out of 10 people breathe polluted air. UN report states that air pollution costs the global economy a staggering $5 trillion annually on welfare cost. According to World Air Quality Report 2020 released by Swiss Organisation, IQ Air, 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world are in India.
The global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have been consistently on the rise and for the month of March 2021 it stood at 417 parts per million (ppm), up from 414 ppm in March 2020. The high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, primarily caused by burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, traps more heat from the sunlight leading to increase in surface temperature, or what we commonly called as global warming.
Therefore, it is imperative for government across the world to divest coal and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but rather invest in renewable resources, green technologies, efficient public transport system and enforce stringent pollution laws. Citizens may also seek creative ways to reduce our carbon footprints by using public transport or carpool whenever possible, consume locally available products and resources, reduce the use of firewood, prevent forest fires and conserve energy.
Plastic Waste: Plastic pollution is a global issue that poses threats to the health and productivity of our environment. The major challenge comes from the single use plastics, including grocery bags, polythene, bottles, straws, cups and cutlery etc. Around the world, one million plastic drinking bottles are said to be purchased every minute, while up to 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are being used every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, has on June 5, 2018, vouched for a plastic free Nagaland by 1st December 2018. Rules were enacted and orders have been issued to that end. However, the implementation and monitoring activities has not been steadfast as was desired. Single use disposable plastic bags, cups, plates, water bottles etc. have quietly found their way into every grocery shop across the state. Therefore, government must affirm its resolve and ensure that environmental laws are enforced strictly for the benefit of all. Citizens must also address individual plastic usage and raise concerns against the reckless production of plastic products at the industrial level.
It is up to each and every one of us to restore our Earth not only because we care about it, but because we live on it. We need the Earth to survive, not the other way around. We all need a healthy Earth to support our jobs, livelihoods, health and happiness. Let us all help and contribute to restore it to its previous state of tranquility.
