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ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY: NATURAL RESOURCES

1. INDIA USED MORE COAL POWER IN 2021 THAN 2020: IEA STUDY

THE CONTEXT: According to a recent analysis from the International Energy Agency (IEA), India used 13 per cent more coal to generate electricity in 2021 than 2020, given the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to Experts, China and India might be some of the countries where the green transition may also be slowed down because Russia would shift their energy exports to them.
• India’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2021 soared to 80 megatonnes (Mt) above pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the report found. A slump in the renewable energy sector could partly explain this spike. Growth in this sector slowed to a third of its average rate of the previous five years.
• Also, the report noted that commodity prices are on a high. This has increased the cost of producing solar photovoltaic modules, wind turbines and biofuels.
• Globally, a similar pattern played out in 2021. CO2 emissions rose six per cent to 36.3 billion tonnes last year. Thirty-three per cent of these can be traced back to China.
• CO2 emissions worldwide dropped in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as countries announced strict lockdowns to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Emissions globally dropped to 5.4 per cent in 2020, compared to the previous year. The shutdown hurt economies worldwide.

Global patterns

• Global methane levels went up five per cent in 2021, but were still lower than pre-pandemic levels, according to the IEA report. The overall greenhouse gas emissions reached 40.8 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2021, above the previous all-time high in 2019.
• CO2 emissions from energy combustion and industrial process accounted for close to 89 per cent of energy sector greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. Gas flaring accounted for another 0.7 per cent of CO2 emissions.
• The United States and many European countries switched to coal from gas, adding roughly 250 Mt of CO2 in 2021. The costs of operating existing coal plants were considerably cheaper than that of gas-fired power plants for most of 2021.

 Value Addition:

• Coal is used to meet over 70% of India’s electricity needs. Most of this coal comes from domestic mines. In FY 2020-21, India produced 716 million tonnes of coal, compared with 431 million tonnes a decade ago.
• Most of the country’s coal production is limited to Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh with a total production of over 550 million tonnes, contributing to over 75% of the country’s total coal production.
• The Prime Minister promised to increase non-fossil fuel energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030, meet 50% energy needs from renewable sources and reduce carbon emissions by 1 billion tonnes in a decade.
• According to an estimate by the Centre for Science and Environment, the promise to reduce emissions by 1 billion tonnes means that India would need to reduce its carbon output by 22% by 2030. India now meets about 12% of its electricity needs from renewable sources and increasing it to 50% by 2030 will be difficult.

THE SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

2. EXPLAINED: WHAT IS MANUAL SCAVENGING, AND WHY IS IT STILL PREVALENT IN INDIA?

THE CONTEXT: The Mumbai Police arrested three people for hiring three men who died while manually scavenging a septic tank of a public toilet.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is manual scavenging?

Manual scavenging is the practice of removing human excreta by hand from sewers or septic tanks. India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR). The Act bans the use of any individual for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta till its disposal.

In 2013, the definition of manual scavengers was also broadened to include people employed to clean septic tanks, ditches, or railway tracks. The Act recognizes manual scavenging as a “dehumanizing practice,” and cites a need to “correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered by the manual scavengers.”

Why is manual scavenging still prevalent in India?

The lack of enforcement of the Act and exploitation of unskilled labourers are the reasons why the practice is still prevalent in India. The Mumbai civic body charges anywhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 to clean septic tanks. The unskilled labourers, meanwhile, are much cheaper to hire and contractors illegally employ them at a daily wage of Rs 300-500.

According to report, there are 472 deaths due to manual scavenging had been recorded from 2016 to 2020.

Compensation

As per the Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act, 2013 and the Supreme Court’s decision in the Safai Karamchari Andolan v/s Union of India case, a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each was awarded by the High Court to the three women. The Government Resolution is a huge win for safai karamcharis within the state because it acknowledges the role of the State even when deaths occur in private societies. Many deaths recorded are in private societies, where labourers are illegally hired.

Value Addition:

Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act, 2013

• The Act prohibits the employment of manual scavengers, the manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without protective equipment, and the construction of insanitary latrines.
• It seeks to rehabilitate manual scavengers and provide for their alternative employment.
• Each local authority, cantonment board and railway authority is responsible for surveying insanitary latrines within its jurisdiction. They shall also construct a number of sanitary community latrines.
• Each occupier of insanitary latrines shall be responsible for converting or demolishing the latrine at his own cost. If he fails to do so, the local authority shall convert the latrine and recover the cost from him.
• The District Magistrate and the local authority shall be the implementing authorities.
• Offences under the Bill shall be cognizable and non-bailable and may be tried summarily.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

3. INDIA, CANADA TO REBOOT TRADE-PACT TALKS

THE CONTEXT: According to the Ministry of Commerce and trade, India and Canada have decided to restart talks for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) and will strive to seal an investment-protection agreement.

THE EXPLANATION:

• CEPA negotiations will be formally relaunched, and the two countries will consider an interim agreement or Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) that could be concluded early as a transitional step. India is eyeing market access for its sweet corn, baby corn and bananas in Canada.
• According to Joint statement, the EPTA shall include ‘high level commitments in goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and dispute settlement, and may also cover any other areas mutually agreed.
• CEPA talks with Canada had got derailed amid the COVID-19 pandemic but were expected to restart after the Canadian elections concluded in September 2021.

Value Addition:

Historical Ties:

• Canada and India have longstanding bilateral relations built upon shared traditions of democracy, pluralism and strong interpersonal connections. Canada is home to one of the largest communities of Indian origin, with approximately 4% of Canadians being of Indian heritage (1.4 million people).
• In 2019, India was the largest source of international students for Canada’s universities, colleges and schools.

Trade relations:

• A priority market for Canada, India is Canada’s 11th largest export market, and 12th largest trading partner overall. Canada’s commercial priorities in India are targeted at India’s policy objectives and sectors where Canada has a comparative advantage.
• Total bilateral trade between the two countries, including goods and services crossed $11 billion. During April 2021-January 2022, Indian exports to Canada increased to $3 billion, up almost by a fourth as compared to 2020.
• Major Indian exports to Canada include drugs and pharmaceutical products, iron & steel products, marine products, cotton fabrics & readymade garments (RMG) and chemicals etc, while key Canadian exports to India comprise pulses, fertilizers, coal and crude petroleum etc.

4. THE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (BWC)

THE CONTEXT: India reiterated at UNSC, the need to implement biological and toxin weapons convention in full letter and spirit amid fears of the Russia-Ukraine conflict turning into a bio-chemical war.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Russian request for the Security Council meeting followed a US rejection of Russian accusations that Ukraine is operating chemical and biological labs with American Support.
• According to Russia’s Ministry of Defence, it has documents confirming that on the territory of Ukraine there was a network of 30 biolabs where “very dangerous
• In this context, India underlined the importance attached by India to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) as a key global and non-discriminatory disarmament convention, prohibiting an entire category of weapon of mass destruction.
• Also, it noted that, India believes that any matters relating to obligations under the BTWC should be addressed as per the provisions of the convention, and through consultation and cooperation between the parties concerned.

Value Addition

Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)

• The BWC is a key element in the international community’s efforts to address WMD proliferation and it has established a strong norm against biological weapons. The Convention has reached almost universal membership with 183 States Parties and four Signatory States.
• Formally known as “The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction”, the Convention was negotiated by the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Mandate: The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) effectively prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological and toxin weapons. It was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
• It opened for signature on 10 April 1972 and entered into force on 26 March 1975. The BWC supplements the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which had prohibited only the use of biological weapons.
• India ratified this treaty in 2015.
• HQ: Geneva.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

5. ILLEGAL TRADE OF PANGOLIN IN BIHAR-NEPAL BORDER

THE CONTEXT: A joint team of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Bihar Forest department rescued the pangolins and arrested two smugglers in the Govardhan forest area of VTR, West Champaran district.

THE EXPLANATION:

• A team of SSB also seized deer horns worth Rs 22 lakh and arrested two smugglers at Aamgachi near the Nepal border in Araria district.
• According to wildlife experts, pangolin scales and body parts are used for preparing traditional medicines in some Asian countries, for which the mammal is in high demand in the international trafficking market. Smugglers prefer live pangolins, which fetch more money (in lakhs) than the scales.
• The smugglers have been using the state to move body parts of poached animals as well as live specimens either to Nepal or West Bengal, to send them to China, Myanmar and other southeast Asian countries, where demand is high for use in traditional medicines.

Value Addition:

• There are two species of Pangolins found in India, the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla).

  

• The Indian Pangolin occurs sporadically throughout the plains and the Himalayan foothills to southern India. In the north-east it is replaced by the Chinese Pangolin, a species whose range extends to South-East Asia.
• Both the species are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. IUCN lists the Indian Pangolin as ‘Near Threatened’ and the Chinese Pangolin as ‘Endangered’.
• Both the species are on CITES Appendix II (but currently with zero export quotas for wild-sourced specimens).

Threats:

• Although pangolins are traded locally throughout India, the main threat to their survival comes from the high demand from international markets in China and Southeast Asia both for their flesh, which is considered a delicacy and a ‘tonic food’ for its alleged medicinal properties, and for their scales. Currently no international trade in Asian pangolin species is permitted under CITES.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY 12^TH MARCH  2022

Q. Consider the following statements about the Biological Weapons Convention:

1. It prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological and toxin weapons.
2. India is the founding member of the convention.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2